Chapter 8: Swindling the Chip

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“Why do you keep staring at that old busted rifle of yours?” Lin Yue paused, his hand resting on the sniper rifle. “How did you see that?”

Hamster: “……”

“Oh, right, I forgot all the cameras here are hooked directly into your brain.” Lin Yue scratched his head. The solid weight of a real weapon can’t be replicated by any model; what’s wrong with feeling it?

Even though he hadn’t fired a single shot yet.

But then again—

Ugh!

Is an intelligence score of 4 really that obvious?

“Seriously, man, just be straight with me—have you ever actually fought for your life? Or at least gotten into a firefight?”

Hamster was growing more convinced that the guy in front of him was unreliable. That look in his eyes clearly showed he’d never seen the real world. How could he trust him?

“We were escorting cargo, the truck exploded, I got thrown out—and then it was racing with the crew, dodging missiles, and firing a few bursts so the mercenaries across the way didn’t even look up. Does that count?”

“Besides, I came out of the Phantom Dogs.”

Lin Yue shot back with no patience.

“Alright, impressive! I’ll keep watching the hacker across the way.”

Hamster resumed his work in cyberspace.

Lin Yue rubbed his chin, pondering whether Mann Squad’s hacker contingent was just one person, or Qi Wei? Or maybe the silver-haired girl with the colorful tips?

All his forgetfulness was to blame—he hadn’t caught up on this squad’s formation history before reincarnating.

Based on his previous world knowledge and impressions, 2075 probably didn’t include Lucy; it was more likely there’d be an extra Qi Wei.

A mature, commanding woman.

Lin Yue shook his head. He had no idea how this cyberpunk squad planned to deal with him and Hamster next.

He was really on edge.

This was a tech sniper rifle, with charged penetration. Lin Yue looked at the trigger and wanted to know whether the charge built up while holding down the trigger, or during the pressing action.

This was crucial—after all, the shot happened within a single second.

It’d be great to try firing it right here, but the gun shop owner was terrified Lin Yue’s big rifle would pierce the target and concrete walls, refusing to let him test it.

As for firing on the street, the Phantom Dogs’ external armored suits would turn him into Swiss cheese.

The original owner of Lin Yue’s body had only handled rifles and pistols before, and wasn’t a sniper in the Phantom Dogs military camp.

Hey! Speaking of which, there was a way to let himself fire a few shots.

Lin Yue’s eyes lit up.

“Hamster, got a question for you.”

“Hmm?” Hamster was still busy and hummed nonchalantly.

“This tech sniper rifle—does it charge while pulling the trigger, or after the trigger is fully pressed?”

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Dead silence.

Only the steady beeps and hums of servers and devices filled the air.

“You kidding me, man?”

Lin Yue thought seriously for a moment. “Nope.”

Hamster, still glued to the hacker chair since they arrived, sat up, pulling the network cable from behind his neck. His modified artificial eye gleamed like the “Infinite Sword Saint’s” eyes, mouth wide open.

“You’re freaking kidding me!”

Lin Yue looked innocent. “I can use rifles in the Phantom Dogs. What’s wrong with asking? Don’t worry, my aim’s spot on.”

“Do you even know why Hans gave you a sniper rifle?”

Lin Yue nodded. “Yeah, because snipers can hold off multiple enemies, buy time!”

“And you know you can’t use the gun properly? Damn it! Why the hell would Hans trust you with a sniper rifle then?”

Lin Yue watched Hamster pacing back and forth, shouting in frustration.

This guy’s emotions were definitely unstable.

If anyone was going to get shot, it’d be him first.

“Calm down, man!” Hamster muttered to himself, like he was trying to soothe his nerves.

What an insecure guy. Lin Yue shook his head slowly and said, “Your turrets outside are from Zeta Tech, right? And given your personality, you must have quite a few Zeta turrets in the backyard too, right? That means I’m the one getting shot first outside. What are you so scared of? Even if I get killed, you’ll still have the Phantom Dogs coming.”

Lin Yue was just asking a question, but this guy was way overreacting.

“You don’t get it! The point is you have to stay alive, got it, idiot?” Hamster snapped.

“But you still have to deal with the hacker across from us.”

Lin Yue replied flatly.

“Fine, fine, you’re awesome!” Hamster nodded, wearing a ‘you win’ expression.

A chip flew out from Hamster’s hand, and Lin Yue quickly caught it.

“This is military-grade tech. I modified it with Arasaka’s tech. Inside are simulated records of various sniper behavioral metrics, plus you can learn through the training mode—”

“Damn it, I knew Hans that old bastard had ill intentions!”

Hamster knew full well that what he’d swallowed had come back up.

The chip in Lin Yue’s hand felt like a trophy. Hamster, angry, handed it over and flopped back into the hacker chair, refusing to communicate further.

[Incoming call: Mr. Hans]

“Young man, you should be at my friend’s place by now?”

Lin Yue nodded. “Already there, and I got the chip while I was at it.”

Hamster clenched his fists in the hacker chair.

Hans sounded surprised:

“That miser took my prized possession for a steal, said he’d study it for a few days. It’s been months with no word.”

“I hadn’t held out much hope, but you really got it back! That’s thanks to you. Just bring it to me when you can.”

“Hansen has the Phantom Dogs patrol nearby, all part of the act—best to keep things peaceful; if they get fake intel, they’ll give up.”

Lin Yue nodded.

“By the way, there’ll be a surprise tonight. I hope you can protect yourself.” Hans hesitated but said it anyway.

Surprise? Lin Yue was bewildered.

“Good luck, my friend.” Hans hung up.

Lin Yue thought for a long time, then decided not to overthink it.

The priority now was to plug the chip into the socket at the back of his neck and learn some sniper skills properly.

After all, a cyberpunk squad like Mann really meant business.

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