"Don't worry, they're with me." Arno said calmly, looking at the three wary Stott.
"Then I'll take my leave." Arno turned to go.
"You put on quite a show here, and now you're just going to leave?" Stott said, holding her cigarette, displeased.
"Hmm?" Arno stopped and turned to look at Stott.
Stott stepped forward in her high heels, stopping right at Arno's chest.
Tilting her head back, she blew a smoke ring at Arno, her eyes sharp, and said word by word, "You remember this: I will dig up everything about you, even the rotten clinic you were born in, and what color socks the nurse who held you was wearing. You remember that."
After Stott finished her threatening words, she stubbed out her cigarette on Arno's leather jacket and turned to leave.
No, I mean...
Arno looked at Stott, who was walking away, with a speechless expression. "You two, can't you find an ashtray?"
Arno got into the iron-gray SUV, and Berry stepped on the gas, driving away.
Whew, that was a close call.
Looking at the moving scenery outside the window, Berry let out a long sigh.
But thankfully, everything went smoothly in the end.
"Drag that dead dog into the car." Stott retracted her gaze as Arno's vehicle drove away.
The ashen-faced Anthony was like a lifeless worm, letting two Mercenaries stuff him into the trunk. Some people, even though they're alive now, are already dead.
And as a company traitor, the way he leaves this world might not be very comfortable.
"Wait." Stott suddenly stopped before getting into the car.
Because she saw a flash of light on a distant power tower.
"Hand me the binoculars." Stott frowned and ordered her subordinate.
Taking the binoculars, Stott looked in the direction of the sniper rifle. Although her cybernetic eye had magnification capabilities, it was too far; only binoculars could see clearly.
Eight thick cables were clamped onto the steel-framed power tower, and on the maintenance platform, there was a huge yellow danger sign. And the sniper that the black-clad Mercenary mentioned was flashing with white light.
That was... Stott zoomed in, looking more closely.
An empty glass bottle!?
Clang!
The high-tech binoculars were smashed to pieces on the ground. Stott's face turned pale with anger.
An empty glass bottle. She had actually been fooled by that Mercenary with an empty glass bottle.
To hell with spt32 ice storm! To hell with the deal!
Stott gritted her teeth, her face alternating between green and white.
"Boss?"
Only when the Mercenary behind her spoke in confusion did Stott reluctantly regain her composure.
"It's nothing, let's go." Stott got into the car, her face grim, and said nothing more.
Just you wait, she would definitely get her revenge.
As for Berry and Arno, they had long since driven away.
She wondered if that old aunt had found out yet.
Berry felt a little guilty, thinking she might have been a bit too despicable.
She wouldn't be foolish enough to hide on the power tower and aim, nor would she reveal her position. What if that old aunt went all out and called in AVs for an airstrike?
So Berry wasn't on the tower at all. She just placed a glass bottle there, while she herself was hiding among the countless abandoned pipes on top of the drainage ditch.
The muzzle of her Ice Storm Sniper Rifle was aimed at Stott and her group until the transaction was complete.
If anything went wrong during that time, she would have fired immediately.
But thankfully, everything was fine.
After calming down a bit, while still recalling the thrill of the confrontation, V's call came in.
"Hey, Berry, are you done there?" V, when doing business, still looked presentable, not showing that flirtatious gaze that made Berry uncomfortable.
"Done, how about you?" Berry replied.
"Jackie and I have already secretly circled the Maelstrom's All Foods Factory. We got a lot of intel. Let's see, the abandoned car lot in Northside. Let's meet there."
"No problem." Berry hung up the phone and drove off.
At the abandoned car lot, Jackie and V had already arrived.
V was still driving her broken thorton galena, but Jackie had switched to a brand new ride, a motorcycle with a completely new shell that clearly looked expensive.
"Hey, Jackie, I've been meaning to say, your new ride is nice." V leaned against her thorton galena, admiring Jackie's new vehicle.
"Thorton, a good car." After a quick look, V was very fond of it.
As a former Nomad, V had been involved with cars since birth. Like other Nomads, she had become a car enthusiast.
"It wasn't expensive, hey, I earned it on the last gig." Jackie scratched his head, feigning humility, but his face was full of pride for his beloved car.
The last gig? V began to recall where the money from her last gig had gone.
Finally, the image in her mind settled on Berry, smiling sweetly.
Thinking of this, V smiled to herself.
"Hmph, even if this car is secondhand, you probably couldn't afford it." Watching him, V didn't spare her good friend's feelings and exposed Jackie.
"Uh... I took out a small loan, just a tiny bit, but it's totally worth it." Jackie admitted sheepishly, like a big boy explaining why he spent a fortune collecting hundreds of game DLCs.
"If I were you, I'd change the exhaust pipe." V leaned against the car, examining Jackie's red and black motorcycle with the eye of an old Nomad, quickly spotting a few flaws in the newly manufactured vehicle.
"Huh? Why? I rely on its fierce roar to pick up Girls." Jackie widened his eyes, confused.
"With that rumbling noise, people know Jackie is coming from a kilometer away."
"The fuel injection needs modification too. And upload a new map. Before you save up enough Eddies, just stick some heat tape on it and make do."
V, like a Graphics Card Forum Boss, pointed out all the necessary modifications for Jackie's beloved car, suggesting changes that would almost double the price.
"Uh, hmm..." Jackie listened to the technical terms he barely understood, his face blank, filled with confused awe.
Just then, Arno's thunderclap Mackinaw roared up.
"Now that's a beast, a thunderclap Mackinaw off-road vehicle." Jackie looked enviously at the iron-gray SUV that had pulled up.
This was an expensive ride, something he couldn't even dream of affording with the money currently in his pocket.
Listening to the deep roar, like a tiger's bellow, Jackie wanted to take it for a spin.
"Hmm, it's just average, factory stock. If you ask me, it needs at least Caucasian heavy-duty tires, and the doors replaced with bulletproof material..."
"V." Jackie called out, stopping V who was fantasizing about car modifications.
"What is it?" V raised an eyebrow curiously.
Jackie didn't speak; he just looked at his own car, then at the thunderclap Mackinaw, and finally at the secondhand thorton galena V was leaning on—which, by the way, was bought on twelve-month installments.
Without speaking, Jackie's eyes made his point perfectly clear.
How can you be a modification expert, yet drive this kind of civilian car?
"Uh..." V was suddenly speechless, an embarrassed blush creeping onto her face.
Damn, wasn't she exactly like those Modification Fanatics now?
The classic model is lacking, the new car has problems, but what about herself? She's driving a Shared Bicycle.
"Haha, just kidding, chica (Girl)." Jackie laughed and waved his hand. "But you can't spend all your money supporting a Girl, you still need to save up to upgrade your ride. After all, you need something to ride at night, and something to ride during the day, right?"
Jackie winked at V, full of meaning.
While the two were talking, Arno and Berry, who had gotten out of the car, walked over.
Berry smiled.
She used to think the saying about subconsciously smiling when seeing someone you like was false, but now, the moment she saw V, her mouth couldn't help but curve into a sweet smile.
She quickly covered her face shyly, trying not to look too overjoyed.
And seeing Berry, V subconsciously smiled too.
Under the filter of love, V seemed to be enveloped in a faint halo; her skin and beautiful features shimmered, and her heroic eyes revealed an indescribable emotion that was captivating.
Berry walked up to V and gave her a hug.
V, however, seemed unsatisfied, hooking Berry's chin with her fingers for another kiss before finally considering the greeting complete.
"Holy shit." Jackie, sitting on his bike, instantly widened his eyes.
"You two... are together?!" Surprise and astonishment flooded Jackie simultaneously, contorting his face into a strange expression that made V and Berry burst into laughter.
Jackie scratched his head, finally understanding why V was so cheerful despite living paycheck to paycheck.
With a sweet Girl hugging her, who needs a bicycle?
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