It turned out that they hadn't noticed it before—today, yesterday, and the past few days, since they started preparing to steal the Relic, flags were everywhere.
Roche almost decided to turn around and leave on the spot.
Taking a deep breath and leaving his gun in the car, Roche spoke to Mueller, who was sitting in the passenger seat.
"Remember what I told you, stay in touch at all times..."
Mueller didn't say much, responding with calm, somewhat cold eyes.
This lieutenant with a bob haircut really had a unique personality, completely different from when he had gone crazy.
Roche laughed a little to ease the tension in his chest and pulled a case from the trunk.
"What's in this case?" V asked curiously, as it wasn't part of the plan.
"We're military representatives, so in addition to the flat-head, there are the latest tech weapons waiting for negotiation and consultation," Roche snapped his fingers.
Jack, carrying the flat-head case, couldn't help but feel tense.
They were so close to Arasaka!
Although it wasn't the Arasaka Tower in the city center's corporate plaza, this was still Arasaka's private enterprise.
Azure Tower.
A building with a name that sounds bizarre when translated into Chinese.
Huge white marble slabs, silky soft red carpets, transparent glass as clear as air, luxurious and low-key dark gold and cold gray decorations, lush green plant landscapes, and well-trained, friendly receptionists.
Everything around exuded an atmosphere of "high-class."
Just beyond the nearby high walls, ordinary people outside in the world could never experience this heaven-and-earth difference separated by a single wall—except in the paper-drunk, gold-dazed false super-dreams, fulfilling their unfulfilled fantasies.
Before the three of them became mercenaries, more precisely, before becoming skilled and famous mercenaries, struggling on the line of subsistence was the true portrayal of most people in this city and their situation.
Today, they came here to break free from the quagmire.
Because they not only wanted to stand out but also wanted to become legends.
Jack walked in the front, carrying the case, his face sullen.
V followed, quietly observing the surroundings.
Roche trailed behind, remaining silent.
"Welcome to the Azure..."
The receptionist had just bowed in greeting when Roche's gaze silenced him.
It was a look like a ravenous, mad demon choosing its prey.
But for now, it was hidden beneath this seemingly calm human shell.
That gaze reminded him of the sidekick of his young master, the legendary mercenary Adam "Heavy Hammer."
However, Heavy Hammer's eyes were cold and emotionless.
But Roche's gaze, beneath the pitch-black pupils, was an indescribable terror and brutality.
The company people, dealing with such guys every day.
The receptionist swallowed without a trace, trying to maintain a standard smile.
"Welcome to the Azure Tower, please line up and pass through one by one."
The lobby security check required passing between two pillars, standing and being scanned for a moment.
The equipment hidden in the pillars fully demonstrated modern aesthetics—those exposed pipe and steel structures were seen as low-end and crude by Arasaka.
"Sure, bro—uh, sir," Jack subconsciously replied in a hearty manner.
When someone speaks politely, you should respond politely, maintaining manners and keeping in line with the fake identity's status. It was indeed difficult for this guy who had been in the streets for two or three decades.
"Beep beep beep..."
The red scanning line appeared, issuing a gentle alarm.
If this were a Russian territory, there would probably be at least two turrets, three machine guns aimed at them, and more than ten bright red, dazzling alarm lights dancing and making a racket nearby.
"Cough cough, wait a moment, there's a problem." The security guard wearing sunglasses stopped Jack and said with a stern face, "Sir, can you explain the reason for bringing a combat robot into Azure Tower territory?"
"We are... weapon dealers." V saw that Jack was a bit panicked and quickly explained in an accent, following the identity T-Bug had arranged beforehand.
"Huh? What did you say?" The security guard didn't hear clearly.
At this moment, a high-class receptionist wearing a golden mask and brocade attire, holding a PDA, walked over while checking messages.
"Ah~ You're here to meet Takigawa-kun, right?"
A strong neon accent, so rich that Roche could almost smell sushi from it.
As for why he thought of Japan, his first reaction was sushi rather than cherry blossoms or Mount Fuji, which was probably due to the awful sushi at the street stall downstairs.
"Ah~ We made a mistake just now, we apologize."
The receptionist bowed elegantly, with meticulous courtesy, making it difficult for other guests to get angry.
As expected, the more high-end places pay more attention to the guest experience.
"The etiquette department has done a good job," Roche couldn't help but praise, even if this was the enemy's territory.
"Your approval is our greatest honor."
The receptionist continued in that sushi accent.
"The scan won't take too long, sir," the security guard motioned for V and Roche to be scanned.
As there was a legitimate reason, everything went smoothly afterward.
"Please come in."
"Konnichi-wa (hello), welcome to Azure Tower."
The front desk lady with a golden mask greeted them sweetly.
V took over the process, registering a double room with a reserved name. Although three men squeezed together seemed intimate, considering they were here for business negotiations and the room was just a resting place, it wasn't strange.
"Okay... I'll notify Mr. Takigawa that the three of you have arrived, please wait a moment."
The front desk lady suddenly said something that surprised the three of them.
"Don't bother notifying him," V extended his hand, gently shaking his finger, "We'll go back to the room and tidy up first, then go find him ourselves."
"But isn't Mr. Takigawa waiting for you?" The front desk lady asked, puzzled.
"Se?orita (miss), do you know how long we've been on the road? We traveled for eighteen hours from New Barcelona!"
Only, the gaze of the heavy hammer was icy cold and devoid of emotional fluctuations.
On the other hand, Luo Qi's eyes, beneath the pitch-black pupils, held an indescribable terror and brutality.
The company's people, dealing with such characters every day.
The waiter swallowed surreptitiously, trying to maintain a standard smile.
"Welcome to the Azure Tower, please line up and pass through one by one."
The security check in the lobby just required passing between two pillars, standing and being scanned for a moment.
The equipment hidden within the pillars fully embodied the essence of modern aesthetics - those exposed pipelines, steel frameworks, and the like, looked down upon by Arasaka as crude and rudimentary.
"No problem, bro - uh, sir," Jack replied unconsciously with bravado.
Politeness demanded a polite response, maintaining decorum while also staying in line with their fake identities; quite a feat for a guy who's been hanging around the streets for twenty or thirty years.
"Beep beep beep..."
A red scanning line appeared, emitting a gentle alarm.
If this place was a Russian territory, then by now, there would probably be at least two gun turrets, three machine guns aimed at them, and over ten bright red, dazzling alarm lights making a racket and dancing around.
"Ahem, wait a moment, there's an issue," the sunglasses-wearing security guard stopped Jack and said with a stern face, "Sir, can you explain the reason for bringing a combat robot into Azure Tower territory?"
"We are, weapon dealers," V noticed Jack was getting flustered and hurriedly pinched his tone, explaining according to T-Bug's prearranged identity.
"Huh, what did you say?" The security guard didn't hear clearly.
At this moment, a man wearing a golden mask, holding a PDA, and wearing high-quality brocade clothing, walked over while checking messages.
"Ah~ You're here to see Takigawa-kun, right?"
A strong neon accent, so rich that Luo Qi could almost smell sushi.
As for why he thought of Japan and his first reaction was sushi rather than cherry blossoms or Mount Fuji, it probably had to do with the terrible sushi from the street stall downstairs that made people want to crawl on the floor.
"Ah~ We made a mistake just now, so sorry."
The attendant bowed deeply with great courtesy, making it difficult for anyone to be upset, even if they were other guests.
As expected, the more high-end and luxurious the place, the more attention is paid to the guests' experience.
"The etiquette department is doing a good job," Luo Qi couldn't help but praise, even though this was enemy territory.
"Having your approval is our greatest honor," the attendant continued with his sushi-accented speech.
"The scan won't take too long, sir," the security guard gestured for V and Luo Qi to undergo the scan.
Since they had a legitimate reason, everything went smoothly after that.
"Please, the three of you."
"Konnichi-wa (hello), welcome to Azure Tower."
The front desk receptionist with the golden mask greeted them sweetly.
V took over the following procedure, registering a large bed room with the reserved name. Although it seemed a bit odd for three men to squeeze in together, considering they were here for business negotiations, and the room was merely a resting place, it wasn't strange.
"Alright... I'll inform Takigawa-san that the three of you have arrived, please wait a moment."
The front desk receptionist suddenly said something that surprised the trio.
"No need to bother him," V reached out and gently shook his finger, "We'll go back to our room and freshen up, then find him.
The truck speeding along the boundless interstate highway shattered the fragile planet, plummeting into a glacier and finally crashing into the verdant grassy plain.
"Hey, hey, Luo... Erwin."
Finally, V reached out and waved in front of Luo Qi's eyes, bringing his soul back from its wandering.