The noisy, chaotic sound returned once again to the front of the bar.
Earlier, no one had dared to breathe. The suffocating silence had now been shattered by someone's cry of shock.
Cheers and shouts rang out once more. With a single lightning-fast slash, the boy rendered the brute completely helpless, forcing him to his knees.
Just as the crowd thought the skirmish had ended, the brute rose again—like a cockroach refusing to die.
Tension instantly returned. They thought another dazzling, fiery battle was about to break out.
But it turned out to be nothing more than the brute's final flicker of life. The boy put him down effortlessly.
The cheers surged again.
Some of the Mox girls held their chests with starry eyes, gazing dreamily at the cold-faced youth. Others boldly flirted, blowing kisses with seductive hands over their lips.
Some of the Mox boys, moved by the ferocity of the boy's blade, seemed to transcend gender, whispering tenderly to nearby friends how the boy's slashes had not only carved the brute—but also left an indelible mark on their hearts.
But Lin Mo knew none of this. He simply stared at the lifeless brute with a solemn expression, a heavy feeling settling over him.
"This is such a damn hassle..." he muttered with a quiet sigh.
His enhanced reflex stat gave him a sixth sense—a primal intuition that someone, hidden in the shadows, was watching everything unfold.
Like a wild beast suddenly aware of a venomous snake slithering nearby.
It could be one person. Could be several. But whoever it was—or they were—very likely the ones pulling the strings behind the scenes.
But their exact location? Lin Mo had no way of knowing.
With his implanted cyberware pushing his physical attributes past human limits, stats above 10, he had some abilities that bordered on supernatural—but not enough to locate someone hidden in the dark like in a wuxia novel.
The feeling was unsettling. If one of them fired a sniper round at him from cover, even his reflexes wouldn't be fast enough to outrun a rail-accelerated bullet.
So he had to approach things from another angle.
"What are you spacing out for, huh? Our little pretty boy was such a badass tonight. Aren't you gonna go check on your new fans?"
As Lin Mo pondered, Jackie walked over and smacked the top of his head, using the advantage of being a head taller to ruffle his hair.
Lin Mo didn't pursue the thought. He swatted Jackie's hand away and shot him a glare of annoyance.
But Jackie shamelessly slung an arm over his shoulder anyway and grinned.
"You were badass, man. I swear, those slashes with your katana—swish swish swish—you lit that bastard up like a Christmas roast. If I'd known swords could be that cool, I never would've wasted my time with boxing."
Lin Mo chuckled and replied,
"Wanna learn? I'll teach you."
Jackie quickly waved it off, sighing.
"Nah, forget it. I know how hard it is to pick up a new skill. I'm almost thirty—I don't exactly have time for a full reset. My boxing days were already rough enough."
Lin Mo nodded slightly and didn't press.
It had just been a casual offer. He didn't push the topic. The smile faded from his face as his tone turned serious again.
"Jackie, I need a favor."
"What kind of favor?" Jackie straightened up immediately, recognizing the shift in tone.
"The Mox girls will probably come collect the body soon. I'll tell them to load it into a Delamain cab using the Sandevistan. I need you to take it to Uncle Viktor. He'll know what to do with it."
"And keep it discreet."
Jackie furrowed his brow, paused, then nodded without asking questions.
"Got it."
Their conversation done, Jackie silently followed behind Lin Mo, waiting for a chance to slip away from the crowd.
It wasn't hard to do.
All eyes were on Lin Mo. When he turned around, he saw dozens of people staring at him with blazing intensity.
Among them were even some of the men of the Mox, looking at him with bashful, fluttering eyes, their poses delicate and coquettish. Having never experienced this kind of attention before, Lin Mo shivered instinctively.
It was an era of diverse aesthetics—and orientation had long since become fluid.
But Lin Mo didn't consider himself part of that spectrum.
"What are you all standing around for? It's over! Don't you all have jobs? Is the bar closed or what?"
Ricki's booming voice suddenly cut through the dreamy atmosphere, dragging everyone back to reality.
The Mox might've been a small gang, but even small gangs had their rules.
The members who'd stayed behind began to disperse, though many cast lingering looks at the silent boy still standing in place.
Jackie slipped away with the crowd, making his way toward the parking lot, ready to act on Lin Mo's signal.
Once the area had mostly cleared, Ricki walked over to Lin Mo.
"Mr. Lin, thank you for your help tonight. If not for you, I'd probably be dead at that bastard's hands."
She gave a glance at the brute's corpse, then fixed her gaze on Lin Mo, her tone soft.
"Do you think this was just an accident?" Lin Mo asked quietly, hands in his jacket pockets.
"I don't know if it was or wasn't. Are accidents rare in Night City? All I know is—you saved my life, Mr. Lin."
Ricki gave a coy smile, flicking her tongue lightly over her lips, staring at Lin Mo with undisguised aggression.
She leaned in.
And was promptly interrupted.
"Sis, I'm still standing right here. Could you maybe not?"
A voice cut in abruptly.
Lin Mo turned to see another girl walking up—same twin-bun hairstyle, classic street punk style. She gave Ricki a disapproving glare.
"You blaming me now? Shoo! Don't get in the way of my business talk with Mr. Lin."
"Business talk? Please. Don't make me call you out."
The younger girl scowled.
"Little Rita, why don't you help the others clean up the body? I'll handle things from here with Mr. Lin. Come, let's talk in private."
Ricki waved her hand with a grin and led Lin Mo inside the bar.
With the walls blocking line of sight, it was unlikely the mastermind had X-ray vision.
Though... it couldn't be ruled out that someone in their team was a skilled netrunner.
For those elusive hackers, anywhere with a camera was basically wide open.
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🧠💻 MY CYBERPUNK 2077 SIMULATOR 💻🧠
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📢 SYSTEM ONLINE! 📢
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Enter Night City with a simulator, a system, and the kind of advantage most mercs would kill for.
But this is still Night City.
And in a world ruled by corpos, bullets, chrome, gangs, and cyberpsychos, even a cheat-like power doesn't guarantee survival.
⚙️ Level up.
🔫 Fight harder.
🌃 Stay alive.
💀 Or get swallowed by the city.
Read ahead now before the public readers catch up!
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🛑 ALSO AVAILABLE ON PATREON:
🌃 Cyberpunk: Dogtown Legend
🔥 Cyberpunk: The Relentless
👩👦 Cyberpunk: Lucy Adopted Me and I Got a System
🤖 My Girlfriend's a Cyberpsycho—Who Knew?
🛡️ Star Wars: The Rise of Mandalore
🌌 Star Wars: Relics of the Past
🏰 Game of Thrones: Secrets Beneath the Dreadfort
⚡ The Rebirth of Harry Potter
🌹 R18: Reincarnated in Her World
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