Judy stopped the car in front of a chemical plant in the Northside.
"Alright, this should be it."
Kikyo checked the location, confirming that this was the delivery spot.
Opening the door and getting out, Kikyo walked to the back and opened the trunk.
Wow.
How to put it, it was a bit tragic.
Kikyo looked at the doctor's butt-first landing posture and felt a hint of pity.
Just by looking at that terrible posture, she knew how this guy had been tumbling, jumping, and keeping his eyes shut in the trunk during the chase.
Fortunately, it was the year 7702, and everyone had more or less some cyberware skin and bones, otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to withstand such rough treatment.
"Um... where am I?"
When the doctor woke up, he first saw Kikyo's beautiful face, and then felt a burning pain on both cheeks.
"It's nothing, you're home now. I gave you a 'wake-up agent.' You might feel dizzy and see stars, but those are normal symptoms and will disappear soon."
Judy, who was standing by with her arms crossed, listened to Kikyo's serious lies and could only roll her eyes in exasperation.
Alright, she took back her previous admiration for Kikyo's abilities.
This person was indeed a bad woman full of mischievous fun.
She had clearly slapped the other party awake, yet she claimed to have used a "wake-up agent"—a physical wake-up agent, perhaps?
"Um... thank you."
The doctor's eyes showed gratitude as he covered the red palm prints on his face and got out of the car.
He also figured out that this person wasn't from the Tyger Claws; she must have come to rescue him. Otherwise, if he had fallen into the hands of the Tyger Claws, he wouldn't have woken up in a car, but rather on a tiger bench in a dark, windowless basement.
However, that first punch was quite brutal.
The doctor pouted, muttering to himself.
The force was stronger than an orthopedic surgeon's in a hospital, and the effect was better than general anesthesia.
"Hehe, over here!"
The grinning intermediary was already waiting for the three under the chemical plant wall.
"The job's done."
Kikyo led the two to the smoking intermediary.
"I saw it, excellent work, truly reliable!"
The intermediary gestured with his cigarette, praising Kikyo's efficiency. Then he looked at the doctor walking over, covering his face, and his eyebrows raised.
This guy, why was he really bruised and swollen? He had thought Kikyo was exaggerating on the phone earlier.
"Are you alright, Haruyoshi?"
"I'm fine."
Doctor Haruyoshi nodded, covering his bruised and swollen face, indicating that he was in good spirits.
"By the way, who is this guy?"
Judy, standing by with her arms crossed, asked puzzled.
She had never seen such live human transport before and was a bit curious.
"Let him tell his own story, Haruyoshi." Dennis smiled, flicking off his cigarette ash, and looked at the doctor.
The doctor named Haruyoshi stood beside Dennis and turned to look at the two.
And hearing that he had to introduce himself, he straightened his back despite his bruised and swollen face; both could see his pride.
"In Japan, I am the best brain surgeon, very intuitive. One day, the Tyger Claws Boss needed surgery. But he died on the operating table!"
Doctor Haruyoshi spoke English haltingly, word by word, but both could feel the pride in the words of this East Asian man who resembled an insurance salesman.
"Tyger Claws were very angry. I hid in a ship and ran to America. Dennis saved me."
"But I deliberately killed the Tyger Claws Boss. How could the world's best brain surgeon make a mistake!"
At the end, this simple middle-aged man revealed a sly smile, which, coupled with his wiggling eyebrows, made him appear comical.
One might say that even though the world is so terrible, there are always such interesting things happening; it's just that humorous.
The Tyger Claws Boss, a man who had dominated and enjoyed life, was not brought to justice, nor was he taken down by some lone gunman storming his lair. Instead, he was killed on the operating table by an honest doctor while under anesthesia.
Indeed, braindance doesn't ask about one's background, and heroes don't care about their origins.
Perhaps it was a moment of righteous indignation, or the spirit of a 'troublemaker' taking over; in any case, this Haruyoshi accomplished something that many battle-hardened Mercenaries couldn't, which was truly admirable.
Didn't you see little Judy's eyes widen? However, she then burst out laughing.
"Oh my god, I never would've guessed, Doctor, you're truly a great hero!"
Though she said it with a laugh, it wasn't teasing. Judy genuinely admired this ordinary, seemingly defenseless Doctor Haruyoshi.
Her Moxes gang was naturally at odds with the Tyger Claws, and there had been many conflicts between the two sides. The Tyger Claws saw the Moxes' existence as a provocation, while the Moxes were infuriated by the Tyger Claws' brutal actions and interference in their gang affairs.
And when she heard that the Tyger Claws Boss had died so comically on the operating table, Judy was restrained not to burst into loud laughter.
"Brain surgery, world's best. Very intuitive!"
Hearing Judy's praise, Doctor Haruyoshi smiled in response, giving himself a thumbs-up.
"Alright, let's end the reunion pleasantries here. We still need to hurry up and get away."
The intermediary Dennis unceremoniously dropped his cigarette butt, interrupting the group.
"Oh, right, um, this will be your payment!"
As Dennis spoke, he picked up a katana with a carbon-black blade from the corner of the wall.
Berry recognized what it was at a glance.
"scalpel."
Like Saburo Arasaka's cherished blade, "Satori," it was one of the strongest katanas in the game.
A blue hilt, a carbon-black blade, full of technological flair, and its power was absolutely top-notch.
However, what Berry knew, Judy didn't. When Judy saw that they weren't going to give money but instead produced a katana of unknown origin, she frowned unhappily.
While she admired the doctor's story, it didn't mean they wanted to be taken for fools. Paying off a debt with a broken katana? Impossible.
"You think you can just fob us off with a katana that doesn't even have a sheath? You're thinking too highly of yourselves!"
Judy said sarcastically, with her arms crossed.
However, Dennis was very patient and tried to persuade Judy.
"Hehe, you don't understand the value of this blade. This thing is made of highly compressed new tungsten steel, coated with nanocoating. It's fireproof, electric-proof, and acid-proof. As long as you're strong enough, you can cut through a tank!"
"Is that so?"
Judy eyed the blade suspiciously.
"You can ask your companion, she's definitely a professional."
And after Judy looked at Kikyo, Kikyo nodded and took the "scalpel."
"scalpel," one of the iconic weapons in the game, capable of delivering surgical-precision strikes to enemies, anyone who uses it knows its power.
"Alright then."
Seeing that Kikyo agreed, Judy could only shrug and say OK.
"Brain surgery, world's best. Very intuitive!"
Before leaving, Doctor Haruyoshi once again gave a thumbs-up to the two, unclear whether he was praising them or advertising himself.
Having completed everything, the two returned to the car, ready to end their busy day.
"The money, I've already transferred it to your account."
On the street, now enveloped in night, the car drove leisurely. In the silence, Kikyo suddenly spoke, transferring five thousand eurodollars to Judy's account.
"Holy moly, that much?"
Judy looked at the string of zeros in her account, somewhat disbelieving. She earned five thousand just by driving once?
Are Mercenaries always this quick to make money?
Normally, she'd spend a week editing braindances to earn about five or six thousand.
And now she got it in half an hour.
"This is the average price, one half each. But in return, the blade is mine."
Kikyo leaned back in the passenger seat, saying casually.
"Fine by me, I don't use knives anyway."
Judy nodded. She had been wondering how they would split the reward if it was a blade, and Kikyo had just provided the answer, alleviating her worry.
"Oh, right, do you want me to drop you home first?"
Judy asked Kikyo, looking at Night City as it grew darker.
After this mission fighting side-by-side, it had to be said that amidst the tension and excitement, she had become much more familiar with Kikyo, at least not as nervous as before.
After all, Kikyo wasn't a bad person, she had just scared her a bit earlier.
And now, after the incident with Doctor Haruyoshi, Judy felt much more composed.
The methods weren't important; one just needed to maintain a righteous heart. Judy's view had changed somewhat.
"Going home? So soon? Don't you want to invite me to your apartment for a cup of coffee?"
Judy's voice seemed to remind Kikyo, who was leaning against the window looking at the scenery. She turned to look at Judy, her tone peculiar.
As a professional, Judy saw Kikyo's half-smile and immediately realized she was being flirted with, prompting a light chuckle.
"Coffee? That's not enough. Actually, the bathtub in my apartment is quite big. We could also take a nice hot bath to relax."
Judy, holding the steering wheel, skillfully flirted back.
When it came to this sort of thing, she wasn't some shy high school girl; she decided to flirt back on the spot.
Even with a powerful, aloof Mercenary, she wouldn't show any fear.
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