Cyberpunk: 2075.

Chapter 916, Section 126: A Sincere Invitation

“It’s been a while, Carl.”

Carl entered the Afterlife through a path known only to his regular customers, and when he revealed himself, Claire, the bartender in the Afterlife, spotted him immediately.

"It's been quite a while since I've seen Claire."

Carl nodded to Claire, noticing that there weren't many people coming today, and the person he was supposed to meet hadn't arrived yet, so he sat down at the bar.

"I think I'm a bit early. How's it going, Claire? I see the entrance is all blocked."

"It's been like this for the past two days. It'll be fine once this excitement passes."

As Claire spoke, her hands didn't stop. She skillfully prepared Carl's usual drink—a cup of sweet tea with mint leaves and ice—and pushed it in front of him without saying a word.

"But Crispin got really screwed over. He had just returned from a business trip and didn't know what was going on, so he was caught red-handed by tourists."

“I saw it. I was so embarrassed standing there at the door,” Karl said, taking a sip of tea. “Speaking of which, has anything interesting happened in town lately?”

"What else could be new? The biggest thing is that you've almost called all the mercenaries who are available in the entire afterlife to Dogtown. Those who work for you have made a fortune in euros. Those who missed this train, who were working hard elsewhere for the meager sums of those stupid middlemen, are now kicking themselves when they hear this news back in the afterlife."

"You can't blame me."

Carl put down his ice-cold sweet tea: "I can't exactly tell people who have things to do to put aside their current work and come do my thing first, can I? That wouldn't do them any good for their reputation."
If I actually did that, my phone would probably be ringing off the hook with calls from the old captain and the priest, complaining that I'd lured people away and abandoned the project halfway through.

Carlton paused, then continued, "Besides, it wouldn't be good to ruin their reputation with money. I can't just use money and feelings to actually get them to do something like that."

"If you're not willing to think about them, they might be happy to do it for the money. Besides, everyone knows that the pay is good when they work for you, so there's nothing to worry about."

Claire smiled and said, "Whenever you have another job, just let me know. I'll take a day off and bring my husband to be your truck driver. Just charge the market rate, and I'll join in the fun."

"Are you sure there's no problem with you speeding around transporting goods?"

Carl knew Claire was just joking and didn't take it too seriously. After chatting for a few minutes, he realized that the person he was waiting for had come from the same path he had come from.

Claire noticed that Karl's gaze shifted halfway through his sentence. Following Karl's gaze, she saw who it was, picked up an empty cup, wiped it, and left Karl's side.

As a bartender, she would chat with the customers for a bit as a way to relax during her workday, but she couldn't get involved when the customers came to do something serious.

This is one of the reasons why Claire was able to remain a bartender in her next life.

She knows the rules very well.

The newcomer noticed Karl's gaze, grinned, waved at Karl, strode over, and plopped down next to Karl.

“I went out of town for work a few days ago, and I just got back to Night City when I heard about the commotion you’ve caused.” The person who came was Mann, and his tone was full of regret: “It’s such a damn pity that I missed it. If I had known, I wouldn’t have taken that Dakota order. At least I could have helped you guys.”

The Dakota that Mann mentioned refers to Dakota Smith, the middleman in the Badlands. It seems that Mann's team went to the Badlands for work—tasks in those places are known for being time-consuming and poorly paid, with the only advantage being slightly better safety than jobs in the city. "I guessed it. After all, none of you replied to my messages a few days ago, so I figured you were probably working in the Badlands."

As Carl spoke, he casually called out to Claire, asking her to bring Mann a bottle of his favorite wine, and then said to Mann:

"But you missed it before, you've made it today. The thing I'm looking for you about today is related to Dogtown."

"Is it related to Dogtown?"

Mann was taken aback: "Weren't the Cleaners almost wiped out in your operation? I heard that the incinerators contacted by the NCPD burned for half a day. Are you planning to take action against someone next?"

As they spoke, the drinks were served. Mann nodded to Claire, then watched her walk away and pondered before saying, "Could it be that you're planning to take action against the Dogtown gangs?"

Mann thought about the gangs in Dogtown: "I remember there are only some animal gangs in Dogtown, those people who have gone crazy from drinking protein powder. Although they don't usually do anything good, at most they just fight in underground boxing matches and threaten people to collect protection money. They probably haven't done anything special that requires you to deal with them, right?"

"Actually, there are still some, but they don't really need to solve them for the time being."

Carl shook his head.

If you were to rank the gangs in order of elimination, the Vortex Gang would be ahead of the Animals Gang. Dealing with them was not Carl's purpose in bringing Mann in.

“I was expecting you guys to come and do my work, Mann.”

Carl stated directly what he needed to discuss with Mann in person.

He didn't want Mann and his crew to clean up the rest of Dogtown; he wanted them to work for him. To show respect to these friends, Carl chose to meet in person.

"Let us do your work, Karl?"

Mann understood what Carl meant.

This isn't about hiring or anything like that; otherwise, Karl wouldn't be taking it so seriously. What Karl meant by having them do his work was...
"You want me to join Dogtown?"

"Pretty much. I haven't thought about what this new force will be called yet, and maybe it won't even need a name anymore. After all, it wouldn't be bad for Dogtown to be reintegrated into Night City. What do you think? I sincerely hope you can come and help me."

I sincerely hope you can help me.
Carl's words silenced Mann.

Almost instantly, a bitter memory flooded his mind—he had been recruited into New America, and then committed a series of unbearable mistakes under New America's orders. That experience instilled in him a loathing for any power, which ultimately led him to become a mercenary and choose freedom.

Now, his mercenary business is thriving, and he has long since achieved his initial goal. Now, another force has extended an olive branch to him, and the person who invited him is someone he considers a friend.

In a fleeting moment of reflection, the invitations of the past and the invitations of the present seemed to overlap.

But
People are so different.

(End of this chapter)