()||<BIN>9</BIN><黑屏1>0,10</黑屏1><BGM>BGM_Empty</BGM>:
()||<黑屏2><BIN>139</BIN><BGM>GF_Swim_Marnie</BGM>:...At a charity ball ten months ago. +Extravagantly dressed guests mill around the venue. Wine glasses clink and glisten in the light, forming a lively and bustling scene. +Nikolai takes to mingling with the crowd like a duck to water.
()<Speaker>Party Host</Speaker>||:...Thank you everyone for coming! It is my honor to announce that the charity auction will now officially begin!
()||<SE1>AVG_applause_indoor</SE1>:A wave of applause erupts. Nikolai claps his hand nonchalantly as he scans the crowd for a potential target.
()<Speaker>Party Host</Speaker>||<SE1>Stop_AVG_loop</SE1>:Our first item is Arkhip Kuindzhi's "Moonlit Night on the Dnipro", supplied by the Tequila Gallery. +The handler, Miss Maggie Ponzi, has provided the following introduction— +Under the darkness of the night sky, the river glows eerily in the moonlight. Even the clouds around the full moon are tinged with delicate light, and the masterful use of negative space is extremely effective in depicting the tranquility of the scene...
NPC-NervousMan(0)<Speaker>Nikolai</Speaker>||:...
()||:Nikolai's champagne flute freezes even as the auctioneer prattles on. +After a moment of thought, his features gradually shift from an expression of shock to a nefarious grin.
NPC-NervousMan(1)<Speaker>Nikolai</Speaker>||<黑屏1>:Well, well, well. This is the best thing that has happened to me since I left the Vory.
()||<黑屏2><Night><BIN>97</BIN><SE1>AVG_20Winter_People_Discussion_Loop</SE1>:...In the crowded hallway outside the venue of the ball. +The representative from the Tequila Gallery, Maggie, is conversing with prospective buyers enthusiastically.
()||<SE1>Stop_AVG_loop</SE1>:Swirling the champagne in his flute, Nikolai strolls up to Maggie casually.
NPC-NervousMan(0)<Speaker>Nikolai</Speaker>||:"Moonlit Night on the Dnipro"... This famous painting has been lost for a very long time.
ColtWalker(1)<Speaker>Maggie</Speaker>||:Indeed. We only managed to find it after a great deal of investigation and with no small amount of effort. +How may I address you, sir?
ColtWalker(1);NPC-NervousMan(0)<Speaker>Nikolai</Speaker>||<BGM>BGM_Empty</BGM>:The name is Nikolai Vasilyevich. Just call me Nikolai.
ColtWalker(2)<Speaker>Maggie</Speaker>;NPC-NervousMan(0)||:Nice to meet you, Mr. Nikolai. There will be an auction for this painting inside. If you are interested, make sure you don't miss it.
ColtWalker(2);NPC-NervousMan(0)<Speaker>Nikolai</Speaker>||<BGM>BGM_stage11</BGM>:I am certainly intrigued by the painting, but unfortunately, I have no intention of bidding for it. +This is just a forgery.
ColtWalker(4)<Speaker>Maggie</Speaker>;NPC-NervousMan(0)||:...
ColtWalker(4);NPC-NervousMan(0)<同时置暗><Speaker></Speaker>||:The enthusiastic chatter around Maggie instantly dies down. Maggie fights to maintain her composed smile.
ColtWalker(2)<Speaker>Maggie</Speaker>;NPC-NervousMan(0)||:You've got a sense of humor, Mr. Nikolai. This painting has been authenticated by multiple experts. There is absolutely no way it could be a forgery.
ColtWalker(2);NPC-NervousMan(0)<Speaker>Nikolai</Speaker>||:But I have concrete evidence that proves otherwise.
ColtWalker(2)<Speaker>Maggie</Speaker>||:Haha, excuse me, ladies and gentlemen. Mr. Nikolai, do please show me your evidence.
()||<黑屏1>:Maggie casually invites Nikolai to step aside for a private conversation. Nikolai goes along with it and follows her.
()||<黑屏2><BIN>18</BIN><Night>:...Somewhere outside the venue. +After making sure that no one else is around, Maggie comes to a stop.
ColtWalker(1)<Speaker>Maggie</Speaker>||:Mr. Nikolai, I don't know who invited you to the ball, but please refrain from making claims that could lead to misunderstandings. +The Tequila Gallery would never invest in forgeries.
NPC-NervousMan(1)<Speaker>Nikolai</Speaker>||:Ha, really?
()||:Nikolai chuckles sardonically.
NPC-NervousMan(1)<Speaker>Nikolai</Speaker>||:I have seen the original of this painting. It was once hung in my father's study, but after the old man got bored with it, he resold it to a private collector from overseas. +From what I know, that painting is still on display in the collector's living room.
ColtWalker(3)<Speaker>Maggie</Speaker>||:... +How unfortunate.
()||:After a brief moment of silence, Maggie flashes a friendly smile.
ColtWalker(1)<Speaker>Maggie</Speaker>||:To think that this forgery managed to slip through all the authentication experts...
ColtWalker(1);NPC-NervousMan(1)<Speaker>Nikolai</Speaker>||:Your experts may be in on the deal.
ColtWalker(1)<Speaker>Maggie</Speaker>;NPC-NervousMan(1)||:... +Then I must thank you for your shrewdness. If it weren't for you, the painting would've fooled me too.
ColtWalker(1);NPC-NervousMan(1)<Speaker>Nikolai</Speaker>||:So?
ColtWalker(2)<Speaker>Maggie</Speaker>;NPC-NervousMan(1)||:According to the experts, this painting is practically identical to the original in every way. Whoever ends up purchasing it will still be getting their money's worth. +How about this, Mr. Nikolai... I will pay you 20% of the painting's sold price as authentication fee.
NPC-NervousMan(1)<Speaker>Nikolai</Speaker>||:20%?
()||:Nikolai shakes his head with a smile. +Maggie returns his smile through clenched teeth.
ColtWalker(2)<Speaker>Maggie</Speaker>||:...You're right, a measly 20% is nowhere near enough to express our gratitude for you. +50%—I can't go any higher. Our gallery needs to turn a profit too.
NPC-NervousMan(1)<Speaker>Nikolai</Speaker>||:No, no, no.
NPC-NervousMan(1)<同时置暗><Speaker></Speaker>||:Nikolai shakes his head again.
NPC-NervousMan(1)<Speaker>Nikolai</Speaker>||:Forgive me for being blunt, but you are too short-sighted, Miss Maggie.
ColtWalker(2)<Speaker>Maggie</Speaker>||:Please do share your thoughts, Mr. Nikolai.
NPC-NervousMan(1)<Speaker>Nikolai</Speaker>||:I am happy to provide my authentication service for all the paintings sold through the Tequila Gallery and to help you navigate human society. +With my father's network, nobody will have any reason to doubt the authenticity of the Tequila Gallery's paintings. +In return, all I ask is 50% of the sold price of every transaction.
()||:Nikolai leans against the wall and lights a cigarette. +Through the coiling smoke, Maggie smiles.
ColtWalker(2)<Speaker>Maggie</Speaker>||<黑屏1>:... +Then welcome aboard, Mr. Nikolai.
()||<黑屏2><BIN>9</BIN><黑屏1>:Little does Maggie know, this will be the most regrettable decision she has ever made.
()||<关闭蒙版><黑屏2><BIN>356</BIN><BGM>BGM_Empty</BGM>:...Two months ago, at a safe house.
()||<BGM>BGM_Truth</BGM>:Maggie and Catherine are slumped on the floor, utterly exhausted, while Quimby is going through their accounts anxiously.
NPC-Quimby(0)<Position>0,300</Position><Speaker>Quimby</Speaker>||:Mistress! The audacity of this scumbag! +He messes up everything, but he still gets half the cut?!
NPC-Scalper(3)<Speaker>Catherine</Speaker>;NPC-Quimby(0)<Position>0,300</Position>||:...Can't be helped. He's got dirt on us.
NPC-Quimby(0)<Position>0,300</Position><Speaker>Quimby</Speaker>||:Can't we just get rid of him?
ColtWalker(3)<Speaker>Maggie</Speaker>||:You think I haven't tried? He's a ghost that refuses to be exorcized...
()||<SE1>AVG_Cloak_Whoosh</SE1>:Maggie suddenly bolts up.
NPC-Scalper(3)<Speaker>Catherine</Speaker>||:What is it, Maggie?
ColtWalker(1)<Speaker>Maggie</Speaker>||:I suddenly thought of something.
NPC-Quimby(0)<Position>0,300</Position><Speaker>Quimby</Speaker>||:What?
ColtWalker(1)<Speaker>Maggie</Speaker>||:He may be galavanting on his own, but he's backed by a rich family...
ColtWalker(1);NPC-Scalper(3)<Speaker>Catherine</Speaker>||:So?
ColtWalker(1);NPC-Scalper(3)<同时置暗><Speaker></Speaker>||:Maggie flashes a dangerous grin.
ColtWalker(2)<Speaker>Maggie</Speaker>;NPC-Scalper(3)||:Killing the goose only yields temporary profit. Sustainable development is the way to go.
ColtWalker(2);NPC-Scalper(0)<Speaker>Catherine</Speaker>||:Don't tell me you...
ColtWalker(2)<Speaker>Maggie</Speaker>||:This could be our chance to snake our way into the upper echelons of society...
()||:The gloomy safe house is once again filled with cheerful laughter.
()||<黑屏1>: