"We confirm if there are other warehouses as fast as possible, scout the enemy forces, gather information then get ready for war".

Hearing Talia say that, Leon took a deep breath.

From the beginning, he knew that this mission would not take too much time. Afterall, Talia would not sit still and wait, watching while Parasite conclude another trade and sell innocent young children into slavery.

Lives and destinies were at stake.

What stopped Talia from intervening the previous times was due to her lacking strength. But now, as an E Rank NetRunner with the ability to do more, she was determined to rescue the slaves.

Leon's eyes gleamed as he calculated. 'It's past 12, meaning it's our third day already since we came to the Wastes'.

'If Parasite is going to conclude another trade with his clients, it's going to be between the next 2 to 3 days. This means we have to be prepared to storm the warehouses and rescue the slaves as soon as possible'.

'Or if we can't do that, then we intercept whatever they'll be using to transport the slaves after the trade'.

But there was a tiny problem.

The problem was that Leon knew from the very beginning that Talia didn't just want to rescue the slaves, she wanted to stop the Zmer gang's slave trade as a whole, and this was far more difficult than just rescuing a single batch of slaves.

They could rescue a batch of slaves this time, but the Zmer gang would continue. Parasite would continue living, and so long these two factors stayed the same, the slave trade would never stop.

This was why they didn't stop the single warehouse that they knew of yet.

This was also why Leon was certain that this crew and the Zmer gang would end up fighting a blood war where only one party would remain existing.

And this was also why reinforcement from the Freegrid Collective was important.

Afterall, interrupting the Zmer gang's business was one thing, but eradicating a whole gang was a whole other matter.

Besides, who knew if Parasite had other warehouses where he kept slaves? To avoid a disaster where lots of innocent people would die meaningless deaths, they had to have all the facts in order before taking action.

And once again, Leon thought. 'What are our chances if we storm the Zmer gang warehouse now and take them on?'

His brain whirred as he calculated. 'We have 7 Ascended, 1 E Rank and 6 F Rank. And from what we currently know, with Parasite the Zmer gang only has 4 Ascended, 1 E Rank and 3 F Rank, but they have hundreds of thugs'.

'If every one of them is heavily armed with guns, even with an advantage of 3 extra Ascended, storming their base and ending the Zmer gang is an uphill task'.

'Besides, they'll obviously have defensive measures in place for an invasion. Afterall, despite our previous base being just a cargo trailer, Kain was still able to set up a basic defense grid'.

'Yes, they don't have a Mechanist from the evidence before us, but that alone is not enough to tip the scales of a potential battle.

'If we really want to win, we have to do more to tip the scales in our favor'.

'How do we do that?' Leon's eyes gleamed as he looked at Talia.

Talia noticed his gaze and turned her head to look at him. "You have something to add?"

Leon nodded seriously. "As you guys know, I'm a special Mechanist with a lot of unique means that other normal Mechanists don't have".

Kain's dull gray eyes twitched.

Leon said this shamelessly, but he used this to set the stage for what he was about to say next.

He took a deep breath before he continued. "When I used the C-5 drone to spy on Cell and the other Zmer gang Ascended, with my special ability, I managed to learn certain things about them".

"What did you learn?" Talia was calm as she looked at him.

Leon turned his head to look at Ghostwire. "Can I have access to your computer? I want to show it in digital format".

The NetRunner nodded without uttering a word.

Leon sat in front of the computer and quickly started typing. About 30 seconds later, the computer projected a virtual projection in the air.

[Ascended Status:]

[Name: Abram Kevin]

…

[Name: Alexander Cain]

As soon as they saw the name and the contents of the virtual projection, their eyes widened.

Talia was startled as she gave Leon a glance that hid a lot of meaning.

Then, Leon broke the silence in a serious voice. "Cell is just his nickname, his real name is Abram Kevin. With my special ability, I managed to learn all these information about the two of them".

"Wow!" Daren exclaimed as he started at the virtual projection with star-struck eyes. "What kind of ability is that? Is it unique to Mechanists?"

"This is giving such secret detective vibes!" He added excitedly.

"Boss Leon is so great!" Rex cheered in the background.

Kain thought of something else. "Wait, have you used this ability on us?"

Leon nodded solemnly.

"…" Kain was speechless.

Rex wanted to praise Leon even more but reading the atmosphere, he wisely kept quiet. Brick and Ghostwire also stayed silent.

While the others reacted, Talia already saw the projection in an entirely different perspective- the perspective of a leader and strategist as her eyes shimmered.

She looked at Leon. "Can you use this ability repeatedly?"

Leon already knew where she was driving at, and this was exactly why he deliberately revealed this ability of his System.

He nodded. "Yes".

"You can use it through your drone?" She remembered that they only saw both Ascended through the drone camera.

"Yes". Leon nodded again.

"Good," Talia suddenly smiled. "I've been holding back on going back to that warehouse to check its current state out of fear of agitating them. All I've been doing is monitoring their psionic network activities passively".

"If they're going to engage in a large-scale slave trade, they'll have to complete certain details through the psionic network and as an E Rank NetRunner who's paying attention, I'll know".

"But since they poked the hornet's nest first, there's no need to hide anymore".

"Of course, I still want them to believe that we retreated in fear, but this is only a temporary fix. And if we can't keep the bluff, then no need".

"Saving them is the priority". Her eyes gleamed with determination.

"Leon, you'll follow me to the warehouse this night. We can use your special ability to gather more information about the warehouse".

"Ok". Leon nodded resolutely.

He hesitated a bit, then he said. "Maybe it's just my nature, but I'm a cowardly person". He smiled. "I'm ready to fight to save the captives, but I just can't bring myself to jump into a battle that I'm not confident of at least surviving".

"The siege of the cargo trailer really traumatized me, and I've since made a personal vow to make all the preparations I can before entering another battle".

Talia nodded calmly, waiting for him to continue.

"So far, due to limited time and resources, I've only managed to craft a spear for myself, the C-5 drone, and repair Daren's gauntlet".

"I'm not satisfied with this level of preparation before clashing with a gang".

"Out of the remaining blueprints that I have, I don't have the corresponding Mechanist knowledge on Electromagnetic energy manipulation yet to work on and craft an E Rank Electromagnetic pulse gun".

"But I have the ability to create my jury-rigged bombs". Leon smiled again. "For them, I don't need any high-grade resources and knowledge. I'll feel a lot safer entering enemy territory with a bomb or two".

"Besides, after we save the captives, there's no guarantee that we'll escape intact. I don't want to later have any regrets. I want to face the Zmer gang knowing that I've done everything that I can and that I've done all the preparations that I can".

"If the situation calls for it, a well-timed bomb can easily turn the situation around and let us escape". Leon looked at the others except Talia. "Right?"

Daren nodded seriously. "He's right boss. His bombs saved us during the siege".

"What are you trying to say?" Talia asked.

Leon took a deep breath. "What I'm trying to say is that do you still have the means to get resources after Cell found us? I want to have at least one jury-rigged bomb in my arsenal when confronting the gangsters".

"Don't worry, my standards for resources are not high".

Talia tilted her head to the side in thought while tapping the bed with her index finger. "The Zmer gang control community G, but they can't control everything. The underground market is frequented by a lot of people".

"Even if Cell blacklists me in the underground market, with the right offer, anything can be bought. Afterall, this is the Federation era". She smiled darkly.

"Besides, if that doesn't work, I can always buy a synthetic mask to go with".

"With my current ability as an E Rank NetRunner, I don't believe their firewalls can detect me if I put in effort to disguise myself".

"Great". Leon heaved a sigh of relief, then he suggested. "I think we should continue operating the mechanic workshop that I opened".

Kain frowned. "Why?"

"It's the same reason that the boss just said. They already poked the hornet's nest, there's no need hiding anymore".

"We can go tomorrow to probe their reaction".

"We'll go prepared expecting an ambush. If we're ambushed, we fight, retreat, and we give up on going there. That way, we can also confirm their stance after what they did tonight".

"But if they do nothing, then we can continue working like normal".

"Why must we put ourselves in danger?" Kain's frown deepened, contorting his mechanical face.

Leon was calm as he looked at the Synth with a serious look on his face. "It seems you didn't take what I said previously seriously. As a Mechanist, if you want to get better and stronger, you have to be a true mechanic and must serve".

"You have to be creative. You have to craft, design, and construct".

"That is the only way to improve". Leon wanted to add 'and to get better as a Mechanist' but he felt that he already gave enough hints.

Afterall, if the others asked how he knew all these things, he couldn't just tell them that he had a System that showed him an Ascended Counter right?

"Ok, the 3 of you will go to the mechanic workshop tomorrow". Talia concluded. "But I and Brick will secretly follow you to avoid any accident".

"That's best". Leon smiled.

With that, he finally stood up. "I'm ready to go".

Talia looked at Ghostwire. "They already let go of any pretenses of calm. So now, we have to proactively erase our footprints in the digital network to avoid them easily pinpointing our location. I'm leaving this to you".

The quiet NetRunner nodded without saying a single word.

And with that, Talia led the way as Leon followed her outside. Leon carried Talia's layered leather harness, inside it was the C-5 drone.

"This way".

They silently slithered into the dark.

…

Somewhere in community G, hidden in between tall tents and wooden buildings in a cramped street, there was a warehouse.

To the outside world, the large wooden building with only a single large space inside was a warehouse where the Zmer gang kept their resources and loot, but the truth was that it was a secret warehouse where slaves were kept.

Talia's Wraith Cell-9 discovered the truth approximately 6 months ago.

The warehouse was heavily guarded.

There were at least 15 thugs guarding the warehouse. They were heavily armed with pistols, Shotguns, Assault Rifles, and submachine guns.

Close to the wooden warehouse were parked two Karaki CT-3X, heavily armored turbine-powered bikes each with a staggering 350 horsepower.

These beasts could run up to speeds of 450 to 500km/hour!

Not even an E Rank Neo Cyber Gladiator could outrun a Karaki CT-3X.

In normal circumstances, a machine of this caliber had nothing doing in a community in the Wastes.

At this moment, unknown to the patrolling thugs, a black drone silently hovered in the night sky, overlooking the warehouse from a distance.

200 meters away from the drone were two rebels, Talia and Leon.

"Any Ascended?" Talia whispered.

Leon shook his head.

This was the most that he'd ever used the Snoop function of the System, but it didn't disappoint him. He managed to scan all the thugs guarding the warehouse, and none of them were Ascended.

The warehouse was enclosed though, so the drone did not have any angle to see what was inside it.

At that moment, the doors of the warehouse suddenly opened and an armored military-grade truck drove out.

Seeing that truck, Talia's face instinctively turned solemn.

"They're transporting slaves?" Leon asked a rhetorical question.

Talia stayed silent for a few seconds, then she suddenly decided. "Let's follow them".

They did.

By keeping a safe distance of 200 meters from the drone, they followed the armored truck as it squeezed through a hidden road away from the streets of community G.

They followed the truck till it left the borders of the community, driving east.

At that moment, Talia stopped.

It would be easier to sight the drone if they were adamant in following the truck due to the lack of buildings and tents for cover.

After a moment of hesitation, she shook her head. "That's enough for tonight. Let's go back".

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