15. Resolved

"Covered in blood again."

Wiping the blood splashed across her face with the back of her hand, Carl sighed. "When will humans evolve so getting shot in the head doesn't spray blood everywhere?"

"Th-This..."

The middle-aged police officer who had stepped out from behind cover, intending to stop Carl from getting herself killed, now stood dumbfounded seven or eight meters away, unable to believe what he had just witnessed.

Everything had happened too fast for his mind to process.

A cyberpsycho that the Night City Police Department had been completely unable to deal with had been taken down by this young woman?

In a single exchange?!

Overwhelmed by the shock of that fact, when Carl looked over after wiping away the blood, the middle-aged NCPD officer instinctively asked, "Y-You're okay?"

"Of course I'm okay."

The Monomolecular Wire retracted, and Qianxin had already been tucked at her waist. After glancing at the middle-aged officer, Carl crouched down and began searching the cyberpsycho's pockets.

"What are you doing?"

Seeing Carl apparently doing something, the middle-aged officer came closer and asked curiously.

"Looking for money. What else?"

Had this NCPD officer never searched a corpse before?

After a practiced search, Carl discovered that this cyberpsycho was surprisingly poor. He did not even have a single Eurodollar on him.

"What's this?"

Feeling her fingertips touch something flat, Carl pulled the object from the cyberpsycho's coat and found that it was a chip.

A chip?

Casually flipping it into her sleeve without leaving a trace, Carl stood up. Looking at the officer, who had approached while she had been searching, she pointed at the corpse on the ground and asked:

"How much was his bounty? I remember the NCPD put one out for him yesterday. I've taken him down now, so this job can be settled."

"Uh..."

The middle-aged officer had noticed Carl's hand movement a little, but he did not pay much attention to it. He gestured to the other NCPD officers, who were still on guard, to signal that all was safe. Once he confirmed that Carl was not dangerous, he began checking the NCPD bounty list.

"Patrick Bell. Bounty: ten thousand Eurodollars. Dead or alive."

"Only ten thousand?"

Hearing Carl's dissatisfaction, the middle-aged officer could now tell that this young woman was most likely a mercenary.

Only mercenaries would value money over their lives and care only about the bounty amount.

Perhaps because it was rare to see such a friendly-looking young mercenary, and because she had saved his life to some extent just now, the middle-aged officer actually explained:

"He was only put on the bounty list not long ago, and this is just the initial bounty issued after he went on the run. If you wait a few more days, it should go up."

"How much would it go up by?"

"Based on my past experience..."

The middle-aged officer thought about it. A cyberpsycho with a Dynalar Sandevistan Mk.1, Mantis Blades, and a considerable amount of Subdermal Cybernetics—if he completed another killing spree and escaped before the Psycho Squad arrived this time...

"It might reach over a hundred thousand Eurodollars."

"That much?"

Carl glanced regretfully at the corpse on the ground. "Sounds like he had far more room to appreciate than Eurodollars themselves."

"The Dynalar Sandevistan Mk.1 alone would cost seventy-five thousand Eurodollars new, let alone the Mantis Blades, Subdermal Cybernetics, and other recoverable implants."

At the middle-aged officer's words, Carl's gaze refocused on the corpse. "Then can I..."

"The NCPD has to take this body back. This wanted criminal was an Arasaka Corporation security officer. Under the contract he signed while alive, all of his cyberware, personal savings, and everything else belong to Arasaka Corporation."

Knowing what Carl was thinking, the middle-aged officer helplessly explained why it was impossible.

"Signing terms while alive that strip you of everything after death. That really has the stench of a corporation."

Carl was not surprised that an Arasaka Corporation security officer had used another company's Sandevistan. The reason was simple: Arasaka Corporation did not have its own Sandevistan model. They might have been developing one in secret, but at least none had reached the market yet.

All that could be said was that Sandevistans truly were not something ordinary people could afford. Most people able to use one were probably like this cyberpsycho, having signed away all ownership rights after death while still alive.

"Looks like there's nothing left for me here."

Watching NCPD officers gradually gather around again and use equipment to set up light-based perimeter barriers around the area, Carl asked the middle-aged officer, "What's your name? Let's exchange contact information."

"For the bounty transfer afterward? Don't worry, it'll arrive by this afternoon at the latest."

The middle-aged officer promptly sent Carl his account details and relevant note information. As Carl received the message, she also learned his name.

Johnson. A standard America name.

"I'll be going then, Mr. Johnson. Contact me if there's anything like this in the future. I'm happy to help the NCPD handle certain matters—as long as the pay is enough."

Carl had kept an eye on Johnson out of the corner of her eye during the fight, so she had seen him try to rush over and help her. Whether it had been out of duty or conscience, Carl silently remembered that attempt to assist her. That was why she addressed him respectfully as "Mr."

"It's been a long time since anyone called me that so respectfully."

That was not a word one could casually hear on the streets.

Watching Carl wave goodbye and leave, Johnson looked at her retreating figure and smiled. "Looks like there are still things in this city worth hoping for."

"Police Sergeant Johnson, the incident report needs your signature."

"Oh, I'll be right there."

"Patrick was taken care of?"

Ten minutes later, someone in an Arasaka Corporation special strike team received news concerning Patrick.

However, he merely glanced over the report before tossing it aside.

"I thought that since you came from the Tiger Claws like I did, you could become a decent subordinate. It seems you were nothing special after all."

The man who received the news about Patrick quickly reviewed another file in his mind.

Volunteers for experiments involving a self-developed Sandevistan...