The three of them slowly walked in, blacking out all automated weapons on the road, without cutting off their connection to Maelstrom.
This was the superior skill of the two female hackers; they first buried the virus, preventing its discovery, but when the time came, they could seize control in seconds.
The factory interior was completely dark; without optical implant scans, it was difficult to navigate.
Rebecca: "Are these freaks all Dracula? Is this a bat cave?"
No sooner had she finished complaining than her little foot kicked a metal plate:
"Ow, damn! That hurts!" Rebecca stood on one foot, like a fighting rooster, blowing on her foot, looking comical.
Jingxuan, like an older sister, said:
"Xiao Rui, you really are a handful. Come, take my hand."
"Oh."
Rebecca was led by Jingxuan. Since Jingxuan was quite tall, 1.75 meters, the less than 1.5-meter Rebecca truly looked like an obedient daughter, pouting and frowning as she walked.
They finally reached a spacious factory building where the lights were much brighter.
"Hurry up! Girls! Get in the elevator!"
A Maelstrom member yelled.
Rebecca was about to curse when Jingxuan quickly covered her mouth:
"Shh, don't get excited. They just want to scare us, to extort more money."
Lucy also whispered:
"Oh, that Hei Pang middleman greeted you, right? Their Maelstrom boss recently changed, so they might want to renegotiate."
Jingxuan: "It's fine, let's go. We have a few preparations."
The three women entered the elevator, and the atmosphere began to get a little tense. Jingxuan's confidence came from Dog Brother, and of course, from her teammates.
She was actually different from Cyberpunks like Rebecca; she wasn't a true fighter.
Her approach was primarily cautious, and she would try to avoid armed conflict.
According to Dog Brother, if only women came to negotiate, the chance of drawing guns would be much lower.
After all, most men would not view women as opponents or dangerous objects.
Jingxuan had actually debated whether to bring Rebecca.
If she didn't, with just her and Lucy, she felt their combat power wouldn't be enough.
Lucy was indeed skilled with the Monowire, but that was a melee weapon, suitable for assassination. In a frontal group brawl, she'd be riddled with holes.
Having Dog Brother there naturally brought more peace of mind, but adding a combat-crazy Rebecca would ensure they wouldn't suffer too much in a frontal fight.
However, precisely because Rebecca could fight, her temper was explosive. She was genuinely worried that halfway through negotiations, if the other party got arrogant, Rebecca would just blast them in the face with her Iron Gall shotgun:
"Hehe, Xiao Rui... you need to stay calm later. Don't forget, this is their territory..."
Rebecca: "Hmph! I know, I know."
The elevator arrived, and as the iron gate opened, a Maelstrom member, whose face was completely unrecognizable due to modifications, spoke in what seemed to be the same voice as the intercom at the entrance:
"Who are you looking for?"
Jingxuan replied: "We're looking for Royce. We have a deal to discuss with him."
Maelstrom: "Mr. Royce is busy. You can discuss it with me. My name is Dum Dum!"
Jingxuan: "You have a robot, model MTOD12, called Xiao Ping Tou."
Dum Dum waved his hand:
"So what? What's it to you?"
Rebecca took a step forward, but was immediately blocked by Lucy:
"Is that how you Maelstrom talk to ladies? Do you have any manners?"
Dum Dum was a virgin and had no idea how to interact with women. He was stunned by Lucy's words and rubbed the back of his head:
"Uh, fine, come in first."
Immediately, he led the three women to a large sofa.
Jingxuan acted with great confidence, sitting squarely on the sofa, her tone steady:
"My client has already paid Brick. I'm here to pick up the goods."
Lucy, not participating in the negotiation, surveyed her surroundings. The space was cramped, unfavorable for a chaotic fight. Besides Dum Dum, there was a hacker lying connected and another Maelstrom grunt.
Lucy also sat on the sofa, scanning around.
Dum Dum lifted one leg and propped it on the sofa, unpleasantly telling the still-standing Rebecca:
"And you, sit down."
Rebecca gave him a disgusted look:
"I like standing!"
Dum Dum leaned his face closer:
"You don't understand human language, do you?"
That was just Dum Dum; his dictionary had no gender distinction, and he had never interacted with women in real life. He had just been stumped by the stunning beauty Lucy.
Was he supposed to be polite to ladies?
But now, this green-haired little loli was full of swagger, making him feel he should use his usual thuggish tone.
How could Rebecca be convinced?
Being spoken to like that naturally made her angry. She stepped towards Dum Dum, her face contorted:
"You wanna try that again, huh?!"
What kind of sparks fly when a male thug meets a female thug?
Mars colliding with Earth?
No. Dum Dum just felt that this irritable little loli would genuinely shoot him. As a gang member, he could easily distinguish between fake arrogance and a real intention to act.
His new boss, Royce, had said they needed to extort more money from them. If a fight really broke out and these three women were killed, who knew if they had brought cash?
Dead people couldn't transfer money.
Jingxuan and Lucy simultaneously reached out, about to say something. They certainly didn't want the situation to escalate, but Dum Dum actually actively avoided Rebecca, waving a Maelstrom member over from the side.
That Maelstrom member brought over a large box. As soon as he placed the box on the low table, right in front of Jingxuan, he reached out to touch Jingxuan's thigh!
Could Jingxuan let him succeed?
Her cybernetic arm was a Gorilla Arm. Although it looked slender, once the components on her arm expanded, its strength was terrifying.
She grabbed his wrist, and he cried out in pain, struggling but unable to break free.
Jingxuan's eyes flashed with fierce light. She hated this kind of sexual harassment the most, especially since the other party was a pervert:
"Does your subordinate not understand the rules? Do you take me for someone who sells herself?"
Dum Dum delivered a powerful headbutt to the back of that subordinate's head:
"Get the stuff moved and get out of the way! Don't be a nuisance!"
Jingxuan released her grip, and the Maelstrom member recoiled, startled.
Then he looked at Jingxuan:
"Model MTOD12, Xiao Ping Tou. We've erased the serial number and lifted the access restrictions."
Jingxuan hummed, waiting for the other party to continue the introduction.
Dum Dum then opened the box, took out a chip, and inserted it into his slot:
"This thing has a ton of features, dynamic light-thermal camouflage armor, an immersive cognitive system equipped with a Raven controller..."
Then, this robot, which resembled a spider and was about the size of a computer host, quickly climbed the wall, even able to hang from the ceiling.
It made a sound when it moved, but the sound was quite faint. The so-called stealth camouflage wasn't truly invisible; it was more accurately a transparent, blurry patch.
However, if you didn't look carefully, you really couldn't see its figure.
At this moment, all three women noticed the heavy rolling door behind Dum Dum being easily lifted by a single modified fanatic. A burly man watched them.
Jingxuan continued speaking to Dum Dum:
"Alright, this thing is decent. We'll take it, but the money has already been paid to Brick."
The giant man watching them suddenly strode towards them with an arrogant gait. Halfway there, he pulled out a pistol and pointed it at Rebecca.
Dum Dum suddenly looked very panicked. It seemed he was very afraid of this man. He immediately stood up and moved to the corner, saying nothing.
Even the usually volatile Rebecca didn't react immediately. She felt that the opponent's exaggerated implants couldn't be killed with one shot. She couldn't just start fighting; she had to wait for a better opportunity.
The giant man's voice also revealed aggression:
"Paid Brick, huh? Where the hell is Brick? I don't see him!" Then he pointed the gun at Jingxuan again...