Cyberpunk: 2075.

Chapter 772, Section 186: Purpose of the Talks
"You did a great job this time."

Carl had just been praised by Oda Santao and then given a bunch of tasks. Before he could even catch his breath after returning to Night City, he received praise from Kenichi Shiro—it seemed that the other party had successfully left Dogtown with Slide and his group.

"Are you going to give me a ton of work again?"

Having learned his lesson the hard way, Karl was wary and felt that this was a classic case of hitting someone and then giving them a sweet treat.

His suspicion left Kenichi Shiro completely baffled, just like the last time he praised Karl for doing a good job, only to be met with Karl's inexplicable reply, "Are you bored?"

This time, however, he wasn't angry; he was just puzzled by what this guy was thinking about all day long.

Carl's performance this time was indeed impeccable—he successfully infiltrated the Pheasant Faction, gained Oda Santao's trust, and reached a preliminary negotiation agreement with Hansen on behalf of Arasaka Hanako.

Even more outrageous is that tomorrow he will lead a team to serve as Arasaka Hanako's personal bodyguard. This is not infiltration; he is practically becoming a core figure. Even Kenichi Shiro can't find fault with him, and can't even think of any new tasks to assign him. Yet this guy is worried that he will exploit him again?

'What does this guy take me for?'

Kenichi Shiro secretly grumbled to himself.

'Does he see me as the kind of person who treats his subordinates like dirt?'

This thought didn't linger in Kenichi Shiro's mind for long, because he had already gotten used to being with Karl and had learned to ignore his eccentric ideas. He had only come to praise Karl, and since Karl was unwilling to accept his praise, so be it.

"Once security is ensured during the talks, Mingzhi will come and reassign his identity after the talks end, and then you can relax a bit. However, I feel that this meeting may not go very smoothly."

"It won't be that smooth?"

Upon hearing that he might have to work overtime like a corporate dog, Carl immediately became wary: "Mr. Kenichi Shiro, what do you mean by that?"

"You should know that."

When Karl asked him, Kenichi Shiro simply said, "You should have thought this through by now. Don't act like you need an explanation. I'm busy and don't have time to explain in detail. Anyway, that's it. I'm hanging up. If you need anything, we can talk when you get back to Arasaka Tower."

After saying that, Kenichi Shiro decisively hung up the call.

Clearly, he now fully understands how to get along with Carl.

When Kenichi Shiro abruptly hung up the phone, Karl actually wanted to complain about something, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

Just as Kenichi Shiro said, he had already figured it out, but he just couldn't accept the facts.

The meeting shouldn't have been particularly troublesome. During his occasional chats with Rosalind Miles, Arasaka Sei-nobu had heard some of Sei-nobu's thoughts.

Sei-nobu really didn't intend to deal with Miles's instigation of a corporate war this time, because he hadn't even finished unifying Arasaka's internal affairs yet. If he rashly started a corporate war, he would only be crushed by other companies, and then a new company would come to replace him. In that case, nothing would change.

Sei-nobu's real plan was to seize upon Rosalind Miles's ambition to annex military technology and to reach a dangerous conspiracy with New America, so that both sides could get what they wanted: Arasaka could take the opportunity to complete internal integration, while New America could continue to erode the sphere of influence of military technology.

Rosalind Miles was well aware of this trick of dancing with the devil. But adversaries are often the ones who understand each other best—when internal problems need to be solved, there is no more suitable partner than a former enemy.

This is why, despite the seemingly calm surface of the negotiations, there were undercurrents beneath. The two leaders were like dancing the tango on a knife's edge, having to precisely gauge the intensity of each probe while constantly guarding against sneak attacks from behind.

They tacitly maintained a dangerous balance: on one hand, they had to ensure the terms of cooperation were enticing enough, and on the other hand, they couldn't allow the other side to gain the upper hand; they had to guard against potential opposition within their own camp, and also be wary of any potential trump card from the other side that could overturn the negotiating table. After all, they were all too aware of the endgame of this game—the moment either side achieved its predetermined goal would be the turning point where allies would turn back into mortal enemies.

Once Arakasaka Seiyuki completes internal integration, he will inevitably turn his guns on the new United States to prevent it from annexing military technology; and once Rosalind Miles consolidates her power, the first person she will eliminate is this 'partner' who helped her clear the way. In this game, there is no win-win situation, only who can load the gun and pull the trigger faster.

Both sides are well aware of this, and their only tacit understanding is the talks.

Arakaze announced the purpose of the meeting so that Rosalind Miles would understand this point, and Rosalind Miles accepted the meeting and responded accordingly.

Both sides agreed to do so and understood what the other wanted to do.

And they knew that the targets to be cleansed and eroded also knew their thoughts.

Those who are to be purged cannot break ties, because although Arasaka Seigen has not yet fully unified Arasaka, he is still the helmsman of Arasaka, and Rosalind Miles is the former CEO of Military Technology and the current president.

In response to the plans of Nobuyuki Arasaka and Rosalind Miles, they have taken the first step: eliminating Rosalind Miles and cutting off the idea at its root.

The assassination attempt failed, so the talks will continue. However, after such an assassination attempt, the talks will certainly be more dangerous and uncertain.

The people on the new US president's side have already made their moves, and they certainly won't stop there; while the opposition from Arakasaka Seigen is only just beginning to emerge.
Coincidentally, the person who stepped forward to investigate was the Mingzhi Squad.

Therefore, it has been drawn into this vortex and will find it difficult to extricate itself before the talks end.

Karl was well aware of this, and it was precisely because he saw this clearly that Kenichi Shiro told him he didn't have time to explain what he had already seen through.

Kenichiro was certain that Karl had understood, and Karl had indeed understood.

In this respect, Kenichi Shiro truly understood and trusted Karl very much.

Karl just really didn't want to move.

Because the expected overtime will be terrible.

叹.
Why am I acting so diligent? I should have known that the more capable I am, the more work I'll be given. If it weren't for the hardship of the work, I should really boast that this is the trouble of being 'excellent'.

He's acting like an idiot.

That's what he thought, but Karl wasn't really that dejected.

After all, no matter what.
What he did was genuinely helping his friend, Arasaka, whether male or female.

Since my friends can benefit from my extra effort, there's nothing wrong with that.

not to mention.
Carl glanced around at the squad members in his vehicle.

'I really met some great guys this time.'

Carl always admired capable people.

(End of this chapter)