Odson first treated them to a lavish banquet—one considered among the finest delicacies Night City had to offer.
The mercenaries were confused, exchanging glances as they ate. None of them understood what this meant.
They would never forget what happened next.
Only then did they truly understand why the Mechanical Scripture contained a single, chilling line:
Eat your last meal well.
Because what followed… was hell.
Odson held the Sacred Tome of the Mechanicus in both hands.
Before their horrified eyes, he displayed the church's most terrifying arts—mechanical transformation and ritual torture.
In that nightmarish scene, several mercenaries were forcibly fused into a colossal war machine. Their bodies were twisted, crushed, and embedded into metal, becoming living components of its power core and control system.
They could neither live nor die.
They would suffer forever—eternally conscious—serving as fuel for the machine.
Even members of the notoriously deranged Uzumaki Gang, infamous for their forced cybernetic conversions, couldn't help but vomit upon witnessing it.
The scene left an indelible scar on everyone present.
In Night City, when it came to cruelty and perversion, Luan Dao ranked second.
And no one dared claim first.
Every member of the Luan Dao Society was scum of the scum—absolute monsters.
And yet…
Look at Father Odson now.
Draped in crimson robes, handsome and unrestrained, his bearing elegant and holy—no one dared offend him.
Who would imagine that this same man once sported a mohawk, wore goggles, blasted crude heavy metal across the Badlands, hunted people for sport, and tortured them for fun?
The violence in his heart was a ravenous demon, constantly gnawing at his sanity.
Only his unwavering faith acted as a rein, forcing him to obey doctrine and restraint.
Otherwise, why would a high-ranking priest—someone welcomed as an honored guest even by megacorporations—choose to serve in the Inquisition, that shadowed branch tasked with punishing heretics and rule-breakers?
The answer was simple.
It allowed him to kill and torture legally.
After Odson dealt with the mercenaries, what followed shocked everyone.
Although the fourth-level Kindhearted Person's mark was permanently stripped, his immense wealth was inherited in full by his wife and daughter.
Not only that—the Adeptus Mechanicus granted the family four years of sanctuary.
An astonishing display of "mercy."
All of it stemmed from Odson's iron-fisted decisiveness.
As a result, Kindhearted Persons of the Mechanicus became widely known and fiercely sought after.
Though the title didn't grant absolute immunity, many were more than willing to buy this form of "insurance."
After all, in a world overflowing with danger and uncertainty…
Who wouldn't want a powerful, unshakable backer?
…
…
"Kiwi already explained the work to me," Lucy said lazily. "So what about the electronic pet program? How do I get authorization?"
She lit a cigarette, soaking comfortably in the bone-chilling cooling pool, and shouted toward Xiao outside.
Xiao stepped into the bathroom and approached the ice pool.
"Each Digimon can only belong to one person," he replied calmly. "Kiwi already has hers. But don't worry—I prepared a brand-new one for you."
He inserted a fresh dimensional chip into the control console beside the pool and gave Lucy a nod.
"Oh~? I get one too?" Lucy grinned. "Not bad."
Without hesitation, she dove into the cyber dimension, activated the antivirus program, and carefully removed the Digital Egg.
Moments later, it hatched.
A Plankton-type Digimon was born.
Its translucent body flickered as though it might vanish at any moment. Its dark eyes spun aimlessly, vacant and faintly stupid. Combined with its absentminded smile, it looked… oddly adorable.
Unfortunately, Lucy's first impression was completely accurate.
Not only was Plankton cute—it was spectacularly dumb.
Lucy had envisioned an easy road to wealth and comfort.
Reality disagreed.
When Plankton engaged Dark Data in one-on-one combat, the battle was terrifyingly intense.
The two sides were evenly matched—Teemo-level evenly matched—locked in a deadly stalemate. Each clash brimmed with danger. Plankton was nearly shattered into raw data several times.
If Lucy hadn't continuously hacked from the sidelines—attacking, distracting, buying time—it would've died long ago.
"Hahaha! You really can't beat them!"
Kiwi laughed from the side, casually petting her own adorable puppy Digimon, her tone filled with teasing triumph.
If you want to swap jobs, she thought smugly, you'll have to do better than this.
At that moment, Lucy was in grave danger.
A tidal wave of Dark Data surged toward her.
She ran.
She dodged.
But no matter how desperately she struggled, she couldn't shake them.
Against the darkness, her figure looked pitifully small—on the verge of being swallowed whole.
Meanwhile, Kiwi watched leisurely from afar, completely unconcerned.
Because she knew Xiao would intervene.
"How… how did this happen…?"
Lucy whispered, her voice trembling with confusion and frustration.
Yesterday, Kiwi had effortlessly crushed Dark Data using a Digimon at the same growth stage.
Yet today, in the exact same position, Lucy was being beaten into the ground.
Just as the Dark Data closed in—
A blazing white light descended from above, instantly purifying everything in its path.
Xiao's voice echoed in Lucy's mind.
"Because you're weaker than Kiwi. When a Digimon hatches, its combat power is directly shaped by the hacker's abilities."
Lucy froze.
Understanding struck like lightning.
So it wasn't just about having a Digimon—it was about hacking skill.
Xiao's voice continued calmly:
"And one more thing—Dark Data grows stronger every day. What you faced today was already only one-third weaker than yesterday's batch."
Lucy fell silent.
Completely.
So it wasn't that she was bad…
It was that Kiwi was outrageously lucky—and had exploited a massive advantage.
And that realization hit harder than any Dark Data ever could.
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