From Gotham to Night City, my infamy is known to all.

Is there really no one who can control this person in front of us?

He hesitated for a long time before slowly saying, "You should know who I serve, right?"

Leo nodded: "Military technology, so what?"

"Now that such a terrible incident has occurred in the eastern suburbs, Military Technology and Kangtao are both victims and can be considered half allies. Are you going to ruin the friendly relations between the two sides?!"

They put on hats, and big ones at that.

As long as Leo has any sense, he should choose to avoid suspicion; Faraday is convinced of this!

Leo swirled the glass in his hand and nodded lightly: "Yes, we're practically allies now..."

Faraday was just about to breathe a sigh of relief when he heard the second half of the sentence.

"...That's why I'm not worried about military technology causing me trouble."

"?"

Faraday was stunned and emphasized, "I'm a middleman in military technology! A middleman for the company!!"

"Oh, I know, you don't need to be so loud."

Leo waved his hand dismissively, as if shooing away a fly.

"However, I must correct your mistake—you are not a military technology professional, at most you are an outsourced worker."

I don't know if you've seen the company's internal database, but it categorizes you as a regional middleman, which is only slightly better than a street-level middleman.

As for me, I think I'm even better than the third-tier "intermediary in the afterlife," since I can easily assemble several hundred battle-hardened soldiers under my command.

The meaning of this statement is quite clear: it's about using power to intimidate others.

Leo's reputation for being rich and capricious is well-known. Now he has his own army and a mysterious background, and he has entered the ranks of top middlemen.

This floor is full of important figures; if a ranking were necessary, it would probably be something like Roger, Hans, Denor, Wakako, and the priest.

A hard requirement is having your own sphere of influence. In addition, background, connections, and a large number of subordinates are all indispensable.

However, the Ferrari cannot meet any of these requirements, especially the first one.

He himself was aware of this, and thus concluded that Leo's attitude indicated he had him cornered...

"You're not going to reason with me anymore, are you? Yes, I admit I'm not as good as you, but in this business of being a middleman, you have to follow the rules, right?"

"Game rules? Are you kidding me?"

“The strong make the rules.” Leo pointed to himself.

“The weak follow the rules.” He then pointed at Faraday, this time with the middle finger.

"If I had to say, the law of the jungle is the only rule in Night City, and you broke the rules first."

"Stop wasting my time. Mann's squad are free agents on the fringes, they weren't originally your exclusive mercenaries. A wise bird chooses a good tree to perch on, and they've seen through your facade of strength, so they're planning to switch to my ranks. It's that simple, there's nothing to argue about."

I only called you here to give you face and announce the result to your face, so don't overthink it.

After hearing his "comfort," Faraday was so angry that he couldn't even speak.

This guy is really giving me too much face. He's practically asking for it. I should slap him across the face!

This grudge must be avenged—

He was still ruthless in his heart when he saw the red-haired woman in L's arms narrow her eyes.

In that instant, a chilling killing intent pierced his heart like a blade, freezing his thoughts.

The premonition of death was stronger than ever before, almost making him scream out loud.

Leo, however, disregarded his feelings, raised his right hand, and gestured towards the door:

"Now you can leave. I hope this matter ends here and doesn't cause any more trouble. I hate trouble, and I especially hate people who create trouble for me. This is my advice to you."

After standing there for a while, Farah stood up without saying a word and left the scene dejectedly with two bodyguards.

Claire witnessed a textbook example of bullying, laughed it off, and quickly slipped away.

After they all left, only two mercenary squads remained in the meeting room.

After a quick exchange in the team channel, Rebecca spoke on their behalf: "That's... all right?"

This result was within their expectations; after all, L and Faraday are in completely different leagues, and there was no possibility of L losing.

But they didn't expect to "reach an agreement" so easily; they thought there would be at least some back and forth, and some kind of exchange of benefits.

Leo took a sip of his cola and said nonchalantly, "That should do it. If he doesn't listen to reason, then I'll just have to make him suffer the consequences."

"But...he still has leverage over us..."

"It's alright, your vulnerabilities are nothing to me. If anyone comes knocking, we'll just give them a good beating."

This simple and brutal approach suited Rebecca's taste perfectly. What she wanted most right now was to avenge her father, and she couldn't wait for her enemy to appear so they could fight to the death.

Mann, the squad leader, was not so optimistic.

He hesitated for a moment, then decided to tell Leo the truth: "Actually, I might be in a bit of trouble in Night City. There's someone—"

“Solomon Reed, I know him.”

"You know? No... how do you know!?" Mann was dumbfounded.

Leo was looking at the documents while trying to fool him:

"I also know that you fought alongside him during your military career and had a good personal relationship with him. When you could no longer stand those missions that were called 'cleansing' but were actually massacres, and you were preparing to retire, he invited you to join the special intelligence organization he was about to establish in Night City, Taipingzhou."

Of course, you refused, choosing instead to be a marginal figure, eventually arriving in Night City in search of the air of freedom untouched by the new US government.

The members of Mann's squad stared in disbelief at their captain, as it was the first time they had ever learned of his heavy past.

Dorothy, seeing her boyfriend's arm trembling slightly, quickly took his hand to offer support.

Mann was in a daze for a while, and it took him a long time to pull his consciousness away from his past experiences.

The burning ruins of those villages and the corpses of locals strewn across the fields were a persistent psychological burden for him.

He looked at Leo, feeling a long-forgotten fear—the fear of being watched, seen through, and having his cerebral cortex peeled back for in-depth study…

It was as if a pair of eyes hidden in the darkness had already seen his every move and every thought, yet he knew nothing about it. This terrifying feeling sent chills down his spine.

"How did you know? I've never told anyone about these things, and... Li De's identity is somewhat special; this should be a secret of the new US government."

Leo replied rather insincerely with an old saying: "I'm the middleman, I always need some special channels. Li De, the king of spies in New America, his reputation is indeed quite impressive. He's in Night City right now, if you want to find him, I can even give you directions~"

"No!" Mann quickly interrupted him. "It would be dangerous to get involved with him, and he knows me. He might come looking for me if he hears my name. That's what I'm worried about."

Leo smiled relaxedly:

"Don't worry, I know where he is, what identity he's using, and what he's up to. If necessary, I can just send V to stab him and that'll be the end of it. He won't have a chance to cause me any trouble."

In short, you don't need to worry about this or that. Just relax and do your job well for me.

The six members of Mann's team exchanged glances and reached a consensus.

From this moment on, Mann's squad officially joined Leo's command, becoming his direct subordinates.

Chapter 336 L's Request: Catching a Subway Thief!

"You have made a wise choice, and the future is destined to be smooth sailing."

Having collected several more important NPCs, Leo's collecting obsession was greatly satisfied. He raised his glass, a smile playing on his lips.

"Come on, let's drink! This toast—to the future!"

This toast is somewhat of a clever trick.

but,

The future—how many people live for this, striving to live for a better future…

"Well said, I'm on your side!" Jack rushed over to show his support.

"The future?" V looked up at Leo. "It's definitely something to look forward to. I'm going with them too!"

"Then I will..."

Others chimed in with their own comments and raised their glasses.

Under the cool lights of the conference room,

The wine, cola, and purified water, carrying everyone's hopes and dreams, came together and emitted a soft "ding" sound, a sound that time travelers love.

After finishing the last sip of his carbonated drink, Leo let out a satisfied sigh and turned to look at Mann and the others.

"Now that we're all on the same side, let me give you a brief explanation. From now on, you're no longer the Edge Walkers team, but a special operations team from Blue Dream Company. I'll assign you a liaison officer; you can consult her if you have any questions."

He forwarded the pure white office phone number to Mann and the others.

"There's also the issue of compensation. The internship lasts one month, with a basic monthly salary of 3 euros, plus project bonuses for completing tasks. After becoming a full-time employee, you'll receive a platinum membership to the trauma group and a VIP package with Delaman's private car. For other details, ask the liaison officer; explaining them is quite troublesome."

After hearing his words, Mann and the others were stunned for a moment before they reacted.

What is a special operations team?

What is Lanmeng Cun Rj Ershanlin Jiuqi III Company?

This name sounds unfamiliar; I've never heard of it before.

In a silent exchange of glances, Rebecca was pushed forward once again.

She tried to ignore V's scrutinizing gaze and asked with an awkward laugh, "What is this Blue Dream Company? What does it do? We've never heard of it before..."

Leo explained amicably, “This company was established not long ago and is a large, diversified corporation, initially focusing on green environmental protection and the development of organic food. Your roles are equivalent to the company’s senior security personnel.”

"Security... that should be fine."

Mann breathed a sigh of relief. They occasionally received this type of mission, which was better than being a company agent and causing trouble everywhere.

However, I never expected to be promoted to a full-time employee this time, going from a freelance mercenary to a company employee.

With the heavy past of his military career behind him, he felt a mix of joy and sorrow, but looking at his cheering teammates, he knew that he couldn't say anything discouraging at this time.

A company is fine, it's better than the military, and environmental protection and developing organic food seem like peaceful options...

Seeing that they had accepted their new identities, Leo immediately gave them their first task: "Tomorrow your squad will head to Stoneridge Mountain to assist the Wings of Freedom in their development. The specific arrangements are—"

“Mann, you have a military background and are a veteran mercenary. You take Dorio and Rebecca to train new recruits, focusing on teaching them urban combat skills.”

"……Yes!"

Mann took a second to answer, mainly because this "urban warfare technique" made it hard for him not to overthink it.

Anyone with eyes can see that Wings of Liberty is actually L's private army.

They just captured the eastern suburbs, and now they want to learn urban warfare. Their intentions are a bit too obvious... Does L plan to advance into the Night City area?

Leo ignored him and continued to give instructions: "Qiwei and Pila, Stone Ridge Mountain is undergoing reconstruction and everything needs to be rebuilt. You two are technicians, and there are many places there that need your help. Choose what you are good at."

"it is good."

Qiwei remained as indifferent as ever, but her expression revealed that she was fairly satisfied with the job.

"clear."

Pila, whom Lucy jokingly calls a long-armed tech fanatic, stares straight at the ground, as obedient as could be.

Although he likes to be silly and make witty remarks, he's not stupid. He knows it's best not to do anything reckless in front of L, even if the other person is his "brother-in-law" or something...

Leo's gaze shifted to the last person, then he suddenly paused: Oh no, what's this person's name again?

The middle-aged man, who looked remarkably like Mario, chuckled: "Boss, my name is Falco, and I'm a driver for Mann's team."

"Hmm...you must be a pretty good driver, right?"

Leo asked the question knowingly—this was a legendary driver, a man who could wipe out an entire squad of military-grade armored vehicles with just one car, and who could go in and out of Arasaka Tower with ease.

Falco didn't speak, but instead gave a thumbs-up in response.

"Alright, go train the Freedom Wings drivers. They have a good foundation, but they lack experience driving on city roads."

"I understand, leave it to me."

After assigning tasks, Leo looked around at everyone and said, "That's all for now. You'll get a daily fieldwork allowance of 5,000 euros, and any extra money you earn will be yours. Let's call it a day."

He was the first to stand up, and the others followed suit.

The group of twelve people left the private room.

Just before returning to the lobby, Leo suddenly remembered something and looked back—the white numbers on the door of the private room were so clearly visible.