Ryu was a man of action. In his view, Lucy's biggest problem wasn't psychological trauma, but thinking too much and doing too little!
To properly correct this delinquent girl's erroneous cognition, Ryu sacrificed himself with a fearless spirit. He fiercely instilled the correct guiding spirit in her, making her submit wholeheartedly, thoroughly realize her mistakes, and become happy to the point of almost crying.
—Ryu felt completely refreshed!
What Sage Mode? What cybernetic modification? Go tell that to my [Scene Transition Effects]!
Even if she couldn't hold on, begging for mercy was not allowed. Doing it more is beneficial for relieving stress—don't you understand what it means to follow the doctor's orders?
Eventually, Lucy indeed no longer rejected Ryu's suggestion about a "child," but she still reserved her attitude regarding marriage.
On this point, Ryu didn't force her. after all, everyone's concepts are different. Lucy was indeed not very interested in the conventional sense of a husband-and-wife relationship and was even more dismissive of legal certification.
Speaking seriously, the two girls most intimate with Ryu both had tendencies in this direction—Ruri wanted to stay by Ryu's side and become his most indispensable woman, but she was actually indifferent to the title of "wife."
Moreover, the direct cause of both their personalities was family trauma. It is evident that an unfortunate childhood truly affects one's entire life.
"I just remembered I have something to do at home."
—Lucy felt that if she didn't leave now, she might very well turn into a useless person unable to think about anything.
In the contest over these past few days, it was undoubtedly Lucy's complete defeat!
This had nothing to do with timing or location, because they had switched battlefields too. But whether it was the kitchen, the bathroom, or the sofa, and regardless of what mode of tactical penetration was used, she could only talk tough at the very beginning...
Clearly, everyone was a rookie with similar theoretical knowledge. At most, you had slightly better stamina, but in the end, I should have saved more energy, and women naturally have the advantage. Yet the result was completely unexpected~
After these few days, Lucy began to question life. While she still retained some rationality, she found a lame excuse, saying she needed to go back to her apartment to pack her things, and left.
...The damn books are all lies. Who said girls also have a Sage Mode?
If they did, why couldn't she refuse!
Every time, she was easily "awakened." She was starting to suspect if her true nature was really this shallow!
[Humanoid Slayer] was truly useful~
After Ryu woke up and saw the note left by the pillow, having encountered a "heartbreaker," he felt a slight regret. At the same time, he lamented that he had indeed been a bit indulgent over the past few days.
It wasn't without gain, however. For instance, he had developed a new usage for [Humanoid Slayer]~
Ryu understood the weaknesses of the human body like a god of death. But so-called "weaknesses" existed on various levels. Depending on the force applied and the technique used, the results harvested would differ; it wasn't limited solely to how to kill people.
Human senses are very interesting. The conversion between pain and pleasure might lie within a hair's breadth, and everyone's preferences are different.
Just as some people love durian while others avoid it like the plague, those who like eating durian might not necessarily accept stinky tofu~
And [Humanoid Slayer] not only contained knowledge regarding human anatomy, but more importantly, it could rapidly grasp the target object's various physical signs data. It could then simulate and analyze the opponent's specific weaknesses, determining how to inflict strikes most efficiently.
The more contact he had with the other party, the more accurate the judgment became!
Since being "honest and open" with Lucy, the contact between the two had become countless. Ryu's understanding of this body could be said to be even clearer than she was herself~
So, when to attack which position, how much force is just right, how to proceed step-by-step, and how to reach the climax—Ryu already had a well-thought-out plan in his chest.
No wonder Lucy fled in panic; her body was betraying her every single moment!
During this past period, she was "awakened" time and time again, hovering almost on the edge of physiological limits. Originally, this would bring quite a bit of pain and could easily make one annoyed, but "resurrection magic" and [Humanoid Slayer] forcefully reversed the negatives, leaving only a pleasure that invaded the marrow.
Damn it, these six Destiny Coins were truly worth it!
Sure enough, my intuition was right. This affix is far superior to [Monster Hunter]!
...Considering there are also very "philanthropic" people in this world, [Monster Hunter] might have a tremendous effect on specific people, so one shouldn't be so arbitrary.
Fortunately, Ryu's sexual preferences (XP) were relatively normal—at most, he could accept up to the level of beast ears and tails.
Wait!
Back then, there was also a [Philanthropic Hunter] option on the Silver System Card... At the time, I thought it was baffling, but looking at it now, could it be that it's meant to be used in pairs with several other affixes?
"Hiss!"
Realizing something was wrong, Ryu hurriedly drove the distracting thoughts out of his mind and took a deep breath to calm himself.
He estimated that Lucy wouldn't be coming back for the time being. It just so happened he also planned to end these decadent days and continue dedicating himself to the glorious great cause of the bourgeoisie.
"...In short, let's eat first."
Entering the kitchen, he opened the refrigerator and took out a large chunk of dragon meat stored in his personal space from the cold storage "pocket." Ryu began to consider today's cooking method.
Honestly, he was tired of eating it, but to improve his constitution...
Thinking of this, the young man turned sideways and looked behind him—a mirror stood on the living room wall, perfectly reflecting his current figure.
His naked upper body wasn't burly, but every muscle seemed to be just right, as if precisely calculated. It possessed the aesthetic of power, like a high-end custom-made cybernetic implant.
Under the effect of [Gourmet of Solitude], his physical fitness was steadily improving day by day. Although not as obvious as taking injections or medicine, it was quite stable and solid, and there were no side effects—inflated muscles felt completely different from muscles cultivated through nutrition and exercise!
Maine was a highly modified cyborg, but even he couldn't compare to the current Ryu at all.
It was just that Ryu hadn't yet seen the full-body modifications within Cyberpunk, so he couldn't judge the intensity of the likes of Adam Smasher. After all, the expressiveness of games and anime is different, and there would be differences when placed in reality.
However, the two basic technologies of materials and energy in this world were very impressive. Ignoring other factors and simply stacking stats, the product performance would be quite terrifying.
This was also why Ryu consistently avoided large conglomerates like Arasaka—they could easily pull out a pile of monsters as cannon fodder. One must never simply apply game settings and think there are only those few level bosses.
"Alright, open for business!"
After enjoying the Red Dragon meat stew, Ryu, full of energy and spirit, opened the passage between the first floor and the basement. He also flipped the sign outside, announcing to the residents of the civilian district that the Kuse Clinic was open again!
"These suppressants need to be kept in the refrigerator. If there are frequent power outages, I suggest making a thermal insulation box and stocking up on some ice packs."
"Thank you, Doctor! Come on, Rico~"
"Thank you, Doctor Kuse~"
The little girl, whose left leg below the knee had been replaced with a prosthetic and hadn't yet had time to have artificial skin applied, showed a sweet smile to Ryu.
"I remember everything you said. Rico will be very obedient!"
"Mhm, good girl~" Ryu touched her head lovingly, and the little girl chuckled happily.
"Doctor, when will the bill be sent..." The mother was somewhat uneasy. "I'm about to get my wages; it's not good to always let you advance the payment."
"It will be mailed to you next month."
"Okay, thank you, Doctor!"
Watching the mother and daughter leave, Ryu casually drew a few strokes on the tablet and threw the matter of the bill to the back of his mind, only operating to save the medical record from just now into the database.
Cybernetic modification surgery for those under ten years old was quite rare in the Main World. Although the Medical Center admitted many patients and contributed most of the cases, the total number was still small compared to society as a whole.
But in Night City, similar situations could be seen everywhere.
Rico had been raised by her mother since childhood, and her father's whereabouts were unknown. It was possible that some harmful substance was ingested during pregnancy, leading to certain congenital deformities in the little girl. As she grew older, it became increasingly serious, and she had to undergo cybernetic modification.
—This was a significant expense.
Because children develop very quickly, especially those under ten, prosthetics often need adjustment or replacement every year or two, or even every six months. This is a not-insignificant burden for an average family.
Generally speaking, "cybernetization from a young age" actually refers to parts like "electronic eyes" and "brain-computer interfaces" that won't have obvious size differences due to age changes.
(Eyeball size basically doesn't change; it's pretty much set after age six.)
So, if limbs really need to be replaced, people often choose secondhand ones.
Rico's situation was somewhat special. She experienced severe rejection reactions when using secondhand prosthetics. Simply put, she saw hallucinations, with human figures always flickering in and out.
Her mother found it hard to afford this expense and had been holding on using cheap cybernetics and suppressants. The situation only began to improve after meeting Ryu. Now, as Rico grew older, the rejection reaction was slowly weakening, allowing her to see a glimmer of hope.
As a Ripperdoc, however, Ryu felt that Rico's symptoms didn't really look like simple rejection...
Previously, he had only guessed, but now that he had come into contact with many powers from the mysterious side and was considered a mage himself, he was fairly certain: Rico had relatively high "spiritual sensitivity." What she was seeing were actually the "residual echoes" of the previous users.
That's right, cybernetics can also carry souls. Whether the user is dead or not, the components will always retain some mental fluctuations. Rico belonged to the type of person with talent—just like how many spirit channelers can read emotions and memories just by touching an object.
Cyber-ghosts, huh... They did appear in the game, so Ryu wasn't too surprised.
However, obviously, Rico's talent hadn't reached a very strong level. Because it wasn't developed during her childhood, it was now almost disappearing and shouldn't affect her future life.
—As a Ripperdoc, Ryu was perhaps too dedicated.
He was highly respected in this area, and even the gangs wouldn't come to find trouble. Aside from his unfathomable and intimidating "background," it wasn't as if there weren't some private reasons as well.
Knock knock!
Someone knocked on the door again. Ryu glanced casually at the surveillance screen, and his originally relaxed gaze focused, looking slightly puzzled.
"This is truly a rare guest."
He put down the work in his hands, went over, opened the door, and welcomed the visitor inside.
"How did you end up looking like this? Is this caused by software overload? David."
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