Starting From Night City

"This... this is..."

From behind, Dorio's voice suddenly rang out like a phantom, without any warning.

"Mann, what are you doing? Everyone's waiting for you!"

Mann's lower body was still outside the car.

Only his upper body was inside.

Hearing Dorio's voice, he shivered subconsciously.

The back of his head hit the car's ceiling.

He struggled to pull himself out and waved at Dorio, "Hold on, I'm coming."

Chapter 32: Different People, Different Bodies

Evening.

A bar in Santo Domingo.

Clinking glasses.

"Cheers!"

Among the many cups holding alcohol, one filled with soda stood out.

However, no one present said anything.

After a round, the atmosphere was lively.

Mann patted his chest and spoke loudly, "Drink up, it's all on me."

"That's great, I won't be polite then."

The second thing Jack loved to hear was "Drink up."

The first thing he loved to hear was "Good job, payment settled."

"Su, can you come with me for a moment? I need to talk to you."

"What is it? Can't we talk about it here?"

"It's not convenient here."

"Alright then."

Su Xiao nodded.

He followed Mann out of the bar.

The bar door closed behind them.

Sealing away the noise and clamor inside.

This bar was located in a relatively remote area, and it was very quiet outside.

The night breeze blew gently, feeling very cool on the skin.

Mann led Su Xiao behind the bar, to the pink sedan they had parked.

"You know me, I'm not one for small talk, so I'll get straight to the point. I hope you don't mind. Are you interested in joining my team?"

Mann had a premonition.

Even though Su Xiao and his two companions were currently unknown.

Their future was promising.

If he could recruit them to his team, it would be like adding wings to a tiger, or a ghost to a demon.

Su Xiao was stunned.

He really hadn't expected Mann to call him out for this.

"Sorry, but I'm not planning to join any other team for now."

"Alright, but if you change your mind, my invitation still stands."

Mann put his hands on his hips.

Su Xiao's refusal was within his expectations.

So he wasn't surprised.

After all, he wasn't Eurodollars, he couldn't be loved by everyone.

"So, next is the second matter."

Mann opened the trunk.

Inside lay a pair of mechanical arms wrapped in a waterproof cloth.

"Are you trying to sell them to me?"

"No, these mechanical arms are spoils of war."

After Mann's explanation, Su Xiao finally understood.

The Animal Gang rejected traditional cybernetics.

While they had neural interfaces, they wouldn't chop off their arms to install mechanical ones.

However, the way the Animal Gang modified themselves had its limits.

People's physiques differed.

No matter how much they worked out or took enhancers, the final results of their training would inevitably vary due to individual differences.

Mann guessed that the leader of the Animal Gang might have been unable to catch up with others in the gang, no matter how much he trained, because his own physique wasn't as good.

That's why he found a ripperdoc.

He secretly chopped off his own hand.

Then he replaced it with a pair of mechanical arms.

And he covered them with a layer of synthetic skin.

He usually wore a coat to hide them.

That way, no one could tell.

Although these mechanical arms were actually an older model from two generations ago, their performance was incredibly powerful.

An oldie but a goodie.

They were even better than the ones Mann was currently using.

Mann's creed was to use any good cybernetics he could get his hands on.

"I've got my eye on these mechanical arms, but I don't have enough money right now. Once Faraday gives me the cash, I'll transfer it to you, how about it?"

Mann's current arms had a built-in projectile launch system.

But if he transferred it to these mechanical arms and installed them, he could foresee his combat power increasing significantly.

Mann had considered keeping them for himself.

After all, Su Xiao wouldn't know.

Only Dorio had seen him take the cybernetics.

And Mann trusted Dorio implicitly.

He was sure Dorio wouldn't say a word.

But after some thought, Mann ultimately gave up the idea of keeping them.

He felt it was unnecessary.

There were some advantages you could take, but some you shouldn't.

He had called Rebecca's brother to ask.

Although this was an older model, it had been quite popular when it first came out.

It wasn't completely obsolete yet.

It was like how the GTX 1080 Ti isn't as good as the latest graphics cards, but if someone gave it to you for free, would you say no?

Since this thing was still worth some money, Mann had proposed buying the mechanical arms.

Su Xiao had no objections.

However, he did have one request.

"Can I take a look?"

"Of course."

Mann nodded.

Su Xiao picked up one of the mechanical arms.

He examined it repeatedly.

Then he looked at the other one.

At this moment, the system reacted again.

"You ponder that cybernetic limbs replace human arms to gain more powerful strength."

"But is there a possibility that instead of chopping off your hands, you could achieve the same effect with external mechanical devices?"

"Do you wish to consume 20 Potential Points to obtain the improved blueprints?"

A smile crept onto Su Xiao's lips.

He was incredibly excited.

His luck had been really good lately.

I Guess this skill was triggered passively.

I had only just figured out the Tactical Goggles not too long ago.

Now I can figure out the improved blueprints for mechanical cyberlimbs.

It's like, three years without a gig, and then one gig feeds you for three years.

However, the Tactical Goggles only required 5 Potential Points back then.

But now it costs 20.

Su Xiao opened his status panel and took a look at the Potential Points he gained after completing that last commission.

It wasn't even a fifth of what was required.

The road ahead is long and arduous.

But he wasn't discouraged.

He wasn't afraid of high requirements.

He was afraid of having no goals.

As long as he could see the progress bar, things could be managed.

He just needed to stride forward in this direction.

Take on a few more commissions.

He would eventually meet the requirement of 20 Potential Points.

Time flies.

From meeting Jack, to

encountering V, and going on missions with Mann's crew...

It felt like the blink of an eye.