After several tentative approaches, the European agents have decided their primary contact should be West Fire Grass.

Following a few veiled hints, West Fire Grass also ’noticed’ he was being followed, as planned, then received an anonymous email.

The email contained ’ironclad evidence’ of his theft of corporate assets and smuggling them to Europe!

Now, the IPs of Super Earth and Caldeia are enjoying immense popularity in the global market. It’s not just toys that are hot sellers—the same gear is in high demand on the market, given their decent attributes, durability, and they fetch a good price in underground markets in various countries.

Some wealthy individuals even want the original versions, preferably stripped from dead bodies on the front line, to take home and add to their collections.

As a result, many people head to Night City, hoping to try their luck with Horizon Corporation’s employees.

But what they don’t know is that these items are all personal property of the players. Even if they’re dead, the stuff is still theirs, and they continue to wear it upon revival.

Of course, these things can’t be hidden from the players well-versed with the ins and outs of Night City. Most of them use company-standard gear with a few customizations, and now with someone willing to pay high prices for these items, they’re naturally pleased to sell. A full set of Iraq war-damaged equipment can fetch several thousand euros, and Lin Miao doesn’t bother to intervene.

In fact, under his guidance, these smuggled items also include some exclusive Mewtwo supplied internally by the company, all ’good stuff’ that’s been edited.

Once these items accidentally circulate to Europe, Lin Miao intends to see how they react over there.

However, in others’ eyes, this action is merely smuggling corporate assets.

In this era of corporate power, breaking the law might be pardoned, but violating company rules is unacceptable. If discovered, it typically spells death.

As a member of the ’smuggling group,’ West Fire Grass was naturally ’pinched’ by the European agents over his sore spot.

He had no choice but to follow their instructions and quietly arrive at a bar not under Horizon Corporation’s control, prepared to meet them.

After the gatekeeper disarmed him, deactivated his implants, and scanned his body to confirm he wasn’t carrying any surveillance devices, he was allowed into the private room.

Inside the room sat several white men in civilian clothes, dressed like tourists; one was even wearing flip-flops.

When West Fire Grass entered, they were still chatting and laughing, only stopping when they saw West Fire Grass.

West Fire Grass grinned at them, his naturally aged face further squeezed into a bundle of wrinkles, leaving his eyes as mere slits and his handlebar mustache making it look as if he had six eyebrows.

"Hey, I wonder what the honourable gentlemen... I mean, the adults have called me here for?"

His demeanour was one of servile flattery.

No matter how many times they saw it, the agents still felt an intense dislike toward West Fire Grass’s wrinkled face.

Damn, how can someone look like this?

Is Horizon Corporation blind?

To hire someone like him in complete disregard of corporate image, it’s no wonder they found a breakthrough.

Even though they weren’t Asians, they could still perceive peerless charisma from his face and every move.

One of them could only bow his head and cough, forcing himself not to look at that face, then gestured towards the couch across from him.

West Fire Grass eagerly sat up on the couch, making himself at home. He grabbed a handful of sunflower seeds from the table and stuffed them into his pocket.

Then he asked sheepishly,

"Can I... can I order a drink? I ran all the way here and haven’t had a sip of water. Look, my mouth is so dry, haha."

Devon’s forehead bulged with veins, but he had to suppress his urge to tear off that face for the sake of the mission.

"... As you please."

"Haha, alright, you’re so generous, I won’t be modest then."

West Fire Grass didn’t hesitate and immediately ordered himself the most expensive drink on the menu, which counted as a little indulgence for him.

Players generally wouldn’t waste money in such places; outside, a bottle of the same liquor would cost 50 euros, whereas here, it’s more than 50 euros per glass. They might be wealthy but not fools.

Spending money in such places would be better spent tipping Nina and her crew; at least they felt emotionally satisfied.

Taking a nice sip, he inwardly felt that indeed, the taste of drinking with other people’s money is incredibly sweet.

"I wonder what you gentlemen need me for? No matter if it’s going through hell or high water, if this little servant can do it, then it’s absolutely no problem."

He spoke while shaking his head, his ingratiating smile never leaving his face.

Devon tossed a few chips on the table, which West Fire Grass picked up and read, finding they were all videos of his personal ’smuggling’ activities.

West Fire Grass finally put away his smile, letting the European masters take some brief satisfaction.

"You should know how tragic your fate would be if your superior, Big Boss, finds out about this."

West Fire Grass put on a bitter face,

"This... this... Whatever you gentlemen want, just say the word. As long as this stuff doesn’t get leaked, I’m flexible."

"You..."

The agents’ main target was naturally the source code of Horizon Corporation’s firewall.

More than one company’s hackers have fallen victim to it, and it’s like a chasm that cannot be crossed no matter the efforts.

Plus, with Horizon Corporation’s technology, the intelligence departments of various companies have collectively set their sights on the chief hacker of Horizon Corporation, Takeda Lucina.

One could say they turned Lucy’s past history inside out.

Her mother was a Polish hacker squad member, her father a Huang Ban soldier, and from a young age, she showed remarkable hacker talent.