Cyberpunk: 2075.

Chapter 774, Chapter 188: Come to our place!

Comparing Arasaka's ministerial position—a prestigious position that would make a small company CEO willing to sell out his entire business—to street sex dolls, it must be said that Carl's way of thinking is indeed unique.

But on his distorted value scale, there is really no essential difference between the two.

No, wait.

That doesn't seem quite right.

This is an insult to sex workers who are truly forced to sell their bodies for a living.

Humans are nobler than beasts.

As for some people who consider themselves superior, where does this 'nobility' lie? It lies in the fact that when they 'eat' their own kind, they will elegantly ask the other person to prepare it properly before respectfully serving it to them at the table.

And those self-proclaimed elites of the company—

They are even worse than the most ferocious predators.

At least when wild animals hunt, they don't put gold-rimmed collars on their prey, they don't make their prey willingly offer their throats, and they certainly don't wipe their mouths with a handkerchief and say after a full meal:
"This is an honor you deserve."

Karl could distinguish between the weak being forced to do this and the strong doing it from a position of superiority. Which side should be respected?

Karl felt a sense of mockery about the appointment that granted him ministerial authority. He straightened up slightly, tapped his fingers on the chair, and spoke to Mashi, whom he was communicating with, "I pretty much know what position they've given me. It's certainly a rather crucial position, but Mashi, guess what I want most right now?"

"What do you want, Carl?"

Maki's thoughtful voice came from the other end of the communicator.

She tilted her head, her index finger lightly tapping her chin, her gaze shifting between Haruko and Chiyome not far away—Haruko was working at her desk, her hair falling onto the documents; Chiyome stood quietly to the side as usual.

Maki glanced at the small pastries that Haruko had made, placed next to her on her desk. The sugar content was, as always, a little off. She murmured to herself, her lips, which she habitually pouted when thinking, glistening faintly in the indoor light.

"Could it be that...he wants to find a comfortable bed and get a good night's sleep?"

"As expected of Mashi, exceptionally perceptive as always." Karl's voice carried a weary laugh. "This chair is really uncomfortable, but 'Akechi' has just arrived in Night City and doesn't even have a place to stay yet, although there are temporary dormitories provided according to regulations."

Carlton paused, his tapping becoming a bit lighter. "But going to places like that would only give me away. It's better to play the role of a hardworking elite, taking a short nap in the office after working all night, and then continuing to work when I wake up—it's ironic, but that's more in line with the requirements of disguise."

"I can't get a proper rest."

Maki sat in her raised chair, gently swinging her legs, her fingertips twirling around the pastries beside her. After thinking for two seconds, her eyes suddenly lit up, as if she had come up with a brilliant idea: "Karl, if this is what you're worried about—would you like me to do you a favor?"

"Help?" Karl's voice held a hint of interest. "Are you going to bring me a really comfortable chair? I'd really like to thank you for that. To be honest, Arasaka's chairs aren't very comfortable. It's like he wants you to work hard all the time without caring about comfort."

"No, that's not it~" Mashi puffed out her cheeks, then smiled, a smile that traveled through the communicator to Karl's ears: "It's because I'm thinking about your current ministerial authority! Look—"

Her speech suddenly quickened, her fingers unconsciously gesturing, and she unconsciously gripped the small snack. "Tomorrow's operation is so important. You have to both disguise yourself to protect the mission and take care of us. You can't afford to be out of sorts."

She picked up a small snack: "With the minister's authority, you can skip many routine checks inside the Arasaka Tower. You can set your office to 'Do Not Disturb' mode, and then—" Maki's eyelashes trembled slightly, "as long as you mark it in the system as going to a certain lounge to catch up on sleep, you can actually carry out the activity. How about sneaking over here later?"

"Go to your place?" Karl was taken aback for a moment when he heard Ma Xi's idea.

Where are they over there? That's Haruko's office, of course. Maki is Haruko's assistant and is also in Haruko's office now. Maki's idea is that she should go over there and lie down and rest for a while?
This idea
After a moment's thought, Carl realized it was indeed a good idea.

The floor where Haruko was located was a restricted area within the Arasaka Tower, and all access rights were firmly in Haruko's own hands.

In other words, without her approval, the elevator wouldn't even show which floor to choose, let alone stop there. Going there would indeed allow you to perfectly avoid all eyes and ears.

More importantly, he could truly rest there. After all, that was probably the only place in the entire Arasaka Tower where Karl could feel at ease. Karl also wanted to go to Sei-nobu's place, but Takemura Goro was there after all.

"Want to come?" Maki's muffled voice came through the communicator, accompanied by soft chewing sounds. "I'll help you with all the access records." She quickly swallowed the pastry in her mouth, finding it a little sweet, and stuck out her tongue. "...Erase them all completely, just keep the emergency contact line, that's all."

Suddenly, the rustling sound of papers turning over came through the communicator. Maki seemed to be searching for something: "Ah, found it! The records from the ministers' rest area! Right now, the other ministers are either working overtime or at their residences."

Maki said, "I know that some of the ministers' rest areas are completely empty, and everything is brand new~" Her voice suddenly lowered, with a hint of smugness, "I can even forge your accommodation records, making sure it's flawless~"

"That's it"

Before Karl could finish speaking, he suddenly realized something: "Wait, since I have the authority and you can help, why don't I just go to the minister's rest area?"

"I'm not helping you with this~" Maki's voice suddenly turned cold.

"Hey, is this discrimination? Do I have to go to your side?"

Of course!

“I always felt you had ulterior motives.” Carl narrowed his eyes, then suddenly remembered something. “The coffee and cake Haruko prepared today—although the sugar ratio was still a bit off, the quality was clearly above average, which is strange.”

As if suddenly realizing a truth, Karl's voice abruptly rose: "Could it be that Haruko made dozens of test subjects and then sent over the best one?! In other words—"

A slightly panicked gasp came from the other end of the communicator.

“Your place must be overflowing with prototypes right now!” Carl pointed out incisively. “You and Chiyo couldn’t finish them, and then you suddenly came up with this idea and wanted to trick me into coming over to be your ‘food waste processor,’ right?”

silence.

A suffocating silence.

Maki stared at the mountain of pastries on her desk and the cakes placed beside it—Haruko had indeed made two whole batches of macarons, fourteen chiffon cakes, and… She guiltily touched her slightly bulging belly.

"Karl," her voice suddenly took on a coquettish nasal tone, "Girls need to maintain their figure, you know."

"Stop it."

Karl had already seen through it all.

"You're definitely too full to finish and want me to eat the leftovers."

(End of this chapter)