Cyberpunk: 2075

Chapter 567 180. Military Identification Plate

Hawkmoth Bar.

Carl originally thought that with the completion of Daphne's mission, the agent base should have been abandoned, but he didn't expect it to be used again, just with a new boss.

"Aren't you agents afraid of leaks? Both the previous and current bosses are new American agents. Do you really treat this bar as a permanent hiding place?"

"This used to be our secret base."

Li De was mixing drinks behind the bar: "Besides, we already have a new base now. Even if this place is exposed, it doesn't matter."

"The second half of the sentence is the real reason."

Karl leaned on the bar with one hand and looked around: “But this bar looks a lot more deserted than before. Your management skills are not as good as your predecessor.”

“Not everyone needs to wait for instructions all the time.”

As Reed said this, he placed the prepared drink in front of Carl.

It was a sweet tea with ice and mint leaves, and it was also the drink Carl ordered most often in various bars.

"You have very detailed information about me."

Carl took the sweet tea nonchalantly, took just a glance, and completed the confirmation.

There are no harmful substances in it. Apart from the excess syrup in the sweet tea itself, the ice cubes are all high-quality water.

In this respect, it is similar to the previous bartender.

Carl took a sip, felt the taste spread on the tip of his tongue, and squinted his eyes.

This cup of sweet tea is very much to his liking.

“It’s just necessary understanding.”

Li De noticed Karl's satisfied expression, took out something and handed it to Karl: "I think the basis of cooperation is mutual understanding."

"What a formulaic language. Have you agents been trained in this area? It sounds like they all use the same formula."

Carl took what Reed handed over.

It was a flat, glass-plate-like thing, and if it weren't for some red English mixed with blue English emerging, it would have looked like an ordinary piece of glass.

Carl almost thought he saw the tablet.

And the function of this thing may be similar to that of a tablet computer.

Watching the red and blue English change and finally forming a sentence in front of him, Carl looked at the English above, but found that the order of the language was very messy and could not form a complete sentence at all.

"Secret language?"

Carl looked up at Li De. He couldn't see any useful information from this thing at a glance. If it wasn't malfunctioning, then there must be a special way to interpret it.

"Please wait a moment."

Li De was very polite to Karl. He gestured to the changing English interface and said, "Someone will contact you soon."

"So you're not the contact person?"

"I'm the executive officer with you."

Reed's words left Carl speechless.

It seems that the confidentiality of military technology has been taken to the extreme.

First, he arranged to meet the executor at another location, and then he came to this long-abandoned former base to meet with the real contact.

Looking at this situation, if you don’t know, you might think that they are going to assassinate Saburo Arasaka... Oh, Saburo Arasaka is already dead, so they should be going to assassinate Yorinobu Arasaka.

It can't be that Smith contacting me again, acting so mysteriously.

When Carl was thinking this, he found that the red and blue English stopped changing, and then the words completed their composition and turned into a sentence.

"First conversation, Mercenary KK."

"How should I answer?"

Karl turned to look at Li De and pointed at the glass plate: "Can they hear my voice over there? Does this thing have a device to collect sound?"

Li De did not answer verbally, but just nodded, apparently not intending to let his voice interfere with the sound collection of the glass plate.

"It's OK if you can hear me. I'm KK. I don't think I need to introduce myself. So, what do you want me to do in detail?"

After hearing Carl's words, the text began to change.

"KK, I know you are a smart person and don't like nonsense, so I will get straight to the point - Hansen in Dogtown has a document in his hand, and I need it."

Seeing this sentence coming up, Carl tapped the counter with his finger.

The Joint Intelligence Agency, New America wants to take the document from Hansen. Should I be surprised, or should I be curious about what the document is?

Obviously, it is not necessary. As a mercenary, Carl only needs to ask for clarification.

"Hansen? That guy is not easy to deal with. If he hadn't received an invitation, his territory might be harder to break into than Arasaka Tower. At least there wouldn't be so many exoskeletons and ACPAs on the first floor of Arasaka Tower. Do you have accurate intelligence and plans?"

Text changes.

"Hansen carried the things with him, but no plan was made."

"Is this all the information we have? We haven't even made a plan yet. In other words, we don't even have an internal spy. We are completely in the dark?"

Karl felt that these words were a bit outrageous: "Do you have the confidence to complete this job? I feel like I'm sending myself to death just by listening to them."

"Some of my people may be able to do it, but their success rate is not even half as good as yours. In other words, it is not even half of what you and Li De can achieve by working together."

"Then I am really highly regarded. Do you trust me so much?"

"Because you are KK, the top mercenary in Night City... I may not trust my own judgment, but I have great faith in the abilities you have demonstrated when you came into contact with members of the Arasaka family and when you performed missions for us."

Looking at this passage, Karl felt a little weird.

Why do I have a feeling that Arasaka and military technology are carefully selected and must be of the highest quality?

"I'll take that as a compliment. So, the documents Hansen carries with him must have a container, right? Do you have any information about where he keeps them?"

“This is not a compliment, but a judgment of your ability based on facts…Hansen always wears a military identification tag;

Although he has betrayed the New America, he still has his former identity badge on his chest. The document was hidden in the interlayer of his military identification badge. "

"Dog tags. They are really something that you keep close to your body."

"According to my intelligence, that document is related to a high-level covert operation in Washington - an operation against me. If you can get it, the reward will not disappoint you."

'Actions against me'?

Looking at the text that was sent, Carl was stunned for a moment before realizing who was on the other end of the line.

No wonder they have to be so cautious. No wonder Reed, the ace agent of intelligence, just listened obediently and said nothing like a dog.

The person on the other side is indeed qualified to have such a level of confidentiality measures and command capabilities.

There are not many people who can be targeted by high-level officials in Washington in secret operations. If the hawkish factor is added into the mix, the number of people who can be targeted is narrowed to one person.

Rosalind Myers, President of the New America.

The person on the other end of the line was her.

And she, apparently, vaguely revealed her identity to Karl through a sentence she sent.

It doesn't say it explicitly, but it conveys the message in a way that even smart people can understand. It's really a warning.

Even this garbled glass plate, which is obviously used for secret communication, is unwilling to leave any information that may expose the identity?

After Karl understood, he naturally would not be so tactless as to call out the other person's name directly.

The reason why the other party hints at his identity is to make him pay attention to him, or in other words, to express his appreciation for him.

Regarding the importance of mercenary KK.

The new president of the United States has shown goodwill, so there is no need for Carl to slap the smiling person, not to mention that the two parties are still in an employment relationship.

"I understand."

Carl nodded slightly:

"To put it simply, the mission is that there are documents hidden in Hansen's dog tag, and I have to find a way to get them with Mr. Li De, right? Now the mission is clear, but I have to remind you - Hansen is not the kind of person who will hand over things obediently. If something happens to me."

"You can't fail, because if you fail, Hansen will know who sent you, and then you'll be in a worse situation than you are now."

Facing Rosalind Miles' words, which sounded like a warning and reminder, Karl said in a relaxed tone:

"No, no, no. Although I have considered failure, I think that if I fail, Hansen might not be alive. By then, someone else will come to trouble me."

Hearing Carl's words that sounded like he was correcting something, Rosalind Miles on the other end of the communication obviously didn't understand.

"You're making some point, KK."

"My meaning is very simple."

Carl smiled, as if explaining an insignificant detail: "The most likely reason for my failure is that I accidentally killed Mr. Kurt Hansen. After all, I was taking someone else's personal belongings, and it should be natural that I took his life by mistake. You shouldn't mind Kurt Hansen's death, right?"

There was a moment of silence in the communication channel in response to Carl's words. The blue and red English words were flashing, but they were unable to form a complete response.

After a while, the text reappeared.

"You killed Kurt Hansen in Dogville. I think you understand what you are doing."

"I don't want to kill Mr. Kurt Hansen. He's a good guy. I personally don't want this to happen. But, there are always accidents, right? What if, what if something like that happens?"

Karl’s words became a little deeper: “Does that count as a mission failure?”

The communication channel fell silent again, with blue and red English flashing, as if weighing something.

Soon, cold English appeared on the glass plate with a sense of unquestionableness.

"Kurt Hansen's life still has that value."

"In other words, it is considered a failure after all. We need to be more careful then."

Carl paused for a moment, and then said with a sense of relief: "Don't worry, I will try my best to keep Mr. Hansen alive - as long as he doesn't cause me too much trouble."

"I look forward to your performance."

After this text, the screen turned back to red and blue composed of garbled text.

"Then the mission is confirmed."

Karl casually put the glass plate back on the counter and said, "Mr. Li De, are you going to follow your plan or mine? From now on, it will be our busy time."

Reed, who had been listening to Carl's entire conversation, now had a completely new impression of KK.

This man was more worried about accidentally killing the king of Dogtown, Kurt Hansen, than about not being able to get the documents. He exuded an almost arrogant self-confidence.

Is this the temperament cultivated by street mercenaries? It is completely different from the personnel who came out of the Joint Intelligence Bureau.

Li De evaluated himself in his heart and quickly analyzed the reason for the gap between the two.

The confidence of agents who come out of the CIA comes from the support of the New America, the skills given by the most advanced agent training, and their self-identification as elites.

Although they also have a sense of confidence that they can accomplish any task, when faced with a truly difficult task, they will weigh the insufficiency and lack of strength, and even lose confidence. However, the mercenary who walked out of the street in front of them is completely different. He exudes pure confidence from beginning to end.

Or in other words——

Mercenaries without confidence would have died on the road long ago.

Only those who always believe in themselves can have such confidence that is almost arrogant.

It's such a special feeling.

Perhaps he was slightly infected by Carl's confidence. When asked by Carl whose approach he should follow, Li De chose to listen to him first.

"What do you want to do?"

Reed asked Carl. He was very curious about what kind of plan Carl could come up with and formulate for this legendary mercenary who, according to the information, had never failed a mission, had a 100% approval rate, and satisfied every employer.

"Me?"

Carl didn't expect that Reed, the CIA's ace agent, who was rumored to be comparable to Morgan's Black Hand, would come to ask for his opinion.

He is a very humble person and thinks that when facing someone who is older than him and has more experience in performing special agent missions, he should listen to the other party's opinions first. He didn't expect that the opposite would happen.

But since you asked, just tell me.

"Sneak in, find an opportunity, grab, and run."

These four simple words are enough to explain Karl's attitude.

The more complicated the task is, the better it is. Sometimes the task only requires the general direction to be correct, and even the thoroughness can be relaxed a little. Too many messy step-by-step plans may cause the whole thing to collapse if there is a problem in one link.

"Is this the plan?"

Reed listened to Carl's actions. According to his original plan, he wanted to see if he could find Hansen's bedmate, control her, and then find an opportunity to replace the military identification tag, and then prepare a retreat to evacuate Dog Town before being exposed.

Let's compare the two plans.

Li De had the answer.

"Just follow your plan."

There is no problem in executing them simultaneously; there is no conflict between the two plans.

If the exchange fails, just grab it and run away.