At the sa ti Hao Xuan died that world ceased to exist since its only purpose was to tornt him by forcing him to live through the lives of so of the most unfortunate souls to have ever walked the mortal planes.
The darkness montarily recedded to the sidelines as Hao Xuan opened his eyes to a familiar scene.
He was sitting in a small poorly put-together tent that was constantly shaking under the billowing wind.
The sll of motor oil and grease wafted into his nose waking him up.
"Ngh!"
He groaned while trying to shift positions since even such a small task proved to be a challenge in his current state.
Peering downwards he began to inspect himself in the usual manner starting from the chanical right hand to the legs. Only his left hand was still his own while all other limbs were replaced by oversized chinations.
Reaching over his shoulder Hao Xuan lazily tapped on a small tal box before picking up a multitool from behind it.
A hologram flickered into existence and solidified a mont later in the form of a female that had her eyes covered with a blindfold.
Her appearance was neat and clean although not much could be made out since she wore a loose baggy hood that covered everything else.
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He chuckled, "Barely. The cultists had more numbers than the bounty ntioned," he finished by raising his chanical hand that had several large holes along the forearm.
The girl nodded, "I will let the employer know. Are...you okay?"
Rather than answer with a simple yes or no Hao Xuan tried to make the V sign with his right hand but the forearm sparked and only the middle finger ca up.
"Uhh, that was supposed to be a yes. Pretend you didn't see that," he absentmindedly muttered out loud before realizing what he had said.
"I'm sorry I didn't an 'see' see but just as a saying you know. Not that there is anything wrong with not seeing, I would think the world looks much better in one's own head but that's just and you know how I am-"
The girl held back for as long as she could before breaking out in a fit of laughter. Her lodious voice silenced Hao Xuan who was only going to dig himself deeper.
"Alright, I'll 'pretend' I didn't see anything," she replied with a cheeky grin making him smile.
"Thank you so much, your highness."
"Your highness? Where did that co from? Am I a princess now?"
"Haha, I just had another dream and a weird one at that. I was part of the royal guard of so place called Luna."
The girl went silent for a brief mont.
"Was it...the sa as the others?"
"Mhm," he nodded while tinkering away on his arm, "I rember everything as if I lived through it myself. From the mont when I took my first steps till I drew my last breath, everything is burned into my brain."
The girl was looking down at whatever she was holding in her hands although it wasn't visible in the hologram.
"I'm sorry. Was it painful?"
Hao Xuan paused and looked up as hundreds of mories ca up one by one, "A six out of ten I would say. It wasn't as bad as so of the others but like all the rest it wasn't anything good either."
"I had a family in this one though, a mother and father that cared about . We lived in so small village that was raided and burned to the ground because so nobleman wanted the land we were on."
"I was the only one that survived and managed to run to a nearby settlent. So rcenaries took in and treated , letting live with them for a while. When I could walk they started training when I wasn't running errands."
"A few years later they also died during a big battle and I was taken prisoner. That's where I t this guy, on my tenth birthday. We were about the sa age but he was...everything I ever wanted to be. Good looking, charismatic, a great fighter and an even better leader."
"We went from one battlefield to another trying to get enough points to buy our freedom and that we did. Together there was not much that could stop us. People started noticing us, powerful people."
He went quiet for a brief mont before mumbling, "I really thought we were good friends but I guess you can never truly know soone, huh?"
"I'm...sorry," the girl replied.
"Haha, why are you sorry? It's not like you made have those dreams. Anyways, enough talk. Let's get down to business. What's the next bounty?"
The girl waved her hand as several nas and numbers popped up in front of her.
"This one is directly from the Empire. They have detected so strange movents within the elite circles of the nobility of one of the largest Hive cities on the planet. You are to infiltrate them and find out what's going on."
"What do they THINK is going on? They must have so idea."
"They detected a montary spike in the energy readings."
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