"Let's check on Lu Mingfei's condition."
As the Boss's administrative staff, Su Enxi was the first to think of assessing his injuries.
If he had suffered a head injury and lost consciousness, they might even need to take him for a medical checkup; otherwise, it would be awkward if he ended up with a concussion.
"Mhm." Jiu De Mai nodded.
Exerting a gentle force, she turned Lu Mingfei's frail body over and checked the back of his head.
There was no sign of any bleeding.
Seeing this, the two women were momentarily stunned. Then how on earth did this guy end up passing out here?
"Potato Chips, do you have any idea?" Jiu De Mai pointed at Lu Mingfei, who was sprawled on the ground, looking somewhat bewildered.
"Nope." Su Enxi shook her head. "Frightened unconscious?"
"Quite possibly. If Lu Mingfei has never been exposed to the world of Half-bloods and suddenly experienced a bloodline awakening at such a life-or-death moment, it would certainly cause him to black out from the shock." Jiu De Mai agreed with the assessment and nodded.
If it was only to that extent, Lu Mingfei should wake up after sleeping a little longer.
That was the best-case scenario—at least they wouldn't need to drag this guy to a local neurology clinic for an examination.
"If we look at it that way..." She immediately began to sense the surrounding environment. "There's no scent of anyone else passing by nearby. Lu Mingfei must have awakened a Spiritual Word that we aren't aware of."
"Its ability might not be as simple as just cutting things."
Jiu De Mai's reasoning wasn't without merit.
However, Su Enxi, as the partner who always operated alongside her, merely shrugged, noncommittal.
"Who knows?"
"Let's just wait for now. The Boss gave orders—until Lu Mingfei reaches the bus stop, neither of us can leave."
"Fine." Jiu De Mai sighed and waited quietly in place.
Under the concealment of the Underworld Glow, although the two women could see each other, there was no third party's vision to observe them after they turned optically invisible.
Even Lu Mingfei didn't feel a thing.
...
In the evening, at Chu Zihang's home.
In this large villa district within the CBD, the surroundings were equipped with marked parking spaces where numerous valuable vehicles were parked in neat rows.
Ever since Chu Tianjiao had dropped him off here, Lin Mai had remained in standby mode, with his engine and headlights completely shut off.
Having acquired two sets of startup protocols, he considered himself different from the mortal cars all around him; in other words, they were no longer in the same league.
Are you kidding? Cybertronians are automotive deities—how could these mere mechanical creations compare to them?
Taking advantage of the boredom, Lin Mai's consciousness entered the chat group.
[Viaduct in the Storm]: "Good evening."
[Drop-Resistant King of Cybertron]: "Well? Can you transform?"
[Viaduct in the Storm]: "Not bad, though the transformation range is limited to between 3 and 50 meters. Other than the car doors converting into steel blades, I haven't tested the weapons yet."
[The Infamous V]: "So cool?"
[The Infamous V]: "Fifty meters... Let me think, that must be about a tenth as tall as Arasaka Tower. I'm afraid ordinary Militech wouldn't be able to handle you."
[Group Owner / Dimensional Cute Newbie]: "That big?"
[Group Owner / Dimensional Cute Newbie]: "Ordinary Transformers are only a dozen meters tall or so, and besides, why is your form capable of changing in size? That's a bit magical."
[Group Owner / Dimensional Cute Newbie]: "At least in my understanding, Megatron doesn't have a physique that large."
[Drop-Resistant King of Cybertron]: "A matter of talent."
[Drop-Resistant King of Cybertron]: "Transformers with dual forms are quite common. Judging by this description, the newcomer should be able to grow infinitely larger based on their hardware configuration."
[Drop-Resistant King of Cybertron]: "Anyway, does anyone still want to buy a Spark from me?"
[Drop-Resistant King of Cybertron]: "On sale now at a special price, only 500 points each."
[The Infamous V]: "Huh?"
[The Infamous V]: "Weren't you selling them to newcomers for 50 points each? How can the price go up?"
[Drop-Resistant King of Cybertron]: "Sigh."
[Drop-Resistant King of Cybertron]: "There are some things you'll only understand once you unlock the group mall."
In the Transformers Universe, Megatron sighed. If it weren't for the low-tier items in the group mall, who would want to inflate prices?
Right now, this was the only thing of value he had on hand.
When he reached the Autobot City on Earth, he intended to keep this business running consistently.
If he didn't raise prices now, it would be hard to do so later.
Never had he imagined that as the leader of the Decepticons on Cybertron, he would one day reach a point where he had to raise his privilege level, even praying that the Level 2 mall would have good items.
[The Infamous V]: "What a pity."
[The Infamous V]: "If I actually had any points on hand, I'd really want to buy one right now."
[The Infamous V]: "Say, am I considered a machine too? Can I use this energy core?"
[Group Owner / Dimensional Cute Newbie]: "Not recommended."
[Group Owner / Dimensional Cute Newbie]: "This thing is way more intense than those cyberware pieces of yours. You'd probably get cyberpsychosis the moment you touch it, even if you're a cybernetic deity."
[I Am the Cosmic Rich Woman]: "That exaggerated?"
[I Am the Cosmic Rich Woman]: "Come to think of it, if you could also turn into a fifty-meter giant, sweeping through the Arasaka Tower on your end would be beyond easy."
[The Infamous V]: "No."
[The Infamous V]: "Once I hit fifty meters tall, I'd just become a living target."
[The Infamous V]: "The moment I declared war, given Arasaka Corporation's capabilities, the entire Night City would be up in arms."
[The Infamous V]: "All I can do right now is keep up my mercenary facade and struggle to get by amidst the intertwined factions of various corporations."
[I Am the Cosmic Rich Woman]: "Tsk."
[I Am the Cosmic Rich Woman]: "Then you really have it rough."
[The Infamous V]: "Right?"
[The Infamous V]: "I'll go upload a virus at Fuyutsuki Electronics Corporation in a bit, and wrap things up for tonight. It's about time to rest for a while."
"..."
Exiting the chat group interface, Lin Mai fell into deep contemplation.
One thing was certain: V was still in the early-to-mid stage right now.
After all, V in the late stage was far too fierce, capable of taking on Arasaka Corporation head-on even when weakened—burning through a mortal shell like a raging fire. No matter how you looked at it, that didn't sound like a group member who was still working as a mere mercenary today.
Just as he was pondering, a notification sound suddenly rang in his ear.
"Ding!"
"The chat group has issued a group quest: Assist group member [The Infamous V] in completing the mercenary job of uploading a virus at Fuyutsuki Electronics Corporation. The participant limit for this mission is set to: 2 people!"