A/N: I am back guys. Owe you some chapters, so expect a multi-release. Enjoy!
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The woman lying before Lin Mo was so weak that her frailty was palpable to the naked eye.
"Lin Mo, she can't be moved right now. Even if we try to carry her out, there's a good chance she'll die along the way," Sasha said gravely.
Lin Mo, however, didn't appear too concerned. Instead, he glanced at the other bedridden people and asked, "What about them?"
Sasha activated the scanner in her cybernetic eye and swept it over the unconscious individuals on the beds. After a moment, she shook her head solemnly.
"Six people, two are already dead. The remaining four have severe injuries—most of their vital organs and cyberware have already been harvested. I'm afraid there's no saving them."
The convenience of a cybernetic eye with a scanner was undeniable... Lin Mo sighed as he looked at the victims. Unlike Sasha, who could assess their conditions in seconds, he could only see that they were gravely injured, without being able to gauge the specifics.
"Are they in pain?" Lin Mo asked suddenly, lowering his gaze.
Sasha, taken aback, furrowed her brow, a disturbing thought crossing her mind. "Are you thinking of..." she trailed off.
Lin Mo silently nodded and drew his katana halfway from its sheath.
"I can't save them, but I can ease their passing so they don't have to suffer," he said.
The blade glimmered for a moment before he stopped. Lin Mo hesitated, then slid the katana back into its scabbard. "Sometimes, choosing a peaceful death isn't easy. A bullet leaves a hole, a blade leaves a scar," he mused.
He replaced the sword and pulled out a pneumatic injector from his belt, switching out the vial of medicine.
"Combat-grade stimulant?" Sasha asked, glancing at the label on the vial, her eyes narrowing.
"Yes. Given their current state, this will be lethal. It'll give them a painless death," Lin Mo said calmly.
Sasha gazed at his serene expression, realizing that this handsome young man, with his delicate Asian features, was one of the most composed individuals she'd ever met. If he had wings and a halo, she mused, he might even look like an angel. But now, his face was half serene and half ruthless, like a merciful angel of death.
After administering the lethal injections to each of the suffering individuals, Sasha looked at Lin Mo and softly remarked, "Those aren't cheap..."
"It's for peace of mind," Lin Mo said dismissively. "Money reaches a point where having more doesn't matter, and having less isn't a problem either."
Satisfied with his work, Lin Mo turned back to their original objective, the woman they had come to save. He pulled out another vial, this time filled with a different drug.
"Is that a Nano Quick-Heal Injector, Series 3?" Sasha's eyes widened slightly in surprise for the first time in front of Lin Mo.
"Yeah. I don't want our target to die on me. I've got my eyes on getting into Afterlife Bar soon, and if she dies, it'll hurt my job rating," Lin Mo explained.
What an extravagant use of resources, Sasha thought in amazement.
Lin Mo wasted no time pressing the injector to the woman's chest. Sasha couldn't help but admire him as she watched. "You really are kind, Lin Mo."
Lin Mo scoffed. "If those Scavs I killed earlier heard that, they'd probably crawl out of their graves just to disagree."
He paused briefly before adding, "Besides, kindness is a costly commodity in Night City."
Sasha gave him a soft, thoughtful look. "For some people, it's priceless."
Lin Mo smirked at that. "Yeah, but only if you're lucky enough to meet a rich, kind-hearted benefactor who thinks your kindness is worth it. Maybe then it'll pay off."
His comment brought back memories of cliché romance manga, where the main character always earned admiration by being "yasashii"—the Japanese word for kind. But in Night City, kindness was rarely rewarded.
Sasha didn't fully understand what he was referencing but nodded, having caught his meaning.
"If there were more people like you in this city, maybe we wouldn't see so many tragedies," she said softly, her words filled with deeper meaning.
Lin Mo glanced at her briefly, sensing an underlying message but chose not to dig further.
"She'll live for now, right?" he asked, watching as the woman's breathing slowly steadied.
Sasha scanned her again and nodded. "The drug's stabilized her for now. But without replacing her kidneys with cybernetic ones soon, she won't last."
"As long as she doesn't die in the middle of this," Lin Mo muttered, satisfied for the moment.
Then, to Sasha's shock, Lin Mo did something unexpected.
He raised his hand and lightly slapped the woman's cheek.
"Hey, wake up," he said, not harshly but firmly enough.
The woman, with her pale face and gentle demeanor, seemed the type who could charm men with her innocence and purity. But now, she barely managed to open her eyes, looking as though she had just woken from a torturous nightmare.
Lin Mo's mind quickly ran through the information he'd received about her. Fujiwara Kawako, a student at a private school in Night City, the daughter of a former Militech officer who now worked as the head of security at a local company. Even being a security chief was a coveted position in the city, offering status and influence.
She had been lured into this nightmare by a classmate, who'd heard of a party supposedly for young people at this location. They brought her and a few others, falling prey to the Scavengers' trap.
Clearly, her innocence made her an easy target.
The woman weakly clutched at Lin Mo's clothes, her eyes filled with a faint hope.
"Please... can you help me? With your blade, give me an end," she whispered, her voice barely audible.
It was as though she hadn't realized yet that she was out of the Scavengers' clutches. The torture had numbed her senses, and she mistook Lin Mo for just another of her tormentors. But seeing his clean, youthful face, she dared to hope that perhaps he'd show some mercy and release her from her suffering.
Lin Mo looked at her quietly, as though seriously considering her request. Then, he sighed and shook his head firmly.
"No."
"If you want to die, first pay me back," he said.
The woman blinked, confused, her eyes flicking between Lin Mo and the slightly amused Sasha standing nearby.
"Pay you? But we've never met before today... Have I borrowed money from you before?" she asked, her voice trembling.
"Not before, but you owe me now. I just used a Series 3 Nano Quick-Heal Injector on you. When you're better, make sure your father pays me back for it," Lin Mo teased.
The woman's confusion only deepened. "What... what is that?" she asked hesitantly.
"A nanotech healing drug that costs tens of thousands of eddies. It's usually used by trauma teams to keep people alive in extreme conditions," Sasha chimed in, clearly enjoying the situation.
"So right now, you owe me a few thousand eddies. Until you pay me back, don't even think about dying," Lin Mo said sternly.
The woman, startled by his sudden shift in tone, quietly nodded in agreement, understanding that she had been saved.
Satisfied, Lin Mo smirked inwardly. Sometimes, scaring people a little did wonders to get them to comply.
Just as he was about to leave, he felt a tug on his sleeve.
Kawako, her face flushed with embarrassment, was clutching his jacket while covering herself as best as she could with the ragged apron she wore.
"Could you... find me some clothes?" she asked shyly.