"You really convinced Rogue! That's amazing, Johnny!"
As soon as they stepped out, Berry excitedly waved her fists.
She had secured the Hive's first ally.
"Of course. I told you, Rogue always listens to me."
But Johnny wasn't that excited; instead, she looked like it was a matter of course.
"Wearing earrings, talking trash, putting on an act... but I know she's a softie at heart. A few more sweet words and she was bound to agree sooner or later."
Hmm, those who are loved are indeed emboldened.
Johnny was high-spirited, and her nonsense analysis was hard to take seriously.
"What's with that look? You don't believe me?"
"I believe you, I believe you. Who said I didn't?"
Berry nodded repeatedly to smooth things over with Johnny.
"Hey, little Berry, got any cigarettes?"
Johnny reached into her pocket with a practiced motion, only to find it empty.
It seemed she hadn't brought any when she left.
"Ah, yes, I do."
Berry was stunned at first, but as luck would have it, she actually did have some.
Although she didn't smoke herself, nine out of ten people in the Hive were chain-smokers, so she had gotten into the habit of carrying cigarettes with her.
It seemed cyberware artificial lungs had some benefits after all.
At least those smokers didn't have to worry about getting lung cancer.
What do you call this?
Nicotine freedom?
Berry took a pack out of her pocket, pulled one out, and handed it to Johnny.
"Hmm?"
Johnny crossed her arms, frowning as she examined the cigarette in Berry's hand, but didn't reach out to take it.
"Who smokes these? I smoke vapes now."
"Hey, why didn't you say so earlier? You made me go through the trouble for nothing."
Johnny's disgusted look made Berry roll her eyes.
"Forget it. Never mind that for now. I'm asking you, is my new body ready?"
"Naturally, it's done. The system is all calibrated, and you can test it tonight."
Previously, when Johnny defended the Hive Tower alone, Berry had promised to build her a new body.
It had just been finished recently.
"Hmm, not bad."
Johnny nodded seriously, seemingly satisfied with Berry's progress.
"Although this body is quite fun to have sex with, I still miss my original appearance—including, but not limited to, my eighteen-centimeter little steel cannon."
Hmm...
Johnny's deadpan expression when saying such crude things sometimes made people wonder.
Was this guy joking, or was that really what she was thinking?
It was a pity that the perfect loli android body she had created was almost pickled with the scent of that moody man, Johnny.
It was designed to be so cute, yet one could always detect a hint of sleaze and greasiness.
It was hopeless.
...
Later that day.
The Hive's conference room.
The few who had gone out to seek assistance had all returned.
After raiding the Tyger Claws' turf, Berry had abandoned all illusions and sought every possible form of aid for the impending war.
In war, you want as many friends as possible and as few enemies as possible.
Since the Tyger Claws' notorious reputation and despicable conduct were despised by most citizens in this city, Berry judged that she should have quite a few natural allies.
As long as she could unite all forces that could be united, even if the Tyger Claws pressed their full force, Berry would not be afraid.
Therefore, the few members of the Hive had gone out to utilize their connections to obtain support from other forces in Night City.
In this diplomatic war before the hot war, they had gone all out from the very beginning.
"In this battle, Johnny stands on our side; she is a powerful combat force."
"Fifty years ago, she could blow up Arasaka Tower, and today, she can help us win this battle."
"Thanks to her, Rogue and Afterlife have also decided to stand on our side. Although Rogue might be wary of her business and not support us openly, her help behind the scenes will be enough. At the very least, we won't be at a disadvantage in terms of intelligence."
Berry took the lead in sharing the results of her trip, then looked at the others with anticipation.
At a time like this, the more help, the better.
"Hmm... I found a few friends, all in the cyberware trade. Although they aren't professional medical personnel, they can manage as temporary field medics."
Viktor adjusted his small round sunglasses and spoke.
As a former legend of Night City, Doctor Viktor had actually been in much better spirits since facing the threat of war.
It seemed that his long period of reclusive living had restored his energy.
He couldn't wait to give the Tyger Claws a taste of their own medicine.
"If there are any wounded, send them back to the building; we will do our best."
"Oh, right, there's one more thing: Brother Finger will also stay here to help."
"Brother Finger? That guy didn't run away?"
Berry frowned at first, then relaxed, looking relieved.
"Heh, that's true. That guy has been treated miserably by the Tyger Claws; he's probably afraid to even step out the door."
Berry was certain that everyone present now had a large bounty placed on their heads by the Tyger Claws.
Brother Finger, that unlucky fellow, had only managed to survive until now after being caught by the Tyger Claws by lying and claiming to be a member of the Hive.
Now, thanks to them saving him, the title of Hive cadre had been truly confirmed for him in the eyes of the Tyger Claws.
If he wanted to run, he would probably be caught by the Tyger Claws again before he even left the city.
"Uh, is it my turn?"
Jackie Welles looked left and right, and upon noticing that no one was speaking, he coughed twice and straightened his back.
"My news is neither big nor small."
"You all know that I used to run with the Valentinos, but I left later. This time, I wanted to try my luck and find the boss of the Valentinos, but, well, luck wasn't on my side; I was shown the door before I even saw anyone."
"They told me that the Valentinos' enemy right now is the 6th Street Gang. They don't have any conflict with the Tyger Claws at the moment, so they don't plan to wade into our muddy waters."
"Of course, I suspect that another reason is that they don't think we can cause any damage to the Tyger Claws at all."
"I thought it was all over and that I'd made a wasted trip, but guess what happened?"
Jackie was getting more and more excited as he spoke, gesturing wildly. It was as if he were performing a crosstalk act, and now he was even asking questions in return.
"Ah, uh, alright, alright, I'll get straight to the point."
Berry crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes, staring straight at him with a murderous gaze. Jackie awkwardly scratched his nose and hurriedly continued.
"Then I went home. My mom was packing her bags, getting ready to find a place to lay low. Without a doubt, she slapped me twice and said some unpleasant things, but that's not important. The important thing is that my mom gave me three crates of fragmentation grenades."
"Damn, three whole crates! And she said they were leftovers from back in the day."
Jackie even used his hands to gesture how big those crates were.
...
After a brief silence, Berry silently added to her notebook: "Three crates of fragmentation grenades (unknown model), sponsored by Mrs. Welles."
"What about Misty?"
"She's with my mom; safety is not a problem."
Jackie gave two thumbs up, his expression very convincing.
------------------------
I've posted 70+ chapters in advance on Patreon.
Webnovel updates will still be daily, as usual.
It might not seem tempting right now but who knows what the future holds?
[email protected]/SolyuraMT
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"