Dog Brother: "So, is it still the same old trick of layers, one inside, one outside?"
Jingxuan: "Hmm, you and I are on the same page."
Dog Brother: "Then who goes in to talk to the Maelstrom, and who provides support outside?"
Jingxuan crossed her arms, remaining silent.
Dog Brother saw her deep in thought and didn't disturb her.
"I'm not too comfortable with Jackie and David going in," Jingxuan said with worry.
Dog Brother then laid out his long-planned strategy:
"You're worried because Jackie and David are the type to deal with things head-on, right? That's why you're uneasy. Hmm... I have a suggestion: you, Rebecca, and Lucy, the three of you women, just the three of you, go in and talk."
Jingxuan looked surprised: "The three of us women, go into Maelstrom territory? Are you trying to get us dismembered?"
Dog Brother waved his hand: "Look at what you're saying. They're Maelstrom, not Scavengers. And Hei Pang has already paid. The worst-case scenario is you pay another 10,000 eurodollars, which isn't much money for you, Xuan'er. Besides, I've got your back."
Jingxuan put down her crossed legs:
"Oh, right, speaking of paying for Xiao Ping Tou... Jackie just messaged me and said Militech is willing to pay for us to buy their Xiao Ping Tou back from the Maelstrom."
Dog Brother spread his hands, a 'What the f*ck' expression on his face:
"What the f*ck? Have the Militech people lost their minds? Their stuff gets stolen, they don't go get it back, and then they pay to buy it back? And we even get to use Xiao Ping Tou? Are they running a charity?"
.....
1 hour ago.
Jackie and David arrived at the agreed location, a tunnel entrance to an abandoned old factory.
Two Militech SUVs were prominently parked in the middle of the road.
This time was more interesting; Jackie wanted David to take the lead, so David made the video call to Meredith Stout.
The other party naturally didn't want to bother with a child, but after David mentioned that Militech's goods had been stolen, Meredith's expression changed, and she said she wanted to meet in person.
Now that they had met, David was a little excited about leading this mission and wanted to do his best, so he walked up with a smile.
Meredith had a weathered look, appearing quite old, with a cigarette between her fingers, and her tone was quite calm:
"I'm Meredith Stout. You made the call, right?"
David politely extended his hand. As soon as his hand met hers, a burly soldier next to Meredith grabbed David's head and slammed it into the car!
Jackie reacted quickly, striking from behind the soldier, locking his neck in a rear naked choke, then twisting with force, his back against the car, so no one could directly attack him.
The soldier he had under control was blocking the outside; if the other party attacked, their own man would be hit first.
Another soldier near the car immediately raised his rifle, aiming in Jackie's direction.
Meredith's tone suddenly exploded, no different from a shrew:
"Are you trying to extort me, you stinking idiot? And you dare to negotiate terms?"
Jackie exerted force and immediately told David to draw his gun. David complied, pulling out his T-46 Storm revolver and pointing it at the other party. The situation suddenly became tense.
Jackie snorted coldly:
"Heh! I said we came to talk business. What, you want to give us a warning shot? You have guns, we have guns. After a round of gunfire, someone will die."
Meredith was a lunatic; she was very calm at first, then went berserk, and now she was calm again.
She waved her hand, and another burly soldier emerged from the SUV, pressing down on a man in a suit. Meredith asked:
"Is this Anthony Gilchrist your contact person? Did he leak the information about the convoy to you?"
David had done his homework this time. He pointed his gun at the man in the suit and answered the question before Jackie could:
"We don't know this Anthony. We know who stole your goods. All I want is your Xiao Ping Tou. Give it to me, and I'll help you retrieve your Militech goods."
Jackie was startled: Holy crap? This kid David has really come into his own, he's got a knack for it. I might not have been able to say it so well myself.
"Alright! Everyone put your guns down first."
Both sides slowly began to put away their guns, and Jackie also released the soldier he had locked.
Meredith stroked her chin with her finger, pacing back and forth:
"Hmm... Alright, if you can help me recover that batch of goods, what's one Xiao Ping Tou? You can have it."
David tucked his Storm pistol into his waistband:
"We will talk directly face-to-face with the people who robbed your goods to buy Xiao Ping Tou. Do you have any discreet tracking methods? We also need to consider our own safety. We don't want to get wiped out before we even have a chance to leave."
Meredith looked surprised:
"Heh heh, you're a smart kid... Fine, you can use our money to buy it." With that, Meredith pulled a chip from her pocket. This was clearly a bank chip.
David flashed a brilliant smile:
"Oh, using your chip with the embedded virus program to directly hack their devices and instantly track all your stolen goods, that's brilliant."
Meredith, the lunatic, now looked very appreciative of David:
"Not bad, kid. Want to work for me? I'll give you a better position."
David raised both hands and shook his head:
"No, I promised my mom I'd work at Arasaka later."
Meredith's tone carried obvious regret:
"You don't know anything, kid. Our Militech is backed by New America. A strong alliance. Arasaka will never be our opponent in the future."
Meredith's eyes glowed red, transmitting some data to David:
"If you ever regret it, you can call me."
She paused, got into the car, then poked her head out the window and added:
"If you dare to f*ck with me, I'll make sure you pay dearly!"
The two SUVs sped away....
Jackie hooked his arm around David's neck: "Kid! You're really something! You settled the deal in just a few words. Hey, what do you think of that big sister Meredith just now? I think you could consider it, huh~"
David deliberately made a disgusted face as if about to vomit:
"Holy crap, Brother Jackie, you should take a look. That old hag is older than my mom. I couldn't possibly do it...."
Jackie had a lecherous look on his face:
"Oh, you're right. Your mom Gloria's looks definitely trump this Militech female boss. No! Damn it! I already have Misty!"
David yelled: "Holy crap, you wish!"
.....
Time returned to the present.
Dog Brother listened to Jingxuan's rough description of what Jackie had conveyed and was also impressed with David:
"Alright, truly alright! This kid David, he's small but sharp, with limitless potential. They should be arriving soon, right? So, shall we get going?"
Jingxuan: "Let's go! Rebecca and Lucy should already be at All Foods Factory."