The Animals leader’s massive body lay motionless on the pavement, his Gorilla Arms still releasing faint sparks.
With the fighting over, silence gradually returned to the underground shopping district.
Lena holstered her RT-46 Burya and activated the recording function of her cyberoptics.
She photographed the leader, the surrounding Animals members, and enough of the location to confirm where the confrontation had occurred.
Submitting evidence was standard procedure for NCPD outsourcing contracts.
Mercenaries confirmed the target’s identity, uploaded visual proof, and waited for the bounty to be approved.
Attempting to cheat the system was rarely worth the risk.
The NCPD might ignore ordinary street crime, but bounty fraud embarrassed them publicly.
Mercenaries who repeatedly submitted false evidence usually disappeared, and the fixers who vouched for them often suffered the consequences as well.
Lena uploaded the recordings.
[Target Confirmed]
[Identity Match Successful]
[NCPD Contract Completed]
A response arrived seconds later.
[Evidence Submitted]
[Verification in Progress]
[Payment Will Be Transferred After Confirmation]
“Done,” Lena said.
“Valerie, clear the surroundings while I search the leader.”
“Understood.”
Valerie destroyed the remaining security cameras before connecting to a nearby control terminal.
She erased the stored footage, damaged the terminal’s memory unit, and then dragged the Animals’ bodies into a single pile.
Their usable weapons were separated from the damaged equipment.
Once she finished, Valerie retrieved a container of accelerant from the Galena.
Meanwhile, Lena crouched beside the Animals leader and activated the system.
[Recyclable Cyberware Detected]
[Tier 3 Gorilla Arms]
[Tier 3 Dense Marrow]
[Tier 3 Micro-Rotors]
[Tier 3 Subdermal Armor]
[Special Data Detected]
[Kang Tao: Yinglong Smart Weapon Crafting Specification]
The man had turned almost his entire body into a weapon.
His cyberware prioritized physical strength, impact resistance, and close-range speed—exactly what Lena expected from an Animals fighter.
She moved on to the remaining corpses.
[Tier 2 Dense Marrow Acquired ×2]
[Tier 2 Subdermal Armor Acquired ×2]
[Tier 2 Item Components Acquired ×28]
Even the ordinary Animals members carried similar implants.
Their obsession with physical strength bordered on insanity.
Every spare eddie they earned appeared to have been poured into harder bones, stronger muscles, and thicker armor.
Lena considered the recovered cyberware before asking the system a question.
“Can these implants be restored for someone else?”
[Confirmed]
[Cyberware may be repaired and returned to factory settings by consuming an item component of the corresponding tier]
Under normal circumstances, removing an implant from a corpse required professional equipment and extensive technical knowledge.
The cyberware had to be cleaned, repaired, and stripped of its previous neural calibration.
Installing used chrome without resetting it could trigger severe rejection, nerve damage, or permanent psychological deterioration.
The system could bypass that complicated process.
It didn’t merely remove the cyberware—it restored the implants until they were functionally indistinguishable from factory-new equipment.
That ability was far more valuable than the implants themselves.
Lena had no intention of selling them publicly.
If word spread that an independent mercenary possessed technology capable of restoring secondhand cyberware perfectly, every major corporation in Night City would become interested.
Arasaka, Militech, and Kang Tao wouldn’t approach her with generous business offers.
They would send counterintelligence teams, abduct her, and dismantle whatever they needed to learn how the technology worked.
“I can’t sell them,” Lena murmured.
“But I can give them to my own crew.”
Her gaze shifted toward Valerie.
Their enemies were growing stronger.
Leaving Valerie and Jackie with inferior equipment merely to avoid questions would be far more dangerous than inventing an explanation for where the cyberware came from.
Valerie finished pouring the accelerant and stepped back.
“All clear.
There shouldn’t be anything useful left behind.”
Lena nodded and handed her a cigarette.
After lighting both of theirs, she flicked the burning match onto the bodies.
The accelerant ignited immediately.
Flames consumed the Animals and erased the remaining traces of the battle.
Lena and Valerie stood beneath the abandoned mall’s flickering lights, quietly smoking as the bodies burned.
“Let’s go,” Lena said.
“I’ll ask Viktor whether the chrome I found for you and Jackie is ready.”
Valerie turned toward her in surprise.
“You actually found something?”
“Subdermal Armor and Dense Marrow.
One set for you and one for Jackie.”
“Do you know how much that costs?” Valerie asked.
“I checked the price of secondhand military-grade Subdermal Armor.
It was forty-five thousand eddies.”
“Don’t worry about the money.
I have a source.”
Valerie looked suspicious.
“What kind of source?”
“One that provides factory-new cyberware.” Lena lifted the bag of recovered weapons.
“You and Jackie only need to let Viktor inspect and install it.”
After the system restored it, however, no ripperdoc would be able to distinguish it from unused merchandise.
Valerie finally nodded.
“If Vik approves it, I’m not turning it down.”
They returned to the Galena and left the underground shopping district.
As neon lights passed outside the windows, Lena accessed the system inventory and examined the Yinglong crafting specification.
[Yinglong Smart Weapon]
[Current Crafting Tier: Tier 2]
[Required: Tier 2 Item Components ×35]
The schematic allowed the system to manufacture the weapon directly.
Higher-quality versions would require components of the corresponding tier.
This was the first time Lena had attempted to craft an advanced weapon.
Valerie and Jackie needed greater firepower, and Lena expected to acquire more components as they accepted increasingly dangerous contracts.
Hoarding every resource made little sense if the crew died before getting the chance to use them.
“Craft it.”
[Tier 2 Item Components Consumed ×35]
[Reconstructing Material Structure]
[Crafting in Progress]
Several seconds later, the result appeared within her inventory.
[Crafting Complete]
[Tier 2 Yinglong Smart Weapon Acquired]
The squad had obtained its first iconic smart weapon.
Lena examined the Yinglong’s specifications.
Unlike conventional kinetic firearms, it fired guided ammunition containing microscopic control modules.
When paired with cyberoptics and a Smart Link, each projectile could adjust its course in flight and track a designated target.
Its defining feature was Kang Tao’s experimental electromagnetic-pulse technology.
Whenever a bullet struck its target, it released a concentrated electrical discharge.
Against heavily augmented enemies, that pulse could disrupt cyberware, damage electronic systems, and interfere with combat implants.
The weapon didn’t demand exceptional marksmanship.
Once a target was identified through the Smart Link, its bullets handled much of the aiming themselves.
For Valerie and Jackie, it would provide devastating and reliable firepower.
Lena decided not to keep it for herself.
Her Tier 3 physical enhancements, Kerenzikov, Nekomata, and Burya already supported an effective close-to-mid-range combat style.
Strengthening the rest of the squad would provide a greater overall advantage.
Their crew would only be as strong as its weakest member.
The Galena stopped outside Misty’s Esoterica.
When Lena and Valerie entered, a bell chimed above the door.
Misty looked up from behind the counter and smiled.
“Hey.
Good to see you.”
“How’s business?” Valerie asked.
“Better than usual.”
Misty’s gaze moved over their matching black tactical outfits.
Ammunition pouches, holsters, and weapons surrounded their waists, making them look considerably more dangerous than when they first arrived in Night City.
“You two seem to be doing well.”
“Not bad,” Lena replied.
“Is Jackie here?”
“Downstairs.
He’s watching a boxing match with Viktor.”
Valerie remained upstairs with Misty, who had recently developed a habit of discussing tarot cards with her.
Lena didn’t understand Valerie’s interest in divination, but she couldn’t deny that the two had become close surprisingly quickly.
She descended into the clinic.
Jackie sat beside Viktor, watching two augmented fighters exchange blows on a screen.
Lena tapped the desk.
“You two look comfortable.”
Jackie turned and grinned.
“Lena!
Shopping trip finished?”
“Finished.
We made our money back on the way.”
“So, a normal day in Night City.”
“Something like that.”
Viktor glanced at her tactical equipment and the bag in her hand.
“Looks like you had a profitable afternoon.”
Lena placed the bag on the table.
While pretending to search through it, she accessed the system inventory and withdrew two restored sets of Subdermal Armor and Dense Marrow.
The pristine implants reflected the clinic’s white lights.
“Check these for me, Vik.
If they’re compatible, I want Valerie and Jackie to have them installed.”
Viktor picked up the first piece of Subdermal Armor and examined its connectors.
He inspected the internal structure before moving on to the Dense Marrow.
“These are clean,” he said.
“No previous neural calibration, no tissue residue, and no manufacturing damage.”
He looked at Lena.
“Factory condition.
Wherever you found them, your supplier has access to excellent merchandise.”
“Consider it a private channel.”
Viktor recognized that she had no intention of providing more information and didn’t push.
He looked toward Jackie instead.
“You’re lucky, kid.”
Jackie blinked.
“Why?”
Viktor raised the Subdermal Armor.
“Chrome like this is beyond what most street mercenaries can afford.
He then indicated the Dense Marrow.
“This strengthens the skeletal structure and increases your body’s ability to absorb heavy impacts.
For someone who enjoys charging directly into gunfire, it’s more useful than buying a larger pistol.”
Jackie stared at the implants with a conflicted expression.
“Lena, I still have savings.
You don’t have to give me something this expensive.”
“Stop.” Lena placed a hand on his shoulder.
“Saving for every implant separately will take too long.
Any one of us could die during the next contract.”
She glanced at his pistols.
“Keep your money for weapons, ammunition, and future upgrades.
Right now, we strengthen the entire squad.”
Jackie remained silent for a moment before nodding.
“Then I’ll accept it.”
His hesitation quickly gave way to excitement.
“With stronger bones and better armor, I’ll be able to send people flying.”
Viktor sighed.
“That isn’t medical advice.”
He prepared the operating chair and brought up Jackie’s biometric profile.
“We start with an examination.
If your nervous system can handle everything, I’ll install the armor first.”
Lena remembered the smart weapon waiting in her inventory.
“One more thing, Vik.
Install a hand-mounted Smart Link for both Jackie and Valerie.
Do you have two in stock?”
“I do.
Go wait outside while I prepare him.”
Cyberware installation wasn’t as simple as changing equipment.
Each implant had to be connected to the nervous system, calibrated, and tested to ensure it functioned correctly with the user’s existing chrome.
Jackie’s procedure took nearly three hours.
Once Viktor finished, Lena went upstairs and brought down an excited Valerie.
Her operation took another three hours, and by the time Viktor completed the final calibration, darkness had settled over Night City.
He studied Valerie’s diagnostic results.
“Your condition is excellent.
Your neural adaptation rate is unusually high, and neither implant is placing excessive strain on your system.”
Valerie remained on the operating chair and looked toward Lena.
“Looks like I won’t have to stay behind cover anymore.”
Lena smiled.
“When have you ever stayed behind cover?”
Valerie sat up and clenched her fists.
The Dense Marrow reinforced her skeletal structure, while the Subdermal Armor provided an additional layer of protection across her body.
“How does it feel?” Lena asked.
“Better than great.”
Valerie’s attention shifted toward Jackie, who was testing his improved strength against a heavy punching bag.
“Jackie!
Come fight me.”
Jackie stopped and turned around.
“You sure about that, chica?
I’m not going easy on you.”
Three minutes later, Jackie was pinned facedown against the clinic floor.
Valerie controlled one arm with her knee while twisting his other wrist behind his back.
“All right!
I surrender!” Jackie protested.
“You only installed that chrome a few minutes ago.
How did you adapt so quickly?”
Valerie released him and stood.
“My strength, endurance, and protection all improved.
The implants feel completely natural.”
Jackie climbed to his feet and rubbed his shoulder.
“Your technique is the real problem.
I wasn’t some nobody when I ran with the Valentinos, and you still put me down in less than three minutes.”
He turned toward Viktor.
“How much do I owe you?”
Viktor wiped the sweat from his forehead.
Six hours of continuous surgery and calibration had left him visibly exhausted.
“The two Smart Links are seven thousand.
Add another thousand for the installation work.”
Jackie transferred the money immediately.
[€$9,000 Transferred]
“The extra thousand is a tip,” he said.
“Get yourself a decent drink.
We’re heading out.”
Viktor looked at the payment notification and shook his head.
“You never change, Jackie.”
Lena and Valerie exchanged amused smiles.
Jackie enjoyed fighting, drinking, and boasting about becoming a legend, but he understood that Lena had already given them cyberware worth tens of thousands of eurodollars.
Paying Viktor—and adding something extra for his work—was Jackie’s way of contributing without turning the moment into an argument.
By the end of the day, both Jackie and Valerie possessed Tier 2 Dense Marrow, Tier 2 Subdermal Armor, and their own Smart Links.
Their squad’s strength had advanced dramatically.
And Lena still had the Yinglong waiting to be placed in the right hands.
]”
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