"That Rogue is inexperienced and unreliable! She truly can't be trusted!"
Berry, who was similarly inexperienced, returned to the apartment furiously, startling V, who was playing a game.
Taking off her headphones, V looked confusedly at Berry, who had angrily plopped down onto the sofa.
What happened?
V expressed confusion.
Who had provoked her little kitten like this?
Thinking this, V, who had finally found some spare time, took off her headphones, put down her controller, and walked over to sit next to Berry.
"What's wrong, Berry? Did someone upset you?"
V looked at the snarling, nearly fire-eyed Berry, softened her tone, and gently stroked her back, comforting the now angry little kitten.
It must be said that when V, a cool, short-haired Girl, made such a gesture, the impact was huge. Berry, at least, only managed to take a deep breath and force herself to calm down after feeling V's concern.
There was a reason for her anger.
The reason was that someone dared to be blind enough to mess with her property.
She had called Rogue hoping to rekindle the old flame between her and Johnny and arrange a meeting. Rogue said she was busy, which was fine; people are constantly busy, and they could talk later.
But what Rogue said next displeased Berry.
It was about the property she had set her sights on.
The Hive organization was gradually growing and needed a base larger than Viktor's clinic, which is why Berry made a deal with Rogue.
The negotiation went well. From the list Rogue submitted that met her criteria, she rented the most suitable—and cheapest—location.
After all, she wasn't exactly flush with cash right now.
Even if she and Viktor spent 24 hours a day in the repair shop, twisting wrenches and turning screws until they smoked, they couldn't earn enough money to buy a house in Night City. Of course, this refers to a detached house; pigeon coops don't count.
It must be said that forming a gang costs far less money than buying an apartment.
This was, admittedly, a bit of a dark joke.
Therefore, Berry chose the most economical package. After all, nothing ventured, nothing gained; she needed a bigger place to expand her business and rake in more money.
With her skills, she definitely wouldn't lack business in violence-ridden Night City.
And that's where the problem arose.
The owner of the property she selected had taken the money but couldn't hand over the location because the property wasn't actually in his control.
He had rented it to someone else, a third-rate gang. Unfortunately, this gang called the Motorcycle Gang was following standard street etiquette: they didn't plan to pay rent or move out.
The owner didn't have the money to hire a whole team of Mercenaries to drive those bastards out. While he was in a difficult spot, Berry, the unsuspecting victim, showed up.
Naturally, the owner simply sublet it to Berry at a lower price, but Berry had to figure out how to "invite" the old tenants—the Motorcycle Gang—to leave.
Of course, it would have been better if all this had been agreed upon while Berry was informed.
But now, the property owner, that bastard, had played both Rogue the Fixer and Berry by concealing the information.
As the Fixer, Rogue had the responsibility to clean up the deal and said she would handle it within two weeks and hand the property over to Berry intact.
But Berry couldn't wait that long.
Two weeks was too long to wait in Night City, where every second counted.
Don't forget, Yorinobu Arasaka has now taken power. His goal is indeed to destroy Arasaka, but his method is extremely radical—he plans to start a new Corporate War to make Arasaka and Militech and other major corporations destroy each other.
For major corporations that all possess nuclear weapons, what a world-destroying war this would be. How many cities would be ruined, and how many people would die?
Berry guessed that the best outcome would be the destruction of two-thirds of the world, and the worst would be human civilization regressing directly to the Stone Age.
She even thought her own dreams were extreme, but compared to Yorinobu, she was practically a conservative, merely a reformist.
Yorinobu is truly the heavyweight.
It must be said that Yorinobu Arasaka chose the wrong idol. With such ambition, why idolize Johnny Silverhand? The Great Western King, Zhang Xianzhong, would be more suitable for you.
Therefore, under these circumstances, Berry had to race against time to strengthen her Hive organization so she could intervene as a player in this Great War and find an opportunity to realize her final vision.
Waiting two weeks, according to the Bai Rui Inequality, was equivalent to wasting a hundred years.
So Berry couldn't wait at all. She would use her own methods to "invite" those bastards occupying her territory to leave.
Beside her, V, who now knew the whole story, fell silent, leaning her legs on the glass coffee table and gazing up at the ceiling, lost in thought.
"So, Berry, what are you going to do?"
"What am I going to do? Naturally, I'll follow Night City's rules."
Hearing V ask this, Berry said through gritted teeth.
Night City's rules, of course, mean letting guns do the talking, and the winner takes all.
She planned to personally gather her forces, march up to the location, and seize the stronghold from those filthy scoundrels.
When the time came, she would personally lead the army, using the Hive veterans as the core, with Mitsuhide and Kikyo as the Left and Right Generals, ensuring that whatever the hell the Motorcycle Gang was, it would be utterly wiped out.
As for Jackie and V, Berry didn't plan to ask for their help this time. She had pride, didn't she? She had just finished bragging, and then the territory she claimed was occupied. She wanted to handle this matter herself.
However, even though Berry said she would solve it herself, V still took the matter to heart.
Her girlfriend had a problem; could she just stand by and watch?
Not helping means she's not capable.
Wait, she actually doesn't have one.
Never mind. In short, she felt she could help Berry.
So, after spending some effort to cheer Berry up, V prepared to act on her own.
"Hey, Regina, good morning."
"Mhm, thanks. I'd be happier if it wasn't almost noon right now."
Regina Jones, the Fixer for Watson, V dialed her number.
Before starting, she needed some intelligence.
V, an experienced Mercenary, knew the value of information, so she spoke.
"I need to look into a group called the Motorcycle Gang. Do you have any leads?"
"Asking me for intel, V, that's a first."
Regina on the other end of the video call raised an eyebrow after hearing V's words, clearly surprised.
V had worked for her several times, helping capture Cyberpsychosis patients and the like.
But V proactively seeking her out was indeed a first.
"It's just a small favor, and I'll pay for it," V continued in a cool tone.
V's cool tone continued. She wasn't the same as she was around Berry; she was now extremely aloof and capable, just like any seasoned Mercenary.
"Heh, forget the money. Consider this a gift for your recovery, free of charge."
Regina Jones chuckled, crossing her arms as she continued.
"The Motorcycle Gang, right? Sounds like a gang. I'll check now."
As she spoke, Regina's eyes flashed yellow, clearly searching her database.
V watched without speaking.
Of course, she wouldn't ask Regina how she knew about her injury. Their incident at the Arasaka Tower had made them completely famous, and now their names and files were likely on the lists of every major and minor faction in Night City.
This wasn't a bad thing, though. The first sign that a Mercenary was becoming a legend was having a massive reputation.
Night City was like a Dark Forest that preyed on people; exposing yourself only meant dying faster. But those who were extremely flamboyant, spreading their names everywhere yet still surviving, became absolute legends.
Without them even speaking, countless major gigs and money would continuously seek them out.
Of course, so would endless hidden traps and pursuits—which is why they say Night City's legends are clustered in the graveyard.
However, what V wanted now was simple: to help Berry save face.
"The Motorcycle Gang. Found them."
Just then, Regina also found the intelligence regarding the Motorcycle Gang.
"The Motorcycle Gang isn't a large gang, just dozens of people. They run a casino called the Royal Flush. The gang's leader is Dum Dum, a Hispanic man."
"This group has always been low-key. I don't have much intel, but it seems they've done some work for Biotechnica. That's everything I know."
"Alright, thank you."
After hearing Regina's intelligence, V nodded and thanked her.
"You're welcome. I hope you have time to deal with the Cyberpsychosis cases for me again. Things are unstable in the city lately, and many Cyberpsychosis patients are appearing."
Regina sighed as she spoke.
The Cyberpsychosis problem was like the many festering sores covering Night City's body—it was a problem inherent to Night City's very existence. As long as Night City didn't disappear, the problem would remain.
Just like in human history, the day law appeared, crime followed.
Regina was also chasing a wild goose, delusionally hoping to cure so-called Cyberpsychosis. This seemed inconsistent with her image as a shrewd and capable Fixer. Shrewd people always focus all their energy on how to make money and establish power.
But Regina seemed different; she wanted to help the group marginalized and ostracized by society.
But as the saying goes, Night City is full of lies.
Maybe this person was collecting Cyberpsychosis patients for inhumane experiments.
V thought this with a sense of emptiness.
After all, ten out of ten people who want to do bad things claim they are doing good. The bigger the boasts, the more terrifying the reality; those who claim to save humanity are often the terrorists who could shock the entire world.
After getting the information, V called Jackie; there were some things she couldn't do alone.
"Jackie?"
"This is Jackie Welles, you've reached my voicemail. Please leave a message after the beep..."
"Jackie, this isn't funny."
Listening to Jackie's deliberately synthesized voice, V rolled her eyes, arms crossed, speechless at Jackie's humorless attempt at humor.
"Oh, wait, it's V!" When he saw that the person on the other end was V, Jackie in the video call suddenly widened his eyes in surprise.
"V, come to the Wolf Bar quickly, you have to save me!"
In the video call, Jackie lowered his voice and spoke urgently, his eyes darting around furtively as if afraid of being discovered.
Seeing Jackie like this, V frowned, realizing that things were not simple.
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