Chapter 72

Because of the Cyber Black Key Nantō Masayuki had struck her with earlier, the virus it carried was still battling the self-ICE installed in Chihiro's body. On top of that, her severe blood loss had caused her to briefly lose consciousness.

"I'm fine. Don't cry, Ryoko. You have to be strong."

Chihiro wiped the tears from her daughter's face, but her hands were covered in blood and grime, smearing it across Ryoko's cheeks.

"Can you stand?"

Ryoko nodded. She released her hold on her mother, and when she saw Chihiro sway unsteadily, she hurried to prop her up. Chihiro patted Ryoko's head affectionately.

"Ryoko, remember what I'm about to tell you. Right now, I need you to climb down the fire escape outside the balcony. There's an alley at the bottom—run through it and go to Uncle Viktor's. You remember where that is, right? I took you there once before."

Ryoko bit her lip, tears flooding her eyes again. "Mom, no! I don't want to leave you!"

"Listen to me," Chihiro said gently. "I'll be right behind you."

But no matter what, Ryoko refused to leave. Chihiro's face hardened, and she barked, "Go!"

Ryoko jumped at her sudden harshness. Seeing her normally gentle mother so angry for the first time, she trembled and climbed down the fire escape as instructed, planning to find Uncle Viktor for help.

Chihiro watched Ryoko disappear into the alley before finally letting out a long breath. Her daughter was her weakness, and as long as Ryoko was safe, nothing else mattered. She couldn't take Ryoko herself because the Tiger Claws would follow the trail of her blood. She couldn't risk leading them straight to Viktor.

Chihiro pulled out her last pneumatic injector, bit off the cap, and jammed the needle into her arm. A wave of coolness rushed through her body, dulling the searing pain of her wounds.

Unsteady on her feet, she staggered into one of the apartment's rooms. She shut the door and placed a laser trip-mine behind it, ready to explode if anyone from the Masafusa-gumi forced their way in. She then dragged a wardrobe in front of her as cover and took out the rest of her weapons and magazines, preparing for a fight.

Footsteps echoed from below, drawing closer by the second until they stopped outside the door. They searched for a moment, spotted the blood trail, and followed it right to the room where Chihiro waited.

One Masafusa-gumi member lost his patience and kicked the door hard.

Boom!

The explosion was so loud that people on the street outside the apartment heard it clearly. Some of the braver onlookers gathered at the alley entrance and saw the apartment's windows shatter. Brief flashes of light lit the interior, followed by bursts of gunfire.

…

Ryoko tore through the alley and dashed onto the main street, sprinting toward Viktor's clinic. She crashed into pedestrians, drawing curses in her wake. After a while, she ground to a halt, looking around in confusion. She realized she couldn't remember exactly where the clinic was.

Her mother had indeed taken her there once, but fear and panic had chased away all clarity. It was like those students who scored well in practice but performed poorly on the final exam—her mind went completely blank.

She tried to recall the location of Viktor's clinic, but all she could see in her mind was her mother lying in a pool of blood, dying alone. Tears filled her eyes, blurring her vision. She staggered up to passing strangers, reaching out a trembling hand.

"Please…help me," she begged. "My mom…please save her… She's going to die…"

But the pedestrians either looked annoyed or afraid of the trouble, stepping around her without so much as a second glance. No one stopped to listen; no one reached out for her hand.

Feeling as though the entire city had abandoned her, Ryoko couldn't hold back her sobs any longer.

"Mom… Mom…" she wailed hopelessly.

As if by some twisted stroke of fate, a raspy voice sounded close by.

"Hey there, kid. What are you doing alone out here? Where's your family?"

Ryoko wiped away her tears and looked up to see a group of men and women dressed in a way that immediately set her on edge. One of them gave her a smile that felt wrong, full of hidden malice. The others made no effort to mask their hunger; their eyes glinted like starving wolves.

Across the street, a couple noticed the scene. The man spat on the ground and growled, "These Scavs deserve to be strung up. Can't they see that kid's already terrified?"

His girlfriend tugged on his arm. "Shh… Keep it down. If they notice you, we're in trouble."

The Scavengers ignored the couple, too focused on the better prize in front of them. The man who had spoken first tried his best to sound kind.

"Don't be scared, kid. We're not bad people; we're here to help. Now, tell me, where's your family? Your mom or dad? Any siblings, maybe an uncle or aunt?"

Ryoko had a strong feeling these people weren't trustworthy, but she was too young and desperate to fully understand the danger. Her mother's life hung in the balance, so even though alarm bells rang in her head, a spark of hope made her stay.

"Please help my mom," she pleaded. "Some bad people are trying to kill us… She stayed behind to keep me safe…"

"I see."

The Scavengers exchanged significant glances. They didn't know the exact story, but it looked like the girl was all alone, with no family coming for her anytime soon.

"Then come with us. We'll help save your mom."

Greedy light shone in their eyes; their faces were masks of rapacious intent. They'd noticed Ryoko was fitted with third-generation (Epic-grade) implants. Though not quite as rare as fourth-generation (Legendary) models, a third-gen upgrade still surpassed what most Night City residents possessed.

To them, Ryoko looked like a child from a corporate middle-class family in Charter Hill, whose parents had gone into debt to ensure she had the best implants. Scavengers normally dealt in first- or second-generation implants. Third-gen finds were rare and brought in a fortune.

So, with coaxing and promises, they tricked Ryoko into climbing into the back of a van. Once the doors slammed shut, they dropped all pretense. They tied her down to a stretcher, ignoring her terrified struggles.

"Let me go! Let me go! Mom! Mom, help me!"

One of the Scavs, annoyed by the noise, raised a hand to slap her. Another caught his arm and reached for a roll of tape. He tore off a strip and pressed it over Ryoko's mouth, stifling her shrieks.

Then, tapping the cold scissors against her tear-streaked cheeks, he said, "Don't be scared. You're just a kid, so we'll give you plenty of anesthetic. I promise you won't feel a thing when you die."

Another Scav looked confused. "Hey, boss, since when do we give 'em anesthetic? That just increases our costs."

"Don't you get it?" the boss retorted. "Don't you have any sympathy? She's only a kid. What, you want to watch her die in agony?

 Where's your sense of decency?"

---------------------------------

You can read 50 advanced chapters as well as 2 daily chapters on!

Patreon(.)com/IDKjust