"Alright, Dorio, contact Qiwei. Sasha, don't worry too much. We can definitely handle this situation."
Mann tried to sound relaxed, even forcing a smile.
Truthfully, ever since he heard that Faraday had practically dug his own grave, Mann had been itching to use his catapult device to blow off Faraday's head.
"Sister Sasha, did Peter mention me or anything about me?" Rebecca asked, sitting down beside Sasha, her voice filled with a hopeful curiosity.
"You still haven't forgotten about Peter?" Pyla said with a smirk, amused. "You've only met him a few times."
As her older brother, Pyla knew Rebecca had a thing for Peter. But what he didn't understand was why she liked him so much.
"You're so annoying! Such a pervert!"
Sasha chuckled. "No, Peter didn't mention anything specific. He just said that if there's any danger, I could contact him."
"Well, I was hoping for something more exciting." Rebecca pouted and slumped into her seat like a lifeless fish.
"Honestly, you could visit our place more often," Sasha said casually. "I doubt Peter would mind."
She wasn't worried. Sasha knew Peter's taste in women pretty well. Whether it was V, Lucy, or herself—even V had hinted that Peter might be involved with Judy already—they were all beautiful and tough in their own way. While Rebecca was undeniably cute, Sasha didn't think she was Peter's type.
"Really? Then I'll steal him away. Don't come crying to me when I lure the wolf into the house," Rebecca said with a mischievous grin.
"Hahaha, Rebecca, you're confident, I'll give you that."
Everyone in the vehicle burst into laughter, easing the previously heavy atmosphere.
---
About ten minutes later, Mann and the crew reached their destination.
During the ride, Tanaka had briefly regained consciousness—only to be knocked out again by Mann and the others without hesitation.
"Qiwei, it's all up to you. Sasha's not skilled in deep net intrusion. I'll make sure you're well-paid," Mann said, addressing the tall woman standing nearby.
"No problem. Leave it to me," Qiwei replied calmly as she began preparing to access Tanaka's neural system.
"Mann, have you been overusing your prosthetics lately?" Dorio asked, her tone sharp as she stood beside him.
Ever since Mann had installed two fifth-order prosthetic limbs, he'd been using them recklessly and aggressively.
"I'm fine," Mann replied dismissively.
"Really? Your hands have been trembling nonstop, and the implants are starting to mess with your nerves," Dorio pointed out, grabbing his arm. "You've got the money to get new ones. After we finish this job, go to that prosthetics doctor Peter recommended and switch to something lighter."
"Mann, she's right," Pyla added, unusually serious. "If you keep this up, you're going to lose control. You'll become a full-blown cyberpsycho."
"You're both overreacting," Mann scoffed. "It's just a little shaking. I'll swap out the ejection unit tomorrow."
Without hesitation, he pulled out an immunosuppressant and injected it into his arm.
"You're kidding, right? You're planning to install something even heavier?" Dorio said, her brows furrowing deeply. "Are you insane?"
"This is nothing. I can handle it—"
Mann froze mid-sentence, eyes locking on something—or someone—behind Dorio.
"Peter? Why are you here?"
"Peter?" Dorio repeated, confused. "What are you talking about? Peter's not here."
Mann didn't respond. His eyes were wide, and he didn't blink.
"Mann? Snap out of it." Dorio waved her hand in front of him. "Can't you see? He's hallucinating."
"I've had these prosthetics for a long time! No one knows my body better than me! There's no way I'm giving up now!" Mann suddenly shouted, his voice filled with fury and desperation.
He knew deep down that something was wrong. He had started seeing things—illusions, hallucinations.
"Enough talk!" he shouted again. "Why is this data extraction taking so long?!"
He stormed toward Qiwei, who was still working on Tanaka's neural system.
"Sh*t! He's losing it! Pyla, help me grab him!" Dorio yelled.
Even Rebecca jumped on Mann, wrapping her arms around his neck in an effort to restrain him.
After a brief struggle, the group managed to pin Mann to the ground.
"You're out of control, Mann!" Dorio shouted. "Pyla, drag him to the other room! Sasha, if you can, call Peter—maybe he can help!"
"Got it," Sasha replied and quickly pulled out her phone.
---
Meanwhile, in Peter's lab…
"Alright, you've got Johnny in the chip now. I'll release you once I finish calibrating the robot's parameters," Peter said, focused on the delicate device in his hand.
Ding~
[Incoming Call: Sasha]
"What's up, Sasha?"
"Peter, it's Mann—he's lost control. Can you come over right away?"
Peter wasn't surprised. He remembered that in the anime, Mann had spiraled into cyberpsychosis without even the fifth-order prosthetics.
Now, he had those too. It was only a matter of time.
"Send me your location. I'm on my way," Peter said, grabbing a chip from the table.
"Okay. Sending now."
Peter glanced down at the chip. It was the neural unit chip he'd hastily crafted earlier that afternoon.
Thanks to the last version he built, this one had been far easier to make.
Within minutes, Peter arrived at their location.
---
"What's the situation?" Peter asked as he stepped into the room.
"Mann's in the next room. Pyla and Dorio are restraining him. Qiwei's almost done with the intrusion," Sasha explained quickly.
"Alright. I'll check on Mann. Keep an eye on Tanaka and make sure he doesn't wake up," Peter instructed, then moved to the adjacent room.
As soon as he entered, he saw Dorio and Pyla struggling to keep Mann pinned.
"Finally! Peter, help us out!" Dorio gasped. "If he goes full psycho, he'll trigger a response from the Terrorist Mobile Squad!"
They looked exhausted from the effort. If Peter had arrived any later, they might not have been able to hold Mann down.
Peter knelt beside Mann and looked into his eyes.
His pupils were unfocused—dilated and devoid of recognition. Mann was deep in a cyberpsychotic episode.
"I'm going to add something to his system," Peter said calmly.
He pulled out the neural unit chip and inserted it into the neural socket on Mann's neck.
---
To Be Continued...
---