Merlin's Custom Shop

Liberty City, Hell's Kitchen, Merlin's Custom Shop.

It was August, and the weather was scorching. There were not many people out on the streets during the day, but by nightfall, people from every walk of life began appearing throughout Liberty City's streets and alleys.

Crime walked hand in hand with extravagance.

Inside the spacious workshop beneath bright lights, a wedge-shaped steel-plated vehicle sat on a work station. A young man in blue coveralls held a welding torch, continuously reinforcing the joints.

The vehicle's overall appearance was somewhat strange, resembling a Formula race car. Its chassis was extremely low, with only a crude steel-frame structure.

Its most distinctive feature was the sloped front section, shaped like a shovel bucket.

"Rattle..." The rolling shutter door slowly rose. Accompanied by the low roar of a motorcycle engine, a bald man in a black leather jacket rode into the workshop. A circular target mark was imprinted on his forehead, and a hint of madness lingered at the corners of his mouth.

After entering, Bullseye got off his motorcycle after killing the engine. Seeing the young man in safety goggles diligently at work, he did not interrupt him. Instead, he leaned against the seat and toyed with darts as he waited.

Blinding white flashes flickered from time to time, making Bullseye frown.

To be honest, as someone who was often focused on his sights, he did not like that sort of white light that stung his eyes.

The white smoke rising from the welding slowly drifted to the top of the workshop before finally being drawn outside by the exhaust fan.

"...Bzzzt, bzzzt..." Only after welding the final joint did the young man remove his goggles and look toward the visitor to the custom shop.

"What can I do for you?" The young man casually placed his goggles on the nearby workbench, then walked to the refrigerator in the corner, grabbed a bottle of Coca-Cola, and started drinking. He also tossed one over.

Bullseye caught it easily, popped the tab, and took a sip. He looked at the young man before him. His features were deep-set, messy black hair hanging casually over his forehead, and he still carried some of a high school student's youthful immaturity.

Yet Bullseye did not dare underestimate him in the slightest.

The young man before him was named Merlin Shaw, the owner of this custom shop. However, anyone capable of keeping a shop standing in Hell's Kitchen was no simple person.

Though Merlin Shaw was young, he was an expert vehicle modifier. The armored Kuruma was practically the calling card of Merlin's Custom Shop in Hell's Kitchen.

Beyond that, he also sold and modified weapons. While he was not the largest weapons dealer in Hell's Kitchen, every item he sold was a high-performance premium product.

"How many Explosive Rounds do you have left? Our boss wants them all."

"And a few MK2 Sniper Rifles."

"Throw in an Evil Hades too."

Bullseye crushed the can in his hand as he spoke, then accurately tossed it into the trash can beside the rolling door.

"You planning an assassination?" Hearing that, Merlin raised his brows and gave him a surprised look.

Leaving aside the Explosive Rounds and the MK2 Heavy Sniper Rifle, the Evil Hades was a laser weapon, making it exceptionally suitable for infiltration and assassination.

Naturally, it was also far more expensive.

Unlike its much-criticized performance in the Three Men and a Dog Game, the Evil Hades laser rifle was clearly far more effective in reality.

"Yes. How many can you sell?" Bullseye did not explain further.

"You're practically about to control the whole underground world, and you're still resorting to assassination." Merlin grumbled before leading Bullseye to the backyard of the custom shop.

"Follow me."

In the backyard, modified sports cars and sedans were lined up side by side. Their flashy exteriors and futuristic designs immediately made Bullseye's eyes light up.

What drew him in most was a jet-black vehicle with a huge rear end. Most of its front body was occupied by a round gaping mouth, making it look like a seahorse from the front. Its design was sleek and brimming with futuristic technology.

"You even modified a Batmobile? How's its performance?" Bullseye could not help moving closer, marveling as he stroked the body.

"That one's called the Vigilante. All it needs now is an engine."

"How much are you selling it for?" he asked curiously.

"Anywhere from ten to thirty million. It can be cheaper if you can get me some Plutonium." Plutonium was an important raw material in the atomic energy industry, and the vehicle and engine technologies in the Five Star Citizen Game required it in many places.

The difficulty of buying such a controlled material was self-evident, and Merlin did not have much of it himself.

But for Kingpin, it probably would not be too difficult.

"Plutonium..." Bullseye silently committed it to memory.

"Oh, right. If I remember correctly, school starts for you soon, doesn't it? How are those darts I asked you to make coming along?" On the way to the warehouse, he asked casually.

He greatly approved of Merlin's blade-forging skills, and the darts Merlin made suited his hand perfectly.

"I'm rushing them for you now."

"If possible, make me some Bat Shurikens too. I want to see whether they're any good." After seeing the Batmobile, Bullseye's hands were starting to itch as well.

"Then you'll need to get me some Tungsten Alloy. Sentimentality shouldn't come too cheap, right?" Merlin tilted his head and teased him.

"No problem."

"There are three boxes of Explosive Rounds left, thirty-six rounds in total. Six boxes of Armor-Piercing Rounds, seventy-two rounds in total... As for the MK2 Sniper Rifles..."

These weapons sold fairly well, so there was not much stock left.

"The last Evil Hades has already been reserved. If you want one, you'll have to wait until next week."

"Fine. Load them up for me!"

After seeing Bullseye off, Merlin checked the time, switched off the workshop lights, hung up a resting sign, and rode his Ducati 916 out of Hell's Kitchen.

The red Ducati streaked through the streets like a crimson phantom. Feeling the roaring wind and blurred scenery whipping past his ears, Merlin lowered his body, excitement flashing through his eyes.

Merlin was not from this world. Or rather, his soul was not.

In his previous life, he had been an extreme sports enthusiast. The games he liked were mostly shooters and racing games, and his favorite of all had been Morality and Rule of Law. After that came Resident Evil, Call of Duty, Halo, and the like.

During an underground racing competition, he ultimately failed to escape Death and plunged off a cliff to his death.

But perhaps Death was not particularly skilled at his job. When Merlin woke up again, he had already transmigrated into the body of a high school student in Queens, Liberty City.

The original owner was named Merlin Shaw. After his father died in Hell's Kitchen, his father's enemies found him and beat him to death.

That was how Merlin transmigrated into this Westerner's body, bringing with him the system in his mind—the Ninth Art Technology System.

By releasing games, he could obtain corresponding technologies from those games according to their influence.

The first game the system gave him was the highly free-form game and also his favorite—Morality and Rule of Law 5.

An action-adventure open-world game. A Good Citizen Simulator.

After the game was released, it unsurprisingly exploded in popularity and rapidly took the entire internet by storm.