The gentle drizzle fell like scattered rain, and warm water washed over Lin Mo's body, rinsing away the blood and grime clinging to his skin
The gentle drizzle fell like scattered rain, and warm water washed over Lin Mo's body, rinsing away the blood and grime clinging to his skin. As the heat seeped into him, the shower felt less like water and more like sunshine—almost as if even the sins on his skin were being washed away.
He stood quietly beneath the showerhead, letting the droplets stream down. His well-defined muscles were sharp and aesthetically pleasing, a testament to his augmented physique.
Though he hadn't yet run a scan with the simulator, Lin Mo figured that with the synthetic muscle implants, his physical stats had likely improved quite a bit.
Once he finished cleaning up, he stepped out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel. Inside the modest temporary suite, Kitagawa Hao had already respectfully hung his clean clothes on a rack nearby.
"That was fast. The laundry's already done?" Lin Mo asked, mildly surprised.
He picked up his underclothes and his tough, durable Wolf School bulletproof jacket. The material still felt slightly warm—fresh from the dryer.
"The shared laundry room here isn't bad. Mr. Pira tweaked the machines, amped up the power output. So now washing and drying only takes about ten minutes," Kitagawa Hao explained.
"No kidding. A tech expert who can even fix up laundry machines," Lin Mo said with some amusement as he headed into the washroom to change.
Kitagawa sat silently on the couch, saying nothing about the price of that upgrade. After a few loads, the overclocked machine had short-circuited from the stress—it was now just another broken appliance.
"Where are the others? Already headed to that diner outside?" Lin Mo asked as he emerged, fully dressed.
Kitagawa nodded and drew the curtain aside, glancing out toward the roadside diner glowing brightly with incandescent lights.
—TURBO Diner. A hangout Mann and the crew frequented, popular with many edge-dwellers in Night City.
Lin Mo stepped closer, his gaze landing on the diner's parking lot. Several different vehicles were clustered there, including Falco's Emperor 720 and Mann's Goulard sports car.
"You go ahead and check us out. I'll hit the vending machine for a quick bite, then meet you down there."
Lin Mo turned toward Kitagawa.
No objections. Kitagawa straightened his clothes, gathered his belongings, and was just about to head out when he paused and asked, "By the way, Lin-kun, you want to take the Stone Sword?"
Lin Mo thought for a moment, then shook his head with a smile. "Nah, that ride stands out too much. Riding it there would attract attention. I'll walk—it's not far."
"Got it." Kitagawa left the room.
Lin Mo stayed behind, heading to the kitchenette's vending machine. He glanced over the options, and his lips curled into a faint smile, a flicker of nostalgia in his eyes.
He pressed a button, and a snack in a blue wrapper dropped down.
—XXL Blueberry Wrap.
He tore it open casually and began munching as he made his way to the door.
The flavor was just as he remembered—like eating blueberry-flavored glue. Sweet, cloying, thick.
He finished it in a few bites and went downstairs. At the front desk, he spotted Kitagawa checking out, and the two walked together toward the diner.
Though called a "diner," Lin Mo thought it looked more like a roadside gas station convenience store.
Set alongside a traffic-heavy road, the diner glowed brightly under the night sky. A small side path led vehicles to a compact parking lot beside it.
The large lot also hosted three food trucks lit up like roadside stalls, serving meals to customers.
Vehicles from various manufacturers were parked haphazardly, and most of the people sitting in plastic chairs at the stalls bore the telltale signs of heavy cyberware—edge-dwellers, through and through.
Lin Mo and Kitagawa approached quietly. A few people glanced their way, but no one paid them much attention—they went right back to whatever they were doing.
Still, Lin Mo's eyes were immediately drawn to the brightest clown in the lot:
—Pira.
The same foul-mouthed, wildly eccentric man now stood in a small clearing ringed by tables, using his long cybernetic arms like a circus performer. He held two trays, each balancing several bottles of liquor.
With practiced precision, he tilted and tossed them without spilling a drop, even performing moves that resembled juggling tricks.
The sight drew chuckles and amused jeers from nearby edge-runners—crude but good-natured.
Among them, Lin Mo also spotted Rebecca, Sasha, and the rest of the crew.
Mann, with his broad, muscular frame, sat on the edge of a flowerbed near the parking lot, smirking as he watched the scene unfold, a bottle in his hand.
He noticed Lin Mo at once, waved him over, and called out cheerfully:
"Yo! Lin Mo, you made it! Come sit!"
Lin Mo smiled, turned to Kitagawa, and whispered, "Go explore a bit. Grab something to eat if you're hungry. I'll talk with him for a bit."
Kitagawa nodded and didn't follow. As he started toward the diner, he paused, then turned back and asked:
"Anything you want me to get?"
"I'm good. I'll grab something myself later," Lin Mo replied.
Kitagawa nodded and headed off—he hadn't eaten all night either.
After parting ways, Lin Mo walked over and plopped down beside Mann, joining him in watching Pira's antics.
"Not a bad vibe here..." he mused aloud.
Mann chuckled, took a sip of his drink, and looked out at the edge-runners and teammates scattered around. His gaze was thoughtful, distant.
"That's 'cause we made it through another day. Guys like us, anyone drinking here tonight might be gone tomorrow. So if we get the chance to relax, we take it. No point carrying fatigue and stress into tomorrow."
Lin Mo chuckled along, choosing not to dwell on the heaviness of that truth. Instead, he changed the topic:
"You pulled in a good haul today. Aren't you gonna treat me to something?"
Mann let out a short laugh, his rugged face filled with mock disbelief.
"You? The guy who drops a hundred grand without blinking? And you want me to treat? ...Well, I guess it checks out. I made money, you lost money. Fine, name it—what do you want? I'll go grab it."
"Then I'm gonna make this count," Lin Mo said with a smirk, scanning the food stalls and reading over the signs.
Just as he was deciding between oden, barbecue, or a proper meal, his eyes paused—he spotted a familiar girl with twin tails walking toward them.
"Guess I won't need to treat you after all," Mann said with a knowing grin, clapping Lin Mo on the shoulder.
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