Chapter 835 - 114: Brave Elliot

A moderate explosion deformed and collapsed the control panel.

The cyber psycho, already on the brink of death, couldn’t stand steady and slipped off the slanted platform.

Unable to grasp the railing, it was only a fall below; the overheated personal links and skin disintegrated during the descent.

As the personal link detached from the control panel, the cyber psycho’s prosthetics couldn’t hold the operational bar, triggering the factory’s safety measures to resume—

They were activated, but the chaos and malfunctions had already destroyed most sensors and controllers, making connections to relevant components impossible, leaving many systems offline.

The neuro-control system completely ceased operation, and the production line progressively stopped without software drivers.

Fuel supply halted, but the melting furnace still suffered a final explosion...

Boom—

The muffled sound coincided with the cyber psycho crashing onto the ground, triggering an internal explosion in the furnace, which didn’t penetrate but horrifyingly deformed the equipment.

A machinery previously boasting industrial aesthetic became blind and pockmarked after the explosion, covered in asymmetrical spikes and oozing red-hot metal fluid...

As if it were bleeding.

Everything paused, leaving only the sound of flames burning.

Elliot stepped out, witnessing the scene, the cyber psycho’s limbs grotesquely sprawled on the ground...

Elliot felt a wave of nausea; the body, already roasted by high temperatures, was scarcely recognizable as human after the impact.

"Urgh..."

Elliot wasn’t in great physical condition.

In such a tense environment, every movement could deplete excessive energy, with the body overly tense, posing a risk of muscle strains with any physical action.

After the most exhilarating charge of his life, witnessing the most nauseating sight he’d ever seen, he inevitably retched.

Not only did he vomit, but he also briefly lost his balance and fell, nearly landing amidst his vomit.

Johnny’s specter appeared before him, crouching to scrutinize the cyber psycho.

[Johnny: Even by the standards of old Night City folk, this thing is too... extreme.]

[Johnny: Although a bit humorous, you did well, kid Elliot.]

"How...did he end up like this?"

Only Elliot noticed, allowing Johnny to see it; when Johnny focused intently on these scenes, it meant the data was being retrieved again, emphasizing it.

Elliot was forced to recall the cyber psycho’s dreadful state mentally:

His skin melted in the intense heat, losing its pattern and merging like rubber with the scorched implants, flowing with blood and bile...

The mixture even covered the eyes and mouth, seeming less like a person and more like a faceless monster, a faceless monster.

The faceless monster’s face had no features but bore a string of shiny text:

[Employee ID: xxxxxx]

[Level: E4 (Production Line Engineer)]

"Uh...."

A bizarre sound emanated from the swollen throat.

It sounded nothing like a human voice, more like two pieces of rusted metal grinding together...

"The machine knows... the Machine Soul knows... I’m right...."

"Efficiency!!!"

[Johnny: Oh damn it!]

The corpse erupted in a sharp blasting noise!

Elliot was so startled that he fell backward, hitting his head hard on the ground!

The world before him turned dim, as Johnny approached with a helpless smile:

[Johnny: You truly are talented, surviving this ordeal unscathed, only to scare yourself silly and bust your brain...]

[Johnny: Although it startled me as well.]

Johnny finished speaking and lifted his head; someone was coming.

"Brother! Damn, you’re amazing..."

The sound of Shield Brother reached his ears, intensifying Elliot’s dizziness.

In the final moments, Lille’s voice rang out.

[Lille: We’ll temporarily lose contact.]

...

"Help me out, this brother sacrificed himself for us and lost consciousness..."

Shield Brother carried Elliot out, and the surrounding workers rapidly cleared a path—

Though forming a circle around, none blocked the way; wherever Elliot went, they stepped aside...

Their eyes filled with admiration and gratitude, though his mind clouded, Elliot couldn’t mistake it.

Though his "factory rescue journey" was rife with obstacles, most workers were busy preserving their lives amid the chaos. Who would focus on the epicenter?

As the explodes and clashes in their ears ceased, the conveyor belts stopped, robotic arms drooped, the piercing alarm and madman’s screams became monotonous hums, and the burning flames dwindled into scattered sparks. Only then dared they raise their heads to examine their surroundings, witnessing this scene:

Seeing the cyber psycho sprawled before Elliot, Elliot lying flat in defeat, as if he’d suffered a heavy blow, or...

Or accompanied the cyber psycho in the fall?

He was practically a selfless heroic figure.

"Wow, brother, you’re practically Superman!"

Finally, someone couldn’t hold back and shouted.

"Wuhu! Amazing! I’ve only seen people take down cyber psychos in videos!"

"Such courage brother, badass!"

"You saved us all!!"

Rumble—

The cheers abruptly stopped, overshadowed by the engine’s roar piercing through the factory.

Elliot’s smile also froze as everyone collectively lifted their heads, following the sound’s source through the walls...

They would never mistake this sound; it belonged to the floating cars.

Floating cars symbolized status and power, occasionally representing absolute force; who was arriving?

Clack clack clack clack clack clack clack....

The factory’s lockdown isolation measures gradually began to disengage, with the functioning isolation walls emitting sounds.

Looks like the company’s people arrived first...

Their superiors.

"Company personnel have arrived," Shield Brother carrying Elliot’s eyes gleamed, "You saved us all! I bet you’ll definitely get promoted, you’re amazing!

Oh, I’m Carl, what’s your name?"

"What’s my name? I barely have the energy to speak..."

"No! Brother, you’re genuinely confused, I’m asking for your name, we’re all coworkers in this damn factory yet don’t know each other."

"Oh, my name... I’m Elliot Grove; you have guts. You’re the only one who shielded me."

Carl chuckled: "Such a big event, of course, we must unite to overcome the difficulty! If I stayed put, I might already have met my great-grandmother.

What level do you think you’ll get promoted to? Maybe they’ll make you an engineer..."

"Best not... I’m doing well now..."

Perhaps frightened by the previous scene, but Elliot’s mind still unconsciously anticipated—

Born in Europe, every step up was a tough challenge, and while professing satisfaction with a grassroots worker identity, some ideas were deeply ingrained in his subconscious...

Who doesn’t enjoy promotion?