"This one."

Maya gestured for John to pay.

The shop owner confirmed the payment, praising their good taste, and handed the item out through the gap in the grid window.

The sudden change occurred in an instant.

Maya took the metal box and slammed it against the display window, the safety pin breaking free and humming softly in the air.

"Damn! Bitch!"

The shop owner swiftly slapped an emergency button.

He quickly pulled out a short shotgun from the side and was about to pull the trigger at Maya's body.

Bang!

John was quicker.

Although he didn't understand why Maya suddenly resorted to robbery, he still drew his gun and shot at the shop owner's hand, knocking the weapon down.

The metal blast-proof shutter crashed down.

Phsss——

Zizizi.

The metal box Maya purchased emitted a hum.

Azure electric currents spread across the grid, and the half-fallen protective net stopped moving, smoke starting to rise from the connections.

"Hey, hey hey, what do you want!"

The shop owner raised his hands in surrender.

Maya heard this and showed him her palm — a very tiny remote was attached to the prosthetic patch on her hand.

"I thought you had a good eye for stuff."

Maya stared into the shop owner's eyes. "This thing's a controllable electromagnetic bomb developed by the Old American CIA."

She nodded towards the metal door panel.

"Gave you a demonstration just now, and now the power is set to maximum..."

Maya's thumb traced a circle on the device. "If I press this, all your smart weapons here are going back to the factory for repairs, which will cost you a lot, don't you think?"

"Alright, alright, how much do you want!"

The shop owner mumbled submissively, heavily slamming his thick hands on the metal display rack, seemingly very unwilling.

Maya pointed to a few items among the goods.

"Who the hell sold you this, I want the address, somewhere I can find someone alive immediately!"

"...Fish, fish roe! F*ck."

"Male, as thin as a lamp post, skin like rust?"

"Yes, yes, yes, I source from a lot of people, he's just one of them, can't say the relationship is intimate, if you're seeking revenge, don't involve me."

The shop owner indicated that grudges have a beginning and an end, and immediately divulged Fish Roe's hidden address.

Before leaving, Maya warned him.

"If I don't find him, no matter what happens, it'll all count as you tipping them off."

"I'm really screwed."

The shop owner let out a wail.

Maya and John silently returned to the armored vehicle, continuing to drive two more blocks north, still within the Charming Street area.

She didn't speak again until they got out of the car.

"Great shot earlier, sorry I didn't give you a heads up, thought I could handle it... almost screwed up."

"F*ck, what are you actually doing, do you need me to remind you that we need to deliver the heads on time."

"We are indeed preparing, John."

Maya glanced at the weapons on John's body.

"Du Remon is definitely holed up without stepping out, he's there, won't just run away, and we need some heavy firepower to break in."

"So your plan is to intimidate a weapons store owner and take nothing?"

John adjusted his coat slightly.

Maya didn't rush to answer, leading him away from the crowd, walking along a more secluded alleyway.

She lowered her voice to explain.

"You know about safe houses, right?"

Before the collapse of Old America, due to the espionage intelligence crisis caused by "KGB" and internal demands, four major families were established — the United States National Security Agency (NSA), the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

They set up countless safe houses worldwide, and due to conflicting confidentiality agreements, a large portion of the assets remain forever hidden in the dark corners of history.

After the formation of New America.

The Special Affairs Bureau, as a national organization, controlled and added numerous safe houses, providing a vast operational space, even considered as some kind of invisible benefit.

When Maya initially fled to Eden City, she obtained a new identity through intermediaries and second-hand traders.

"Later my file was marked 'deceased', I changed my face to start anew, and the guy who had the information sold the assets in the safe house, you just saw one of them."

What Maya needed to find was "Fish Roe," as mentioned by the shop owner.

Precisely, she needed to get a gun stored in a safe house.

[Mission Objective Updated]

[Find Fish Roe. (Not Achieved)]

Maya and John twisted and turned through the alley, passing through the entrance to a corridor illuminated by red neon lights.

The walls on both sides were very narrow.

The cement steps were covered with broken and half-detached light strips.

The particles on the electronic screen exuded a cheapness, and the rich dynamic artificial leather seemed to cling to one's face.

Maya locked the house number based on the address.

Her ear pressed against the metal surface, she knocked hard, then suddenly pushed John aside, signaling him to stick to the wall.

A harsh and shrill voice came from the room.

"Who the hell is outside!?"

"Does Caviar live here? Recommended by an old client, I want to talk business with you."

"F*ck, such a buzzkill, let me put on some pants."

...

Sounds of rummaging came from inside.

However, Maya waved towards the windowsill at the end of the corridor.

John got the message, activated Sianweistan, and in the blink of an eye, sprinted through the entire passage.

He vaulted over the railing to the outer staircase and indeed saw a sneaky guy crossing the equipment balcony.

"Hey."

"Oh, sh*t!"

He immediately raised his hands, the belt buckle loosened, revealing yellow and white boxers.

John gestured with the gun muzzle.

Caviar wisely rolled back into the room.

John made sure he heard the door bolt activate before retracing his steps, and as he just entered the apartment, a complex and decadent smell greeted him.

Caviar was forced to sit on the sofa by Maya.

He looked sallow and emaciated, with deep-set eyes, wearing shabby and greasy clothes, the perfect stereotypical drug addict one might find in a corner of the street.

However, John's eyes were sharp.

He activated a scan and immediately noticed Caviar's limbs were advanced military-grade prosthetic bodies.

"You are smart after all, knowing that investing in yourself is the most worthwhile."

"Wow, you have an eye for quality."

Caviar grinned cheekily as he chatted with John. "You two aren't here to settle scores with me, right? We can talk about anything."

"Then why did you run off?"

"Well, about that..."

Caviar touched his nose bridge, with grease embedded in his nail creases.

Maya came over after inspecting the room and, while reholstering her gun, answered John's question.

"Because this guy survives by selling safe house assets. Once his money runs out, he re-emerges, dealing in one-time business. Old clients turn up, and he vanishes like lightning, faster than a cockroach."

"Do we know each other?"

Caviar's smile was very forced, with much eyebrow-waggling, but all his attention was on Maya.

"What do you two want? Just say it. No need for that... um, the kind of interrogation where you don't ask anything; I can't bear it, and I promise I won't resist. I'm willing to disclose anything..."

"Where is Hercules?"

Maya threw out the name of the weapon.

Caviar's lips twitched slightly.

"Holy sh*t, who the hell are you guys? Where the hell did you find out about this nam... hey, damn it, wait!"

He raised his eyelids and carefully observed Maya.

"Alani... ah!"

Bang!

Maya raised her gun and shot at Caviar's groin.

The cheap sofa, heavily damaged, burst open with a hole, spitting out several tufts of cotton.

"Think carefully. If you dare to say the name, I'll have to consider killing you to ensure silence."

"Alright, no need. We're friends here, right? If you'd revealed your identity sooner, there'd be no need for knocking with guns. Send me a text, and delivering the stuff to your door would be effortless."

Caviar spoke with familiarity.

He stood up, crossing over the mountain of pizza boxes, medicine tubes, and empty bottles, and began dismantling the ceiling panels from the table near the ventilation pipe.

"Being alive is great, living idly is the most blissful thing in the city, thanks entirely to the notebook you left behind. When I heard you got crossed off, I even went to your grave and poured a whole bottle of bourbon whiskey..."

Caviar's hands and mouth worked non-stop.

Maya stood with her arms folded against the wall, expressionless, as if not absorbing a single word.

Caviar pulled out a heavy sealed box.

"Wow, oh~ sh*t!"

The enormous weight caught Caviar off guard.

John instinctively lent a hand, preventing the weapon box from crashing but still feeling surprised by the weight through his palm.

Caviar took off his sweat-soaked clothes, quickly pushed all the useful and useless things on the coffee table aside, then swiftly wiped the greasy parts a few times.

He extracted a microchip from between his teeth and inserted it into the slot next to the sealed lock.

Clunk.

John saw a heavy, black piece of equipment.

[Weapon: Hercules MAX]

[Module: Overload Burn, Advanced Armor-Piercing]

[Description: Military-grade intelligent assault rifle, kinetic hybrid prototype, experimental stage weapon, featuring two firing modes, allowing intelligent connectivity.]

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