Chapter 6
Beauty, Team Up with Me!

Bang!

Without giving Lucy a chance to resist, Jiang Heng forcefully pinned her against the wall with a single, swift movement. He held her wrist, pressing her against the train compartment, while using his other hand to brace himself against the wall, preventing her from escaping.

“What are you doing?!”

Lucy, her wrist throbbing in pain, glared at Jiang Heng, who was mere inches away, and demanded an explanation.

“Beauty, wouldn’t you want to avoid your chip theft being exposed?”

Jiang Heng chuckled, countering her question with one of his own.

“Huh?”

Lucy was taken aback by his statement, momentarily stunned.

Jiang Heng: “I saw it all, you’ve been stealing chips the entire time.”

Hearing this, Lucy furrowed her brow, and retorted: “So, are you planning on handing me over to the NCPD in exchange for some bounty and a ‘Good Citizen’ badge?”

“Hmm, that’s not a bad idea.”

Jiang Heng retracted the hand he had braced against the wall, stroking his chin as if deep in thought.

“You!!”

Seeing this, Lucy’s anxiety surged. She had merely said it casually!

It wasn’t that Lucy feared the NCPD. Even if Jiang Heng had reported her, the NCPD wouldn’t bother with such a trivial matter. But Lucy worried that her actions would attract the attention of the Arasaka Corporation.

“Hehehe, just kidding. No need to worry, okay?” Seeing Lucy’s panic, Jiang Heng reassured her with a smile.

“What exactly are you trying to do?!” Hearing this, Lucy was furious, her teeth gritted as she glared at him.

“Alright, enough with the idle chatter. Let’s get down to business. You’re a hacker, right?” Jiang Heng dropped his playful tone, adopting a serious expression as he asked.

“What’s it to you?” Hearing his question, Lucy was curious about what Jiang Heng wanted.

Jiang Heng stated directly: “If you’re a hacker with decent skills, I’d like to invite you to join my mercenary squad. I’m in need of a hacker partner right now.”

Actually, inviting Lucy to join was an impulsive decision for Jiang Heng. But over the past month, he had encountered some difficulties while on missions due to his lack of hacking skills.

In a cyberpunk world, hackers are undoubtedly among the most powerful, both in games and reality. This is because most people in this world have cybernetic implants and brain-computer interfaces, and as long as there are brain-computer interfaces, hackers can invade people’s minds, turning them into their personal gardens to roam as they please.

Of course, this is only possible with sufficient hacking skills.

However, against someone like Jiang Heng, who was a pure human with no cybernetic implants or brain-computer interfaces, hackers’ methods would become ineffective.

If Jiang Heng had any cybernetic implants on him, he probably would have been hacked and fried by Lucy by now.

Hearing Jiang Heng’s invitation to join his team, Lucy was taken aback once more. She stared at Jiang Heng with a peculiar look in her eyes.

Is this guy’s brain alright? Inviting a complete stranger to be his partner? And can a person who has no cybernetic implants truly become a mercenary?

Lucy, of course, didn’t know that Jiang Heng actually knew her very well, and that he possessed an advantage.

“Hey, why aren’t you saying anything? Just answer, yes or no.” Seeing Lucy’s long silence, Jiang Heng couldn’t help but urge her.

“You let go of me first!”

“Uh, sorry, I forgot.” Jiang Heng released Lucy’s wrist.

Rubbing her wrist, Lucy couldn’t help but grumble softly: “You jerk, you have absolutely no idea about treating a lady with care.”

Jiang Heng defended himself: “Your hand is equipped with polymer threads, right? It shouldn’t be that easy to hurt, right?”

“You can tell I have polymer threads installed in my hand?” Lucy was quite surprised.

“Of course, I’m not blind.”

“Forget it, let’s not dwell on that. Just tell me why you invited me to join your squad. And what benefits would I get by joining your squad?” Lucy didn’t intend to get bogged down in the polymer threads topic.

“Ahem, let me introduce myself. My name is Jiang Heng, I’m a mercenary. And I know Rogue, I get most of my jobs through her. You know Rogue, right?”

“Of course, the Queen of the Afterlife, Night City’s legendary middleman. I know her. But do you really know Rogue?” Lucy asked with a hint of skepticism in her eyes.

“Why would I lie to you? If you don’t believe me, you can go ask around at the Afterlife yourself. Although I haven’t been a mercenary for long, I’ve made a name for myself in the past month. Just ask around, you’ll find out. I have connections with Rogue, and the jobs I get through her have generous pay. You’d definitely make a lot more by following me than by stealing second-hand chips and buying stuff. It’s much easier too.”

“Alright, then let me check you out first before I decide whether I want to join or not.” Lucy agreed casually.

“No problem, so, beauty, let’s exchange contact information.” Jiang Heng immediately pulled out his phone.

“…” Seeing Jiang Heng’s phone, Lucy hesitated for a moment.

Although phones hadn’t been completely eliminated, it was true that not many people used them anymore.

But then, Lucy still exchanged contact information with Jiang Heng.

“By the way, beauty, I still don’t know your name.” After saving Lucy’s contact information, Jiang Heng asked her.

“My name is Lucy.”