Chapter 76: Out Of Place

"This stupid kid believed it. Once he comes, both he and his mother will be yours." After hanging up the phone, the doctor at Red Sash Psychiatric Hospital sneered at the figures hiding behind the curtain. Just as Leo had guessed, there were scavengers lying in wait here—four of them, not just three. "Haha, Doc, finally came to your senses. You should've done this sooner. And to think you talked about professional ethics—only harvesting organs from the terminally ill?" "And another thing—no harvesting from minors!" "Hahaha!" The scavengers burst into laughter, mocking the doctor for his ridiculous "professional ethics." The doctor didn't get angry; he was focused on making sure that kid David died—and making a good profit from it. For the past few days, he had dutifully kept that woman alive, just to find out which gang the kid was associated with— And the result? A whole lot of nothing! And this kid dared to point a gun at him? He had to show this kid why messing with a doctor was the worst mistake of his life. "Stop laughing, I want to watch you tear that kid apart. He dared to slap me—my own father never even hit me!" "Alright, alright, we get it—though wasn't your dad dead for a while now?" "Freedom is a reliable gun, but if your opponent has subdermal armor, I suggest you aim carefully." "A gun should always aim true, right?" David's hand trembled slightly as he held the gun— Except for that accidental discharge in the hospital, he had never fired a shot. This state wouldn't do. "Do you have an implant in your arm? Can it handle this?" Leo tossed the freshly looted Strong Arms 400 chip. "I don't know, I've only tried a basketball chip before." "It should be fine. Plug it in." "Huh?" Leo glanced at the nearby security camera, quickly hacking into the hospital's surveillance network—inside were four scavengers, two skinny, one strong, and one fat. The strong one had cheap subdermal armor on his abdomen. The others had only minimal modifications to their hands and eyes, barely touching on combat implants. The fat one had a decent brain, likely with an intelligence level around 5. He was probably their Ripperdoc, ensuring their implants didn't malfunction. The other two skinny ones might be newbies or vultures assisting the Ripperdoc during surgeries. Overall, they weren't very strong, making them perfect practice targets for a rookie. "David—your mom might already be dead. Even if she's not dead now, if you mess this up, she will be." "But..." "Since you're here, they have no reason to spare your mom. So once you're inside, you need to act fast. I've marked their positions for you. Once you enter, I'll disrupt their cyberware and optics. You'll have one minute to take out all four of them. Aim straight, shoot through their heads, or you'll die, and your mom will die too." David still looked confused, which made Leo a bit frustrated. Even with high implant potential, David's combat instincts and self-awareness were severely lacking. In this regard, even Archi, who cried out in pain with just two limb implants, was far stronger. "The guy who saved you earlier—he wasn't great, but do you know what he did when he realized his mom was about to die? He charged out of a hail of bullets from the 6th Street gang, rammed into a Valentino's car without a care— His foot was fractured, but he kept pressing the pedal; his hand was half-gone, but he still gripped the wheel. Listen up, kid. If you don't have that kind of resolve right now, your mom's death will be just the first of many tragedies you'll face. Even if she survives today, she might not tomorrow. In short, if you stay like this, you won't live long." David's mind was still a blank. He was just a kid who had been too sheltered—even he could sense it. He was a poor kid in a rich kids' academy, one who felt like he'd never escape his cage. Leo glanced at the gun in David's hand: "The gun's got a good name—Freedom. I'll start the countdown in three seconds. 3...2...1." Bang! Leo kicked David in the backside, sending him stumbling through the hospital doors. A man wearing a facial projection mask appeared in front of him— "Hehe, not bad, hope you fetch a good price! Ugh—!" The man's club halted mid-air, trembling as it refused to fall! David's eyes widened as he stared at the club, frozen just 10 centimeters from his face— His hand suddenly moved. This scene was preloaded into the Strong Arms 400 chip, and he knocked the club away like a martial arts master before smashing his fist into the man's face. It was a heavy punch, and with the scavenger's malfunctioning cyberware, the ambusher was knocked out cold. "Hey—did you take care of it?" another scavenger's voice called from upstairs. David looked up, spotting another guy with a projection mask at the railing— The Strong Arms 400 chip couldn't activate for this one. "Damn, what the..." The scavenger froze, body twitching as David instinctively raised his gun and fired without aiming! Bang! The bullet blew the scavenger's face apart, but the gunshot alerted the other two. "What the hell? Shooting a kid? Have you been watching too much braindance?!" The third scavenger rounded the corner from the operating room and froze at the sight of his friend's blown-off face. And strangely, David also froze, seemingly lost in the feeling of shooting someone. The bullet had entered through the left cheek and exited the other side, leaving a mangled mess of flesh. Would he die? The last scavenger stepped out, also beginning to shake as he hesitated to take down David. Outside, Leo sighed—this kid had potential, sure. But it was all physical. Maybe this was what people meant when they said God opens a window but shuts a door; David seemed like the type who wouldn't truly change unless he lost someone close. The scavengers' cyberware malfunction lasted about 10 seconds—enough time for seasoned pros like Leo to reduce them to spare parts. But David didn't fire another shot; instead, he swallowed nervously and sprinted up the stairs, heading straight for the clinic door. By the time he reached the two scavengers, they had begun to recover, and only then did David raise his gun! "You even got a hacker, damn it! Even with a hacker, you're still a worthless piece of crap!" The scavenger pulled out his own gun, but at this range, it activated the Strong Arms 400 chip again, and David punched him! This bizarre fight left the last scavenger baffled, but he was smart—he was dazed, but he figured out they were after the woman. He dove headfirst into the operating room, pulled out his gun, and pointed it at Gloria's head— The anesthesia on Gloria had worn off just then, and she groggily woke up to the sight of a gun pointed at her. "Mom!" David cried out in panic. "David...?!" "Let go of my mom!" "Heh... you're tough, kid, even got yourself a hacker. Arasaka Academy really is something—but it's a shame. If I were that hacker, I'd be pissed off. You can't even shoot straight, might as well die already—idiot!" As the vulgar words spewed out. David suddenly felt a sharp pain in his neck— The doctor had been hiding all along—he was terrified but still managed to inject David with a tranquilizer at the critical moment. The scavenger sighed in relief: "Finally, it's over—hey, hacker buddy? How about we talk?" That was the last thing David heard before he blacked out. Leo walked in with a resigned look—this David wasn't just any problem child. He didn't fit in at Arasaka Academy, and he didn't fit in on the streets either. Leo nudged the unconscious David with his foot: "How much tranquilizer did you give him?" "Just a bit, didn't want to mess with the quality of the donor organs—so, buddy, let's cut the crap. This kid killed one of my men." "That's too bad; you'll lose a few more." The scavenger froze for a moment, then his head sparked with electricity. "I have no idea where you got the courage to talk to me." Leo saw the scavenger half-kneeling on the ground, along with his downed comrades, and took out his Yinglong, finishing them off with a few final shots. After cleaning up, he turned to the trembling doctor: "What's your name?" "I..." "Never mind." Data flashed in Leo's eyes, the doctor's head twitched, and he collapsed to the ground, convulsing. This place was close to the Badlands; it'd be easy enough to find someone to replace this doctor later.