Was it a boy or a Girl?
Unfortunately, neither.
Berry looked at the overturned card, twisting her head curiously like V, trying to see what was drawn on it.
"This is... The Moon?"
Berry looked at the extremely abstract city buildings and a pale full moon on the tarot card, offering her guess.
To be honest, she wasn't entirely sure herself.
If it weren't round and didn't have the coloring of the sun, she wouldn't have recognized it as The Moon.
"The Moon reversed..."
Misty, however, looked at the card and read its name.
"The Moon reversed means abandoning a bad past and embracing a new future. Berry, you might be about to embark on a new life, and it's one with a strong positive meaning."
Misty finished reading this card and placed her hand on the next one.
"The Chariot..."
"You will enter the coming struggle with full spirit, overcoming obstacles, achieving victory, and powerful control."
Then, it was the last card.
The gravity of the situation made both Berry and V hold their breath, waiting for the revelation of the third card.
"Hey, you three, I, Jackie, am back!"
Just then, a wild voice rang out, completely interrupting their thoughts.
At the door, Jackie, wearing a cheap suit, with a single black eye, stepped in with a brilliant smile, first placing the two suitcases he was carrying on the ground.
"Jackie!?"
Berry and V turned around and saw this surprising scene, their mouths instinctively opening into smiles.
"Oh my, look who's back!"
The two quickly walked up, V enthusiastically patted Jackie's shoulder, looking at the safe and sound big guy with great excitement.
What a reunion after a long separation!
Although Jackie had only been gone to Pacifica for less than two weeks, Berry still felt this rare emotion.
After all, this was Jackie. In the game, he was completely dead, but now, he was alive and well. How could Berry not be happy?
This meant she had changed history, changed the original tragedy.
She could do it.
Looking at Jackie, who was well, could eat, jump, and was still breathing, Berry's hands were sweating with joy.
Jackie was good in every way, but why was his face bruised and swollen, looking very awkward?
Unable to contain her curiosity, Berry asked directly.
"Jackie, what happened to you? Your face is bruised and swollen. Did someone beat you up in Pacifica?"
Jackie, seeing his friends and girlfriend, was also very happy at this moment, and hearing Berry's direct question, he burst out laughing.
"Hehe, just a small matter. Didn't I say I'd be back in a couple of days? It was for that thing, but in the end, there was no result. What I got was this."
Jackie grinned, pointing to the still swollen parts of his face and laughing self-deprecatingly.
"But, let's not talk about my unlucky family matters. Let's talk about you two."
Jackie looked at V, who was standing normally, with a look of relief.
"V, Viktor said you're well. That's really great, you can stand up and hang out with us on the streets again."
"Of course! Singing, dancing, basketball, no problem at all. Let alone clearing out Scavengers' territory right now."
V smiled and fist-bumped Jackie.
"But, speaking of my surgery, Berry also helped a lot. Viktor kept praising her. If her hand had trembled, I would have been lying in bed with tubes for the rest of my life."
"Who could forget Berry, our gang's Berry? A genius rarely seen in Night City for a hundred years. I always said that among us, I couldn't say for sure about others, but Berry would definitely be the one who could achieve the most, right, Berry?"
"Hehe, I'll take that as a compliment."
Berry folded her arms, acknowledging Jackie's praise.
"By the way, when I came in earlier, I saw you three gathered together. What were you doing? I didn't interrupt you, did I?"
"This... Oh my, I almost forgot."
As soon as they saw Jackie return, both of them were so happy that they seemed to have forgotten they were still reading Berry's tarot cards, and the last card hadn't even been revealed yet.
"What, reading tarot cards? This can't be delayed! Hurry and look at the last one. Tell me everything. If it's auspicious, say it. If it's not, just forget it."
Jackie scratched his head, smiling as he urged the two to walk back to the counter.
"The first two cards were The Moon Reversed and The Chariot. They're good cards, right? Roughly meaning I'm going to get rich."
Berry fully embraced a Schrödinger's attitude towards piety: good fortunes were facts, bad fortunes were feudal superstition.
She was very good at grasping the main points.
Berry nodded.
"Forget it, V, Berry..." However, as soon as the three returned to the counter, Misty had already collected the tarot cards and was about to put them back into the deck.
"Under emotional fluctuations, the tarot cards might not reflect the true situation. Let's stop here for now."
"Ah, alright then."
Berry didn't know about this rule, but she didn't really care much about it anyway. Since Misty said so, then so be it.
Misty nodded, placing the cards in her hand back into the deck. In the shadow of her palm before closing the deck, a black demon's grinning face was revealed, its inverted pentagram on its forehead emitting a chilling glow. Until the deck was finally closed, what was just seen seemed to dissipate like an illusion.
The tarot card, "The Devil" upright.
Misty's expression was normal, but she sighed inwardly.
At this critical juncture, it was rare to enjoy the joy of reunion.
"Hey, chica (Girl), I'm back!"
Jackie, this rugged man, softened his expression considerably when he saw Misty, though the smile at the corner of his mouth remained unchanged.
"Welcome back, Jackie!"
And seeing Jackie, Misty's red lips also curved into a smile.
It wasn't like a reunion after a separation of life and death, but rather a simple greeting after returning home from a normal day.
But in a sense, such words that stabilize people's hearts in this situation are even more impactful. Don't you see Jackie is already scratching his head?
And Berry was filled with even more emotion watching this scene.
The Jackie in the game didn't get the chance to hear Misty's heartwarming greeting.
And Misty, in the end, only received news of his death.
Death, oh death.
Even though it existed from the moment life began, after millions of years of evolution, life still cannot calmly accept this inherent misfortune.
How many people cry, how many people plead.
But at least for now, they are still here.
Berry smiled at this scene and prepared to give the two some private space.
"Jackie, Misty, V and I are going to Viktor's first."
After saying this, Berry pulled V's arm and walked towards the back door.
Time is short, let the lovers catch up.
"Hey, Viktor, what are you busy with?"
Viktor was still the same, calm and composed, wearing the same clothes, living each day the same way, and accepting it gladly.
Who would have thought that Viktor, looking like a semi-retired old uncle, was once a famous street Boxing Champion in his youth? With dozens of boxing clubs across the city, who didn't know Viktor from the Devil's Club back then?
"Busy? Ha, same as always. Not many people in the morning, so I'm maintaining my exoskeleton assistance."
Viktor, wearing small sunglasses, was wiping the mechanical gloves he often wore for surgery with a cloth. However, seeing V and Berry come down, he temporarily stopped what he was doing.
"V, how are you feeling? No side effects, right? Oh, did you listen to my instruction not to do strenuous exercise for two weeks after the surgery?"
Seeing V walking freely, Viktor nodded with satisfaction, but just in case, he confirmed with V again.
"Ah, well..." However, upon hearing Viktor warn against strenuous activity, V guiltily looked away and scratched her face.
"Yeah, I was totally listening to those doctor's orders and stuff."
Viktor nodded. If V hadn't sounded so guilty, he might have almost believed her.
V wisely chose silence to avoid the topic.
Although she felt that last night wasn't too intense, and primarily involved just fingers, how should she put it? Sometimes, people just can't lie to themselves.
Therefore, even V, who considered herself quite thick-skinned, felt a little flustered.
As for Berry, Berry was playing dead.
Nothing happened last night. Nothing happened.
That was a forbidden night, buried in the ashes of history. Its unknown name was the "Night of the Black Knives."
Unnamed assassins committed heinous crimes... Alright, Berry's mind was distracting itself with wild fantasies again.
God-slaying, the collapse of the Erdtree, the Shattering War, and finally, the Greater Will of the Two Fingers.
Wait, the Two Fingers?!
Berry nearly spat out a mouthful of water.
Not the Two Fingers, not the Two Fingers!
Berry shook her head repeatedly in refusal.
How tragic. She felt her thoughts had been defiled.
It was bad enough that her mind subconsciously thought of that thing, but the problem was she also recalled the physical sensation.
This was awful.
There is great horror between the sheets.
"Ahem, I say, wasn't Jackie supposed to arrive this morning? He said he'd stop by here first. Why haven't we seen him?"
Viktor, being older, was excellent at reading the room. Seeing the strange behavior of the two women, he immediately changed the subject.
After all, some things shouldn't be scrutinized too closely.
So, Viktor consciously skipped the topic.
Sure enough, the moment Jackie was mentioned, both women sighed in relief and became much more relaxed.
"Jackie, Jackie is in the back. He arrived a moment ago and is talking to Misty."
V pointed backward with her thumb.
"Good, I'm glad he's back." Hearing the good news, Viktor nodded.
"Don't mention it, I kind of missed him after a few days, especially the feeling of fiercely beating his butt when sparring. You can't find a punching bag as solid as Jackie anywhere else."
As he spoke, Viktor laughed to himself.
However, before his laughter faded, accompanied by the clatter of feet descending the ladder at the doorway, Jackie's dissatisfied voice arrived.
"Hey, Viktor! I've only been gone a few days, and you're already talking nonsense! V, Berry, don't believe him. I was letting him win!"
Hurriedly refuting the claim, Jackie, carrying two briefcases, walked down.
"Mmm, the familiar smell of motor oil. Viktor, your clinic still smells authentic!"
Setting down the cases, Jackie sighed and stretched luxuriously.
He was so relaxed, it was as if he had returned home.
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