Rogue had thought a lot about the strange things hidden in the secret basement of the cleaners, but he never expected that after seeing the iron bars, board beds, rotten mattresses, and filth common to Night City, he would think of concentration camps.
Pigsties wouldn't be in such terrible conditions, at least there wouldn't be blood everywhere.
On the iron bars of the beds welded to the walls, there hung a pair of bloodstained handcuffs.
[Handcuffs, classic props, you can play with them in any way.]Johnny chimed in again.
"But these are made of pure steel, not soft plastic stuff." V weighed it with his hand, "Even if you willingly come here to shoot a film, trying to get famous, I'm afraid you won't be able to leave."
Cheap food was casually placed on the bed, the toilet was right next to it, and a foul smell permeated the air.
And...
The words "NOT ME" covered an entire wall.
Like a madman on the verge of a mental breakdown, clinging to the last remnants of sanity in the chaos of illusion and reality.
"That should be the maintenance room; let me see if I can make some noise."
The second basement level, engulfed in red light, seemed to be heading towards the abyss.
To the left was the only room in the entire building that could be considered high-end.
More than a dozen devices with lit screens, if one could ignore the strange smell, indeed resembled a control panel in a cyber world.
This should be the control room of this factory. Judy stepped forward and began tinkering.
Pushing open the door, they were met with a glittering slaughterhouse under the lights.
"No puedes imaginarte (You can't imagine)..." Jack made a praying gesture, looking up to his most revered lord.
"This scene looks familiar."
Rogue walked in, killing a cleaner with a single slash as they turned their head towards the sound.
He turned around, arms outstretched, gesturing at the surroundings.
"The cleaner's hideout in the Japanese street, same style, only this place is even more disgusting." V recalled the place Rogue was referring to.
The cement floor had more deep red bloodstains than gray areas.
The operating chair had been dyed a bright red color.
Slippery abandoned organs, like a lump of red, wet, rotten mud, maggots, and mosquitoes celebrating within.
"I should have brought a gas mask, or at least a mask... ugh..."
Rogue was not frightened by the indescribable mess in the room, but the smell was overpowering.
Enduring the nausea, he opened the computer.
[New girl arrived
Sender: Nadia Papayanova
Recipient: Kolia Sukhanov
Hey, is the girl that the Finger Doctor gave us any good?
——
Reply: All I can say is that the girl isn't a good omen. We need to get rid of her as soon as possible, and don't even think about using her for Braindance recordings. Once the news gets out, we'll be screwed.
——
Reply: Omen? What are you talking about? Do you need a crystal ball to make predictions too? What do you mean? Are you possessed by my grandma or something? I can't believe a comatose girl could scare you enough to wet your pants. What drugs are you on? Fine, forget I asked. I don't care what you're using, quit it. Your brain is already messed up enough.
——
Reply: Don't you care how people will remember you afterward? What if you died in a cesspool, huh?
——
Reply: Idiot, let me tell you, get back to work. No one cares, understand? Who the hell has time to remember you? You and your crappy omens wouldn't even take up space in my access warehouse.]
The mundane conversation didn't provide much information, but it did perk up Rogue: "Evelyn is here, let's hurry."
The cleaner's description of her was entirely consistent with her characteristics.
As Judy had suggested, Evelyn didn't die during the filming of the black Braindance for "Deep-Fried Death's Head Moth"; she was used for something else.
"This one isn't Evelyn either." Judy's heart felt like it was hanging by a rope, her blood pressure rising and falling like a rollercoaster every time she checked the characteristics of a female corpse, causing a headache.
"Her implants have all been removed." V looked at the dissected body on the table, "Why did they stop? And they took some organs along the way?"
[Really making the most of their resources.]
With Rogue's help, Johnny could see the mutilated body through the camera.
Somewhat similar to... a Barbie doll ruined by a mischievous child?
"Organ harvesters... no matter how many you crush, more will crawl out from all sorts of strange places." V gritted his teeth.
[Seems like you're quite familiar with them, huh?]Johnny asked.
"I'm afraid, except for you, everyone here is quite familiar with them." Rogue looked around; everyone had dealt with the cleaners.
[Although there were no cleaners back in the day, organ harvesters existed worldwide.]Johnny wasn't angry,[Don't treat me like an antique, though. I might be from a long time ago, but Johnny Silverhand is still a figure standing at the forefront of the times.]
"Alright, as long as you're happy." Rogue smiled, "At least in terms of our attitude towards these scumbags, I'm glad we agree."
The walls were filled with various records carved by the cleaners, such as dissection steps, cutting angles, and precautions. A row of large capital letters was right on the most prominent door.
KEEP DONORS SEDATED
Keep the donors quiet.
Whether for concealment or to keep their ears clear, in the eyes of the cleaners, these unfortunate victims were merely resources.
Life was worthless, and profit was supreme.
In the center of the massive room ahead, there was a blazing furnace, its heat continuously stirring up the foul, bloody air that rushed towards them.
Bodies littered the floor, like pieces of meat on a cutting board or even worse, because at least the meat on the cutting board would be neatly arranged, while these poor people, in the eyes of the cleaners, were space-consuming, useless waste.
Several grumbling cleaners fell at the speed of light, each with a hole in their head.
The advantage of having more hands was evident: convenient, fast, and efficient.
[Perhaps she's among these.]Johnny suggested.
Everyone checked the bodies separately, skipping the males, and prioritizing the females based on skin color, height, and appearance.
Soon everyone gathered together, with no results.
No results at this time might be good news.
"Thank goodness." V's heartbeat was also in a chaotic state.
Along the way, everyone's faces didn't look too good.