Cyberpunk: From Dogville to Legend

Chapter 125 The Unbearable Weight
Disappointed?

David swayed slightly, his expression like that of a child who had made a mistake and was ashamed of himself.

Mr. Lin's words were like knives, shattering his stubborn pride in an instant.
Perhaps in his eyes, his willful behavior might not only cause Mr. Lin to withdraw his funding—but might even cause him to leave Arakawa Academy?
I clearly wanted to do a good deed... so why did it turn out like this?

David didn't bother to argue; he simply looked down at the dirty streets of Night City.

Lin Yue ended his silence.

"Lucy... I didn't expect to meet you here."

He looked at the girl whose face revealed resentment. It was clear that Lucy had misunderstood him—thinking that he was going to detain her and take her back to Arasaka.

However, Lucy is indeed very beautiful. Such a beautiful appearance is a breath of fresh air in Night City's kitsch and bizarre costumes. No wonder David fell in love with her at first sight in his memory.

But Lin Yue wasn't there to observe how outstanding the girl's appearance was.

He was thinking about how Lucy's appearance at Haywood's Wolves, and how she ended up with David, seemed rather intriguing.

Lucy's suspicions were now confirmed: this guy really did know she had a case against her in Arasaka, and he also knew she was a fugitive...

All she could do was grit her teeth and mutter a curse under her breath: "That bastard Arasaka!"

David felt Lucy shouldn't have spoken to Mr. Lin like that, and coughed, "Lucy..."

The poor boy, although he didn't know why Mr. Lin knew Lucy, Lucy's rude cursing made him want to defend this company person who had been so good to him and his family.

Lucy abruptly turned to David, her voice low and menacing: "You're actually defending a company dog?"

Ok?
They insulted and trampled on him right in front of his face?
Lin Yue felt that he had been too amiable.

Knowing that he could easily trap her in Arasaka, even without much reward, he could at least get some money from other branches—but he wasn't a devil, so a little punishment for this unruly hacker was necessary.

Lin Yue slowly pulled the human-computer interaction cable from his wrist.

Upon seeing this guy's actions, Lucy stumbled and sat down on the ground. "What are you doing?! I—cough!"

A cold, strong hand instantly gripped her neck.

With her prosthetic body malfunctioning, Lucy could only watch helplessly as the man inserted the data interface into the back of her neck.

At this moment, a calm voice, tinged with a hint of coldness, rang out:

"You choose: either remove the firewall yourself, or let me use some means to break into your [external storage memory]."

Lucy cursed under her breath, trying to resist.

Just as she was shaking her head haphazardly, she inadvertently caught a glimpse of scarlet.

This is…

What terrified Lucy was that she recognized the man's blood-red eyes with black lines all too well—

It's a black wall?!

Seeing that the guy had stopped resisting, Lin Yue said, "You were sent by Arasaka to dig up data in the old network. I don't need to tell you the consequences of continuing to resist, so please tell me, what is your purpose in getting close to David?"

Seeing that Lucy didn't speak, he added, "I know that you hackers store most of your information in external memory to avoid being exposed. I only want what's in there."

Lucy was filled with doubt and uncertainty, and her breathing became increasingly rapid and shallow, accompanied by a feeling of suffocation.

Lin Yue said in a low voice, "Then let me ask you another question. What did Qiwei tell you?"

David wanted to stop him, but the man's broad back and the prosthetic markings on his neck made him hesitate...

Lucy was on the verge of collapse, her colorful eyes filled with despair. "You..."

Lin Yue then realized he had forgotten to introduce himself:

“Hello, my name is Rin, the security supervisor of the Arasaka Yoru no Shiro branch... So, a smart person will make their own choice, right, Lucia?”

cold? !

Lucy knew exactly who this guy was.

The team I just joined is just following the orders of this middleman, isn't it?

So this is what this guy looks like...

At this moment, Lucy completely lost the will to resist, allowing this formidable enemy from Arasaka to read all of her external stored memories...

Lucy's appearance at Haywood was no accident. Qiwei had mentioned Mr. Charlin to her, and it seems that Qiwei had even traced it back to David... It seems that Qiwei has quite an inquisitive spirit.

Lin Yue then continued to look at the other things Lucy had stored in the external memory storage and discovered that her hacking skills were quite good.

But that's all it is.

According to Lin Yue's understanding, Lucy, a hacker, was someone Arasaka used to mine data.

The reason she can still be considered a qualified hacker is that when the Arasaka faction and other kids entered the Old Web together, they would face many roaming AIs from the Old Web, resulting in an extremely high mortality rate.

However, the fact that Lucy was able to survive in that environment shows that she has strong internet knowledge—or rather, she is a highly skilled "mining girl".

Comparing the information on the panel, Lin Yue's guess was exactly right. Her skills were good in Night City, but she wasn't among the strongest.

[Character: Luxina Kusinada]

[Affiliation: Night City]

[Favorability: -50]

[Development Value: High]

[Stage Rewards: Affection level reaches 10, Intelligence +1, Intelligence Specialization +2, Cybernetic Capacity +20]

Negative...

Lin Yue shook his head inwardly. Currently, Hanz was the only one with negative favorability rating, but now there was another one: Lucy.

As Lin Yue pulled the wire out, Lucy's eyes were filled with resentment.

For a hacker, that's an insult.

Lin Yue smiled slightly, quickly cracked the code, and uploaded it again.

When a prosthetic malfunctions, it's not as simple as just the prosthetic not being usable; it's accompanied by excruciating pain at the point of contact between the prosthetic and the skin, and this feeling is actually quite "pleasant".

"what…"

Lucy cried out in pain and swayed.

Lin Yue felt that his good intentions had been misunderstood; he didn't have time to arrest people for the other branches of Arasaka.

Come to think of it, I still have to cause trouble for Qiwei. If it weren't for her excessive curiosity, there wouldn't be so much trouble.

So what should you do if you're misunderstood as the team leader?
That was, of course, to teach his employees a lesson. His own treatment wasn't bad, yet someone still tried to spy on him...

So the prosthetic body malfunctioning is his answer.

David tried to help Lucy, whose prosthetic body was about to collapse to the ground and convulse, but Lin Yue stopped him.

He could only watch helplessly as the girl collapsed to the ground.

“David… for your own good, and for my own good, a hacker will come to erase her memory later—you don’t need to remember what happened today.”

As he spoke, the man who had always instilled fear in David turned around and stared straight at him. "Now tell me, what are you doing at Wild Wolf?"

David's mind went blank upon hearing this.

His face looked terrible, and his forehead was covered in cold sweat.

David choked on his words, "I..."

Lin Yue sighed, "Then tell me about the pretty girl you just met? Want to know why she saved you? It wasn't because you're handsome, nor... because you're naturally attractive to women."

David remained silent; the man truly showed no mercy in his words.

Lin Yue: "She sensed the Arasaka program I assigned to you through you... you know? My original intention was to keep an eye on you; I made that decision after eating the pastries your mother made." "She's a kind, warm-hearted, and hardworking woman—but you're disappointing her, understand?"

Lin Yue suddenly regretted his previous idea of ​​helping David solve his growing pains.

That's just how he is; if others are good to him, he'll be good to them in return.

Does having a mother mean you don't cherish her?

Lin Yue didn't understand.

David protested, "How could she...?"

"Why isn't Arasaka Academy located in Haywood? David, with this identity, the streets of Night City are full of people who want to tear a piece of your flesh off."

Lin Yue always felt that this child was too kind, no wonder he got into trouble.

Lin Yue glanced at the time.

“I’ll give you some time to tell me everything you’ve been doing, word for word—this is my way of thanking your mother for dinner, and it’s also the last time I’ll worry about you.”

Finished!

David was heartbroken.

Lin Yue's distant tone finally broke David's composure, a child raised in an ivory tower.

"Sir! I didn't do anything wrong! I... I'm trying to help you out!"

trouble?

So this kid was here to do me a favor?

Lin Yue's eyes were strange.

Isn't this a bit too early...? David is physically weak, doesn't have a prosthetic body, and hasn't even finished his studies...

Thinking about this, Lin Yue's mood soured.

He felt he hadn't reached the point where he should let his child take the blame for him.

Lin Yue looked at David and said, "You think you're so awesome, right?"

David's attempt to explain was immediately choked back.

Lin Yue squinted, a sign that he was already angry.

The ruthless man continued, "When did I need you to solve my problems?"

This…

David never expected that his actions would not be appreciated by his husband, but instead would be met with cold questioning and blame.

Am I really that worthless...?

David, feeling utterly hopeless, finally handed the SuperDream chip to Lin Yue.

David said dejectedly, "Inside is the Mewtwo in Dogtown... killing a Ghosthound soldier. The prosthetic doctor said he could buy out the copyright for 30,000 euros, but... I want to do this for you."

This is Mr. Lin's secret. I've really messed things up, and I doubt Lin will let me off easily.

Lin Yue stared at the chip in his hand and remained silent for a long time.

Just then, a thug roared up from the street corner.

The passenger door opened, revealing Arasaka's alluring curves encased in a jet-black hacker suit. She had short hair, and the prosthetic markings on her face resembled adorable cat whiskers. She was also blowing bubblegum.

"boss."

Lin Yue pointed to Lucy lying on the ground, "Erase her memories of the past half hour, and also delete the external memory storage."

Suzuki, who got out of the driver's seat, leaned on the roof and looked at his boss.

A chip was tossed over by Lin Yue, along with his calm voice: "Suzuki, find out the origin of this Black Dream, who made it, how it came from Dogtown, and take care of the trouble as well."

"Good boss."

Suzuki climbed into the car, floored the accelerator, and drove straight to the end of the road without hesitation.

From the moment these people appeared until they received Lin Yue's orders to begin their work, only a few minutes had passed.

However, with just a few commands, the problem that had been troubling David was resolved...

David felt like a futile clown—as if he were a poor man trying to figure out how to spend ten million, forgetting that rich people never think about such things.

This is a complete and utter class difference, something a college student like David naturally understands.

It turns out that not only was I incompetent, but I hadn't even thought things through properly—no wonder the gentleman's expression was one of disbelief and deep disappointment.

"Now…"

Lin Yue, with his hands in his pockets, watched Sasha erase Lucy's memories, but his words were directed at David: "Do you still think you're helping me, David?"

David was silent.

Lin Yue sighed. He knew that David meant well but messed things up, and there was no need to be too harsh on him now.

There are some things that Lin Yue cares about a lot: all the way to this point, he is more impressed by fate.

It seems that everyone has their own destiny.
David's personality has always been like this. Even without S. A.S., he would still choose to take the blame for others and help them achieve their dreams, while living a muddled life himself.

Therefore, Lin Yue wanted to make some things clear: "People don't necessarily need to bear all the responsibilities. Carrying too much will only drag you down—you just need to take care of your mother, and then use my money to study hard, okay?"

Lin Yue no longer has the energy to be a "stay-at-home dad," so David has to live his own life and take control of his own destiny.

After all, Lin Yue, who initially wanted reward points from these legendary figures, was already "dead."

He doesn't need any reward now; he just wants to survive in the treacherous situation of Ara-saka—in other words, Lin Yue is now no longer in control of his own destiny.

……

As they were talking, the cat-like girl finished her work.

She stood up and looked at the young boy who had been scolded by his boss. A warm smile appeared on her lovely face as she raised her hand and gently moved her fingers.

"Hi~"

Lin Yue was speechless. Sasha was really something.

He reached out and patted David on the shoulder. "Find your own way back. I'll pretend today never happened... David."

David, who had been looking down, suddenly looked ahead, and the distance between him and his benefactor seemed to be growing ever wider.

He watched the man's departing figure and the girl beside him—

David suddenly shouted, "Sir! I'm so sorry!"

Lin Yue did not stop.

"Will I ever see you again?"

Lin Yue waved his hand, "Then you can enter the Abandoned Tower on your own and do what you're supposed to do."

David's grim expression finally brightened slightly. "I promise I will get into Arasaka Tower!"

In his view, the girl next to Mr. Lin turned around and walked backwards, giving him a thumbs-up with her fist clenched.

David finally couldn't stand any longer and knelt down, silently watching Mr. Lin disappear into the neon-lit distance.

The encouragement he gave was different from that of ordinary people; it was cold and harsh, but it possessed a unique charm and power!
……

　Here comes the 4000-word summary!
　　My update schedule has been adjusted recently, everyone. It will be random after 7 PM. I'll try to write as quickly as possible and aim to accumulate 10,000 words per day on Saturday and Sunday, since we're aiming for the recommendations—we need to update more frequently!

(End of this chapter)