Osiris' clinical assessment for these blood-stained trophies, treating them as data samples rather than objects of violence, sent a shiver down the spines of everyone except Maine and Dorio.
Pilar subconsciously touched his own neck, feeling the phantom pressure of the chrome that had been repaired.
"Agreement satisfied." Osiris put down the cyberware and turned to Maine. "This is your scratch."
He walked to a weapon rack on the other side of the workshop and took down a strangely shaped weapon.
It had a long, slightly heavy barrel, and the receiver was cast from a dull alloy, with simple, even somewhat clunky lines.
The rear featured a large, manually cocked hammer and a complex capacitor structure, making it look more like a strange relic than the sleek, high-tech iron popular in Night City.
The gun body was covered in fine heat dissipation grooves and energy conduction patterns; the grip was covered with non-slip black composite material, and the trigger guard was wide enough to accommodate a gloved finger. The entire weapon exuded an aura mixed with ozone and cold-quenched metal.
"A portable directed energy platform based on electro-thermal compression," Osiris handed the rifle, which was taller than Rebecca, to Maine. "I designate it the 'Galvanic Rifle.'"
Maine took the rifle; it was heavy and cold to the touch. He carefully examined the peculiar weapon, his brow slightly furrowed, clearly surprised by its retro appearance, it looked like some gonk cobbled it together from spare parts.
"It doesn't dump traditional iron, but rather specially calibrated alloy flechettes," Osiris explained, as a tentacle handed over three peculiar rounds, each as long as a finger, shimmering with a silver-gray luster, and equipped with stabilizing fins at the rear.
"The warhead contains a superconducting coil and a miniature energy buffer. Upon kinetic impact, the internal fuse triggers the instantaneous release of all stored electrical charge, unleashing an ultra-high-intensity EM spike."
He paused, his crimson optical lens sweeping over everyone: "The effect is similar to detonating a focused EMP pulse inside the target.
It will instantly zero unprotected electronic devices, and for organic systems, it causes annihilative flatline to the nervous system and structural disruption from the inside out. It's preem against lightly armored vehicles and heavy chrome users."
Upon hearing this, Maine's thick fingers carefully traced the cold gun body, and he weighed the few heavy, specialized rounds. The doubt in his eyes was instantly replaced by surprise and solemnity. He knew the terrifying implications of such a specialized piece of iron in combat.
"Preem gear," Maine finally commented, a hint of suppressed excitement in his voice. "Even if it looks a bit odd."
He tried to simulate aiming and reloading; the weapon's brute potential greatly satisfied him.
"Ammunition requires proprietary fabrication and can currently only be manufacturable in-house," Osiris reminded him, his tone flat. "Supply is limited to this current cache. Utilize them only for critical moments, and signal when a resupply run is required."
"Understood." Maine carefully holstered the Galvanic Rifle and ammunition. "Such powerful iron is reserved for when things go sideways."
With the transaction complete, the atmosphere seemed to ease somewhat.
Rebecca curiously wanted to touch the Galvanic Rifle, but Pilar nervously pulled her back.
Maine pondered for a moment, glanced at his team members, especially Dorio and Falco, then looked back at Osiris and made an additional request: "Your craftsmanship is beyond reproach, 'Boss.' Pilar's injury, Rebecca's optics... we trust you. Would you be able to... give our chrome a full tune-up? Many of our implants are cobbled together, leading to compatibility issues, and we're not hitting full potential."
Osiris' optical lens scanned Maine's heavy subdermal armor, Dorio's reinforced tendons that clearly relied on drug support, and the various types of sensors on Falco.
"System compliance confirmed," Osiris replied quickly. "Your cyberware systems exhibit significant redundancy, integration conflicts, and measurable performance bottlenecks. Post-optimization, overall kinetic output is modeled to increase by thirty-one percent, and daily maintenance energy consumption will decrease by fifteen percent."
His prompt agreement relieved Maine, but everyone knew this 'Boss' never dealt in charity.
"What's the hit?" Maine asked directly.
The crimson glow from Osiris' optical lens seemed to flicker slightly.
"I require a military-grade 'Sandevistan' neural drive system," he stated, naming a legend of the black market. "Preferably Arasaka or Militech's latest generation, within a three-year manufacturing window. Core processing unit and energy regulator integrity must be verifiable."
Sandevistan! A chill ran through the crew.
That was truly heavy iron, a controlled substance among controlled substances. It could overclock a user's neural reflexes, allowing them to appear as a blur to a normal choom. It was the ace of aces, a piece of chrome that let you dance on the edge of a flatline.
Osiris showed a strong technical interest in this cyberware that could overload the nervous system: "I require detailed study of its time dilation effect and the proprietary neural overload balancing mechanism."
Maine's brow furrowed tightly. This request meant actively hunting down a corporate elite or top-tier solo mercenary, or hitting highly dangerous black market sources. It was a high-risk, high-reward gig.
He was silent for a few seconds, weighing the team's capabilities against the immense power offered by a fully optimized crew. He glanced at his expectant companions, especially the longing for raw power in Dorio's eyes, and nodded heavily.
"Got a deal. We'll scope out the Sandevistan. As an advance payment, you start the tune-up now."
"Logical parameter." Osiris nodded slightly. "Maine, commence integration first. Your system exhibits the highest conflict and redundancy rates."
He turned and walked towards the modified medical chair, which was covered with various interfaces and robotic arms. A mechanical tentacle, as if welcoming a guest, made a 'please' gesture towards Maine.
Maine took a deep breath, de-jacketing to reveal his scarred upper body covered with heavy chrome, and lay down without hesitation.
The mechanical tentacles slowly extended as if alive, their cold tool tips glinting with calibration lights. Inside the workshop, a new round of 'upgrades' began.