The plan was finally finalized.
The people ultimately chosen to infiltrate Konpeki Plaza were Arno, Jackie, and V.
Although she was speechless at these 'little haters' for deciding she couldn't participate in the mission, Berry actually had a premonition that her appearance would lead to such a result.
After all, unless the other party was an idiot, they would find it very strange for someone with a baby face to be a representative of a weapons company, right?
But this result was pretty much what she expected.
Anyway, Arno would go in with them, and with Arno's excellent performance and Berry's ace pilot skills, protecting these two inexperienced rookies would be no problem.
As for Berry herself, she had more important arrangements.
"I'll be guarding the perimeter in an armored SUV. Although there's Delamain's autonomous taxi, that's only for a safe evacuation. If any flies follow you out, you'll at least have a full box of weapons in the car to fight back..."
Dexter DeShawn nodded in agreement with this supplementary plan; an extra layer of insurance is never wrong.
That being said, in reality, Berry's true purpose was to guard against Yorinobu's sole Bodyguard, Adam Smasher, from the outside.
Arno is strong, but still not enough compared to Smasher. She doesn't plan to confront him directly. Arno only needs to cover V and them as they leave Konpeki Plaza, and then Berry will drive them away in the car.
After all, this isn't a game.
In the game's Konpeki Plaza mission, Adam Smasher only showed up at the last minute, and his attacks were dodged by the Delamain taxi.
The unexpected changes that had occurred in previous missions warned Berry that this was not a game, but a constantly changing reality, and she had to remain maximally vigilant to prevent Smasher from appearing at any moment.
Arno was the insurance that would save V and their lives from Smasher.
At this moment, Berry and V had returned to their apartment, both preparing for tomorrow's Konpeki Plaza mission.
"Berry, look, do I look like a weapons company salesperson like this?" V stood in front of the mirror, wearing a women's suit that made her feel uncomfortably constrained.
Suits, high heels... the ridiculous design principles of these things are specifically meant to make you uncomfortable.
In the eyes of those designers, the definition of elegance might be to exert all effort to restrict your movement for the sake of so-called proper demeanor, until you're forced to take small steps and can't raise your hands above your head, only then is it considered complete.
At least, that's what V thought. Dressed in a suit, she felt very awkward. As a Nomad, she preferred to wear her sneakers and cargo pants, which meant she could pull out a gun and fight at any time without worrying about her clothes tearing.
"Hmm, I think it looks good, like a big boss." Berry, however, folded her arms and walked around V with interest.
It was her first time seeing V so neatly dressed in a sharp suit.
Hmm, if V's gaze was a little colder, she would perfectly resemble an arrogant female Agent from a corporation, the kind who wears a small suit, pulls out some bogus ID, says something like "obstructing corporate affairs," and then blows your head off with a single shot.
Of course, in the virtual world, such people usually only appear in corrupted hentai.
"Really?" V frowned and looked down at herself, still feeling awkward.
"Wait, V, there seems to be an unexpected situation." As they were talking, Berry suddenly frowned, her expression becoming serious.
The system sent her an alert: estimated damage to the mech.
What's going on?
Let's rewind a bit.
"So, I need to dump that big wooden crate in the back into the sea under the Arasaka Industrial District. Alright, no problem, BOSS." In the driver's seat of the truck, the veteran Anthony gripped the steering wheel, a lit cigarette dangling from his mouth.
In the passenger seat beside him sat another "Hive" veteran, the bearded Mike.
"Is this 'cargo' again, or something else?" Mike held an assault rifle in the car, casually asking as he watched the scenery flash by outside.
"I don't know, but the box is very big and heavy, it doesn't look like it's carrying cyberware." Anthony took one hand off the wheel to flick ash out the window before continuing, "But who cares, since it's what BOSS told us to do, just get it done."
Mike nodded in agreement; neither of them were overly curious.
The two accepted Berry's mission to throw a large box into the river near the industrial park.
"I say, Anthony, did you notice the car behind us? It looks familiar, it's been following us." Mike turned his head to look in the rearview mirror, staring at the SUVs behind them with full vigilance, his deeply furrowed face creased.
"Looks like something's wrong..." Hearing Mike's warning, Anthony glanced in the rearview mirror and also became wary. "It couldn't be those Scavengers, could it?"
Anthony said worriedly.
The Scavengers of Kabuki, and even the Northside Industrial District, didn't get along well with their "Hive." Not only did they have business conflicts, but there were also several debts between them: the Scavengers had robbed "Hive" of their goods, and Berry had cleared out the Hive's territory.
Therefore, the conflict between the two factions was very serious.
And now, as the two of them appeared in the Arasaka Industrial District, an area not covered by "Hive" influence, they were already on high alert. Seeing their car being followed, their first thought was that the Scavengers had come for revenge.
"Hey, BOSS, something's wrong, we have a tail. We might need to retreat." Anthony immediately dialed Berry's number.
"It's fine, keep going. I have a backup plan. Trouble won't find you." Berry's calm voice came from the other end.
"You just drive, someone else will handle the trouble, got it?" Berry repeated to soothe their emotions.
"Okay, Mi—"
"Da da da da~!!!!"
Before Anthony could hang up, sudden gunshots rang out, and several stray bullets shattered the rearview mirror, startling Anthony inside.
"Damn it, it really is the Scavengers!!!"
Old Mike roared with his raspy, smoke-and-whiskey voice, his face, covered in gray-black beard, instantly turning red.
"Cover me! Let's see if I can shake them off!"
Anthony didn't dare to be careless either, gripping the steering wheel and flooring the accelerator, making the van's engine roar as it surged forward.
"Kill them! Boss said, leave no one alive!!!"
"Hahaha, finally, we can go on a rampage!!!"
From behind, five or six SUVs revealed the hateful, ugly faces of the Scavengers.
The markets in Chinatown and Kabuki had been stolen by these "Hive" guys, and the Scavengers were very angry, always looking to get even. Now, after specially inquiring, they learned that the other party had a batch of goods going to the Arasaka Industrial District.
They wore messed-up holographic screens on their faces, their upper bodies covered in distorted tattoos leaned out of the cars, pulling triggers at the truck ahead on the high-speed road.
Under the fierce concentrated fire, even though the van was designed with bulletproof materials, it was quickly riddled with dents and holes.
"Die, you scumbags!" Old Mike leaned out, yelling and shooting backward, trying to suppress the enemy's firepower.
Although Old Mike was also a battlefield veteran, he was only one man with one gun, and he was quickly forced back into the car by the enemy's dense firepower.
"Anthony, can't you drive any faster, you motherfucker?" When his emotions flared, Mike's face would turn red and his neck would swell, and now his bearded face was almost turning soy sauce-colored, showing how dangerous the situation was.
"I'm trying, damn it! This broken truck, do you think it's a sports car?" Anthony's face was ashen, his eyes fixed on the road ahead. Although he desperately tried to maneuver the vehicle to escape the Scavengers, the limitations of the truck prevented him from doing so. Instead, the Scavengers were catching up quickly.
"Where are the reinforcements BOSS mentioned? If they don't get here soon, we're screwed!" Another stray bullet hit the car door, sounding like a firecracker, and Anthony pressed his head even lower, almost touching the steering wheel.
But just as he finished speaking, the sound of bullets from behind suddenly paused, and Mike, who had leaned out to provide covering fire again, widened his small, beady eyes hidden in wrinkles.
"My God, what the hell is that?"
No kidding, his wide-eyed, open-mouthed expression was truly as if he had seen a ghost.
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