Looking at the world with a naked eye was a rather "novel" experience for Maine.
In this world dominated by technology and capital, except for a very small minority of purists who refused mechanical implants, the vast majority were modified cyborgs. Brain-computer interfaces and electronic eyes were the absolute basics.
The status of these two items was equivalent to mobile phones in the early 21st century; whether for socializing, shopping, or searching for information, they were essential. Going out without them was like being a primitive man.
Therefore, people like Maine had swapped in electronic eyes from a young age, surrounding their entire lives with pulsating numbers and light rays.
But now, what he saw was a world without any filters, prompts, or lines—only "reality"!
"What exactly... did you do?"
Seeing that Maine hadn't reacted yet, Ryu held his arm. Extending his index finger and thumb, under the gaze of that naked eye, he slowly peeled back the artificial skin on Maine's forearm—
This stuff was bulletproof grade, sufficient to withstand small-caliber firearms, yet it was pinched up by someone's bare hands!
Maine had once seen a cyborg with specialized finger strength who could crush a deck of poker cards just by "pressing" with two fingers, as if cut by a hydraulic press.
But looking at Ryu's hands... they looked more like the type of implants that sacrificed performance for "human mimicry," appearing no different from flesh and blood. How could they have such high output?
This wasn't the only thing shocking Maine. As a faint light lit up in Ryu's palm, a layer of blood membrane slowly extended from the inside out over Maine's exposed mechanical structure. His artificial nerves also sent waves of warnings—
Parasitic behavior similar to fungi!
Reminding Maine to quickly eliminate the foreign object and repair the cybernetic skin.
But Maine ignored those prompts, staring unblinkingly at the scene. He witnessed with his own eyes how capillaries and muscle fibers grew, then coagulated into a layer of epidermis on the outside, and finally, even the fine hairs appeared in minute detail...
It was only a palm-sized patch, its color incompatible with the surroundings, and its texture obviously different. Seeing this, Maine suddenly remembered:
He was actually of mixed Latino heritage, and his skin should have been much darker than it was now. Why had it become like this later... Oh right, after being corroded by strong acid one time, he had chosen cheap second-hand skin, and then used that color ever since...
"Real..."
Maine's voice trembled slightly. He carefully reached out and pinched it; the soft tactile sensation made him shudder.
Meanwhile, his artificial nerves transmitted a wondrous itching sensation—they didn't adapt to this newly appearing "foreign parasite."
...How truly strange. For a cyborg, their own flesh and blood became the rejected party.
"Ryu, you—"
Just as Maine was about to speak, his two eyeballs suddenly moved in different directions. A wave of dizziness struck his brain, and his body swayed before falling forward.
Ryu hurriedly supported him, letting Maine slowly lower his body to half-kneel on the ground. "What's wrong?"
"No... I'm fine. Maybe the cranial nerves haven't adjusted to the new visual circuit... Urgh!"
Maine shook his head vigorously, but Ryu narrowed his eyes.
—It was due to the healing magic!
The healing magic in Delicious in Dungeon could indeed revive the dead and regenerate flesh from bones, but the premise was obeying certain laws:
Mana provided the energy for the body's recovery, but the missing matter at the wound would not return out of thin air; it had to be replenished from elsewhere.
Generally, it was provided by the injured person themselves. As the saying goes, 'loss takes from surplus to make up for deficiency.' Therefore, after healing severe injuries, the injured would become a bit thinner.
It was also out of this consideration that adventurers would universally "fatten up," storing some fat without affecting their movement—Falin's fleshy figure was the most perfect example.
If a situation arose where limbs were eaten by monsters and one's own nutritional reserves weren't enough, they would have to buy beef or mutton from the market as a supplement.
No need for matching, no concern for species differences—very magical!
For the two healings just now, Ryu used his own mana—after all, the atmosphere of Cyberpunk only contained the ghosts of capitalists, not elemental sprites.
So the effect was very limited, only capable of "minor repairs," though this was already extremely shocking in the eyes of others.
The consumed matter came from Maine himself. Theoretically, the mass of an eyeball and a patch of skin wasn't much for a healthy person, but who asked Maine to be a highly modified cyborg?
The flesh and blood tissue on his body added together probably didn't exceed twenty kilograms. Many of those were vital organs with absolutely no fat, such as the brain and spinal cord... Scaping enough nutrients from these places wasn't easy.
Maine's current condition was likely similar to "hypoglycemia"~
Ryu suddenly had a flash of inspiration, and a rather peculiar idea emerged:
If such cyborgs wanted to repair their own bodies, they would probably have to rely on synthetic meat. That is, using those crickets and grasshoppers to constitute their own flesh... Just hearing it made one feel uncomfortable!
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah... thanks. Wait, no! You haven't answered me yet!"
"Where should I start~" Ryu mused for a moment, then took out a piece of equipment resembling VR glasses and handed it to Maine.
"Inside this is a [Braindance] I specially prepared. I left a message in there; you'll understand after watching it."
"...I haven't gotten into some kind of trouble, have I?"
"The payment is a chance to leave Night City, and you'll even have a completely healthy physical body by then... Do you want to return the eye to me?"
"..."
Maine thought seriously for a moment, touched his left eye, then looked at the obviously different skin on his forearm, and took a deep breath.
He was originally a ronin who loved adventure and dared to take responsibility, so naturally, he wouldn't retreat at this time.
He really wanted to know what secret Ryu held!
No, I accept it!
After the gathering broke up, Lucy didn't return to the squad but naturally followed Ryu home. The people of the Cyberpunk squad also acted as if it was a matter of course.
"What did Sasha say?"
"She also really wants to see that scenery inside the [Braindance], but I feel she doesn't quite believe it."
"Heh~" Ryu chuckled, not surprised at all.
Even if there were original natural environments in Cyberpunk, they were mostly private gardens of the super-rich. As for macroscopic scenery, it truly couldn't be found anywhere. It was normal for the cat to be suspicious.
However, once she boarded Ryu's pirate ship, she definitely wouldn't be able to get off—just look at Lucy!
What did residents of Night City feel when they arrived in the Main World? Just a trip back to their hometown made them want to wash their lungs!
So when Ryu selected people, he only needed to consider whether they were reliable and obedient; he didn't need to worry about whether the benefits could keep them.
"So how did you persuade Boss Maine?"
Lucy's expression was strange. "He went to the back alley with you, and when he came back, he was acting all coy, covering his arm one moment and rubbing his eye the next, looking just like a bullied little girl—everyone noticed it, and their eyes looked weird when looking at you."
"That's all the fault of your overly rich imaginations."
Ryu couldn't help but hold his belly laughing, then spoke seriously: "I performed a little magic trick for him..."
...After listening to Ryu's account, Lucy blinked, curious and expectant.
"You can even do that kind of thing?!"
"A small trick I just learned these past few days. It looks incredible, but frankly, it's nothing much."
Ryu leaned back on the sofa, speaking with great flair: "In the future, I might even learn something even more explosive~"
"Is that so... This body of mine... would it work for those children too?"
Lucy naturally looked down at herself first, but immediately thought of those children in the Medical Center.
The cybernetic technology being developed by the [Blue Dream Group] certainly had good prospects, but in Lucy's view, no matter how excellent the mechanical performance was, it was ultimately not as good as a living, breathing flesh body!
(Actually, people in the Main World hadn't experienced the AI rebellion, nor had they seen Cyberpsychosis, so they wouldn't struggle with the ethics of mechanism versus flesh.)
Speaking of this, Ryu also became serious. "This depends on the situation. The essence of healing magic is 'repairing damage.' If it's a fresh injury or one that hasn't been long, treatment won't be a problem.
"But if it's a congenital disease, healing magic is powerless, and cybernetics must still be used.
"And if it was an acquired injury from years ago... the person's consciousness and soul might have completely forgotten that part of the flesh, so it wouldn't grow back during repair."
"Then what about Maine?"
"Because you are cyborgs. You replaced flesh with machinery, but still have various senses and neural impulses. The soul effectively has a new container and hasn't forgotten the shape of that part of the body.
"After the implants are stripped away, you also have the subconscious sense of 'body injury,' so healing magic can still be used for repair."
Speaking of this, Ryu suddenly realized that if he used healing magic on those "over-modified" cyborgs—for example, those with three arms or six legs—wouldn't it create something like a chimera?
...Must be cautious!
The human body is a very precise structure where every part is just right. Cyborgs can look bizarre because they have extra energy sources and high-tech materials as support.
If a flesh-and-blood body turned into that state, it would likely result in sudden death due to blood pressure, oxygen supply, joints, or similar reasons, right?
"Is the important thing 'senses' and 'consciousness'?" Lucy wasn't stupid and quickly understood Ryu's meaning. "That seems hard to explain with science."
"Because it involves the concept of the soul, it must be explained with magic." Ryu smiled faintly. "Our group is also conducting research on 'Fluctlights.' In the future, we might be able to analyze the essence of the soul... If we reach that step, there might be a solution to the related problems."
"...Hearing that makes me a bit eager to try."
Lucy put down the drink in her hand, crawled over to Ryu on the sofa, and flipped over to lie on his lap.
"Want to let me experience it?"
"Very inquisitive spirit, Miss Lucy!"
"After all, I'm currently employed by a black-hearted company working for an unscrupulous boss. If I don't keep up with cutting-edge technology in time, I might be swept out the door."
"That makes me very ashamed~"
Ryu stroked her silky short silver hair, smiling beamingly. "Let's try it first... Which part do you plan to repair?"
"Stripping cybernetic organs and bones feels like it would require surgery... let's just use skin."
Lucy took the boy's right hand and tapped it on her own neck.
"Here."
Then the exposed part of her shoulder.
"Here."
Next was the collarbone.
"Here."
She continued.
"And..."
Ryu raised an eyebrow. "Here too?"
This... felt very natural.
"Don't you want to examine it properly?"
Lucy looked up to meet Ryu's gaze. Ryu applied force with his fingertips and indeed examined it properly as requested.
"Mmph~~~"
Her face flushed slightly, and a mist gradually veiled the young girl's eyes, revealing the exclusive expression of a bad girl.
"Doctor~ Is this how a physical examination is done?"
"Can't be helped."
Ryu's movements were very gentle, but occasionally forceful, just to detect physical signs data.
"I'm very thorough when seeing patients~"
Although he didn't have a medical license, Ryu's medical ethics were unquestionable. Even though it was a free clinic, he was dedicated and responsible, carefully checking the surrounding areas.
Facts proved that this was an extremely healthy and vibrant young girl, a rare natural product in Night City.
"A very beautiful color, without obvious pigmentation, just like a newborn baby."
"To say such things without changing your expression... Mmph... You really are an unscrupulous physician, aren't you?"
"Bad child, slandering me like this."
Ryu's fingertips moved, causing Lucy to subconsciously tighten her lips.
"Don't you know to 'follow the doctor's orders'?"
"...I was wrong, Doctor... Actually, I'm an obedient good child."
Saying so, Lucy took Ryu's right hand and continued.
"However, since you're a responsible doctor, shouldn't you examine even more carefully?"
The left and right sides of her waist.
"This is obviously a trace of cybernetic modification."
"As a Netrunner, stealth equipment must be installed on the spine. The skin here is generally modified."
Lucy's lips moved slightly, looking straight into Ryu's eyes.
"..."
"..."
"Doctor?"
"...Hmm?"
"Can you tell the difference?"
Lucy's breathing gradually became heavy. "Is this artificial skin here?"
"I need to research this seriously... Huh?"
Ryu's movements were originally gentle and slow, but he was suddenly tackled by Lucy rising up, his body falling back against the sofa.
The young girl forcibly pinned his hands, and with one step, she straddled his lap.
In this posture, Lucy's waist and hips were slightly raised, her line of sight slightly higher than Ryu's. When their eyes met, he actually felt a sense of being looked down upon.
"Eh?"
In the blink of an eye, the guest had become the host. Ryu was stunned.
Lucy looked at him expressionlessly, suddenly released her hands, then slid open the zipper of her jacket, taking off the clothes that had already been tossed about, leaving only a bodysuit that hugged her curves.
"Doctor... are you prepared?"
"W-What preparation?"
"I'm going to..."
Lucy's tender lips approached Ryu's ear, her cool silver hair brushing past his face.
The murmuring sound flowed into his brain like liquid—
"Leave a brand on you right here that you'll never wash off in your life~"
...
It wasn't until Lucy couldn't hold back and truly opened her mouth to bite his shoulder that Ryu understood the meaning of her words earlier.
—However, she obviously spoke too soon.
Because it was just the beginning. If this counted, the brands she would leave on Ryu this night were far too many...
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