The three of them and the car stopped at the border checkpoint. The experienced V was responsible for the questioning and interrogation, leaving the nervous Jackie and Berry inside the car.
The engine hummed. Jackie gripped the steering wheel, ready to drive away if anything went wrong.
To be honest, his earlier composure was all an act. This was his first smuggling job, and he was currently terrified.
But Jackie didn't know that his poor disguise had long been seen through by V and Berry. Now, however, he couldn't even keep up the act.
Sitting in the car, border soldiers fully armed walked back and forth in front of them. Jackie anxiously bounced his leg. He had never felt waiting take so long.
"...Berry, don't worry, everything will be fine."
Though he himself was scared to death, he was still pretending to comfort Berry. Berry, who was cleaning her gun in the back seat, couldn't help but roll her eyes at him.
"Jackie, if you stopped shaking your leg so violently, I might believe you."
After replying, Berry ignored Jackie and concentrated on cleaning her gun. She knew there would be a fierce gunfight soon.
"Uh, sorry, sorry." Caught out by the cute Girl, Jackie was clearly embarrassed. He scratched his face and stopped shaking his leg. "That's a really bad habit."
"Whoa, that gun is cool. Did you buy it?" Turning around, Jackie couldn't help but exclaim at the revolver in Berry's hand.
The long revolver was almost as long as Berry's forearm. Combined with the cold metallic feel, held by Berry, it created a stark beauty-and-the-beast contrast.
"I modified it." Her gaze didn't shift; Berry concentrated on wiping and reassembling the gun parts one by one. "The Prelude, you know it? It's quite handy. I made some changes, but now it should probably be called 'vitamin b'."
The Prelude, Jackie certainly knew it—a revolver whose recoil was as fierce as its power. However, street Mercenaries like them didn't like to use it much; it was too loud, the recoil was too strong, and combined with the ancestral law of six rounds per cylinder for revolvers, its continuous firing capability was poor.
In short, using this kind of pistol on the street meant you were either a badass or an idiot.
The young Girl in front of him didn't look like an idiot. Was she a badass? Jackie squinted, but couldn't discern any aura of a master from Berry.
Looking at the firearm again, it was exquisitely crafted. The outer casing was painted with bright purple lacquer, and the letters "VB" were specially painted in yellow in the middle of the barrel.
"vitamin b, is that where the gun's name comes from?" Since he had nothing else to do, Jackie became curious about Berry's gun.
"Yes, and no." Berry pursed her lips, finished assembling the gun, and spun the cylinder. "It's V and me, Berry. Got it?"
So that was it. Jackie suddenly realized.
"Damn, you two are really close." Jackie gave her a thumbs up.
In Jackie's view, having both their initials printed on the gun was incredibly cool—a privilege reserved for the tightest of choombas. Excited, Jackie asked another question.
"Say, Girl, are you and V, are you two partners, or something like that?" Jackie had noticed V's care for Berry throughout the journey, so he asked casually, but then he noticed that the hand Berry was holding the gun with paused.
"Hey, I just asked casually. I apologize if I offended you." Seeing Berry's stiff face, Jackie realized he might have asked something he shouldn't have. He immediately raised his hands in apology.
"No, I..."
"Hey, what are you two talking about?"
Seeing Jackie looking curious but pretending not to ask, Berry was anxious to explain, but V's voice interrupted them.
V sat in the passenger seat, closed the door, and looked at the two of them with slight curiosity.
"Heh heh, nothing. We were just talking about Berry's gun."
Jackie chuckled, letting the subject drop.
"Alright, no problem, but we need to hurry." V lifted her chin, looking at the iron bar descending in front of them.
"No problem!" Jackie slammed the accelerator, and the old car roared out of the border checkpoint.
"V, you look terrible." Berry grabbed the front seat headrest, stating the obvious.
"I have a bad feeling." V seemed worried after getting into the car, and combined with the darkening sky outside, it created an indescribable sense of dread.
"Oh... do you get this feeling often?" Seeing how depressed both V and Berry were, Jackie, who was gripping the steering wheel, felt increasingly uneasy.
He watched V's eyes scan the surroundings vigilantly, as if some monster might leap out of the nearby piles of trash.
"Just drive, Jackie, keep driving." V didn't know how to offer comfort, so she said it casually.
Berry in the back naturally knew what was coming; the border checkpoint had sold them out, and soon a large group of Militech Agents would rush over, intent on killing them.
But she couldn't say it aloud, and the feeling was suffocating her, like watching a train plunge into a cliff.
Her dark eyes reflected faintly in the gloom, fixed on the road stretching into the distance.
She held her gun, the safety off, ready to shoot at any moment.
"Someone is coming our way, and they don't look friendly."
Under the evening twilight, several armored SUVs drove toward them from the opposite lane, and the atmosphere instantly became tense.
"Something's wrong, hurry and run, Jackie!"
Just as expected, the enemies had arrived. Berry was the first to speak, her knuckles white as she gripped the gun.
The SUVs emitted cold alarm sounds, blocking the road ahead.
"Quick, turn, go through the side!" V urgently pointed toward the nearby bushes.
"Hold on tight!" In haste, Jackie yelled, sharply spun the steering wheel, and plunged down the slope.
Below the slope was a flat area dotted with structures resembling greenhouse sheds. Jackie, desperate for an escape route, drove straight into the deserted complex.
"They're following us!"
The black SUVs chased relentlessly, blaring electronic warnings demanding surrender, while black-clad Corporate Agents leaned out of the vehicles to shoot.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
The muzzle flashes, mixed with the surrounding lights of various colors, stretched into a colorful fringe, dazzling the eyes.
In this urgent situation, Berry and V tacitly leaned out of the car windows simultaneously and returned fire.
"Jackie, keep the car steady!"
"No problem!"
The car weaved through the narrow passages between the buildings, the roaring engine noise drowning out almost everything else.
"Whoosh! Whoosh~!"
Several stray bullets grazed the roof, sparking, but Berry, leaning out, showed no fear.
Having been with V for so long, she was a qualified Mercenary.
Raising the "vitamin b" in her hand, Berry looked at the pursuing vehicles with cold eyes.
"Bang! Bang!"
Two sharp gunshots rang out consecutively, the muzzle flash blurring Berry's face.
One shot blew off the shooter's skull; the second shattered the armored glass, blasting the driver's chest into a bloody mess.
The driver died, the armored car lost control, crashed into a greenhouse shed, and exploded into pieces with a deafening boom.
The surging heat wave quickly caught up and hit Berry's face, making her hair dance. Her fair complexion was exceptionally dazzling under the towering flames, and her stern expression, a stark contrast to her usual gentle demeanor, made her look like a sacred Valkyrie.
V, leaning out from the front seat, stared blankly at Berry.
"Holy hell, V, you guys weren't kidding! Berry, you're damn amazing!"
Jackie couldn't help but swear; he had glanced in the rearview mirror just in time to see Berry's display of might.
Two shots, one kill each, and taking out a car to boot. Damn, what kind of god-tier teammates were these?
"Awesome! I'm getting excited!" Amidst the rapid gunfire, Jackie shouted excitedly. The steering wheel twisted and deformed in his hands like dough, making the car snake like a swimming serpent, swinging left and right through the narrow alleyways, shaking off the vehicles trailing behind them.
Berry and V continued to shoot, the crisp gunshots, one after the other, almost blending into a messy, wild symphony.
Unlike Berry, who was nearly infallible, V inherited the classic street style: absolutely fast, relatively accurate. She fired her revolver so quickly it was practically an automatic rifle, spraying bullets backward.
Then came a quick reload, followed by another round.
As a result, the trailing cars either crashed into the roadside or exploded after their fuel tanks were hit. The booms and firelight almost shook the heavens, more intense than a live performance by the Samurai Band.
Finally, after turning into an alley, no cars were chasing them anymore.
The car roared on, driving straight into an abandoned garage, smashing into a shelf, sending wrenches and empty cans scattering across the floor.
"Estos hijos de puta (These sons of bitches)!"
Cursing in words V couldn't understand, Jackie grumbled as he got out and violently pulled down the rolling shutter door.
"Damn! We almost bit the dust! Is smuggling always this crazy? Can't we just stick to the plan?"
V, who had just gotten out of the car, couldn't help but retort, "If you think this is my fault, then just say it outright!"
"You still don't get it, do you?" Jackie retorted, pacing anxiously.
"The border security check tipped off the Corporation, saying we took their cargo." The experienced V had already figured out the reason.
"Those border-liners screwed us over like that?" Hearing this, Jackie became even more furious. "Did they think we were monkeys? Aren't they afraid we'll come back for revenge?"
"He took a gamble! He figured we didn't have a Family backing us up, and he was right!" V was also boiling with anger at this thought.
"This is total bullshit..." Jackie irritably shook his head, full of pent-up anger with nowhere to release it.
What could he do? Go back and kill the border security check staff? Damn, there were at least three fully armed companies there; going back was suicide.
"I wanted to ask you—the cargo is delivered, the job is done. Hurry up and give us our pay, and we'll go our separate ways."
V didn't care; she had wanted to end this job long ago. For no other reason than she found Berry was a bit too friendly toward this big guy, friendly enough to seem abnormal.
Berry was still immature and shouldn't get involved with this kind of scoundrel Mercenary; no relationship was acceptable. She didn't need friends like that.
Thinking this, V forgot the fact that she was also a Mercenary.
But when the payment was mentioned, Jackie, who had been indignant moments before, froze, looking even slightly embarrassed.
"Uh, I'll be straight with you—I'm broke right now. I don't have the money to give you. As soon as I get paid for hauling this Corporate garbage, I'll settle up immediately." Jackie said guiltily.
"Hah? You think I'm going to wait here obediently, right?" V nearly laughed out of anger. If her teeth hadn't been grinding audibly, Jackie might have thought everything was fine.
"V, calm down." Berry placed a hand on V's arm, soothing her. "We fought side-by-side, at least listen to what this guy plans to do."
Jackie watched Berry intervene and smiled apologetically.
"...Actually, I wasn't planning on giving you money at all," Jackie said awkwardly, leaning against the shutter with his arms crossed. "I was going to slip away the moment we crossed the border, but..."
Jackie scratched his nose, "But, well, you two are pretty genuine."
His gaze and words softened, which was clearly difficult for the big guy.
"Damn it, I should have known." V slapped her forehead in annoyance.
"Thank you for being honest." Berry nodded.
"Ha, thanks!" Jackie shrugged.
"So what now?"
The pursuers were gone, so what should this group do next?
"Of course, we open the treasure chest and see what's inside." Jackie opened the trunk, signaling V to act. "Time to open the treasure!"
"Opening the package we were supposed to deliver... I wonder how your client will react." V frowned at the box.
"Screw the client! One day, you have to do things yourself, forget commissions, forget middlemen. Besides, to find a new buyer, we need to know what we're selling, right?"
Berry also nodded at V in agreement.
Seeing that both agreed, V shrugged and reached for the box.
To be honest, she was also curious about what was inside the box.
"Holy crap, Arasaka!"
As soon as they touched the screen, the Arasaka logo popped up, startling both of them.
"Arasaka Corporation. We just bit off a tough bone." Jackie said, though his voice was full of excitement. "We might make a fortune this time."
Jackie proactively lifted the lid.
White cold air streamed out, bringing a chill. The box was open.
"No mames (No way!) A real iguana! It looks like a species from the Lesser Antilles!" Jackie exclaimed in surprise.
"Lesser Antil—what?" V was still confused.
"Lesser Antilles. It seems they went extinct thirty years ago. They lived in the Lesser Antilles." Jackie explained like an expert, his appreciative gaze examining the sleeping lizard from head to tail.
Berry curiously poked the lizard, feeling only a cold touch. "Can this sell for a good price?"
"Of course, rich people love things that money usually can't buy." V nodded affirmatively.
"Exactly, this trip definitely wasn't wasted." Jackie laughed, seemingly already seeing piles of cash.
The three decided to split the massive fortune that was about to come their way.
"So, have you guys decided what you want to do in Night City?"
Jackie asked with a smile, his gaze toward the two no longer distant.
"Hmm, why do you ask?" V found it a bit strange.
"Because I see you two have no money and no jobs, but plenty of time. Besides, in Night City, you can't make it without friends."
"But don't worry, your buddy will help you find work; we can always scrape by. It's important to have someone who will stand up for you when things go down—like Family. Maybe you can find some here in the city."
"Thank you, I really appreciate that." This was V's sincere response. After their heart-to-heart, she had changed her opinion of the big guy significantly.
"Count me in." Berry put her hand on V's shoulder.
"Of course, sharpshooter, and materials science master."
"The three of us click so well; we shouldn't waste the chance to work together... Partners."
Just as the three were about to bump fists, the lizard in the box darted out and climbed up V's arm.
"Jackie, you know what? You're actually not such a bastard." V rarely smiled in front of outsiders.
The tight-lipped beauty was incredibly moving when she smiled. Even though Berry saw her every day, she couldn't help but be stunned by the sight.
"Partner!"
"Partner!"
Before she could recover, Berry was pulled by V's other hand. The three bumped fists and then burst out laughing simultaneously.
The three fated individuals came together, and the wheel of history turned at this moment, driving toward a different future.