The basement was dark and suffocating, with only faint slivers of light filtering in from deeper within.
Though Lin Mo hadn't ventured far yet, it was clear this wasn't an ordinary basement. It was vast, a maze of corridors that hinted at shady operations long before the factory had gone bankrupt. Now, in the hands of the Scavengers, it felt like a perfect breeding ground for rot and corruption—a place where maggots feasted on decay.
A foul stench filled the air—a nauseating mix of rot and chemicals, like decaying flesh left too long in formaldehyde.
Lin Mo and Sasha moved cautiously, their footsteps nearly silent on the damp concrete floor. Since they'd descended, Lin Mo kept one hand close to the hilt of his Black Unicorn katana, ready for anything.
He half-expected to run into a few unfortunate Scavs down here, giving him the opportunity to unleash the Sandevistan again—cutting them down in a series of lightning-fast strikes, making them pay for their sins in blood.
But no one appeared. His anticipation was met with nothing but eerie silence, his killing intent dissipating into the stillness.
As they ventured deeper, the bloodstains on the floor became more frequent. They seemed to paint a grim picture of the atrocities committed in this place. Closer to the exit, the stains were older, faded, but the deeper they moved, the fresher and more prominent they became, as if leading them straight into the heart of hell.
And yet, no one was guarding this hellish place.
"This is strange. Not a single soul down here," Sasha whispered, her brow furrowed in confusion. "Did they all leave to party upstairs?"
Lin Mo gave a slight nod. The whole situation felt off. It wasn't the relief that came from intimidating an enemy into fleeing; this was the kind of stillness that filled the air just before something went terribly wrong. He didn't feel reassured—he felt tense.
He would've preferred to face a dozen Scavs rather than this uneasy emptiness. At least if they attacked, he could unsheathe his sword and know exactly what he was dealing with. But now, it felt like he was moving through a battlefield where the enemy was a shadow lurking just out of sight.
Breaking the silence, Lin Mo asked, "Sasha, what quick hacks do you have in your cyberdeck?"
He hesitated, then added, "No need to reveal everything, just enough so I know what we're working with."
If things turned violent, knowing her capabilities in advance could make all the difference.
Sasha didn't seem to mind the question. She tapped her chin thoughtfully before answering, "Quick hacks? My main one's 'Cyberpsychosis.'"
Lin Mo raised an eyebrow, surprised she would reveal such a powerful tool so easily.
As a netrunner, Sasha's quick hacks were her deadliest weapon—her ace in the hole. Most netrunners guarded that information closely. But Sasha was open about it.
The Cyberpsychosis quick hack could force an enemy to go berserk, turning them into a rabid animal attacking anything in sight—just like the real cyberpsychos roaming the streets of Night City.
Curious, Lin Mo pressed further. "How much RAM would it take for you to hack me?"
Sasha tilted her head, considering his question. "Depends on your ICE defenses. If you have self-ICE installed, it'll take longer. For example, Maine doesn't put up any defenses against me, so I can hack into his processor easily."
Lin Mo frowned. "Why would he allow that?"
"It's a safeguard," Sasha explained. "If an enemy netrunner tries to breach his systems, I can launch a counter-hack immediately. No point in me wasting time getting through his ICE when I should be focused on shutting down the attacker."
"How do you counter a netrunner mid-attack?" Lin Mo asked, intrigued.
Sasha smirked. "If someone hits you with a malfunction hack, I could hit you with an overheat hack. Overheating the system cancels the malfunction temporarily—no permanent damage. But there are lots of ways to counter. I'll explain more when we're not on a mission."
It was clear she didn't want to get too deep into the technical side while they were still surrounded by danger. Lin Mo took the hint and shelved his questions for later.
Their conversation fell silent as they reached the heart of the basement.
The room before them was massive, unlike any of the smaller spaces they'd passed through so far. It felt like they had stepped into a dark abyss.
Through a grimy glass window, Lin Mo saw rows of operating tables lined up along the walls. Metal carts were scattered around, piled with unused surgical tools. Each bed was curtained off by stained plastic sheets, some still streaked with blood. Privacy wasn't a concern—the curtains were there only to contain the spray, making cleanup easier.
Pushing the door open, they stepped into the gruesome room.
Sasha scanned the area, her eyes narrowing. "This must be their processing chamber."
Processing chamber—a sanitized term that masked the horror of what this place truly was. In the hands of the Scavengers, it was nothing short of a slaughterhouse.
Lin Mo took it all in, the dark atmosphere thickening with each passing second. How had they made it this far without running into a single enemy?
The room was dimly lit by surgical lights hanging overhead. The only other light came from the faint glow of a computer screen in the corner.
Approaching the terminal, Lin Mo brought up the message logs. The familiar list of communications appeared, each entry following the same grim format:
[Surgery Extract: Date XX/XX, Session XX]
After a moment's hesitation, Lin Mo clicked on one of the logs.
[Today's Harvest: Dinara TX-31 High-Powered Optics, Dinara RV-21 Enhanced Kidney, Biodyne Mk II Muscle Fibers, Biodyne New Model Large Bicep Implant, Biodyne CM-23 Leg Augmentation...]
[Today's haul isn't much, but we managed to lure in a few more women. We've already sent them to the processing room. Their screams were… delightful. Maybe we can replicate their vocal cords for certain clients.]
[On the downside, Misia and Gilshi have taken a liking to some of the girls. Disgusting. They're women too, but still doing all kinds of sick things.]