บท 205: Mackinaw Upgrade Plan
The car slowly parked in the garage.
From the outside, El Captain's office looked like an ordinary car modification shop, but the interior was quite impressive, giving off the vibe of a 4S dealership.
Luxurious leather sofas, real flowers, real grass, fresh air—
There was even a fish tank with 100% real fish swimming inside. This scene was quite novel for street kids like V and Jackie—
The only animals they'd seen, apart from humans, were rats and cockroaches; other animals were only seen in braindance.
The two wandered around, taking in the surroundings.
Leo and El Captain sat opposite each other, with a bottle of top-quality tequila on the table, looking like a limited edition from the god of alcohol.
Overall, the environment was great—so good it felt more like a high-end restaurant in the city center rather than a car modification shop.
Leo was also a bit surprised. He took a sip of the tequila and said, "All this fancy stuff?"
El Captain smiled proudly: "Well, if the setting doesn't look good, how can people believe I'm a capable fixer?
The place where you do business has to be as good as the cars. Speaking of cars, I have a few good ones on hand. If you've got more money than you know what to do with..."
At this, V suddenly leaned over and asked, "Do you have a GTS Outlaw?"
"Uh, not at the moment, but if you want to place an order, I can figure something out."
Leo quickly interrupted, "No, we don't need it, at least not right now. Let's talk about Thorton first."
V clicked her tongue lightly, sat down next to Leo, and boldly gulped down the tequila from the table. After finishing it, she seemed to enjoy the taste and even drank Leo's glass as well.
"It's like this," El Captain said, placing a chip on the table. "Thorton has offered two plans. One is to sponsor a new car for free."
Leo inserted the chip and reviewed the details.
The new car was simple: a Colby Hellhound, the exclusive armored vehicle of the Hellhound unit. It's a genuine warzone vehicle with an armored body, bulletproof windows, and a chassis capable of withstanding a 10-kilogram TNT explosion. It boasted 300 horsepower.
It came equipped with the same electronic weapons system as the Hellhound, and the trunk could hold an entire armory.
It was great, but the drawbacks were also clear. This was a standard-issue armored vehicle, lacking personality, and there was always the chance that hackers might find security loopholes.
"The second option is to continue modifying the car. They've got some experimental war vehicle technology and want to use Mackinaw's design to quietly test it out."
The second plan was wilder, using more advanced, experimental technology.
From the outside, the car would still look like Mackinaw, but the chassis would use special alloy steel, as strong as the Korby Hellhound, and it would have a transforming structure.
This structure, combined with a special shock-absorbing and tire system, could automatically adapt to terrain and allow omnidirectional movement.
The new power system wouldn't just provide 400 horsepower; the circuitry would support various automatic weapon systems and holographic crystal ball technology. Since it's a modular upgrade, it would be up to Leo to decide how to arm the vehicle.
In addition, it would come with a custom armored exterior and an electronic intrusion defense system.
In short, after the modifications, the car would only look like a Mackinaw from the outside, but internally it would be a Batmobile—
In fact, when in combat mode, the truck bed could even close up, turning it into a full-fledged tank.
But to be honest...
"With this level of modification, why still call it a Mackinaw?"
Leo's expression was odd.
"You know how it is with the stock market. Mackinaw launched a concept stock because they're afraid the buzz you've created will disappear one day, causing the stock price to plummet and affecting their operations.
By launching the concept stock, they can rake in some cash from gullible investors while also promoting their unsold Mackinaw models to clear out their inventory.
Mackinaw cars are tough to sell. Clearing just one brings in profits; clearing two is a jackpot."
Tough to sell, indeed.
With the money it costs to buy a Mackinaw, only a fool would drive this oversized truck in the city—it's big, slow, and guzzles gas.
It performs well in the badlands, but nomads generally don't have the money for something like this.
The second plan was bizarre, but in theory, it was just as practical as the Hellhound armored vehicle. The only issue was that it was a one-off modification.
Since it wasn't factory-made, there's no guarantee that problems wouldn't arise during actual use, and there'd be no after-sales support.
However, Leo was confident he could handle it, and maybe even make a few tweaks along the way.
Leo removed the chip. "I'll go with the second plan. When can we start the modifications?"
"We can start tomorrow and finish the day after. Thorton's in a bit of a hurry."
"What's the rush?"
"They're worried you'll be driving another company's car next time you stir things up in public."
That sounded odd.
After finalizing the sponsorship, Leo thought for a moment and said, "Can you get sex doll chips? The higher-end, the better."
El Captain paused, stunned: "For a brothel? What am I supposed to do with that? You can't... you're not planning to... with the car, are you?
Unless..."
"No, just don't ask what I need it for. Explain the situation."
"Well, since you're asking for sex doll chips, you probably know what they're capable of.
As for where to get high-end sex doll chips, it's obviously from high-end brothels.
Most of the high-end brothel business is controlled by the Tyger Claws. The Mox gang should have some too.
These two gangs don't interact much, though the Tyger Claws do have some conflict with the 6th Street gang. Other than that, there's not much overlap.
Boss, I'm not too familiar with this stuff. You see how poor things are in Santo Domingo—no one's really in the mood for that kind of thing."
"Alright, I'll figure something out. I'll leave the car with you for now. Do you have any other vehicles?"
"Of course!"
Another Mackinaw rolled out of the garage and parked at the street corner.
The three looked out through the glass and saw an almost identical Mackinaw slowly turning towards El Captain.
El Captain grinned, rubbing his hands together: "One more thing I didn't mention—Thorton's Mackinaw distributor is actually me."
"You've got some connections, huh? Alright, if there's nothing else, we'll be on our way."
"Hey, Boss, actually, there's one more thing. The 6th Street gang has been a bit restless lately. Word is their leader, Morton, has been colluding with a corporation.
There's this guy called Cannon, sneaking around gathering people. He was there when you guys broke into Arroyo.
I think this guy's trying to take over. He's been at it for nearly two years, and it's about the time to betray his boss."
"What's this got to do with us? We're not gangsters. Are you asking us to take care of him?"
"Cannon is ambitious in his power grab, but he's a fool when it comes to running things. Their leader gave him a territory to collect protection money, and that just so happens to overlap with our business.
I've seen him hanging around the factory market and Rama's armory these past few days."
Leo rubbed his chin. "Do you have his home address? I'll pay him a visit."
"It's hard to find his home, but he's been hassling a meat vendor lately. He goes there every few days to stir up trouble.
Boss, here's 10,000 eddies for travel expenses. Have fun."
[Transfer completed.]
As soon as the money hit Leo's account, he passed it straight to V.
Debt successfully decreased to 1.65 million.
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