Warhammer: The Time Traveler

Chapter 50 Sasha's Awakening

Deep within the abandoned town's workshops, the constant low temperature and the hum of machinery form an eternal background sound.

On the specially designed medical bed, Sasha Yakovleva's long eyelashes trembled a few times, as if she were struggling on the edge of a nightmare.

She finally opened her eyes, her gaze first fixed blankly on the metal ceiling above her, which was covered with pipes and sensors, before stiffly turning to the sides.

What came into view were the familiar faces of the Mann team, faces etched with worry and exhaustion.

"Sasha! You're awake!" Rebecca exclaimed first, her green prosthetic eye wide open, her voice filled with barely suppressed excitement. She almost sprang to her feet, about to throw herself onto the medical bed, but Pila grabbed the back of her coat from beside her.

"Oh my little darling, don't get excited!" Pila stumbled from the shock, the newly optimized mechanical arm holding her tightly. "The boss said she can't be startled right now! Calm down!"

"Calm down my ass! Let go of me, Pira!" Rebecca twisted and turned, elbowing herself back, trying to break free. "She's been lying there for so long! Let me see her!"

"Just look, don't charge at me like a cannonball!" Pila winced as she was bumped, but wouldn't let go. "She's a precision instrument! You'll have to pay for it if you break her!"

"I'll pay! Let go!" Rebecca suddenly flung her away, almost knocking Pila over, but luckily Dorio reached out to steady her.

"How are you feeling, Sasha?" Mann's voice was deep and gentle. He moved closer, casting a shadow, and his eyes showed undisguised concern.

Sasha opened her mouth, but her throat was so dry that she couldn't make a clear sound; she could only let out some hoarse whispers.

A slender mechanical tentacle emerged from the side of the medical bed, precisely delivering the liquid into her throat.

The cool touch invigorated her, and she tried to move her fingers, but only felt a strange heaviness and alienation.

She instinctively tried to look down at her body, but found that her neck had extremely limited range of motion, and her vision was mostly blocked by a semi-transparent biogel and a complex support structure.

“…I…” her voice was weak and hoarse, “…still alive?”

"Nonsense! Otherwise, would you be chatting with us from hell right now?" Rebecca finally broke free from Pira's grip, rushed to the bedside in a few strides, put her hands on her hips, and spoke in a sharp and urgent tone, but her eyes were a little red. "Do you know that you almost really died! If it weren't for the boss's ruthless methods and our timely arrival, you would have become a pile of... a pile of unsightly stuff under the biotechnology building by now!"

She seemed unable to find the right words, and in the end just stomped her foot hard, the metal heel striking the ground with a crisp sound.

"It's good that you're alive." Dorio's voice remained calm as she gently patted Sasha's uninjured shoulder. "Don't move around too much. Your body... needs time to adjust."

Falco and Pila also came over, their faces showing relief. Pila rubbed her chest where Rebecca had bumped into her, muttering, "That girl's gotten strong again."

The team's warm atmosphere stirred a ripple in Sasha's cold heart, but soon, a torrent of memories surged forth, shattering her brief solace. Biotechnology, painkillers, her mother, data, uploading, the robot breaking down the door, the shattered window, the wind rushing into her ears as she fell…

Her eyes instantly lost their initial confusion upon waking, replaced by a profound pain and despair. She remembered why she had chosen to jump, remembered the data she had sent at the cost of her life. "...The data..." she looked urgently at Mann, her voice trembling slightly, "News 54...did they...release it?"

This question caused the atmosphere in the workshop to freeze instantly.

Mann's facial muscles tensed; he took a deep breath, as if suppressing something. Dorio looked away. Falco adjusted his glasses and silently lowered his head. Pira nervously rubbed his fingers together.

Rebecca's reaction was the most direct; she exploded like a powder keg: "Release?! Release my ass! Sasha! You're a complete idiot! The biggest idiot in the world!"

The sharp curses echoed in the workshop, causing Sasha to involuntarily flinch.

"Rebecca!" Mann hissed, trying to stop her.

"Don't stop me, Mann! I'm going to yell at this idiot whose brain is filled with prosthetic lubricant!" Rebecca's green prosthetic eye glared at Sasha, her finger almost poking Sasha's nose. "Why don't you believe us? Huh?! You think you can get away with it all by dying? You think biotechnology will let us go if you die?! Open your eyes and see!"
Because of your 'great' self-sacrifice, we're now all on the biotech blacklist! The bounty is enough to buy half a block in Watson District!

"Rebecca, shut up!" Pila tried to pull her up again, but this time Rebecca shook off his hand with such force that Pila staggered and bumped into the tool rack next to her with a loud bang.

"Get out of my way! I'm going to say it!" Rebecca's chest heaved as she pointed at Sasha. "What do you take us for? Plastic sisters who can only drink together but not get shot together?!"

Mann picked up the conversation, his voice heavy and serious, like a cold rock striking Sasha's heart: "Sasha, Rebecca's words may be harsh, but they make sense. You shouldn't have kept it from us. We're a team, we're family. Family means sharing hardships and facing dangers together. Excluding us is the most hurtful thing you can do."

Sasha's face grew even paler, her lips moved but she couldn't make a sound.

Mann continued, his tone a heartbreakingly calm analysis: "Placing your hopes on News 54 is a huge gamble. The connections between those big media outlets and corporations are far deeper than you can imagine."

They might criticize the company for some fringe news, but when it comes to core drug scandals that could shake the company's foundation, their first concern is their own survival.

It's been almost a week since your incident, and has News 54 made any move? No. They chose silence, or rather, they were 'persuaded' to remain silent.

This news was like the last straw, completely breaking Sasha's spirit.

The last glimmer of light in her eyes went out, replaced by a deathly grayness. She thought she had traded her life for a chance to clear her mother's name, that her death would at least tear away a corner of the hypocritical mask of biotechnology…

But in the end, just like that night many years ago when I watched my mother be tormented to death by false hope, all my efforts and sacrifices were in vain.

Tears silently slid down her cheeks, mingling with the cold biogel. She closed her eyes, as if trying to shut out the entire world.

(End of this chapter)