Cyberpunk: 2075.

Chapter 856, Section 66.
"Welcome, my favorite mercenary team. Did you have a smooth journey?"

When Carl and the others entered the elevator code and went up to a private room on the third floor of the "Heartfelt" club, Hanz was already waiting there. He opened his arms to welcome them.

"It's rare to see you like this, Hanz. You actually showed your true face to us?" Karl spoke first. Among the team, he had the most dealings with Hanz and had taken on the most work with him.

"I thought you'd be more wary because this club is full of Hansen's bastards."

As an intermediary, Hanz rarely showed his true face to the mercenaries. When handing over missions via holographic communication, the other party could only see his hands and his face, which was covered. It is rumored that his past experiences made him always keep a necessary level of vigilance in order to avoid getting into trouble.

But for a mercenary of Karl's caliber, it was not unusual to have seen Hanz's true face, so he could tell at a glance that the other party had not made any disguise this time.

This is very interesting.

When Carl and his group entered the "Heartfelt" club, the security guards at the entrance were from the Ghost Hounds. In other words, Hansen probably had spies planted there as well.

In this situation, Hanz still dared to show his true face and discuss plans that were detrimental to the Hound of the Underworld and Hansen with them—putting aside everything else, this middleman's courage alone was truly remarkable.

Judging from his appearance, Hanzta has a full beard that is neatly trimmed, with black sides and white in the middle, matching the color of his hair. The hair on top is also neatly combed, making him look very clean.

Both of his hands are prosthetic, and it is clear that the hands he usually presents to ordinary mercenaries are these hands, which would not leave any traces or obvious characteristics even if investigated.

Against the backdrop of his hands, his burgundy suit stood out. His tie was perfectly tied, and he looked neat and elegant. If one had to describe him in one word, "gentleman" would be the most fitting.

In response to Karl's exclamation, Hans did not respond immediately, but simply gestured for everyone to take their seats in the luxurious room.

"Sit wherever you like."

After saying that, he walked to the cabinet displaying exquisite tea sets and calmly began to arrange a uniquely designed tea set. Then, Hans poured a cup of reddish-brown tea for Carl, Jack, and Oliver, and the faint aroma of tea filled the room.

It seems that Hanz is not in a hurry to talk business. For a middleman like him, he always has to give the KK team the appropriate face and hospitality.

Carl looked at the tea that Hans handed him, smelled its distinctive aroma, and recognized what it was.

Spiced tea?
Or perhaps Egyptian spiced tea?

In Karl's memory, this is a representative Egyptian drink, a tea brewed with spices and a lot of sugar in a special ratio. It has a sweet and spicy taste, a strong spice flavor, and a burning sensation on the tongue when you drink it.

Overall, for Carl, this was a fairly acceptable drink.

Drinking Egyptian spice tea in an Egyptian-style building?
After the necessary checks, Karl took a small sip. The not-so-familiar taste quickly came over him, causing his tongue to feel a slight stinging and numbness.

Um.
If you're not used to the taste, then judging solely from the brewing process and the skill involved, this cup of tea is actually quite good.

Carl caught a glimpse of Oliver and Jack out of the corner of his eye.

Faced with Hanz's tea, one chose to drink it in large gulps, while the other chose to savor it slowly. The difference in their tea-drinking methods resulted in subtle differences in their expressions.

The former's face was slightly contorted as he stuck out his tongue, looking as if he couldn't bring himself to drink it and wanted to spit it out. The latter's expression was subtle, but overall he seemed to accept it.

"This tea is too strong and too sweet."

Even Oliver, who has a sweet tooth, couldn't accept it: "This small cup of tea is already saturated with sugar."

"It's definitely not something you'll get used to the first time you try it."

Hanz elegantly held a cup of spiced tea, slowly sipping it. Then, he finally sat down on the sofa and got to the point: "Alright, I don't think you guys care about my hospitality, so let's get down to business. I have the information you want, but..."
Hans paused deliberately, his gaze lingering on Karl, his expression clearly conveying 'you know what I mean'.

"Is money okay?" Karl wasn't ignorant of the rules. He came to Hans for information, so he couldn't possibly get something for nothing. There was a relationship between the two sides, but in the end, they were just mercenaries and middlemen, and the rules couldn't be changed.

“Money is very useful, so of course I’m willing to accept it. Unfortunately, my collaboration with you, KK, a while ago brought me a lot of profits in Taiping Prefecture, and I happen to have some extra cash on hand recently, so I’m not short of money.”

The words are well-chosen, but the meaning is the same.

Money won't do.

"I don't think this intelligence information is worth a special trip."

Karl took another sip of spiced tea, his eyes flickering slightly: "It's a lot of work, just a matter of taking a bit more effort."

Karl's meaning was clear: don't expect to get them to do a job based on this information; the price isn't right.

"Of course, of course."

Hanz clearly didn't expect to be able to motivate Karl and his team to act based on a single intelligence report.

In the past, this might have been just right for the KK team, but now, this amount of leverage is no longer commensurate with their status. Therefore, from the very beginning, he was thinking about more than just a simple transaction.

“You did a fantastic job with the matter in Taiping.” Hans slowly put down his teacup and looked calmly at Karl. “I am very grateful to you for giving me a considerable share in that operation.”

He leaned forward slightly, his tone sincere and steady: "Therefore, I was thinking, could we—continue this successful collaboration once again?"

"Continue once."

Carl understood what Hans meant: "But Dogtown still has a master."

"I think perhaps this owner will soon be sensible enough to leave, won't he?"

Hans said meaningfully, "After all, KK has arrived and is looking at him."

Clearly, Karl's initiative to solicit intelligence had already alerted this astute middleman, who was eager to get involved, even if it was just to get a piece of the pie on the sidelines.

Karl considered Hanz's request.

This is clearly another kind of bargaining chip. If Hans wants to get involved, he can't just give out this information. He must do something worthy of getting a share of the pie.

In Dogtown, they received strong support from the middleman in Taiping State, who requested that they only receive a share of the scraps after the event.

This requirement
“I think I can accept it.”

Carl said.

Dogtown, to put it bluntly, is also part of Taiping Prefecture.

Since it belongs to Taiping Prefecture.

Therefore, it belongs to the NCPD.

That is, they belong to KK's team.

(End of this chapter)