Chapter 56: Life and Death


    I watched the cyborg captain in front of me copse to the ground as he stared in disbelief at the hole in his chest.


    Everyone around was frozen in shock, as if someone had cast time-freezing magic.


    “Sniper!” Margarite yelled. Hearing her words, the surrounding people immediately thawed and dove into cover.


    I struggled to get up, only to fail as my legs buckled.


    Several soldiers received a new hole in their bodies, punching a hole through whatever they had used as cover, in quick session.


    I crawled toward Thorne, but my pace was pathetically slow.


    “Find out where the sniper is and have the turrets on our vehicles decimate the attacker!” Dr. Lut shouted.


    Having found that cover proved to be worthless before the sniper, they all ran out at the doctor’smand. The doctor himself wanted to follow, however, he soon copsed as the next victim of the deadly attacker.


    They all soon evacuated from the building so I couldn’t see what was going on, though the sound of gunshots from outside told a story in itself.It didn’t take five minutes until an eerily silence overcame the sound of fighting.


    I had reached Thorne and found that he still had a pulse, but he was losing a lot of blood. I tore my clothes and bandaged his wounds as best as I could.


    When I was halfway done, I heard the door to the building swing open. I readied my firearm and hid it under me as Iy still.


    There were three sets of footsteps who slowly walked towards me.


    <em>I need to take them all out at once or else I’d just be a sitting duck,ying prone like this.</em>


    The footsteps grew closer, and I prepared myself to spring into action. I decided I would make my move once they walked past me.


    They were soon right beside me, but they then stopped moving.


    “Rx, we’re not your enemies. I just wanted to tell you to be more careful from now on. We won’t be able to protect you forever or from everything. This is your first and final warning,” Said someone with a distorted voice.


    Their footsteps resumed, though they headed back for the exit instead.


    I turned myself over and spotted a tall figure in an all-ckbat suit and a tactical helmet that hid the face.


    “Who are you? Why did you help me?”


    “You’ll find out eventually if you keep growing. Let’s just say we have simr goals in mind. Take care, Rollo.” The figure spoke as they continued walking away.


    The two other simrly dressed figures politely held the door open for the one who spoke. I couldn’t make out any features as they all wore helmets.


    As they left, I turned my focus back on Thorne, who urgently needed my help. I finished dressing his wounds as I started to recover control of my body.


    I was able to stand, allowing me to scavenge for medical supplies. We had prepared plenty for this expedition, so I soon found a medkit. I stabbed Thorne with a cocktail of stims and nanite injections, which seemed to have helped as some color was restored to his face.


    Now that he was more stable, I surveyed our surroundings. Bodiesy everywhere, and I quickly spotted the bodies of Margarite and my employees.


    <em>I will aven—no, I will get back at who is responsible. For their transgression and making me pay a fortune in worker’spensation!</em>


    I dragged Thorne out of the building and soon found our vehicles. Some of the vehicles from Margarite’s group had a familiar gaping hole in them. I found my ownpany vehicles and swiftly unlocked them.


    Just as I threw Thorne into the car, several figures emerged from one of my Vanguards.


    “Boss! You’re okay!” A man yelled out.


    From their blue and ck attire, I could spot the logo of a snow owl on their shoulders, designating them as members of my security team.


    I soon recognized the person who spoke to be one of the guards we had left outside to guard our vehicles.


    “You guys are okay? How did you survive?” I asked.


    “We’re not sure. We were suddenly attacked by a sniper, and even the Desire Corp people dropped like flies. For some reason, the sniper left us alone, but then someone snuck behind us and locked us in the car. We were there until ever since. What about you, boss?”


    “We’ll save that forter. We need to quickly return to the outpost. Thorne needs medical attention ASAP!”<hr>


    “Rollo! How is he? Will he survive?” A tearful ire dove into me as soon as she found me.


    “I don’t know. The doctors are operating on him now. He’s strong, and hested the entire trip out of the wastnd already, so just believe in him,” I replied.


    “What the hell happened?” Leo yelled out from behind her, holding Lana in his arms.


    “I…It’s a long story.”


    I briefed the three of them while we waited outside the operation room. They had a lot of questions, particrly the part about my mysterious savior, but we didn’t dwell on it, as there was no way to find out the truth right now.


    Although I knew my body was tired, I couldn’t sleep after what happened. The trio here had just arrived from Elevate City too, so I’m sure they were tired as well, but we all sat together in silence for some time after I summarized the recent events.


    “It’s my fault… I cleared those guys to be safe to work with,” Leo suddenly muttered.


    “Leo, no. Then I’m just as responsible as you. They were prepared and had more resources than us,” Lana consoled.


    “She’s right. If anything, it would be my fault. I epted this job even though it sounded a little too good to be true. I am responsible for yourck of equipment as well,” I said.


    “Stop it, all of you! It’s no one’s fault. We all didn’t want this to happen or see iting. The only thing that matters is Thorne’s recovery right now,” ire interjected.


    We all nodded in unison, as we sat there in silence, waiting for the surgery to finish.


    I stared at the operation in progress sign for an entire hour before the lights of the sign finally dimmed.


    The doors soon opened with an automated beding out, transporting Thorne back to a recovery area, followed behind by the doctor.


    “How is he?” ire quickly rushed up and asked.


    “He is stable for now, but his spinal cord and the surrounding nerves were damaged. His limbs were also without blood for too long and had to be amputated. He will need a recement grown or cybeic alternatives. Until then, he will be paralyzed.”


    We then proceeded to Thorn’s room. He wouldn’t wake until half an hourter.


    “Thorne!” ire immediately embraced the hand she was holding.


    He weakly muttered something unintelligible. After sipping on some water, he tried again.


    “Looks like…we…made it. How are…you, Rollo?”


    “Yes, I’m unhurt, thanks to you.”


    He let out a sigh of relief before his eyes opened wide, “I can’t move…”


    “We’ll just need some time to regrow new parts for you, and then you’ll be good as new. All onpany expense. Just bear with it for a while.”


    “Yes, the doctor says your limbs had to be amputated, and your spinal cord and nerves were damaged,” ire added.


    “...I want…to rece them…with cybeics. Can you…do that for me, Rollo?”


    <em>While that is cheaper than regrowing the organic parts, recing all his limbs plus the spine is no small decision. He’ll lose most sensations that humans are used to and be one of those cyborgs for real…</em>


    “Thorne, no! Just rece your hands if you must, but don’t be a brain in a jar,” ire cried out.


    “...I’ve made up my mind. I want to be as strong as that captain, Rollo.”


    Our eyes locked for a while as the tension in the room thickened, “I have a way to have your spine and limbs reced with cybeics and still keep the rest of your body organic. I’ll just need some time to work out the surgery.”


    “I trust you.”


    At his words, I felt the gaze of everyone in the room on me.


    <em>It was rare for someone to have all augmented limbs but an organic torso. The amount of devices running in the body, with all the electronics, would start interfering with your organs. That was why they usually reced the torso, too, turning people into what we call a cyborg.</em>


    <em>I would need to invest my remaining points in cybeics and n out what cybeics to use. I would need to keep the imnts’ functionality in mind without harming his squishy organs.</em>


    Though this may dy my ns, it was worth it in the long run and for the sake of Thorne.


    Status


    Level:


    16


    EXP:


    80/1600


    Musculoskeletal:


    211


    Neural Reflex:


    65


    Visuomotor Coordination:


    87


    Endurance:


    59


    Sensory Perception:


    127


    Upgrade Points:


    0


    Upgrades: <ul><li>Stealth +7</li><li>Hacking +3</li><li>Cybeic Engineering +10</li><li>Stealth Technology +10</li><li>Software Engineering +6</li></ul>


    Enhancements:


    SAID: Zenitech Sebastien v2


    Optics: Mirage Tech Clear-Sights mk.12


    Cyberarm (Left): Nova Tech Heracle Mk. 3


    Cyberarm (Right): Nova Tech Heracle Mk. 3


    Auditory: SocialCorp Echo IV


    Cardiovascr: BioGen Lifepump 5


    Misceneous: HSU Custom Shade <hr>


    Eight days after Thorne’s surgery, I watched as he opened his eyes in his new body.


    “How do you feel?”


    “Absolute Zero! I’ve missed being about to move on my own two feet so much,” Thorne dered.


    “You’ve only been bedridden for a little over a week. Calm down, big guy!” ire quipped.


    “Well, I’m d you’re eager to move. We’ve got a lot of tests to do. While your cybeics are all well tested, we need to see if they are integrated into you properly. The architecture of how your imnts are unified ispletely untested.”


    “Will I have to limit myself to prevent damage to my body?”


    “No…I made sure you can make use of the chrome the same way most cyborgs can. You’ll still have a time limit on how long you can push it, but the same applies to other cyborgs.”


    “That sounds… too good to be true. Do you mean I can move super fast like that, captain?”


    “Yes, it’ll strain your brain, spine, and legs, though. That’s why that guy only sped up his movements asionally to dodge and close distances.”


    “Understood. I’ll be sure to practice it well.”


    “Hurry up, you two. We have a reservation today to celebrate Thorne’s full recovery! I’ll go finish up some work while you guys do your thing, but you two better not bete.” ire interjected.


    As she left the room, we shrugged at each other helplessly.


    We proceeded with the test smoothly, testing if the imnts really wouldn’t hurt him when working at full power. The energy and heat management, various things that could be harmful to the human body.


    “Rollo, I’ve been thinking. I want to resign as the head of security.”


    “What? Why?” I stopped my work on my terminal and looked up at the speaker.


    “Don’t misunderstand. I’m not quitting thepany. I want to focus on being your bodyguard instead. It won’t be thest time we meet someone like that captain, as there will be more corporations that we’ll be working with in the future.”


    “I see…In that case, I decline your resignation from the head of security. Just delegate your work to a few people while you guard me. There’s no need for you to give up the post.”


    “But—”


    “Don’t worry, delegating is an important skill to have in a leadership role.”


    “...Okay. I’ll need some time to go back to Elevate City to set everything up first, though.”


    “Take your time then. We’re not in a race here. The transportation business can wait. We can use this time to train more personnel for the new routes we n to have, anyway.”


    <em>And I needed some time to level up as well. The next step of expanding the transportation business relied on adopting some new technology that will have to improve our vehicles and provide me with knowledge on how to design EMP-resistant devices.</em>