Yet the channel stayed eerily silent—no one responded.
Frowning, Faraday tried calling out again, but he got the sa empty silence. At that mont, the hail of gunfire in the parking garage ceased. Maine and the others, crouched behind abandoned vehicles for cover, lifted their heads to peer across the dim space.
The three sex-dolls who had been pinning them down with steady fire were now on high alert, suddenly aiming at so other threat.
"What the hell is going on?"
Faraday scanned them in confusion. The chips they'd been implanted with—marionette chips—weren't supposed to malfunction. He'd paid good money for a guarantee.
Before he could do anything else, a hush fell across the garage. It was so quiet you could've heard a pin drop.
Footsteps approached, steady and clear, echoing in the still air. A young man carrying a long blade ca into view.
"No use calling for backup," he said calmly. "Those two truckloads of reinforcents outside are gone. That just leaves you four in here."
Faraday felt an icy chill run down his spine.
"Kill him!"
A torrent of bullets roared toward the newcor, weaving a lethal net.
Talent: Ti Zero.
The incoming rounds seed to freeze in midair. Leo slipped seamlessly through the gaps between bullets and reappeared in front of the startled sex-dolls. He lifted his arm in a single, seemingly effortless swipe of his blade; a bright flash of steel followed.
Ti resud. The three sex-dolls, eyes bulging in horror, dropped their guns and clutched at their necks, trying desperately to stem the crimson gushing between their fingers. One by one, they toppled over, mortally wounded.
Watching his guards collapse, Faraday recoiled, quickly lifting his gun to shoot—only to find Leo's reflexes were much faster. A single round from the tech revolver blew apart Faraday's right hand along with his Yukimura smart pistol.
"Aaargh! My hand—my hand!"
Faraday fell and rolled, shrieking in agony.
Leo looked to Maine. "He's all yours."
Then he turned on his heel to leave. Faraday's eyes darted with murderous resolve—his abdominal mini-gun whirred out again. But before it could spin up, Rebecca's Kenshin smart pistol barked, shattering it.
Two more bullets blasted into Faraday's remaining left arm, guaranteeing he had no ans to retaliate. He writhed pathetically on the floor, trying and failing to crawl away. Maine, Dorio, Rebecca, and Pilar surrounded him.
"M-Maine, c'mon," Faraday pleaded, "we've worked together—"
Maine cut him off with a slow shake of the head. "In your next life, go sell fried chicken or sothing. Don't be a fixer."
Boom!
The thunder of a shotgun echoed through the parking garage.
…
Leaving the parking garage behind, Leo hopped onto Fenrir and headed to The Afterlife. Familiar territory. Emrich, who was still manning the entrance, recognized Leo instantly and let him pass. Leo slipped into Rogue's private booth, where after a brief greeting, a Black rc stepped in, set a chip on the table, and slid it toward Leo.
"Thanks, Nix."
Nix inclined his head, then left.
Rogue took the chip, slotted it into her neural interface to confirm its contents, then popped it back out and placed it in front of Leo.
"This is everything you asked for. Have a look if you want."
Leo, trusting her, inserted the chip into his tactical goggles. A flood of data scrolled past his vision. His brows knit.
"'Nightingale Project'? What's that?"
Rogue crossed her legs, resting one hand on her knee.
"It's a secret experint that Biotechnica's running for Militech—an R&D initiative designed to create antibiotics strong enough to resist bio-weapons in a future corporate war.
The key players are JoAnne Koch and Diana Kuno, who tested their bio-weapons on a Nomad clan called Red Ochre, killing more than seventy people. Their entire research team is in on it—except Emilia Morton, a genetic engineer who opposed the plan but didn't leave, so she's just as culpable.
'SECURICINE' is basically a side product of the Nightingale Project."
She gestured to the chip. "All the intel you need is there. Do what you want with it."
…
Leo left The Afterlife and headed straight back to Viktor's clinic, surprised to see Maine's team waiting there. After they had finished off Faraday at that grimy parking garage, they'd co to check on Sasha.
Leo's first question: "Faraday's taken care of?"
Maine nodded. "Yeah. No chance in hell he's coming back."
Leo raised a brow. "Completely finished?"
Maine snorted. "Trust . We turned his head and heart into purée. The bastard even had a Trauma Team Platinum plan—once we blew his head off, the card auto-contacted them. By the ti they showed up, it was only to collect a corpse."
Leo didn't look surprised.
"Platinum mbership is for the so-called elites, after all. But it can't save soone whose head is gone."
"Damn right," Maine agreed. "If I had more money, I'd think about so top-tier plan too, but I guess it's not that helpful for folks always risking their necks. Not if your whole body's shredded."
They spoke for a mont, then Leo moved to Sasha's bedside. She was lying on the operating table, resting.
"Sasha. How're you feeling?"
She blinked up at him. "Better, thanks to you." Her wounds weren't quite as severe as those that had nearly killed Chihiro so with Vik's skillful care, she'd be okay, though he still insisted on a few day's rest.
Her expression clouded. "It's just… I wish I'd gotten those 'SECURICINE' files out. That data… I lost it all."
Leo shrugged. "If you're worried about not having a backup, don't be."
"Huh?"
She stared, eyes widening as Leo produced the chip.
"Take a look."
Sasha examined it, and her jaw dropped. The others ca over, curious.
"What's on it?" asked Maine.
"See for yourself," said Sasha.
Maine grabbed the chip, studied the contents. His eyes went just as round. He handed it off to Dorio, who scanned it, then passed it to Rebecca. Finally it landed with Pilar. And so on.
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