Chapter 413 - 385: The Second Rule of the Mercenary

[Regina, Burger King, I know you’ve already done your best... maybe your best, but we both know, this time it’s no good.]

[Regina, Nadia was a good person. She took the initiative to participate in the cyberpsychosis research project and continued to work in the field to collect their data firsthand.]

[Regina, in the end, she died, and her boyfriend died too.]

[Regina, we could have prevented the tragedy.]

No one could leave Night City, unless lying in a body bag.

Lille wasn’t the type who would repeatedly persuade others to live just because life was everything, even though it might actually be true.

This was essentially a philosophical question: Past you, present you, and future you, if you viewed them as different people, should you restrict the free will of present you for the sake of the others?

Even if Kaneke survived, he could no longer be a vibrant mercenary or a Trauma Team member.

His nerves suffered irreversible damage, just like other cyberpsychosis cases Lille had seen, maybe even worse.

All that awaited him was a lifetime of being unable to use high-power prosthetics and neural components.

To be honest, yes, Kantao or some other big companies might value his experience and try to save him.

But the possibility was extremely slim.

Besides, right now, Kaneke just wanted to die; a small act of revenge using death was the last thing he could do.

The bullet shattered Si Anweisitan’s chip, ending Kaneke’s life.

[V, I thought you would persuade him to live and hand him over to Regina.]

[Jack, I support you, mano. If we sent him back, I can’t imagine how broken he’d be seeing Trauma Team using him for profit again, helplessly.]

[V, I support you too!]

Actually, at a different time, Lille might have done what V said. He couldn’t be sure.

After all, knowing Regina’s special request related to Kantao, taking out Kaneke would mean putting Kantao at a disadvantage.

Sending Kaneke over could also justify to himself that he was saving him, with no psychological pressure, and he could earn another sum from Kantao—

But this time, Lille chose not to do that.

He opened the door, and V and Jack remained calm, standing on guard near the window.

But David fell into deep thought again.

To be precise, it was Lille who actually killed Kaneke; his life or death depended on just a word from Lille.

Why didn’t Lille choose to save this cyberpsychosis victim this time?

Kaneke’s corpse, wrapped in a body shroud, was carried away by two Kantao employees. The suited man in charge got into the car, and before leaving, said with a malicious look:

"For all the talk of professionalism, turns out you’re just trash. Can’t even save a vegetable.

Your money’s gone, go eat shit!"

The car window rolled up, and the vehicle roared away.

V was so furious she almost grabbed Lille for a fight!

"That prick is so arrogant! Who does he think he is? The CEO of Kantao?"

"It’s not like it’s the first time you’ve seen a corporate dog."

Kantao employees were corporate dogs, after all.

Essentially, they’re no different from Arasaka employees, Military Science employees, or the like, just a different breed.

When you have something they need, you have a chance to communicate equally and progress.

When you don’t have what they need...

Everyone works for money, but mercenaries are stray dogs at most. How could house dogs respect stray dogs?

Lille patted David, who was standing by the doorframe. "Good job this time. I’ve got a batch of unused engines and mod parts. Didn’t you want to try modifying your van?

I’ll give you an address, go pick up the stuff, and fix your van."

David snapped out of it and instead asked a question, "Why... why did you choose to kill him? At times like this, shouldn’t you persuade him to live?

Just like how you saved other cyberpsychosis victims."

Lille thought for a moment and said, "Some say life is unfair from the moment of birth, but in reality, everyone comes into this world equally without choice.

Being born is just a trivial accident in this world, without any choice involved.

But the worst part is not that we can’t choose our birth, it’s that we can’t choose how to die."

If they had the choice, most people would want to close their eyes in contentment and leave this world without regrets.

Some aim for this, fantasizing about dying amid reluctant gazes...

But most people fall along this path.

Dying suddenly at their workstations, killed by envious colleagues, targeted and assassinated by competitors, or handled by the company due to failure...

Corporate dogs have many ways to die, and they’re usually like this, but no corporate dog wants to die this way.

Lille watched as the black armored vehicle carrying Kaneke’s now useless corpse drove away, then continued:

"Life’s beginning is an accident, written by others. You have no choice.

But death is the final period of life. If even the end is written by others...

That would make life a bad joke, clumsy and pathetic.

Kaneke wanted to end it this way, so I helped him.

Do you know why I never get mad at corporate dogs? Because 99.9 percent of them end up as jokes."

"But mercenaries work for money too..."

Lille shook his head: "If that’s what you think, then you really are an idiot. Think again."

David forced an embarrassed smile, then bid Lille goodbye and got into his car.

Gripping the steering wheel, he encouraged himself:

Right, he was a mercenary, but not just for money. The money could send Lucy to the Moon, it could buy his mom a better place.

As for himself, this time even though there’s no money, he could get a new batch of mod parts from the Big Brother for his van.

Not bad!

"Hey! David! Let’s grab a drink!" Mann popped his head out of the front car’s window.

"Sure thing!"

The car started up, and David glanced at Lucy in the passenger seat, smiling: "Want to join us?"

Lucy seemed preoccupied, still staring at Lille who had just entered the church.

"Alright... I actually had something to talk to you about..."

"We’ll talk when we get there—how much more do you need?"

"It’s important..."

"What’s more important than going to the Moon? You should only be about forty thousand short now, right?"

"What about your own ticket?!"

"We can save up for yours first."

...

"Mercenary Code Rule Number Two: No one wants to die unexpectedly, ending their life like a joke—think about the car, guns, prosthetics, family... everything you love.

So be cautious, be cautious in every aspect, especially when taking on contracts."

Jack scribbled this down in a small booklet.

Lille happened to see this and said, somewhat surprised, "Your summarizing skills aren’t bad."

"Actually, I had this thought a long time ago. Just when you said it, I had content to work with." Jack proudly put away the booklet. "If it were me, I’d definitely never become a corporate dog!

Now I can finally say this to my mom, with reason and evidence. She’ll surely be convinced..."

His summary was quite on point. That was pretty much the gist of it.

V pursed her lips: She suddenly thought it might actually be interesting to write such a book. It would perfectly satisfy her need to show off.

Too bad Jack already had the idea; she couldn’t just steal her brother’s business, right?

Maybe she could think of some content to add, then sign her name... it’s worth considering...

"Little Li Zi!" V pulled Lille over. "If you sneak off again next time..."

"I won’t, sis. Really won’t."

Lille shook his head firmly.

The matter with the AI was significant, as evidenced by Woolley’s firepower this time. David and the others could only assist; if it were just them, there’d be heavy casualties.

First, they needed to wrap up the Father’s contract.