Cyberpunk: 2075.

Chapter 843, Section 53: The Arakawa Heir

When Karl and his group walked out of the Abandoned Tower, Mann and his squad had been waiting outside for quite some time.

"Mann?"

David was the most surprised to see them appear before him: "I just sent the message not long ago, and you guys are already here. That's incredibly fast."

“It was Carl who arranged it.”

Mann smiled and nodded at Carl. "He hired me under the name 'Wise' before, saying that if anything happened to him, we should be there to provide support and handle his backup plan. We'll stay nearby and come over as soon as we get the news."

As he spoke, he looked David and Carl and their group up and down—their clothes were clean, without a single stain or sign of a fight, and he immediately understood.

"Looks like your trip went very smoothly. You didn't need me as a backup at all." Mann grinned. "It feels pretty good to get paid for nothing."

"It's pretty much the same on my end."

Looking at Mann, David's tense nerves finally relaxed a little.

Although teaming up with Carl and his group was an opportunity David had long awaited and even dreamed of, in his heart Carl and his team were always respected seniors.

Working with them on missions is more like a learning experience.

After all, he was a mercenary with his own team, someone others could rely on. When Mann and his group appeared, and familiar figures surrounded him like family, this young man, who was always taken care of, couldn't help but feel relaxed and at ease. It was this ease that allowed him to let go of the last bit of tension that had been brought about by the important mission.

At that moment, he seemed to no longer be the junior who had to be on edge, but had transformed back into "David" who could protect and help everyone.

“Karl, T-BUG told me she’s going straight to the Delaman and you don’t need to wait for her.”

Sasha, the hacker from Mann's team, waved to Karl and walked over with a light step, a bright smile on her face.
“It’s been a long time since we last met, hasn’t it? Perfect timing, I wanted to thank you in person—you helped my sister Stella and brother-in-law Bill get transferred to the Assistant Section and helped them get rid of those old things. I’m so grateful to you.”

A while ago, Sasha's sister and brother-in-law, who work for the NCPD, got caught up in a mess in Dogtown—her brother-in-law Bill and his partner were taking jobs off the hook and inadvertently got into trouble with a Dogtown guy named Dodge.

When Carl heard about this, he stepped in to help – he had Bill and his partner go to Andy and confess everything about taking on side jobs.

Later, Andy led his team to arrest and deal with Dodger when he occasionally left Dogtown, and gave Bill and Dodger a stern reprimand, finally calming down the incident.

Even more unexpectedly, Andy discovered that Bill and his partner were also quite adept at sneaking around while handling these 'side jobs', so he simply transferred the two previously aimless guys to the assistance department, putting them on the right track and allowing them to redeem themselves.

Now, the two guys who had been keeping Sasha on her toes were finally settled down and started working properly. Sasha had been wanting to thank Karl for this.

"That's nothing, after all, Daojie just happened to stumble into the business I hate the most—the pharmaceutical business."

Carl spoke in a calm tone, seemingly not taking the matter to heart. He felt disgusted just looking at guys like Dao Jie who profited from harmful drugs.

"Heh, you always seem to be like this, helping others without ever caring about it." Sasha chuckled softly, her eyes filled with gratitude and helplessness. "On the contrary, I don't know how to repay you."

Before she could finish speaking, another person's voice suddenly came from the side.

“David, your clothes are more durable than I thought. I wonder how much they could sell for.”

Rebecca, carrying her shotgun, stood in front of David, looking at his current attire with envy: "This seems even more elite than the combat squad uniforms you sent over before."

"Hehe, it's supposed to be a bodyguard uniform for important people, the kind of uniform worn by the bodyguards of Saburo Arasaka. I got it for free this time. How about that? Pretty cool, right?"

"It's so nice to get something for free." Rebecca poked her cheek with her finger, pouting as she looked at David showing off his clothes, her face full of envy. It was hard to tell whether she was envious of the protective power or of David being able to get such expensive clothes that couldn't be bought on the market for free.

Upon hearing the name Saburo Arasaka, Mann walked over to Jack, patted him on the shoulder, a glint in his eyes behind his sunglasses, and lowered his voice slightly: "Looks like you guys really got everything sorted out?"

As the captain of Mann's squad, Mann knew more than his teammates. He knew exactly what Karl and the others were doing inside the Abandoned Tower, and he was shocked when he learned about the nuclear bomb. Now, seeing his friends safe and sound, he was completely relieved.

Hearing his lowered voice, Jack grinned: "You missed a good show! Saburo Arasaka is really dead this time."

"That's a great thing."

As a former New American soldier, it would be a pipe dream for Mann to have any feelings for Saburo Arasaka, let alone learn from his friends what Saburo Arasaka was planning to do.

"So you just told us where we're going to celebrate, without even saying where we're going, whether it's the Wild Wolf or the Next Life."

"In the next life!" Jack shouted immediately, drawing cheers of agreement from the people around him.

“Wild Wolf!” Rebecca exclaimed almost simultaneously, jumping up to try and get attention. “I miss Mrs. Wells’ fries! And they’re not so pretentious!”

"I think you just care about being treated like a child before, and being stopped from coming in to give birth."

Rebecca's brother, Pila, laughed loudly, only to be met with a vicious kick from his sister.

"Come on," Rebecca grimaced. "The afterlife is full of corporate dogs and self-important mercenaries, but at least no one at the Wild Wolf Bar will come up to you and ask, 'Oh, you're that XX? Can I get your autograph?'"

"But a real man should go to the afterlife and order a special cocktail."

Johnny's voice then broke in, tinged with mockery, "What does a little girl know about flavors other than juice?"

"Hey, that sounds like something an old person would say, it's all outdated!"

"When I was drinking, you weren't even born yet, little girl."

Listening to Rebecca and Johnny's argument, Carl chuckled and turned to look up at Arasaka Tower.

His gaze was fixed on something far away, as if he were looking at a figure from a high place.

Meanwhile, on the high-rise building, Sei Xuan, who was watching Karl and the others, smiled and raised the glass in his hand.

However, the contents of the glass were not wine.

Although he really wanted to have a drink and keep his friends company remotely, he was busy right now.

After taking a sip of water, Sei-nobu turned around and looked at the person sitting in front of him.

"Alright, before we meet Hanako, let's talk first, Michiko."

Arakasaka Seigen looked at Arakasaka Michiko, who was sitting opposite him and had supported him in a series of actions.

"Let's talk about the issue of the Arasaka successor."

With Saburo Arasaka dead, Nobuyuki Arasaka, as the nominal heir, has now secured his position. In that case, it's time for him to decide on his successor.

(End of this chapter)