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

“We’ve known each other since we were young, back when he was a pastor. Now people call him Father, and hardly anyone mentions that name anymore.”

She glanced at the wine bottles on the table again, nodded thoughtfully, and said, "Natural wine, plus tens of thousands of bottles, he is indeed the most suitable person in the entire Night City. As a pastor, he maintains close ties with the church and its members, and he can easily sell this wine."

V, who had been quietly listening, hesitated and then raised her hand: "Mrs. Wells, I'm also from Haywood. Do you really think... ordinary people in Night City can afford such expensive wine?"

Mrs. Wells smiled: “You underestimate the power of faith, child. Even the poorest families, those who only attend Mass once a month, will be willing to buy the cheapest bottle of this wine. Families with a little more money will buy at least one bottle of the real communion wine a year, made from these two kinds of 100% grape juice.”

V thought of his mother and was quickly persuaded.

My mother... would probably be willing to have a drink on those most important holidays, using faith to comfort her heart that has been crushed by life.

Mrs. Wells looked closely at the young girl from Haywood and took a good look at her. She really liked her. Seeing her was like seeing her younger self, so innocent yet full of vitality.

If only she had a daughter like that, she would have found a suitable husband on her own and wouldn't have to worry about anything.

Unlike Jack, who's almost thirty and still busy with nothing every day, he doesn't seem to care about settling down...

Trying to clear her mind of these distractions, Mrs. Wells looked at Leo again:

"Building alliances based on common interests, and then leveraging the enhanced strength to unlock even greater interests—you're quite good, young man. For your age, having such thinking already surpasses most of your peers."

Alright, let's talk about this 'appetizer' then.

Mrs. Wells' gaze suddenly became steady and sharp, not at all like that of an old lady over fifty.

As she examined several items and fell into deep thought, Leo clearly saw that Jack's back was taut, and he looked tense.

It seems his mother is putting a lot of pressure on him...

"Hmm..." After a long pause, Mrs. Wells, without using pen and paper, directly stated the quantity she wanted to buy. "Considering this is the first time we've sold this kind of wine, and considering you can deliver two batches every month, I have to be careful with this first transaction—"

There are two types of low-end liquor, 40 cases each. There are two types of mid-range liquor, 5 cases each. There are two types of high-end liquor, one case each; I'll keep this one for myself to drink with the children during holidays.

Leo took out paper and pen and quickly handwrote the shipping order:

[960 bottles of low-end wine, 9.6 yuan. 120 bottles of mid-range wine, 2.4 yuan.]

"The fine wine is included as a gift, the total price is 12, is that alright, Mrs. Wells?"

“It’s very cheap, I’m even worried you won’t make any money. But now that we have common interests, you’re a friend of the Wells family from now on. If you have any questions, just tell Jack. Our family has been operating in the Heywood area for generations, and we’ve sacrificed countless members for the gang, so we still have some influence.”

You could tell from her emphasized tone that this weight might not be literally "a little".

After a polite handshake, Mrs. Wells transferred the money to him directly: "You are Jack's friend, I trust you. As per the rules, I'll pay you a 30% deposit first, and the balance will be paid upon delivery."

Leo nodded: "No problem, I can deliver the goods today."

[Your personal account has received a transfer of €36000 from Mrs. Wells. Do you wish to accept it?]

【take over. 】

Transfer successful. Current account balance: €38572.

Upon seeing the numbers, Leo appeared calm on the surface, but inwardly he felt a real sense of relief.

He arrived in Night City with 21 euros, and just now, he only had a little over 2500 left. He spent in a week what an average citizen's savings would take several years of living expenses without spending a penny…

Now we're finally seeing the money deposited into our accounts.

After the transaction was completed, Mrs. Wells brought up the matter of the priest:

"Since you've asked me to act as matchmaker, let's choose my place. I originally wanted to arrange for you to meet at Wild Wolf, but... this business is too big, and there are too many people and eyes in the bar, so let's not let the news leak out."

When you come in, try to avoid people. Have Jack lead you through the back door. Don't have too many people. If you ask me, you take Jack, and have the priest bring one of his men. Just the four of you talk; don't involve anyone else.

Such meticulous arrangements drew nods of approval from everyone present.

Even V had no objections, because she knew very well that bringing Jack was to demonstrate the Wells family's stance.

As long as the priest still cherishes old friendships and follows the rules, and with Jack around, at least it won't escalate into a live brawl.

"Leave it to me, Mano. I can definitely protect you, no problem!"

Big Jack revealed a confident smile and patted his chest forcefully.

Mrs. Wells nodded almost imperceptibly as she watched her son interact with Leo.

That's the right way. Making the right friends is the key to success, instead of being dragged into the mire by those violent and aggressive gangsters.

Leo thought for a moment and nodded in agreement.

"When do you plan to meet him?" Mrs. Wells asked.

"I always feel uneasy having the goods stuck in my hands, so let's do it today to avoid any unforeseen problems!"

"Decisive enough, you seem like someone who can achieve great things."

Faced with the elders' praise, Leo smiled shyly:

“You flatter me. I’m still learning. Let’s tentatively set the time for 5 p.m., and I’ll let you know if there are any changes. Please invite the priest to my home. There’s no need to prepare dinner; I think neither of us will be in the mood for food after we’ve finished our business discussion.”

"Wait a moment." Mrs. Wells took out her phone and sent a text message. After a while, she received a reply: "Okay, Sebastian is at the bar. I'll go invite him myself and I'll definitely bring him here."

After agreeing on the terms, the old man got up and prepared to act without any hesitation.

"Get moving, everyone. Jack, I'll leave the car for you, but I'll ask Victor to give me a ride."

Old Wei nodded: "No problem, I drove here. I'll drop you off first, then take Misty back to the clinic. I'll wait for your good news."

Misty stood up as well: "Then I'll go back and pray for you. Especially you, Jack, don't forget to maintain the aura daily."

Mrs. Wells glanced at Misty and her son, and vaguely sensed something.

Jack tried to smile, but his expression looked somewhat unnatural.

Fortunately, Mrs. Wells didn't say anything, and turned to follow Mr. Wells and Misty into the elevator.

In the blink of an eye, only the four members of the Immortal Squad remained in the living room.

Leo looked around, then slapped the table with a smile: "The team has been established for so long, and finally we have something to do. Everyone, come over here and let's discuss this."

Because the table was a mess and the smell was distracting, they moved to the bar by the floor-to-ceiling window and had a private conversation with their backs to the empty liquor cabinet.

V and Jack leaned closer with shining eyes, while Sasha picked up a large plate of yogurt and fruit salad, ready to eat and listen at the same time.

First Signs of Talent: Chapter Ninety-Seven - A Big Deal (Part Three)

Leo glanced at the scenery outside the window, and the thought of the nearly ten million yuan he was about to receive made even the misty sky seem beautiful.

I really want to open the window and jump out to fly a couple of times, but that'll have to wait until he learns to fly.

After pausing for a moment, he turned to his friends and said, "Let's get down to business. We still have three hours before we talk about the big deal, so I won't waste any more time and will get right to it."

Listen up, everyone—

Jack will take Sasha home first; her hacking equipment is all there, and she needs to work there. Once she's ready, I'll send you the coordinates. Come meet us, and we'll pick up your goods first.

Sasha provided information services and protection to the team members online throughout the process, and Pure White will also help you.

V, come with me, let's go to the warehouse for one last check.

"Ask if you have any questions, or we can get started!"

Leo clapped his hands and asked a question with his eyes.

V and Jack nodded silently, indicating that there was no problem.

Sasha raised her hand as if to say something, but her mouth was full of fruit salad, and she almost choked before swallowing the fruit: "Ah, cough cough, um, I just took a bite, you're so efficient. Um... I, I have no objection, I just wanted to say that I will do my best and have a good competition with Pure White!"

Leo gave her a sympathetic look.

Silly kid, you want to compete with AI in hacking skills?

That might be a bit difficult, but good luck...

"Take it if you like, there's plenty of fruit in V's room. Just fill it with whatever you want from an empty wine box. I bought a ton of all sorts of ingredients this time, enough for us to eat every day."

Upon hearing Leo's words, Sasha's eyes widened, making her already large eyes appear even larger and more cat-like.

Her young heart was struck by a tremendous shock.

Eating this every day?

That month, her food expenses must have been tens of thousands of yuan. Has she really hooked up with a rich guy?

Leo didn't want to waste time, so he turned around, raised his chin at V, and pointed at Sasha.

V understood what he meant, picked up an empty wine case, and went back to his small room.

In just two minutes, I had filled a whole box with various fruits. I also found some snacks like yogurt and jelly and stuffed them into another box.

Jack acted as a porter, carrying boxes and leading a dazed Sasha into the elevator.

After they left, V quickly walked back to Leo's side: "Alright, everyone's gone, let's get going too. We haven't actually looked for the warehouse you mentioned yet, have we?"

Leo laughed and patted his chest: "A human-shaped warehouse, with a huge capacity, no loss, and only consumes three meals a day. You won't find such a good warehouse anywhere else."

"Stop talking and get to work. Don't mess this up." V raised a fist, the threat clear.

Leo thought for a moment and decided to tell her his thought process to see what insights this veteran mercenary and Night City local had.

“I originally wanted to rent a big truck, load the goods into the cargo bed, and have the priest drive it away. But then I thought that renting a truck would be too conspicuous and wouldn’t fool anyone, so I changed my approach.”

"I'm planning to rent a warehouse now, no, not rent, but secretly borrow a warehouse that's not currently in use. I'll put the goods in there, and once the deal is done, I'll take the priest to inspect the goods. As for what happens after that, that's the priest's problem to worry about."

V listened and nodded, thinking the idea was quite plausible.

“But you have to be careful and avoid all the cameras and crowded areas. It would be best if the warehouse were in the Haywood area, which is the priest’s territory and he can protect it.”

"We're really on the same wavelength; you and I are thinking the same thing."

Leo reached out and patted V's shoulder, then quickly withdrew his hand before she squinted at him.

“As long as no one knows how I did it, they will imagine that a super powerful force is organizing this kind of smuggling. I suspect that Kang Tao should take the blame, after all, my face is too much like Kang Tao’s.”

V looked at his face, and the corners of her mouth couldn't help but curl up slightly.

You know what, given this kind of large-scale, silent smuggling, it's not surprising that some people speculate he's the illegitimate son of the chairman of Kangtao.

Otherwise, who could be so capable as to disregard the company's border checkpoint?

“I think it’s feasible. The bigger and smarter a person is, the more they like to think. If they can’t figure out how you did it, they will elevate your status infinitely until they associate you with someone else who can do it.”

That was a rather profound statement, and Leo couldn't help but tease, "Oh, I thought you didn't like thinking, but it turns out you do have a brain... Awoo!"

The idiom "trouble comes from the mouth" is so apt; one second you're spouting nonsense, the next you're getting punched in the stomach—that's incredibly efficient.

"I'm the captain and the employer, you can't always be so disrespectful..."

His voice grew softer and softer as the fist, the size of a clay pot, grew larger and larger in his field of vision.

"Don't waste time, we're doing something important!"

He quickly added a sentence: "Leo contacted Pure White."

Pure White, did you hear me? Help me find a warehouse. This was my idea; I can't just say I've given up on thinking about it.

[You two were flirting and already doing it, give me a few more minutes. By the way, I really want to punch you a couple of times, V looks so happy, it must feel great to touch. Sigh, it would be even more fun if I knocked you down and then rode on top of you...]

[Shut up already. Shouldn't this kind of telepathic communication have a mute option? Where's the mute button?]

【The server is busy, please try again later. 】

Leo regretted it; he shouldn't have given her so much autonomy just to be lazy.

No wonder some parents hate video games and the internet. It's only been a few days, and his perfectly good AI assistant has already turned into... something else entirely...

"How is it?" V asked hastily, noticing his strange expression.

Leo smiled confidently: "Give me a few more minutes, it's very simple."

V looked thoughtfully into his eyes, his prosthetic eye not lighting up at all: "I don't see you doing any work either. Other hackers don't work with this leisurely attitude. The amazing hackers you're talking about, were they all pure white from the start? Then aren't you just a complete freeloader?"

Leo blushed and retorted, "Pure White is someone I created... uh, someone I taught. So tell me, am I more capable or is she more capable!"

V was deeply suspicious, but felt that asking any further questions might lead to trouble, so she simply stopped asking.

A few minutes later, Pure White sent a set of coordinates.

There's a private waste disposal plant at the border of the Heywood Canyon and River Valley districts that went out of business over a month ago. I just checked it out; there's very little surveillance around, even fewer people, not even homeless people bother going there. We can borrow an abandoned warehouse; no problem at all.

[They'll provide full network-level protection and blocking for us; we're off now.]

[Without you saying it, everyone in your team, including Old Vie, Misty, and Mrs. Wells whom I just met, is on my surveillance list. 24/7, 365 days a year, every move you make online is under my watchful eye and protection. Don't worry.]

You've been corrupted by Batman...