()||<BIN>9</BIN><黑屏1>0,10</黑屏1><BGM>BGM_Empty</BGM>:
()||<黑屏2><BIN>356</BIN><narrator>:At a safe house in Moscow.
()||<BGM>GF_2022_Summer_AVG_1</BGM>:After going through several buckets of concrete dissolver, Maggie finally manages to get Catherine out of the drum.
NPC-Scalper(3)<Speaker>Catherine</Speaker>||:(Sobs) My skin feels like sandpaper...
NPC-Scalper(3);ColtWalker(1)<Speaker>Maggie</Speaker>||:Be glad that you got out in one piece.
NPC-Scalper(3)<Speaker>Catherine</Speaker>;ColtWalker(1)||:Couldn't you have gotten some better dissolver, you miser?
NPC-Scalper(3);ColtWalker(1)<Speaker>Maggie</Speaker>||:Huh. I bought it with your money though. I thought you'd appreciate my thriftiness.
NPC-Scalper(3)<Speaker>Catherine</Speaker>;ColtWalker(1)||:Oh yeah, my money! Give it back!
NPC-Scalper(3);ColtWalker(1)<Speaker>Maggie</Speaker>||:Huh? But you attached such a heartfelt message to the transfer. "Farewell, my dear Maggie..."
NPC-Scalper(3)<Speaker>Catherine</Speaker>||:SHUT UP! I thought I was going to die back there!
()||<SE1>AVG_va_addingredient</SE1>:After pummeling Maggie for a bit, Catherine gives herself a healthy dose of machine oil.
()||<SE1>AVG_File_Put</SE1>:After that, she lounges in satisfaction on the sofa.
NPC-Scalper(3)<Speaker>Catherine</Speaker>||<BGM>BGM_Empty</BGM>:Hey, so what's the job?
NPC-Scalper(3);ColtWalker(3)<Speaker>Maggie</Speaker>||<BGM>GF_21summer_avg_SecretAgent</BGM>:... +I don't know yet.
NPC-Scalper(3)<Speaker>Catherine</Speaker>;ColtWalker(3)||:You accepted it without even knowing what it was?
NPC-Scalper(3);ColtWalker(3)<Speaker>Maggie</Speaker>||:It's not going to be easy, that's for sure. +The client was willing to save us from the Vory just because we accepted the job.
NPC-Scalper(3)<Speaker>Catherine</Speaker>;ColtWalker(3)||:...I'm pretty sure our client isn't going to let us rip them off just like that. I get the feeling we'll have to pay it back soon enough.
NPC-Scalper(3);ColtWalker(1)<Speaker>Maggie</Speaker>||:Relax, we've always managed to make it onto Noah's Ark in the past. It won't be different this time.
NPC-Scalper(0)<Speaker>Catherine</Speaker>;ColtWalker(1)||:That's true. +So, when do we start working on the job?
NPC-Scalper(0);ColtWalker(3)<Speaker>Maggie</Speaker>||:Right now.
NPC-Scalper(3)<Speaker>Catherine</Speaker>;ColtWalker(3)||:Ah... So how should we begin?
ColtWalker(3)<Speaker>Maggie</Speaker>||:We'll know tomorrow. So far, our client has only given us a name for the job, "Casino Royale", and an anonymous call.
()||<SE1>AVG_tele_connect</SE1>:Click— +Maggie replays that untraceable call.
()<Speaker>Серый</Speaker><通讯框>||:<color=#00CCFF>Your interview will be at 9am tomorrow at the following coordinates.</color>
NPC-Scalper(3)<Speaker>Catherine</Speaker>||:It really is untraceable...
NPC-Scalper(3);ColtWalker(3)<Speaker>Maggie</Speaker>||:We haven't come up against someone like this in a long time.
NPC-Scalper(3)<Speaker>Catherine</Speaker>;ColtWalker(3)||:Anyone who can take care of the Vory that easily... is definitely no pushover... +Good grief, out of the frying pan and into the fire.
NPC-Scalper(3);ColtWalker(3)<Speaker>Maggie</Speaker>||:No, it's more like driving a tiger to devour a wolf.
NPC-Scalper(3)<Speaker>Catherine</Speaker>;ColtWalker(3)||:Still, we're not entirely without clues. Серый means "gray" in Russian.
ColtWalker(3)<Speaker>Maggie</Speaker>||:Gray... +I guess there must be some other meaning behind that word, so we need to peel it back, layer by layer... +Reminds me of old times, though the people we dealt with weren't nearly as troublesome as what we have on our hands right now.
()||<黑屏1><BGM>BGM_Empty</BGM>:
()||<黑屏2><BIN>272</BIN><narrator>:Several days later, at the Flora Institute in Bremen.
()||<BGM>BGM_Brain</BGM><SE1>AVG_footsteps_cave</SE1>:Maggie arrives at a big building in the middle of the city, in keeping with the place and time on the invitation. She is guided to a waiting area by a receptionist.
()||<SE1>Stop_AVG_loop</SE1>:Once the receptionist leaves, Maggie is left alone in the lavishly-decorated waiting lounge. +Maggie notes that some of the signboards read "Galatea", but a further search proves inconclusive.
()<Speaker>???</Speaker>||:Miss Maggie?
()||<SE1>AVG_20Winter_Door_Open</SE1>:A door opens and a woman in a white uniform beckons at Maggie.
NPC-Leone(0)<Speaker>???</Speaker>||:This way, please.
()||<黑点1>:
()||<黑点2><BIN>412</BIN>||<SE1>AVG_footsteps_cave</SE1>:Led by the woman in white, Maggie enters an office and takes a seat on a cushy sofa.
()||<SE1>Stop_AVG_loop</SE1>:The woman doesn't wait for Maggie to settle in before she begins.
NPC-Leone(0)<Speaker>???</Speaker>||:Let's begin the interview, then.
NPC-Leone(0);ColtWalker(3)<Speaker>Maggie</Speaker>||:Alright.
NPC-Leone(0)<Speaker>???</Speaker>;ColtWalker(3)||:Name.
NPC-Leone(0);ColtWalker(3)<Speaker>Maggie</Speaker>||:Maggie Ponzi.
NPC-Leone(0)<Speaker>???</Speaker>;ColtWalker(3)||:Job.
NPC-Leone(0);ColtWalker(3)<Speaker>Maggie</Speaker>||:Er... Social engineer.
NPC-Leone(0)<Speaker>???</Speaker>||:...
()||<SE1>AVG_21Winter_Click_Keyboard</SE1>:The other person aloofly notes down Maggie's information.
ColtWalker(3)<Speaker>Maggie</Speaker>||:In exchange, tell me who you are?
NPC-Leone(0)<Speaker>Client</Speaker>;ColtWalker(3)||:I am the client from "Casino Royale". +I called you before, and now you must pass my test before I give you the assignment.
NPC-Leone(0);ColtWalker(3)<Speaker>Maggie</Speaker>||:Understood. Let's begin, then.
NPC-Leone(0)<Speaker>Client</Speaker>;ColtWalker(3)||:The test has already started. +Miss Maggie, use any means to convince me to hand the assignment to you.
NPC-Leone(0);ColtWalker(1)<Speaker>Maggie</Speaker>||:Hm? ANY means?
NPC-Leone(0)<Speaker>Client</Speaker>;ColtWalker(1)||:Yes.
NPC-Leone(0);ColtWalker(3)<Speaker>Maggie</Speaker>||:Before I begin, please clarify one thing for me— +Only the client can decide if I'll get the assignment, right?
NPC-Leone(0)<Speaker>Client</Speaker>;ColtWalker(3)||:Correct.
NPC-Leone(0);ColtWalker(3)<Speaker>Maggie</Speaker>||:So there's no way I can pass this test.
NPC-Leone(0)<Speaker>Client</Speaker>;ColtWalker(3)||:... +Why do you say that?
NPC-Leone(0);ColtWalker(3)<Speaker>Maggie</Speaker>||:Because you're not the client.
NPC-Leone(0)<Speaker>Client</Speaker>;ColtWalker(3)||:Are you trying to gain the assignment by angering me? +How rude.
NPC-Leone(0);ColtWalker(1)<Speaker>Maggie</Speaker>||:I have no intention of taking you lightly, Miss Leone.
NPC-Leone(0)<Speaker>Client</Speaker>;ColtWalker(1)||:...
NPC-Leone(0);ColtWalker(1)<Speaker>Maggie</Speaker>||:It was easy enough to learn your true identity by analyzing your voiceprint and verifying it with your appearance. +Incidentally, the annual report you published for the Flora Institute last year was quite interesting. +Still, while this may cause some offense, I do not think you are qualified to be our mysterious client. +After all, our amazing client helped me resolve quite a sticky problem yesterday.
NPC-Leone(0)<Speaker>Client</Speaker>;ColtWalker(1)||:Huh?
NPC-Leone(0);ColtWalker(1)<Speaker>Maggie</Speaker>||:Judging by how you're hiding your name tag, did you think I read all this information off it? +That would show a tremendous lack of craft and it isn't in keeping with the tone of your company.
NPC-Leone(0)<Speaker>Client</Speaker>||:... +Very well.
()||<SE1>ClothingUp</SE1>:After recovering from her shock, Leone slowly leans back and the calm returns to her face.
ColtWalker(1)<Speaker>Maggie</Speaker>||:In that case—
()||<SE1>AVG_Applause</SE1>:Clap, clap, clap—
()||<BGM>BGM_Empty</BGM><Night>:A round of applause reaches her ears, and the power within the room briefly cuts out. +By the time Maggie acclimates to the darkness, Leone is gone. +In its place is a three-dimensional hologram that glows in the dark.
NPC-MrsGray(0)<Speaker>Серый</Speaker><通讯框>||<BGM>GF_22W_BGM_1</BGM><SE1>AVG_tele_connect</SE1>:<color=#00CCFF>Greetings, Miss Maggie.</color>
NPC-MrsGray(0)<通讯框>;ColtWalker(1)<Speaker>Maggie</Speaker>||:Mrs. "Gray", I presume?
NPC-MrsGray(0)<Speaker>Серый</Speaker><通讯框>;ColtWalker(1)||:<color=#00CCFF>Aren't you going to use the same trick on me?</color> +<color=#00CCFF>Analyze my voiceprint and use my appearance to verify my identity?</color>
NPC-MrsGray(0)<通讯框>;ColtWalker(3)<Speaker>Maggie</Speaker>||:Nah. +I doubt it'll work on you anyway. +Or rather, the "Mrs. Gray" I'd find wouldn't be the real you.
NPC-MrsGray(0)<Speaker>Серый</Speaker><通讯框>;ColtWalker(3)||:<color=#00CCFF>I like intelligent people who know their limits, Miss Maggie Ponzi.</color> +<color=#00CCFF>Or should I say, Miss Maggie Ponzi's Doll assistant?</color>
ColtWalker(3)<Speaker>Maggie</Speaker>||:...
()||<SE1>ClothingUp</SE1>:The finger Maggie is lightly tapping on the sofa freezes.
NPC-MrsGray(0)<Speaker>Серый</Speaker><通讯框>||:<color=#00CCFF>Don't worry, your background is to your advantage.</color> +<color=#00CCFF>At first, I had my doubts about the deception skills of a Doll, but after learning you were one of the Dolls working for the Fox Sisterhood, I began looking forward to your performance.</color>
NPC-MrsGray(0)<通讯框>;ColtWalker(3)<Speaker>Maggie</Speaker>||:I thought nobody remembered the Fox Sisterhood anymore.
NPC-MrsGray(0)<Speaker>Серый</Speaker><通讯框>;ColtWalker(3)||:<color=#00CCFF>Humans have forgotten too many things that they should not have.</color> +<color=#00CCFF>I heard they vanished after WWIII.</color> +<color=#00CCFF>To think I'd get to meet someone from that organization today.</color>
NPC-MrsGray(0)<通讯框>;ColtWalker(3)<Speaker>Maggie</Speaker>||:No wonder you agreed to rescue Catherine so readily.
NPC-MrsGray(0)<Speaker>Серый</Speaker><通讯框>;ColtWalker(3)||:<color=#00CCFF>I have always been generous to people of worth.</color>
NPC-MrsGray(0)<通讯框>;ColtWalker(3)<Speaker>Maggie</Speaker>||:So, what else is there, other than my background as part of the Fox Sisterhood? +What is it about us that you find worthwhile?
NPC-MrsGray(0)<Speaker>Серый</Speaker><通讯框>||:<color=#00CCFF>I can always rest easy when speaking with intelligent people.</color>
()||<SE1>AVG_footsteps_cave</SE1>:Mrs. Gray rises slowly and steps away from the camera before returning shortly afterwards with a cup of coffee.
NPC-MrsGray(0)<Speaker>Серый</Speaker><通讯框>||<SE1>Stop_AVG_loop</SE1>:<color=#00CCFF>That would be the Project Tequila you're helming, or let's be frank here, would it be better to call it the Tequila Scam?</color>
NPC-MrsGray(0)<通讯框>;ColtWalker(3)<Speaker>Maggie</Speaker>||:...
NPC-MrsGray(0)<Speaker>Серый</Speaker><通讯框>;ColtWalker(3)||:<color=#00CCFF>That's why the Vory chased you all over the city, isn't it?</color>
ColtWalker(1)<Speaker>Maggie</Speaker>||:Oh dear, we've been found out.
()||<SE1>AVG_File_Put</SE1>:Maggie chuckles and makes a show of leaning back against the sofa and crossing one leg over the other.
NPC-MrsGray(0)<Speaker>Серый</Speaker><通讯框>||:<color=#00CCFF>I have to admit, the idea of the scam does fascinate me.</color> +<color=#00CCFF>Although Ponzi schemes are a relatively old ruse, you made them flower again, Miss Maggie.</color>
NPC-MrsGray(0)<通讯框>;ColtWalker(1)<Speaker>Maggie</Speaker>||:You flatter me, but that particular project has been wrapped up. If you're interested, I could rehash that idea and—
NPC-MrsGray(0)<Speaker>Серый</Speaker><通讯框>;ColtWalker(1)||:<color=#00CCFF>No.</color> +<color=#00CCFF>I want this project.</color>
ColtWalker(4)<Speaker>Maggie</Speaker>||:...Please elaborate.
()||<SE1>ClothingUp</SE1>:The subject keeps shifting beyond her expectations, Maggie can't help but sit up straight again.
NPC-MrsGray(0)<Speaker>Серый</Speaker><通讯框>||:<color=#00CCFF>"With the frequent outbreaks of wars, a well-known scientist hides behind the scenes, using the power of Relics to develop dirty bombs."</color> +<color=#00CCFF>The reason why Project Tequila is a scam is because none of that is true.</color>
NPC-MrsGray(0)<通讯框>;ColtWalker(3)<Speaker>Maggie</Speaker>||:...
NPC-MrsGray(0)<Speaker>Серый</Speaker><通讯框>||:<color=#00CCFF>But I can make it come true.</color>
()||:Maggie ponders Gray's words. Just the funds and resources needed to make that scam come true is enough to send a chill down her spine.
ColtWalker(3)<Speaker>Maggie</Speaker>||:You're going to such great lengths just to make a shell company legit?
NPC-MrsGray(0)<Speaker>Серый</Speaker><通讯框>;ColtWalker(3)||:<color=#00CCFF>This is only the beginning.</color> +<color=#00CCFF>From now on, there will be no Tequila Manufacturing, only a subsidiary of Galatea Corporation.</color>
NPC-MrsGray(0)<通讯框>;ColtWalker(3)<Speaker>Maggie</Speaker>||:Galatea... +So you were interested in the list of investors for Project Tequila.
NPC-MrsGray(0)<Speaker>Серый</Speaker><通讯框>;ColtWalker(3)||:<color=#00CCFF>That is only the first step of the assignment.</color>
ColtWalker(3)<Speaker>Maggie</Speaker>||:... +Let me guess, here comes the important part of the job?
()||<BGM>BGM_Empty</BGM>:Mrs. Gray smiles.
()||<SE1>AVG_Shield_Startup</SE1>:A hitherto-dormant screen lights up in front of Maggie.
()||<BGM>GF_22W_BGM_2</BGM>:On it is the entire Eurasian landmass. Apart from national borders, the only thing it displays is a legend showing regions of ELID contamination intensity. +The map is covered in red, yellow, and green, with the occasional bit of black speckled on it.
NPC-MrsGray(0)<Speaker>Серый</Speaker><通讯框>||:<color=#00CCFF>Before 2030, this world was tightly linked.</color>
NPC-MrsGray(0)<通讯框>;ColtWalker(3)<Speaker>Maggie</Speaker>||:Indeed, the Beilan Island incident changed everything.
NPC-MrsGray(0)<Speaker>Серый</Speaker><通讯框>;ColtWalker(3)||:<color=#00CCFF>After that, mankind split into two factions, those who supported the reunification of the world, and those who opposed it and wanted to preserve the status quo.</color>
NPC-MrsGray(0)<通讯框>;ColtWalker(3)<Speaker>Maggie</Speaker>||:Humanity loves to argue, and where there is an argument, you have people taking sides.
NPC-MrsGray(0)<Speaker>Серый</Speaker><通讯框>;ColtWalker(3)||:<color=#00CCFF>Well said. However, taking sides is a privilege of those in power.</color> +<color=#00CCFF>Most people, like myself, for example, simply wish to make the biggest profit we can.</color>
ColtWalker(3)<Speaker>Maggie</Speaker>||<黑屏1>:You are a shrewd businesswoman.
()||<SE1>AVG_NightVision_Start</SE1><黑屏2><BIN>536</BIN>:A point of light travels from one end of the continent to another, a meandering line that penetrates all of Eurasia. +The contaminated zones in its way do not hinder it in the least.
()<Speaker>Серый</Speaker>||:<color=#00CCFF>And now, a great profit lies before us.</color> +<color=#00CCFF>The Siberian Lifeline is reopening, and I need an agent.</color>
()<Speaker>Maggie</Speaker>||:You mean... the Intercontinental Railway is starting up again?
()<Speaker>Серый</Speaker>||:<color=#00CCFF>Yes, the Intercontinental Railway that spans all of Eurasia, passes through the contaminated zones and connects Germany and Russia.</color>
()<Speaker>Maggie</Speaker>||:...What a grand miracle. +So, what do you need me to do for this massive engineering project?
()<Speaker>Серый</Speaker><通讯框>||:<color=#00CCFF>I need another miracle.</color>
()||:Mrs. Gray smiles dangerously.
()<Speaker>Серый</Speaker>||:<color=#00CCFF>A miracle on par with the Intercontinental Railway, but for Dolls.</color>
()||<黑屏1><BGM>BGM_Empty</BGM>:
()||<黑屏2><BIN>356</BIN><narrator>:At night, in a Bremen safe house.
NPC-Scalper(3)<Speaker>Catherine</Speaker>||<BGM>GF_21winter_avg_mahaline</BGM>:Maggie?
()||:Maggie is seated on the floor with her back against the main door and gives no response.
ColtWalker(3)<Speaker>Maggie</Speaker>||:...
()||:After a while, she looks up at Catherine.
NPC-Scalper(3)<Speaker>Catherine</Speaker>||:You're looking all serious.
NPC-Scalper(3);ColtWalker(3)<Speaker>Maggie</Speaker>||:This is one hell of a job we're taking on.
NPC-Scalper(3)<Speaker>Catherine</Speaker>;ColtWalker(3)||:... +But it doesn't look like we're in any position to refuse.
NPC-Scalper(3);ColtWalker(3)<Speaker>Maggie</Speaker>||:We've been caught up in it. +There's no way back for us.
NPC-Scalper(3)<Speaker>Catherine</Speaker>||:...
()||:Catherine walks over to Maggie and sits down with her in front of the door.
ColtWalker(3)<Speaker>Maggie</Speaker>||:If we're still alive after we finish this job, let's look for a quiet place with great scenery and hide out there for a bit.
NPC-Scalper(3)<Speaker>Catherine</Speaker>;ColtWalker(3)||:...Sure. +How much longer until then?
NPC-Scalper(3);ColtWalker(3)<Speaker>Maggie</Speaker>||:Several months, if it goes quickly. Several years if it doesn't.
NPC-Scalper(3)<Speaker>Catherine</Speaker>||:We'll survive, no matter how long it takes.
()||:Catherine and Maggie lean against each other on the cold floor. +This silent companionship has been their unique way of comforting each other for a very long time. +From dark basements to run-down séance rooms, all the way until now. +Until forever.
()||<黑点1>: