Oulos said that this store would be a stable source of income for John outside his mercenary work.

The third aspect is management, the operation of the business.

Being a mercenary is the main job; running a store would inevitably take up a lot of energy, so finding someone else to do it is the best choice.

Maya and Gerry were the perfect pawns — indebted to John for saving their lives, crushed by bank bills, their secret as Special Affairs Bureau agents held over them, and with a young daughter...

They had no right to betrayal or resistance.

Such was the reality.

Maya leaned against the wall, arms crossed to support her back, her face showing the fatigue of blood loss.

She chose to, as usual, let her husband make the decisions in both family and business matters — this man before her, without advanced prosthetics or weapons and ammunition, yet managed to support the family.

Perhaps that's the reason for eight years of marriage.

John keenly noticed this point.

Seeing Maya had no objections, Gerry pulled out his arm and shook hands with him with his calloused palm.

"Happy to serve, boss."

"Good."

John reminded himself that this was a business negotiation, with no need for grins or forced friendliness.

He had tasted Gerry's skills and was confident in the restaurant's future.

John preliminarily set up the framework, identified key points, transferred large sums of money to Gerry, and left Bolago Club.

Completely unafraid of the other party escaping.

John drove his armored vehicle back to the streets, setting the navigation system to avoid restricted routes, heading towards East District Commercial Street, and sent a message to Ryan to reserve a nighttime medical slot.

He stopped at a traffic light and called Bone Shards while waiting.

Oulos's plan had a second part.

To have a stable livelihood in Eden City, you must have a strong enough backing, and local protection was the most cost-effective option among all plans.

The Black Gold Gang led by Bone Shards was in a state of full-scale war.

Without additional benefits, it's almost impossible to actively protect a shop's operation.

"Giving Black Gold Gang dividends, helping me attract customers, after the business grows, you become the major shareholder..."

"Ha, you're joking, right?"

Bone Shards even considered hanging up the phone, finding it absurdly silly, but then remembered John just took care of Du Remon, so he said a few more words.

"I manage the largest gang in the West District, John, do you think I care about a shop's profits? Maybe you racked your brain for what you thought was a decent idea, but you aimed at the wrong target, talking with Jilead would do just fine."

John wasn't angry.

"I'm not discussing just a shop, but the entire West District's fresh food supply, including high-end ingredients, mid-to-low-end processed semi-finished products, and street vendors."

He responded according to Oulos's phrasing.

"If you want to do business, you have to give customers good stuff, getting supplies directly from food companies must be costly, right? As for the Bolago Club, and gang industries with various entertainment facilities..."

Bone Shards chuckled twice.

"I'm listening."

"The West District doesn't just have gangs and gray businesses, there are hundreds of thousands of people who need to eat, no one is born to live on protein paste, Eden City is rich, eating real meat means big money coming in."

"Somewhat interesting, but there are still issues, I don't need to go through you to contact Radiant Dust Farm, even if choosing a distributor, Angelica is more familiar with the ins and outs."

"I didn't say I wanted to get involved in this business, talking this much is just to give you some inspiration, in fact, I don't have that much time to accompany you in dabbling in related businesses, as I said from the start, I'm just asking you to conveniently look after the store, handle small issues on the street."

John's tone remained calm.

Bone Shards still seemed indifferent.

"This is a small matter for me, but John, what role have you played in this? If I get taken down in the future, if the Black Gold Gang changes its Speaker and wants to mess with your store..."

"Did you forget what I do for a living?"

"Heh, deal."

Bone Shards was a shrewd businessman, it didn't need to be spelled out, he snapped his fingers on the video screen, summoned a waiter to pour a drink, and instructed his subordinates to call over a small leader to manage the store.

John calmly glanced out the window.

The city's night view was obscured by glass, blurry advertising patterns lightly flashing over his profile.

He withdrew his gaze, casually resting his arms.

The workwear's hydrophobic jacket slightly shifted, revealing the high-grade alloy at the end of the Sianweistan and the gun holster spanning chest and waist.

Oulos deemed:

A food shop matched to a Lone Wolf mercenary of John's caliber, the force deterrence already far exceeded.

He was capable of handling any potential trouble, unless it was a personal vendetta, otherwise, provoking John for this bit of sustained profit...

Was not cost-effective enough.

At this conclusion,

Oulos placed the final piece on the business puzzle.

Supply, management, local influence, mercenaries, all played their respective roles in this closed-loop transaction, reaping corresponding benefits.

John strangely felt a sense of realization, as if he had effectively mastered a skill from someone else's explanation.

Bone Shards settled the matter before the video ended.

For him, it was just a matter of words, and before hanging up, relaxed into the sofa to savor his drink, like a refined villain, finally mocking John for getting himself too deep.

"...if you want to make money, I can give you a lot of advice."

John smirked and hung up the phone.

As he pressed the accelerator, Maya's words inexplicably echoed in his mind.

Life is meant to be fought with all your might.

[Mission: A Place to Call Home (Completed)]

[Rewards: Bounty [consumed], Vehicle Modification [Armor System, Mobile Armory], Food Store [under construction], Weapon - Hercules MAX.]

A deal was thus struck.

John followed Oulos' second suggestion to pay attention to his health issues, casually scrolling through Ryan's reply, and headed toward the East District along routes where curfew hadn't been imposed yet.

Gunfire echoed, faint and intermittent, in the streets.

Eden City, which used to awaken in the dim night, inexplicably turned somewhat desolate. The electronic billboards still flickered, but both traffic and pedestrians had significantly decreased.

Important intersections and checkpoints were all manned by the ECPD.

The officers, clad in bulletproof vests and dark reflective raincoats, let cars pass amidst the flashing of prosthetic eyes and murmured complaints.

A rumbling vibration reverberated in the night sky.

Sirens and electronic voices played one after another.

John leaned against the steering wheel, queuing up in the long line, propping his head up with his arm, listening to the municipal cycle broadcast — at this moment, cyberpsychosis had broken out simultaneously in three districts.

He turned his gaze outside.

An unexpected downpour shattered the calm, making the city roads slick and black.

Several police aircraft soared low next to the overpass.

Their tailfins smashed through the rain curtain, forming white air waves circling around them, and following their departure, the curtain walls of distant skyscrapers reflected red light.

John could even imagine SAT descending from the skies.

Thud thud.

A police officer wearing sunglasses tapped the hood with a baton, indicating he drive to the designated area, where an electronic device nearby emitted virtual lines, slowly scanning the armored vehicle, making beeping sounds.

"Oh, f*ck..."

John immediately remembered the big guy in his trunk.

Yet the officer remained calm and composed:

There were directional pulse bombs above the checkpoint, automatic cannons positioned around the armored vehicle, and fully armed colleagues covering them, no one would foolishly seek death.

John rolled down the window.

The officer on duty adjusted the magnetic sunglasses, his deep green pupils embedded within wrinkles.

He droned on in a calm tone.

"I know, stay calm, you don't seem like the kind of idiot who seeks trouble. Tonight we've dealt with several desperadoes, look, over there~"

John followed his gaze.

In the area obscured by the armored car and the scanning base station, there were several vehicle frames stacked up, white smoke rising from them, as if a major fire had been extinguished not long ago.

John immediately understood, chuckling as he explained.

"The city's too chaotic, officer. I just bought some self-defense weapons from Chengxin Square. Hey, we all gotta protect ourselves~"

"Save it."

The officer smiled, the heat vent at his jaw aging, scratching it with the Velcro on the back of his glove. "One look and I know what you live off. If I asked you to show sales records, or scan your trunk with equipment, would I find a production number? Are you sure there are no illegal parts?"

John also smiled.

"Would you give me a chance to explain?"

He opened the glove compartment filled with miscellaneous spoils, pulled out a few cash chips from the blind spot of the officer's sight, and handed them over.

[Scan detected, no hacking traces found.]

"Stay safe, hold on a second, let's do a routine registration."

The officer picked up his baton, scanned John with its end, took out a magnetized clip with an indicator light from his pocket, and nonchalantly stuck it on the hood of the armored vehicle.

"This is a transit beacon. It can help you pass through lockdown areas; it's best to head home and lay low, or find a motel to wait out the rain."

He gave a meaningful smile, gesturing him to move on.

Money indeed simplifies things.

John revved the engine quietly, quickly leaving the overpass, cast a glance at the still-flashing beacon, hesitated for a moment, but ultimately gave up on passing through the restricted zone.

He wasn't too keen on dealing with cops, nor did he want a chance encounter with the Special Action Team at their law enforcement site.

The rain curtain gradually intensified.

The dark sections of the road under the lights grew heavier.

Once he was far enough from the checkpoint and out of the municipal broadcast's range, he could freely switch the signal on the car radio.

John had long since linked his Black Gold Gang user account to the vehicle, taking advantage of the Dan Street Apartment's membership package to listen to the radio show.

Immediately, the volume blared the opening spout of a manic host seemingly on drugs.

[Eden City, I am Roy, f*-ing squid!]

[This world has finally gone to hell! If my listeners haven't overdosed or gotten drunk yet, hurry up and move your a**es, haven't gone home yet? Want to add to the dead pool's numbers? Not bad, it may be the biggest contribution you make to this city!]

[…I am so looking forward to my first listener tonight.]

Thanks to the curfew and the gloomy effects of gang wars, Roy's nighttime show broke viewership records.

This foul-mouthed bastard was completely on fire tonight.

John seized a green light and drove through the intersection when suddenly the windshield was covered in white haze.

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