Cyberpunk: 2075.

Chapter 924, Section 134: Not Stupid
I can't remember which friend recommended the security company.
Carl instantly realized that he seemed to have found the key point.

This is so abnormal.

Security teams are matters of life and death, so their selection must be carefully considered. As the most crucial link of trust, how could the recommender so easily disappear from memory?
Unless, from the outset, this memory of 'friend's recommendation' was a false impression artificially implanted, leading Jefferson Peralez to subconsciously believe that the security team could be trusted, thus ignoring the issues related to the recommender.

This is far more terrifying than simple forgetting. There are many ways to erase memories. For example, professional hackers often target the hippocampus, causing people to forget certain memories in a short period of time.

Carl can do this trick too, but forgetting a memory and modifying a memory are two different concepts. The former is simply deletion, while the latter is nothing short of messing around in the brain.

Carl seemed to understand why Jefferson Perales had made memory errors and omissions.

If Jefferson's brain had been tampered with, then all his confused, contradictory, and missing memories would make sense.

This alarming conclusion wasn't something Carl had come up with.

Across from Carl at the dining table, Zechi's fork clattered onto her plate, and her face instantly turned pale. She had clearly come to the same conclusion from her father's extremely unnatural memory gap.

Jefferson himself shuddered. He looked down at his trembling hands and seemed to realize for the first time that even such an important memory as 'who recommended the bodyguard' could disappear into thin air. So how much 'cognition' in his mind was truly real?
"It seems we've found the problem."

Carl leisurely scooped up a spoonful of cream soup, the savory flavor spreading across his tongue, making him squint his eyes with satisfaction. After swallowing the soup, he calmly said, "Mr. Jefferson, it was a smart choice for you to only bring Miss Zechi to see me today. Your security team is clearly problematic."

"Huhu."

Just as Carl was speaking, Jefferson suddenly began to gasp for breath.

The moment he realized that even his personal security team could be infiltrated, a chilling, suffocating feeling gripped his throat, forcing him to greedily swallow air like a drowning person.

If even the protective net closest to him is riddled with holes, how long has he struggled within this invisible giant net? Think carefully: in the past, weren't every "unexpected delay" and every "last-minute adjustment" by the security team actually aimed at him?
He was completely unaware of this, and just moments ago he was preparing to go back alone to face everything.
If Mr. KK hadn't revealed all this, the day he returned might have truly been the last day of his current self-awareness.

"When you're looking back, do you mind if I give you a call, Jefferson?"

Carl gestured to Jefferson with his phone, and Jefferson, still reeling from the unbelievable revelation of the truth, nodded unconsciously.

After nodding to Zechi to indicate that she should take good care of her father, Carl got up and left the signal jamming zone he had set up, heading to the kitchen.

While making the call, he apologized to the shop owners, whom he already knew well: "I'm sorry, something might happen. It looks like I'll have to book the whole shop for today, and there might be some damage that will require renovations. You should go hide in the basement for a while."

"It seems something big has happened."

The couple, who were familiar with KK and had experienced similar situations before, were clearly quite experienced in dealing with it. They remained calm and did not see anything wrong with it.

"Mr. KK, you contributed part of the funds to this shop, so it's not a big deal if it gets damaged. But Mr. KK, please be careful."

"Don't worry, I've already called for backup." Carl nodded and gestured to his phone, which was already connected. "Although I can't let the NCPD do this kind of side job, I still have other professionals under my command. I've already contacted them. You should go down and hide as soon as possible."

At Carl's suggestion, the couple nodded and quickly hid in the basement connected to the kitchen.

This was a newly built structure after the restaurant was rebuilt. Although Night City's laws have very strict regulations on the construction of basements in the city center, as strict as they are, a basement space can still be built if you pull some strings and make sure it won't affect the ground structure. This became the couple's temporary refuge.

Carl's call was short; he returned not long after Jefferson Perales had composed himself.

Carl calmly sat back down, not rushing to explain, but first finishing the remaining food on his plate before wiping his mouth with a napkin:

“I suggest you change your security team. Also—you and Miss Zechi had better finish this meal properly. It might be hard to have such a proper meal again for a while.”

"What does this mean, Mr. KK?"

Although Jefferson didn't understand why, he honestly followed his daughter's lead and ate faster.

“To put it simply,” Carl picked up his water glass, “if your security team really has problems, just imagine: when you, the person who should be ‘protected’—or rather, monitored—suddenly disappear with your daughter, how will they react?”

Jefferson Peralez understood instantly.

After quickly finishing his food, he said, "Looking for my trail?"

"That's something they'll definitely do, and I think a security team that's audacious enough to target a mayoral candidate must be backed by some powerful force. Hacking into street cameras to find you, Mr. Jefferson, wouldn't be difficult for them, in other words..."

Hearing faint sounds coming from outside, Karl said, "They've probably already arrived in the vicinity."

"This"

Jefferson Perales stared wide-eyed in disbelief: "This is downtown, and they're so sure about me?"

"It's perfectly normal for them to take action in the city center. You seem to have experienced too little. As for whether you actually discovered it or not, it doesn't matter. As long as they take you back, you might forget about it."

Carl stood up. "You should be glad you were cautious, Mr. Jefferson—or thank me, because your channels of communication with me were secure enough, and because I disguised myself today, they didn't know who you were meeting. Otherwise..."

"otherwise?"

"Otherwise, they wouldn't have been foolish enough to come up to me."

The restaurant's bulletproof glass opened instantly, revealing several black luxury vans parked next to the restaurant in front of Carl.

(End of this chapter)