Chapter 41: Chapter 39: Many Hands on Deck (Friday Midnight Slot)

The noisy street, Lille took out the newly opened immunosuppressant drug and popped one, along with a supplement to protect his internal organs.

Old Wei had already told him about the situation of this Si Anweisitan, so he roughly understood the situation.

No wonder the system identified this Si Anweisitan as a component of "Military Technology Chapter 6".

This Si Anweisitan was likely a tool for transferring AI to the human body, using the human nervous system as a carrier to keep the AI in the body, isolating it from the network, and aiding in network jack-ins.

If that’s the case, Arasaka didn’t target the wrong person in their attack on me.

Kantao was also just unlucky, originally wanting to find an advanced Si Anweisitan for a "technological breakthrough", but ended up stealing an unfinished gray invention from the military.

Zhu Shen was just another unlucky idiot; playing with women got him into trouble, so he deserved to die.

Finally, I intercepted the whole thing...

But did Kantao really steal it by mistake?

Pushing the doubts aside, Lille activated his prosthetic eye to scan the street cameras, a quick hack protocol appeared in view—

He got a Military Technology Type-4 "Parallel Line" network jack-in pod from Old Wei, which gave him many more ways to breach networks.

A hacker can’t think of an invasion method every time on the fly, he pre-configures the necessary tools.

By encoding the hack logic into executable software, then packaging and storing it in the network jack-in pod, it becomes a Magic Doll.

"Finally, I don’t have to fry my brain to hack. Too bad the Black Wall jamming weapon can’t be used often, or the netwatch will find out and it’ll be trouble.

I really should sign up for more courses at Arasaka Academy, otherwise, learning in the streets has too many detours..."

Lille paced back and forth in the empty lot in front of the clinic, getting accustomed to his new lungs.

He didn’t notice a dark-skinned, curly-haired guy had already set his sights on him.

"Wow, look at that, Jimmy, a corporate dog!"

Lille felt someone grab his shoulder and turn him around forcefully—

Next to him was a yellow-haired kid with a bandana, looking a bit nervous: "Calm down, Terry..."

Unfortunately, the dark-skinned guy didn’t listen to his friend.

Lille was stunned—really?

Why does this feel familiar?

"Hand over anything valuable!"

Lille rolled his eyes helplessly—V was still in the clinic getting combat prosthetics done, and Jack was still chatting up a girl in the neighboring fortune-teller shop.

Did this have to happen to him?

"Wait a minute, man, I’m not a corporate dog..."

"Not? I saw a Moore Technology floating car deliver something to you! Do you think I’m stupid?

Hand! Over! The money!"

Lille sighed, stepped back two steps, but behind him was the stairway to the underground passage.

He had to stand straight and said, "Listen, kid, I’m not calling you stupid, but if you keep this up, I’ll start to doubt your mental state."

"Hey, you BYD, tough-talking, huh—"

Lille secretly thought, crap, this kid has a problem, and a bad temper too!

This dark-skinned guy raised his fist!

Bang!

"Hey, this is my buddy, what the f*ck are you two doing?"

The dark-skinned guy’s hand stopped inches away from Lille’s face; it was V, who just finished her surgery and came out.

She saw someone robbing her good buddy the moment she stepped out, and she had no place to vent her post-surgery strength.

V’s hand wasn’t thick, but it gripped the guy’s hand like an iron clamp, twisting his face in pain.

V spoke viciously: "Giving you face? Where did a little shit like you come from, with such little strength, can’t even suck your mom’s tits properly, and you try to rob people?"

The dark-skinned guy’s hand was being forced back, pain intensifying on his face...

"Shit!" He swung his fist wildly, V didn’t hold onto him, letting him stumble back a few steps.

"I told you..." The yellow-haired kid panicked.

But before he could speak, both of them froze—they felt something hard poking their backs.

It was Jack standing behind them, smiling widely.

He held two large-caliber pistols, just a light press of the trigger could blow big holes through these two idiots.

"We...we’re sorry..." The dark-skinned guy and the yellow-haired kid’s legs trembled, not daring to move an inch.

V put her hand on Lille’s shoulder and pointed at those two weaklings: "See, you need to work out, just two little punks are giving you trouble."

Lille pointed at his head: "Did you forget this?"

"Alright, alright, the Father is waiting, let’s not waste time."

V waved her hand and pointed to the other side of the clinic where a stretched car was parked.

Hearing "Father", the two punks shivered even more—the most powerful middleman in Haywood!

When V and Lille left, Jack raised the gun to the back of their heads and gave a hard shove:

"Bang!"

This completely scared them to the point of peeing themselves, their legs giving out, and they tumbled down the stairs.

"Cowards, get lost! Don’t let me see you in Haywood again!"

Bang bang bang!

Jack fired a few random shots, bullets hitting the ground, and the two ran as if their lives depended on it.

To Jack, it looked like they were just constantly tripping, struggling to get up, then falling again—seemed like they even peed, leaving a liquid trail.

"Disgusting."

.....

"V, long time no see, seems like you’ve made a name for yourself in Atlanta, how’s it over there?"

Father was an elderly man with a kind face, but always expressionless. Combined with the tattoos on his arms and the Valentino gang members standing beside him, he exuded authority without anger.

Hearing the Father’s recognition, V felt incredibly pleased.

She looked at Lille with even more favor now.

If she hadn’t run into Lille, she might have ended up rotting in an Atlanta jail for a year or two because of Cai Pin, then come back in shame...

Now, she had combat prosthetics all over, top-tier gear, nine valuable Kantao prototype weapons in the car, a banned raccoon dog tech sniper rifle...

Oh, and a very valuable lizard too—but that’s not the most important thing.

The most important thing was the tens of thousands of euros in the account!

Though V tried to act humble, she couldn’t hide her pride in her tone:

"You know, Father, a Haywood kid can make a name anywhere—that’s Lille, he has something to discuss with you.

I won’t interfere, gotta hit Bar Wildwolf for a few drinks to quench my thirst."

"Alright, kid, enjoy the hometown vibe." After saying goodbye to V, Father turned to Lille, "Well then, have a seat, kid."

The conversation had to happen in the car, Father was a man of procedure.

Lille was polite: "Thank you—Father, I’ve heard a lot about you, finally meeting you today."

"No need for flattery, I guess V made a name over there partly because of you too? She’s a good girl, and very skilled with her tools.

But she likes to work alone, it’s cost her quite a bit."

"Just lucky." Lille was more sincere saying that, "Father, I’ll get straight to the point, I want to study. I need an identity to get into Arasaka Academy."

Dealing with Father for the first time, no need to reveal too much.

He did need to get into Arasaka Academy to solidify his knowledge and see if he could find anything useful.

Father was quite surprised.

It seemed his feeling was right; Lille was not your typical street kid like V.

"Hmm...to be honest, this is a job for another middleman, are you looking for full-time or..."

After saying this, Father felt it was quite odd.

He, a priest from the Valentino gang, the best middleman in Haywood, a Godfather-like figure,

was here discussing academic aspirations with someone. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

But then, as a middleman, he had seen all kinds of odd requests.

Lille replied immediately: "Adult education level will do, I need to quickly cover the basics and then...get a license or something."

"That’s easier, the identity requirements aren’t as strict." Father thought about it and said, "Do you plan to pay cash or..."

"I have money, but I’m happy to solve some tricky problems for you in exchange."

Father nodded slightly: "Alright, I’ll give you an easy job, considering you’re friends with Jack and V."

We?

Lille maintained a neutral expression; no one knew what Father was thinking—was he being polite or genuinely friendly.

Father continued: "Of course, I know you just got back and have lots to do, we can discuss this in a few days.

You can go report to Arasaka Academy first—I can only provide a fake identity, you should pass the entrance test, right?"

"Absolutely."

Lille nodded slightly.