It was already noon the next day.
The weather in the morning news was as terrible as yesterday; the sulfide and PM2.5 levels in the air were exceeding limits.
Of course, it was a bit better than the day before yesterday.
At least it was only exceeding limits, not severely exceeding them.
Jessica came down the spiral staircase, yawning.
She had slept from the moment she returned last night until now.
In Veronica's sweet embrace, her stress and lingering fear had been dispelled.
How should she put it? She felt like life had hope again.
See, she was ready to come down in the morning to grab some instant breakfast and sip on some wheat juice.
However, before she had even walked down the stairs, she was met with a banging sound.
Looking up, she saw a short figure standing on a chair at the entrance, hammering away as if nailing something to the wall.
Yo, isn't that the boss?
What is she doing so early in the morning?
Jessica felt curious, but then she remembered that her colleagues and boss were all weird, so she didn't pay it any more mind.
She focused on getting something to eat.
But Berry, who was hammering with her back turned, heard the commotion, turned around, and greeted Jessica.
"Yo, Jessica, up pretty early, huh."
After saying that, she turned back and continued hammering away with a clanging sound.
"Uh, morning, morning."
Berry's voice almost gave Jessica, who was openly skimming off the top behind the unmanned bar, a fright.
"By the way boss, what are you doing?"
Pulling out two bottles of green-label wheat juice from behind the newly repaired bar, Jessica asked casually to avoid awkwardness.
"Installing an infrared sensor."
As she spoke, Berry pulled a nail from her chest, drove it into the last slot on the bottom left corner of the device, and that was it.
She had been working on this for half the day to prevent another incident like the last time someone broke in.
This infrared sensor could detect the heat signature of people entering; if someone with an abnormal heat signature entered, it would trigger an alarm.
This way, she could prevent hood-wearing men with Blacklight virus, bio-engineered cyborgs, T800s, or T2000s from sneaking into her turf.
Done.
She jumped off the stool and patted the dust off it.
Berry put her hands on her hips, checked to make sure it wasn't crooked, and nodded with satisfaction.
Hmm, with this, the bar can reopen.
Of course, she probably wouldn't take outside customers anymore.
But it would be fine as a place for her subordinates to relax.
Queen Victoria of England once said that as long as you ensure the lower classes are provided with enough cheap beer and tobacco, the country will remain stable.
There's some truth to that.
People need to vent.
Especially in the high-pressure environment of Night City.
People need all sorts of entertainment and distractions: tobacco, alcohol, weed, braindance, fleshlights...
So keeping the bar running is still quite necessary.
Providing a place for her subordinates to gather and relax could also prevent them from being quietly taken out by hostile gangs while relaxing elsewhere.
However, there is one more problem now.
That is, the bar's operation seems to require a professional manager.
Not to mention the bookkeeping like purchasing liquor and tracking revenue; even designing the atmosphere and arranging personnel is a chore.
If she dumped this on Judy, that girl would probably go crazy.
It's better to find a professional to be responsible for this.
But it seems she doesn't know any talent in this area.
At this moment, V also came downstairs, and Berry asked casually when she saw her.
"Hi V, do you know anyone who runs bars?"
"Heh, you really asked the right person."
V scratched her head, implying that was a great question, but don't ask again next time.
Seeing V's helpless expression, Berry finally realized.
Uh, it seems their social circles overlap.
If she didn't know anyone, let alone V.
Fine, waste of time asking.
"Ask Jackie; isn't his family a family of bar owners? Maybe he knows a couple?"
Pulling up a chair to sit, V thought of a direction.
"Hmm, that makes sense. I'll ask him next time."
Berry nodded in deep agreement, feeling it made some sense.
The door opened, and a hurried figure came in, almost bumping into Berry who was standing at the door.
"Hi, Judy, be careful, what's the rush?"
"Sorry, Berry, I wasn't paying attention."
It was Judy who rushed in; Berry recognized her by the scent of her perfume before even seeing her face.
"What's the rush, Judy?"
"Uh, I just woke up late, so I was in a bit of a rush."
Judy, who had burst in, was breathing unevenly, obviously in a hurry.
But Berry still couldn't understand what the rush was; it was just being late.
At most, she'd lose half a year's performance bonus; why panic so much?
The black-hearted capitalist Berry felt very puzzled.
Judy explained that she had woken up late, but she guiltily averted her eyes, especially feeling relieved when she saw that Kikyo wasn't in the bar.
It was obvious that her waking up late wasn't that simple.
Last night at her place, her persistent best friend Evelyn had confessed to her again and even tried to climb into her bed.
After Judy sternly refused, she ended up not sleeping well the whole night.
That's why she was late.
Judy wanted to leave, but Berry looked at Judy as if she had thought of something, and her eyes lit up.
"Judy, don't go, I have a big plan I want to discuss with you."
Seeing those shining eyes of Berry, Judy felt a bit intimidated.
The last time Berry had that look was when she wanted to enter the film industry.
Seeing this similar scene, Judy's PTSD flared up.
She felt that Berry must have some bad idea again.
But unfortunately, Berry didn't intend to let her go this time, and grabbed her arm, saying.
"Judy, is Evelyn still at your place?"
"Huh?"
Judy widened her eyes, not knowing why Berry suddenly mentioned Evelyn.
Seeing Judy's reaction, Berry's eyes grew brighter and brighter.
"Judy, I have a good job for Evelyn, I wonder if you'd be willing to bridge the connection."
Of course, her tone was very polite, but Berry's straight, piercing gaze didn't give Judy any room for negotiation.
Berry then explained her plan.
Like a branch on a mind map, seeing Judy reminded her of braindance, then braindance reminded her of Night City, Night City reminded her of cyberware, cyberware reminded her of the alienation of people by mass production in factories, and then she thought of the excellent former top courtesan Evelyn who was still at Judy's place.
For the position of bar manager, is there anyone more suitable than Evelyn, who has spent half her life rolling in nightlife venues?
"Ah, will this work?"
Hearing Berry's proposal, Judy was somewhat hesitant.
Would this work?
Although Evelyn was currently sponging off her in her apartment, eating her food, drinking her drinks, and even trying to get into her bed.
But wouldn't doing this make it seem like she was trying to force her to work? That wouldn't be good.
"Oh, don't worry about it. I have studied and decided: Evelyn shall be the bar manager."
Berry stood on tiptoe to pat Judy's shoulder, her face full of confidence.
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