Chapter 12
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The pale golden rays of the rising sun shimmered across the city skyline.
Tang Yu, clad in a crisp suit, was riding a hover train on his way to the Santo Domingo Valley District. The carriage was not crowded, but he still chose a seat near the door for the convenience of gazing out at the scenery.
At the same time, he was remotely handling some of Arasaka's daily affairs through a portable communicator.
Suddenly, Arthur Jenkins, the Deputy Director of Arasaka's Counterintelligence Division, called him. Tang Yu surmised that Jenkins was probably enquiring about the search for a certain cybernetic body, and the urgency suggested there might be new intelligence. So, he answered the call.
Jenkins: "Tang, have you found any leads on that military-grade Steiner-Bisley cybernetic body?"
Tang Yu, caught off guard, denied: "Still investigating. I used some informants to gather basic information, and so far, no one's trading this model on the black market or through public channels."
Jenkins: "Any clues from the body of that cyberpsycho?"
Tang Yu: "The cybernetics on the corpse were taken before it arrived at NCPD. Since it's not up for trade on the black market, it's likely going through a middleman. I'll have my informants keep digging."
Jenkins: "Well, you need to hurry. There's word that the Special Operations Division has already gone through our R&D head, Tanaka, wanting to take over the job. God knows why that smug bastard suddenly wants in on this."
Inside, Tang Yu sneered. Carter had obviously leaked the information to Susan Abernathy.
Departments making requests for tasks to senior management and the decisions on distributions to various branches wasn't a process shrouded in secrecy.
Counterintelligence and Special Operations often worked on many of the same tasks, with cooperation generally outweighing the competition. However, due to conflicts between the heads of these two divisions, the competition had intensified.
Abernathy's direct approach to R&D Division's head Tanaka was clearly a move to undermine Jenkins and himself, not the entire Counterintelligence Division, similar to when she tried to claim credit for the border operation.
Jenkins continued: "Tanaka is a direct report to Saburo Arasaka, and Abernathy is obviously trying to curry favor, asserting her position. With the current instability in the company due to Arasaka family disputes, everyone on the board is just watching and waiting. We need to keep our footing steady as well."
Tang Yu was well aware of the internal strife within the Arasaka family. In his time, he had incited Arasaka Rei against his own father.
From his perspective, Arasaka Rei was still no match for Saburo Arasaka.
He replied to his boss Jenkins with composure, "Understood. I'll speed up the search."
After hanging up, Tang Yu kept his knowledge about the cybernetic body to himself for safety reasons.
Before the trap could spring on the rat, he would continue to mask his own presence and wait for an opportunity.
Tang Yu pocketed his communicator and casually observed the scenery outside as usual, but his peripheral vision inadvertently caught onto a striking ice-blue figure in the carriage.
He glanced over slightly.
The owner of that gleaming figure was a silver-haired young girl, agile as a cat, with silver bob hair shimmering ice blue and pallid crimson in the sunlight.
What really captivated Tang Yu wasn't her stature but her adept and superior chip-swapping skills.
In his past life, as a habitual criminal, he routinely engaged in similar activities with Jackie and a girl named V, yet someone of her skill level was incredibly rare.
The silver-haired girl weaved through the carriage, selecting her targets, effortlessly stealing their neural socket chips from their necks.
The passengers whose chips had been stolen were barely aware, indicating her proficiency as a netrunner.
Tang Yu had no intention of interfering with her petty thievery, as long as she didn't attempt to steal from him.
His body had not undergone any cybernetic enhancements; all the tech he used was prototype wearable equipment, much more expensive than most communication chips or cybernetic bodies available on the market.
Tang Yu noticed the silver-haired girl's targets were usually office workers dressed up in suits like him, even recognizing some as Arasaka employees, clearly signifying a purpose behind her actions.
"A hacker of no small skill, clearly experienced."
"Seems to be a cyberpunk with a grudge against the corps."
After a brief observation, Tang Yu withdrew his attention.
To a cyberpunk bold enough to take on the corporations, Tang Yu felt nothing but sympathy, despite currently wearing the skin of a corporate lapdog. He still needed this guise for other purposes.
Suddenly, Tang Yu keenly sensed a pair of dextrous fingers slip into his pocket and snatch the chip from his communicator.
Anticipating this, Tang Yu swiveled to his right, catching the silver-haired girl's slender wrist in a swift motion—a burglar caught red-handed!
Just as she pocketed the chip, intending to leave unnoticed, she found her hand firmly gripped.
She frowned and turned around, her shocked gaze colliding with his for the first time.
Only then did Tang Yu get a clear view of the silver-haired girl's features.
Delicate facial tattoos, neon hues on her eyes and lips, and red line decor that gave her an aura of mystery and defiance.
Quickly, the girl realized her predicament, and with a blend of indignation and embarrassment at her failure, she tried to break free, but Tang Yu's grip did not allow it.
With calmness in his eyes, Tang Yu said, "You know this wasn't a good choice."
The silver-haired girl defiantly retorted, "What do you want?"
At that moment, Tang Yu noticed that the suit-wearing passengers who had their chips stolen had alerted train security.
The station authorities always took the concerns of corporate employees seriously, especially when those employees belonged to Arasaka.
The silver-haired girl's successful heists had not gone unnoticed by the security personnel in uniform.
They started heading toward Tang Yu, hands gripping the holsters at their waists. At least six security guards were closing in, along with several corporate employees.
The girl also noted the situation; according to her original plan, she should have already left by using the commotion at the train stop. Caught as she was, fleeing wasn't an option—unless she was willing to fight back.
The next stop was approaching fast, and the situation grew tense.
The fate of the silver-haired girl now lay in Tang Yu's hands. He could let her escape or hand her over to the train security.
He knew a cyberpunk like this girl must carry deep-seated secrets that had driven her to oppose the corporations.
The hover train glided through towering buildings, the carriage briefly plunged into darkness before being lit again.
Amid the interplay of light and shadow, her silvery white hair took on the changing hues of ice blue and light pink, creating a neon-like illusory haze.
"Ding-dong, the train has reached the station, next stop heading towards..."The metallic gates of the train slid open automatically.
Yet the silver-haired girl's wrist remained firmly grasped.
The two kept their gazes locked tight on each other.
Indulging in one final moment of hesitation...