章 67: Assault Team

Ori shifts uncomfortably as he sits in the back of the van he, Rebecca, Six, and half a dozen other Moxes had been squeezed into. They were on a gig from Susie Q to raid a Tyger Claw hideout that was apparently being used to hold prisoners from various places. Mainly the Mox and those under their protection, hence Susie's intervention.

They found this out after 'questioning' Kuroda Yasushi, the girls he supposedly led to their deaths had actually been captured, most likely kept as prizes for the higher-ranked Tyger Claws. Judy had almost gone on a rampage when she'd heard about it, and if it wasn't for Susie deciding to take action, Ori was pretty sure she'd hire mercs with her own cash.

He glances down at Max's LMG and lets out a sigh, it'd almost been a week since his birthday and he'd steadily increased his emotional capacity up to fifty percent. He was finally starting to feel like himself again, but that just brought more troubles with it.

Regardless, he was handling it... Day by day, little by little, he'd get better... On the upside, while his mental health wasn't doing so great, physically he was better than he'd ever been. The nanites had finally gotten to work upgrading his skeletal structure, enhancing his bones as much as biologically possible.

If he had to compare it to something then it was like he'd been conditioning his bones all his life while downing gallons of milk constantly. They were so dense that it was actually a little distracting, not being able to move as well as usual since his weight had dramatically shifted over such a short period.

The problem would be fixed once he improved his muscles and ligaments, but until then he'd be feeling stiff and unnaturally heavy... On the bright side, he'd probably survive a couple bullets to the skull now, not to mention the small additions the nanites had added after being inspired by woodpeckers.

The interior of his skull had been... Well, the easiest way to put it would be 'padded' akin to a motorbike helmet. The blood-brain barrier had been partially modified, some of it turned into a sponge-like cartilage that would help prevent whip-lash type injuries, along with drastically reducing the chance of concussions and other similar ailments. He'd honestly probably die before someone was able to knock him out.

"Hey, what're you thinking so hard about?" Rebecca questions him.

"Hm? Oh, nothing. Just daydreaming..." he shakes his head, "So, anyone gonna tell us exactly what we're doing yet? I don't wanna head into this blind, deaf, and stupid."

Crystal, one of the Moxes he could actually put a name to nods, "Our main objectives are rescuing the prisoners and eliminating the people who run the joint. We know that two of our girls are being held there, Chica Lake and Yelain G Stapp, nicknamed Chika and Lola in that order. These are our targets." she holds up her holophone and displays a picture of a relatively handsome Japanese man wearing a suit. He looked smart, wore glasses and had a straight posture as if he were some rich business owner.

"Oyakawa Yoshi, the guy charge of this whole operation. Owns the building which it all takes place in, and supposedly handles the 'product' sales." Crystal scowls, "This slaver piece of shit is gonna die today or I, Judes, and Q consider this a failure, understand?"

"Fuck yeah, I've been dying to kill those Tyger choads for a while now." Rebecca grins, gripping her shotgun, Guts, tightly.

Ori nods from where he was, "If anyone deserves it, it's them." he glances at Six, spotting the merc just staring at the opposite wall with a dazed look, or at least, that's what he assumed, the only part of his face visible was his mouth which was held open slightly almost allowing droll to slip out. "Six, you alright...?"

His mouth snaps closed as he shakes his head slightly, looking to Ori and nodding, "Ready to go."

...

Crystal continues her explanation, drawing back Ori's attention. "Next on the list is Kudou Yuko." the holophone displays of low-res picture of him. Another Japanese guy, wearing a lab coat with very obvious Cybernetic enhances around his body. His arms and hands were black with some synthetic metal, his face was covered with surgical scars indicating some kind of implantation.

"You could say he's the brains of the operation, he's in charge of the Cyberware installed into the prisoners," Crystal's face worsens, "Including custom doll chips."

"Custom?" one of the other Moxes questions. Doll chips weren't usually tampered with, they were heavily used in the sex industry, temporarily brainwashing the 'worker' and making them act certain ways, once their business was done their memory of it gets erased. It was essentially complete enslavement of the mind and body, even if it were temporary.

"Custom, as in, the safety limiters are broken through, allowing them to permanently control whoever is installed with them." she states, causing everyone to pause at that, "It turns you into a robot who's only able to follow your master's orders... Keep this in mind, we'll probably have to knock out the prisoners to stop them from fighting us."

"That's..." one Mox who appeared to be a former doll mutters in shock.

"One of the many reasons we're gonna zero these pricks." Crystal finishes for her, the holophone flashes once more, revealing a thin, heavily chromed woman wearing a completely black dress with a large slit up one leg, kind of like a Japanese-inspired qipao. She seemed to be a mix of Japanese and Chinese, sharp, stern features that all but screamed 'bitch'. Her hair was rainbow-coloured and hung at her shoulder blades, and she wore a relatively large katana at her hip.

"Last on the list, Manaka Eru, the chief 'bitch' in charge of the place's security. We don't know much about her other than Kuroda was shit-scared of her, probably gonna be our toughest fight if I had to guess, be very careful if you meet her." she warns.