Mission 21, Begin.

"There really are a lot of people."

It was already the day of the job. After the client, Faraday, brought them over and negotiated with the security personnel who were clearly Arasaka, Karl, Oliver, and Jack were allowed to enter a warehouse in the Arasaka Waterfront District's transportation port, carrying their weapons. Only after they entered did they realize that even though they were an hour early, they were still among the later arrivals.

Because besides them, there were already at least twenty mercenaries inside, sporting all sorts of cybernetics and carrying various specially modified firearms, waiting there.

"Yeah, a lot indeed."

In response to Jack's remark, Karl replied and then began to observe the mercenaries who would be carrying out the mission together. He had to admit, after taking a closer look at the various cybernetics and weapons they had, Karl realized he recognized most of them.

"Subdermal Armor, Mantis Blades, Saratoga Submachine Gun, Kenshin Pistol, Nova pistol, oh, and Oliver, you finally got your hands on a SOR-22 Kinetic Precision Rifle. Looks like these are all pretty capable people."

None of these weapons were cheap; at the very least, low-level mercs couldn't afford them. But then again, it made sense. The people sent by various Fixers couldn't possibly still be using Lexington-level weapons.

"You don't say."

Oliver looked at the SOR-22 Kinetic Precision Rifle in his hands, then at the Saratoga Submachine Gun in Jack's hands, and then at the Kenshin in Karl's hands. He realized that if the three of them blended into this group of mercenaries with their weapons, there would be no way to tell the difference between their team and any other.

"Twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three, Karl, Oliver, including us, there are already twenty-six people. Do you know how much the client spent this time if everyone gets a hundred thousand eddies?"

"You're underestimating the Fixer's cut and a series of other expenses. Anyway, it's definitely a number we can't imagine, Jack."

Oliver felt that it was a number he might never come into contact with in his entire life: "The difference between people is really bigger than the difference between dogs."

"Says the guy who's never seen a dog in Night City."

Karl chuckled: "I've seen a bunch of cute doggies. I even used to have one."

"I haven't seen any." Oliver gave Karl the middle finger in response to his showy behavior: "Aren't Corpo Dogs still dogs?"

"You two stop bickering. More people are coming. Doesn't that guy look familiar?"

Jack nudged the two of them with his elbow, signaling them to look towards the warehouse entrance they had entered not long ago. Oliver and Karl looked over and realized it was indeed an acquaintance.

"Isn't that the guy from before..."

Looking at the blonde, burly man carrying a large machine gun in one hand, Oliver recognized him: "The one who was fighting in front of the Braindance shop. I remember he had two teammates with him back then. How is he alone?"

"Maybe they're dead, or maybe he thinks they're not qualified to participate in this mission."

Karl didn't have a deep impression of this burly man and said casually, "After all, nothing is surprising in this Night City."

As Karl was speaking, he noticed that the blonde, burly man had seen the three of them and was walking straight towards them.

Looking for trouble?

That was Karl's first thought. Then he realized it didn't seem like it, because after the blonde, burly man approached them, his expression revealed a look of finally finding them.

"You guys are Karl, Oliver, and Jack, right?"

The blonde, burly man called out their names as soon as he arrived, and then introduced himself: "I'm Maine. I used to work for Faraday too, but Faraday said he only had three slots for this mission, so I took a job from another Fixer. Want to team up for the escort mission later?"

"Maine?"

Karl wasn't in a hurry to answer. He first sent a message to Faraday to confirm the other party's identity before speaking: "Why did you think of teaming up with us?"

"Just for this mission."

Maine looked at the other teams and then at Karl and the others: "After all, there's Faraday's connection, so I feel like you guys are trustworthy. And I'm also a little curious about your abilities. I've worked with him for a while, and I never thought he would give up my team and choose a new team."

"Plus, you're all alone, right?"

Karl saw through Maine's cleverness hidden beneath his muscular exterior. It was very dangerous to carry out a life-or-death escort mission like this alone, so he was thinking of sticking together, relying on the connection with the Fixer.

Maine was naturally not a fool to have become a mercenary who used Fixers on the streets. He still understood that there was strength in numbers.

"That's also part of it."

Maine didn't care that Karl had seen through his thoughts. He could tell that Karl was the leader of this group, so he stared at Karl and asked, "What's your opinion?"

"What are you good at?"

"If I need to, I can rely on my Subdermal Armor and hold the line with this Type 31 Heavy Machine Gun. Is that enough?"

Holding the line meant that if Karl and the others behind him had any ideas, they could shoot him in the back at any time.

"That's more than enough."

Karl reached out and shook Maine's hand: "Happy to work with you."

"Happy to work with you."

A smile appeared on Maine's face: "Captain."

"Just call me KK. You can think of it as a callsign."

Now that Maine had temporarily joined the team, Karl didn't mind introducing their situation.

"Jack does pretty much the same thing as you. Anyway, you two will be relying on your firepower to take care of the others. Oliver is our medic and sniper. You can ask him for help if you have any injuries or need remote support. As for me..."

Karl thought about his own role and gave a strange answer: "You'll know when the fighting starts."

"You'll know when the fighting starts?"

Maine didn't quite understand, but seeing that Oliver and Jack both seemed to understand, he ignored it.

Anyway, it was just one mission. A basic understanding of cooperation was enough. If they could survive this time and complete the mission, who knew when the next cooperation would be.

While the mercenaries were getting to know each other or observing their teammates, time passed quickly.

Right at nine o'clock, a Corpo Dog wearing Arasaka attire walked into the warehouse with a group of Arasaka security personnel.

The mission had begun.