"Man, I pity your world."
I look at them devouring all the food in front of them as if they have not eaten for a week. The old woman, Rogue, looks at me and says.
"Then can you return? We need more miracles back home."
"Nah. You want freedom, and we always follow our words. You don't want us, and so we leave. It is as simple as that."
"Even when there are a lot of miracles happening back home?"
"What are you talking about? I am here. I don't do any of that."
She looks at me as if she doesn't believe me and says,
"Right. Anyway, what is the gig? I think it is time for us to talk biz."
"Biz?"
"Business."
"Right, business. Truthfully, I only need Lucy here to create better cybersecurity for the hospital I own."
"You own a hospital? You are a god. Why not wave your hand and heal them?"
"Because we are here to guide, not to carry you until the day you die. What do you think happens when someone can just pray to me and suddenly get healed? And this happens each time they pray to me."
Rogue takes a sip of her sake and releases a sigh.
"They will depend on you and will do reckless things because they can get away with it now."
"Exactly. I am trying to reduce hospital costs for ordinary people, but they still need to learn from their mistakes. Broken bone? Well, next time, be careful when you carry those things. Food poisoning? Well, don't eat everything all at once. I am here to guide, not to coddle you."
I see Rogue stay silent for a few seconds before releasing a sigh.
"So, the biz?"
"Right, biz. Well, I don't have anything for all of you. Wait. There is one. How much firepower are you guys packing? How long does that firepower last?"
She looks at her crew, and I can see her calculate their ammunition.
"We are good at firepower. However, most of us are Edgerunners. That means they usually pack not too much ammunition, but high firepower."
"Perfect. A wild animal is thrashing around a nearby village. We need you all to take care of it for me. The reward depends on how much damage you cause to the animal. It has very delicious meat, and the reward depends on how much you destroy the goods."
I look at her and say.
"Can you do that?"
"Heh. Of course. I have a good crew. There is little we cannot do. Let me talk to the crew, and we can depart."
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|3rd POV|
"I never thought that I would come here to catch a feral animal."
Nix, one of the best Netrunners under Rogue, complains as they walk through a beautiful forest.
"The food and drink are worth the trip, though. That fucking sake and whiskey are delicious. I never thought that I would love fish, but here we are."
"Yeah! The foods are preem stuff~."
A short woman turns around and gives a grin to Nix. This is Rebecca, a gunslinger of Maine's crew.
"They are even kind enough to give that gonk-bitch a liquid food."
Rebecca points at the woman with a jaw mask who looks away. This is Kiwi, the main Netrunner in Maine's crew. Even though the others give her a second chance, David, Lucy, and Rebecca still cannot forgive her completely for what she has done. It is because of Maine's stern words that they back off for now.
However, the shortstack swears she will shoot Kiwi in the head.
"Becca"
"Urgh. I know, dimple. Anyway! I don't think it is a normal animal! Maybe we will face something supernatural, you know?! We are in the land where Youkai exist!"
Rogue and Squama nod their heads in agreement. They know this will be something that isn't a normal animal. There is no way that Ryan will give them a job and allow her to use her full crew alongside Maine's crew.
It does not take long for them to arrive at the meeting location, and they can see Ryan already waiting for them. He smiles at them and says,
"You all are here, good. Follow me. I will show you the animal you need to hunt."
They follow him and arrive at an opening in the middle of the forest. There, they can see a massive creature. It is seven meters tall, with bulging muscles across its body, armored skin, and holding a massive butcher sword.
However, what attracts their attention is the fact that the creature has the head of a bull.
"That is a Minotaur. It is a cattle animal. They might look humanoid, but they are more akin to animals than to sentient beings. They are aggressive, have thick skin, and the fur acts as armor."
Ryan looks at them with a massive grin and continues.
"Kill the thing, and I will pay you guys. I will watch from the sidelines and intervene if the situation turns for the worse. Oh! Watch out for being eaten, okay? Minotaur is a carnivorous creature."
Before Rogue can ask for more, Ryan disappears and leaves them alone. Her optic cannot locate him, even when she goes full scanning mode. Seeing she will not get any more answers, she looks at the others and says.
"Alright. We need to kill that thing before it can know what hit it. Nix."
She throws her tech sniper rifle at him and says.
"Kill it."
"Hehehe. Leave this to me, boss."
He takes the sniper and ignores the grumbling about him taking all the glory. He takes aim and charges the weapon. When it is ready, he fires and grins as the bullet flies. However, something absurd happened.
The giant bull-man raises its butcher sword and blocks the bullet.
"D-Did that thing block the bullet?!"
"Yes, and it looks pissed! Disperse!"
They run away just in time as the massive minotaur lands on their spot. It roars and starts rampaging. The others run around, making sure they do not get hit by the massive sword. Bullets fly through the air as they fire their weapons at the giant Minotaur.
Maine activates his Projectile Launch System and fires a rocket at the minotaur, who takes the rocket like it was nothing. It is bleeding from the attack, but it is still standing and even angrier than before.
It looks at Maine and appears in front of him, and is about to crush him with its giant hand. However, before it can do that, David activates his Sandevistan and throws Maine away. Rogue throws a grenade at the minotaur, getting its attention and allowing Maine and David to leave the area.
"Take this, you Bull bastard!"
Rebecca roars as she fires her two weapons, as the others get the minotaur's attention. She throws away her rifle and takes out her shotgun, Guts, and starts blasting once again, joining the other mercenaries who fight at the front.
They continue fighting for 15 minutes before the fight ends. The Minotaur falls to the ground from blood loss, leaving the mercenaries bruised and beaten. The vanguard have their bodies beaten, their subdermal armor cracked, and their internal armor bent from the fight.
"Good job! Let's get all of you to the hospital for now. We will take money later."
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