Even after cleaving the man in two, Lin Mo remained on high alert. As the body hit the ground, he swung his katana again, cleanly decapitating the lifeless form. The severed head flew through the air, eyes wide with unfulfilled rage, before it landed and rolled to a stop at Lin Mo's feet. Sparks crackled from the exposed wires and blood oozed from the mechanical spine.
Lin Mo shook the blood off his sword and gave the head a cold glance. For a brief moment, there was silence in the room, an eerie calm after the storm. Then, with a swift kick, he sent the head flying across the room, where it smashed into the wall and fell with a dull thud.
Satisfied that his opponent was well and truly dead, Lin Mo turned his attention to the woman he had shot earlier. He moved swiftly to check her condition, crouching beside her limp form. The bullets had hit non-lethal points, but blood loss and shock had pushed her to the edge of death.
Just then, Sasha arrived, her eyes still wide from witnessing the brutal battle. The fight between Lin Mo and the gang leader had replayed over and over in her mind like a twisted symphony of violence. She had never seen anything like it. Lin Mo's intensity reminded her of a predator taking its rightful place atop the food chain.
As she approached, Sasha's voice broke the silence. "Lin Mo… don't blame yourself. You can't save everyone. Better she was shot by you than left in his hands."
From her perspective, Lin Mo had shot the woman out of necessity, aiming for a quick end before the gang leader could do worse. After all, with a smart weapon, hitting the wrong target was nearly impossible.
Lin Mo didn't immediately respond. He pulled out a pneumatic injector from his pouch and, without missing a beat, injected it into the woman's chest.
"She's not dead yet," he said calmly.
Sasha blinked in surprise. "What?"
"She's lost a lot of blood, and her organs are failing, but she's hanging on by a thread," Lin Mo explained as he injected the life-saving serum. The injector was loaded with a potent drug—rare and expensive. Its label read simply:
Name: Get Up. Is someone about to die? Use this. Inject it straight into the chest.
Sasha had grown used to Lin Mo's casual use of luxury-level medical gear. She shook her head, a wry smile forming on her lips. "You and your fancy meds... I swear, you're going to run out at this rate."
Lin Mo tucked the injector away. "That should stabilize her. But whether she survives now is on her."
Sasha watched Lin Mo closely, sensing a deeper meaning in his actions. "Did you plan all this?" she asked, her curiosity piqued.
"No," Lin Mo replied, standing up and turning away from her. "When I shot her, I already considered her dead. I had to, or I wouldn't have been able to focus on the fight. But when she held on longer than I expected... I couldn't ignore that."
He paused, glancing down at the woman. "I've given her a chance. That's all I can do."
Sasha stared at him for a long moment. "Lin Mo, you're the one who saved her. Why don't you ever take credit for the good things you do?"
Lin Mo entered the wrecked room, scanning it for anything useful. His voice drifted back to Sasha as he moved. "When you kill, don't expect absolution. When you save, don't expect gratitude. I act because it's the right thing to do. Simple as that."
Sasha was taken aback by the maturity and conviction in his words. He was far too young to speak with such world-weary wisdom.
Before she could say anything more, Lin Mo emerged from the room, holding a gleaming red handgun in his hand—a fiery custom piece that had somehow survived the earlier grenade explosion.
"Looks like I found a souvenir," he said with a half-smile, admiring the gun. He had already spent a small fortune tonight, yet the thrill of finding something like this still made his blood rush.
Sasha rolled her eyes but couldn't help a small smile. "You and your loot... So, what now? Maine and the others are waiting outside. Are we heading out?"
Lin Mo's grin faded as he examined the gun one last time. Then, without warning, he vanished from the room, leaving only a gust of wind behind.
Sasha blinked, startled by his sudden disappearance. His voice crackled through her comms a moment later. "I'm heading to help the others. You stay here and take care of the woman."
Sasha sighed, shaking her head in frustration. "That brat... leaving me to do all the heavy lifting again," she muttered as she knelt down to pick up the unconscious woman. Lin Mo could have easily carried her out in an instant with his Sandevistan, but of course, he left her with the chore.
She grumbled as she hoisted the woman over her shoulder, trudging her way back through the basement. "He just wanted an excuse to cut down a few more guys. Typical."
...
PS:
In the world of Cyberpunk 2077, medical technology had advanced dramatically. By the early 2020s, the medical field had developed a branch known as Revival Clinicals, with organizations like the Trauma Team revolutionizing the concept of death. Death was categorized into ten distinct levels, with each minute after death adding two levels. Only after the tenth level could a person be considered truly dead.
By the 2070s, this technology had only gotten more sophisticated. Celebrities like Lizzy Wizzy, for instance, were revived even after an hour of being clinically dead. In this world, death isn't the end—it's just another obstacle.