25: Chapter 25 Embrace the benefits and discard the drawbacks

It had been three days since the incident with the Padre.

The sunlight of Heywood cut through the layers of aged dust on the windows of El Coyote Cojo, casting slanted beams of light into the air. Jackie Welles' booming voice nearly blew the roof off, his hand slapping Lin Yi's back repeatedly like a pile driver as he boasted about their recent exploits to a few familiar faces from the Valentinos.

"You guys didn't see it!"

Jackie's spit flew everywhere, and the glass in his hand nearly wobbled out of his grip.

"My brother, 'Ghost'—he just stood there! One look! That fixer from the Tyger Claws called 'Viper'—his face turned green on the spot!"

The guys nearby stretched their necks out.

"His men wanted to draw their weapons? The moment their hands touched their guns, 'Ghost' just pointed a finger at them from across the way—"

Jackie raised his index finger and tapped the air.

"—and those pieces of iron just misfired! Started smoking! It was like magic! They were busted without even making a sound!"

A burst of rough laughter and exclamations slammed onto the table. Some people pounded the table, others raised their glasses to Lin Yi. Lin Yi held his glass without moving, a faint, non-committal smile hanging on the corners of his lips, letting Jackie play it up.

He actually quite enjoyed this rough but genuine recognition.

The friendship of Padre Sebastian meant they finally had a foothold in Heywood. This feeling of putting down roots temporarily suppressed the shadow that had been clogging his chest ever since the Kang Tao tracking protocol.

But, it was only suppressed for a short while.

Just as Jackie was clamoring for another round, the encrypted communicator inside Lin Yi suddenly vibrated.

It wasn't the usual anonymous channel for taking jobs. It was an extremely faint vibration, yet the priority had been pushed to the maximum—like a cold needle pricking against his nerve endings. He had never seen this connection request before. The protocol's identifier carried a cold, metallic texture; it was unfamiliar, but it clearly wasn't street-grade gear.

[Insight] activated almost reflexively.

Power consumption was kept at the lowest setting, less than one percent. He tentatively scanned the source. The feedback he received made him even more alert—the signal was wrapped in layer upon layer of encryption and proxies, with all traces hitting an airtight digital wall. The final source pointed only to a blurred network region, highly overlapping with those mega-towers at the pinnacle of Night City.

The smile on Lin Yi's face didn't change, but all warmth had vanished from it.

He gave Jackie a look.

Just that one signal. Even though Jackie was in the middle of his spiel, boasting to those around him, he was stunned for a moment after receiving that look. Still, he immediately swallowed the joke that had just reached his lips, laughed it off with the people around him, put down his glass, and followed him out.

The air in the back alley, mixed with the sour stench of fermenting trash and the smell of urine, was an extreme contrast to the scent of smoke and alcohol in the bar. But Lin Yi felt refreshed instead. This straightforward, dirty smell was more sobering than any air-conditioned room. He leaned against the graffiti-covered wall and accepted the request.

His consciousness sank into the internal network. After setting up the strongest audio filtering and voice-changing barriers he could manage, he let it through.

"Good afternoon, Mr. 'Ghost'."

The voice came from the other side of the comms. Lin Yi could almost imagine an emotionless face. The male voice was calm and clear; every syllable was like a precisely calibrated gear. He couldn't discern an age, couldn't discern an emotion, and couldn't discern anything superfluous.

"Or, should I address you more formally as—Mr. Lin Yi?"

Lin Yi's pupils constricted. He didn't speak. Jackie leaned against the opposite wall, holding an unlit cigarette in his mouth, frowning as he watched him. Lin Yi ignored him, his fingers running rapidly across the virtual interface. [Insight] continued to attempt to penetrate the other party's communication shell, but the progress bar moved slowly; it would take about another minute. The other party's protection level was ridiculously high—not the kind of tricks street hackers played, but genuine corporate-grade ICE, with so many layers it was like peeling an onion.

The man on the other end of the comms seemed completely indifferent to his silence, continuing to speak in that tone, so steady it was almost mechanical.

"You may call me 'Yoshikawa'. I represent an interest group within Arasaka Corporation that focuses on external talent. Your recent active performance and that of Mr. Jackie Welles in Watson and Heywood—especially the efficiency, precision, and a certain cost-effective problem-solving ability you have demonstrated—have left a deep impression on us."

"Get to the point."

Lin Yi spoke; his voice filtered through the processor, hoarse, cold, and devoid of superfluous emotion.

"Very well. I like direct people."

Yoshikawa's tone seemed to surface with a trace of extremely faint, almost negligible appreciation, but that appreciation was also calibrated.

"We have noticed that when handling complex affairs, you do not rely purely on violent destruction. You are better at utilizing information, technology, and... a certain unique foresight. This style is very rare on the streets." He paused for a very short beat, "And it is precisely what Arasaka is in urgent need of in certain specific fields."

A data packet was transmitted via an encrypted link. [Insight] popped up a notification: Risk Unknown. Lin Yi didn't open it directly; he first imported it into the isolated sandbox constructed by Baize, performed layer upon layer of basic scans, and only then began to browse.

"This is a preliminary letter of intent for cooperation," Yoshikawa explained. "We sincerely invite you to establish a long-term, mutually beneficial cooperative relationship with Arasaka as an external senior technical consultant. You will enjoy a high degree of autonomy. We only care about the results."

The terms of the letter of intent unfolded one by one.

Lin Yi read it very slowly. Not because he couldn't understand, but because he understood every word, which was why he was slow. Even with his knowledge from before he transmigrated, and even with his current familiarity with the rules of Night City—this offer was still generous enough to make his heart tighten. A signing bonus of 500,000 Eurodollars. Not stock options, not installments, a one-time lump sum. This money was enough for him to buy a decent property in Charter Hill. A fixed consulting fee of 100,000 Eurodollars per month—and that wasn't counting project bonuses. The most core part was the resource support clause.

Gain Arasaka technology "Partner" level access, priority procurement, and customization of military-grade cyberware. Access to some of Arasaka's external technical databases. And—

Lin Yi's gaze paused here.

"Provide identity security reinforcement based on deep biometric recognition, and network activity shielding services."

Security shielding.

These two words were like a precision-guided micro-torpedo, silently piercing into the most vulnerable part of his heart. The hunt by Kang Tao—that Sword of Damocles that had been hanging over his head since the first day he transmigrated—was his biggest survival threat to date. If he accepted Arasaka's terms, did it mean he could use the power of this giant to temporarily disappear from Kang Tao's radar? A legal identity. Protected network activity. Using Arasaka's resources to decrypt Baize's deeper permissions, increasing his strength...

That road was paved with a red carpet.

At the end of the red carpet was a door, and on it was written "Security".

And what he lacked most right now wasn't security, but time to develop; with it, he could...

"The terms are astonishing." Lin Yi suppressed the surge of heat in his heart, his voice remaining steady, without showing the slightest fluctuation. "But I need time to evaluate."

"Of course. That is the caution one should have."

Yoshikawa's response was watertight, even carrying a sense of deliberate understanding.

"We look forward to working with true talent, not impulsive gamblers. This letter of intent is valid for seventy-two hours. During this period, if you have any questions, you can contact me through this channel."

He paused.

"Looking forward to your joining, Mr. Lin."

"Arasaka's resources—will become your most solid cornerstone in Night City."

The communication was cut off.

The back alley suddenly fell silent. After Yoshikawa's voice receded from his mind, Lin Yi realized that the palms he was clenching were a bit damp. He stood where he was, not moving. The noise of the back alley—the honking on the street in the distance, the advertisement broadcasts leaking from someone's window, the muffled thud of wheels rolling over the tracks on the elevated railway bridge overhead—all these sounds seemed to be separated by something, very far away from him.

Jackie stared at his face for a long while, finally unable to help himself.

"What's wrong, brother? Do you really trust this Corpo?"

Lin Yi took a breath of the foul air in the back alley, exhaled slowly, and then said: "It's Arasaka."

Jackie's expression froze for a moment.

"What?! Arasaka?!"

His voice shot up an octave, scaring a cat that was rummaging through trash in the corner so badly it bolted and disappeared.

"What do they want?!"

"A consulting contract. The terms are too good to be true." Lin Yi summarized the contents briefly.

Jackie stood there, stunned, his mouth opening and closing. Then he slapped his thigh hard and pointed at Lin Yi's nose.

"Damn it! Brother! Don't you dare fall for the Corpo's trap—in the words of a girl I know well—Hacer un trato con el demonio!"

Making a deal with the devil.

After he finished speaking, he looked at Lin Yi's face. Lin Yi didn't refute, nor did he nod; he didn't even have his usual "I understand" look in his eyes. He was completely sunk in thought.

Jackie slowly calmed himself down, scratched his mohawk, and knitted his brows together.

"Uh... but, this thing sounds too good to be true, right? Those blood-sucking bastards from the Corp, could they be that kind? Don't you think there's a trap?"

Lin Yi didn't answer. He stood in the dim light of the back alley. Was this move from Arasaka a crisis or an opportunity? Could he really pull chestnuts from the fire in a giant's game of chess without burning his fingers off? The answer wasn't in Yoshikawa's flowery letter of intent.

It was within himself, in how he chose.

And for now, he had to consider it.