"Cough! Cough! Cough!"
Accompanied by a fit of heart-wrenching coughing, Lucy subconsciously took a deep breath. Her face immediately turned iron-blue, and she hurriedly ran to the edge of the rooftop to dry heave.
The young girl had changed back into her original stylish jacket, yet she had lost that valiant and dashing air. Leaning weakly against the railing, she questioned the meaning of life while taking small, cautious breaths.
Ryu thoughtfully took out a handkerchief and carefully wiped the saliva from the corner of her mouth, smiling. "What's wrong? Can't adapt after being away for just a month?"
"...Lung implants functioning normally."
Lucy's cheeks flushed slightly as she snatched the handkerchief to wipe her mouth herself. "It's just too impactful—did I really live in this kind of environment all along?"
She hadn't felt it before, but this "visit home" made her perceive the unexpected environmental difference. It was simply like throwing a freshwater fish into the sea.
Over the past month, her lung implants had autonomously adjusted to a low-frequency maintenance mode, practically shutting down the poison filtration functions aside from supplying the respiratory system... resulting in a major sufferance the moment she returned!
"Your entire body is just ordinary flesh; how can you even stand it?"
"Surprisingly, I kind of like it here. Although life in Night City is dangerous and dirty, and even the air is unpleasant, I actually missed it a bit after being away for a long time."
Ryu chuckled and pulled a portable oxygen canister out of nowhere.
"Want a hit of pure oxygen?"
"You're really thorough~" Lucy rolled her eyes at Ryu.
The cybernetic girl stood up and stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Ryu, looking down from their high vantage point at the chaotic cluster of low-rise buildings and the skyscrapers in the distance that supported the sky like giants.
"Night City..."
The neon lights of the night flickered in Lucy's electronic eyes, her tone unreadable. "I'm back."
***
"Lucy! You're back!"
In the [Afterlife] bar, Maine's squad had arrived upon invitation. The moment Sasha, the cat, saw Lucy, she jumped up happily and tightly hugged her best friend whom she hadn't seen for a month.
"Alright, alright~" Lucy patted Sasha's head, her movements naturally resembling one petting a cat.
"Yo~ Brother!"
Maine raised his hand high and high-fived Ryu, and the other members of the squad greeted him one after another.
In a sense, Ryu was the financier of the "Cyberpunk" squad. Although he didn't pay an exaggerated figure all at once, the flow was steady. He ensured they had a stable income every month, simply like a salary—this was a rather luxurious treatment among mercenaries.
No matter how much money edgerunners had, they would spend it all quickly. They would still be broke when it was time to be broke. But if there was a fixed amount of income every month, even if it wasn't as satisfying as those big scores, it could significantly improve their lives and raise their bottom line quite a bit~
However, Ryu had obviously "abducted" Lucy. Seeing that the most promising Netrunner in the squad seemed about to retire, their feelings were inevitably a bit complicated.
Everyone sat down carelessly. The waiter brought up various alcoholic drinks, with even the styles of the glasses differing from one another.
"Although we've been doing business for so long, it's rare for you to actually treat us to drinks... truly strange~"
Maine took off his sunglasses, twisting his neck like a wild dog to look at Ryu askance from below. "Got any big jobs?"
"Not really."
Ryu held a cocktail of unknown composition, glanced down at it, lost interest, and turned to whisper to Boss Maine. "I just have something I need to discuss with you."
"Is it about Lucy?"
Maine leaned back, glancing at the silver-haired girl who was chatting happily with the cat and Rebecca.
"Her expression has softened a lot... Before, anyone who wanted to get to know her would get stung. She never revealed her true side and was wary of everyone, as if she had been betrayed by the whole world.
"But now her face is full of relaxation, without any guard. Let alone a Netrunner, even a street merc wouldn't be this silly... It seems you've made her very happy.
"Since that's the case, I don't have any objections to your relationship—take her! No matter where it is~"
I'm not here to ask for your permission; don't put on the airs of an old father—Ryu twitched his lips.
"You've misunderstood. I'm here for Sasha's matter."
"...Huh?"
Maine's eyes widened. "You've laid your hands on Sasha too?!"
His volume accidentally rose too high, and the scene instantly went quiet. The squad members turned their gazes over in unison.
A single sentence from Lucy made them look at her instead: "Don't misunderstand. He's taking Sasha away for my sake."
After saying that, the silver-haired girl hugged her best friend tightly, vigorously nuzzling her face against hers. "I like Sasha the most. She and I will definitely get along well~"
"?"
"..."
Looking at Lucy, then at Ryu, and then at Sasha who was being forcibly nuzzled, numerous images inappropriate for children instantly flashed through everyone's minds.
W-What kind of relationship is this, exactly?
"That's a no-go~"
Big sister Dorio grabbed Lucy by the shoulders and shook her back and forth. "You're a good kid; you absolutely cannot be led astray by others!"
Even if this is Night City and normal love is a luxury, play that is too extreme is not okay! I will absolutely not agree to it!
"Eh?"
Lucy was shaken until she was dizzy. "W-What are you saying... I just want to take Sasha along on a trip."
"...Oh." Dorio released her hands and coughed discreetly. "Right, going for a trip. I thought... never mind, don't look over here, idiot!"
Leaving aside how Lucy convinced Sasha, when Maine heard that Ryu was eyeing the number two Netrunner in the team again, he was instantly furious. He dragged Ryu away from his seat.
The two arrived in the quiet back alley of the bar. A cold snort from Maine scared off the homeless, and only then did he start a conversation with Ryu beside the dumpster.
"What on earth is going on?"
"What?"
"You seem very interested in our Netrunners. But if you have a mission, just give the order directly; there's absolutely no need to do this."
"I see... then please cooperate for a moment, Boss Maine."
"Hmm?"
"Lean in closer. My mission requirement is this..."
Seeing Ryu being so cautious, Maine subconsciously tilted his ear to listen—
His trendy rocket-style hair was suddenly grabbed. Maine's tall and burly frame automatically bent down, bringing his head before Ryu.
Maine hadn't reacted yet, but Ryu had already utilized the techniques of [Humanoid Slayer]. He pressed his hand against Maine's cervical vertebrae, making those solid muscles seem like paper, allowing Ryu to knead and manipulate them at will.
Splurt!
Fingers plunged deeply into the eye socket, and half of Maine's vision vanished abruptly!
"Aagh! Bastard! What are you doing? My cybernetic eye... Ugh, I can't move!"
The man grabbed Ryu's wrist but was shocked to find he couldn't break free. This seemingly slender young man possessed tyrannical wrist strength far surpassing his suite of cybernetics!
While struggling, Maine felt the fingers digging around inside his eye socket. He couldn't help but feel anxious and agitated. Although it was a cybernetic implant being destroyed, this was enough to enrage him. He intended to draw his weapon and give his little financier a hit.
"Bastard! Do you know it hurts... Eh?"
Pain... actually, there wasn't any.
On the contrary, a sensation of soreness and swelling came from his nervous system—a feeling he hadn't felt in a long time. A stream of hot liquid flowed from his left eye socket, and a numbing, burning sensation gradually rose...
"!"
Maine blinked. Blurred objects gradually became clear, and his expression turned sluggish.
"...This feeling is... impossible!"
—His left eyeball had grown back!
The nerves that should have been connected to an electronic prosthetic eye were now undoubtedly being wrapped by organic matter!
It was a vision completely different from a cybernetic eye—slightly blurry and a bit shaky, without any system calibration.
The difference between the left and right sides was too great, forcing Maine to close his right eye to focus solely on the gradually clearing vision on the left.
At some point, Ryu had already let him go. Boss Maine completely disregarded revenge, simply looking around with a shocked expression, like a navigator discovering the American continent for the first time.
This is impossible!
Eyeball? He had swapped that for an electronic eye ages ago!
...If he had a clone as an organ supply source, then it was indeed possible to switch back to an organic eye.
But the sensation just now was crystal clear:
This had just grown out; it wasn't a surgical transplant!
"A miracle... how did you do it?" Maine looked at Ryu with awe.
"Just a simple magic."
"Don't lie to me!"
________________________________________
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