27th Inning Stretch

"Tch, tch, tch."

After spitting out a few mouthfuls of saliva, Jack finally felt the metallic taste in his mouth dissipate somewhat. His gaze swept across the battlefield, now calm and littered with the corpses of mercenaries and attackers. He then looked at the Arasaka security personnel who were driving up slowly after the battle had ended, and curled his lip in displeasure. "We've already finished fighting, and they're only just arriving. It's like they've got 'we're just using you as cannon fodder to test the danger' written all over their faces."

"What else can you expect? That's how Corpo Dogs are. Jack, don't move around. You've taken quite a few bullets, and although none of them hit anything vital, if they're not treated properly, they could easily lead to complications."

Oliver used alcohol-soaked cotton swabs, tweezers, and a scalpel to treat Jack's injuries. After finishing with Jack, he still had to treat the other mercenaries. They had all fought in the same battle, after all. He couldn't just watch them get injured and wait to die.

"Say, can't you just give me a shot of Re-Con or Full Cure? I saw you had some left. Wouldn't that make it heal faster?"

Jack felt a tingling and pain all over his body, and grimaced a little. It wasn't that he couldn't handle the pain, it was just that the itching was unbearable. In response to his words, Oliver explained while treating the wounds:

"That stuff directly promotes cell regeneration to heal you. Healing too fast could cause the bullets to stay inside and cause secondary damage. We have to take the bullets out first. Besides, I already used up my remaining stock on the other seriously injured mercenaries. I'm all out."

"So generous?"

Jack glanced at Oliver. "Doesn't seem like your style."

"No bargaining. A hundred euros a shot."

"Never mind then."

Actually, Jack knew that Oliver was mostly being kind. After all, when it came to saving lives, mercenaries would probably be willing to pay a thousand or even ten thousand euros for a teammate who might die. After all, they were all mercenaries who had made a name for themselves, and there was some camaraderie between them. Moreover, from a team perspective, spending some money to ensure combat power was the most rational thing to do, not to mention only spending a small amount like a hundred euros.

Oliver probably didn't want the other mercenaries to owe him anything, so he charged a hundred euros in name only.

"Quite the compassionate doctor."

Karl, who had already finished cleaning up part of the battlefield, returned. He had gone to the third floor where the sniper was located and found only a shattered Kitsune sniper rifle and a broken helmet exoskeleton. The sniper himself had run away at some point. It seemed that Karl's shot hadn't killed him.

As for when he ran away, Karl wasn't very clear. After all, the mercenaries had quickly eliminated the group of attackers after they launched their counterattack. The opportunity to escape was only a small window of time.

The number of attackers had also been counted. Besides the number of people who had escaped, it wasn't clear how many, but there were a total of twenty-one bodies lying in the apartment building, harvested by the mercenaries.

The attackers all had Shingen submachine guns, but almost every Shingen submachine gun was destroyed by the attackers themselves using lock programs or grenades before the mercenaries could seize them. In terms of loot, it could be said that they gained nothing.

The twenty-one corpses of the attackers had cost the lives of thirteen out of twenty-seven mercenaries, and four serious injuries, while the thirty-seven Arasaka security guards hadn't even gotten their clothes dirty, let alone anything else.

"Half the people are gone."

Maine walked over with a sigh. He felt a little sad for the other mercenaries, and also felt a little lucky that he had followed Karl on this mission. If he hadn't been with Karl, he might have been one of the dead.

Or rather, if Karl hadn't taken out the sniper with that crazy shootout, they might all be lying here.

"They were all capable guys, what a pity."

Jack also felt a bit of "there but for the grace of God go I." Which of those thirteen mercenaries had weapons and cybernetics that couldn't compare to theirs? It was just that they were a little luckier, not being targeted by the rocket launcher in the first place, and not being singled out by the sniper in the subsequent attacks. They survived purely by good luck.

"Only those of us who survived have the right to sigh."

As Karl spoke, he noticed that the Arasaka security personnel had arrived and were actually starting to drive them, the mercenaries who had just fought so hard, out of the way so that their convoy could pass.

"Damn it, are they treating us like disposable pads? The road ahead hasn't even been cleared yet, and they're already so impatient to leave?"

Seeing this scene, Maine cursed directly. "I'm a damn idiot if I ever take another Corpo Dog job."

"I'm more concerned about something else."

Oliver looked at the scene of the mercenaries, who were barely standing with injuries, being rudely pushed to the ground by the Arasaka security personnel, and his face was terrifyingly gloomy.

"How much money do you think those Fixers swallowed from us to make these Corpo Dogs dare to treat us like this?"

Oliver felt that the price of risking their lives seemed a little off.

"Probably a lot, but judging by their looks, they'd probably dare to treat us like this even if they weren't given much."

Karl said, "Corpo Dogs, they pay to get things done, but some Corpo Dogs probably don't even know how much money it takes to get things done."

"Corpo Dogs are divided into levels, huh?"

"What else do you think the different colors of dogs are for if not to distinguish them into different classes? Even dogs have to pay attention to pedigree."

"Are you talking about real dogs or Corpo Dogs?"

"Is there a difference?"

Karl stared at the Guinevere slowly driving over. "Anyway, it's just about the color and pedigree."

"Oh, right."

As if remembering something, Karl tossed the Shingen smart submachine gun on his waist to Oliver. "I brought back two Saratoga Submachine Guns before. Didn't I give one to Jack and take the other to modify it myself? I didn't give you one. I'll make up for it today."

"Didn't I say I wanted a sniper rifle more... Oh well, I don't have any other guns to use anyway."

Oliver was still a little nostalgic for his 'deceased' SOR-22, which made Jack, who had just had the last bullet removed from his body, smile and pat him on the shoulder with his broad palm.

"Don't worry, brother, you'll get one sooner or later. You'll have one again sooner or later."

"Indeed."

Oliver sighed. "But, we have to survive this mission first."

He looked at the Arasaka security personnel who were skillfully clearing obstacles, and his mood was a little depressed.

This mission had only just begun.

Karl looked at the time.

Half an hour had passed of the two-hour time limit. There was still one hour and thirty minutes left. He had to deliver the target before the time ran out.

The Guinevere drove past the group. Karl seemed to sense something and looked towards the vehicle, but all he saw was the silver body of the car.

An illusion?

As Karl turned his head, the person in the car also withdrew their gaze.