Cyberpunk: 2075.

Chapter 730, Section 144: This is terrible.
"Your Excellency, we are extremely grateful for your personal assistance in rescuing us, those who have failed in our duty and are guilty. We will never forget your kindness!"

In the makeshift base that the Mingzhi Squad had found, the leader of the men who had taken the risk bowed deeply, his voice trembling noticeably as he expressed his apology.

Mingzhi waved his hand gently, appearing calm and composed.

“I never said my subordinates couldn’t make mistakes.” His voice was very calm. “I know you made this mistake because you were too loyal. There’s no need to apologize to me again and again. Once is enough. Now—” His gaze swept over the wounded bodies of the group. “You should take good care of your injuries first.”

Mingzhi really wanted to say, "These are all mistakes you made because you were too young," but he swallowed the words back, because saying that would be a bit inappropriate in terms of age.

He subtly touched his smooth chin—his youthful appearance constantly reminded him that he was among the younger people present, both in his disguised appearance and the face beneath it. Finally, he said, "Go to the treatment room and get proper treatment."

It was called a treatment room, but it was actually just a simple room that the team's accompanying doctor had temporarily cleared out.

The walls still bore stains that were hard to tell whether they were rust or dried blood. Several boxes of unopened medical supplies were piled up in the corner, and the air was filled with the mixed smell of disinfectant and metal corrosion.

In terms of hygiene and disinfection, this place is 100% unreliable, but in a place like Dogtown, nobody cares about these things—being able to get your wound treated is considered lucky.

After all, wound infection is a minor issue for the members of Arasaka. At worst, they can go back to Arasaka for a shot to clear the bacteria, and it won't even cause inflammation.

If the healing is too slow, the wound can be cut off and replaced with a prosthetic skin or reinforced muscle fibers, which is more efficient. Here, the medical standard is simple and brutal—as long as the person can continue to fight and move, that's enough.

As Mingzhi and Pinghe urged them to seek treatment as soon as possible, the group bowed even lower.

"But this does not fully express our guilt!"

They bowed deeply, their voices filled with an almost obsessive remorse, as if they wished they could commit seppuku on the spot to atone for their sins. Wise eyes slowly swept over them, quickly assessing each person's condition.

The others were in relatively good condition, the most serious being the combatant who was shot in the heart—but his secondary heart was still functioning steadily, and apart from being a little pale, he was able to move around without much difficulty; he could be taken back and given a new prosthetic body.

At this moment, the most troublesome thing is the man in front of me who is almost bending over.

Wise's gaze fell on the top of the other person's head—where a wound suture device held it in place with special alloy staples, the cold, hard staples piercing through the flesh and peeking out from among the bleeding hair.

His wound was initially stable, but as the man leaned forward due to excitement, the metal nails creaked under the strain, as if they were about to break off from his skull at any moment.
What's even more unsettling is that beneath that shaky scalp, something seems to be swaying slightly with his movements, as if it might break through that fragile barrier at any moment and be completely exposed to the air.

Admittedly, even the well-informed Mingzhi felt a bit uneasy when he saw this scene. He almost unconsciously took a half step back to prevent something from falling out of the other person's head, but thankfully he didn't.

After taking a deep breath, Mingzhi realized that reasoning with these people was pointless given the truly horrifying scene. So he decisively pointed towards the medical room and adopted a more forceful tone: "You, go for treatment immediately. That's an order." His voice was unusually urgent.

"Yes, Your Excellency!"

Watching this group of people who wouldn't listen to reason, yet rushed off to receive treatment as if they'd received some kind of divine intervention after he gave them a firm order, Akechi felt only a profound sense of distortion and unease from their actions. Akechi had never been one to appreciate others bowing to him, or rather, such displays of loyalty, even fanaticism, gave him a subtly strange feeling.

'It feels like I instigated them, or even incited them?'

This is not a good feeling.

Watching the group line up to receive treatment according to the severity of their injuries, Mingzhi finally had a chance to take another look at this temporary base after escaping the pursuit of the Ghost Hound Floating Car.

To be honest, the outpost they found in their haste was absolutely terrible.

This place was originally supposed to be an underground parking lot, but now less than half of the space is still usable.

Collapsed concrete blocks and twisted steel bars stood out like the fangs of a giant beast. It took them considerable effort, with the help of technicians, to dig a narrow passage through the ruins. Every step they took kicked up choking dust, and the gravel made a teeth-grinding grinding sound on the soles of their boots.

The space they were in was like a forgotten corner of the world, completely swallowed by thick darkness except for a few emergency lights temporarily set up by technicians.

Moreover, the stark white light did not bring a sense of security; instead, it made the broken load-bearing columns and the crumbling ceiling appear even more grotesque. Most unsettlingly, the rubble structure supporting this temporary shelter could collapse again at any moment—perhaps in the next second.

That's absolutely terrible.

The abandoned outpost had abandoned its equipment due to the emergency operation, leaving the team with less than a third of its supplies in good condition. Some key equipment was even missing. With the Netherhounds outside, it was not a good idea to go out and retrieve the equipment. It was even possible that the Netherhounds had already discovered the equipment. Going back now would just be like lambs to the slaughter.

In such a difficult place, it seems that we can only take a break for now.

But get some rest.
Mingzhi glanced at his subordinates dozing off against the ruins in the corner and couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth.

In this godforsaken place, being able to breathe is a luxury, let alone have a proper rest. The concrete dust floating in the air makes every breath smell of dirt, and the sound of falling gravel can be heard from afar, like the final groans of this dying space.

sigh.

I miss V and the others. Spending more time with them made me realize the differences between teams.

Look at this elite Arasaka squad, sigh, they're a liability yet somehow useful and we can't give up on them, it's really a headache.

叹.
Mingzhi felt that he sighed inwardly more today than he had in the previous month.

(End of this chapter)