V wanted to get to the bottom of it, but at that moment, Jackie sent her a message, urging her to meet the middleman they had discussed earlier, Dexter DeShawn.
V reluctantly said goodbye to the two and left.
Fortunately, it wasn't far, and she would be able to return quickly to pick up Berry; it wouldn't be too late to ask then, or so she thought.
Inside the clinic, only Berry and Viktor remained.
"Who won?" Berry asked curiously, watching Viktor lean on his cane, once again engrossed in the boxing match.
"Hernandez! You know what? Back in the day, that cripple Marlon would have been knocked out cold!" Viktor's voice was a little excited as he spoke of his favorite boxing match, his eyes glued to the screen.
Boxing was one of the few things that could stimulate his dopamine secretion; even making a large sum of money by collaborating with Berry couldn't compare.
"Hmm… but now…" Viktor's tone suddenly became dejected again. "Now even regional boxers use extra head padding… that absorbs seventy-five percent of the force."
Clearly, Viktor was very dissatisfied with the current state of boxing, where cyberware was abused, betraying the spirit of the sport.
In this regard, he and Berry were both conservatives who opposed cyberware.
It sounded like a dark joke that two people who opposed cyberware installation were making money from knockoff cyberware, but it was indeed true.
"You miss it, don't you?" Berry watched the boxing replay for a while, but she didn't understand anything, only thinking that both fighters were very strong.
"Ah…" Viktor was completely absorbed, forgetting to answer Berry.
"By the way, how's our business doing?"
Berry suddenly brought up their joint knockoff cyberware business.
Logically, Berry was only responsible for the production, and Viktor was responsible for distribution.
However, recently, relying on Arno's reputation on the street, Berry had also reached agreements with several middlemen—those guys were preparing to get some useful and cheap combat cyberware for their subordinates.
As a result, their business was growing bigger and bigger, but with popularity comes trouble, and the market was only so big.
When two people made money, it meant someone else lost money, and recently, many envious people had come to cause trouble for them.
Therefore, Berry also started paying more attention to the business.
"Speaking of business…" Seeing that the serious topic had come up, Viktor, no matter how reluctant, pressed the pause button, turned around, found a chip in a drawer, and handed it to Berry.
"Business has been getting better and better recently; some Mercenaries from Pacifica are even ordering our goods…"
As the saying goes, either humble yourself first then praise, or praise first then humble yourself.
Hearing Viktor talk about the good news of business expansion, Berry wasn't excited, because she knew that Viktor was about to deliver bad news.
"But…" Yes, it was that 'but'.
"A batch of our goods being transported to Kabuki was hijacked. All the information is in here; take a look."
Upon hearing that the goods were hijacked, Berry's mood instantly tensed, but she didn't speak for the moment.
She just took out her holographic glasses, inserted the information chip, and started watching.
"This was recorded by nearby surveillance."
"Just two days ago, there was an order in Kabuki. I entrusted a friend to deliver it, but it was hijacked at a crossroads in Kabuki."
"The driver luckily escaped, but the rest couldn't be saved; the car and all the goods were stolen."
"As for who did it, the surveillance clearly shows."
"Scavengers…" Berry muttered the hateful name with resentment, looking at the guys in the surveillance footage who were holding guns and hijacking the vehicle.
"Exactly." Viktor paused, then continued. "It seems we've taken business away from these kidney-harvesting bastards."
"It makes sense. How could these guys who sell second-hand cyberware tolerate us bringing these cheap and durable items into their territory?"
Viktor gave up all his street fame to be a Cyberware Doctor in this Chinatown because he was tired of the street fighting.
But now, with Berry, whom he valued, in trouble, he uncharacteristically showed some anger.
In fact, Viktor's cooperation with Berry could be said to be purely helping her, because of the income they earned, Viktor only took thirty percent, leaving seventy percent for Berry.
In his middle age, Viktor didn't have much desire for wealth, but seeing such an ambitious junior, how could Viktor not help out?
Their business scope mainly covered Chinatown and the Kabuki area in Watson.
Here, Viktor had extensive connections, and the Scavengers' reach couldn't extend.
But outside this area, it was hard to say.
But now, their goods were hijacked on the main road, and it happened in Kabuki.
This was undoubtedly a slap in their faces.
"We can't let this go." Taking off her holographic glasses, Berry frowned unhappily. "This is a provocation, a naked provocation. Those kidney-harvesting bastards are testing our limits."
Having been on the streets for a while, Berry easily saw through the Scavengers' intentions.
This time it was Kabuki, but if she backed down, it would mean they couldn't protect their business in Kabuki, and next time it might be Chinatown.
How could Berry tolerate this?
"I'll handle this." Berry made up her mind to strike back hard at the Scavengers.
"Are you still going to send Arno?" Viktor asked, leaning back in his chair.
Previously, when there were business troubles, Berry would always control Arno to deal with them.
"No, this time Arno and I will go together." Berry's eyes were full of fighting spirit. "My two newly built cyberware bodies are almost complete, and I can't afford to have funding issues at this time."
This time, Berry felt it was time to teach those Scavengers living in the gloomy sewers a harsh lesson and tell them to stay away from her business.
"If you're going, aren't you going to call V and Jackie?" Viktor frowned and sat up straight when he heard Berry was going herself.
To be honest, if Arno went, it was fine; a machine body, if it was destroyed, it was destroyed.
But Berry was also going, which inevitably made him a little worried.
"Don't worry, Viktor, I'm not a pushover." Berry was very confident in herself. "Besides, Arno is there. With Arno's strength, there aren't many Mercenaries in the city who could take him down right now."
"Hmmph." Viktor frowned, noncommittal.
Berry didn't want Jackie and V to get involved yet.
After all, the first pot of gold earned from cheap cyberware was just the beginning; she had many other plans.
To avoid alerting anyone, the fewer people who knew, the better.
"Who is the customer?" Berry made up her mind, ready to sort out this mess. "The goods are lost; what's his opinion?"
"That lost batch of goods was ordered by a guy named Charles, an Cyberware Doctor like me, at the border of Kabuki and the Northside Industrial District." Viktor rotated his chair slightly, revealing all the information he knew.
"As for his attitude, of course, he was furious, saying he wanted either another batch of goods or his deposit back. Why, do you think this robbery has something to do with our customer?"
"I didn't think so before, but you mentioned he's an Cyberware Doctor, which makes it a bit suspicious." Berry propped her chin on the table, looking pensive. "Not everyone is as conscientious as you, Viktor. Other Cyberware Doctors in the city, more or less, have connections with those Scavengers."
"Heh heh, thanks for the compliment. I just want to earn clean money so I can at least sleep soundly." Viktor didn't refute Berry's words.
After all, he himself was an Cyberware Doctor and knew how deep the waters of this industry were.
Cyberware Doctors, rather than doctors, were more like cyberware dealers, just the kind that included installation.
To expect any medical ethics from them was wishful thinking.
And cyberware was not a cheap item, especially legitimate goods produced by large corporations; the acquisition price alone was substantial.
The Scavengers provided these cyberware dealers with another source of goods—untraceable but cheap second-hand cyberware.
Although the second-hand cyberware in barrels that the Scavengers had might still be bloody, Cyberware Doctors wouldn't miss the opportunity to make money, so most of them started doing business with the Scavengers.
Even some who were slightly more conscientious would be forced to deal with them under the Scavengers' violent threats.
Only a renowned tough guy like Viktor could avoid interference with his business.
In this way, Scavengers looted bodies, attacked passersby, removed cyberware, and sold it to Cyberware Doctors.
Cyberware Doctors then sold these cyberware to Mercenaries and gang members who couldn't afford genuine goods, who were then attacked by Scavengers, their bodies taken, and their cyberware removed.
It was such a cycle, such a financial chain.
And now, the cheap and durable knockoff goods flowing from Viktor naturally impacted the Scavengers' market, incurring their hostility.
However, facing the Scavengers' provocation, Berry had no intention of backing down; she was going to confront them.
"I'll go investigate our client and try to find some clues from him." Having made up her mind, Berry prepared to leave.
"Wait..." Viktor called out to her. "Since you brought up business."
"Maybe you could give our little knock-off cyberware manufacturing 'corporation' a name. After all, people on the street always just call it 'Viktor's cyberware,' which doesn't sound good. Our business has grown, and it's time for a formal name."
"Is that so..." Berry pondered.
Berry scanned the room's decor, hoping to find some inspiration. Suddenly, she spotted something hanging on Viktor's desk: a Dreamcatcher.
"See this? A friend gave it to me a long time ago." Viktor looked at the feathered Dreamcatcher with nostalgia. "He was a true Native American man, a powerful tribal warrior."
"Let's call it 'Hive'." Seeing the intricate netting of the Dreamcatcher, Berry was inspired. "'Hive'! One day, I will forge our 'Hive' right here in Night City!"
Berry looked at the Dreamcatcher thoughtfully, as if seeing the beautiful future she envisioned through its fine netting.