After sending off Balalaika, the dock finally quieted down.
"Rock, what are your plans next?" Under the setting sun, Dutch leaned against a huge concrete block and asked Rock.
"I'm no longer a hostage, so I don't know where to go either." Rock spread his hands and said with forced ease, "How about you guys suggest a place for me?"
"Then just join them, join the Black Lagoon Company. Even though it's a life of licking blood off the blade, at least it's still a job, right?" Aiden, squatting on the stone block and smoking gloomily, looked up and said.
As soon as he spoke, both Rock and Dutch were a bit tempted.
One had nowhere else to go, and the other had a good impression of him.
But one person disagreed, and that was Revy.
Due to Aiden's involvement, Rock's performance hadn't caught her attention, so as soon as Aiden made his suggestion, she immediately shouted, "No way! The Black Lagoon Company only needs elites. He doesn't even dare to shoot a gun. What's the point of having him join?"
An awkward expression flashed across Rock's face. Although he had darkened (mentally), his value still hadn't been shown.
Dutch inexplicably had a good impression of Rock, maybe he felt they were the same type of person. He quickly said, "After all, it's because of us that he lost his job, and he almost lost his life too. Let him join. I'll train him well."
Dutch's words carried the most weight in the Black Lagoon Company. Revy only listened to him. Although she was still somewhat unhappy, after thinking about it, she could only nod in agreement.
"In that case, Aiden, you should join our Black Lagoon Company too." Revy then shifted the topic to Aiden.
"Your skills are good, you've got guts, and your head is sharp. Join us. In the future, we'll grow bigger and stronger, and recreate glory."
"No can do. I've got a bounty on my head now. If I go with you guys, I'll drag you all down." Aiden, of course, refused.
Not to mention that he wasn't that interested in the kind of things Black Lagoon Company did, just the fact that he carried a bounty of several million made it impossible for him to join.
"What's the big deal? We're not scared!" Revy waved her hand strongly. "Besides, Big Sis Balalaika said, if anything happens, we can go to her."
"So, Aiden, please join our Black Lagoon." Revy looked at Aiden.
In the end, Aiden still didn't join the Black Lagoon Company.
This made Revy disappointed. Dutch was also disappointed. Everyone had seen Aiden's strength. Although he had a bit of trouble now, he didn't mind.
However, when Aiden said he would be staying in Roanapur for a while, and that if the Black Lagoon Company needed help, he would step in, Dutch smiled.
For people in their line of work, having one more powerful friend was more valuable than anything.
After that, Aiden took the Black Lagoon Company's boat and returned to Roanapur. He rented a house by himself, not far from the company's office.
And then he had free time on his hands.
There were two reasons for this free time. First, the recent jobs the Black Lagoon Company took were mostly transporting smuggled alcohol and cigarettes, not very intense, so he wasn't interested in getting involved.
Second, as a walking vault worth five million U.S. dollars, he really didn't want to show his face in Roanapur, where gangs filled the streets and hitmen were everywhere.
So he basically stayed at his rented house every day, or went to the Black Lagoon Company's office to chat with Revy and the others. Only when night fell would he put on a hat and mask to go out for a walk.
Night-time Roanapur was a paradise that could attract any man. So during this time, Aiden's days weren't boring. Of course, Aiden was also preparing for the next storyline and potential events.
That was, buying weapons.
This time, Aiden already had enough funds to buy weapons and arm himself, no need to risk robbing a gun store anymore...
In fact, although Roanapur was a land of crime, it wasn't like America, with gun stores everywhere. If he needed weapons, he could only request to buy them from people with connections.
Actually, after following Revy and the others back to Roanapur, he had already told Dutch that he wanted to buy some weapons from them first.
Although Dutch said he could just give him some, with the Black Lagoon Company's barely-breaking-even situation, what they could give were mostly ordinary light weapons.
After all, the heaviest weapons they had hidden were just RPGs.
Aiden was of course not satisfied. He needed more heavy weaponry, like shoulder-fired anti-air missiles, portable grenade launchers, or heavy firepower equipment like claymores and RPKs.
Because of the crossover storyline, Aiden could already imagine the scene of being chased by B.O.W.s and helicopters again. To prevent history from repeating, he urgently needed these weapons.
And the stuff he wanted, of course, the Black Lagoon Company didn't have. But they said they could help him purchase them, as long as he had enough money.
In the past, this would've been a big problem for Aiden. But ever since unlocking the system shop, money was probably the least valuable thing for him.
His system shop had the purest gold, dirt-cheap prices. Of course, he could also directly exchange for the most valuable currencies in that world, at a rate equal to the most valuable and stable item in that world (like gold).
(A/N: Actually, the system shop could also directly exchange for weapons, but compared to exchanging for money or gold, the price was too high, not worth it. He'd rather save it for better things.)
So, a few days later, when Aiden dumped a full crate of U.S. dollars in front of Dutch, all the problems were no longer problems.
The only thing left, was waiting.
———
A week later, Revy knocked on Aiden's door.
The stuff he wanted had arrived, but it wasn't delivered to the door, he had to go get it himself.
Revy was the guide for this trip, but the driver was Rock. He sat in the car with the engine still running, hand on the gear shift, eyes occasionally glancing around.
This ordinary Japanese white-collar worker who was still a corporate slave just half a month ago hadn't fully adjusted to this life, but was already starting to look capable. At least after going out to sea these days, he'd gotten a lot tanner.
"Looking the part now, huh, Rock."
After getting in the car, Aiden took off his hat and glasses and gave a compliment.
"Benny taught me. He said if you park, don't turn off the engine casually. Also, always keep an eye on your surroundings." Once Aiden and Revy were seated, Rock immediately drove onto the road while explaining.
"Seems like you're a good fit for this line of work," Aiden laughed. "Better than being a corporate slave."
"If I had a choice, I'd still want to be a corporate slave," Rock said helplessly. After all, he'd been forced onto this path.
"You're saying working in our field is worse than being a lapdog to capitalists?" Revy was very dissatisfied with Rock's words and angrily yelled at him.
"No."
Worthy of being taught by Benny, even learned how to chicken out instantly. Rock shrank his neck and quickly replied.
These past days, he'd been constantly lectured by Revy and often had a gun pointed at him. He was already full of fear for this woman.
"That's more like it." Seeing Rock back down, Revy nodded in satisfaction. She opened the window, tossed a cigarette to Aiden, and began telling him the latest news.
"Your bounty went up again. Some anonymous big shot added another five hundred thousand personally. You're a millionaire now, Aiden."
"It looks like the Triads are interested in taking the bounty. But two days ago, Big Sis Balalaika went to the Triads and talked to Boss Zhang, trying to get them to give it up. But they didn't respond."
"Several assassin organizations have already sent people to Roanapur. I heard there are some from South America too, war zones, all ruthless types."
"Japan and Europe are also showing movement, though no concrete news yet. Dutch is still digging around. Should hear back in a few days."
"Also, Aiden, are you sure you don't want that money? If split evenly, you'd get five hundred thousand alone!"
"Oh, I forgot, you're not short on money. The amount you spent on buying weapons is equal to seven or eight of our job earnings…"
Revy kept rambling, but her words carried a trace of concern.
Aiden listened with a smile, and Rock occasionally chimed in. The atmosphere in the car was, for a moment, very harmonious.
Soon, under the map's guidance, they arrived at the destination.
In front of a church.
'Ripoff Church.'
After getting out of the car, Rock looked at the church in front of him and asked in surprise, "Revy, are you sure it's here? Or did the map mess up?"
"The map can't be wrong. We come here often, you idiot." Revy cursed and walked to the front door, banging on it hard.
Only after Aiden put on his hat and glasses again did he get out. As he looked at the church, a familiar image of Ada floated into his mind.
He remembered that inside the church was a nun. Her name was also… Ada.