Path to Becoming the Greatest Space Mercenary-Chapter 195 The Augmentation Expert (2)

The sheer number of options for augmentations was daunting.

There were both hundreds of different bionic and cybernetic enhancements that Mercedes offered.

Some were fairly standard, while others were utterly unique. She not only offered typical improvement of certain organs but even had the capability to grow completely new ones.

'I guess that all of this stems from what we saw her studying when we arrived. Not only is she an expert in the anatomy of people, but also all manners of other creatures. It's clear that some of her augmentations are based on characteristics of different animals.' Avery thought as he looked over the vast list before him.

Of course, what Dr. Raiti was doing was far from easy, and for every successful augmentation she had developed through her methods, there were hundreds more that had ended in failure.

Tinkering around with a person's body was no easy feat, and one wrong move could destabilize their entire system and end up cripplingly or even killing them.

Eventually Avery was at least able to eliminate around half of the available procedures.

Urs had already warned him against cybernetic enhancements, and after looking through the possibilities, he had decided to head his mentor's wisdom.

There was no doubt that adding mechanical parts to the body could offer a great deal of benefit, but there was a greater possibility of complications, and the installed parts would require routine maintenance for the rest of their life.

Certainly, ocular implants that allowed for a function similar to a camera zooming in and could be useful, but the possibility of malfunction was always there.

Then there was the vulnerability to outside interference. Whenever something dangerous was developed, there would always be those wanting a way to counter it. Cybernetic augmentations were vulnerable to outside signal inference and could be shut down by certain electromagnetic pulses.

A few horror stories even detailed an entire person's body being taken control of when their cybernetic parts had been hacked.

'I don't need to be able to shoot lasers out of my eyes or have rocket boosters installed in my ankles.'

Avery figured that he could simply replicate most of what cybernetic enhancements offered with gear should the situation demand it. Though there might be times when that was not possible, he would figure out what to do as he had in the past. He had gotten through a great deal already with a completely normal human body.

With the fanciful cybernetic augmentations pushed aside, Avery focused on the most standard bionic enhancements.

Muscle strengthening was the first thing he looked at. Being stronger would be incredibly beneficial should he end up in another brawl in the future. If he had been as physically powerful as Iniquus, their fight would have gone completely differently.

When faced with someone so much stronger than him, Avery had found that all he could do was run around and try to make an opening. Often through risky strategy to catch his opponent off guard.

That was how he had just barely managed to beat Ezra in their mock battle. Still, against more experienced opponents that he could not outmaneuver, he was absolutely helpless to fight back. No matter how hard he tried, Avery had never been able to beat Urs. The best he could do was run away and stall for time.

'Definitely this one. Oh, and that one. Hm' it's a bit pricey, but that's no reason to hold back.'

Considering what his line of work entailed, Avery spared no expense when picking out the bionic augmentations he would receive. If he was going to do this, he was going to make himself as strong as possible.

It took nearly seven hours for the three of them to finish picking out every augmentation that that they wanted.

During this time, Mercedes had been attentive and answered any questions that they had.

"Wow, it has been a while since anyone has wanted such a compressive procedure. And this time it is all three of you. You understood the pricing on everything, right?" Dr. Raiti asked, wanting to make sure they had not mistaken the cost of what they were asking for.

Kasandra's chosen augmentations that would build on the ones that she already had, and would be to the tune of seven and a half million Krenin. While what Jasmine had chosen was going to set them back eight million three hundred thousand.

As for Avery, he had really gone all out. The augmentations that he wanted were going to cost eleven million seven hundred thousand Krenin. A truly staggering amount.

For the prices that they were paying, each of them could have had a powerful ship built instead. In terms of cost to overall performance as a mercenary, the augmentations they were receiving were relatively underwhelming.

Sure, they would be much stronger, but it's not like their enhanced bodies would be able to shrug off laser blasts or come out unscathed from a plasma discharge. The quality of equipment that they could buy for the same amount would be leagues above what these improvements could provide.

Still, there were some times when all you had to count on was your body. And in those situations, it was understandable to want the best.

The three of them already owned plenty of gear that they needed for their mercenary work, so this was the next upgrade that they could get. Even if it was unbelievably expensive.

"Well, far be it from me to talk someone out of paying me more. If this is what you three want, then that's what I'll do." Mercedes said excitedly as she recorded and mapped out what producers she was going to be performing on Avery, Jasmine, and Kasandra.

She looked almost a little too happy and even started to hum a tune. Some of the augmentations they wanted were pretty rare, and Mercedes hardly ever had the opportunity to apply them. She was honestly looking forward to the busy days ahead of her.

"I can't remember the last time I had an order this big. Ooh, it is going to be so much fun."

Mercedes seemed to be lost in her own world as she furiously typed away at her computer. For a few moments, Avery thought that she might even start cackling like a mad scientist.

For a while she had seemed fully composed, but now that her work with them was actually beginning, her eccentric nature was coming out.

"It seems that my own self advertisement is working wonders. I see that all of you want to remain looking youthful. Oh, to be young and in love." Dr. Raiti said, a wide grin on her face.

Her lips then twisted up into a mischievous smile as she looked between Avery and Kasandra. ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom

"This isn't a service that I usually provide, but I've come to like you three. And considering that you are big spenders, I could do some recombination on your reproductive cells so that you two can have a child together."

This sudden offer took all of them by surprise. Especially Avery and Kasandra since they were the two involved.

Naturally, being different species, it was impossible for them to conceive a child together under normal circumstances. While the differences between a human's and Felis Therianthrope were not vast, their chromosomes did not line up together perfectly

Of course, this was a problem that had been solved long ago by science. As the saying goes, love conquers all. By tweaking the genetic structure of the reproductive cells, it was possible for two partners of different species to have a child with each other.

"What!?" Avery spluttered.

"Um… I don't… no… we couldn't possibly right now." Kasandra said nervously, her cheeks tinged a deep crimson.

Neither of them had ever thought particularly deeply on this matter before. With both having the vague notion that it might be something to do well into the future. Probably once they retired from mercenary work, considering the dangers of their profession.

Mercedes looked all too happy with the development. Watching a pair of usually cool and collected mercenaries being so embarrassed was quite the treat for her.

"And what about you, Jasmine? You're both human, so there shouldn't be any problem in that regard. But I can still check the compatibility between the two of you. If you want to." Dr. Raiti said, wanting to continue her little joke.

However, what Jasmine said next surprised everyone in the room.

"No, that won't be necessary. I'm already pregnant."

Jasmine smiled warmly and put a hand over her stomach.

Hearing this, Mercedes' grin broke and a baffled expression took over her face.

As for Avery, he became as white as a sheet and looked about ready to pass out. He loved Jasmine, but he was in no way ready to be a father.

Kasandra was the only one that looked skeptical, and she was unsurprised when Jasmine revealed that she had merely been joking. She had said what she did to take control of the situation away from Dr. Raiti.

Avery breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this. He had only recently turned twenty and did not even want to think about having a child at this point.

"Dr. Raiti, you said something about using yourself as an advertisement. If you don't mind my asking, how old are you?" Avery said, desperately wanting to change the subject.

Fortunately, Mercedes went along. Her teasing had already been ruined, so she decided to get back to business.

"Sure, I don't mind telling you. It's not like it's a secret anyway." Dr. Raiti said, shrugging her shoulders. "I turned sixty-eight this year. Though I've looked the same since I turned twenty-two."