บท 57: Earned Reputation
When it came to Misty, Leo was reminded of something. During his first dive into cyberspace using the Sandevistan without equipment back in Atlanta, he had seen a card.
The Major Arcana card, the Wheel of Fortune.
In the game, only V could see this card, so Leo had no idea why he was able to see it too.
"Leo, it's great to see you. Jackie says you're quite a remarkable person."
"Though I must look pretty ordinary. It's nice to meet you too, Misty."
Leo shrugged and sat down in the chair. "Tarot cards, huh? I know a bit about them, but I don't really know how to perform a Tarot reading. I'll give it a try—let's predict how the next job will go."
"Most people hesitate when they walk into my shop. It's rare to see someone like you."
Without saying much more, Misty took out the Tarot cards and tapped the crystal ball on the table.
With a crisp sound, Leo felt his mind go blank.
[Implant-induced thoughts withdrawal detected. Would you like to remove the influence?]
[Influence removed.]
Leo was stunned—what did Tarot readings have to do with implants?!
Misty, however, was her usual self and drew three cards.
"One represents the past, one the present, and one the future."
"The first card, the Magician in the upright position. This represents the beginning of things, using your skilled techniques and abilities to impose your will and achieve your ambitions."
"The second card, Death in the upright position. You are about to face a fierce confrontation where your usual methods and tricks won't work—this will be a fight to the death."
"The third card, the Chariot in the upright position. A warrior on a chariot, driven by beasts, heading to the battlefield, taking the initiative to win victory."
"These are all very dangerous cards, but as long as you keep a strong will, you will succeed."
The reading wasn't exactly bad, but it essentially indicated that one wrong move could cost him his life.
Then again, for a mercenary, such words were as common as hearing the same old platitudes.
But that earlier prompt...
Leo wasn't usually one to believe in superstitions, but now he couldn't help but wonder if there was some scientific principle behind Tarot readings.
A fierce battle? Was the Sixth Street Gang going to send out a large force to hunt them down?
Jackie, smiling, patted Leo on the shoulder. "That's something we're never short of, Leo. Show Misty the footage from Lamar's Armory so she knows just how strong our will is."
Leo gave him a strange look. "You sure?"
"I'm sure—I just told her about it."
Leo pulled out a separate surveillance recording shard and inserted it into the projector on the table.
You wanted to see it—Leo thought to himself.
On the screen, the two of them walked into the building, and Leo sat down to talk with Rosanna.
Then, Rosanna crossed her arms and started throwing out threats.
But before she could finish, her expression suddenly changed, and in the blink of an eye, the four corner turrets opened fire!
Leo didn't flinch, and Jackie raised his gun to aim.
Up to this point, everything was normal—Jackie still felt pretty cool—though maybe not as composed as Leo.
However, in the next moment, the Jackie on the monitor stupidly patted himself down—Rosanna couldn't see it, but the monitor captured it clearly!
It wasn't until Leo asked for his gun that Jackie seemed to snap back to reality.
Jackie was dumbfounded—he remembered himself as a cold-blooded killer during the encounter!
"Supposedly," Leo said slowly, "people tend to revise their own memories as a self-protective measure."
"Hey—Leo, don't we have work to do? Let's go discuss it in the back!" Jackie quickly pressed the button to eject the shard from the projector, grabbed it, and almost hugged Leo as he dragged him toward the back door.
Misty couldn't help but burst into laughter—
This big guy might seem a bit clueless, but he surely didn't realize how cool he looked when he stepped up to protect his friends.
"How did it turn out like this?"
"What do you mean, how? The video doesn't lie; that's just how it was."
As V stepped outside, she saw the two of them discussing something.
"What are you guys talking about?"
Jackie scratched his head. "Uh, nothing much. Did you get your Mantis Blades installed?"
With a swift motion, V's left forearm suddenly split open, and a sharp blade sprang out.
This was a concealed, lethal melee weapon hidden within the arm, storing up energy to strike out in an instant, capable of easily slicing through a person. The way it deployed was reminiscent of a praying mantis's attack, hence the name Mantis Blade.
After it was deployed, it was often used more as an exotic weapon, valued for its suddenness and concealment.
Leo found it fascinating. "You only got one arm done? Didn't get the other one?"
"I wanted to get both done, but Viktor said if I did the other arm, it would require surgery on my kidneys and liver. He told me to think it over first."
Cyberware modification is never an isolated action, which is why you need a ripperdoc.
Take the Mantis Blade, for example. It converts bioenergy into mechanical energy. The built-in fat-to-energy conversion motor burns fat and uses the energy from ATP hydrolysis to convert it into mechanical energy for deployment.
This requires the user to have strong lungs to take in oxygen for the oxidative reaction to release energy; a strong heart to pump blood, and even a strong stomach to absorb nutrients from food.
And as a complex piece of cyberware, the Mantis Blade also uses the body's natural lubricants for routine self-maintenance, just like a real organ, benefiting from the body's fluid circulation.
Of course, long-term use still requires maintenance by a ripperdoc.
During use, these lubricants get metabolized and replaced over time, so the kidneys and liver, which handle these processes, also take a hit.
For someone like V, who hadn't undergone organ cyberware surgery but could still support this much cyberware, it was clear she had some serious natural talent.
Her Body and Reflexes potential were definitely higher than 16—Viktor probably just fudged the numbers.
"Well, since V's all set, Jackie, did you get your gun?"
"Of course." Jackie pulled out two golden Nue revolvers from his pocket. "And the Satara is here."
He shifted to reveal the tech shotgun they had taken from the Sixth Street Gang, strapped to his back.
Leo had made some slight adjustments to it, restoring the power limit circuit and loading it with standard rounds.
"Well then—our next target is Chesson Weston of 'The Manufactory' trade market.
Grab your gear, and let's move out."
"Hold on, we've made a name for ourselves—Santo Domingo is crawling with the Sixth Street Gang. How are we going to get in?" V asked.
Leo smiled mysteriously and pulled out a small vial of slow-release medication from his tactical backpack—if you looked closely, you could see that about 10ml of the liquid was missing.
"We've got someone who's going to get us in."
Just then, a vehicle from the Red Ocher family pulled up on the side of the road. The driver was none other than the Sixth Street Gang soldier they had let go during the convoy raid!
"Hurry up! Don't let anyone else see you!"
...
Having just wrapped up a lucrative deal, Padre was in a good mood as he sat in his car.
In fact, because the goods were handled at a friendly price, Padre could sell them to the Valentinos at a slight markup, still below market value, but just enough to turn a profit.
So not only did he save money, but he also made a small profit.
A small profit, strengthening of Valentinos' firepower, and smacking down the Sixth Street Gang—there wasn't a better deal than that.
Ding dong—
However, the ring of his phone interrupted his thoughts. As a big shot, it was normal to have a few human connections to handle the calls.
Padre nodded, signaling for his subordinate to answer.
"Padre, you sneaky old devil! Was it your idea to send those fools from Burgerking's Big Shot Squad after me?!"
"I—"
The Padre had been ready with a smooth response, but the sergeant on the other end cut him off, leaving him momentarily speechless.
What in the world?
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