However, facing Morell, Dorio's usually-effective tactics showed signs of inadequacy for the first time.
Morell's movement trajectories completely defied common sense. After Cairo's optimized Sandevistan system, her short-distance burst advances and directional changes reached incredible levels—figure pulling barely-traceable afterimages.
She rarely engaged in pure power clashes with Dorio, always evading at hairsbreadth differences the instant before Dorio's stone-splitting heavy punches landed.
Simultaneously utilizing exceptional speed and precision, using sonic blades' unactivated flat sides or blade backs, leaving clear, cold "marks" at Dorio's neck sides, under ribs, joint gaps—defensive openings.
Throughout the entire process, Dorio seemed wrestling with invisible smoke—possessing mountain-shaking power yet nowhere applying it.
One sparring session ended in silence.
Fine sweat beaded on Dorio's bronze skin. Chest slightly heaving. Gaze serious.
Morell calmly retracted blades into arms, as if just completing warm-up exercises.
"Sixty-forty split." Maine's expression grave, quietly telling crew members gathering around. His gaze still lingered on the field. "Dorio forty, Morell sixty. And Morell didn't even use her real skills."
His tone was certain.
Rebecca watched eyes shining—pure appreciation for ultimate destructive power—but mouth couldn't help arguing: "Dorio also hasn't used full strength! Her fists—taking one hit is no joke!"
"That's precisely the problem." Falco adjusted shades on his nose bridge. Eyes behind lenses calm like analyzing instrument panels. "Morell equally reserved strength.
She didn't even activate sonic blades' high-frequency vibration modes. If that were life-or-death combat..."
He didn't finish, but everyone present instantly understood his unspoken implications.
Activated sonic blades—their killing principles supposedly involved molecular-level resonance disintegration. Dorio's flesh body, however enhanced, whether capable withstanding such attacks remained unknowns.
In those situations, victory might be decided within one or two breaths—results very likely lethal.
Kiwi—who'd been observing throughout using remote sensors and data analysis software—now also walked over. Her voice came through face masks, carrying technicians' characteristic calm and objectivity: "According to energy reading fluctuations I captured plus her movement pattern analyses, if Morell removed all limitations, fighting at full capacity, her winning chances might further rise to seventy percent, even higher.
Her entire system... integration's astonishing. Energy circulation has almost zero waste. This far exceeds any current top-tier combat cyberware design philosophies."
These witnessed scenes plus cold data analyses—like massive stones thrown into Maine crew members' hearts—stirred tremendous waves.
Initially perhaps just envying powerful strength, then transforming into subtle jealousy about why others obtained what they hadn't yet possessed. Ultimately, all these emotions converged into nearly-irrepressible burning desires for personally obtaining such transformations.
They felt happy about Dorio's strengthening, but Morell—this living example—incredibly clearly told them Cairo's hands controlled genuine core technology capable of breaking through current bottlenecks, achieving class leaps.
"The boss promised before," Pilar couldn't help rubbing hands, excitement and urgency overflowing. He pointed at his own—though flexible—old-model mechanical arm already showing joint wear traces. "Giving each of us 'customized modifications'! Look at Morell now, then look at these cobbled-together, nearly-outdated 'hand-me-downs' on us... this gap's too fucking huge!"
Maine took deep breaths, forcibly suppressing equally surging expectations and restlessness within himself.
He understood better than Pilar the principles for dealing with that "boss."
He surveyed crew members with eager gazes, tone seriously warning: "Everyone calm down! Don't rush, especially don't recklessly disturb the boss's research. Remember—we must first prove our value!
The boss only values efficiency and returns. We must present sufficiently-weighty 'tributes,' demonstrating our usefulness, before possibly exchanging for his interventions."
His gaze swept across Pilar, Rebecca, finally landing on distant barely-visible workshop outlines: "From now on, our primary missions are collecting everything possibly interesting the boss—especially those... high-performance cyberware."
——
Opportunities proving value soon arrived with Night City situation changes.
Information Cairo transmitted through Morell triggered violent earthquakes among Night City's upper echelons.
Two giant corporations' silence didn't mean calm waters.
On the contrary, undercurrents beneath surfaces became more turbulent.
Corporate mutual suspicions, internal factional struggles, greed toward "unknown technologies"—made Night City's shadow worlds see sharp increases in assassinations, intelligence probing, small-scale conflicts.
Every morning, opening "Dead Man's Lottery" betting odds revealed increasingly unpredictable rates—because death lists no longer contained only street thugs and low-tier mercs but began frequently showing somewhat-prominent figures.
Some corporate mid-level managers, certain gang important leaders, even renowned solo mercs.
Their bodies often discovered in alleyways or luxury apartments. Fatal wounds varied wildly, but commonality was their valuable military-grade or custom-grade cyberware all vanished without traces.
These high-performance cyberware weren't completely taken by corporate recovery departments.
Considerable portions flowed through various channels into underground black markets, becoming hard currencies all factions scrambled for.
For Maine's crew, this was both dangerous signals and massive opportunities.
Cairo had previously expressed interest in this world's various technological creations—especially high-performance cyberware.
These physical samples held important reference value for him parsing local tech trees, conducting cross-system technical fusion experiments.
Maine keenly grasped this point.
"Collect high-performance cyberware obtainable on markets, especially those just 'released.'" Maine issued new directives to the team. "This is currently our most direct way pleasing the boss. Mind safety. Don't get dragged into unnecessary troubles."
They mobilized connections accumulated through years operating in Night City, beginning selectively purchasing these leaked cyberware.
This process required caution and precise intelligence—not only avoiding corporate eyes but competing with other buyers, even guarding against double-crosses.
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