Volume 4: The Last Day Chapter 91: Team K can no longer keep up with the version. From now on we will be called K Corps. Do you understand?
"Okay, leave me your contact information. We can go out and play together if we have the chance."
Mason took out his communicator and exchanged numbers with V.
He waved his hands and said:
"Of course, next time I ask you to do something stupid, I'll ask for a high price. If you have time, bring your long-legged girlfriend to Gotham. I'm sure that place will suit your taste.
Say hi to Panam for me, she's really good with her gun."
Watching Mason and Judy walk into the passage in front of him, V grinned, a blue halo lit up in the depths of his eyes, and after activating the communication, he said to the other side carelessly:
"I've tried it for you, Morgan. This guy is just a mechanic. He's not a big threat. In close combat, you can pull his head off with one hand.
He has a nice personality and is a good candidate for making friends.
Especially when he laughs, it reminds me of Old Wei and Jack. This guy must be a conscientious person. I like dealing with such people. At least I don’t have to worry about being cheated. ”
"V! I didn't ask you to do any of this!"
The roar of the captain of the Next Life Squad came from the communication, and he scolded:
"Mason is our friend. I've already confirmed that. There's no need for you to test him, you bastard who will only add fuel to the fire! If you have nothing to do, why don't you go to the transfer gate to help?"
"Aren't you afraid that you'll be ambushed?"
V snorted, turned over and jumped out of the window. He stretched his body in the not-so-warm sunlight, took out another black samurai sword with a blue reflected light pattern, and put it on his back, saying stubbornly:
"If you accidentally capsize and get killed, I'll have to take over this mess. You know I don't like dealing with those bastards, so I naturally hope you live a long life.
You are such an ungrateful old man!"
"Beep, beep, beep"
Amid V's lingering complaints, the captain of the Afterlife Team, Lord Morgan Blackhand, who had already met Mason in the secret area, awkwardly pressed the hang-up button.
The tall and legendary old mercenary coughed and said to Mason, who had no expression in front of him:
"I'm sorry for not keeping my subordinates under control, Mr. Mason."
"It doesn't matter. I know how bad it is to have a group of players with very strong 'personalities' under my command. My captain's authority is almost zero among them."
Mason empathized with Morgan and stretched out his hand, saying:
“Besides, this isn’t the first time we’ve met.
Although the previous conversation was interrupted by an unexpected situation, I feel that after so many things have happened, Team K and Team Afterlife can completely trust each other. "
“That’s true.”
Captain Morgan smiled and reached out to shake Mason's hand.
He didn't feel anything when he saw the holographic projection in Star Castle before, but when the two of them really stood together, Mason realized that Judy's captain was really a "big man" in every sense of the word.
After several enhancements, Mason's height has reached nearly 1.90 meters, but he is still a head shorter than Morgan Blackhand. Although the latter is no longer young, his muscles tightly wrapped in a military vest make his upper body almost an inverted triangle shape.
Her forearms are as thick as Mason's thighs...
When the two hands were clasped together, Mason suddenly felt like a nerd standing in front of Schwarzenegger.
The most outrageous thing is that if Mason remembered the information of the legendary old mercenary in front of him correctly, this guy should be at least ninety years old, right?
With only basic prosthetics installed, maintaining this body shape at this age can only mean that the gap between people is really huge.
As for Mason, he considered it a great victory if he could make sure he had fewer trips to the bathroom at night at the age of ninety and could keep up with Harley's pace when kissing.
"Don't mind V's little joke. He just likes to do these kinds of things."
After Mason and Captain Morgan exchanged pleasantries, a lady in combat uniform sitting on the other side of the secret area also spoke to Mason:
“Mr. Hunter will be here any minute, and I think you and him must have something important to discuss that we don’t want to know, so why don’t we hurry .
Let's discuss all the issues that need to be discussed. It's not easy to meet in a parallel world on a non-trading day."
This lady is not getting any younger either.
She had obviously undergone corrective surgery on her face and body to keep her appearance from being too affected by the passage of time, but her long gray hair and wrinkles around her eyes still represented the marks that time had left on her.
However, the steady manner in which this old lady spoke proved that she was no ordinary person. She was obviously the think tank and important figure of the Afterlife Team.
"Mason, this is Roger."
Judy whispered to her friends:
“The most powerful middleman in Night City and even in our world, the immortal queen of the mercenary world. The name of the Afterlife Squad is named after the bar she owns.
She now serves as the intelligence officer and reconnaissance commander of the Afterlife Squad."
"It's very famous, and it's well-known."
Mason nodded politely to the old lady, then pulled out a chair and sat next to Captain Morgan. Since Captain Morgan had taken the initiative, he no longer concealed his intentions.
He took out his cigarette case and said:
“Originally, I invited Captain Morgan to meet with me many times because I wanted to discuss the comprehensive cooperation between Team K and Team Next Life. I mean cooperation at the alliance level.
But something has just happened that has made me feel that I must discuss another matter with you first."
Mason picked up his cigarette, glanced at Morgan, then glanced at Roger, and said:
"What I mean is that we'd better determine the answer to this matter before the hunter arrives. It's not complicated to explain. You should know that not long ago, a seat on the A-level Twelve Council became vacant."
"Yes, we know."
Aunt Roger hooked her finger, and Mason tactfully threw his cigarette box over. Aunt Roger lit a cigarette for herself elegantly and coolly, leaned back on the sofa like a queen, blew out a puff of smoke, and said to Mason:
"According to the information obtained by my informant, the accidental death of 'Blight' Wesker is a mystery, and its answer is locked in the Isu world that has disappeared from the parallel world system of the Star Society.
But I know that Team K was also involved in that operation.
So, if I'm guessing correctly, Wesker's death should have something to do with you?"
In response to her question, Mason nodded without disguising anything.
Such a frank answer made Roger and Captain Morgan exchange glances.
Unlike logistical personnel like Judy, Morgan and Roger are both combatants, and they are quite familiar with the combat effectiveness of the A-level members of the Star Society.
It sounds incredible that Team K could accomplish such a thing as a C-class team, but Wesker's death could not be faked, and even if Mason received some external help, it could not cover up Team K's outstanding performance.
"I just completed my B-rank promotion mission, and while this mission was in progress, I had a conversation with Mr. Hunter's superior."
Mason blew out a smoke ring and made a long story short:
"In order to win me over, they promised to give the vacant seat to Team K, but I didn't want it. Our strength is not enough to handle that position. If we force our way up, the only consequence will be that everyone will see it and remember it.
This is not the result I want.
Therefore, I would like to take this opportunity of conversation to give this A-level seat to you. Anyway, the Next Life Team is already going through the promotion process to the A-level Twelve-member Council.
You already have an idea, so I might as well do you a favor."
"Uh, wait a minute! Let me sort it out for a while."
Captain Morgan rubbed his head.
He felt his frontal cortex RAM manager getting a little hot. Why did Mason, a C-level employee, talk about the A-level seats that countless people coveted as if they were cabbages on the street?
This kind of controlling tone is a bit wrong, isn't it?
But compared to Morgan's caution, Aunt Roger's eyes suddenly lit up when she heard Mason's proposal. She sat up straight, flicked the ash from her cigarette, and said:
"Can you guarantee that the seat will fall into our hands? Are your connections really that strong?
I heard from Judy that you might be the illegitimate child of some important person in your world, but I was thinking that your suspicious father couldn't really be a big shot in the higher-level organization, right?"
"I can try to operate it, I don't think it will be a big problem."
Mason glared helplessly at Judy, who was covering her face in embarrassment, and shook his head and replied:
“As for who my parents are, I don’t know yet, but I’m sure they are not as powerful as you think, Rogge. It’s just that I have something that the higher-ups need, so I can bargain with them.
It's just an A-level seat, a piece of cake for someone who is really well-informed.
But before we get into the details, I have one more question for you, and I hope you can answer it honestly."
He paused and asked in a stronger voice:
"Team K cooperated with the Hunter because they couldn't stand the behavior of the Star Society. The Hunter did this most likely for revenge. What about you? Why did you "go along with us"?
With your abilities, you can thrive no matter which faction you choose, but there is no need to stick with us forever."
“Is the answer important?”
Roger blew out a smoke ring and asked.
Mason nodded, took out the penguin umbrella, held the golden apple in his hand and let it emit a golden glow. Under the light, he said seriously:
"We are in a war, and the enemy is not just the Constellation. If I want to win, I must choose my allies carefully. Look at this thing, Roger and Captain Morgan, and answer my questions.
Can I trust you?"
"I knew that someone who could accomplish so many great things would not be a simple character, well, if you want to know the answer."
Roger brushed his hair, and the old aunt snorted femininely, then crossed her legs, changed her posture and leaned on the sofa, staring at the golden apple in Mason's hand.
She could feel that there was a force interfering with her mind, perhaps it was some kind of sophisticated "lie detector".
But she didn't care.
She said:
"The Afterlife Squad is not just a group of refugees from the collapse of a world. We were chosen to be the representatives and defenders of a 'data civilization' that exists in the dark ages of the material world.
Unlike other lone Avengers, we are also tasked with reviving civilization.
According to trillions of calculations by Patmos, the 'God of Data' who was still maintaining cyberspace in the shrine, the expansion model currently adopted by the Star Society and its superior organizations was unsustainable.
Because in the context of the impact event, the overall resources of the entire parallel world are limited and are constantly depleting themselves, which means that they will soon be "out of money".
When there are no longer enough new worlds for them to discover and plunder, organizations that could have been united by interests will fall into a brutal battle of "internal fighting".
In that case, our "low-level civilization" will obviously be consumed as "consumables".
No one wants to make so much effort to exist, only to end up as cannon fodder, so when Mr. Hunter extended an olive branch to us, we quickly responded to him. "
Roger took a deep breath.
She looked Mason in the eyes and concluded:
"For us and our civilization to be lucky, we must ensure that the current stars are not in power! Under the current system, we don't see any hope.
We want to see change, for better or for worse, and that’s why we’re here to talk to you.”
"That's the obvious reason, a collective decision made by our civilization, so to speak."
After Aunt Roger finished speaking, Captain Morgan also knocked on the table and said:
“Personally, we have our reasons.
After all, everyone present here and the survivors in the Afterlife Team have personally experienced the end of the world. Even if there was no invasion by the Star Society, our world would most likely not survive the disaster.
But Mason...
It may sound emotional to say this, but our world was not destroyed by an impact, we all saw with our own eyes who actually destroyed it.
We, illiterate mercenaries, don't understand any great principles.
But we still understand the rule of blood for blood and tooth for tooth.
I want to see them get into trouble, I want to see them get beaten to a pulp, I want to see them fail, I want to see them fall apart.
I do not ask for a long and happy life in a bright era.
That's not a choice a mercenary would make.
But I hope that when the dark ages end, and the stars burn brightly, one of those flames will be lit by my own hands.”
The hot-blooded old man in his nineties with a bowl cut shrugged his shoulders. He played with a cigar, looked at the golden apple in Mason's hand, and said calmly:
"It may seem irrational of me to say this, but the fact is, this is a personal vendetta."
"They killed my good friend."
Judy, who was not asked to speak, also put her hand on Mason's shoulder at this moment, and the tech girl said softly:
“Revenge can’t bring them back to life, but I have to do something for them at least.
Although in our world, those of us at the bottom of society are free to live and die randomly, perhaps revenge is our last dignity and the only dignity we can get. "
"Very good, you didn't lie. Although you may have concealed something, I can't blame you too much after all."
Mason removed his hand from the golden apple, and the yellow light faded away.
He pulled out a piece of paper covered with words, handed it to Captain Morgan, and said:
"Let's talk about that seat next. I'd love to give it to you for free, but I'm the captain of Team K after all, and I have to fight for some benefits for my organization."
"Well, I understand the previous stuff...what does this last one mean?"
Morgan looked at the note in his hand and said doubtfully:
"You want us to help you train your vassal army? We have to send no less than 100 legendary mercenaries as instructors, and set up a military prosthetics and weapons production line specifically for your vassal army...
How many servants does Team K have? "
“Quite a lot.”
Mentioning this problem gave Mason a headache. He said:
"An Osborne Tower, a million pirate remnants, an Assassin's League that will serve us, an Amazon tribe composed entirely of superhumans, and the Atlantean Kingdom that will soon own the world's oceans... eh?
Why are you looking at me like that?
Isn't it normal for the pioneer team to have servants? You also have a world of androids who are willing to go through fire and water for you."
"If you think that the androids in one world can be compared with the guys you just mentioned, then I feel that you are mocking the efforts we have made over the past years to strengthen ourselves."
Aunt Roger said in a low voice:
"I have never seen any B-class team with such a luxurious configuration of servants. In fact, even A-class members like you are quite rare.
The most important thing is that the "vassal army" we usually refer to will not exceed one thousand people. If there are more, ordinary pioneers cannot afford to support them.
But you...
According to your current thinking, you don't want some vassal army, Mason.
You are asking us to train you a real, fully armed army that can roam the worlds. To put it simply, you want to build your own "cleaner"!
I had doubted your determination to fight them to the end.
But now I am only ashamed of my lack of imagination, you are just trying a new way of resistance..."
"Maybe it's because I understand that power comes from the barrel of a gun? Maybe it's because I know that dignity can only be won with bloody fists? Maybe it's because I intend to fight with real weapons instead of using a great ideal to deceive you."
Mason stood up, pushed his hat on his head, and said:
"So what? What's the answer from the Afterlife Team?"
"We must definitely participate in such an interesting event. This is much more interesting than secretly attacking a few resource worlds or burning the Star Castle to ashes."
Captain Morgan also stood up suddenly.
He looked at Mason with admiration, held out his hand, and said:
"Since you, who have a bright future, are willing to stake your life on the table, what do we barefoot people have to fear? We'll follow suit!"
