After leaving Sasha's apartment, Peter released Johnny, who had been locked in a small dark room by him.
"Boy, I told you before—if you want to do something, just tell me to leave you alone. Don't lock me up every time. It's getting hard for me like this."
Johnny had never felt so useless. He was a rock star with a massive fanbase, always saying whatever he wanted in his circle. But now, trapped in the body of a kid who was probably younger than his own grandchild, he felt restricted by everything. The worst part? He couldn't do anything about it.
"I'm not interested in letting my wife be seen by others," Peter said, shaking his head. "So, it's better if I handle things myself."
Ding!
[Rogge left you a message]
"Peter, it's Rogge. Come to the afterlife bar if you have time. I need to ask you something."
"Johnny, I'm going to introduce you to someone. You should know her."
Peter grinned.
"How the hell would I know? You can meet anyone you like. I'm outta here."
Johnny rolled his eyes and disappeared. Peter didn't say much. After all, he'd find out what Rogge wanted when he saw her. He couldn't figure out why Rogge was looking for him. Was it because of the heavy hammer? Unlikely. If that were the case, she could've just paid him directly.
Afterlife Bar.
"Aymeric, you're still as serious as ever."
Peter jokingly addressed the strong man at the door.
"You're here. Rogge's waiting for you inside. Come in," Aymeric responded, not even bothering to acknowledge Peter's comment.
Peter shook his head in mild boredom. This guy was as dull as he had been in the game.
The bar wasn't as busy in the afternoon as it was in the evening. As Peter walked toward the bar counter, Claire noticed him just as she pulled out a bottle of wine.
"Hey! I know you. You're the handsome guy who said he was gonna take down Dexter last time."
Claire greeted Peter.
"Dexter's dead. I don't want anything to do with him."
Peter shrugged. He was mostly known by his acquaintances or the higher-ups in the circles. A bartender like Claire wouldn't know that he'd caused chaos at the Cyan Bi Building.
"Alright, what do you want to drink?" Claire asked, uninterested in continuing the topic of Dexter. An intermediary like Dexter probably didn't just deal with tickets for the Cyan Bi Mansion. Peter might have other business.
"I'm an idiot. Hurry up and pour me the special wine I left last time."
At that moment, Johnny appeared beside Peter, looking impatient.
Even though Peter had drunk fine wine yesterday, Johnny still wanted a glass of his own concoction.
"Johnny Silver Hand," Peter said nonchalantly, not caring what he drank.
"Hold on."
Claire turned around to prepare the drink.
"After all these years, the Afterlife is still here."
Johnny looked around and sighed.
"What? Are you starting to miss being human?" Peter asked with a half-smile.
"F**k you, I never regret anything I do," Johnny retorted, clearly annoyed.
"Your Johnny Silver Hand," Peter replied as he took the glass and downed it. The taste was still strange, though the ingredients seemed peculiar.
After finishing the drink, Peter stood up and walked over to the booth where Rogge was.
"Rogge, what do you want from me, a nobody?" Peter asked, sitting down casually.
"Peter... it's really you. I didn't expect you to be sitting comfortably on the big sofa in the Afterlife Bar after all these years," Johnny remarked, noticing Rogge.
He sighed. Fifty years ago, he and Rogge had blown up the barren towers together. Not to mention, Rogge had been one of his four girlfriends.
"You're not some nobody. Arban's looking for you all over the city—you're the one who killed Adam Hammer."
Rogge took a sip of her drink and said with a slight grin.
"What? Are you tying me up to take the reward with Arban Laixuan?" Peter asked with a smile.
"Please. Adam's heavy hammer was slaughtered by you. What could they possibly use to tie you up and receive the reward? Those idiots in the barren board haven't found you after two days of investigating," Rogge replied, shaking her head.
What she didn't know was that Peter was already in a cooperative relationship with Huangban Laixuan. It didn't matter whether they found him or not.
"What do you need from me? Just tell me, Rogge."
Peter wanted to get straight to the point. He had no interest in wasting time.
"Actually, it's nothing much. I just wanted to see you, the guy who killed Adam's hammer," Rogge said, leaning back on the sofa.
Peter felt speechless. Why did she call him for such a trivial matter?
"Forget it, I'm free these days. Just go shopping while I'm at it."
Peter stood up and was about to leave when suddenly, a fierce woman walked into the booth.
"Rogge! What the f**k did you find a mercenary for stealing my car?"
Pushing past the bodyguard, Panan pointed angrily at Rogge.
"I told you, this matter has nothing to do with me. I'm just responsible for finding someone for you. If you lost something, go find it yourself," Rogge replied impatiently.
"What? You mean it's not your fault the person you introduced stole my car?" Panan stared at Rogge with wide eyes, incredulous. She had trusted Rogge to find a reliable partner for her mission. Now, her car had been stolen by the person Rogge had introduced. And Rogge just casually shrugged it off?
"I'll say it again, little girl, settle your own mess and take care of your own problems," Rogge replied dismissively, clearly not wanting to waste any more time.
Did Rogge really need to find a mercenary with good character for Panan, who had no teammates? Was this some sort of blind date? Did Rogge need to help Panan do a background check?
"Panan?" Just as Panan was about to continue shouting at Rogge, Peter spoke up.
"Huh? You? Peter from the Buckle family?" Panan blinked, finally noticing Peter sitting on the sofa. She thought he looked familiar.
After a moment of thinking, she remembered that her family had worked with the Buckle family a few years ago, and Peter, who had been a teenager at the time, had been there to clean up the mess.
"The Buckle family's been disbanded and merged into the Snake State. Now I'm going out on my own," Peter replied with a nod.
He hadn't expected to run into Panan at this moment. He realized something when he received this memory. In the game, V had never encountered Panan.
Before this moment, Peter's family had cooperated with Panan's family.
"Peter, do you know her? That makes things easier. She's been tricked by someone and insists that it's my fault. Take her to find that person. I still have things to do here," Rogge said, looking frustrated. She had been bombarded by Panan's phone calls all night, and now Peter knew this difficult woman. Rogge quickly pushed the responsibility onto Peter.
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