Cyberpunk: 2075.

Chapter 948, Section 158: Kids, you have good taste.
The enticing aroma of fried pork chops wafted from the table, but no one dared to touch them, nor did anyone dare to answer Karl's question.

Facing the steak placed in front of him, Dre unconsciously swallowed – he couldn't remember the last time he smelled the aroma of real food, but in this situation, the aroma became a torment.

They had no idea what Carl was planning to do, or what he intended to do by bringing the food over.

Are they going to die?
Does KK want them to eat this food and then die, or did he poison the food so they would die willingly?
A jumble of thoughts swirled in their minds, only making their bodies stiffer.

Karl, unconcerned about their trembling and the lack of response, remained unperturbed.

Since we don't plan to chat during the meal, then let's not chat.

After all, not speaking while eating is also a form of good manners.

"Eat up," he urged calmly. "It won't taste good when it's cold."

Is there really poison in this stuff?

Am gazed at the sizzling, greasy steak in front of her, then at the fragrant juice.

He knew he had no right to refuse, because if KK wanted to take action, they would all die no matter what.

If this is destined to be a feast that leads to death, then being able to taste real steak and freshly squeezed juice at the end of life is not so bad.

For the street kid, this ending might already be enough.

Real food I've never tasted in my entire life.

I never expected to taste it before I died.

Am was still the first to take action.

If anyone is to die, then he should still die first.

He picked up his cutlery with focused concentration, his movements slow and deliberate, each detail stretched out. As the metal knife cut into the steak, he could clearly feel the subtle resistance of the muscle fibers being severed. When he forked the meat, his hand trembled slightly uncontrollably.

He put the meat in his mouth and closed his eyes.

The moment you bite down, a burst of rich, vibrant juices erupts in your mouth—a flavor unlike any synthetic protein.

The spiciness of black pepper, the crispness of rosemary, the saltiness of sea salt, and the flavor of the steak itself after being perfectly grilled—these taste signals flooded his barren palate.

He chewed slowly, as if savoring the last taste of life. The moment he swallowed, he even felt a little lighter: even if he died right now, it wouldn't be a loss to have tasted this.

One second, two seconds
The expected severe pain did not occur, my throat did not feel tight, and my breathing remained smooth.

He opened his eyes and found Karl looking at him calmly, a hint of barely perceptible understanding flashing in his eyes.

"How was it?" Carl asked, his tone as casual as if he were asking a friend for their opinion on his cooking.

Am opened his mouth, but found his throat too dry to make a sound. He cleared his throat and managed to squeeze out, "It's delicious."

"That's good."

Carl smiled, a smile that didn't resemble the terrifying KK from Night City's rumors at all, but rather that of a chef whose skill had been recognized.

Seeing his smile, the stalemate seemed to be broken, and Drey made up his mind. He almost snatched the cutlery, cut off a large piece of meat, and stuffed it into his mouth. The next second, his eyes widened, and he mumbled indistinctly, "So delicious."

Seeing this, the skinny man also began to eat cautiously. He ate very slowly, chewing each bite for a long time, as if he wanted to etch the taste into his memory forever.

Qi was the last to make the cut. She still seemed nervous, but when the real taste of the food filled her mouth, her tense shoulders unconsciously relaxed by a millimeter.

Then, the four of them unconsciously quickened their pace, but as if they were worried about something, they kept forcing themselves to slow down.

Carl watched the four young men wolfing down their food while trying to appear restrained. His gaze flickered slightly. He picked up his own glass, poured himself a glass of juice, took a sip, and said:

"It seems to suit your tastes quite well. I originally wanted to use fresh steak, but I didn't have any left at home, so I had to use frozen steak. I hope you don't mind too much."

steak?

Upon hearing Karl's words, Am paused for a moment.

This is actually steak?

The gravy, the rich flavor—it's completely different from the steak we used to pool our money to eat at street-side restaurants.

Is this real food?
As Am swallowed another bite of steak, Carl's voice rang out again:

"To be honest, you did a really great job."

The moment the words left his mouth, the four of them seemed to freeze, their knives hanging in mid-air.

Before they could react, Karl continued, his tone filled with pure admiration: "While this security system isn't top-of-the-line, your successful intrusion is unprecedented and quite impressive."

“We…” Am tried to say something, but Karl stopped her by raising his hand.

“Eat first.” Carl’s voice left no room for argument. “By the time you’ve finished eating, the NCPD should be arriving soon. Then, have a good talk with them.”

NCPD? This term stunned all four of them.

It's actually the NCPD?

KK doesn't intend to deal with them personally; he's just handing them over to the cops.

The NCPD certainly has a deterrent effect on the streets, and the current rumors that "one police officer is worth five gangs" are not unfounded.

But for those who dared to raid KK's hideout, the NCPD's threat was a complete joke—according to Night City's laws, they would at most be locked up for a few months, which, for kids who grew up on the streets, was just a change of scenery for eating and sleeping.

The expected outcome of being thrown off the skyscraper did not happen, and they were not even prepared to be killed?
They knew that KK wasn't as brutal as rumored, but he was by no means merciful either. They were fully prepared to die, and yet, this is how it turned out.
Karl seemed to see through the confusion in their eyes and slowly shook his head:
"Don't misunderstand, this doesn't mean I'm letting you off the hook. I've already made arrangements with the NCPD—"

His gaze swept across the faces of the four people.

"From now on, there will be no place for you on the streets."

"There's nowhere for us to go?"

Dre repeated his words, but no one knew what he meant.

Before Drey could understand what was going on, the knife in Qi's hand clattered onto the plate. She looked up, genuine panic in her eyes: "Where are you taking us? A juvenile detention center? Or... a corporate correctional camp?"

Upon hearing Qi's words, the skinny man's face turned deathly pale.

He had heard rumors about the company's correctional camps—a place more terrifying than prison, where those who went in were either transformed into loyal slaves of the company or disappeared forever.

It might be far more terrifying than death in there.

Seeing their panic, Karl simply smiled and shook his head.

"How could that be? You're not qualified to go to that kind of place. The company does take in orphans, but you're too old and don't meet their 'standards'."

He paused, looking at the fear and confusion etched on the faces of the four, then delivered his final verdict, completely unexpected by them:

"You're going to work as janitors in the NCPD. Have you ever heard of prisoners having to do chores? You're the same. At the very least, you'll have to stay in there until you're an adult before you can pay off this debt."
Stealing from me is no small crime. I'll use my personal connections to make sure your crimes are prosecuted to a higher level. Don't even think about getting away with it.

"Go work as a janitor?"

"That's right, there is a salary, but remember to pay for this meal when you are an adult. I will charge you 100 euros each. Also, you made a mess of the floor, so the cleaning fee is 200 euros each, 300 euros each."

Since I also had juice, and you've enjoyed my company, I'll give you four a discount. It'll be 300 multiplied by four, so um, 1500 euros.

A discount of 1,500 euros?

Shouldn't it be discounted from 1200 euros to 1000 euros? It's discounted, yet it's still more expensive.
Am blinked.

However, this miscellaneous staff
He realized that this was essentially a job with room and board included, plus a salary—a dream come true for a street kid.

Carl glanced at them, noticing they had almost finished eating, then took out a bunch of energy bars from his pocket, gave some to each of them, and walked to the window.

The doorbell rang at just the right moment.

"Your people have arrived."

Carl said.

Upon hearing Karl's words, the four of them seemed to wake up and stood up. Before getting up, Dre finished the rest of his juice in one last gulp.

In the silence, the four of them walked to the door.

Then, having understood what had happened, Am turned around and bowed deeply to Karl:
"Thank you, Mr. KK, thank you so much."

The other three also quickly followed suit and bowed.

Carl, with his back to them, waved dismissively.
"Remember, this is the first and the last time."

"Don't let me see your names on the criminal list again."

The door opened, and two NCPD officers stood in the doorway. Unlike usual, they were not carrying handcuffs.

“Let’s go, kids.” The older officer’s tone was relatively gentle. “The NCPD is short of cleaning staff everywhere. This is a huge project.”

The four followed silently, but just as they were about to leave, Karl suddenly turned around and called out to them.

"correct."

As the four turned around, they saw KK nodding at them.

"My companion is quite pleased with your gaze and asked me to tell you something—"

KK was a little too loud.

“You guys have a good eye.”

(End of this chapter)