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"They're coming," Lin Mo muttered, his eyes locking onto the six figures making their way toward them.
Hiroshi followed closely behind Lin Mo, maintaining a low profile but ready to step forward if needed to protect him.
As the group got closer, Lin Mo's heightened reflexes and intuition—a byproduct of his Reaction attribute maxed out at 10—kicked in. A deep sense of danger radiated from the approaching six, alerting him that these weren't just ordinary edgerunners.
The first person he recognized was the netrunner from earlier—Sasha Yakovleva.
Earlier, when they spoke through the holo-call, her face had been blurred, but now, seeing her in person, Lin Mo realized she was every bit as striking as he had imagined. Sasha had jet-black hair, cut just above her shoulders. Her eyes were a vivid blue, but with an almost feline-like intensity, amplified by glowing orange cyberoptics in her pupils. Thin cybernetic lines traced her cheeks, and small vents by her nose added a high-tech touch that made her seem even more dangerous.
Her outfit—a sleek black bodysuit that accentuated her athletic figure, coupled with a pink-and-white jacket loosely draped over her shoulders—gave her a poised yet lethal appearance.
As they approached, the tall, muscular man leading the group broke into a wide grin, clearly signaling that they came in peace. Lin Mo mirrored the gesture, stepping forward to meet them.
"I told you earlier today that we'd meet again," Lin Mo said with a slight smirk. "I didn't expect it to be so soon, though."
He sheathed his katana at his waist, pulling a small cloth from his bag to clean his hands, and then bowed slightly as a sign of respect. "It's a pleasure to meet you in person, beautiful lady, and to meet the rest of your crew."
"Though, I must say," he continued, casting a glance back at the blood-soaked alley, "this isn't exactly the ideal place for introductions."
Watching Lin Mo closely, Maine—the large, imposing man in front—whispered to Dorio, the blonde, muscular woman next to him, "What's this kid talking about? '义士'—is that some kind of corpo term?"
Dorio, her arms crossed, pondered. "I think it's an old term from Chinese. Maybe means something like 'warrior' or 'mercenary'?"
Sasha laughed softly and extended her hand toward Lin Mo. "Didn't expect to see you tonight either, little fixer."
"Ah, I'm Lin Mo," Lin Mo corrected, a bit embarrassed by the "little" comment.
Despite his youthful appearance, Lin Mo's mind carried years of experience—far more than anyone in this crew would guess. The constant misperception of his age made him consider visiting a ripperdoc to enhance his appearance, to make himself look older, but he figured it had advantages too. Being underestimated was a strategic edge in Night City.
Besides, his older sister would probably kill him if she knew he even thought about changing his face.
"Lin Mo, huh? Nice name," Sasha said with a sly smile. "I'm Sasha. We sort of met earlier through the holo-call. Should've shown my face then, but I wasn't expecting to meet you so soon."
Before Lin Mo could respond, a petite girl with vibrant twin pigtails bounded up to him. She was grinning from ear to ear, clearly full of energy. She scratched the back of her head with one hand and extended the other.
"Name's Rebecca. Nice to meet ya. Has my idiot brother caused you any trouble? If he has, just tell me, and I'll kick his ass for you," she said with a playful grin.
Lin Mo's eyes dropped slightly, taking in Rebecca's small stature.
Finally, someone shorter than me, he thought with mild amusement.
Rebecca's light green hair was tied into pigtails that reached down to her shoulders. Her skin was almost unnaturally pale, and like Sasha, her face bore faint cybernetic lines around her eyes. She had a mischievous sparkle in her eyes, but her bright, neon-red and yellow optics also gave her a certain dangerous edge.
A few tattoos were visible—a bright red abstract symbol on her neck, and another inked around her thigh that read "PK DICK."
Rebecca's red-yellow optics gleamed as she stared up at Lin Mo with a cocky grin, clearly enjoying the moment. She wore an oversized black jacket, which hung loosely over her small frame, and underneath, only the bare minimum of undergarments.
Lin Mo returned her grin and shook her hand. "Nice to meet you, little sister."
Instantly, Rebecca's smile vanished. Her bright eyes narrowed, and Lin Mo could feel the heat of her stare.
Uh-oh, Lin Mo thought, realizing he had made a mistake.
Rebecca held his gaze for several seconds, her expression unchanging, before finally sighing in frustration. "Alright, fine. Since you saved my brother, I'll let it slide this time."
As she turned to leave, she glanced over her shoulder, smirking. "And for the record, I'm an adult, kiddo."
Lin Mo resisted the urge to laugh. Only in Night City could you meet a gunslinger with a childlike frame but the demeanor of a seasoned merc.
Maine laughed loudly and walked over, his giant hand clapping Lin Mo on the shoulder, nearly knocking him off balance. "So you're the one who helped out our guys, huh? Appreciate that. We came here to back you up, but looks like you didn't need it."
Maine's cybernetically reinforced hand could probably crush a skull if he wanted to, and at over two meters tall, his build was closer to that of a tank than a man. His dark skin was covered in patches of cyberware, clearly indicating he'd had extensive body modifications. The man was a walking arsenal.
Before Lin Mo could respond, Falco—the cowboy hat-wearing driver—tipped his hat in appreciation. "Much obliged, kid. Next round's on me."
Pilar, with his outlandish punk hairstyle and long mechanical arms, grinned. "Yeah, kid, let's hit up Lizzie's Bar sometime. I bet the ladies there would love that innocent look you got."
Before Pilar could continue, Rebecca stomped on his foot, making him yelp in pain.
Lin Mo couldn't help but smile. This was quite the lively group.