Chapter 106 – V!
"It seems like you haven't been doing too well lately."
Arthur raised an eyebrow as he shifted the conversation away from Jack's tragic tale of maternal financial conquest. Jack, for his part, just waved the thought away and took another sip from his glass.
"The Valentinos and the Uzumaki Gang have been at each other's throats recently," Jack said with a shrug. "As long as you don't get your head bashed in, there's decent money in it. But you know how it is—feels like a damn grind. Not like the chaos I get running with you."
Arthur gave a crooked smile. "Right. Like crawling through a trauma team murder scene with a BD recorder duct-taped to your chest."
Jack grinned. "Exactly. That's the kind of adrenaline money can't buy."
Arthur leaned back, swirling his drink. "I'm not here for nostalgia, Jack. Adam Smasher landed in Night City, and I may or may not have—let's say—helped myself to a few of his toys."
Jack's smile vanished. "Zhuo, why didn't you say that earlier?! I just remembered my mom's waiting at home with a steaming pot of polenta—I gotta go!"
He stood halfway up before Arthur raised an unimpressed eyebrow. Jack froze mid-exit like a caught schoolboy, then sheepishly sank back into his seat.
Arthur lit a cigarette and rolled his eyes. "There's a line back in Long Kingdom—'I should turn a blind eye to your performance.' This moment? That line."
Jack cleared his throat and quickly downed the rest of his drink.
Arthur, meanwhile, had turned his eyes toward the stairs leading down from the Ritz Bar's upper lounge.