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

The trembling trio exchanged glances, all confirming one thing in each other's eyes—Leo definitely had a close relationship with that important figure, otherwise his attitude wouldn't be so casual, and his tone wouldn't even carry a hint of resentment…

Emerging Talent: Chapter 105 Leo: I want to find a female driver who comes from a nomadic background and is familiar with the badlands!

The wine, which theoretically costs tens of thousands of euros per glass, captivated everyone who drank it.

Leo remained relatively calm, partly because he wasn't particularly interested in alcohol, and partly because he'd seen it so often at Batman's dinner table that he didn't think it was anything special.

But the others were clearly not so relaxed—

Jack stared at the wine glass and grinned foolishly; his once rugged and domineering face now looked incredibly silly.

V, on the other hand, keeps switching from left to right and right to left, just like that hot glass of wine, never stopping for a moment.

Sasha, on the other hand, was more obedient, sipping the wine quietly.

But she really couldn't hold her liquor; after only a third of it, her cheeks turned bright red. And it wasn't the excited red of V when she drank; it was the kind of red that... might cause her to black out after just one glass.

Leo's attention was drawn to her adorable drunken appearance, and he suddenly let out a loud "Aww!" almost spilling the wine in his hand.

Jack and Sasha were startled and turned to look at him.

He looked at V, his eyes filled with resentment.

V held her wine glass as if nothing had happened, as if she wasn't the one who had just elbowed Leo in the waist.

"If you can't drink, then don't drink. Be careful not to get drunk and get taken advantage of by 'bad guys'."

V reached out and took Sasha's wine glass, then took out the juice she hadn't finished at noon from under the table and poured her a glass.

Sasha smiled gratefully at her and obediently drank her juice.

The wine she finished was poured into V's own glass and drunk, giving Leo and Sasha no chance to indirectly kiss.

Leo felt she had been looked down upon, but her fists were too strong, so she could only hold onto this grudge for the time being.

In a quarter of an hour, everyone only drank one glass of wine.

Incredibly, after drinking this glass of wine, the group suddenly felt as if they were different from before, as if they had been reborn.

Think about it, he's handled commissions worth hundreds of thousands, drunk drinks worth tens of thousands a glass, and even sat in a private room at the Laisheng Bar... Isn't that what a true gangster should be like?

Originally just a mercenary with some fame, he suddenly became a top-tier mercenary – it's a wonderful feeling that's both absurd and dreamlike.

“I’m a big shot now!” Jack said, slamming his empty glass on the table. “I’m going to transfer 10 euros to my mom so she knows I’ve made something of myself and will stop her from worrying about me all the time. I’m starting to get a little scared of her.”

"And then... I want to buy a Nazaré Skybreaker! That car—cool! Stylish! Super fast!!"

Seeing Jack drooling, V shook his head in disgust: "What's the use of buying a combat prosthetic body, a good gun, or a motorcycle if you have money? If you're going to buy anything, buy a four-wheeled one. Isn't that safer than your two-wheeled one?"

"What do you know, V? I'm not trying to be mean, but you just lack a bit of romance. Think about it, no matter how good your car is, even if it's a luxury car worth hundreds of thousands or millions, do you think that girl will hug you tightly from behind and press her full breasts against your back?"

No! You can ride a motorcycle!!

"Damn... that's all you've got. Luckily, I never ride motorcycles. I'm just flesh wrapped in iron, I'd fly if I got hit."

V and Sasha looked at Jack with disdain, but he started grinning foolishly and lost in thought.

Leo, fearing he'd be caught in the crossfire, quickly changed the subject with a question: "V, so what are you going to buy with this money?"

Upon hearing this, V's face lit up with an excited glow: "I'm going to buy the Sinwiss and the Mantis Blade! With the accelerator on, I can instantly teleport behind the enemy and stab them right through! Then, I'll be one of the toughest fighters at the Rebirth Bar!"

Leo felt a cold sweat break out on his back. If V-Answer and S.A.W.S ...

"Don't you...want to buy something else?"

"Yes! I want to buy a good gun—a big one!" V held up two fingers to indicate that it was a rifle or even a sniper rifle. "The Kenshin is also very good, but it's a pistol after all, and the firepower isn't strong enough. I want a more powerful gun, preferably one that can blow up a car with one shot!"

A violent maniac, beyond saving...

Leo looked at Sasha, wanting to hear what this hacker girl who liked cats had to say.

Sasha clenched her fists and cutely squeezed them in front of her chest: "I want to buy a network access chair. If I have any spare money, I'll upgrade my other equipment. I used to use second-hand items, and I'll replace them with newer models that are more powerful."

This is a tech-savvy woman...

Having gained some understanding of the team members' future plans, Leo began to explain his own arrangements: "Now that we have sufficient funds, it's time to make a big splash. I have a few things to say, so please read on."

Once everyone had quieted down, he continued, "First thing, when I came up here, I noticed there are still vacant rooms in this apartment building. I'm planning to rent a few more to gather everyone together. This will make things more convenient, whether we're on missions or just living here. What do you all think?"

V has already moved in, so naturally she has no objections.

Jack hesitated before objecting: "I don't need it. My house is right next to the Wild Wolf Bar. I can just drive over on my motorcycle. It won't cause any trouble. It's not that I don't want to live here, it's just that... my mom is over fifty. If I don't live here, she'll start worrying about this and that."

Leo nodded: "Okay, since you live nearby, you can stay home and keep Mrs. Wells company."

Sasha raised her hand and asked, "This apartment costs 40,000 a month. Do I really need to live in such a nice place?"

"I'll pay for all the apartment rents; consider it a perk for the team."

Faced with the outrageously wealthy Leo, Sasha became fearful: "Fine then, I'll pack my bags as soon as I get back today."

"Great, I'll go rent the room first."

With that, Leo stood up and walked toward the elevator.

V stood up and waved to the other two, "I'll go with you. You guys wait here and I'll be right back."

The two entered the elevator one after the other.

The elevator doors had just closed when Leo received a money transfer message—

[Your personal account has received a transfer of €53,000 from V. Do you wish to accept it?]

"V?"

"I'll pay you back the money I owe you for the prosthetic body first, and then you can pay it back to Old Wei together."

"You know I'm not short of money, keep it."

“One thing at a time, I don’t like owing people things.” Seeing that he wouldn’t accept it, V sighed helplessly, “I’ll borrow money from you if I need it, but I still have to pay it back.”

"Alright, you have pretty high moral standards."

Leo accepted V's repayment and planned to return the money to Lao Wei later.

Upon arriving at the lobby on the first floor, the manager on duty was overjoyed to hear his request and showered him with compliments.

Leo didn't waste any words and went straight to checking the tablet computer used for renting the apartment.

This upscale apartment building has twenty floors. The wealthy people in Night City clearly prefer to live on the higher floors, leaving the lower and middle floors empty.

With a wave of his hand, he rented the 7th and 11th floors, one for Sasha and the other as a backup.

The monthly rent skyrocketed to 12 yuan, but he didn't care about that small amount of money.

He finally experienced a bit of Batman's joy.

When V asked him, looking puzzled, why he rented an extra room, he replied nonchalantly, "I'm rich."

Back home, Sasha raised her hand in celebration, feeling she had made the right choice in choosing the team. Finally, she happily said, "I want to stay on the 7th floor, because 7 is the most magical number! V-sister can stay on the 11th floor, since you're closer together."

Jack, who was lost in thought, suddenly snapped out of it, his bull-like eyes darting between V and Leo.

Leo was caught off guard by the question and instinctively looked at V.

V... She didn't speak, pretending not to hear in a very stupid way.

Leo stared at her for a few seconds and felt that she didn't seem to be too resistant to this cohabitation, so he tried to make a decision for her: "V is my personal bodyguard, he can stay here with me. Leave that apartment floor empty for now. Aren't we still looking for a driver? Let the newcomer live on the 11th floor."

The matter was quickly forgotten, and Sasha didn't think much of it, soon becoming engrossed in the colorful pictures on the shopping website.

Only Jack knew the truth, and he secretly gave Leo a thumbs-up to show his admiration.

The conversation smoothly transitioned to the search for a driver. Leo carefully recalled Panan's information and began posting rigged job advertisements:

“We have money now, but we lack loyal and reliable helpers. I plan to contact the wandering families in the Badlands; I’ve heard they are more reliable than the local mercenaries in Night City.”

V was somewhat unhappy with his prejudice, but it was true that the homeless had a better reputation than the locals, and everyone said they were very ethical.

"Therefore, I want to hire a driver who comes from a nomadic background. He needs to be a skilled driver, a reliable person, and preferably familiar with the harsh environment. We might need to go out and do some activities in the future."

I'll take some time tomorrow night to post an announcement at Laisheng. Jack, please post an announcement at Wild Wolf Bar for me. Once we find a suitable candidate, we'll invite her for an in-person interview.

"Why her? You want a female driver?" V's intuition always seemed to catch some annoying details without him even noticing them.

Leo chuckled dryly: "Haha, of course not, it's possible he could be too, I was just saying it offhand..."

V scrutinized him with a suspicious look.

Her intuition told her that the person in front of her was lying!

A Glimpse of Talent: Chapter 106 - V-Shaking "Shyness"

As if being stared at by a prehistoric Tyrannosaurus Rex, Leo's smile grew increasingly stiff.

Fortunately, V doesn't have true mind-reading abilities and can't see the curvaceous female racer in his mind.

Burying her slight doubts, V glanced at the time and stood up: "It's almost six o'clock. I'll make something simple. Everyone, just grab something to eat."

Leo quickly followed suit, eager to help: "I'll help! I'll make a famous Chinese dish—the '蓑衣黄瓜' (蓑衣黄瓜, cucumber with a straw raincoat)!"

Sasha was about to get up when she saw Jack waving at her, signaling her not to go.

After the two chefs left, Jack whispered to her, "This is their 'private time.' If you go there, it will be inconvenient for them to talk."

Sasha nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite.

After half an hour,

V's Mexican beef rolls and Leo's straw raincoat... served with smashed cucumber.

He tried his best, but the cucumber still broke into several pieces. In a fit of anger, he turned it into smashed cucumber, since it was edible anyway.

At the dinner table, adhering to the good habit of "always chatting while eating," everyone talked about the thrilling negotiation that had taken place an hour earlier.

Okay, "thrilling" was an adjective Leo added himself. Anyway, only he and Jack were there at the time, and his good buddy wouldn't call him out for bragging.

And that was indeed the case. When he couldn't boast himself, Jack acted as his mouthpiece, helping him to exaggerate, and the negotiation was more exciting than a movie.

Leo was overjoyed by the meal, feeling a surge of pride and confidence.

After the meal, everyone rested for a while, waiting for Leo's next instructions.

"Wait a minute, let me check the schedule for Arasaka Academy. Tomorrow is the 4th, Wednesday, only half a day of classes in the morning. We'll be picking up school uniforms, textbooks, and other basic items, and there will be a class meeting. Then, until next Monday when school officially starts, there are four free days in between..."

Strange.

Arakawa Academy's opening arrangements are far too relaxed. What's the point of leaving so much time in the middle? Is this the kind of leeway that world-renowned universities have?

He tried to get answers from his friends.

From right to left, the first thing the eye sees is the V... then it's instantly skipped!

V's fist hardened, but as a lowly mercenary on the streets, she really didn't understand this.

The second person to come into contact with Jack.

The burly man with the bun hairstyle scratched his head awkwardly: "I went to a community high school, and I hung out with gangsters every day. I didn't even graduate..."

My gaze shifted to the left again, toward the last glimmer of hope.

Sasha was shocked. High school graduation was the highest level of education anyone in this living room had?!

Leo really wanted to say he was a college student, but unfortunately, he was a college student from over fifty years ago. In 2076, he'd probably only be considered a high school student...

Sasha, the team's only hope, successfully answered his question: "This is time for parents to raise funds and purchase various supporting learning equipment. It also gives students the opportunity to get a few more assistive devices installed before the start of the school year. By the way, Leo, what's your major?"

"Electronic Engineering and Computer Science".

Sasha nodded: "I understand. The technical expert school is similar to what I chose back then, but the school I went to wasn't as strong as Arasaka Academy."

She gave a brief explanation, and Leo quickly understood—this was a product launch event before the start of the school year, taking advantage of the parents' lingering positive impressions from yesterday's promotions to fleece them again.

Everything revolves around money; this is very much a nightlife city.

"Alright, since we still have plenty of time, let's take a day off today. We just finished a big job, so we need to relax. Of course, don't spend money recklessly. I'm talking to you, Sasha, be careful when shopping online, don't get scammed by false advertising."

Sasha tilted her head cutely and replied, "I asked Pure White to help me choose a Wi-Fi chair. She really knows everything!"

Leo nodded with satisfaction. No wonder he's a hacker; he's already gotten along with AI so quickly.

The thought of having a day off made Jack restless: "I'm going home now. I've finally accomplished something, I have to go back and show it off!"

Sasha also said goodbye: "I'm going back to pack my bags and try to move here tomorrow. I want to live in a big house with floor-to-ceiling windows too!"