I shouldn't have told Gwen about that...
Chief George thought to himself, his tone naturally becoming a bit distant.
However, Luca didn't pay much attention to this. His gaze fell back on the watch in Gwen's hand.
Mechanical watch, black strap, the dial cover can be flipped open! It must be the Stun-Gun Wristwatch!
Luca was very confident in his hunch, so he put on an apologetic look and said:
"I am indeed out shopping. In fact, I happen to be short of a suitable watch recently. Would you mind letting me take a look at the one in Miss Stacy's hand?"
As soon as these words came out, everyone present was stunned.
Chief George looked at the obviously expensive handmade A. Lange & Söhne on Luca's wrist with astonishment.
Following George Stacy's gaze, Luca felt a bit awkward himself, but remained composed on the surface.
"Collecting watches is a small hobby of mine. Would you be willing to part with it?"
Just then, the shop assistant, seeing the awkward atmosphere, spoke up very "sensibly."
"Sir, we happen to have another one of this model in stock. If you need it..."
Saying this, the assistant with "excellent emotional intelligence" immediately took out an identical mechanical watch from under the counter.
But obviously, this watch wasn't emitting any white light.
Ahem, now the atmosphere was even more awkward.
Just as Luca hesitated about what excuse to use to ask for the "authentic" one in Gwen Stacy's hand...
She hesitated slightly, then proactively handed the watch to Luca.
"If you like this one, Luca..."
"Yes, I like it!"
Before she could finish, Luca took the watch she offered directly.
Well, although it was a bit embarrassing, compared to gaining an item, this little awkwardness was completely acceptable. But after thinking about it, Luca added:
"Thank you!"
At this moment, Shamila and Longbow, who had followed Luca into the store, both had strange expressions on their faces.
With my eyes, I witness the Seventh Covenant! The fireworks of the Age of Gods bloom for the first encounter! The Monarch's star trail and the Summer Spirit cross seven parallel universes to converge here...
Okay, leaving aside Longbow's inner monologue filled with special effects.
Seeing things developing in a direction he didn't want, George Stacy immediately interrupted his daughter who wanted to say something more.
"Since Mr. Aurantius has acquired the collection he wanted, I won't disturb you any longer."
After speaking, without waiting for Luca to speak, he immediately pulled Gwen, preparing to leave.
However, before George Stacy could take the first step...
Luca, having obtained his target, didn't check the popped-up Gold Finger panel immediately. Instead, he spoke again.
"Wait a moment!"
The father and daughter, ready to leave, turned back in confusion.
Luca took two steps forward, leaned close to Chief George, and whispered.
"I wonder if I could trouble Chief George for a few minutes?"
"Just a small matter, I think it might be better to communicate with you first."
"Hmm, it's about work!"
George Stacy, who originally wanted to find an excuse to leave, finally gave up the idea.
As a conscientious police officer, he couldn't convince himself to ignore a New York citizen wanting to discuss case-related issues with him...
However, contrary to George Stacy's expectation, Luca didn't approach him about the previous two cases.
But rather...
"So, the police weapon you mentioned is the kind of energy gun you used in that car crash attack?"
In a corner of the watch shop, after listening to Luca's brief explanation, Chief George's expression was indescribably complex.
He didn't know how a simple shopping trip with his daughter had turned into a discussion about NYPD equipment procurement.
However, Luca in front of him didn't feel embarrassed at all by Chief George's strange look. Instead, he continued to add:
"Exactly. Although the company's sales department will proactively communicate with the NYPD about this later, since I met you today, I thought it wouldn't hurt to say hello in advance."
As the current New York Chief, although he couldn't decide on such a large order alone...
Having risen step by step from a frontline sergeant to this position as a pragmatist, George Stacy still had considerable say in the subsequent procurement process.
"Chief George must know better than me about the turmoil caused by the outflow of alien weapons in New York recently."
"Moreover, the Arbiter weapon itself isn't just about letting brave NYPD officers better confront danger. The weapon's excellent graded settings, completely side-effect-free non-lethal mode, and the new built-in intelligent system will also make frontline officers more acceptable to the public in future law enforcement processes."
Hearing this, George Stacy finally became serious.
In fact, solely from the perspective of increasing equipment power, the police might not be that desperate.
After all, although existing police equipment might not look like cool high-tech, there was no shortage of high-power weapons.
However, the incident where a white officer shot a black citizen while apprehending a criminal was what truly gave him a headache.
The impact of that incident hadn't completely subsided even today. Just yesterday, black community groups from Hell's Kitchen marched on the streets, forcing the police to shrink their deployment.
After pondering for a moment, Chief George spoke again, his tone more solemn than before.
"This matter is of great importance. I can't agree hastily just because of your few words."
Although he said so, the smile on Luca's face deepened.
He shrugged seemingly indifferently and said in a relaxed tone:
"Naturally. Today was just a chance meeting. Later, staff from Aurantius Industries will submit detailed weapon reports and bidding proposals to your office."
"I also welcome Chief George to personally bring a police team to Aurantius Industries to observe weapon testing~"
For some reason, hearing this, George Stacy breathed a sigh of relief.
Asking an old-school cop like him to proactively discuss business was indeed a bit too difficult.
Looking at the right... mechanical arm Luca extended, Chief George shook it somewhat awkwardly, then bid farewell again with his daughter and left.
Watching the two leave.
Luca first called the shop assistant over and paid for both watches.
Only then did he look helplessly at the "Core Component" in his hand and sigh with disappointment.
What the hell is this!?