Black market stronghold.
"Boss! You've got a call!"
Victor was leisurely sipping tea in his underground office at the black market stronghold, enjoying a rare moment of peace. He had been making quite a bit of money recently, and if this continued for some time, he might not have to worry about money for the rest of his life.
However, the anxious shouts from his subordinates outside the door shattered his tranquility. As the office door suddenly swung open, the cacophony from outside immediately flooded in.
"What call!? Can't you see I'm resting? Don't you know it's resting time!?" Victor became instantly annoyed upon hearing the commotion outside. What was the point of spending a fortune soundproofing his office if he still had to listen to the noise of loading and unloading outside?
"Boss, it's a call from Reno." Just as Victor's subordinate was on the verge of tears from being scolded, Andre, holding a towel, happened to pass by and pointed to the communicator.
"Give it to me now!"
Victor quickly stood up upon hearing this and jumped onto his desk, not caring that his abrupt movement knocked over the teapot. He snatched the communicator and slammed the door shut behind him.
"Ahem, sorry, Mr. Reno, I was delayed for a moment! Is there something you need? Or is there any special merchandise you need us to transport?"
The comfortable position Victor found himself in was largely due to his relationship with Reno. Among the people who purchased various goods from the black market in the city, Renault, a private security contractor, was one of the most generous. Most of the items he bought were contraband, and if caught by StateSec, he could end up spending half his life in prison.
At first, Victor didn't believe it. After all, it was his business. But when he heard from his own men about the commotion caused by Reno's test shooting in the wilderness outside the city...
If it was just dealing with a security contractor like Griffin, it wouldn't be a big deal; they were just a few elite commanders and combatants, along with a large number of tactical dolls. But Reno was different. On the surface, he was a private contractor, but in reality, he was no different from those mercenaries who took on black ops, and he even had a lot of heavy firepower at his disposal... you were on your own if you messed with him.
Although small private contractors were small in size, their actions were not as formal as Griffin's.
Just like those mercenaries who occasionally attacked Sangvis Ferri's escort teams along the southern coastal transportation lines, many of them were registered private contractors. They ran to snatch food because they had taken on commissions from unknown sources.
If they were in areas closer to the central part of the Green Zone, perhaps the security bureau or the military would crack down on these guys who were acting out for money.
But where they were now happened to be on the edge of the Green Zone. Apart from the local garrison, there were no extra forces to deal with these private security contractors who wielded power.
Back to Victor.
After exchanging greetings with Reno, Victor heard a completely different tone from him.
"Have those shady characters made any moves through your end? Tactical doll parts, specifically."
Although Reno's tone sounded calm and terrifying, Victor didn't think too much of it. After all, there were always a few of those kinds of characters every now and then. Reno had never taken the initiative to intervene in such matters before.
But upon hearing the four words "tactical doll parts" from Reno, Victor, who had been about to breathe a sigh of relief, felt as if his heart had skipped a beat, and he widened his eyes in alarm, hastily saying, "No! Absolutely not! No one has brought any tactical doll parts or anything like that here!"
Could it be that Reno's tactical dolls had been captured? That couldn't be possible. Those dolls were like monsters, how could they be captured?
"Good, just keep an eye out. If anyone sells tactical doll-related items, remember to jot down their name and location for me."
"Okay... okay!" After Reno hung up, Victor finally breathed a sigh of relief. He pushed open the door and called out to Andre, who was still working.
"Have those fools who only know how to steal tactical dolls for money made any moves recently? Has anyone brought in any tactical doll parts or anything like that?"
"Of course not. Those fools may be foolish, but they're not foolhardy. They wouldn't dare touch tactical dolls. Just like my nickname, I may be called stupid, but I'm not really stupid, boss." Andre scratched the back of his head and gave Victor a simple smile.
"That's good. Keep a close watch recently. If anyone sells anything related to tactical dolls, immediately take control. I don't want Reno and his monsters showing up at our doorstep again. Once was enough!" Victor nodded, rubbing his chin. It was already 7 p.m. theoretically, he could leave work now, but he had a feeling that something significant was going to happen tonight...
...
"Commander, are you sure you want to cut off the city's communication signal? The StateSec's communication point is only 300 meters away from the communication tower. Once we cut off the signal, they will definitely come to investigate the situation."
MDR's voice rang in Reno's earpiece.
"Don't worry about these things, just do it."