With such a distinctive appearance, Mercer immediately recognized the other person's identity.
Bennett, the second-in-command with real power in the Netherworld Dog, can be considered one of Colonel Hanssen's most trusted aides and one of the confidants who established this foundation with him back in the day.
"Huh..." Bennett saw Mercer and V facing so many gun barrels pointed at them, yet looking so calm, and couldn't help but let out a chuckle.
This laugh wasn't very friendly. Bennett walked up close, with one hand resting on his gun holster, wearing a playful expression: "A, or should I say, Alex Mercer, the fugitive from Arasaka, the walking three million euros... you've got some guts.
After being in Dog Town for so long, you think of finding someone to cover for you only after stirring up trouble?"
"Fugitives in Dog Town aren't a big deal, when has anyone cared about that? Enough with the nonsense, open the door, lead the way." Mercer completely ignored his pretentious demeanor.
He showed respect to Colonel Hanssen but wouldn't to this bunch of grunts and senior officers—although the Netherworld Dog is organized by Hanssen in a military fashion, at its core, this warlord's army is just a more ruthless, more aggressive gang.
If you act easy to bully, then these fools will find ways to put their nose up in your business, trying to bleed you dry.
Mercer now understands how to deal with guys like this.
The simplest way is to do like V is doing now.
Just watch V glaring at Bennett, squinting, and without hesitation: "Don't be an idiot and cause trouble for your boss; Colonel Hanssen asked you to come get us, not to start something here."
Her pretty face bore a fierce expression, but none of the surrounding Netherworld Dogs took her as a joke.
On the list of cybernetic scans that V opened, things like Sianwistan, Krenzikov, Mantis Blade, and other advanced cybernetics were all present; anyone could see with a glance that she was not to be trifled with.
Bennett, however, just stared at V, showing a similar fierce expression: "You'd better not cause trouble either. When you meet Colonel Hanssen, show some respect. If you want to survive in Dog Town, remember that it's the Netherworld Dog calling the shots here!"
V glanced at him disdainfully: "Anyone who doesn't know would think you're the boss; done talking crap? Then hurry up and lead the way, don't waste my boss's time."
After speaking, V stared at him, her expression similarly unfriendly, hand resting on the grip of her gun, completely unfazed by all the guns aimed at her.
Bennett's face twitched slightly, but ultimately, he waved his hand, and the people around him put away their weapons.
"Stay close... you'd better pray you and Colonel Hanssen have a pleasant conversation."
He gave Mercer's car door a warning pat and then signaled to open the gate.
The ground stake sank, the gate opened, and the automated machine guns returned to sleep mode.
After passing through the checkpoint, Bennett got into an armored Netherworld Dog vehicle, driving in front.
Polaris followed behind the armored car, made its way through Dog Town, and soon arrived at the stadium.
The stadium was originally built by EBM Peizhuo Petrochemical as a super-large stadium, though not yet formally named, and was essentially complete even before the war broke out.
Back then, Taiping Prefecture was marketed as a 'tourist destination,' fooling major companies into investing in various entertainment projects, hotels, casinos, amusement parks, stadiums... But now, all this serves others.
With the development of the Netherworld Dog, the stadium not only serves as a smuggling hub for bulk goods, with large quantities of air-dropped smuggled goods circulating daily, but it's also the economic lifeline of the Netherworld Dog.
Meanwhile, its underground facilities have become Colonel Hanssen's Netherworld Dog base.
This place is not only their training ground and gathering place, but also where the Netherworld Dog's factories and research facilities are located—indeed, they have their own weapons factory, although it's just beginning.
Colonel Hanssen himself doesn't like living here; with a good place like Gem Cyan Hotel, no one prefers to live underground.
So when finding out the meeting location was arranged at the stadium, Mercer couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.
A show of force? There's no need, the number of Netherworld Dogs stationed at Gem Cyan Hotel is no less than here.
So it's likely because... Mercer pondered.
With Bennett leading the way, the two of them entered the underground passage unhindered, stopping the car in front of a checkpoint. After getting out, two Netherworld Dog soldiers coldly requested Mercer and V surrender their weapons.
V pulled out her pistol, and Mercer casually placed his Kenshin to the side.
His Zhuo-style Shotgun remained in the car, saving quite a bit of hassle.
After the Netherworld Dog collected their weapons, they finally cleared the path.
Bennett led the way ahead with a cold expression, accompanied by a full eight Netherworld Dogs surrounding them like escorting prisoners, and they even saw at least over forty real-gun-armed Netherworld Dog soldiers along the way.
Besides the factory area, there was also a fairly large underground plaza, probably used for training these soldiers. When not training, it was the activity area for the Netherworld Dog soldiers.
V glanced around, ultimately reached a conclusion, and secretly sent Mercer a message.
[V: All this underground stuff, part of Dog Town's charm?]
[Mercer: Not exactly, their mid-to-high-level and key elites usually live in Gem Cyan, this can only be said to be their military zone.]
[V: Tsk, these damn dogs really know how to enjoy... I heard Gem Cyan was built aiming for five-star standards.]