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...
"Why do doctors always set up their clinics in basements?"
Arthur and V trailed behind, Arthur's hoarse voice murmuring the question.
"Let's go... We need to find a clinic... preferably one with a skilled doctor."
When Melanie returned, she was carrying a box almost half her height.
"Or... you could just hand it over.
We can find a doctor ourselves."
Arthur shrugged, his tone laced with doubt.
Dogtown, this wretched place... it was hard to imagine finding a good doctor here. And going in and out of Dogtown would only mean more trouble.
Melanie probably wouldn't come with them anyway—she was still wanted by the corporation.
"This implant... might need my guidance to be installed properly...
Don't worry, the doctors in Dogtown can be trusted. I know it sounds like an excuse... but I really do have contacts here."
Seeing her struggling with the box, Arthur shrugged again and took it from her—it was heavier than it looked.
"Your friend may dress like he's stuck in the past, but he's still a gentleman after all."
Tossing out the joke, she headed straight toward the elevator in the distance.
As she pressed the button and waited, V was already too curious to keep quiet.
"This implant... if ZetaTech is this desperate for it... it must be something important."
Leaning against the elevator frame, she asked casually.
"Alright, I haven't really explained it yet...
This implant... how should I put it..."
Melanie pushed her glasses up with her finger before continuing.
"It's a kind of muscle fiber, one of the most common implants around.
But... not quite the same. The usual muscle fibers are small augmentations—you just embed them into the muscle, and they work.
Mine is different. It's more like microscopic cells... or bacteria. They move into the body's cellular environment through the blood and hormones.
That means far less neural strain.
On the surface, it looks biological—but it's still Cyberware, just on a much smaller scale..."
She glanced at the box Arthur was holding as she went on.
"As you know, the smaller the metal, the quicker it rusts. And our blood is full of oxygen.
So..."
She nodded toward the box.
"This implant is made of gold.
It hardly needs maintenance and puts no strain on the kidneys or liver."
The elevator clattered closer. Arthur glanced down at the box—sure, it probably held a lot of gold, but he wasn't surprised.
Plenty of Cyberware used gold—just not in such generous amounts.
"Right... if you made a piece of Cyberware for ZetaTech that only works with gold, no wonder they're unhappy."
V didn't look particularly impressed. She stepped into the elevator, speaking casually.
"That's not the real reason.
It could be made with alloys too. Sure, it wouldn't work as well, and the rust could wreck the liver and kidneys... but that's not much of a problem. It could even boost sales of artificial organs.
That's just a side effect..."
Melanie countered, but she didn't say a word about why they were being hunted.
The two mercs didn't pry either, and soon they were back in their beat-up car.
Now and then, bursts of automatic fire lit up the streets of Dogtown, but the locals had much better trigger discipline than the fools outside Pacifica... not a single stray round hit the car.
Driving east, the looming black mass of the EBM Stadium gradually swallowed them.
This district was livelier by comparison—the pavement was patchy, but at least paved; the high-rises were complete, no longer looking like half-built shells.
"Look... that tower over there.
Emerald Tower, the BARGHEST's administrative building—and Hansen's palace.
That's where I came from... before the Scavs grabbed me."
Still at the wheel, Melanie pointed at the brightly lit skyscraper outside, speaking casually.
"Not bad. Ignore the craters on the top floors, and it's no shorter than an Arasaka hotel."
V slouched in her seat, looking like she'd throw her legs over someone's shoulder if Arthur weren't holding the box.
"Oh, right. Didn't you talk with Hansen?
What did he offer... you didn't come to an agreement, huh?"
She suddenly remembered and pressed.
"No offer at all... just join them, work for Hansen. In return, he'd give us the basics to survive... not even a paycheck."
Melanie chuckled lightly, as if there was nothing to hide.
It was a ridiculous offer. Even Zetatech had kept up a veneer of respect toward this group—at least until things fell apart.
An arms dealer had no need to recruit someone working on weapons technology. Hansen seemed well aware that his comfortable life came from his lack of importance.
He was just a middleman, not a rival to the corps.
After a few quick turns, the car stopped. Dogtown wasn't that big.
"We're here."
They went down a staircase beside the road and entered a cramped underground space.
Dim lights barely illuminated the area, while garish, menacing graffiti loomed on both walls.
The place looked like the ruins of an old shopping arcade, with storefront-like doors stretching into the dark on both sides.
It might have doubled as a pedestrian underpass.
They found another set of stairs leading deeper. On the wall to the side, a holographic sign glowed—"Farida Nazeri."
Below, it read: Clinic.
Melanie went straight to the intercom beside the door.
"We're closed. Only seeing regulars."
The voice on the other end was curt, followed by a smug silence.
"It's me—Melanie."
...
After a long pause, she lifted her hands helplessly.
"Fine, fine...
I heard you like collecting relics from the Unification War."
"Stupid woman... Don't think being an old acquaintance lets you break the rules.
What if someone had a gun pressed to your back?
Get in!"
The line cut off, and the door finally slid open.