"Yes, boss. Um... Is there something wrong?"
Berbato's voice sounded clearly hesitant. He quickly stuffed the money back into his pocket, turning back to check if Emma had pushed it out.
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"No... Just wanted to ask if you had left the building yet. How far is the mission?"
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"Oh! I'm still on the 3rd floor, in front of the finance department, boss. This job is difficult and requires a lot of money, but don't worry, boss. I can do it. When this matter is finished, I will take care of it immediately."
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Berbato sighed in relief. He was so afraid that what just happened would be recorded by the CCTV cameras that were linked to the same network.
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"Whoa... The vibration must have broken the camera in front of the safe. Lucky for us...!"
He closed his eyes and thought to himself before hearing the organization's leader continue speaking.
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"Let it be like this, my subordinates! Every one of them is a big braggart. An hour ago, Pique said the same thing. How are you now!? Disappeared! Can't contact him! If you really can't handle it, let Jeff help you out. Boss will give it his all, don't worry about the compensation. It's like you said, Berbato. Boss understands that this job is really difficult."
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"Grumble! Thud, thud, thud!"
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And then the call was cut off. Berbato, whose face was already dark and tanned, became even paler. He glanced up at the shaking ceiling.
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"Maybe Boss trusts him too much. Until now, I still don't know what Brother Jeff is going through! Sigh..."
"Alright! Continue counting the money! How far are you now? Five! Six! Seven! Eight! Nine! Ten! Eleven! Twelve! Thirteen!..."
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He paced out, counting the stacks of banknotes in his hand. Berbato walked down the stairs step by step until he suddenly popped out of the building.
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"Shit! I got carried away counting! But just counting the bills, I got 5,000 coins. This is not even counting the gold coins. It's worth it. If it's like this, I don't need a barcode anymore."
He turned the forearm with the barcode upside down. He immediately placed his other hand on it and stroked it for a while. In a moment, it disappeared and blended into his skin. Then he crossed the street to the coffee shop across the street.
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The atmosphere was extremely gentle and romantic. Even though it was late afternoon, the owner of the shop still had the soft lights on all the time. Coupled with the fragrant smell of roasted coffee beans that filled the area, people kept coming and using the service continuously.
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"Hello, York Shin Coffee! Hey, young man from the flower shop, what would you like to order today?"
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"Same as usual!"
Berbato replied curtly. Not even looking at the kind uncle behind the counter.
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But!
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"Tick tick tick tick tick"
In just a split second after hearing the order, the owner's face slid down and down like a slot machine. It changed from ears, eyes, nose, and mouth to images of various coffee menus that spun quickly before stopping at, ding!
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"A large cappuccino with less sugar.. Do you want this?"
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"Hmm.. Right. You have a good memory, robot."
Berbato turned to look at the screen that extended from his neck up before using the same pair of eyes to look for an empty table and a quiet corner. Because right now, no matter where you look in this place, there are only robots everywhere. They play a bigger role than humans in the current era, both in the labor sector, agriculture, and technology. Even though their appearances may be a bit ugly, what they can do is make up for the loss of humans. The post-World War IV era is all gone, especially in the service sector.
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"Are you looking for a table?"
The shop owner asked, while the screen spun back to a normal human face.
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"That's right... I'll never sit at a table with those tin robots, let me tell you. They smell like engine oil!"
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"....."
Not quiet because he angry, but because the shop owner was pulling out the keyboard on his stomach. He typed commands with agility. After a while, one of the tables in the front, next to the glass in front of the shop, lit up.
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"Wow! There's a table right there. Please go sit and wait there."
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"How could that be! Don't you see there's someone sitting there? How can I sit with them?"
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The fat coffee shop guy stopped processing. This time, the face disappeared and appeared as a Now Loading... light. When it was fully loaded, he added:
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"Huh... I thought you came with her. That's the flower shop girl or the young woman I don't recognize. Anyway, if you don't want to share a table with her, there's no room for a human like you in this shop."
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"Damn it! But it's true! That's Catherine, the flower shop. Thank you, robot. Don't forget to serve me a cappuccino."
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"Fuck! Fuck! Got it!"
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After the robot conversation, Berbato walked over to Catherine's table, where she was sipping coffee and staring out the glass window. It's hard to believe that she didn't even know that the surface of her table was glowing brightly.
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"Hey! Cat!"
Berbato greeted her first. Since they were about the same age, they didn't have to put on airs like they did when talking to other people.
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"Oh! Black To! I was so shocked that you didn't let me hide or make a sound. What gives you the right to share a table with me!"
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"Uncle Android, the shop owner, chose it for me. I don't want to sit with you."
After dipping his butt into the chair, The light from the surface of the table gradually faded until it became a normal table.
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"Eww...! What happened to your body? Why are there only bruises and marks? Red on your neck? It looks like a hickey... Don't tell me you're To!"
"Yes, right? With the country girl that you transformed into, did you go and molest her!?"
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"Hey! It's nothing. Put your fingers down and point at each other like you're trying to find fault. It's nothing. I just went to get a new job from my boss and went to soak in the hot spring. The wound when going out to work just became more obvious. "
"But what have you been looking at since a while ago, Cat? Aren't you guarding the front of the shop or something?"
The young man tried to change the subject, because he was afraid that if he got questioned too hard, the scandalous secret he had been keeping would be revealed.
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"Break! Have you ever heard of an hourly break? And I've already hung a sign on the doorknob telling customers. Did you walk out without opening your eyes?"
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Berbato pouted and looked up, then shrugged twice, as if who cares! At the same time, the hot cappuccino that was ordered was served straight to him.
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"Oh! My order is here. Shoo! Move away, don't look!"
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The big hand brushed back and forth to push Catherine's arm off the table. At the same time, a blue circle of light appeared on a table. Of course, this was the serving of food in this era, because there weren't many people in the world. No more waiters or waitresses to carry the food trays to the tables. The smoky coffee cups slowly spun and emerged from the table surface from below, followed by the sugar bowl, and the napkins that spun and moved up as if they had emerged from another dimension. When everything was on the table, the circles of bright blue light disappeared.
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"You country bumpkin! You've never seen this before. Look at the food you ordered. Do you have the money to pay for it? A cup of coffee from York Shin costs a thousand dollars! Just the stuff you drained will cost you how much?"
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"I'll knock your teeth out! You just think you're a woman, Cat. Oh, come on! I have the money to pay. I can even pay for your portion."
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"You want to show off your wealth, huh!?"
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"Oh yeah?"
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"Where did you get the money from?"
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"I won't tell you! (If I tell you, I'll be in trouble.) You're the one who should tell me, Cat. What were you just absent-minded about?"
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The girl Catherine took her eyes off Berbato's face. She turned back to the seven-story building of the Parallel Building and took a sip of coffee.
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"I miss Brother Jeffer. The last time I saw him, he was in terrible shape. He went up to the doctor a long time ago and he still hasn't come back down."
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"Oh, me too. My boss called and told me that the new mission was quite difficult. He asked me to double-team with Brother Jeffer, so I came to wait for you at the York Shin coffee shop."
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"I wonder how you are!?"
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Berbato raised his cup of coffee and took a sip like Catherine. The rich and sweet taste made him wonder if his beloved brother was tasting it.