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"Ha—so it's finally over, huh."
Rebecca strolled leisurely through the factory grounds, her chubby legs bouncing as she hopped around, avoiding the corpses strewn across the battlefield.
Her expression was one of disappointment, as if the sight of dead bodies everywhere hadn't quite satisfied her appetite for chaos.
"Damn it, that was exhausting," Maine grumbled, rubbing his right arm. "My arm's about to go numb after firing so many grenades."
The non-stop barrage of grenades had completely emptied the ammo chamber in his cybernetic arm, and now, even though the fight was over, his right arm tingled with an odd numb, burning sensation.
In a world where cybernetic enhancements were the norm, even though Maine's arm was fully mechanical, his brain's central processor could still simulate neural feedback—giving him sensations like "touch" or even "pain."
It was the first time Maine had ever emptied his grenade reserves in such a short span, and now, if he sniffed close enough to his arm, he could smell the acrid stench of gunpowder.
"That kid... I'm still in shock at what he did tonight. How many people did he take out with that katana of his? You keeping count, Maine?" Pilar casually strolled out from some hidden corner, his long, thin cybernetic arms slung behind his head, a cigarette dangling lazily from his lips.
"Who the hell knows," Maine replied irritably, pounding his right arm to alleviate the lingering discomfort. His heavy punch finally did the trick, and the sensation began to fade.
Dorio stood beside Maine, her gaze deep and thoughtful as she watched Lin Mo finish off the last remaining enemy in the distance. She remained silent for a while, then suddenly turned to survey their surroundings. Realizing someone was missing, she asked, "Where's Sasha? Anyone seen her?"
"No idea. Didn't she come out with Lin Mo?" Maine's brow furrowed, a bad feeling rising within him as he considered the worst possible outcomes.
"Sasha, where are you? Respond if you can hear me!" Maine called out over the comms, tension clear in his voice.
"I'm here!"
Everyone turned to see Sasha struggling toward them, carrying an unconscious woman on her back, her steps unsteady as she approached.
"Could you give me a hand?" Sasha asked with a forced smile.
Dorio quickly strode over, lifting the unconscious woman off Sasha's back and slinging her over her own broad shoulders. She glanced at Sasha with curiosity and asked, "You carried her all the way from the basement by yourself?"
Sasha shot a disgruntled glance toward Lin Mo, who was in the distance sheathing his katana, and nodded with a bitter expression.
"Were there a lot of enemies down there?" Rebecca asked, her eyes wide with curiosity, her shiny cybernetic eyes blinking as she looked up at Sasha.
"Not really, just one. But he was a tough one—the leader of this gang of scavengers," Sasha answered absentmindedly, her gaze still fixed on Lin Mo as he slowly walked over.
"Oh, really? How strong was he compared to Maine?" Rebecca asked, clearly intrigued, firing off question after question.
"I didn't do much, to be honest. Lin Mo handled most of it himself," Sasha replied, shaking her head. She didn't take any credit for the victory.
Just as she was about to continue speaking, her expression suddenly changed, and she dashed forward in alarm.
Everyone turned their eyes to where she was running, only to see that Lin Mo's steps were growing increasingly unsteady. His body wobbled as though a light breeze could topple him.
Sasha reached his side just in time to catch him before he fell.
The rest of the group rushed over. Even Pilar, usually prone to cracking jokes, wore a rare look of seriousness as he asked, "Hey, kid, how many times did you use your Sandevistan tonight?"
"I... I don't know. Fifteen? Maybe twenty?" Lin Mo mumbled, his words slurred, his head feeling light and disconnected from his body, as though he were floating in the clouds.
The others' expressions shifted at once. They looked at Lin Mo as if he were some kind of monster.
"...You're insane," Pilar muttered in disbelief.
Maine stepped in, placing his large, sturdy hand on Lin Mo's back to keep him upright. He turned to Sasha and ordered, "Sasha, link up with his personal terminal. Check his vitals."
Even in his dizzy, almost feverish state, Lin Mo managed to shake his head firmly. "No, I'm fine. I just need to rest. Don't connect to my personal terminal."
Letting someone link into his personal data port was not something Lin Mo took lightly. If it were an ordinary person, he might not have been so cautious, since most people would need authorization to access anything important. But Sasha was a skilled netrunner. Who knew if she had programs that could pry into his private data?
Lin Mo appreciated the concern from Maine and the others, and he trusted them, but that didn't mean he was willing to reveal all his secrets.
In the end, the others relented, respecting Lin Mo's wishes. Maine helped him back to where Falco had parked, allowing Lin Mo to rest in the car.
During this time, Hiro, who had been providing sniper support from a distant vantage point, descended from the nearby rooftop. Seeing Lin Mo in such a state of exhaustion worried him, but once he confirmed that Lin Mo wasn't in any immediate danger, he relaxed, standing quietly by as the young warrior recovered.
Though his head felt as heavy as a lead weight, Lin Mo remained conscious, teetering on the edge of sleep but never fully drifting off. Occasionally, his nose bled, and North Kwan was quick to wipe it clean with tissues.
After lying there for about ten minutes, Lin Mo stirred, forcing himself to sit up and exit the car. Though his head still throbbed painfully, he no longer felt like he was on the verge of collapsing.
As the cool night air brushed against his skin, Lin Mo felt a little more awake. Glancing around, he noticed that Maine and the others were nowhere to be seen—only Hiro remained at his side, keeping watch.
"Ah, so you're awake now," Falco called from the driver's seat, rolling down the window with a grin. "You really pushed yourself tonight, kid. You've got to take better care of yourself."
"Where are the others?" Lin Mo asked, rubbing his temples, trying to ease the lingering pain.
"Maine and the rest went back to gather whatever useful stuff they can find from the scavengers' base. They're also investigating why this gang had so many members," Hiro explained.
Lin Mo leaned back against the car, letting out a soft "oh" as he closed his eyes for a moment, trying to rest a little longer.
To gather nearly a hundred scavengers in one place... it was hard to believe there wasn't some corporate backing involved. Taking out this group was one thing, but finding valuable items or intel in their base wasn't surprising.
After all, in this desolate industrial area of North Night City, few NCPD officers would dare to patrol. Maine and the team had more than enough time to comb through the wreckage for anything of value.