Cyberpunk: 2075.

Chapter 418 31. Feeling
"What do you think of him?"

After the fat body disappeared into the closing elevator door, Arasakaze Nobuyuki turned to look at Carl and asked for his opinion.

"I?"

He didn't quite understand why Arasakase Nobuyuki asked for his opinion, but Carl, who had listened to the entire conversation between the two of them, still made his own assessment: "This is a very cunning guy."

"Cunning. Indeed."

Arasakaze Nobuyuki nodded slightly.

"Or rather, it's watertight. Before I showed my full support, I was very careful about any of my opinions and suggestions. I would never make a bet just because of a few vague words. My words were full of support and compliments, but in reality, I didn't intend to reveal any intention of helping at all."

Arasakaze Nobuo said: "He deserves his position as mayor, and it is foreseeable that he will be able to hold this position firmly."

"Unless something unexpected happens."

Karl looked at the jumping numbers on the elevator: “But smart people should rarely encounter accidents.”

"Maybe it's because they are too smart that something unexpected happens."

Arasakase Nobuyuki obviously knew something special about Lucius Lane, but he had no intention of telling Cardo.

Just now, Arasakase Nobuyuki and Lucius Lane discussed some bills regarding regulating the entry of weapons into Night City.

The so-called controlled weapons, including the RPG held by Carl and others, are high-threat weapons that are not allowed to appear in Night City openly. They do not include ACPA and armored vehicles, which are considered military weapons. Although these weapons are privately circulated among various forces in Night City, according to regulations, they are also not allowed to be used publicly.

Arasakase Nobuyuki hopes to represent his hawkish stance and discuss with Mayor Lucius Lane the possibility of a modest relaxation of these bills.

After all, for the hawks in Arasaka who are keen on using a straightforward style to conflict with other companies and use violence to intensify conflicts to gain benefits, if the control of high-threat weapons in Night City can be relaxed, then they can do more.

But Lucius Lane was very cunning. Although he said a lot of words to support Arasakase Nobuo's actions, he always grasped a key point in the most core content.

He wanted to know what identity Arasakase Nobuyuki represented.

Is he simply an Arasaka internal staff member, or a representative of Arasaka?

In Lucius Lane's opinion, Arasakase Nobuo was like a young man waving a useless piece of toilet paper. Even at his age, his political skills were too immature. It was ridiculous to think that he could do something as the mayor of Night City with just a few words and a few unfulfilled promises.

But Lucius Ryan never understood that what Arasakaze Nobuki talked about with him was never politics, but an internal loyalty test. Lucius Ryan had forgotten his identity and who was behind him to have such a position. He really regarded himself as the mayor who could take charge of the entire Night City and no longer respected his past supporters.

He humbly obeys Arasaka when he is needed, and becomes cunning when he is not needed. He shows this attitude towards the members of the Arasaka family. This "smart man" is approaching an unexpected end.

From what Arasakase Nobuyuki knew, Lucius Lane had secretly come into contact with military technology, and there was no need to say much about what he wanted to do.

In the past, in order to resist military technology, he asked for help from Arasaka without hesitation. After his position was consolidated and Arasaka made him feel threatened, he turned around and ran back to military technology. He didn't really think that he was the only smart person who could have the best of both worlds.

Next year, 2077, will be the year of the mayoral election. It is still uncertain whether Lucius Lane will still be the mayor, or whether he will still be alive at that time.

Thinking of this, Arasakase Nobuyuki looked at Carl who was standing aside.

Compared to the mayor whose outcome was already determined in this meeting, Arasakase Nobuyuki was actually more interested in and observing Carl.

Hiring Carl was not a sudden idea, nor was it a trust without reason. Although Arasakase Nobuo suffered a lot of losses in Night City due to internal cleansing, there were still people who could serve as his guards. These people were obviously more professional and responsible in prevention and protection than mercenary teams like Carl's team. The reason why Arasakase Nobuo chose to hire Carl's team in the first place was just a sudden idea because of a piece of news.

Someone recommended Carl and others to Arasakase Nobuo and said that they could be trusted. That person happened to be one of the few people that Arasakase Nobuo trusted.

Facts have proved that Carl's team is indeed a qualified and excellent team, especially Carl. The food he cooked is quite to Arasakase Nobuyuki's taste. During a day of contact, Arasakase Nobuyuki also saw Carl's temperament.

Having grown to this age, Arasakase Nobuo still has some ability to judge people, or in other words, his talent in this area can even be compared to his 'father' Arasaka Saburo, who is well versed in human nature. After all, not everyone can gather a group of die-hards who will fight against Arasaka and never compromise on the streets when they are young. In Arasakase Nobuo's eyes, Carl is like an alien from the past who is not infected by the current era.

He did not have the energy that made Night City shine like brilliant fireworks but could disappear at any time, and therefore bloom madly. He was very casual, and his words were not extremely humble, but people could feel that he really was calling him that from the bottom of his heart, respecting and treating him that way, and a completely sincere heart was emerging.

Sincerity, this word which is somewhat unfamiliar nowadays, when it popped up in Arasakase Nobuo's mind, he finally understood why he could chat with Carl.

When a person feels that another person treats him or her sincerely - whether it is politeness, respect or verbal communication, it all shows sincerity, for those who are accustomed to hypocrisy and disguise, how can they not naturally have a good impression of people like Carl?
People like Lucius Lane who always wear masks are the norm in today's world.

Looking at Carl, who was so casual as to fry French fries in the room and asked himself what flavor he wanted, Arasakase Nobuyuki felt that Carl might be someone who could be won over.

I feel like if I tell him my thoughts, he might agree with me.
However, due to his inner caution, Arasakase Nobuyuki, who had only known Carl for two days, did not say much. He just told Karl his taste.

"Just sprinkle salt and pepper on it."

(End of this chapter)