Outside Liz Bar, a jet-black Jun Mizutani sports car slowly came to a stop in a parking space. Before the car had even fully stopped, an excited man stuck his head out of the car and whistled at the provocatively dressed girls holding baseball bats at the entrance.
The girls from the Mox Gang standing at the door recognized Pira's iconic hairstyle and exaggeratedly long arms, exchanged looks, and smiled. One of the girls with a pink-purple bun took the initiative to greet him.
"Yo! It's been a while. I thought you were dead."
Rita Hiller looked Pira up and down, while Pira cheerfully opened the car door. After getting out, he swung his way over to her: "I've got a business deal, and the other party specifically wants to come to Liz."
"Oh~" Rita's gaze moved past Pira to Mercer, wearing his signature mask. Just the sight of his pale hockey mask instantly revealed his identity to these Mox girls.
Now that Faraday's bounty is considered nonsense and everyone knows he's fled, the reputation of Spark Team has skyrocketed over the past few months.
Mercer, who always wears a mask, hasn't shown his face these past months, but his unique hockey mask, that looks cheap yet a bit scary, has long become his identity symbol.
So, even though it was their first meeting, Rita still politely put down her bat and spoke very friendly: "Hey, I guess you must be the boss, the famous A, right?"
"Right." As soon as Mercer finished speaking, a Quadra Type-66 modified in black and red drifted into the parking space belatedly.
V got out of the driver's seat with a sour face, pulled a 100 Euro note from her pocket, and Mercer unhesitatingly took it: "Convinced?"
"Damn! Pira must've cut corners with my car!" she grumbled discontentedly, while Rebecca bounced out of the passenger seat, shouting, "I told you to let me drive!"
"It doesn't matter who drives; driving is a skill, not about quick reflexes," Mercer said smugly, pocketing the money, and turning his head to see Pira thick-skinnedly hitting on the laughing Mox sisters.
"You didn't cheat using Polaris, did you?" V protested a little but ultimately accepted her loss.
Mercer couldn't be bothered to respond—practice more if you're bad.
Rebecca, seeing Pira drooling over the girls, felt embarrassed, walked over, and nearly kicked him flying: "We're not here for your fun; get inside quick."
"Damn! I haven't been out forever, always being dragged around to be the boss's muscle..."
Pira grumbled, but facing Rebecca's iron fist, he could only raise his eyebrows at the laughing Mox sisters, gesturing to stay in touch, then led Mercer and V inside.
To be honest, as he walked into Liz, he looked like he was returning home, with everyone from the staff to the Mox guards, and even some patrons, greeting him proactively.
Watching how he got along with everyone, Mercer couldn't help but smile: "I bet if this guy ran a bar, he'd do great."
"Forget it, if he actually ran a bar, he'd party himself to death within a month," Rebecca grumbled.
Once they made their way into the bar and found a booth to sit down in, V called a waiter over for a bottle of Rabbit God whiskey and a can of cola for Mercer.
Not long after they settled in the booth, a rarely-seen big shot from the Mox bar came over to greet them.
Susan Kui, or rather Susan Q.
As the current leader of the Mox Gang and the main voice at Liz Bar, she doesn't usually show her face, often staying in her office.
She was a striking Black woman with noticeable body modifications and a head full of thick, skyward curls, easily recognizable.
"The famous Spark Team, I've heard all about you. When Pira said he was hanging with you, to be honest, we thought he was joking... Anyway, welcome to Liz."
She smiled, her demeanor gentle: "Whether you're here to play Mewtwo or just drink, it's all on my tab; let's consider it making friends. But as far as I know, aside from Pira, it's your first visit, right? Need some fine lads or pretty girls to have a drink with you?"
Pira laughed and waved his hand: "No need, they're not into that..."
Saying this, he winked and motioned for Susan to look at Mercer, sitting between Rebecca on the left and V on the right. Susan immediately understood, smiled, and said, "Got it, so you're here to talk business? Need a private room inside?"
"Not for now, but thanks, Susan," Mercer said politely.
Susan smiled slightly: "That's fine, I'm usually inside. Anything you need, feel free to reach out."
She proactively sent Mercer her contact info, and after he accepted, he also said politely: "No problem, if Pira sneaks over for fun, I hope you Mox folks keep an eye on him."
"Hahaha! We sure will; he's considered a VIP here at our bar." Susan laughed heartily, called for another box of beer and a bottle of high-end whiskey, then excused herself to leave them in peace.