A strange, mercury-like substance began to seep out from Jackie's wound.
It flowed slowly at first—then faster—spreading across his body like liquid metal, repairing torn flesh and shattered organs with eerie precision.
"Oh my God… praise the God of All Machines… praise the Omnissiah!"
Gasps erupted across the Wild Wolf Bar.
One by one, people clasped their hands together, following Pepe as they joined the prayer.
A clear, bell-like chime echoed through the air.
"Clang—"
"Ring the bell once. Pull the lever. Activate the pistons and pumps."
Jackie's body jerked violently, as if struck by electricity.
"Clang—"
"Ring the bell twice. Press the button. Start the engine. Ignite the turbines. Inject life."
Color slowly returned to his skin.
His chest trembled—
Then rose.
Then fell.
Breathing.
"Clang—"
"Ring the bell three times. Sing in unison. Praise the God of All Machines."
Jackie's eyes snapped open.
He inhaled sharply, dragging air into his lungs like a drowning man breaking the surface.
For a moment, he could only stare.
Confused.
Lost.
Alive.
"Praise the Omnissiah!"
The bar exploded into cheers.
What had just happened… was nothing short of a miracle.
Even those who had never believed in anything found themselves bowing their heads, whispering prayers with trembling voices.
"In the name of the Holy Binary, praise the Omnissiah! All glory to the God of All Machines! May the faithful gears never rust!"
"Praise the Omnissiah!"
Voices overlapped, louder and louder, until the entire bar seemed to shake with devotion.
Outside, passersby paused, staring at the scene through the windows.
Some even wondered if a sacred gathering was taking place inside.
Pepe stood at the center of it all, breathing heavily.
His hands trembled—not from fear, but from overwhelming exhilaration.
"I knew it… I knew it would work…" he muttered, almost laughing. "As long as you're not brain-dead, a follower of the Mechanical God won't die so easily!"
In that moment, something inside him changed.
A kind of elevation.
As if he had personally touched divinity.
Meanwhile, Jackie sat there, completely stunned.
He looked around at the praying crowd… at his mother kneeling nearby… at the world that had somehow returned to him.
"Mom…?" he said slowly. "Where am I? Didn't I die? What the hell is going on?"
His memory had stopped at the moment he handed the Relic chip to V.
Everything after that was a blank.
To him, this felt like waking up somewhere he didn't belong.
Like falling asleep at home—
And opening your eyes in the middle of the street.
"Slap!"
A sharp crack echoed through the bar.
Jackie's head snapped to the side.
Mrs. Welles stood over him, trembling with rage.
"You little idiot!" she shouted. "Are you trying to kill me from anger?! Running around like a fool is one thing—but assassinating Saburo Arasaka?!"
Her voice broke.
"Did you ever think about what would happen to me if you died?!"
Her fists came down on him again and again—not with real strength, but with all the fear and anger she had bottled up.
Jackie winced, raising his hands defensively.
"Hey, hey—Saburo wasn't killed by us! It was—"
"Enough!"
Her voice cut him off instantly.
The entire bar fell silent.
She turned to the others, her expression hardening.
"That's it for tonight. We're closing."
Her tone left no room for argument.
"Jackie needs to disappear for a while. I'm sending him away immediately."
The guests exchanged glances, then began to leave one after another.
"Alright, Mrs. Welles."
"See you tomorrow."
"Praise the Omnissiah."
No one complained.
After what they had just witnessed, drinking no longer mattered.
Pepe hesitated, then spoke up.
"Don't worry, Mrs. Welles. Jackie is protected now. The Mechanical God Cult won't let anything happen to him. Even Arasaka wouldn't dare touch him here."
Mrs. Welles nodded slightly.
"I know."
But her expression didn't soften.
"Still… I'm sending him to Pacifica. Just in case."
Then she looked at Pepe.
"You should go home too. What's coming next… it won't be simple. I don't want you dragged into it."
Pepe opened his mouth, then closed it again.
He glanced at Xiao, who was still quietly sitting at the bar, unmoved.
In the end, he said nothing.
He had a family.
That was enough reason.
"…Take care," he said softly before turning and leaving.
Soon, only a few people remained.
Mrs. Welles shut the door firmly.
Then she turned back to Jackie, her gaze sharp.
"Now," she said, "tell me everything. From the beginning. No details left out."
Jackie sighed.
There was no escaping this.
"…We went to Konpeki Plaza," he began.
His voice was low, tense as he relived it.
"They hired us—Dexter DeShawn. Said there was a chip stored in Yorinobu Arasaka's suite."
Everything had gone smoothly at first.
Too smoothly.
Until Saburo Arasaka arrived.
The old man had come to retrieve the chip himself.
But what followed wasn't business.
It was something far more personal.
The conversation between father and son escalated quickly—turning from accusations into insults, from disappointment into fury.
Saburo spoke of legacy.
Of failure.
Of a son who had betrayed everything.
And then—
Yorinobu snapped.
Hands around his father's throat.
No hesitation.
No restraint.
He killed him.
Just like that.
And Jackie and V—
Walked straight into it.
Caught in the aftermath.
Turned, in an instant, into scapegoats for a murder that would shake the entire world.
And from that moment on—
Everything spiraled out of control.
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