"You, take the remaining 'trash' and throw it in the dumpster."
The Scavenger was rinsing the disassembled cyberware with a faucet, while directing his companion to fetch the two iron buckets filled with viscous organs and yellow-white fat.
"Damn it."
Cursing under his breath, the less experienced Scavenger couldn't refuse. He frowned and carried the buckets toward the dumpster, which was large enough to fit a whole person.
"We should just get a dog, then we wouldn't have to bother hauling this garbage to the incinerator."
The Scavenger frowned as he dumped a bucket of fragmented human parts into the dumpster. The stench that rushed out was like hell; even they, these "carrion eaters" who had long dealt with corpses, could barely stand it.
If the "professionals" were like this, how much worse was it for a "good citizen" like Berry?
She was now incredibly thankful that she wasn't the one hiding behind the dumpster.
In the shadows, Arno was crouched behind the dumpster. His built-in thermal sensor clearly displayed the three Scavengers inside the house in his vision, and the closest one was naturally the guy dumping organs into the dumpster.
Just as the Scavenger was grumbling and lifting the second bucket of organs, Arno made his move.
"Ugh..."
Arno suddenly stood up, and the rush of air startled the Scavenger.
Seeing a large man in black suddenly leap out, the opponent was terrified, eyes wide with shock, and opened his mouth to shout.
But Arno wouldn't give him the chance. The next second, an arm shot out like a praying mantis claw, clamping down on the man's soft throat.
Fingers drilled into the flesh, oozing milky white fat and blood. The man's bulging eyes were bloodshot, and the scream he intended to let out turned into blood bubbles emerging from the gash in his throat.
Arno slowly tightened his grip, and the Scavenger's feet lifted off the ground. Blood dripped from the man's nostrils and the corners of his mouth, landing on Arno's leather glove.
"Damn it, we're finally done."
One man held down the corpse, which had been hollowed out, while the other forcefully pulled out the Synthetic Spine from its back.
A bloody Synthetic Spine, trailing shredded meat, was tossed onto the table. The Scavenger wiped the sweat from his brow with his sleeve and sighed.
The corpse was dismantled into pieces; only a reddish shell of skin now slumped on the chair.
Heavy footsteps approached.
"Hurry up and lend a hand!" The Scavenger, holding the corpse's feet, spoke harshly. That youngster was taking forever just to dump the trash, making them wait so long.
The Scavenger holding the corpse's head was also furious upon hearing the slow, dragging footsteps. He looked up, ready to curse, but his eyes widened when he saw the person approaching.
Who was this large man in black!?
Before he could ask, an iron bucket was shoved over his head, followed by a heavy blow to his stomach that sent him painfully collapsing to the ground.
"What the hell!?"
The Scavenger beside him was startled by the sudden appearance of an enemy and instinctively reached for the nearby pistol.
Arno turned his head, his large hand shot out, grabbing the man's head and slamming it down into the corpse's empty abdominal cavity.
"No! No!"
Pressed into the viscous blood and flesh, the Scavenger began to scream. Arno held him down with one hand, while the other grabbed a sharp Dissecting Knife and plunged it straight into the man's ear canal.
The sharp blade slid entirely into the head as easily as cutting tofu. The scream immediately stopped as if the air had been sucked out. Arno held him firmly in the gore until the man's body stopped convulsing.
Berry came down the stairs at this moment.
The Scavenger who had been struck was still writhing on the ground. Berry stepped forward, stomped on his chest, charged her kinetic arm guard, and delivered a punch. The man's skull burst open like a watermelon, splashing red and white matter everywhere.
This was the only way to deal with these bastards who trampled upon human ethics.
Although Berry was a Mercenary who committed murder, arson, carjacking, and theft, she could still smell the dense, suffocating evil clinging to these guys—a foul stench that deserved no sunlight, only to twist and wallow in sewers filled with sewage and filth.
After dealing with the three men, Berry scanned the area, finding nothing else noteworthy besides a few hanging corpses.
No living people, and none of her missing cyberware.
Berry could only shake her head, preparing to continue exploring.
This Scavenger gang certainly had more than just these few people. Berry had heard that most of them were still upstairs.
Berry saw the stairs across from the basement, which must lead to their main lair.
As usual, Arno went first, with Berry lurking behind.
Climbing the stairs, sunlight soon streamed through.
Peeking out, Berry realized things were different from what she expected.
The outside wasn't the grim scene of a Flesh Factory; instead, it looked like an ordinary auto repair shop.
There were even a few Scavengers repairing vehicles there.
Of course, if they weren't dismantling the van that Viktor had sent, which was stored in the chip, Berry might have been slightly confused.
It seemed that all the scumbags who had provoked her were here.
Murderous intent flashed in Berry's eyes.
Night City encourages citizens to arm themselves for self-defense against criminals. Although this was the Night City Police Department's compromise due to their inability to control crime within the city, this compromise also gave opportunities to some people.
As long as they were capable enough, everyone was a Circuit Court and a judge, able to use the gun in their hand to sentence these scumbags. Everything from a single headshot to dismemberment was acceptable, with no upper limit.
And the sentence Berry handed down to the Scavengers engaged in illegal human trafficking was—extreme capital punishment.
The basement stair exit faced a small lounge. A large TV hung on a pillar, and below it were two sofas. Two Scavengers were sitting on the sofas, each embracing a sex doll, leaning back with braindance headsets on, completely absorbed in a heavy-content tape.
A small table between the sofas was covered with alcohol and "leaves," plus some "pills" that were clearly illicit substances.
These beasts really know how to enjoy themselves.
Berry's anger intensified as she watched all this through Arno's vision.
Arno strode forward.
With so many Scavengers, Arno, who lacked stealth cyberware, couldn't assassinate them one by one. It was better to rush in with thunderous force and kill as many as possible before they could react.
Arno walked behind the sofas. The four people, immersed in the braindance film, showed no reaction.
His large, bear-paw hands gripped the head of the Scavenger on the sofa. He squeezed hard with both hands, and with a crisp snap, the Scavenger instantly lost all signs of life.
The head flopped down like a beanbag, and the body slumped onto the lightly dressed sex doll beside him. But because she was completely absorbed in the braindance, the sex doll didn't even notice her client was dead.
Arno slowly walked toward the Scavenger on the opposite sofa, picking up a wine bottle from the table along the way.
He applied slight pressure to the bottle. The lower half shattered, leaving only the top half with a sharp, broken glass edge.
Arno gripped the bottleneck with one hand and plunged the broken end straight into the Scavenger's exposed neck, which was tilted back.
The sharp glass instantly drove into the flesh. Crimson blood gushed out with a tearing sound and ran down the bottle. The Scavenger convulsed for a few seconds, then died with a whimper.
The second one was also dealt with.
"Holy shit, there's an enemy!"
With a startled shout, a Scavenger appeared at the kitchen exit, dropping his plate, which shattered, scattering Locust Sandwiches everywhere.
The man instinctively tried to flee, but Arno snatched the shotgun hanging from his waist and fired without hesitation.
"Bang!!!"
The dull roar of the shotgun sounded. A cloud of blood mist erupted from the back of the Scavenger who had just turned around. He screamed, fell face down, and died instantly.
"Shit, gunfire! We have enemies!"
"Damn it, who is it!?"
"Find him and kill him!"
Now things were lively. Scavengers on the first and second floors erupted into chaos due to the sudden gunfire. They all stopped what they were doing, grabbed their nearby weapons, and rushed toward the lounge while shouting curses.
Finally, it had begun: Berry's battle against an entire gang.
"Shit, what happened?"
"Blood! My god, blood!"
At this moment, the two sex dolls were also awakened. But as soon as they removed their braindance headsets, they were terrified by the dead men beside them, and they screamed when they saw Arno holding a gun.
"If you want to live, stay quiet."
Berry didn't want to involve these unfortunate people who sold their bodies. She directed Arno to reach out, grab one person in each hand, and stuff them into a nearby standing cabinet.
"Shit, wipe him out!"
No sooner had the cabinet door closed than shouts came from behind—the people from the repair shop up front had charged in.
"Da da da da!!!!"
Several Scavengers raised their guns and opened fire upon seeing Arno. The fragile glass door between the two areas couldn't stop the barrage, instantly shattering into pieces like hail under the frantic rain of bullets.
The fierce hail of bullets immediately struck Arno. Holes were punched through his outer leather coat, and the sheer impact of so many rounds forced Arno to take two steps back.
"Good, good, he's dead!!!"
"Damn, awesome!!!"
The Scavengers frantically pulled their triggers, laughing wildly. With so many bullets hitting the target, they were certain the enemy was dead.