Cyberpunk: 2075.

Chapter 693, Section 107: Abnormal Personnel
The Pheasant Faction's team that arrived at the maintenance layer consisted of fourteen people—four physical maintenance experts and ten fully armed guards.

In Night City, this group can be considered elite, and their sole objective is to provide the highest-level prosthetic body maintenance for Miss Hanako's personal bodyguard, Oda Santayu.

For Oda Santao, his prosthetic body must be flawless, without the slightest error, only in this way can he continue to fulfill his mission of protecting Hanako.

As for the others present? Even if they all sacrifice themselves, it would be worth it as long as the mission succeeds.

Everyone is clear about their place—they are nothing more than disposable pawns.

At the same time, they also understood that if they performed well this time, they would have the opportunity to stand out in front of the top leaders of the pheasant faction, an opportunity far more valuable than years of fighting in office politics.

The wait for Oda Santao was not long. The moment the elevator's upward indicator light came on, everyone tensed up, like loaded guns ready for battle.

Their superiors only gave them one hour—this was the maximum duration that Ms. Hanako's security system could maintain at the highest alert level even without Oda Santau.

No matter how much blood is shed, no matter how many lives are lost, they must complete this prosthetic body maintenance within sixty minutes.

For ordinary security targets, losing one guard might be insignificant, but for Hanako Arasaka, who stands at the top of the world, the brief absence of Santao Oda means that her probability of death is quietly rising.

Kidnapping, assassination, neurotoxin injection—each possibility amplified enough to shake the entire Arasaka district.

The golden rule in the security industry has long been established: top-notch personal bodyguards are both a luxury and a necessity.

To describe it in the words of a regulation written by a professional security firm in the industry: the lowly ants always ridicule the powerful and wealthy for being afraid of death, but they can never understand - when a person's life and death can affect trillions of assets and millions of lives, their mortal body becomes a strategic node that must be protected by precise algorithms.
Those mediocre people will never understand that a truly excellent security system is never built by a large number of people, but by an absolute defense line constructed by a few elites.

In Hanako Arasaka's defense system, Santao Oda is not just a simple security guard—he is a living firewall, a walking last line of defense.

As one of only two perfect graduates in the history of the Arasaka Hokkaido Training Camp, and as one of the few elites personally instructed by Goro Takemura, Oda Santayu's very existence is a deterrent. Any threat attempting to approach Miss Hanako must first confront this wall of sighs forged from flesh and alloy.

'Unfortunately, his skills are just so-so.'

Recalling the authoritative security regulations he had read in the industry, and thinking of Oda Santao, a somewhat unpleasant thought flashed through Karl's mind, despite his wise appearance.

The moment that thought crossed his mind, he realized he had been somewhat arrogant.

Regardless, Oda Santayu was a very capable person, and my own thoughts were premature. I still need to be wary of him. Although I had defeated him before, that was only because Oda Santayu didn't know my true identity, was completely unprepared, and had expended considerable effort and used Sianwistan to pursue Johnny, and hadn't maintained his cybernetic body for a period of time before fighting me. While Oda Santayu's abilities didn't pose a threat to me, he was certainly among the strongest opponents I had ever encountered.

While it's true that an opponent in poor condition can be an advantage in battle, it's different when both sides are in good condition.
They will naturally win, but they will probably feel a bit tricky.

If he were to make an assessment, Carl thought about his friends. Apart from V, who was certain he could defeat Oda Santayu, everyone else would probably have a tough fight against Oda Santayu.

Andy and Jack might be able to hold their own against Oda Santayu, but Oliver isn't quite as skilled in close combat. He's good enough against ordinary people, but compared to someone like Oda Santayu who has trained since childhood, he might get chased down and hacked down like Johnny. As for Mann and Brown, they're quite good, but they're definitely no match for Oda Santayu.

In conclusion, the fact that he was able to defeat Oda Sandayu does not mean that Oda Sandayu is incompetent. He is still a top-notch security guard by himself. It's just that he is confident that he can surpass him.

As Carl was lost in thought, comparing the possible outcomes of his friend's and Oda Santao's battles, the elevator stopped.

The elevator doors slowly opened, and Oda Santao stepped out, a hint of weariness showing between his brows.

As a professional bodyguard, he would naturally not show any sign of fatigue, which would be seen as weakness by others.

He maintained his elite demeanor: impeccably tailored suit, sharp eyes, as if ready to embark on the next mission at any moment.

Only a keen observer like Karl could have discerned the subtle nuances in his body's reactions—

His pace was a beat slower than usual, and his shoulder and neck lines were slightly sluggish when he turned around. These subtle deviations, like grains of sand stuck between precision gears, convinced Carl that the bodyguard was barely holding on and was in worse shape than he should be.

At this moment, Oda Santayu was still able to fulfill his duty of protecting Arasaka Hanako, but the level of protection had already shown subtle cracks.

If measured by data, his current strength is less than 90% of his peak strength—on a battlefield where life and death are at stake, this 10% difference is enough to completely tip the scales of victory.

The truth is, Oda Santao's condition is indeed not good.

Oda Santayu himself couldn't explain why his gaze had recently become increasingly drawn to Hanako, whom he was protecting. Although he might indeed harbor some feelings of love for Arasaka Hanako, his training should have enabled him to resist such feelings quite well. It was really strange.

Am I really so inadequate that I can't even suppress this love, or is it that I truly am...
Feeling tormented by his recent strange thoughts, Oda Santao desperately needed to adjust his prosthetic body to inject more cooling so he could resume his duties. That was why he took an hour out of his day to maintain his prosthetic body, but before that...
Although slightly dulled by his recent emotions, Oda Santao's sharp eyes swept over the people present, and he had already noticed the unusual individuals.

(End of this chapter)