By sheer luck, the APC delivered Li Pan straight to his old apartment complex. The giant wolves chasing him hadn't even glimpsed the tail-lights.
Li Pan staggered out, vomited stomach acid, rinsed his mouth and face with rainwater, and massaged his half-numb shoulder before heading inside.
It was deep into the night. The downpour hadn't let up, and even the wonton stall had packed up. Reeking of sweat, Li Pan grabbed a pile of protein bars from a vending machine and munched while waiting for the elevator.
"Wait! Hold the door!"
He recognized the voice instantly. He held the elevator for Orange, soaked through, who slipped inside.
"Thanks… phew. Oh, Li, working overtime so late?"
"Overtime… yeah, you could call it that."
At least I earned ten thousand credits tonight…
He glanced at Orange. She shook out her drenched hair, peeled off her wet jacket, revealing a shirt clinging to her curves. Through the folds at her collar, a glimpse of smooth skin peeked through. His eyes lingered a second too long; heat stirred low in his belly.
When Orange turned to look at him, he snapped his gaze aside.
"Anyway, things are unstable in the city. Be careful, Orange. Don't get caught in the crossfire between the Ye Clan and Akainu."
"Mhm. We've been notified—NCHC is suspending work for two days until the fighting cools off. Sigh… cyberpsychos in the central districts. It's chaos."
She tied her hair back, wiping sweat and rain from her collarbone with her arm.
"By the way, there's no misunderstanding between you and Warrenstein's crew, right?"
"Warren—oh, no, no. Thanks to them, I found what I was looking for. I haven't thanked you either. How about I buy you a drink?"
Orange smiled faintly. "What, are you asking me out? Forget it—I'm too old for that."
Li Pan chuckled. "Don't say that. I've heard a woman's charm is like red wine. With age and depth, it only grows richer. Though all I've got in the fridge is cheap beer—who knows, maybe it'll taste like vintage wine if we try."
Orange covered her mouth, laughing. "Nonsense. Who taught you to spout such lines?"
"Enthusiastic netizens," he joked, holding the elevator door open for her with mock gallantry.
She brushed it off as banter, but then her eyes fell to his limp arm.
"Fractured? Why not see a cyber-doc?"
"Oh, it's nothing. A night's sleep will fix it."
"No way. If you're careless, you'll cripple yourself. Come—I've got a medkit. I'll patch you up."
"…Thanks."
Back at his place, Orange injected bioglue and resorbable bone pins into his muscles.
"Good news, no fracture. Just a dislocation. Feel that?"
She read data from his implant chip while massaging his arm.
Sitting so close, with her gentle voice and hands working at his muscles, Li Pan's restrained fire flared again.
He didn't react at first, so Orange glanced up, meeting his intent gaze. Realization dawned, and she flushed. Still, her expression betrayed that she wasn't entirely opposed—she seemed tempted by the idea of unwinding with a drink.
Li Pan coughed. "Orange-jie, your clothes are soaked. Want to take a shower? The water's hot."
But in the end, she was a married woman. After a moment of hesitation, she shook her head.
"Not tonight. Yamato is waiting. Another time."
He didn't push it. "Alright. Another time."
He saw her out, showered, and was about to settle into meditation when a knock came at the door.
Opening it, he found Orange again.
"That brat locked the door. Probably logged in somewhere. Won't answer my messages…"
Her eyes flicked over his bare torso before darting aside. "Got any beer?"
"Of course."
He grinned and stepped aside to let her in.
No need for words. Everyone was under stress, everyone had needs.
The details need not be said. Suffice to say, Orange really was his lucky star—because with her "assistance," Li Pan discovered the next morning that not only had his injuries healed, but his Nine Yin Body-Refining Technique had advanced to the Second Transformation.
This second stage didn't bring the dramatic change of the first, when he shed his mortal shell. But his efficiency in refining energy had skyrocketed.
The chaotic monster energies lodged in his organs—the alternating cold and heat—were all refined into true qi, into his Nine Yin True Energy, under his command.
Before, his strikes had been unstable—sometimes a palm strike worked, sometimes he broke his own bones. Now, he could strike at will.
More than that—his body was still changing.
Through the Fuxi-15 health monitor, he saw it: rapid growth in height, weight, muscle. His metabolism spiked. His heart raced. Hunger gnawed constantly. Even his "fire" grew stronger—a side effect, no doubt.
It felt like overdosing on combat hormones, his whole body in overdrive. But it wasn't "overload."
It was growth.
Like a second puberty. Despite his injuries, after breaking through the Second Transformation, he felt reborn, brimming with vigor.
As the text said, the "Nine Yin Body-Refining" was to refine the form into the Nine Yin.
The first stage laid the foundation. In the second, the inner "Nine Yin" sprouted like a seedling. By the third, it would burst from the soil—his first true transformation.
Would he become that giant serpent with a human head? If so… perhaps he could fly.
The thought excited him.
Humming, Li Pan went to work the next day. Routine: bully the bedspread, sip his coffee.
Then Aqi brought bad news.
"Manager, Kotaro's been captured."
Useless fool.
Aqi reported: amid last night's chaos, Kotaro had tried to infiltrate Kiyosu Castle to probe Takamagahara's situation—only to be caught by the Onmyo Clan's ninja operatives.
Useless fool.
Not only captured, but cracked under interrogation, spilling TheM Company's comms channel to ransom him.
Utterly disgraceful.
Eighteen chimed in: "I checked. Kotaro hasn't betrayed us. The enemy hacker breached through his chip to trace our channel, but hasn't broken through Orochi's ICE or found our base. He's still in their hands. Their custom chips are advanced, but as long as we rescue him within 48 hours, the company remains uncompromised."
Fine. He'd slipped up. Long prison time dulls the edge. No need to erase his record. If they could bail him out, they would.
Li Pan nodded. "Kiyosu, then. Eighteen, arrange the meet to ransom him. Rama comes with me. Aqi stays at HQ. If talks fail—wipe him."
The Onmyo Clan really was formidable. For them to bag a professional Level 5 ninja like Kotaro so easily…
Then a thought struck him.
The Monster Company had operated in Takamagahara's domain across thirteen New Tokyos. Could they really have had no dealings with the Onmyo? Impossible. Akiyama had already tried to breach Warehouse 7—it meant Takamagahara had eyes on them. Surely the Company was ready too.
He picked up the landline. "Hey. Do we have any anti-ninja artifacts in stock?"
"Room-temp storage. F43, Gaoqiao Meteor Rope / Tripwire. F44, Mohican Throwing Axe / Between the Eyes. F45, Gypsy Divination Orb / Seek."
Well now. Perfect.
Li Pan grabbed the three artifacts and briefed Rama:
Divination Orb / Seek – Classified Yellow. Touch and ask "Where are the ninjas?" Reveals all ninjas within 10km. Three uses per day. Overuse may cause blindness.
Throwing Axe / Between the Eyes – Classified Yellow. Guaranteed to strike a target within 30m. Don't throw without an enemy, or it might bounce back.
Meteor Rope / Tripwire – Classified Blue. Like the axe, but causes tripping. Range recorded at 30m. Beyond that, may lose effect.
Rama frowned. "Why thirty meters?"
Li Pan guessed: "Probably the limit of normal human throwing range. Or a rule of this world suppressing artifact effects to mortal level."
"Either way, they're safe and guaranteed-hit. Good against fast ninjas. All yours."
As for himself, he only carried the Headband / One-Kill, sealed in a metal case.
"Got it, Boss." Rama shouldered the artifact bag in his suit, looking like a bellhop.
Li Pan eyed him. "By the way, Rama… have you dreamed lately?"
Rama's gaze softened. Then he grinned. "Yes. I dreamed of my mother. She said she'd always protect me."
So, a Guardian contract. A motherly guardian—fitting. This would be Rama's test, then.
The airship departed Night City, flying east toward Kiyosu.
Beyond the crowded districts, past electrified walls and highways, stretched a forest of white towers, and below, a mirrored metallic ocean reflecting the sky.
Rama pressed against the glass. "Boss, what's that?"
"Molten-salt solar towers," Li Pan explained. "Liquid solar cells below, nanobots align the surface to reflect heat to the towers. Generates power, doubles as the city's moat. Supposed to be green tech, replacing fusion. In truth, production poisons the land. Stray nomads die in a few years—metal poisoning, tumors, deformed births. That's why they beg to move inside."
Rama was silent, staring. "And that?"
Beyond the metallic ocean stretched endless white.
"Plastic greenhouses. Fuji Farm. After volcanic eruptions, ash enriched the soil. With corporate synth-fertilizer, it became one vast organic farm feeding all of Night City."
"Vegetables? Potatoes?" Rama asked hopefully.
Li Pan smirked. "Larvae."
"…Larvae??"
"LARVA. Artificial protozoa bred by Celina Corporation. Gene-edited maggots—fat grubs, really. The pinnacle of protein efficiency, living protein factories. Resistant to pollution, cheap to raise, high conversion. Almost all meat in Night City—steak, meatballs—is flavored larva-protein."
Rama paled, remembering the CSI cafeteria.
"Don't worry. Most are raised on clean synth-feed. They're safer than anything. And they're versatile: you can edit taste, add vitamins, minerals. Even cybernetic organs are grown from larva-protein. This farm alone supplies all Night City's meat."
"But… most people can't afford meat," Rama muttered.
"Affording is different from existing. Celina holds the patents. Tech is priceless, fees astronomical. Add in religious eco-zealots like the Saint Mother of Sampo Church and the Extreme Vegan Alliance—both campaign against larva tech. Claim it corrupts the gene pool. Claim larvae have rights."
"Rights… for maggots?" Rama gaped.
Li Pan stretched. "Of course. Pure nature, pure genes. Idiots pay fortunes for 'authentic' organs. That's the black-market trade. Behind it are food and bio-corps, suppressing Celina's stock to defend their markets. Larva tech triggered two corporate wars already. The water runs deep."
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⚠️ 30 CHAPTERS AHEAD — I'm Not a Cyberpsycho ⚠️
The system says: Kill.
Mercs obey. Corporates obey. Monsters obey.
One man didn't.
🧠💀 "I'm not a cyberpsycho. I just think... differently."
💥 High-voltage cyberpunk. Urban warfare. AI paranoia.
Read 30 chapters ahead, only on Patreon.
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