The next day, Leon woke up in a gloomy mood.

"Hey, you look like you slept on Elephant dung". Daren teased as he stared at Leon suspiciously before going to brush his teeth.

As soon as they woke up, the Synths took care of their mechanical needs while the Geneforms took care of their biological needs before quickly gathering in the room where Talia, Brick, and Ghostwire stayed.

As soon as everyone gathered, Ghostwire drew their attention with a single sentence. "I think I've discovered something". The NetRunner was currently sitting in front of his computer.

They all looked at him, waiting for him to explain.

Ghostwire didn't keep them waiting, the taciturn NetRunner cleared his throat. "As you all know, after boss Talia and Leon scouted the warehouse, I've been keeping steady surveillance of it with the C-5 drone".

"To avoid the drone being seen, I've always maintained a safe distance which limits the effect of the surveillance. I also can't always monitor the warehouse 24/7, but with the little time that I have, I've noticed a trend".

He pointed at the holoscreen projected by his computer; it was currently displaying the Zmer gang warehouse. "Anytime the truck moves out of the warehouse, we've assumed that they're most likely transporting slaves".

"The question is, where are they transporting the slaves to?"

Ghostwire rubbed his smooth mechanical chin in thought. "This is the puzzle that I've been trying to solve, and I think I've finally discovered something".

He looked at Talia. "I've noticed a consistent trend that anytime the truck leaves, it spends approximately between 30 to 45 minutes before coming back".

"I have low experimental data to work with since I've only seen the truck leave the warehouse three times, but still, this is a suspicious pattern".

"If the truck is truly transporting the slaves out to be sold immediately, there's no way for it to return within 30 to 45 minutes".

"Afterall, the closest city to the Wastes would take hours of driving and between a day to two days of trekking".

"Working with the assumption that Parasite's dealer is in the Omnicore Federation, I worked the math rounding it to the nearest Omnicore city and still, driving from here to the nearest Sea Wall City in Omnicore's Coastal Megopolist would take anywhere between 8 to 10 hours on land".

"This is if there's no hazard on the road like a random Neon Beast attack, or an ADE storm or even a nanite storm".

"This brought me to some conclusions".

"First, there is a second warehouse of the Zmer gang where they transport the slaves for safekeeping. If I'm right, this likely insinuates that this warehouse is even more fortified and protected than the first warehouse and is the true base".

"Second, every time that the truck moves out, it doesn't transport the slaves to the final destination. Instead, there's likely an exchange of goods mid-way where the clients take care of the final transportation".

"What I mean is that they likely have a spot where they meet with their clients. There, the exchange is done, money in exchange for slaves".

"These are the two conclusions that I drew".

Ghostwire laid the facts out and waited for his crewmates' opinion.

Leon stared at the NetRunner in surprise. 'I didn't know he could talk this long in one sitting, I guess everyone talks when it's something that they're passionate about'.

None of them were surprised to hear that the Zmer gang likely had another warehouse where they keep slaves.

Even if they didn't expect it, they already suspected it.

Afterall, the scale of Parasite's slave trade business already exceeded the level that Talia previously rated them at. From all that they've seen, the Zmer gang was already deeply entrenched in the slave trade business in a large scale.

Leon found it hard to believe that just one warehouse of slaves would warrant Parasite's sponsor giving him so much support.

Kain was the one who broke the silence after Ghostwire's briefing.

"We need to verify the facts before we take action". He said seriously. "Or else, mission failure will be the least of our worries. We'll be placing a lot of lives in jeopardy and danger, including our own lives".

Talia nodded. She didn't mince words as she praised Ghostwire. "Good job, you may have just saved this mission".

Then, she looked at Brick. "Ghostwire will continue working from the inn. As for me and you, let's go out there and be the field agents".

"Let's find out if Parasite truly has a second warehouse".

Brick nodded without saying a word.

Then Talia looked at Leon. "We need more drones". She directly said. "This is a delicate mission. Like Kain said, any mistake and lives will be put in danger, so we need to be very meticulous".

Leon shrugged. "All I need is materials".

Hearing that, Talia smiled. "Talking of materials, I have a gift for you".

"Me?" Leon was surprised as he stared at her.

Talia nodded, then she brought out a familiar layered leather harness from under her bed. From the leather bag, she poured out a stash of raw materials for making guns, bullets, and drones ranging from metal, to plastics, carbon fiber, sensors and other miscellaneous materials.

Of all the materials though, one of them made Leon perk up immediately. "Is that what I think it is?"

Talia grinned. "It turns out that Cell didn't directly blacklist me from the underground market. I think he's trying to sound me out to see if I stayed after the scare two nights ago".

"And yes, this is a powerplant". She pointed at the metallic material on the ground that had a spring. "From what you said the last time, you need this right?"

"Yes". Leon's eyes lit up. "It's the core component of an Air Gun!"

Talia's face turned serious as she pushed the materials towards Leon. "What you said the last time is right. We don't have much time to prepare anymore, so make use of the time as much as you can to equip the crew".

Leon nodded seriously. "We'll work hard".

Seeing that Talia was not about to raise it up, Leon took the initiative to ask. "What about Alexander Cain?"

"Oh, I almost forget. Accept his offer".

Hearing that, Leon smiled.

That morning, while Talia and Brick left to work remotely with Ghostwire on scouting the warehouse and the military-grade truck, Leon, Daren, Rex, and Kain were not in a rush to go to the open market.

That morning, they had a lot more work to do.

What they lacked previously was materials, and with enough materials now, they spent the next few hours in the inn working.

Construct!

Leon's ADE was put to work as he practiced his Mechanist abilities.

He didn't just hoard all the work to himself though. He did well to delegate duties, giving Rex and Kain opportunities to use their Mechanist abilities.

With the right blueprints, the trio of Mechanists worked efficiently.

After 4 hours, all the materials were finally exhausted.

DING!

~----~

[You have engaged in a joint creative project!]

[You have crafted an F Rank Drone: C-5 Drone]

[You have gained +2 Ascended Essence!]

…

[You have crafted an F Rank Drone: C-5 Drone]

[You have gained +2 Ascended Essence!]

…

[You have crafted an F Rank Kinetic Pistol]

[You have gained +2 Ascended Essence!]

…

[You have crafted an F Rank Kinetic Pistol…]

…

[You have crafted an F Rank Kinetic Pistol…]

…

[You have crafted an F Rank Kinetic Pistol…]

…

[You have crafted 10 bullets]

[You have gained +1 Ascended Essence!]

…

[You have crafted 10 bullets…]

…

[You have crafted 10 bullets… ×18]

…

[You have crafted an F Rank Jury-rigged Bomb]

[You have gained +5 Ascended Essence!]

[Ascended Counter: 897/1000]

~----~

In 4 hours, the trio of Mechanists crafted 2 C-5 drones, 4 kinetic pistols, 200 bullets, and 1 jury-rigged bomb.

Leon stared at the wooden table in the room that Talia helped them turn into a makeshift work table as his eyes gleamed.

This work session made him learn a few new things. 'Even while cooperating with other Mechanists, the Ascended Essence gained for a creation doesn't diminish, meaning Rex and Kain experienced the same growth that I just had'. He smiled.

Apart from the completed constructs, there was an incomplete construct on the table, an Air Gun.

On the table was the chassis of an incomplete Air Gun Rifle.

Leon didn't opt for the smaller and compact Air Gun Pistol. Instead, since he already had kinetic pistols, he opted for the bigger and more powerful Rifle prototype of the Air Gun.

Despite being incomplete, it already looked menacing and imposing.

Leon grinned. "I can't wait to complete this bad boy".

Daren's eyes sparkled as he looked at the incomplete Rifle. "It already looks sleek," he sighed. "This thing is making me think of becoming a sharpshooter, but I still prefer my gauntlets more," he smiled sheepishly. "The feeling of physical contact is just different".

At that moment, Rex and Kain carefully took two steps backward as they kept their gazes fixated at the corner of the table in a wary manner.

Leon was taken aback by their reaction, but when he traced their gaze and saw it land on the jury-rigged bomb, he understood as he chuckled. "You don't need to be scared of it, it will only detonate with kinetic pressure".

"What if it falls down?" Kain retorted instinctively.

Leon was stunned. "Ahem," he went closer to the jury-rigged bomb and carefully stuffed it in a bag before keeping it at the corner of the room.

He looked at Ghostwire. "Please avoid this corner of the room".

The NetRunner didn't answer, he only threw a glance at him then focused back on his computer.

Used to his crewmate though, Leon didn't mind as with a smile on his face, he stared at the completed constructs. "How should we distribute these?"

Ghostwire finally reacted as soon as he heard that. Though he never said a word, the taciturn NetRunner had been watching them all the while as they worked.

Without saying a word, he came and picked up the two C-5 drones. He quickly boot the drones before putting them to work without delay.

Then he quietly returned back to his computer.

Leon twitched his lips. 'Not even a thank you'.

"I already have kinetic pistols, so I don't need one, but I'll take 50 bullets". Kain immediately laid his claim to 1/4th of the total crafted bullets.

Leon nodded, then he said. "Apart from my spear, I also need a pistol for situations when my spear fails, so I'll take two kinetic pistols".

No one objected.

"I'll also take 50 bullets".

Leon expected Rex to talk next, but when the silence stretched for more than 20 seconds, he looked at the short Geneform and shook his head. "Come on Rex, you also need a pistol".

His face turned serious. "We don't know how the showdown against the Zmer gang is going to be, we have to be sufficiently prepared as much as we can".

"Ok," Rex finally nodded. "I'll take one kinetic pistol and 50 bullets too".

Leon nodded in satisfaction then he looked at Daren. "I know you're a melee fighter, but the battle situation won't always favor you to make use of your strengths, so I think you should take the last kinetic pistol".

"But I have my dagger".

Leon glared at him. "You need it".

Daren chuckled and quickly raised his hands in surrender. "Ok Mr. Genius, I'll take a pistol if you insist".

With that, he took the last kinetic pistol and the remaining 50 bullets.

Only after that did the quadruple get ready to go to the mechanic workshop. By then, it was already 11:00pm.

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