V, sitting to Berry's right, was tapping her fingers, looking first at Berry's chair, then at her own, always feeling that Berry's chair was slightly higher—otherwise, how could her girlfriend sit higher than her?
Jackie, to Berry's left, was simple-minded, propping up his head and wondering what to eat for lunch: Chinese Kung Pao Chicken or a Family-sized Burger Meal.
Viktor, to V's right, was thinking about the three surgeries he had scheduled for the afternoon. As for Judy, next to Jackie, she was clutching her hands, her mind cycling between Evelyn and Kikyo, completely conflicted.
But Berry knew none of this; she thought everyone around her was waiting for her to speak.
And she had prepared her speech.
*Cough, cough*, Berry cleared her throat before speaking.
"Everyone, today is not a formal meeting, just a casual chat among friends. We can discuss The Hive's future development direction and business expansion as we talk."
"Secretary Zhu."
After finishing what she felt was a high-class opening speech, Berry suddenly called out to Judy.
Judy was stunned for a moment before realizing Berry was calling her.
But she was confused: when did she become a secretary? Wait, that wasn't important.
What was important was, when did her surname change to Zhu? Her name was Judy, okay? Even if she had a surname, it was Alvarez.
However, she couldn't be bothered to correct Berry's mistake.
After all, she had just settled Evelyn at Lizzy Bar last night, which was not an easy task.
Evelyn used to be a Mox, but later left the gang and went to Clouds, the establishment owned by their deadly rivals, the Tyger Claws. This gave the Moxes a lot of reason to complain.
Fine, she would be direct: it was Suzie, the boss of the Moxes, who had a major issue with Evelyn. It took considerable effort for her to arrange for Evelyn to stay there.
Hearing Berry call her, Judy knew what it was about. She immediately pulled out her PDA, performed a few operations, and suddenly, scattered blue projection lines shot out from the center of the round table, projecting a chart complete with financial statements and a future development plan onto the table.
Berry had spent all of yesterday afternoon setting this up.
"As you can see, everyone, although we spent a lot of money to secure this building, our common-people cyberware business is flourishing."
Seeing Berry begin to speak, everyone abandoned their private thoughts and listened attentively to her.
Although she sat on the high seat—managing to make such an imposing chair look like a child's chair—Berry's words were still worth noting.
After all, their little Berry was still full of prestige, right?
Pointing to the rising curve on the chart, Berry finished speaking and then added:
"The citizens of Night City are very wealthy! In Chinatown and Kabuki alone, the market potential is still huge. We haven't fully penetrated the market yet. Therefore, our cyberware business is currently stable and improving; the good times are still ahead."
"However, there are also quite a few disturbing factors."
"The Moxes in Kabuki don't deal in cyberware; they are even our target customers, so that's fine. And the Maelstrom in the North District are currently busy with internal strife and don't have the time to interfere with our business."
However, after finishing the good news, it was time for the bad news.
Berry slammed her small fist onto the table and said through gritted teeth.
"It's still the same old problem: the Scavengers. Those bastards always want to stick their hands into our trade territory. Anything involving money is absolutely intolerable. This is no longer a general threat; we must strike hard."
After Berry finished speaking, she looked at Jackie on her left.
"Jackie, we still need to apply pressure to the Scavengers. Take the brothers and smash the hands the Scavengers try to stick into our territory. Also, warn those Cyberware Doctors that they can only purchase inventory from us."
"Anyone who messes with our cyberware is messing with me, Berry. Make sure they know that."
Berry's tone was agitated as she pounded her small chest like a gang boss.
"No problem, Berry, leave it to me. I couldn't stand those bastards, the Scavengers, even when I was a Mercenary. Now that we have so many brothers, we'll definitely cripple them."
Seeing Berry give the order, Jackie guaranteed it while patting his well-developed pectorals. This proves that beneath Jackie's honest, big-guy exterior lay the heart of a clever person.
His flattery and praise certainly made Berry happy.
However, neither of them was just talking big.
The Hive was now, for better or worse, a mid-sized gang. After several rounds of recruitment, it had about a hundred people under its command, although this wasn't much compared to behemoths like the Maelstrom and the Tyger Claws.
But dealing with the scattered Scavengers in Chinatown and Kabuki was more than enough.
Moreover, Berry's cheap cyberware—wow—was even cheaper new than the Scavengers' used goods. With The Hive's backing, those Cyberware Doctors were scrambling to use her products; who would want to oppose her?
After all, for doctors, making money was the primary goal, not to mention that cooperating with The Hive came with less moral pressure.
Furthermore, while Berry might lack sufficient low-end manpower, her high-end combat power completely crushed the Scavengers.
She herself could clear out Scavenger turf, not to mention her number one lick—*cough*—general, V, who could single-handedly tear through several Scavenger locations as easily as going out to buy groceries.
The others, besides Judy, were all top-tier fighters. Even Viktor, who usually kept a low profile, could easily take out seventeen or eighteen Scavengers.
One punch from Viktor carried the power of 18 Body points.
If he didn't shatter your skull, it meant he hadn't slept well last night.
So, no matter how you looked at it, the advantage was hers.
After discussing the Scavengers, next came the tricky subject.
That was the Tyger Claws, whom they had offended just yesterday.
Upon mentioning this, Berry also put away her playful attitude and became serious.
This, this is big.
"Now, let's talk about the Tyger Claws problem."
Berry looked at everyone and said seriously.
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