[T/N] Sorry for the silence. I've been a bit busy these days. But I'm back!
...
"You, take the rest of the 'trash' to the dumpster."
A Scavenger was rinsing off the detached cyberware with a hose while directing a partner to take the two metal bins filled with thick, viscous organs and yellow-white fat.
"Fuck."
The less-experienced Scavenger cursed but couldn't refuse. Frowning, he lifted the bins and headed toward the dumpster, which was large enough to fit an entire person.
"We should just get a dog, then we wouldn't have to haul this garbage to the incinerator."
The Scavenger grimaced as he dumped the first bin of human parts into the dumpster with a messy splash. The stench that rushed back out was like hell itself; even these "scavengers" who had dealt with corpses for a long time found it difficult to bear.
If the "professionals" felt that way, it was even worse for a "law-abiding citizen" like Berry.
She was immensely grateful that she wasn't hiding behind the dumpster.
In the shadow, Arnold crouched behind the large bin. His internal thermal sensor clearly displayed all three Scavengers in the room, and the one closest to him was naturally the one dumping organs into the bin.
As the Scavenger cursed and raised the second bin of internal organs, Arnold made his move.
"Ugh..."
Arnold suddenly stood up, the rush of wind startling the Scavenger.
Seeing a big man in black suddenly emerge, the Scavenger's eyes widened in horror. He opened his mouth to shout.
But Arno wouldn't give him the chance. The next second, his arm shot out like a praying mantis claw, latching onto the man's soft throat.
Fingers dug into the flesh, releasing milky-white fat and blood. The victim's bulging eyes were bloodshot, and the scream he intended to let out turned into bloody bubbles bursting from the wound in his throat.
Arnold slowly tightened his grip. The Scavenger's feet left the ground, and blood dripped from his nose and the corners of his mouth onto Arnold's leather gloves.
"Damn it, finally finished."
One man held down the hollowed-out corpse while the other forcefully pulled the synthetic spine from its back.
A bloody synthetic spine, still attached with bits of flesh, was tossed onto the table. The Scavenger wiped the sweat from his brow with his sleeve and sighed.
The corpse was dissected haphazardly, now just a red, sagging sack of skin draped over the chair.
Heavy footsteps approached.
"Hurry up and lend a hand!" The Scavenger lifting the corpse's feet grumbled. That younger guy was taking forever to empty the trash.
The Scavenger lifting the corpse's head was equally annoyed by the slow footsteps. He looked up, ready to curse, but his eyes widened when he saw the person approaching.
Who was this big man in black?!
But before he could ask, a metal bin was slammed over his head, followed by a heavy blow to his stomach that sent him painfully crumpling to the floor.
"What the fu—!?"
The Scavenger next to him was startled by the sudden appearance of an enemy and instinctively reached for the pistol nearby.
Arnold turned his head; his large hand shooting out to grab the man's head and slam it down into the corpse's empty abdominal cavity.
"No! No!"
Pressed into the viscous flesh and blood, the Scavenger started screaming. Arnold held him down with one hand and grabbed a dissecting scalpel with the other, plunging it into the man's ear canal.
The sharp blade sliced through the head as easily as tofu, and the scream was instantly sucked out, silencing him. Arno held him firmly in the gore until the man's body stopped twitching.
Berry finally descended the stairs.
The Scavenger who had been struck was still writhing on the ground. Berry stepped forward, planted her foot on his chest, and slammed her Kinetic Arm Guard, now fully charged, into his head. His skull burst open like a watermelon, splashing red and white matter everywhere.
This kind of method was necessary for dealing with these bastards who trampled on human decency.
Although Berry was a mercenary who dealt in murder, arson, hijacking, and theft, she could still smell the thick, overwhelming evil radiating from these people—a stench that deserved only to writhe in the sewage-filled, filthy gutters, never seeing the light of day.
After eliminating the three men, Berry scanned the area, finding nothing of interest besides a few hanging corpses.
No living people, no sign of her missing cyberware.
Berry could only shake her head, ready to continue her search.
This Scavenger gang certainly had more than just these few members. Berry had heard earlier that most of them were still upstairs.
Berry saw a staircase on the opposite side of the basement. That surely led to the gang's main lair.
As before, Arnold went first, with Berry lurking behind.
Climbing the stairs, they soon saw daylight streaming through.
When she poked her head up, Berry realized the scene was different from what she had imagined.
It wasn't the sinister environment of a body-harvesting factory; rather, it looked like an ordinary auto repair shop.
There were even a few Scavengers working on a car.
Of course, Berry would have been slightly confused had they not been dismantling the chip from the van Old Vic had sent out.
It seemed the bastards who provoked her were all gathered right here.
Berry's eyes flashed with murderous intent.
Night City encouraged citizens to arm themselves for self-defense against criminals. While this was a compromise by the NCPD, which was unable to control crime, this compromise also created opportunities for some people.
If you had the capability, every individual was a circuit court and an executioner, able to use the gun in their hand to pass judgment on these scumbags, with sentences ranging from a headshot to total dismemberment, with no upper limit.
And the sentence Berry passed on this gang of Scavengers engaging in illegal human trafficking was extreme capital punishment.
The basement stairwell opened into a small lounge. A large TV was mounted on a pillar, and two sofas sat below it. Two Scavengers were sprawled on the sofas, each embracing a sex doll, their eyes covered by Braindance wreaths, completely lost in a heavy-rated BD clip.
A small table between the sofas was covered in alcohol, "leaves" (drugs), and some "candy pills" that were clearly something illicit.
These beasts sure knew how to enjoy themselves.
Berry's anger surged as she watched through Arnold's perspective.
Arnold strode forward.
With so many Scavengers, Arnold, who could not stealthily assassinate while armed with a Kinetic Shotgun, had to use overwhelming force, rushing in with a lightning strike to kill as many as possible before they could react.
Arnold walked behind the sofas. The four people, immersed in the Braindance, didn't react at all.
His bear-like hands grasped the head of one Scavenger on the sofa. With a sudden forceful twist, a dry crack sounded, and the Scavenger instantly lost all life.
His head slumped like a rag doll, his body falling limply onto the scantily clad sex doll next to him. But because she was engrossed in the BD, the doll didn't even notice her client had died.
Arnold stepped toward the Scavenger on the opposite sofa, picking up a liquor bottle from the table as he went.
Squeezing the bottle lightly, the bottom half shattered, leaving the top half with a jagged, sharp glass edge.
Arnold held the neck of the bottle in one hand and plunged the sharp glass into the exposed neck of the Scavenger, whose head was tilted back.
The sharp glass tore into the flesh. Crimson blood rushed out with a tearing sound, streaming down the side of the bottle. The Scavenger convulsed for a few seconds, then died with a whimper.
The second one was also dealt with.
"Holy shit, there's an enemy here!"
A Scavenger emerging from the kitchen shouted in surprise, dropping his plate and scattering his cockroach sandwich all over the floor.
He instinctively tried to escape, but Arnold quickly snatched the shotgun hanging from his waist and fired without hesitation.
"BANG!!!"
The muffled roar of the shotgun sounded. A spray of blood burst from the back of the Scavenger, who had just turned around. He screamed and collapsed face-first onto the ground, instantly dead.
"Shit, gunshots! Enemy!"
"Damn it, who the hell is it!?"
"Find him, kill him!"
The place exploded into chaos. Scavengers on the second floor and the rest of the first floor were startled by the sudden gunfire. They immediately stopped what they were doing, grabbed the nearest weapons, and started yelling as they surrounded the small lounge.
The battle had begun: Berry against an entire gang.
"Shit, what happened?"
"Blood! Oh my god, blood!"
At that moment, the two sex dolls were also awakened. But upon removing their BD wreaths, they were terrified by the dead men next to them, screaming as they caught sight of Arnold holding the shotgun.
"Stay quiet if you want to live."
Berry didn't want to involve these unfortunate people who sold their bodies. She directed Arnold to grab them, one in each hand, and stuff them into a nearby storage locker.
"Fuck, kill him!"
Just as the cabinet door was closed, shouts came from behind. It was the men from the repair bay rushing in.
"Rat-a-tat-tat-tat!!!!"
Several Scavengers raised their guns and opened fire upon seeing Arnold. The flimsy glass door separating them couldn't stop the deluge. In an instant, it shattered under the frenzied hail of bullets, falling to the floor like hail.
The violent rain of bullets immediately struck Arnold. The leather coat was peppered with holes. The sheer number of impacts forced Arnold to take two steps back.
"Good! Good! He's dead!!!"
"Fuck, YEAH!!!"
The Scavengers gripped their triggers tightly, shouting with manic excitement. Having pumped that many bullets into him, they were certain the enemy was dead.