"We can do another check in five days, no, make it three days.
If things get worse, or if you develop any symptoms, I'll have no choice but to do a biopsy."
Seeing Viktor's solemn expression, Arthur's heart skipped a beat.
He never imagined that after being plagued to death by an incurable disease in his previous life, and living two hundred years later, he would once again encounter such an unknown entity.
It truly was a persistent haunting.
"I hope everything goes well; after all, it's been so long, and I haven't had any problems."
Suppressing the unease in his heart, Arthur instead comforted Viktor, feeling a strange sense of déjà vu.
"Morgan, if you encounter any problems, don't hide them from me.
Trust me, I can help you."
Looking into Viktor's eyes, Arthur replied.
"Of course, Viktor, you saved my life.
I have no reason not to trust you."
Seeing Arthur's playful demeanor, Viktor chuckled and shook his head, much of his worry dissipating.
"You're messing with me again…
You know what I mean; remember, don't be too proud to ask Viktor for help when you need it."
They hadn't known each other for long, but their friendship was truly genuine.
The next day, Arthur and Jackie, having just finished a mission, decided to take a good rest.
Lizzie's Bar, a place famous for its exquisitely customized Braindances.
A Braindance, in essence, is a full-sensory narrative experience.
Although it offers no freedom, if a person can never experience such a narrative in their lifetime, why not enter one and have an unfree dream?
Even if it's fake, it's real enough, isn't it?
In a corner, the table in front of Arthur and Jackie was already littered with empty bottles.
They weren't here for the custom Braindance service, but mainly for the relatively quiet atmosphere and the lack of annoying people.
Everyone here was busy with their own thing; once they put on a Braindance rig, they were in another world.
"We've made a name for ourselves now; that big guy from Maelstrom we took down, he turned out to be quite an important leader.
Those fixers have called me countless times already."
Jackie waved his glass, looking full of heroic spirit.
"What does his death have to do with us? You should worry less, kid."
Arthur gave Jackie an exasperated look; he really couldn't understand why this guy was so eager to take on trouble.
"I didn't spread anything, but Wakako and those fixers have eyes and ears everywhere, and they deduced it was us.
After all, she knew Jessica was sent over; it's not hard to guess."
Looking at Jackie's innocent expression, Arthur said irritably.
"Don't worry about whether others guessed or not, and we don't care what they think.
You just need to remember one thing—we will never personally admit that we did it."
In the past, he couldn't escape trouble no matter how far he ran, but in this city, it became excellent "work experience" for finding jobs.
What a crazy city.
Drinking heartily, Arthur savored the relaxation and happiness of the moment.
Just then, a call came in.
Thinking it was a fixer assigning him a job, Arthur was about to decline directly, but upon seeing who was calling, a strange expression appeared on his face.
It was David.
This guy had been looking for ways to treat his mom recently; could he have found a lead?
"Why are you calling me?"
Arthur and David began to converse over the comms.
"Are you busy? I mean, do you have any unfinished jobs on hand?"
David's voice came through. Although he and Arthur had only met twice, and Arthur had even given him a good beating.
Their relationship was surprisingly good, especially David, who acted completely familiar.
"Brat, spit it out, what's up?"
"Alright, it's just, there's something I need your help with.
My boss has been having some health issues recently, and he wants Viktor to take a look at him."
Arthur felt a surge of anger, suddenly realizing that David sounded like someone he knew.
He replied furiously.
"If it's Viktor you're looking for, why are you calling me?
Viktor is a ripperdoc who runs a clinic, he doesn't just treat me!"
"I… I'm closest with you, you know."
David's words carried a hint of embarrassment.
"And my boss also wants to meet you."
"Meet me? That's crazy, where are you guys?"
"Wait, this is… TURBO restaurant, we're all here."
Upon getting the address, Arthur hung up the call without another word.
As soon as he came back to his senses, Jackie leaned over with a curious look.
"Whose call was that?"
"Remember that job with the Tyger Claws? It was that kid who was driving."
Arthur explained, pushing the guy in front of him away a little.
"Speaking of that kid, he was on TV, did you know?"
Seeing the confusion on Arthur's face, Jackie eagerly explained.
"That day, the Tyger Claws behind us weren't all dead; some guy recorded a video of David driving.
That video of him driving a car like a motorcycle, everyone who saw it was speechless."
After hearing the explanation, Arthur's mouth twitched a few times; honestly, for a moment, he was really a little scared.
The other two might not have felt much, but Arthur could truly feel every sway of the car, and his eyes could fully capture David's convulsive arms at the time.
Jackie was still chattering, and he asked.
"What did that kid call you about?"
"He said someone on his end wants Viktor's help, and he wants us to go over there."
At this point, the leisurely Arthur didn't mind joining in the fun, but he still had to consider Jackie's thoughts.
"What do you say, want to go? It's dinner time anyway."
"Of course, we can go see that kid."
Jackie stood up directly.
TURBO restaurant was near Japantown, not too far nor too close to Lizzie's Bar. As dusk fully settled, Arthur and Jackie arrived there.
The restaurant was located at the exit of the elevated highway, a small, attached building with a tiny parking lot.
Business here was surprisingly good; the parking spaces in the small lot were already full, and groups of two or three people chatted in the open space of the parking lot.
Fortunately, they hadn't driven.
As they approached, they saw a young man in a yellow Trauma Team jacket, with a buzz cut, waving at them.
David was looking at them with an excited expression.
"Brat, what exactly is going on?"
Arthur slowly walked over, casually placing a hand on the kid's head.
"I couldn't reach you guys for the past few days; were you out working?"
David said, leading Arthur and Jackie into the restaurant.
A long counter was set up on one side of the restaurant's interior, while the other side had partitioned dining tables.
Scanning the environment inside, Arthur didn't forget to answer David's question.
"Yes, a rescue job."
Saying this, he remembered one of the projects in that underground lab, the experiment on restarting neural cell division.
However, that experiment was clearly incomplete and seemed to be of no immediate help for David's mother's condition.
To prevent the young man from doing anything impulsive, Arthur suppressed the urge to tell David.
The restaurant wasn't large, and while Arthur was thinking, they arrived near a dining table.
A rough voice came over.
"Wow, wow, wow, is this the 'big brother' David keeps talking about?"
Arthur first gave David a strange look. Damn it, he suddenly understood where the familiar feeling this kid gave him came from.
When did he become a big brother again?
Seeing David's awkward, glancing-around expression, Arthur glared at him fiercely but didn't refute anything.
He then looked in the direction of the voice and saw a large man with bronze skin and sunglasses sitting by the window.
Next to the man was a short-haired woman whose physique was almost identical to his… she should be a woman.
The strong man had many cybernetic tattoos, but they didn't give Arthur a sense of danger.
The opponent should be weaker than that Maelstrom member named Joseph, Arthur estimated in his mind.
"So you're the one who wanted to see me?"
Arthur asked.
"Yes, David said you're like a big brother to him, so I wanted to meet you."
Maine replied with a hearty laugh.
Although this 'big brother' of David's, who appeared out of nowhere, seemed a bit thin, his intuition, honed by years of living on the edge, told him—
This man opposite him was very dangerous, no, he should say, very deadly.