Cyberpunk: 2075.

Chapter 923, Section 133: Can't Remember
Carl disliked people not listening to him.

He is also a very willful person; no one can ignore what he says.

Mr. KK

"I think I don't need to say it again."

Carl's gaze abruptly stopped Jefferson Peralez in his tracks.

There were no extra words, nor any further explanations.

"Go ahead and tell me, I'm very curious."

That was Carl's answer.

'You're very curious.'

Hearing these somewhat absurd and unbelievable words, Jefferson Peralez seemed to want to say something.

What do you mean by "you're very curious"? He's already explained things so clearly, even cutting off any way out, just so he wouldn't drag this rare "good person" into the mess.
But Karl, of all people, took the initiative to step in.

Moreover, no refusal is permitted.

"You probably don't want me to access your activity logs and find it myself, do you?"

Carl looked at Jefferson Perales: "If you don't want to, then sit down now, eat properly, and have a good chat."

Carl did not give Jefferson Perales the option to refuse.

Faced with KK's attitude, Jefferson stood there, his body trembling slightly.

He opened his mouth, but no sound came out. This candidate, known for his eloquence in politics, couldn't even form a complete sentence at this moment.

Shouldn't this be addressed as a thank you?
Or should it be called assertive?

Jefferson didn't know, but when he heard KK's words, which left no room for refusal, he did feel an unprecedented sense of relaxation.

It was as if all his worries and everything could be resolved simply by KK saying that.

Even though KK was so much younger than him, Jefferson was old enough to be KK's father, Jefferson still felt a warmth from the bottom of his heart when the calm young man said those words.

That is a kind of peace of mind that is extremely rare in Night City, yet everyone yearns for.

As a person, one absolutely cannot lack a sense of security.

KK is domineering, fiery, and brooks no refusal. He tears away all pretenses, leaving people naked and exposed, yet at the same time, he melts away the heavy burdens that should have been borne alone.

He never asked whether the shadows were willing to retreat, but simply poured out his light as a matter of course.

Just like the sun.

Many people may dislike KK's assertiveness, or his ability to see through people, making them feel completely exposed, but for Jefferson, who was shrouded in mystery, it was incredibly comforting.

'That's so reassuring.'

Under Carl's calm and focused gaze, Jefferson slowly sat back down and began to recount everything he knew.

He no longer tried to hide anything—since KK had clearly rejected his self-sacrifice, the only thing he could do was to be completely honest. Carl listened intently. He wasn't actually as perceptive as Jefferson thought; otherwise, he would have more or less remarked on Jefferson's blatant disbelief, since such thoughts were so outrageous, practically describing him as a stripper.

However, considering the sun's actions in the story of the North Wind and the Sun, this description might not be wrong after careful consideration.

Carl possesses a reassuring quality.

Despite it being their first meeting, Jefferson found himself confiding in him about a great deal—his confusion over the past few days, the pressure of the election, the fear of his inexplicable loss of memories, and even his complaints about his bodyguard team, all of which were inadvertently revealed in this strangely relaxed state.

This didn't feel like a report; it felt more like a long-lost, heartfelt outpouring.

That's when secrets and things have been hidden and suppressed for too long, and people can't help but confide in each other when they are with Anxin.

During their conversation, lunch was delivered, and Jefferson simply ate while continuing to talk, as if trying to unload the heavy burden on his heart little by little in front of this reassuring young man.

Carl accepted them all quietly.

He never felt that listening to others was a burden—on the contrary, he seemed to have a unique talent for it, and even if he went to church as a priest, he would probably be a tight-lipped and most popular confessor.

During this focused and patient listening, Carl keenly detected many discordant noises.

Jefferson's narrative is riddled with gaps in memory and cracks in logic, like a painting with several key pieces quietly removed. The surface is coherent, but the interior is filled with blanks that only a careful observer can detect.

Those blank spaces may seem small, but when they accumulate, they become so glaring.

After taking a few bites of seafood risotto, Carl glanced at Zech, who was listening intently and clearly also noticed the contradictions, smiled at her, and then, taking advantage of the brief pause in Jefferson's narration when he lowered his head to eat and organize his thoughts, he naturally began to speak:
"Could you tell me about the bodyguard team you've hired?"

"Bodyguard team, do you mean SSI?"

Jefferson paused slightly while eating, put down his fork and recalled: "It was a security company recommended by a friend of mine. Although it was not a large company, it was said to be very professional in all aspects."

I took their advice and hired them, and they've been performing quite well lately. However, there have been occasional unforeseen circumstances that haven't been handled promptly, causing me to postpone several important meetings.

He smiled helplessly: "I know you can't expect too much from Night City, but they do have room for improvement."

'A professional security team?'

Carl casually checked the NCPD database and found that such a security company did exist, and indeed, its recorded staff size was less than a hundred, making it a relatively small security company. The only problem was...
Is this company really that young?
While years of experience cannot directly measure the strength of a security company, it's no wonder that Carl had never heard of the name 'SSI' before and had to temporarily access the database records for a startup that had been established for less than half a year.

After all, in the mercenary business, security companies often transform into the most troublesome opponents during missions, and every noteworthy security company should already be on Karl's list of potential adversaries.

"Can you tell me about the friend who recommended this security team to you? I'm quite curious how he found out about this company."

Carl followed up on this topic, since security teams are often the ones most concerned with the safety of the people around them, and Carl wanted to start by understanding this aspect.

“Of course, my friend is…” Jefferson instinctively tried to answer Carl’s question, but he froze halfway through his sentence as if he had suddenly choked up, and this behavior almost immediately caught the attention of Carl and Zech.

"What's wrong, Mr. Jefferson?"

"I"

Jefferson blinked, his face blank. "I can't remember which friend recommended this company to me."

(End of this chapter)