Chapter 46: Bioware Upgrades

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Huh?"

Even with Lin Mo's usually calm demeanor, Liu Ruoying's sudden proposal caught him completely off guard. His mind blanked for a moment, struggling to process what she just said. It was like a system crash, leaving him speechless.

But before Lin Mo could react, Xu Wanxue—his sister—moved with the reflexes of a cat whose tail had been stepped on. In an instant, she darted forward and delivered a powerful kick straight to Liu Ruoying's side.

"Ah!"

Liu went flying across the lawn, landing unceremoniously on the soft grass. If it weren't for the cushioned earth beneath her, she might've been more than a little bruised.

"Ignore whatever she says," Xu Wanxue muttered with a protective hand on Lin Mo's shoulder. "She's always been this... impulsive. Don't take her seriously."

Liu, still sprawled on the grass, wiped her nose, which had turned slightly red. She grinned widely, not even fazed by the sudden violence, and her eyes locked back onto Lin Mo. "No, but seriously. You do realize how rare it is to find someone like him, right? A natural face, unmodified—completely untouched by chrome. He's a damn unicorn in this city full of machines!"

Xu Wanxue's gaze turned ice-cold. Her eyes flashed a sharp blue as she activated the mansion's automated defense system.

Suddenly, from hidden turrets on the rooftop to drones tucked behind the walls, the entire estate's security came to life. Guns, cameras, and even Kang Tao drones armed with smart weapons turned their focus on Liu. Their targeting systems clicked into place, locking onto her with chilling precision.

"Alright, alright! I surrender!" Liu raised her hands high, a sheepish grin plastered on her face.

Xu Wanxue sighed heavily and waved Lin Mo forward, taking him by the arm and steering him toward the large delivery drone that had landed in their driveway. Liu got up from the grass and followed, jogging a bit to keep up, still grinning like a lunatic.

The cargo drone, hovering in the driveway, bore the sleek logo of Kang Tao Logistics, a company known for delivering anything, anywhere, anytime. This wasn't some flashy corporate AV—this was a workhorse. Practical, sturdy, efficient.

Xu Wanxue connected to the drone with a quick flick of her eyes, authorizing the delivery. A soft hiss followed as the drone's cargo bay doors slid open, revealing the haul inside: dozens of temperature-controlled crates, stacked in perfect rows like military supplies.

"This shipment cost over a million eurodollars," Xu Wanxue said casually. "All top-of-the-line bioware, the best combat-grade enhancements on the market. All battle-ready and customized to your specs."

She grinned. "Didn't feel like nitpicking, so I just bought everything you might need. Take your pick, little brother."

Lin Mo stepped forward, running a hand along the cool metal surface of one of the crates. Inside were the fruits of cutting-edge biotech—implants made using the most advanced nanotech and synthetic biology Night City had to offer.

Pulling out the manifest, he began scanning through the detailed list of bioware components, each piece more advanced than the last.

"Sis," he muttered, still flipping through the inventory, "do you think I'm some kind of tank? There's no way I'm installing all this gear."

Xu Wanxue waved him off. "Pick what you need. I bought it, so don't worry about the rest."

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Liu Ruoying watching Lin Mo a little too closely. A stern glance from Xu Wanxue sent a clear message. Liu, feeling the weight of that look, stiffened and slowly raised a hand, giving a sheepish thumbs-up.

Xu Wanxue turned back to Lin Mo. "Pick a few pieces, and Liu will handle the installation."

"Why does he get to call you 'sister' and I get called 'Auntie'?" Liu muttered under her breath, but neither Lin Mo nor Xu Wanxue paid her any attention.

Lin Mo inserted the accompanying data chip into his neural interface, and a stream of implant details flooded his vision. Every piece of bioware came with specifications, safety notes, and performance boosts.

After sifting through the options, he selected the most appropriate implants:

Reinforced Organic Bone Structure

Synthetic Muscle Fibers

Advanced Nanite Medical Systems

Subdermal Nano-Polymer Armor

"These should do," Lin Mo said, turning back to his sister.

Xu Wanxue nodded and motioned to Liu Ruoying.

"No worries. I'm a pro, remember?" Liu said, flashing a confident grin. "Your sister wouldn't trust just anyone with this."

With surprising ease, she grabbed several of the heavy crates and lifted them onto her shoulders, showing off the kind of strength that only came with heavy augmentation.

"I'll need to run some diagnostics—basic stuff: height, weight, body composition. Gotta make sure the bioware is perfectly calibrated for your system. These are custom-built for your DNA, so the chances of rejection are about 0.01%. If that happens, though? Buy me a drink. Luck like that deserves celebration."

Lin Mo raised an eyebrow. "Where did you even get my DNA?"

"Your sister provided it," Liu said nonchalantly, nodding toward Xu Wanxue.

Lin Mo shot a glance at his sister.

Xu Wanxue smirked. "Don't worry. I'm not spying on you. I just grabbed a hair. I made sure they deleted the data afterward—no one's keeping your genetic profile on file."

Liu chimed in, "For high-profile clients like yourself, we handle everything with extra security. We only extract what we need to calibrate the bioware, and that data gets wiped as soon as it's done."

Lin Mo chuckled. Life as a corpo kid in Night City was something else. Most edgerunners in this city didn't have the luxury of bespoke implants tailored to their biology. They just slapped on whatever they could afford, no matter how many hands it had passed through. Most couldn't even afford the proper calibration, let alone the fine-tuned, DNA-specific implants he was getting.

He thought back to the mercs he'd encountered in simulations and stories—like V or David. They, like many others, loaded up on chrome and pushed their limits until their humanity bled out of them.

This city, with all its tech and glory, had a habit of hollowing out its people.