America: Starting with the Last Liberty

Preparations for the job are progressing steadily, but Donnie hasn't found an opportunity to inform his superiors.

Phil and Dennis decided to split up to speed up the preparations.

Phil and Dennis went to handle the weapons and ammunition, while Donnie and Rosen dealt with the vehicles.

Right now, Rosen is driving his Dodge Viper with Donnie in tow towards the suburbs.

Do you smoke?

Rosen took out 15 cigarettes, pulled one out, and handed it to Donnie. Donnie's silhouette was orange in the hostile sunglasses.

Hostile sunglasses can reveal the level of hostility a target has towards you.

Yellow represents a neutral attitude; this is the color you usually see on the street.

Green represents goodwill; people who wear this color are generally less likely to attack you. Rosen sees Blake and Sweefer as being this color.

Above green is blue, which represents loyalty and signifies that one will not easily betray oneself.

The orange color that Donnie is currently displaying means that this guy is plotting to take him down.

A red color, indicating even greater hostility, suggests that the other party may attack at any time.

Donnie took the cigarette and was about to light it when he heard Rosen say something.

"Donnie, do you have a girlfriend?"

"No, I don't have a girlfriend, I'm still single."

"Really? How about I introduce you to a girlfriend? I know a lot of nice girls, like a girl named Maggie, who needs someone to take care of her right now."

The name Maggie made Donnie's pupils dilate in shock, and he almost dropped the cigarette in his mouth.

The reason for this is that Maggie is the name of Downey's wife. They haven't been married long, and Maggie is currently pregnant and needs care.

Donnie didn't know if it was a coincidence or if Rosen knew something.

But this is very illogical. Rosen has only met him a few times, how did he know about his family situation?

"Rosen, my career hasn't taken off yet, so I'm not thinking about finding a partner for the time being."

Donnie quickly found an excuse, then carefully observed Rosen's expression.

"Really? That's such a shame! I heard that Maggie's ex-boyfriend was a policeman who suddenly went undercover and died mysteriously. She's heartbroken right now. Maybe you can easily handle her."

Rosen turned to look at Donnie and laughed, a smile that seemed like the devil's smile to Donnie.

Donnie's pupils contracted, and his mind went completely blank.

"What... what are you going to do with this?"

"Nothing much, I just wanted to introduce you to a girlfriend. Oh, we seem to have arrived."

Not far away, a huge garbage dump appeared, filled with a large number of abandoned cars, which is usually called a car graveyard in places like America.

Donnie followed Rosen out of the car in a daze, and it wasn't until they were in the car graveyard for a while that he remembered the purpose of their trip.

"Rosen, why did you bring me here? Weren't we supposed to be getting a car?"

"Of course we're here to get a car, otherwise, are we just here for a stroll?"

"But where can we find a car here?"

"I'll find a way."

As he spoke, Rosen carried his toolbox and wandered around the car graveyard. Before long, he spotted a yellow America Classic school bus.

"This is it!"

Donnie was distraught, but he could tell that the van in front of him was just an empty shell and chassis; everything else was long gone.

"Wow? You mean we're going to use this car?"

"Yes! I think this car is the perfect size; it only needs a few modifications. Come on, give me a hand, I'll get this car moving again!"

Donnie couldn't figure out how to get a van that was just an empty shell and chassis back to work, but Rosen had already picked up tools to remove various parts from other wrecked vehicles and put them onto the van.

Rosen kept directing Donnie to do manual labor, making him gradually forget about Maggie, whom Rosen had just mentioned.

The two of them spent an afternoon smoking almost an entire pack of 15 cigarettes, and Donnie witnessed Rosen restore the wrecked van to normal.

This is like magic—no, it's more like sorcery!

"Now, all we need to do is fill the tank with oil!"

Rosen removed the fuel tank from the Dodge Viper and poured it into the van's fuel tank.

Then, Donnie stared in disbelief as Rosen started the car.

"This is okay?"

Downey's worldview was greatly shaken, but that's what makes the Superpowers so terrifying.

If Rosen wanted to, he could even assemble an airplane from the stuff in a car graveyard, though that airplane would probably fall apart as soon as it took off.

Rosen tested the van's performance and felt it met the usage standards.

"Let's take a break."

Rosen and Donnie were resting inside the school bus. It was almost dusk, and the two of them were covered in oil stains after a busy afternoon.

However, Donnie's mind was filled with what Rosen had said about Maggie. He hadn't had to think about it because he was busy, but now that he had some free time, he couldn't stop thinking about it.

In America, it's quite normal to have the same name, especially a common name like Maggie.

If Downey's girlfriend is named Cthulhu, it will be very difficult to find someone with the same name.

But Donnie felt that Rosen was referring to his wife.

In the end, Donnie couldn't help but ask Rosen.

"Rosen, what exactly is this Maggie you were talking about?"

"What, are you still interested in this Maggie?"

"No, I'm just curious! You said Maggie's boyfriend is an undercover cop?"

Rosen then pulled out a 15-yuan cigarette and tossed it to Donnie.

"Yes, that undercover cop went undercover for the sake of justice, but he never expected that his superior was completely using him. Three years later, then another three years, six years later, and then another three years—he was an undercover cop for a full ten years. How many decades does one have in a lifetime?"

Donnie had already realized that Rosen wasn't talking about him, but the story of being an undercover agent touched him deeply.

With a cigarette between his fingers, Donnie continued to question Rosen as if in a daze.

"and then?"

"And then? Maggie chose to break up with the undercover cop. She couldn't accept a man who couldn't provide her with a stable future, even though Maggie was already pregnant with the undercover cop's child. As for that undercover cop, the credit went to his superiors, but the risks were all his own. After being used up by his superiors, he died silently on the street."

"They left no name, just like those street thugs."

Donnie was stunned. The undercover police officer in the story seemed like his future, making it hard for him not to overthink it.

Rosen never expected that his adapted undercover story would fool Donnie; the Joker ace is indeed very powerful!

After a long pause, Donnie looked at Rosen with a bewildered expression.

"Why don't you think the undercover cop realized his superior was using him?"

"There's something called workplace PUA, which is very complicated to explain, but it basically means that superiors use language to exert psychological control over their subordinates. Breaking into this is also very simple: just remember one thing—don't listen to what they say, but observe what they do."

Behind the hostile sunglasses, Donnie's skin had turned yellow.

(Donnie)