Players Invade Cyberpunk-Chapter 810 - 261: I’ll Help You Stand Against the World (Part 3)

She smiled seductively.

"Maybe, Colonel, you could try to 'interrogate' me; who knows, I might confess immediately."

The French were more open than most countries; by 2076, the word "marriage" was almost a thing of the past in France. They did what they wanted with whomever they wanted, wherever they wanted. Within their circles, they even boasted about their escapades.

Hansen remained unmoved by the seductive advances of the beauty; he was a pure Sigma male.

"I want to know how much you know about the stuff in the Little Beidou Laboratory."

"Well... that's a secret."

Hansen placed his hand on Aurora's shoulder, applying slight pressure.

"Secrets are for outsiders. We are trading partners. You and your brother want Little Beidou's passwords as your reward, and I agreed, but you should at least show some effort."

"My people found both your names on the Little Beidou staff list."

Damned dogs...

The chilling murderous intent behind her snapped Aurora from her seductive state, and the sting of pressure from his fingers bore down on her shoulder.

Hansen was serious; if Aurora refused to disclose information, not only would she not get the Little Beidou passwords, but Amelie would also die here along with her.

The ruthless Dog Town Colonel wouldn't let his career be affected by mere lust.

"Little Beidou..."

Aurora hesitated, worried that he might back out once he understood Little Beidou's value, but then she thought that Hansen's Netherworld Dogs had no capable hackers; they would still need her and her brother to solve Little Beidou's puzzles. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

No matter how formidable Dog Town's colonel was, he'd have to accept defeat when hackers intervene.

"You saw right through me, Colonel. Your shrewd eyes are making me want to wear more clothes."

Aurora still maintained her flirtatious tone.

"Little Beidou isn't really a secret. It's about the genius hacker Outkanning Cunningham who created the 'Soul Killer,' a special program that can obliterate human consciousness and fully digitize it. Huang Ban obtained it, causing unease among many companies, pushing everyone to research similar network weapons."

"The military technology research project at Little Beidou aims to tame rogue AIs and bring them under control. However, due to overseas competition failures in the past, the lab's funding chain broke, forcing a halt to the experiments."

"It wasn't until 2068, fifty years later, that it restarted, and my brother and I joined at that time. But good times didn't last long; soon after the experiment resumed, Huang Ban was invited back to Night City by Mayor Laine, forcing us to abandon the military tech to avoid detection. Part of the blame ironically falls on you, Colonel."

"Was AI conditioning... successful?"

"Hehe, if it was successful, do you think you'd still find so much here?"

"....."

Hansen hadn't expected such intrigue under

the wartime situation but quickly dismissed it.

The research purpose was meaningless to Hansen; the Netherworld Dogs lacked the ability and resources to restart the studies, nor could they handle such an important object. The best outcome was to sell military technology's achievements at a good price.

While they chatted, neither noticed the quiet engineering area, and the surveillance camera installed discreetly above their heads.

The lens glowed dimly, resembling an eye watching everyone below in silence.

——————

Beneath Moth Bar, the Special Intelligence Bureau's safehouse, long dormant, was reactivated. Back in the day, it was where the Skylark sold out Li De.

Alex spread several photos across the table, his expression grave.

"Hansen, that maniac, is mass-producing Hellhound engineering robots in the Little Beidou Laboratory. We must contact the Special Intelligence Bureau. This has surpassed what we can handle alone; we need military technology to mobilize armed forces for suppression."

Don't be fooled by Hellhound's industrial robot title; turning industrial robots into killing machines often takes just a simple assembly line process.

"Hold on, Alex."

Li De's old face remained steady as a rock, seemingly impervious to urgency.

"There's something fishy about this."

"You doubt our intelligence?"

"No."

Li De shook his head.

"Think about it, how did Hansen bring in so much stuff without alerting others?"

"Who else? It must have been Horizon Corporation. With so many supply trucks transporting daily, it was easy for Hansen to hide something inside."

"Why would he do this? There's bound to be conflict between him and Horizon. What reason does Lin Miao have to help Hansen smuggle things in to strengthen the Netherworld Dogs' military power?"

"This... are they in cahoots?"

"It's possible. Inform the Special Intelligence Bureau and Miles first. But don't let military technology troops intervene; once Little Beidou's situation is exposed, not only would military technology suffer, but New America's reputation would take a hit."

Although he said this, Li De didn't truly believe Lin Miao and Hansen were in cahoots. Both parties were leveraging current circumstances to achieve their own goals.

Hansen sought more corporate support, while Lin Miao wanted to eliminate Hansen and assume control of Dog Town.

Their interests were entirely opposed, making deep cooperation impossible.

Based on Li De's extensive experience, he saw only one way for Lin Miao to achieve his goal.

That is, to make Hansen the public enemy of Night City, to the point where even the Cuban Group and several other companies couldn't protect him.

At that point, Lin Miao could take Dog Town at the lowest cost.