Kael Voss stepped in his cavalry boots, the steel and leather pressed tightly against his calves, defining every line. His black, form-fitting jacket clung to him, sleeves tightly cinched, collar rising high to his jaw. His waist and hips were laden with cold-light firearms. Yet in his right hand, he held a peach—vacuum-sealed, tender and juicy—the last one of the winter. If he wanted another, he'd have to wait until next summer.
He pushed open the iron door of the assembly workshop with his mechanical hand. Inside, over a hundred people were working in a frenzy; the Soulrender's assembly line gleamed under the LEDs. Vyre directed operations, while Arq and that perpetually crying, effeminate junior assistant were busy nearby.
"Big brother!" The juniors all stood and saluted.
Kael lazily bit into the peach and walked through the workspace. The Soulrender was nearly fully assembled, a four-meter-tall mech shimmering in dark green under the neon lights. Its chest bore the roaring Griffin Hall insignia, like a mechanical lion bellowing.
"Move fast. Departure at midnight sharp." He spoke around the pit of the peach, his voice low and resonant with metallic undertones.
He had turned down Byrn that morning, and now, come night, 88 might try to steal it. Though they might hesitate due to the "Razorfang" identity Kael had fabricated, the Soulrender had to be moved first. He would personally oversee the escort.
Looking up at the towering armor, he recalled Byrn's comment that "without Exosuits, you're embarrassing." He smirked coldly. There was no thought of hollowing out flesh or letting cold steel pierce him. Instinctively, he touched the fake neural interface scar at his right temple—the texture was unnervingly real. His gaze then fell to the strange skeleton in the corner.
"Hm?" He approached and examined it, looking up and down. "Vyre, have you messed with this?"
Vyre, standing and discussing the plan with Arq, shook his head. "No."
But the skeleton's posture had clearly shifted. Its left foot, angled inward fifteen degrees that morning, now pointed entirely outward, as if… someone had manipulated it.
"The dual-CPU guy." Kael reached out with his mechanical hand. The fingers, wet from the peach, were too slippery, so he used the mechanical one instead. When metal touched metal, a force tugged at his arm.
A subtle current shot along his finger bones to his left shoulder; a faint tearing sensation pulsed where metal met flesh. His heart jumped, his body tingled—his left arm no longer felt entirely his own, yet still quivered, the mechanical resonance pounding straight to his chest.
"Like it so much, huh?" A familiar voice whispered at his ear, warm breath brushing his back.
The pulse vanished. Kael withdrew his hand; the incredible attraction he'd just felt seemed never to have existed—supernatural, a mechanical resonance perceptible only to superhumans.
"Then equip it." Ryuu-9's voice was low, almost coaxing. "Use the strongest motors, blades, guns, mount heavy artillery. Paint it however you like."
"I'm not going to be an Operator—you know that," Kael said, his voice low, even lower than Ryuu-9's, uncomfortably close, yet he held back.
"You're going to have to stand on your own."
"I have you."
"I can still wear Exosuits for three more years. After that, what will you do? Who will protect you?"
Kael smiled, coldly. "I'm only a year younger than you, brother."
"One year. You can protect yourself one more year. Then I can rest easy."
Kael frowned. "Ryuu, you're too close."
"Many lieutenants and their brothers are this close."
This was an era scarce in women, where men relied on men to survive. Kael's expression stiffened. "I don't like this. You understand?"
"You're taking people out soon—I can't relax."
Kael fell silent. A complex gleam passed through his eyes.
Ryuu-9 suddenly reached from behind and wrapped Kael tightly in his embrace. The cold, powerful pressure of his metal arm pressed against him. "Don't move. Consider it a brother's hug."
Amid the mechanical roar of over a hundred people in the workshop and the neon-lit chaos, almost no one noticed the scene—except Zayden, who was dazedly squatting on the floor, sorting steel plates. His neck craned high, eyes watery as he stared ahead.
Arq's large hand suddenly slammed down, twisting Zayden's head back upright. Vyre rolled his eyes beside them.
"Arq," Zayden blinked, his rabbit-like eyes reflecting the neon lights, "what are the Lieutenant and Big Brother doing?"
Arq shot him a glare. "If you don't understand, don't ask."
The little rabbit hung his head in grievance, falling silent. After a while, he secretly peeked again. The two men were still tightly embracing. He set down the steel plate in his hands, tiptoed closer to Arq, and whispered in his ear, just about to speak, when a force from behind swept his calf. He fell hard onto the cold, metal floor.
"Ah!" Zayden squeaked.
Around him, a chorus of mechanical-like laughter erupted. He patted his backside and stood, face flushed, and turned to see Vyre walking past him, saying lightly, "No bringing him along on the mission later."
"Understood." Arq grabbed Zayden's wrist and pulled him aside. "You're so small and fragile—one kick and you'd fall apart."
Vyre snorted. The cold air of his presence, like a stream of steel, swept past, and he turned away.
"Arq," Zayden lifted his bangs, the tiny neural interface at his temple glinting under the neon lights. "I've been ready for years… I want to go with you guys…"
"You don't have the ability to operate an Exosuit," Arq said calmly, leaving no room for argument. "There are far more capable people in the hall than you."
Zayden's nose reddened, tears threatening to spill. "But I…"
"Enough." Arq gripped his small shoulders, his gaze stern, exuding the resolve of steel. "Tonight's going to be a tough fight. You… protect yourself."
The little rabbit opened his mouth to speak, then could only nod obediently.
Elsewhere, Kael forcefully shoved Ryuu-9 away. Ryuu-9 was unwilling to release, but without Hexcrusher, he was just a mortal, even a centimeter shorter than Kael.
The air reeked of oil, neon, and hot metal. The workshop felt like a miniature industrial city. Between the two men, breaths and heartbeats rang out, unnervingly distinct amidst the metal and lights.
"Kael…"
"Enough, Ryuu." Kael ran a hand through his hair, his mechanical fingers glinting in the light. "We were shoulder to shoulder through bullets and fire when we were eleven or twelve. All these years of fighting… this hand—" He raised his diamond-inlaid left arm, metal flashing under the neon reflections. "You fixed it for me at the abandoned power station in White City. We fought hard to take this territory in East Bridge for two years. Don't destroy everything."
Here's an English translation of your passage, keeping the tense, action-packed atmosphere and cyberpunk Exosuits combat elements intact:
Ryuu-9 nodded, the scar between his brows sharp under the shadows. His crew-cut hair was neat, eyes as cold and sharp as blades. "Vyre, count the men. Load Soulrender onto the transport!"
Kael patted his shoulder without meeting his gaze. His voice was low: "The house is in your hands."
Soulrender was slowly lowered and slid into the transport vehicle, its hall emblem scraped clean. Kael climbed into the driver's cabin, Vyre ignited the Rebirth Fire, and Arq piloted the Black Dice. Under the cover of night and neon, the convoy silently departed through Galan Hall's back entrance.
Ryuu-9 watched them go until the orange-red tail lights disappeared completely. He clenched his fists and turned to the men left behind. "88 might come tonight to snatch our stuff! Are we letting them?"
"No!" the group roared in unison.
"What do we do then?"
"Kill—!"
"And if they get scared and try to run?"
"Chase them, kill—!"
"And if we lose?"
The seventeen- and eighteen-year-olds shouted amidst mechanical howls, voices echoing: "Die together!"
"Good!" Ryuu-9 raised his arm to command. "Open the gates. Everyone who can wear an Exosuit, suit up. Main gate, assembly workshop, headquarters—three barriers! Tonight, there's no retreat. Only a bloody advance!"
"Bloody advance—!"
The young lieutenants moved like a mechanized unit. Exosuits ignited, barricades secured, ambush points precisely deployed. On Hexcrusher's secondary knee stage, Ryuu-9 readied the Operator cabin. Outside the gate came the unmistakable scrape of metal—Hrrshh—
The juniors raised their firearms, photon guns, holding their breath.
Ryuu-9 lifted his left hand high, as if controlling the rhythm of the battlefield. Everyone froze. With one downward swing, his command surged through the battlefield like electricity—begin the merciless slaughter!
Cold wind rattled the metal gates. A flash of bright yellow streaked across the night. Ryuu-9 clenched his fist and leapt from Hexcrusher, pressing down on the gun barrels of his subordinates and striding to the gate. "Who's that?!"
A bright yellow Exosuit entered Galan Hall—a three-meter-tall steel warrior. Each arm bristled with twenty barrels. Wind-cooling systems howled. Halo-like lights ran down the back of its head. Every ten centimeters, a firing port capable of penetrating armor and firing heavy metal rounds—this was Solaris Arc, the Exosuit of the Freedom Syndicate's Lieutenant.
The Operator cabin suddenly opened. A small figure, about Ryuu-9's age, jumped out and immediately embraced him. "My boss sent me. I couldn't refuse!"
"Orin, you shouldn't be here," Ryuu-9 warned, eyes scanning the courtyard's flashing Exosuit lights. "Galan Hall is going to bleed tonight."
Orin surveyed the surroundings. Neon lights reflected off the rain-slicked ground, casting metallic glints. "I see that, Ryuu. I just have one question."
Ryuu-9 had only recently met him, but their tacit understanding was strong. In East Bridge's three-way struggle for power, the words of the bosses were scarce; Lieutenants often served as the bridge.
"The cargo is in Galan Hall," Ryuu-9 said flatly. "Nothing else."
"On the truck," Orin stepped forward, a hint of tension in his voice, "what exactly is in there?"
The Freedom Syndicate truly had no clue. Ryuu-9 gripped his hand tightly. "Orin, leave—now—"
Before he could finish, an explosion tore through the night sky. A shell slammed into the center of the courtyard. The shockwave sent Solaris Arc and Hexcrusher staggering. Ryuu-9 pinned Orin to the ground as screams and the clanging of metal collided into a horrifying symphony. Fire consumed the courtyard—this was no ordinary shell. Not even a neutron cannon could match its destructive power. This weapon was unprecedented in East Bridge.
88's Exosuit squad swarmed into the courtyard like ghosts. Leading the charge was Lieutenant Byrn, followed by a triangular array of unknown Exosuits. Kael had said no more than two top-tier XI8 Exosuits could come—but Ryuu-9 froze. There were at least five XI8 Exosuits.
"Defend! Defend! Don't panic!" he shouted, sprinting to the fallen Hexcrusher. At his feet, a tiny muddy hand grabbed him.
"Ryuu, those aren't 88's!" Orin exclaimed.
Ryuu-9's heart jolted—these weren't 88's! Whose Exosuits were these? He stomped on Hexcrusher's ankle and charged toward the Operator cabin through fire and smoke. At the same time, Orin ran toward Solaris Arc. Unwittingly, a completely black Exosuit appeared ahead, its metallic hand outstretched, pointing directly at Ryuu-9.
He was exposed, just within the black Exosuit's firing range.
"Ryuu!" Orin screamed.
Ryuu-9 didn't turn. He dove into the cabin. The neural interface flashed with blue-white energy, and his consciousness merged instantly with Hexcrusher. A few seconds later, he looked back—Orin had already been ensnared by a metallic net fired from the black Exosuit's palm. The mesh constricted like a serpent, metallic screeches echoing.
Ryuu-9 watched in horror as Orin's body was shredded into pieces.
"Damn it—!" He roared, lightning-fast, grasping the black Exosuit's "giant hand." It was the legendary "Big Handprint," high-end hardware once used by government squads—but now, it was controlled by—
The Dyne Syndicate!
Two Exosuits collided, sparks flying. Ryuu-9 seized the opportunity, yanking the "head" of the Big Handprint and activating the plutonium core. The mechanical skeleton groaned under the tearing metal, and with a brutal twist, he snapped the neck. His fury exploded like an electric arc in the night.
He spun sharply. Hexcrusher's defense system instantly registered the incoming attack. A silver-white streak sliced across the air—a massive axe, its edge gleaming coldly under the neon light.
Zayden crouched nearby behind a snow pile, curling into a ball. Arq had told him to protect himself—but all around, the courtyard was strewn with Galan Hall's wreckage. Blood mixed with snow, forming grayish mud. Every crawl across the ground pressed into jagged steel and frozen blood, chilling him to the bone.
88's Exosuit squad was closing in on the assembly workshop. The first barrier at the gate had only Hexcrusher and two XI8-class Exosuits desperately holding the line.
On one side, the black Exosuit swung its giant axe. On the other, a silver-blue mech brandished a massive hammer. Ryuu-9's breath came in ragged gasps; motors roared and metal scraped sharply. He was near collapse.
He had to help—but how?
In desperation, he caught sight of Solaris Arc lying in the snow, the cabin open and smoldering slightly.
Climbing over the icy steel, gripping snow, blood, and tears, he crawled into the Operator cabin with trembling hands. He strapped in, fingers shaking as they connected to the right-side neural interface. Bracing himself, he stabbed at his temple.
Neuron flashes seared his brain. Pain cut through his thoughts like an electric arc. Memories flooded in:
His father bent over a narrow bed, hands scarred from factory work, eyes wet with tears, voice hoarse: "Mom's gone. From now on, Dad will take care of you…"
Clutching an old metal box, coughing violently: "Little Bei, soon Dad will have enough money… once we have enough, I'll get you that surgery…"
Coughs and sobs intertwined. His father's voice echoed repeatedly like mechanical gears: "Once you get the surgery and become an Operator, let's see who dares bully us again!"
Then came that day—his father's body slumped against the mottled wall outside the surgery room. Zayden felt the pain at his temple clash with the tearing ache in his chest, almost too much to bear…
"Ugh—!" Neuron overload hit, and he began to vomit. The Operator cabin filled with blood and digestive matter, then, as if severed from reality, his vision went completely black.
To his left, a giant hammer fell—Ryuu-9 barely dodged; to his right, a massive axe came down. The back armor split open, exposing dense circuits beneath the insulation, electricity flashing like living snakes.
He knew he couldn't hold on much longer—fate was as merciless as cold code. Three years of his life left, and he might not even survive long enough to walk beside Kael.
Just as he dropped to his knees under the axe, head bowed, ready to accept the fatal blow—
From the flank came the crisp metallic ping of bullets. The muzzle flashes from machine guns reflected on the snow. Ryuu-9 froze: Galan Hall… there were still survivors?