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A small mercenary squad stood quietly on the side of the road, observing what could only be described as a grand theater unfolding before them.In a way, it really did feel like a dramatic play.
A down-and-out youth, along with his loyal butler, was wandering the streets, scavenging for scraps from dumpsters and being harassed by lowly street thugs. But in the final act of the drama, a twist of fate revealed the boy's true identity—an heir to a lost fortune or lineage.
And so, those street thugs were doomed. The boy rose to claim his rightful place, with all the pomp and ceremony that came with it. A happy ending, right?
Well, not exactly.
"This... this is not how Night City is supposed to work!" thought the mercenary leader, Maine.
Standing tall and broad-shouldered, Maine was the first to snap out of his disbelief, smacking his technical expert, Pilar, across the back of the head.
"Oi, Pilar! Didn't you say we were coming to save someone?" Maine barked, pointing at the now pacified scene in the alleyway.
He was starting to wonder if Pilar had been hitting the braindance too hard back at Lizzie's Bar.
"Save who, exactly? Those thugs shaking in their boots over there?" Maine gestured at the gang members now groveling in front of the heavy SSI security force.
Nearby, Rebecca, the petite girl with twin pigtails, couldn't hold back her laughter any longer. She pointed at Pilar and mocked, "Serves you right, you moron! Spend less time goofing around at Lizzie's next time!"
Beside her, the man with the cowboy hat and signature moustache, Falco, sighed and tried to defend his teammate.
"Maine, it's not his fault. None of us could've predicted this would escalate like it did," Falco said calmly.
Maine turned to the team's reliable driver, a puzzled look on his face. "Wait a minute, Falco, didn't you call us, saying you were pinned down by those punks? What the hell happened? Did they piss off the wrong people or something?"
Maine distinctly remembered the first call. Falco had reported that he and Pilar were surrounded by a gang and needed backup. But halfway through their rescue mission, Falco called again, saying two random strangers had intervened and helped them out.
Maine wasn't usually interested in the business of strangers, but since these outsiders saved his people, there was no way he'd let the gang responsible walk free. After regrouping, the mercs rushed back, expecting a fight.
But what they found... was something else entirely.
Maine sighed. Sometimes things in Night City spun wildly out of control in ways no one could predict.
"Wait a second... I think I know that kid," Sasha, their netrunner, suddenly spoke up. Her cybernetic eyes zoomed in on the figure stepping out of the alley.
Maine raised an eyebrow. "You know him?"
Sasha nodded, recounting how she had made a deal with the boy earlier that day and mentioned he was connected to Wakako.
"Looks like we've got ourselves a rich kid," Maine mused.
The dark alleyway was suddenly illuminated with an almost divine light.
Lin Mo calmly stepped out, dusting himself off as if he'd just finished a routine task. Behind him, Hiroshi trailed along, his face a perfect picture of shock and disbelief.
The expression on Hiroshi's face said it all. What had just transpired was nothing short of miraculous. They had been surrounded, outnumbered, and seemingly doomed. But in a matter of seconds, the tide had turned completely.
Lin Mo, like a master strategist, had timed everything to perfection. Just when the thugs thought they had won, the arrival of the heavy security forces wiped away any hope they had of victory.
As Lin Mo walked past the now kneeling gang members—who had been full of arrogance moments earlier—he didn't even glance at them. They were all crouched on the ground, hands on their heads, knowing that any sudden movement could mean their heads would roll.
Outside the alley, a convoy of heavily armored vehicles stood parked, their headlights casting long shadows. The beams of light shifted as Lin Mo emerged, adjusting to keep the boy illuminated, as if the world itself was ensuring he remained in the spotlight.
Walking at a leisurely pace, Lin Mo seemed to glide from shadow to light. Behind him, gang members cowered. In front of him, the SSI security personnel stood at attention, waiting for him to approach.
As Lin Mo stepped out fully, one of the SSI guards approached him, standing rigid and offering a sharp salute.
"Mr. Lin Mo, I trust you haven't been harmed?" the captain asked with a professional tone, his eyes scanning the young man for any sign of injury.
Lin Mo shook his head casually, brushing off the dust from his jacket before checking himself over. He didn't even have a scratch.
"Nothing serious. They didn't get the chance to harm me," he replied with a calm, detached voice.
The captain visibly relaxed. According to their security contract, their priority was to ensure Lin Mo remained unharmed. Any injury to the client, no matter how small, would result in severe reprimands from above.
Lin Mo didn't seem interested in discussing it further. Instead, he glanced back at the trembling gang leader, who was desperately trying to keep his composure, though his eyes betrayed a mix of fear and barely suppressed hatred.
Lin Mo turned back to the captain. "Give me a moment."
"Of course, sir." The captain stepped back respectfully, allowing Lin Mo to deal with the situation.
Lin Mo walked up to the gang leader and crouched down, speaking in a calm but cold tone. "So, tell me... Why were you chasing those two, and who are you working for?"
The leader stayed silent for a moment, trying to figure out if he had any bargaining chips left. Finally, he spoke with a hint of desperation.
"If I tell you, will you let us go?"
Lin Mo tilted his head, his expression unchanging. "You don't have a choice. Even if you stay silent, I can extract everything from your cyberware. And let's not forget, the two people you were after—they likely know everything as well."
The gang leader knew he was trapped. Sighing deeply, he spoke the truth, his voice tinged with resignation.
"It's Moore Technologies."
"Go on," Lin Mo prompted, his voice remaining steady.
"They provided us with weapons and money. Hired us to capture a team from Afterlife. Said they were new, not too strong yet, but had potential. We were supposed to bring them in alive."
"Did they say why?"
"No. Corporations never explain anything to low-level grunts like us. We just follow orders, get the job done. Even the contact on their side... we've never seen them. All communication is encrypted."
Lin Mo nodded, satisfied with the information. He stood up and looked down at the leader.
"Thanks for your cooperation. It's been... enlightening. If things had gone differently, we might have even worked together."
In one swift motion, Lin Mo drew his katana and, without hesitation, slit the gang leader's throat. Blood sprayed into the air as the man collapsed to the ground.
Lin Mo didn't blink. He wiped the blade clean, just as he had done earlier, then sheathed it with precision.
Turning away from the corpse, Lin Mo walked toward the waiting SSI captain, the weight of his action lingering in the air.
He wasn't wiping his blade earlier to prepare for a fight.
He was preparing for an execution.