"Hey!" V sat down on the high stool and greeted the bartender wearing a beach shirt.
"Care for a drink?" The bartender, Matteo, put down the glass he was wiping and looked at V.
"I'm looking for Evelyn Parker. Is she here?" V got straight to the point.
"And who are you?" The bartender shrugged, asking V in return.
"V." V was as concise and direct as ever.
"V, right? I think I remember... Evelyn." The bartender turned his head and called out to Evelyn sitting opposite him.
"It's fine, Matteo. This is the person I arranged to meet."
Evelyn, with deep blue short hair, put down her crossed legs, which were clad in black tight leather pants and high-heeled boots. She took her bag and walked over to V, leaning against the bar.
As she got closer, a wave of women's perfume washed over them. Evelyn was heavily made up, wearing a bright purple jacket with rainbow-colored plumes, looking like an expensive courtesan.
"Evelyn Parker," Evelyn introduced herself, signaling the bartender to pour a drink. "I knew it was you the moment you walked in."
"But who is this? I recall saying I only deal with the person taking the commission." Evelyn frowned, looking at Berry who had sat down on a stool next to V.
"She's my partner, don't worry," V didn't back down. "We're taking the job together."
V casually picked up the glass and took a sip, raising her eyebrows in surprise. "Bacchus? I only drink this kind of tequila. Wow, how did you know?"
"I make it a habit to figure out my partners' temperaments before working with them," Evelyn said mysteriously, though it was unclear if she genuinely knew or just guessed.
"Or maybe I just guessed right," Evelyn said, tilting her head back and finishing the drink.
"Why meet in a place like this..." After some less-than-friendly small talk, V got down to business.
Meanwhile, Berry sat next to them, looking at the drink the bartender had pushed toward her.
"Sorry, I'm not used to hard liquor." Berry frowned, rejecting the tequila that emitted a pungent odor from the glass. "Do you have little coca-cola here?"
"This..." Berry's question momentarily stunned the bartender, Matteo, who had seen his share of strange people.
Coming to a bar to ask for cola—did she think this was an amusement park?
But the coincidence was that the bar actually had a large crate of little coca-cola, all used for mixing drinks.
A customer's request must be met. The speechless bartender dutifully pulled out a can of little coca-cola, opened it, poured it into a new glass, squeezed in some lemon juice, added two ice cubes, topped it with a small plastic umbrella, and pushed the glass toward Berry.
"Thank you." Berry picked up the glass contentedly and took a big sip.
Berry was drinking when she noticed Judy, standing next to Evelyn, about to bypass her and enter the back room.
"Hi, hello." Happy to see the real-life Judy, Berry turned her head and waved hello.
But Judy didn't return her greeting. She just stared at Berry, smiled strangely, and as she passed by, she hooked Berry's palm with her index finger before walking away into the back room, leaving Berry stunned in place.
What did Judy mean by that?
Berry stared blankly at her hand.
Why did she hook my palm? Is that a way to say hello?
The naive Berry hadn't realized she had just been flirted with.
V, the main event, was busy chatting with Evelyn and didn't even notice her Girl being picked up.
"Let's go. It's not convenient to talk here. I know a better place." Evelyn glanced at Berry again. "But I only talk to the head of the operation. Have your subordinate wait outside."
"She's my partner," V corrected, but still turned to look at Berry. "Berry?"
"Ah, oh." Berry, who was still looking at her hand, quickly snapped back. "Okay, I'll stay here and wait for you two to come back."
V and Evelyn walked off toward a private booth.
Berry looked young, but that didn't mean she was some innocent maiden; she was a Mercenary who lived by the blade. V didn't think Lizzy Bar could cause Berry any trouble.
"Three more cans of little coca-cola, please!" Since she was alone, Berry decided to rely on little coca-cola to pass the time.
Berry's request instantly made the face of the bartender, Matteo, who was mixing drinks, fall.
Is she never going to stop?
The bartender felt his old ailment of being embarrassed for others flare up. Seeing Berry act as if ordering cola in a bar was perfectly normal made him so awkward he could dig out an Arasaka Tower with his toes.
"The cola here is eight eddies more expensive than the vending machines outside. Are you sure you still want it?"
Matteo hoped this might scare off the clueless Mercenary.
"What? That expensive? Why don't you just rob people?" Berry was startled at first, but then waved her hand and said, "Go ahead, go ahead. Remember the person who came with me? Charge her later."
Berry shamelessly shafted V.
The bartender gritted his teeth and placed three frosty cans of little coca-cola in front of Berry, then turned away with a dark expression to mix drinks for other customers. Berry drinking cola at his bar was an insult to his mixology skills.
Berry sat in the corner booth, sipping her little coca-cola intermittently, watching the people dancing in the crowd, her eyes restlessly looking at the waists and thighs of the hot Girls.
Although Berry seemed and acted like an old pervert on the surface, she was actually a gentleman. She was thinking about something else.
That was the plot involving V and Judy.
It was clearly a beautiful match, but Berry felt very uncomfortable, especially thinking that if she hadn't existed, V and Judy would have naturally ended up together.
How to put it? There was a feeling of being NTR'd.
It seemed necessary to limit V and Judy's contact.
Berry quickly made a decision.
Judy's situation could perhaps be resolved by her using her machine body. If V solved it as in the original plot, V and Judy might genuinely hit it off, after all, who can truly explain love?
V was the Girl she had her eyes on; even for the Judy she liked, she wouldn't give V up.
Thinking this, Berry chugged another large mouthful of cola.
"Oh, lookie here, what's this little cutie doing all alone, drinking little coca-cola?"
Berry was still deep in thought when she suddenly felt a stranger lean in and wrap an arm around her shoulder, causing her to frown in displeasure immediately.
Just as Berry was drinking by herself, three Punk Girls with colorful hair approached.
"baby, why are you drinking that at a bar? How about I buy you a drink? You won't have to spend a dime." The Punk Girl who was hugging Berry kept talking, clearly thinking Berry was an innocent rookie.
With Berry's clean and neat appearance, the three street-hustling Girls clearly thought Berry was some kind of Naive Newbie who had snuck in. Their hunting instincts flared, and they immediately tried to hit on her.
The best plan was to trick her into having a few drinks, then carry the drunk Berry off to a motel. With Berry's pretty face, they could be happy all night.
But Berry clearly had no such intention. Especially after smelling the strong, mixed scent of alcohol and Leaves (weed) on the Punk Girl, she clicked her tongue in annoyance.
"Sorry, she's taken."
Before Berry could react, a fair hand reached out and, with an undeniable force, removed the hand from Berry's shoulder.
It was V.
V held the Punk Girl's hand, her eyebrow raised, a look of anger on her face.
"Hey, you're hurting me."
Seeing V's cold, intimidating gaze, the three Punk Girls clearly backed off. As soon as V let go, they quickly turned and left.
They just wanted to have some fun; they didn't want a fight.
"I must say, V, you came at *just* the right time," Berry said sarcastically, holding her cola.
She was just about to Play the Pig to Eat the Tiger, to show off and slap some faces. V running out like this ruined the situation, making it look like a damsel in distress scenario and letting V have all the fun.
And she came neither early nor late, but precisely when Berry was about to make her move. Berry felt like a sandcastle she had painstakingly built had been instantly knocked down, leaving her stifled with nowhere to vent her frustration.
"Hey, Berry, I just helped you out!" V lifted her chin, clearly unhappy that Berry wasn't grateful.
"Drink more cola and talk less!" Berry shoved the cola towards V's mouth, blocking the mouth she both hated and liked.
"Tell me, why did you come out?" Berry stood up. "Did you finish up with Evelyn already?"
"No." V was forced to take a large gulp of the cola, which she found incredibly bitter, and said with a pained expression. "They said they wanted to show me a Braindance Raw Footage, but I was afraid I'd wake up on a Scavengers operating table, so I wanted you to come and watch my back."
"Then let's go, let's go." Berry held V's hand, preventing her from setting the cola down, forcing her to finish it. "We shouldn't waste food, should we?"
Berry used her eyes to force V to finish the cola.
V could only look at the half-full cola can with a bitter face, hesitant.
Even if it was an indirect kiss, couldn't they make it a bit more romantic, instead of this little coca-cola that tasted like dishwater?