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[You have received a new Mission: Talia Venn's Benefactor]
>Help Talia Venn during her breakthrough attempt.
[Mission Reward: Random]
(NOTE: Make sure her body doesn't die during the breakthrough attempt. If she dies, you fail. But if she fails the breakthrough attempt and becomes corrupted, kill her. If you kill her, you succeed.)
~----~
Leon's face secretly became solemn as soon as he saw this.
Hearing it from Talia was one thing, but seeing his System confirm it was another thing. It confirmed the reality that what Talia said was no fairytale- there was a very real chance of dying when she attempted the breakthrough.
He cursed silently. 'F*ck! Just what kind of world did I find myself in?'
'Or should I say era? Is this really Earth?'
He took a quick glance at the sky that was still filled with aurora-like neon storms and shook his head. 'Nah, this is definitely not Earth'.
'This is something else. This is Neo-Tokara'.
Since Kain led the way at the front, Leon was able to keep his eyes on him and observe his mechanical body even more. 'Damn, he looks sleek though'.
Well, unlike what some perverts would expect, Kain doesn't walk around naked in his mechanical body. He has an attire.
His mechanical body is garbed in a long flowing black coat that covers his body completely, also hiding his kinetic pistols. Leon could tell that the black coat was not ordinary, it most likely had a shield function just like Talia's own cloak.
Unlike Talia's own black tattered long coat, his was in much better condition.
As soon as Kain walked out of the protective confines of the data vault, he also pulled out an undertaker hat to cover his mechanical head.
The combination truly made him look badass, though Leon would never admit it. At least not in front of him.
The journey was 15 minutes, and if Leon had any word to describe it, then it was efficient.
Unlike when he moved alone through the wasteland, all cautious and hesitant, Kain led the way with the confidence of a veteran who knew every nook and cranny like the back of his hand.
Leon was almost convinced that the guy was a navigator.
And to his relief, their temporary hideout was not in the direction of his own shelter. It was in the adjacent direction to the north.
Within the wasteland, Leon already drafted a little map of the terrain in his head. The data vault was located in the eastern direction, and according to Talia, it was that way that led out of the fringe into the inhabitable areas of the Wastes.
As for Leon's shelter, it was hidden in the west.
This confirmed Talia's words. The deeper you go into the fringe, the greater the density of ADE corruption hence why they couldn't get too close to the underground facility where he woke up.
Talking of ADE corruption, Leon could not help but think back to his own System status. 'One of my traits is Temporal Anomaly, right? Is it supposed to make me immune to ADE corruption?'
Before, he didn't understand, but now…
His eyes flashed. 'That explains why I've survived the past 2 days here without feeling much discomfort'.
From how ominously Talia spoke about ADE corruption, Leon knew that this trait of his was greater than he gave it credit for.
And maybe with it, he could enter places of this world that no one else could enter and maybe no one has ever even dared enter.
'I wonder if it gives me immunity to the corruption that comes with failing a breakthrough attempt, that's if I don't die after failing it'.
'I don't know for now, only time can tell'.
He hastened his steps after Kain and Talia.
Approximately 15 minutes after they left the data vault, they finally arrived at the hideout. ADE storms crackled faintly in the distance as the trio approached a half-buried cargo trailer that was wedged into a canyon wall.
The entrance glowed faint orange from generator heat even as the sound of grinders and low hums echoed from inside.
"This is your hideout?"
"Yeah," Talia muttered as she led the way, her tattered coat snapping in the wind.
Leon stared at Kain who glared back at him. With a chuckle, he followed Talia in and Kain walked behind him, silent but subtly protective- a warning to the others who were sure to react at the sight of an outsider.
Kain was right.
Inside the bunker, two male voices were caught up in a heated argument over a melted turret coil. Another male reclined in a corner with a white and black cable running from his wrist to a flickering monitor wall.
'I thought they were four,' Leon thought as he followed Talia in, when…
Clang!
The sound of metal clashing suddenly reverberated.
Leon flinched because this sound came from dangerously close to him. Precisely, his neck!
His blood turned cold as he inclined his head slightly to notice the last guy standing motionlessly near the door, blending flawlessly into the shadows with a dagger currently pointed at his neck.
Kain's dagger stopped the sneak attack.
"What is the meaning of this?" Leon asked calmly.
"Stand down, Brick". Talia said as she calmly walked deeper inside the bunker of the cargo trailer, unstrapping the layered leather harness that had the magnetic coils and uplink discs that she carried with her.
The guy called Brick tsked then gave Kain a lazy glance before pulling back his dagger. "Talia, you said you'd bring supplies, not another mouth". He said as he went to sit down in one of the wooden stools at the corner.
By now, inside the trailer was silent as all eyes focused on the newcomer.
Leon rubbed his neck and also took the opportunity to stare back at them and observe them. Of course, he glared at the one that attacked his neck first, Brick or what did Talia call him again?
This guy was just like Kain, a mechanical lifeform, a Synth, but for some reason he was not fully pure like Kain. Unlike Kain, he was a literal giant standing at over 7 feet tall, but that was not what attracted Leon's attention.
It was his body.
Unlike Kain's silvery gray mechanical body, this guy was a 7 feet tall towering mass of black alloy mixed with living tissue, yes, living tissue with a blue gel glowing in place of veins.
'What is he?' Leon thought.
And unlike Kain, this guy had 4 mechanical eyes with only two currently active, curiously scanning his body. His jaw was reinforced by an external frame, and he carried a portable generator on his back with cables feeding into his spine.
'He's a Gene Augur'. Leon made the connection himself before he was told.
Not able to read his thoughts though, Talia spoke at that moment as she noticed where his gaze was. "Leon, this is Brick, a trusted friend of mine. He's a Gene Augur. Brick, meet Leon, he's a Mechanist".
The Brick guy smiled, revealing black metallic teeth that seemed capable of tearing both flesh and metal apart. "We already met," he said.
Leon said nothing.
"Leon, this is Daren and Rex," Talia gestured at the two guys that were embroiled in an argument.
"Daren is a Cyber Gladiator, and Rex is a Mechanist just like you".
Leon observed them.
The Daren guy was clearly a Geneform. He was lean but muscular with patterned brown scales running along his arms and shoulders; his eyes were golden and he had a long muscular reptilian tail that extended behind him.
'He's a half-lizard?' Leon thought as he stared at him.
He had neon-orange tattoos running across his neck like circuit flames.
And unlike all the others, he was shirtless. What attracted Leon's attention about him though was the pair of gauntlets that he wore that were far more sophisticated than Kain's own gauntlets. They hummed with ADE capacitors.
His eyes sparkled. "Can I study that?"
Daren looked at him weirdly, then at Talia. "Boss, with all due respect, where'd you bring this guy from?"
Rex was also a Geneform. He was the shortest of the crew, and he looked the most human. He was stocky with oil-stained green overalls covering his body, heavy black gloves, and with googles resting on his forehead.
"Hey," he waved his left hand at Leon. "I'm Rex. I'm missing two fingers on my left hand, and as you can see, I replaced them with crude mechanical clamps".
"If Boss Talia and Boss Kain brought you here, then you must be really reliable," he grinned. "Nice to meet you. I'm a Mechanist too, but not as good as Boss Kain. I mostly fix things around here".
After the frosty reaction from the first two guys, Leon was surprised by the sudden change in reception. "Uh… nice to meet you too".
Rex grinned, clearly happy.
"And this is Leroi," Talia continued. "But we mostly call him Ghostwire. Just like me, he's a NetRunner".
"Not fair Boss!" Daren quickly protested. "Why call his nickname and Brick and not call mine too?" He stared at Leon. "Newcomer, you can call me Spitfire".
Leon nodded absentmindedly as he stared at Leroi, or Ghostwire?
Just like Brick and Kain, this guy was a Synth. He was tall even while sitting, about 6'5 with smooth synthetic skin that was overloaded with faint holographic tattoos. For some reason, Leon felt that they could shift depending on his mood.
Unlike Kain and Brick though who had bald mechanical heads, this guy had hair. He had synthetic black hair that gleamed in the dark; his eyes gleamed faint blue as he scanned Leon.
Leon's first impression of this guy was that he was quiet and unnervingly calm, the kind of guy to stab you in the back when you least expected it. He only nodded at him without saying a single word.
Leon got his first impression of the crew immediately.
'Brick has to be the oldest of the crew, right? Talia and Kain is the command structure, with Daren and Rex likely the comic relief duo. Well, they do look like it. But that Ghostwire guy, he's creepy,' he sighed secretly. 'He's the outlier of the crew'.
'Then what does that make me?' he thought.
'The wildcard?'