"I'm sorry, Dexter, our cooperation ends here!"
"Keep the damn reward for your own escape!"
Jackie's resolute words came out, and the reactions of the people on both ends of the phone were different.
Berry's hands, which had gripped the leather seat into a depression, finally relaxed, while Dexter on the other end cursed angrily.
"You idiots! Aren't you afraid of death?! Arasaka will hang all of you!"
But no matter what, Dexter's impotent roar no longer affected Jackie, who had already made his decision.
He let out a long breath, his tone becoming relaxed.
"Have a nice life!"
With a beep, Jackie hung up the phone.
"...Thank you for trusting me, Jackie." Berry was speechless, only able to express her gratitude to Jackie for believing in her.
"What are you talking about, Berry? What's our relationship? We're always a team."
Listening to Jackie's warm words, Berry was filled with mixed emotions, only nodding silently.
"Besides, V needs treatment now, very much." Jackie glanced at the unconscious V next to him, saying with concern.
"We need to get to Viktor's quickly. V needs treatment, and she needs a blood transfusion!" Thinking of V, Berry clenched her teeth, and tears were about to well up again reflexively.
"Already on our way!"
Jackie swallowed, his attention returning to driving, the car speeding along, shifting up another gear.
"Open the door! Misty! It's us!"
In front of Misty's Shop, when Misty, in her pajamas with disheveled hair, opened the door, she was startled by the three people covered in injuries.
The three of them were in such a tragic state, barely clinging to life, and V was the worst, supported by the two of them, almost losing consciousness.
"Quick, come in! I'll go call Doctor Viktor!"
Misty didn't dare to be careless. After ushering the three in and closing the door, she quickly went out the back door and knocked on Viktor's Clinic's rolling shutter in the alley.
"V, come on, be careful." Berry and Jackie carefully supported V, entering the opened clinic.
"Trouble. The situation is worse than I thought." In the dim yellow light of the clinic, Viktor put on his glasses. From his neat clothes, he seemed not to have slept at all.
And when he saw their tragic state, he immediately went to find his medical kit.
"Put V on the operating chair, carefully."
The two obediently lifted V onto the operating chair, and seeing V's tragic state, they were at a loss for what to do.
"Viktor, what else can we do?!" Looking at V lying unconscious on the operating chair, Berry clenched her hands, her mind blank, at a loss.
"Go get blood bags from the freezer, B-type blood." Viktor put on plastic gloves, turned on the light above the operating chair, and calmly instructed the two panicked individuals.
"I'll go!" As if grasping at a lifeline, Berry immediately ran off.
Viktor gently turned V's face with his hand, scanning her pale face, then pulled open her eyelids with his fingers, shining a flashlight to check the eye's reflex response.
"Good, she's just temporarily unconscious from excessive blood loss."
Only then did Viktor's tense face relax slightly.
Then, he went to examine V's abdominal and back wounds.
"Damn..." As V's waist bandage was undone, Jackie saw V's bloody and mangled appearance, mixed with hemostatic gel and blood clots, and painfully covered his forehead.
If V hadn't saved him, she wouldn't be in such a state.
"The blood's here! Viktor!"
Berry ran over with a panicked expression, her breath unsteady, placing a box of still-cold blood bags on the ground.
"Good." Viktor calmly and skillfully took a cotton swab soaked in saline to wipe V's elbow joint, then tore open a plastic package, taking out a soft tube and a needle.
After connecting a blood bag and hanging it on a stand, and inserting the other end into V's arm bend, Viktor finally let out a sigh of relief.
He turned to look at the two standing there, tense and gripping their hands like statues.
"You two go rest outside the shop and get yourselves bandaged up." Seeing their disheveled state, Viktor sighed. "Go on, I need to clean V's wounds and remove the bullet, and I also need a sterile environment."
"Okay..."
Jackie and Berry walked out the door. The cool night wind hit their faces, making them feel a little more alert.
"I need to... I need to calm down for a bit..." Jackie rubbed his blood-stained face with his large hands. Too much had happened today; he, he couldn't quite process it.
Jackie hunched over and walked into Misty's Shop, laboriously sitting on a chair. As soon as his backside touched the stool, he lost all strength and slumped back against the chair.
Berry also wanted to walk over, but as soon as she took a step, a throbbing pain shot through her body, making her wince.
The adrenaline secreted during the battle slowly faded after a respite, and the fatigue and pain in her body struck all at once, making Berry dizzy and almost unable to stand.
"Damn it," Berry struggled to say, her legs going weak. She had to painstakingly use her hands to support herself, turning to sit on the steps.
Berry sat, hugging herself with her arms wrapped around her, her shoulders and legs trembling from the cold and pain. She huddled into a small ball in the darkness.
What the hell happened?
Berry closed her eyes, enduring the pain, and asked herself.
How did things get so bad?
Jackie survived, but V was seriously injured.
Damn it.
What about the oath she made? Isn't it still unfulfilled?
Berry blamed herself painfully, clutching her chest, feeling an unbearable tightness in her heart.
Damn it.
It's all because of her incompetence.
If only she were a little stronger, a little smarter.
Or if she had just found a way to build a hundred or so mechs and flatten Arasaka Tower in one go, wouldn't that broken chip have been easy to get?
Berry propped her hands on the ground, gasping for breath with great effort, the throbbing pain from various wounds on her body causing excruciating pain with every movement.
Otherwise, it wouldn't have come to this.
For V to suffer such injuries.
Berry felt even more pain at the thought of V's pale face, a twisting pain in her heart that made her twitch.
She had clearly said she would protect V, but she let her become like this.
What kind of person was she? She was utterly useless!
Berry painfully squeezed her eyes shut, her mind sinking into boundless agony.
"Berry, are you alright...?"
Just as Berry was still cursing her useless self, Misty's voice suddenly startled her, making her sit up straight.
"Damn it..." With just one movement, Berry winced in pain again, her hands trembling.
"This will be a little warmer." It was Misty, who draped a thick coat over Berry. The slightly oversized woolen coat completely enveloped her, leaving only her small head visible.
Although it still hurt a lot, at least it was warmer. Berry trembled and let out a sigh of relief, feeling a bit more relaxed.
"Have some water, Berry." After putting the coat on Berry, Misty handed her a cup of warm water, slightly steaming.
"Thank you... Misty." Berry, touched by Misty's kindness, looked a bit embarrassed. She held the cup with both hands and took small sips.
She even remembered that she liked to drink hot water.
Berry felt very grateful.
Misty, with her dark eyeshadow and punk street style, was actually a gentle and delicate person.
This was evident in the game by her care for V after V was shot in the head, and by her words when V faced her final choice.
But knowing it was one thing; Berry was still very grateful to be cared for so meticulously. In this restless, violent world, where everything seemed to be rushing towards an endpoint, having a friend like Misty was an honor.
"Berry, you... are very scared right now, and full of unease..." Misty didn't leave, but sat down next to Berry, hugging her knees.
Although Berry didn't know why Misty could read her thoughts, she wasn't in the mood to explore it now. Her mind was filled with images of V's injuries, and all sorts of possible and impossible, terrifying things twisted into fragments.
"Berry, wipe your tears first." Misty looked at Berry with pity and offered her a wet wipe.
What?
Only then did Berry clearly hear what Misty said. She belatedly touched her face, feeling wetness.
She hadn't realized when she started crying, and her face was covered in tears.
Berry took the wet wipe and haphazardly wiped away her tears. She didn't want to appear so weak.
But things went against her wishes; the more she wiped, the more tears welled up, covering her face. In the end, her warm tears soaked both her palms and the backs of her hands.
After a futile effort, Berry could only give up.
"Misty... I'm really useless." Putting down the wet wipe, Berry shook her head painfully, her voice incredibly low. "Why am I so useless...?"
Misty said nothing, only looked at Berry with compassion, reaching out to stroke Berry's back and listen to her words.
"I swore I wouldn't let V get hurt..." Berry, knowing she was crying, cried even harder, almost unable to stop sobbing, large tears dripping to the ground.
"But... but she's already hurt..." Berry's voice was hurried, trembling.
She had been completely broken by Adam Smasher, which showed her how ridiculous her own strength was, unable to even protect the person she loved.
"It's okay, Berry..." Listening to Berry's confession, Misty comforted her. "You are very brave, braver than any of us."
"Bravery isn't about not being afraid, but about daring to face things despite our worries and fears. That's what bravery is, just like you, Berry..."
Although Berry didn't clearly hear what Misty said, she gradually calmed down, soothed by Misty's moon-like gentle voice.
"Jackie, Berry, you two, come over!"
Just then, Viktor opened the clinic door and called them in.
"Thank you, Misty!" Berry sincerely thanked Misty, then turned towards Viktor, enduring the pain to spring to her feet. "Coming!"
"I've been dying of impatience, it's finally done!"
Jackie also walked out at this moment.
"Hehehe..." Misty shook her head, amused, watching Berry immediately perk up at the news about V.
It seemed the panacea for Berry was something starting with V.
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