Just as Charles liked poor people, Berry liked people who were afraid of death, because people afraid of death saved her a lot of trouble, willingly spilling all the information.
And Charles, in front of her, was undoubtedly a qualified person afraid of death.
When Arno released his hand from Charles's mouth, he gasped for air while spilling all the rotten things he had done, almost to the point of revealing the color of his mother's underwear.
"The plan to rob that batch of goods was formulated by the Scavengers.
One day, they found me and said that someone in Chinatown was stealing their business.
They planned to teach them a lesson, so they told me to order a batch of goods, and then they would rob it, to give the other side a warning..."
These facts, of course, also included his cooperation with the Scavengers and his deception of some impoverished individuals.
This guy, to be honest, was a complete scumbag.
From his confession, Charles had once run a legitimate Cyberware Doctor business, but then the Scavengers came.
After terrifying this kid with shiny guns, he succumbed and was forced to start cooperating with the Scavengers – the Scavengers provided cheap goods, and he was responsible for selling them.
At the same time, for some easy-to-prey-on customers, he also had to report them to the Scavengers.
Some patients who came to him for treatment were immediately caught by the Scavengers and had their cyberware removed.
Those bloody cyberware would then be displayed on the shelves.
Those who passed through his hands and were summarily executed and disassembled for cyberware were considered lucky.
Some unfortunate souls were taken to film black braindance, tortured alive before dying, truly miserable.
Listening to this guy finish his tearful and snotty confession, Berry's expression remained unchanged, but her heart was ablaze with fury.
If she didn't still have questions to ask, she would have immediately shot him and blown his brains out.
"I was forced, really, I didn't want to, it was all those Scavengers forcing me!" As if seeing the killing intent in Berry's eyes, Charles quickly begged for mercy, his mouth agape.
If Arno hadn't held him down so tightly from behind, he would have directly knelt on the ground to beg Berry to spare his life.
Charles was right about that; he was indeed forced at first.
His share of the profits from the Scavengers' transactions was also pitifully small, only 20% of the total income.
It was less a partnership and more a one-sided employment for the Scavengers.
"Is that so?" Berry looked at him coldly, her killing intent undiminished.
She had seen people who acted as accomplices to evil, but this was the first time she had seen someone so actively complicit.
This guy claimed to be forced, but his hands never trembled when harming others.
He was acting this way now to save his life, but did he waver even once when his innocent victims begged for mercy?
"Yes, yes!" Charles nodded eagerly, and from his surprised eyes, it was clear he thought he had a chance to live.
"That's right, that's right, I'll give you a discount.
From now on, when you come to my shop, everything will be 50% off.
No, no, it's free!
Whatever you like in the shop, I'll give it to you for free."
Charles seemed to have turned his brain around and eagerly tried to entice Berry.
"I have so many good things here, feedback circuits, adrenaline boosters... they're all high-end goods from Zetatech.
If you want them, take them all for free." Charles was so desperate to live that he disregarded everything else.
Berry's killing intent was already decided, but on her face, she showed a slight smile.
She wanted this quack doctor to experience the feeling of falling from heaven to hell.
"Is that so? Alright then, I don't want your things.
Just tell me where that robbed batch of goods and those Scavengers are, and I'll let you go."
Berry put away her gun, showing her friendly attitude.
"This..." But Charles's reaction was not what Berry expected.
Upon hearing "Scavengers," he widened his eyes and opened his mouth, but said nothing.
"No, absolutely not!" Charles shook his head in terror.
"If the Scavengers find out I betrayed them, they will definitely not let me go!"
Just thinking about the brutal appearance of those victims at the hands of the Scavengers made Charles's pupils tremble wildly.
He knew how cruel the Scavengers' torture methods were; it would definitely be a fate worse than death.
"It seems you think I'm easier to talk to than the Scavengers, is that it?" Seeing Charles's pathetic state, Berry frowned and ordered Arno to restrain him with his hands behind his back.
It seemed she would have to give him a taste of pain before he would honestly confess.
"No! No!" Charles cried out in terror.
Berry's kinetic arm guard glowed with layers of blue light, and her fist vibrated with electricity, smashing fiercely into Charles's stomach.
With a squelch, Berry only felt a slight resistance, and blood sprayed onto her face.
Looking closely, her steel fist had already punched into Charles's body, and dark red organ fragments and blood flowed down like rain from the ripped opening.
"Damn it!" Even Berry was startled this time.
She had gone too far.
Berry quickly pulled out her fist, but Charles's eyes had already rolled back, and he looked like he had stopped breathing.
Charles was dead.
Berry looked at her blood-covered steel fist with surprise and uncertainty.
She hadn't expected her kinetic arm guard to be so powerful, punching right through someone with one blow.
What should she do now?
Looking at Charles, who lay on the ground like a pile of rotten meat, Berry's mind went blank for a moment.
She hadn't even gotten any information out of him, and she had already killed Charles with one punch.
Lu Zhishen had to use three punches to beat Zhen Guanxi, yet she knocked someone out with just one punch.
"Oh no, oh no!"
Arno stood there like a door god, but Berry was pacing anxiously.
The clue she had finally found was cut short by her unexpected action; what was she going to do now?
"Alright, alright, don't panic. There might be something in this room that can lead to a clue."
Berry comforted herself. It was the 21st century, and the internet world left traces everywhere. She would first see if she could find the other party's computer, or a memo, or anything else that might contain useful information.
Barely calming her inner turmoil, Berry had a new idea.
Arno picked up Charles's body, placed it on the operating table, covered it with a plastic sheet, then hung up the 'Clinic Closed' sign and locked the door, which would buy them some time.
Berry, meanwhile, was searching the room for a computer or similar items.
There was clearly nothing in the clinic reception area, so Berry walked towards the lounge Charles had come out of earlier. If there was a computer, it should be there.
Carefully hooking the door open with her foot, Berry entered with her gun drawn.
The lounge was small and dark, with only a dilapidated ceiling fan and a broken bed beneath it. However, on the bedside table, there was indeed a computer.
Walking over, she pushed aside the chair, and Berry tried to power it on.
"Damn it."
The dark screen lit up, but it displayed a password field. Just as Berry had guessed, a password was required.
But Charles was dead; how could she get the password?
Berry herself wasn't a Hacker; she couldn't just take this computer to a repairman to unlock it, could she?
Wait?
Berry seemed to have thought of a solution.
She might not know hacking, but that didn't mean others didn't. Among her associates, there seemed to be a formidable Hacker.
T-BUG.
Berry instantly thought of a way: ask T-BUG for help.
Pulling a single holographic glasses from her waistband and putting them on, Berry dialed BUG's number.
"Hello, hello, can you hear me?"
"Berry, I'm eating." The lens displayed BUG's image, a bald Black woman, but her face showed no good expression. This was understandable; no one would be in a good mood when called while eating.
But seeing BUG's deadpan expression, Berry was very happy, because her savior had arrived.
"BUG, I need your help to crack a computer. It's very simple, it won't take more than a few minutes."
"Crack a computer?" BUG frowned in the video call. "Didn't V and Dexter DeShawn go to meet earlier today? Where did you go that you need to crack a computer?"
"Just a small private matter, nothing important." Berry chuckled, quickly wiping the blood spatters from her face.
"Alright then." BUG sighed, agreeing. But before Berry could celebrate, BUG continued, "You know the price. Send it to my account. I'll start working once the money arrives."
"Hey, BUG, you're being too formal." Berry narrowed her eyes, making a fawning sound. Whenever she did this, it meant she was planning to default on payment.
"What kind of relationship do we have? Talking about money hurts feelings too much."
"But talking about feelings hurts money, Girl." Berry could clearly see BUG roll her eyes. "I woke up this morning knowing something bad would happen, and it turns out it's you, Berry, coming to me."
"BUG~" Berry dragged out the last syllable, her cutesy voice sickeningly sweet.
"Use that trick on V, it won't work on me." BUG was hard-hearted and unmoved.
"Just help me this once, BUG, and next time we meet, I'll bring you little coca-cola." Berry started bribing her, but BUG didn't seem to be wavering.
"Sigh, alright, just this once." BUG shook her head, finally compromising. "But only this once."
"Thank you, BUG, you're such a good person!" Berry didn't hesitate to give BUG a 'good person' card.
"Stop with the smooth talk. Connect the data cable to the computer, and I'll take a look."
"Yes!" Berry immediately agreed, afraid BUG would change her mind.
Pulling a data cable from beside her holographic glasses, Berry plugged it into the computer tower.