Valerie deactivated her Sandevistan, and a slight neural fatigue, only perceptible to her, washed over her, but was quickly smoothed out by the system.
The surface of the iron guard prototype she was piloting still emitted a faint heat at the location struck by the psionic blast.
The machine's data recorder faithfully logged the instantaneous overload data, detailed parameters of the armor's attack absorption, and invaluable information on the Sandevistan System's real-world application.
Jackie let out a long breath, his iron guard also approaching. "Damn it, you scared me! What was wrong with that kid? He just exploded all of a sudden?"
Sheriff Atkins walked to the pile of ashes, his face ashen, and cautiously prodded the remnants with his tactical boot.
"It was an unguided psyker, awakening out of control under extreme emotion," he said in a low voice, clearly still shaken. "The underbelly of the Hive City is indeed a hotbed for such dangers.
Although this was just a low-level psyker, newly awakened, it was already capable of causing such destruction."
He looked up, surveying his still-shaken team members, and added in a serious tone, "Truly powerful psykers, it's said, can crush your iron guard into a metal ball with just a glance.
The one we encountered today was, at best, an infant just learning to crawl."
Rebecca pouted, "Hmph, I thought it was something impressive, but it was gone with one shot anyway."
Despite her words, she had been startled herself, almost aiming her plasma cannon at it, but Maine had reacted faster.
Falco reported, "Scans show no life signs in the hall, threat neutralized."
Morris' figure silently slid down from a high-up pipe, shaking her head wordlessly to indicate no other anomalies were found.
The battle, it seemed, was truly over.
The team began to clear the battlefield, while the law enforcement officers busied themselves tending to the wounded, awaiting the medical team dispatched from above.
Sheriff Atkins began directing his subordinates to collect evidence of the cult activities; although the altar was destroyed, some scattered items and symbols nearby might still hold research value.
Maine walked to Valerie's iron guard and asked through the external loudspeaker, "Valerie, how's the machine's condition?"
"Armor lightly damaged, systems operating normally. Sandevistan System combat data recorded," Valerie reported concisely.
Maine nodded, then looked at Jackie. "Jackie, what about your machine?"
"Everything's fine, just a shame I didn't get to show off my might," Jackie's voice still held a hint of eagerness.
Maine ignored Jackie's jest. While signaling the team to withdraw from the bloody, acrid hall in tactical formation, he rapidly summarized the combat data in his mind.
The two iron guard prototypes led the way with heavy steps, followed closely by the law enforcement officers cautiously escorting the wounded on stretchers.
As they re-entered the rusty, colossal cargo elevator, and the heavy gate slowly closed behind them, temporarily sealing off the suffocating darkness and filth of the under-Hive, Maine then used an encrypted communication link to report to Osiris, who was far away in Neksum.
The elevator began its ascent, emitting familiar creaks and the screech of grinding metal.
Under the dim, flickering lights, Maine spoke calmly, "Lord Magos, mission accomplished. The target cult stronghold has been cleared, and an out-of-control psyker was encountered and dealt with during the process.
Combat test data for the iron guard prototype and our newly equipped gear has been collected.
Our personnel sustained no casualties; the collaborating law enforcement team had four casualties, two of whom were seriously injured."
He did not elaborate on the battle details, trusting that the transmitted machine logs and battlefield scan data would explain everything.
Soon, Osiris' steady, synthesized voice sounded in the communication channel, without any delay, as if he had been waiting on the other end of the line: "Received. Upload data. Return with all valuable physical samples."
The instructions were concise and clear, devoid of any emotional fluctuation, only focusing on results and data.
After the communication ended, a brief silence fell within the elevator, filled only by the noise of the machinery.
Rebecca leaned against the cold compartment wall, patting her now-cooled plasma blaster, a look of satisfaction on her face.
Pilar excitedly gestured, describing to a lightly injured law enforcement officer how promethium flames consumed the enemy.
Dorio quietly flexed her wrists, feeling the power surging through her flesh.
Valerie and Jackie remained inside their iron guard cockpits, their external loudspeakers silent, but their internal systems were undoubtedly processing and analyzing a vast amount of combat data.
Maine's gaze swept over his team members, over the two iron guards that still appeared towering even in the confined space, and finally rested on the unconscious law enforcement officers on the stretchers.
This combat test was, overall, very successful.
The performance of the new equipment was almost perfectly validated: Rebecca's plasma blaster demonstrated devastating area-of-effect damage; Pilar's promethium flamer efficiently purged clustered soft targets; his own melta weapon eliminated the psionic threat in an eerie and deadly manner.
Dorio's bio-enhancements, combined with melta gauntlets, displayed overwhelming superiority in close-quarters combat.
The iron guard prototype performed stably in conventional engagements, like a mobile steel fortress, and Valerie, in a moment of crisis, combined her Sandevistan's neural acceleration with the iron guard's neural interface system, unleashing a reaction speed comparable to an Astartes Battle-Brother, further proving the immense tactical value of this technological path.
However, problems were also exposed without a doubt.
They lacked an effective early warning mechanism for supernatural threats like psionics, with their response relying entirely on on-the-spot individual reactions and brute force destruction, lacking systematic protection or countermeasures.
The casualties of the law enforcement squad were a painful reminder—when facing completely unknown enemies, any lack of intelligence or momentary oversight could cost lives.
The elevator continued its ascent, the grinding of metal echoing in the shaft.
The surroundings gradually brightened, and the ventilation system began to deliver relatively fresh air, as the suffocating mixture of rust, blood, and decay from the under-Hive receded.
Maine leaned against the cold compartment wall, his armor clanking dully against the metal.
This mission had made many things clear to him.
This Hive City world was far more complex than he had imagined, not just gangs and mutants, but also entities beyond reason like that psyker just now.
And this was merely the situation in the under-Hive.
Thinking of the true threats in the galaxy that Osiris occasionally mentioned, Maine realized that their previous struggles in Night City were like children's squabbles.
Their team was being thoroughly transformed by the Adeptus Mechanicus' technology.
From weaponry to physical structure, they were evolving towards something non-human.
Maine could feel that this change was not just superficial, but also in their way of thinking.
They were gradually adapting to Osiris' logic of efficiency and rationality above all else.
Future missions would undoubtedly encounter more sudden situations like today, or even worse.
But Maine had no regrets.
His experiences in Night City had taught him that in this cruel world, you either get stronger or you die.
The elevator suddenly vibrated slightly, and the light from above grew even brighter.
Maine straightened up, flexing his left arm.
Regardless, they had embarked on this path, and they had to continue.
Every battle, win or lose, was accumulating experience for the next, more difficult fight.
In this dangerous universe, this was the law of survival.