In Chekkat's office.
"Mr. Pantalone, after a night of urgent contacts, my partners decided to conclude the deal as soon as possible—today." Chekkat said to Sol with a smile.
"You certainly moved fast—turned it into a surprise inspection."
Sol said with a hint of mockery.
"Ha ha." Chekkat gave an awkward laugh. "It happened suddenly—honestly I didn't expect it. They're already waiting now. Shall we head over first?"
He knew this made him look a little unreasonable, but since his allies hadn't seen the goods in person, security had to be guaranteed.
"All right, this time we'll say it really was sudden."
Sol stretched and didn't press the matter further.
"Thank you for understanding, Mr. Pantalone. Please accept a small token of appreciation."
Chekkat handed Sol a bank card, then led the way out.
"One hundred million Dennies?"
Sol waved the card and asked with a smile.
This guy had already handed him a card three times—a real gem.
Chekkat stumbled, embarrassed. "One million—ten million Denny, actually. I'm a bit short-handed right now; once I make my fortune I'll definitely give you a proper token."
Who ever casually hands over a hundred million Dennies? He'd bought super weapons and even the arms dealer was now running out of funds.
"I'll be waiting for the day you get rich."
Sol slipped the card into his pocket and said casually.
At that, Chekkat led the three of them into a borrowed black sedan.
Sol, Jane Doe, and Anby Demara sat in the backseat while Chekkat took the wheel himself.
The seats were soft and comfortable; the air in the car wasn't stuffy.
The windows, however, were a dark tint, making it hard to see the outside.
"Mr. Pantalone, there are some eye masks beside you; you can put them on and get some rest."
Chekkat turned from the driver's seat and said with a smile.
"I've been up less than half an hour since waking up—not sleepy yet."
Sol toyed with an eye mask in his hand and said meaningfully.
The mask was cotton inside with silk outside, top quality—once worn it would be pitch black.
"Mr. Pantalone, I also have another card for your inspection."
Chekkat passed another bank card back, the same as the previous one.
Sol took the card, yawned, and said, "Inspect it later—I suddenly feel sleepy. I'll take a short nap."
He put the thick eye mask on and leaned comfortably against Anby's shoulder.
Jane and Anby also put on their masks and dozed against their seats.
"..."
Chekkat's mouth twitched as he drove in silence.
He really admired this sly fox—everywhere he turned, it was about money, like a gold-consuming beast.
If this sly fox didn't have so many super weapons, Chekkat suspected the mysterious organization would've collapsed; that was why he relentlessly gathered funds.
The car was quiet.
Sol's right arm looped around Anby's waist as they sat close.
Jane silently counted the car's sway to determine direction. Although Chekkat occasionally drove in circles, it was only a minor annoyance to her.
From time to time she would drag her finger along Sol's right hand that rested on Anby, sending signals.
Two hours later the air grew heavy; the car had entered a Hollow.
After winding through it for dozens of minutes, the car slowed.
"Mr. Pantalone, we've arrived."
Chekkat stepped on the brake and said over his shoulder.
"Mm, got it."
Jane tapped Sol's hand once to indicate the message had been received.
Then Sol, Anby, and Jane removed their masks and stepped out.
They looked out onto a field of ruined buildings—rubble and broken walls everywhere, concrete chunks with rebar scattered across the ground.
But this wasn't the meeting spot yet.
They followed Chekkat for another ten minutes before entering a large underground parking garage half-buried in debris.
Eight teams were already present, each clearly occupying advantageous firing positions with tacit coordination.
With eight overlapping firepoints, they could instantly control the area.
When these people saw Chekkat leading Sol and the others in, their expressions changed and they started to scrutinize them.
The leader of one team stepped forward and whispered a report into Chekkat's ear—clearly one of Chekkat's prearranged subordinates.
Chekkat nodded repeatedly, then led Sol and the others toward a temporary partitioned room.
Seven people stood at the doorway smilingly to welcome Sol's party.
The seven varied in build, but each carried a hidden sharpness—none were ordinary.
Their gazes fixed on Sol: curiosity, hesitation, hostility… their inner emotions differed, but their faces wore the same smiles.
With Chekkat as middleman, Sol made initial introductions with the seven and they entered the partitioned room.
Jane noticed that among the seven leaders, only one was someone she recognized from the Public Security files; the other six were unfamiliar faces.
Judging from the fact these people could afford to buy a super weapon priced at two billion Denny, they were certainly not small-time criminals.
This time they had truly cast a net for a big catch.
...
Inside the temporary partition office.
Everyone sat around a long table. Thanks to Chekkat and the seven arms dealers' deliberate flattery, the atmosphere was cordial.
After a few minutes Chekkat cleared his throat and began the main topic.
He stood and said seriously, "No small talk. Today everyone is gathered for the super weapons in Mr. Pantalone's possession. To raise funds, the Mr. Pantalone sells them at two billion Denny apiece."
Immediately all eyes turned to Sol.
"Bring them out so the bosses can inspect."
Sol glanced at Anby and said.
Anby promptly placed eight silver short rods on the desk. Under the bright lights the rods gleamed; the patterns on them seemed to flow with some mysterious power.
"Truly crafted by divine hands, exquisitely made!"
"Looks extraordinary—despite my years of experience I can't identify its origin. Such skill is uncanny!"
"I can't imagine a super weapon so compact and concealable; in destruction it'd be extremely convenient."
After careful inspection, the seven praised them.
Sol nodded calmly as if they'd all spoken the truth: "You've got good eyes. If not for the organization's recent need to recoup funds and support certain factions, you wouldn't even see these. Two billion Denny each—a very fair price. Pre-orders are encouraged."
The seven exchanged glances and raised a question: "Mr. Pantalone, we know your super weapons are powerful, but we must see them in person—we can't be sure none are defective."
"Want to test them? No problem." Sol lined up the eight zinc-aluminum rods in a row and said flatly, "There are eight here. You can each pick one to test. But note: each super weapon can only be used three times. So, after testing, you must buy it."