Inside the kitchen.

A humid wave, mixed with the aroma of meat, greasy oils, and industrial seasonings, hits.

"Hey, you can't come in!"

The girl at the delivery window screamed, telling John to leave.

Gerry turned around following her gaze, instantly showing a relieved expression, raising a hand to reassure the Mexican girl.

"It's okay, Gaf, he's our BOSS."

Gaf looked suddenly enlightened, nodded, and continued her busy work.

She squirted sauce on burgers while holding a walkie-talkie with her neck, dealing with the honking customers outside shouting for food.

"BOSS, this is Gaf, an illegal immigrant, who came to Eden City following this wave of refugees in search of opportunities."

Gerry had employed Gaf when he ran a snack stand before.

"She's a hardworking kid, familiar with the restaurant process. Today she's almost driven Maya and me crazy, but thankfully she came over to help us hold on."

Gerry explained to John, while his hands were swiftly chopping onions.

John waved his hand.

"OK, these are trivial matters. Where are the customers outside from?"

"What!?"

Gerry showed a puzzled expression.

"Weren't you the one who got the customers?"

He asked in confusion, even stopping the knife, looking up to exchange glances with Maya, who was frying meat, and then they both looked at their boss.

"They're here because of you, all of them, calling your name specifically."

John was even more confused.

There was no way to stop the work in the kitchen.

"Sorry, BOSS, maybe you should ask yourself, or... you could help at the bar with the drinks, chat with the guests."

Gerry picked up the grill and bypassed him.

John was relegated to a corner by his employees, hugging his arms, trying to find some clues from the contact list.

He noticed unread messages in the mailbox.

John's mailbox often received Borago membership deals, and after spending in Kaufuglanton, there were more spam emails about vehicle maintenance.

He usually paid attention to the sender IDs.

But after being knocked out by Oulos with bio-agents last night, he didn't get to check the piled-up messages.

He went through them by timestamp.

The latest message was from Gerry.

[BOSS, we've started business. Are you coming to the scene?]

[Damn, there are so many people!]

[They're all here for you, boss, maybe you really should come and see.]

Gerry continued to send several follow-up messages, along with missed calls and voice messages.

From the content, it was clear that Gerry was nearly driven crazy by the massive influx of customers.

But he knew his boss was a mercenary, so he didn't continue to harass him and carefully reported on Gaf's situation via email.

John continued to scroll up.

[Contact - Ryan Randall (unread messages)]

[What a splendid deathbed show, you're close to the end, remember? And you haven't visited the clinic yet, shows you're already halfway gone, indeed, mercenaries who owe money end badly... ]

[Raphael said you're still alive.]

John continued scrolling upwards.

Besides the doctor, there were messages from Gino, Macao, Jilead, Genius...

Friends who received the news sent him congratulatory messages for his new store's opening.

Except for Angelica.

John didn't mind.

Scrolling further, the email content became more varied.

Last night's chase on the overpass stirred the city, the underground black market and informed people knew it was John's doing.

There were even recruitment emails in the inbox.

[Unknown contact (unread messages)]

[Mr. John, I'm the head of Jingke Heavy Industry Security Department. Our system evaluated you as a high-quality talent. Would you like to become a company elite? Of course, that's if you're interested in high-end prosthetics and attractive salaries.]

Besides the companies extending olive branches...

The intermediaries from Eden City's underworld also took the initiative to greet John.

He browsed through the email IDs, spotting a familiar name.

[Contact - Raphael (unread messages)]

[Great ride, John, you stole all the spotlight.]

[Just now, the Eisenberg management called me, their marketing department wants tonight's city council HD video, of course, and your mercenary resume…]

Alloy RCH is Eisenberg Company's iconic motorcycle.

Last night, John outpaced the top-end Glaive from Raqi Group on the overpass and tunnel, with a super leap that was practically a live commercial!

The relations between vehicle manufacturers were poor.

Eisenberg planned to brave the pressure from Municipal and Raqi, bribe the media, and heavily promote the Alloy RCH and Glaive chase video, dragging down all the peers in the annual motorcycle sales chart!

Raphael hinted at the company's plan to John.

[I have no reason to refuse this business. Rest assured, you'll get a share. I spread the video content and your store address in Eden City's mercenary circles, a lot of people will come to support…]

John finally understood where the customer influx was coming from.

The restaurant packed with mercenaries was indeed bustling.

It was pretty rare for so many dangerous individuals to gather in a restaurant.

They had various reasons to come give John support.

Out of respect for Raphael.

Interest in fresh food.

Heard mercenaries were gathering, joined in the fun.

...

Nothing more.

The peak lunchtime rush was near its end.

John helped stand behind the bar, supplying drinks.

Many mercenaries had heard his name, but not many recognized his face, nor were there overwhelming cheers or fools trying to confront him.

Occasionally, someone would come over to greet him.

Last night's street race was genuinely thrilling, providing a perfect topic for boasting over drinks and socializing.

They showered John with the highest accolades between men, invited him to the Sex Doll Club, and extended offers to team up for work...

He turned them all down.

Not that he looked down on anyone, he was simply too busy.

The restaurant was hastily renovated within a tight budget, leaving many areas for further improvement and upgrades.

For example, the TV right above the bar counter.

Gerry had fished out an old monitor to fill the gap, lacking a stand, it dangled precariously from the ceiling.

Wiring and signals were dragged from overhead.

It looked quite makeshift.

The restaurant guests didn't really mind these small issues, occasionally glancing up at the report about last night's incident.

The content had gone through several versions of revision and replay.

Starting with live footage, then casualty reports, the media spinning some rumors, before stirring emotions to attack Raqi Industry...

Since the gang wars began, the news always followed this pattern.

But just now...

A representative from Raqi Group held a press conference with a direct response.

It was an Eastern man in a black suit, appearing only thirty but the appearances of the powerful are highly deceptive.

Raqi Group is a world-class giant corporation, a veritable behemoth in the security, manufacturing, and banking industries.

Haruhiko Raqi is a legitimate member of this financial empire.

He donned a black and gray striped suit, with square cheekbones, and an imposing demeanor both in looks and words, the stereotypical Japanese business magnate aura appearing prematurely on him.

Haruhiko Raqi admitted to all allegations.

His tone was neither arrogant nor remorseful.

Last night's incident was attributed to a malfunction in [Divine Concealment], and the two fugitives were deemed mercenaries and commercial spies.

"Bullshit!"

"What a f*cking mess."

"F*ck damn squid!"

...

The restaurant immediately burst into boos.

This bullshit treats everyone like idiots.

Haruhiko Raqi raised his hand to cut off reporters' questions.

He announced that [Raqi Group] would merge industries in Eden City, severing the public image from past scandals.

The rumor became official.

The scene was abuzz with reporters and camera flashes.

Opposing capital and Eden City's council obviously wouldn't agree easily.

Yet Haruhiko Raqi waved his hand grandly, continuing to state that the group would take responsibility for the negative impacts caused by its subsidiaries, shoulder all responsibilities and accusations, and restore public facilities damaged in the accident!

He turned the press conference into a corporate speech.

[...Ladies and gentlemen, we are full of anticipation for Eden City, we will rectify past mistakes and bring our dream to this city, above all!]

Haruhiko Raqi nodded slightly.

He raised his palm to acknowledge supporters, turning and leaving amidst flashlights and questions.

Company soldiers in suits stood behind him.

The news image switched.

Raqi Group arrived in Eden City with vast resources.

[Divine Concealment] was exposed, being at the center of public opinion, with the municipality and other forces knowing its capabilities.

To prevent competitors from making a move on it.

Haruhiko Raqi sent it out of Eden City under the guise of factory repair.

Once across the Border Wall, [Divine Concealment] could be shipped onto an aircraft carrier or directly airlifted back to Asia.

Raqi Group demonstrated its immense financial power and resources.

He announced the reconstruction of intercity rail, repair of the sections destroyed by the out-of-control AI, and even donated a sum under council supervision.

"Truly audacious, bribing the council in front of the media, he wants to secure the Eastern people's seat and ensure his political asylum doesn't disappear."

An electronic voice sounded next to the bar.

John withdrew his gaze from the TV and looked at the speaker.

This mercenary wore a flamboyant metal mask, even more extravagant than the one in the cabinet, hair cascading down to cover his ears, as if avoiding being seen.

Filter valves hung on both sides of his jaw.

The material was transparent.

When he spoke, the mist and lights inside started to flicker and swirl.

John leaned against the bar, smiling.

"That mask is quite impressive, but can you eat with it?"

"Let's start with some booze, on the rocks, of course, with a straw."

John turned and poured a full glass.

The masked man accepted the glass, inserted the straw into a small hole beneath his mask, much like how a cabinet smokes.

"I'm a cleaner, private dealing."

His gaze lacked malice, speaking softly, just seemed a bit unaccustomed to interacting with others.

"What's a cleaner mean?"

"Cleaning up corpses."

He arched his brows slightly.

John recalled Screwdriver mentioning a mercenary branch.

The masked man was the expert in handling murder scenes, a prominent name with quite some years in this line of work.

"If you're interested, I can take you to work."

"Wow, inviting me to clean up corpses together? That's truly romantic, those guys who can't woo girls should really hear your advice."

John quipped.

The masked man also smiled and shook his head.

"There's a lot of buzz about you in the circle, being a mercenary, meeting privately is much better than running into each other on the job..."

The masked man was a veteran cleaner.

Most of his clients had their own "business," knew many ways to protect assets and solve problems, observing that John was also quite a layman about the restaurant, he went along with the topic and offered some advice.

"Lone wolf doesn't mean you don't have friends."

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