"This is my second time here, and I have to say—it feels completely different from the last time."
Standing at the entrance to the Sapphire Tower, Karl looked up at the building he'd previously entered once before. Turning to Lied beside him, he added, "This time we're just regular guests. Last time, the moment they noticed us, they were ready for war. Even I was a little tense."
Lied glanced at the towering structure around them and silently agreed with Karl's assessment.
The guards at the entrance—soldiers from the Phantom Dogs—had likely greeted so many outsiders that unless specifically instructed to be alert, their attitude was relaxed. Not negligent, but routine. Most simply gave them a cursory glance before looking away.
Kurt Hansen's banquets weren't exactly frequent, but they weren't rare either. He hosted one or two each month, offering global arms dealers and businessmen a space to socialize.
These banquets served more as a platform—an opportunity provided by Kurt Hansen for both current and potential partners from around the world to discuss business.
Though Kurt Hansen would attend, he rarely got involved in negotiations himself. Only when truly important figures showed up—like during Karl's last visit, when Arasaka execs and military tech leaders were present—would Hansen personally step in.
But those kinds of high-stakes gatherings weren't common. And even when such figures attended, they weren't always there to talk business with Hansen.
Take today, for instance. Inside the banquet hall, Karl immediately noticed Wilton Holt—the Deputy Mayor of Night City and one of the top contenders for the upcoming mayoral race. Clearly, he wasn't here to cut arms deals with a Dogtown warlord like Kurt Hansen.
On the contrary, Holt blatantly ignored Hansen, treating the event solely as a networking opportunity, moving among city council members and subtly lobbying for support.
Karl looked around again. Besides Holt, he noticed another high-profile attendee—the current commissioner of the NCPD.
Though practically sidelined, the commissioner sat alone on the second floor, where he had a clear view of the banquet hall below. His gaze roamed the crowd, as if searching for someone.
By coincidence, just as Karl looked up, the commissioner appeared to find who he was looking for.
One looking up. One looking down. Their eyes met—and understanding passed between them.
Following the commissioner's gaze, Karl spotted a woman—gorgeously dressed, moving with seductive poise.
According to the files:
Biotech Department Director.
Biotech's department director?
Karl watched as the woman made her way upstairs and naturally leaned in beside the NCPD commissioner. The man smiled broadly.
Karl recalled info from the NCPD database he often browsed. The commissioner was married, to an Italian woman from Naples who also happened to be a Biotech employee. So… did they come separately?
Odd.
Not that having both spouses working for different corps was unusual—it happened often, even with separate affiliations. As long as it wasn't Militech and Arasaka, people didn't care. What puzzled Karl was why they came separately when their relationship wasn't a secret.
Still, it wasn't an issue worth focusing on, so Karl simply filed the thought away for now and continued observing the guests. Meanwhile, Lied had already begun moving through the crowd.
Lied had always been a ruggedly handsome man, but now, with his disguise as a charming white male, he looked even more striking. As he skillfully mingled, both men and women quickly gathered around him, drawn in by his charisma.
Using his good looks to gather intel, huh? Never would've guessed.
Karl thought back to Lied's usual appearance—stoic, even stern—and then looked at the smiling, elegant middle-aged white gentleman gliding through the crowd. Being a secret agent clearly wasn't something just anyone could do—especially a top agent.
That level of disguise? Karl wouldn't be able to pull it off.
The contrast was staggering. Looking at Lied now, no one would guess he was an elite agent from the New United States Intelligence Agency.
"I really thought he was just some stiff old guy."
But a top agent was top-tier for a reason.
As Karl kept his attention on Lied, waiting for him to deliver intel, he noticed someone out of the corner of his eye.
It was Kurt Hansen—their target.
Hansen sat on a couch in a corner, surrounded by Phantom Dog guards. He was deep in conversation with another man in similar Phantom Dog attire, occasionally glancing at the guests and keeping tabs on the banquet.
The venue the Phantom Dogs used for banquets was usually a casino. Even during these events, the gambling tables remained open. From where Hansen sat, he had a full view of the patrons—he could observe everyone at the tables.
Karl had heard that you could see a person's true nature at the gambling table. He wasn't sure if it was true, but it seemed Hansen firmly believed it. Even without speaking to the guests, his eyes scanned them like a hunter studying his prey.
Not exactly easy to approach…
As Karl began thinking of ways to get closer, a gentle voice accompanied by soft footsteps sounded beside him:
"Care to chat for a bit?"
Karl turned to see a young woman in an elegant dress—polite posture, graceful movements, and striking beauty.
Her pale blue eyes, artificial though they were, held a flicker of surprise and joy, as if she'd stumbled upon an unexpected treasure.
Karl didn't recognize her.
But from the look in her eyes, she was clearly trying to strike up a conversation.
That's when Karl realized something—
Because Lied's disguise was so attractive, Karl had also chosen a face modeled after himself, Viktor, and V. The result? A damn handsome mug.
Even in 2077, where appearances could be altered for a price, a good-looking face still drew plenty of attention.
It wasn't like his usual look—tagged in NCPD databases as "KK." Though still good-looking, that face came with baggage and made people cautious. But this new one? It drew a lot of stares from young women who came with relatives, boyfriends, or fiancés.
"Damn it, Viktor, V—this is your fault."
Noticing more than a few interested glances, Karl gritted his teeth internally and decided he might as well learn a thing or two from a certain top agent about collecting intel.
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🔥🦾 CYBERPUNK: THE RELENTLESS 🦾🔥
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