Cyberpunk: From Dogville to Legend

Chapter 140 The Threat of the Doves and Their Visits

The largest office on the 90th floor of Arasaka Tower, belonging to the counterintelligence department.

Lin Yue still remembers the panic he felt when he first came to Arasaka Tower, like a newcomer going for a job interview, and the sense of oppression he felt from Jenkins and everyone else there.

It's like an eternity.

But if you do the math, it's only been a few months.

In the blink of an eye, he became a lone wolf who had experienced the bloody infighting of Arasaka and had risen through the ranks—and also became the master of this place.

All employees in the Arasaka Tower office area are generally prohibited from using weapons and cybernetic devices. Therefore, the AI ​​visitor authentication at the scanning channel immediately disarmed Suzuki Takeyoshi.
The intelligent weapon, the aiming system inside the prosthetic eye, and the weapon's coordination and balance system have all been completely disabled.

At this moment, Lin Yue's prosthetic body is the only one in this office building whose prosthetic body is fully activated.

In a sense, Arasaka's actions implied giving managers unlimited power.

Especially in some minor details:

Once you get promoted, you can use your power at will, even abusing your position for personal gain... The most important thing for Arasaka's employees is to complete the assigned tasks, and they don't pay much attention to the process.

In fact, all of this was set up by Saburo, and everyone who can survive in Arasaka Tower is well aware of this rule—which is essentially an intensification of the conflict between superiors and subordinates, promoting a cycle.

It's important to know that Arasaka Tower's HR department evaluates employees' performance every month, and most employees who don't meet the loyalty standards are quickly dismissed.

However, even some hardworking people cannot escape layoffs... The reason is that some departments have the authority to arrange personnel.

This means that if you want to stay in Arasaka Tower, there are only two paths: either become your boss's dog completely, preferably the kind that grovels; or kick your boss out.

Most people would choose the second option. The ways in which the subordinate overthrows the superior may differ, but they all have no bottom line, and it is common for both sides to suffer losses.

Lin Yue's hand rested on the solid wood desk, which felt thick and smooth to the touch. It was a desk made from carefully polished logs imported from Japan, and included various functional areas covering a full 300 square meters.

Lin Yue sat in the chair, looking at the pile of documents on the table and felt a headache coming on.

"Suzuki, has the appointment process for V been issued by headquarters yet?"

There's been so much going on lately. I barely got comfortable in my new role as security supervisor before I had to take over management of even more people, not to mention the transfer order that went to V...

He felt guilty just thinking about the expression on V's face when he hung up the phone.

Lin Yue shook his head and picked up the first operation record.

Seeing that his boss was about to handle work, Suzuki bowed and took his leave, preparing to go outside and be on standby at any time.

Lin Yue suddenly raised his head—

Do you have permission to check V's travel itinerary?

Suzuki shook his head. "The current heads of the counterintelligence department are you and Ms. V. Any of your actions, including security information, are classified, and you yourself have no right to access them."

"However... judging from the speed at which the transfer order was issued, Miss V will probably return to Night City headquarters in the next few days."

Lin Yue nodded, his muffled voice tinged with displeasure, "If V wants to come in, stop him, just say so..."

"I have other matters to attend to, so I'm leaving Arasaka Tower for the time being."

Suzuki didn't quite understand. He looked puzzled and remained silent for a moment, then his eyes lit up.

He understood again.

Is it his own boss who's wary of that Ms. V?

Given the current situation of the merger of counterintelligence and security agencies... V is in a competitive relationship with his own boss.
With this in mind, Suzuki became determined: he had to take good care of his boss's safety and absolutely could not let the bad woman rumored by the counterintelligence department oust him!
Suzuki's voice was loud and clear.

"Yes!"

Lin Yue, head down, was startled. His shoulders trembled slightly as he looked at Suzuki leaving, puzzled... Had he had a relapse?

Are all the security guards sent from headquarters this motivated?
Lin Yue shook his head, unable to understand what these warriors who only knew how to fight were thinking, and continued to process the backlog of work.

Looking at the schedule, the type of work after the promotion is not much different from before.

However, some of the counterintelligence operations were under Lin Yue's jurisdiction, involving the investigation, infiltration, and mobilization of armed personnel related to commercial espionage...

As he was reviewing the documents, a piece of news caught his attention.

The cover page contains concept art submitted by spies lurking in the military technology industry: it appears to be a descriptive document related to advancements in military-grade cybernetic prosthetics.

Previously, when Jenkins was in charge, the data had already been submitted to the state's research department. This time, the data was being submitted back based on the state's assessment.

It's likely that they'll start benchmarking products again, creating an "arms race" among companies.

It must be that the counterintelligence experts couldn't contact V, so they handed it over to him.

Lin Yue looked at the rough technical description document; it was a prosthetic for the spinal region—Seanwistan.

Arasaka's henchmen are everywhere. Military technology numbers some immature prosthetics and releases them to the market, which naturally caught Arasaka's attention.

The purpose of military-grade deployments is to collect a large amount of data to make products more adaptable. This includes factors such as the impact of personality traits, applicability, and performance improvements compared to existing market products.

Lin Yue rubbed his chin. According to his memory, this thing should be the [Seanwistan - Apex] model.

To be honest, if it weren't for the Black Wall thing, his favorite prosthetic body would be this operating system produced with military technology.

Compared to the Rampage series, Svensstein has a stronger ability to push human limits, making him very suitable for lone wolves.

In Night City, ordinary residents call this kind of neural implant software that stimulates motor nerves and unleashes potential: Time Stop Prosthetic.

The most important indicator for judging the performance of S&P is the calculation of relative time.

According to Lin Yue's conjecture, the limit of human beings without cybernetic bodies is those physical ninjas from Arasaka, who are of course not within Sianwistan's reference range.

The time-stop effect is mainly compared to the reactions of outstanding soldiers and top athletes, which is roughly in the range of 7-9.

The relative speed of S.A.S ...

Lin Yue tapped his fingers on the table.

With Arasaka's abilities, he could completely replicate a cybernetic body like Sionstein's, and even rival the far-point cybernetic body.

He was actually a little puzzled as to why Arakasaka didn't develop the Sinweistein series.

Regarding operating systems, Arasaka seems to only be involved in network access repositories.

Lin Yue used his access privileges to search through many databases, but he couldn't find any product descriptions related to the high-end Sinweistein software; he only found some "Sinweistein software".

Most of the rest were modified versions of Arasaka's Type I to III S.A.W.S ...

It seems that Arasaka is more interested in the development of small arms?
But upon closer reflection, it makes perfect sense.

Arakawa wasn't interested in Sianvestan for two reasons: firstly, the research and development costs; and secondly, he could improve his mid-to-low-level combat capabilities by purchasing and replicating prototypes, which was sufficient.

Even setting aside telemetry, the basic S&P 500 isn't something just anyone can afford to install.

The act of getting a prosthetic body is itself a process of rushing headlong down the road to mental collapse.

To withstand the immense burden brought by Sianwaystein, one's body must undergo corresponding adaptive modifications—Sianwaystein has many effects on the physical body, only the speed is not as exaggerated as the corrosion of the Black Wall.

Theoretically speaking, the higher the degree of cybernetics modification, the greater the probability of developing cyberpsychosis.

After Lin Yue approved the document with his own permissions, the office AI immediately issued a visitor authentication message: "Arasaka Yoru no Shiro Branch National Vice President Nitta Kazuya's permissions authenticated."

Who?
Lin Yue frowned and straightened up, looking at the slightly short middle-aged man who walked in from outside the door.

Lin Yue had never interacted with the guy who replaced Michiko in power—he didn't even have any information about him in his memory.

However, since the person in charge of the tower is nominally the highest authority, he cannot be too arrogant.

After much deliberation, Lin Yue finally stood up, since within the Arasaka Tower, one must unconditionally obey superiors.

Nitta Heya... Zeta Technology also has Kitahara Heya. Lin Yue was speechless at the way the Japanese named their children.

Lin Yue wasn't very familiar with this guy, so he wasn't afraid of him at all—instead, he stood aside, wanting to see what he would say.

Whose interests does he represent?
Lin Yue only remembered that the man was sitting in the seat in front of Michiko, and he should be from the dove faction.

He wasn't sure either.

It's not surprising that Lin Yue would think that way.

Saburo, being such a cunning old fox, was simply playing a delaying tactic. He seemed to agree to Yorihiro's plan to get rid of Michiko, but in reality, he was trying to keep her in check.

You have no right to interfere with the selection of Michiko's replacement. I will promote another Michiko. As long as Lai Xuan's pace is slowed down, it will be beneficial to the old man.

"No one visits the temple without a reason," it seems I'm about to get a scolding from my new boss.

Moreover, Lin Yue's hawkish stance was already firmly established after his outburst at the board meeting.

Xintian He also sat in Lin Yue's office chair, not saying a word for a long time. Lin Yue was too lazy to ask, and everyone just waited there.

After a long time.

"Is Night City important to you?"

Like Saburo, Nitta Kakuya only speaks Japanese.

Seeing Lin Yue remain silent, the newly appointed Vice President continued in an unfriendly tone:

"Lai Xuan wants Night City, and you've seen what Lord Arasaka means—this place isn't for people like you to mess around with!"

Lin Yue replied expressionlessly, "Mr. Nitta, please get straight to the point."

This statement may seem to have no intention of being disrespectful, but it is actually extremely defiant.

This is not something an employee should say to their boss; it's practically equivalent to: "I don't want to hear your babbling anymore, just spit it out."

Nitta couldn't understand why Lai Xuan's people were all so stubborn and inflexible—Mr. Xu was the same, and then there was Rin; they were all impervious to reason and didn't understand the situation…

Judging from the boardroom turmoil, Saburo-sama still has absolute control over Arakawa. Are these people idiots?

He coldly snorted with a calm expression: "Future companies must be progressive and full of technology. Starry Sky, technology is our foundation... not something you can change by strangling a bitch next to the Arasaka board table."

"Can Arasaka become stronger by fighting and killing?!"

Oh?
Lin Yue felt that these remarks almost confirmed his identity as a technocrat.

A barely perceptible sneer appeared at the corner of his mouth. "So, what insights have you gained from your visit, Mr. President?"

Lin Yue emphasized the last four words, indicating he didn't want to play any games.

Since I've already sided with Lai Xuan, I might as well admit that Saburo is very strong, so what?
He forced him to be strong, and the breeze was blowing on the hills.

Lin Yue's indifferent attitude made the newly appointed president, who was trying to use his power to oppress people, feel like he had punched a cotton ball.

Then Nitta cursed, "They said you were crazy, and they were right!"

Lin Yue stared at the guy who was slamming the table and cursing angrily, and suddenly understood.

So that’s it!
Lin Yue understood what the new president was up to. He had come to provoke him and make things difficult for Lin Yue. If he showed any aggressiveness, Lai Xuan would be caught red-handed.

However... given his status, his personal trip to provoke Lin Yue seems to be less powerful than Michiko's.

After some thought, Lin Yue immediately made a judgment: they were not troublesome characters.

She's even less cunning than Michiko. Did she only get promoted because she's smart and technically skilled?

Logically speaking... someone with a sharp mind should be better suited to using tricks.

"If you dare to mess with the R&D department, then let Lord Arasaka himself reason with you, believe me!"

He found this guy very strange; how could he have gotten to this position? He watched his new boss leave after coming in and seemingly having a fit of "impotent rage."

[Caller: Yoriyuki Arasaka]

Lin Yue's eyes lit up. He waved his hand, and all the sunshades in the office rose. Lai Xuan: "Lin, how are you feeling?"

Lin Yue nodded. "The doctor's skills are quite good."

Lai Xuan rubbed his temples. "Oh? Night City has such an excellent prosthetic doctor. Is he from the company?"

Lin Yue denied it, as he did not want to reveal too much about Lao Wei.

Lai Xuan didn't seem inclined to continue the topic. It appeared that Night City's recent actions had not been without consequences, and he looked exhausted.

"He should have contacted you by now, right?... I haven't answered his calls recently."

"This guy's head is full of his own research department's precious PhDs in science, engineering, law, and materials science; he's a complete 'old scholar'."

"Is this how people like this are described in your hometown?"

Lai Xuan asked with a smile.

Lin Yue smiled. "Shouldn't this be easy to handle?"

Lai Xuan was stunned, then felt somewhat helpless towards this subordinate who only knew how to deal with people.

“No, Rin. People like that pose no threat… My father values ​​the company’s technological advancements and is very enthusiastic about rewarding Arasaka’s related product development—”

"Not only can you not touch him, you have to find a way to help me fight for him."

Lin Yue was somewhat puzzled.

After a long silence, he said, "Mr. Lai Xuan, weren't you planning to come to Night City in person?"

Lai Xuan spread his hands and explained:
“My father has a research project that I need to oversee, which will take at least six months. Also, I’ve recently been experiencing some health problems and need to cooperate with medical treatment… I need to have my blood drawn for treatment every day.”

"I'm already quite satisfied with this result... Let's control the situation for now. The more we kill, the more unstable people's hearts will become."

When Lin Yue heard this, he had some new perspectives on this rich second-generation.

According to his judgment, Lai Xuan's words and actions revealed that this rich second-generation was not an impulsive person, and often even thought from a higher perspective as someone in a position of power.

So... what exactly made Lai Hsuan choose to bring Relic to Night City and hand it over to the internet police?

What suddenly made him impulsively attempt to seize control of Arasaka Towers around the world from within the Arasaka Tower?

Everything... seems less accurate than I remember.

Seeing that Lin Yue remained silent for a long time.

Lai Xuan knew this matter was very difficult.

He stared intently into Lin Yue's eyes and said seriously, "It's a difficult situation, isn't it? Doves... You should know that's how Michiko and her group are described internally by Arasaka."

Lin Yue nodded.

Lai Xuan: "I need to win over these people. The people I can control are all those my father allowed me to control, while these guys who only know how to do research, they'd rather see a progressive Arasaka—"

"They don't care who's in charge."

understood.

Whether they are hawks, naives, or doves.

They all prioritize the interests of their respective groups. If we had to say which group has the purest core interests, it would undoubtedly be the doves.

Technology, independent research and development rights, and the ability to monetize are what they want most.

At this point, Lai Xuancai truly revealed the other reasons why the doves were able to become one of the three major factions of Arasaka.

"This is a report, Rin. You don't need to look at it too closely, I'll explain it to you... Arasaka owns 30% of the funding for Japan Space Corporation, and he even has his own space division (see the author's notes for cyberpunk space-related background) —"

"Project Cloud Sea is a technological project we secretly established on the moon."

Guess what percentage of the staff here are researchers?

Lin Yue actually really wants Lai Xuan to shut up.

If I listened to all this, would I ever have a good life?

Lai Xuan's meaning was too obvious. Many of the doves were involved in Arasaka's major projects. If he wanted to win over his father, the first step was to get the support of those who controlled Arasaka's core competitiveness.

While seizing power by force is feasible, it is predicated on the vulnerability of the foundation. As it turns out, Lai Xuan's dream of destroying corporate democracy after seizing power has not yet been realized.

The main reason is human nature, and also being too hasty and self-destructing too quickly.

Lin Yue's mind was processing and analyzing these issues.

Michiko's backside is crooked, but the people below her follow her not because her backside is crooked, but because Michiko herself is very willing to invest in technology projects.

In reality, these science madmen who advocated for a dove's approach were a disorganized bunch, but compared to Lai Xuan and Hua Zi, they were more likely to gain benefits from Michiko.

Wait, the Cloud Sea Project…

Thinking of this—

Lin Yue wanted to remind Lai Xuan about this, but he couldn't say that he knew the Cloud Sea Plan was about to be leaked.

After thinking it over, he said:
"Are there any doves left who are so close to Michiko that they're practically inseparable? I think we need to be wary of the Cloud Sea Project and not let anyone with ulterior motives use it. It's hard to guarantee that Michiko won't retaliate."

Lin Yue knew that Michiko wasn't responsible for the leak of the Cloud Sea Project, but in order to make Lai Xuan take it more seriously, he decided to first shift the blame onto his granddaughter who was being scolded at her grandfather's house.

Really useful.

Lai Xuan nodded, put his hands on his hips, and stood up to stretch his body. "You reminded me, Rin..."

"You're like one of those prophets in books, able to think of everything."

Lin Yue's eyelids twitched a few times; he was always trembling with fear when talking to these smart guys in the company.

It's better to be a mercenary. You don't need to use your brain. You just need to follow the orders of the middleman. Arasaka, who has no brains and no backers, can only have the words "wait for death" written on his face.

“Mr. Lai Xuan, if I may be so bold, this kind of old-fashioned scholar who only values ​​technology is not easy to defeat.”

He swallowed his idea of ​​using physical means. Threatening scientists with their families and lives was not a good thing. If those guys tried to play any tricks with technology, Lai Xuan would have a good fight with him.

Lai Xuan sighed, "Try to find an opportunity to fight for it. It's just you and V in Night City, Adam won't care about these things—by the way, stay away from him."

Lin Yue shrugged, indicating his understanding.

Before hanging up, Lai Xuan said, "Night City will be watching you and V a lot. Best of luck."

Lin Yue plopped down in a chair, gazing at the floating cars and bustling scene above the company square, his heart growing heavier with each passing moment.

It seems there's a reason why Lai Xuan has such a strong grudge against his father. Judging from the situation, Lai Xuan is likely being held back. The old man is probably deliberately slowing down Lai Xuan's progress, trying to buy him more time for his dream of immortality.

Let's take a step by step.

At least for now, Lin Yue has absolutely no confidence in winning over an Arasaka technocrat, and is even completely clueless about how to do so.

Nitta He is not dangerous, unlike Michiko who has a company of detectives and mercenaries and likes to double-cross others... He seems weak, but that's where his strength lies. He has nothing to lose, and there's no way to deal with him.

Judging from his act of rushing to find Lai Xuan's subordinate "Cyber ​​Madman," Lin Yue felt that this guy was a bit dim-witted.

Ugh…

Lin Yue looked out the window and decided to put aside these material things for now.

So he sent a message to Mann's team, saying that the remaining work would be completed soon, and he arranged to meet the mercenaries in five hours.

……

Suzuki stood straight outside the door.

The counterintelligence staff were busy moving around, and they all deliberately avoided this man with a fierce look and a scar at the corner of his eye.

At that moment, the clattering sound of a pair of high heels clicking on the crystal floor of Arasaka Tower reached Suzuki's ears.

At the end of the passage radiating red light in the distance, a tall and elegant woman with an almost frosty expression walked over—her black hair was tied in a simple high ponytail, and her suit was sharp and powerful, as aggressive as her eyebrows and eyes.

At that moment, the woman's eyes seemed to be fixed solely on the office door where Jenkins had once sat.

Suzuki stared at the beautiful yet fierce woman, his brow furrowed, and his hand instinctively went to his lower back—his prosthetic eye quickly identified the woman's name:

Counterintelligence Chief V

Suzuki immediately perked up, thinking to himself: Here they come!
V showed no sign of stopping, and his gaze never even briefly fell on Suzuki beside him.

She felt only anger, worry, and panic...

These three emotions are now the perfect way to describe my feelings.

What's alarming is that this aspect wasn't even in V's future career plans, and she doesn't feel prepared—V has never imagined that she would become the head, or rather, one of the heads, of the counterintelligence department in the near future.

But to be honest, she had thought about it this way—

She'll climb to this position as long as Abernathy falls into the hands of her boss, Jenkins.

But all of this happened a little too fast.

Rin is right, a promotion is indeed something to be happy about, but she just can't feel happy.

Far away in Jakarta, she couldn't imagine what kind of bloodshed had occurred in Kampung Baru that would lead to a high-ranking national vice president being sent back to the Japanese headquarters!
What worried her most was that someone had chopped her boss Jenkins' rival, Abernathy, in two from below the head at a board meeting in Night City's Arasaka Tower! And right in front of Saburo Arasaka?!
crazy!

The reason she was angry was quite simple: such a big thing happened, and the person didn't even send a phone call or a text message afterwards!
It's understandable that the communication channels at the Gum Pik Building were blocked, but the operation has been over for eight hours!
She was like a fool, knowing nothing at all. What's even more ironic is that she knew all this because of Old Wei and the appointment letter!

What does that mean?

Why should Rin be so wary of me, even though I'm the thief?

Ok?
She gritted her teeth, wishing she could bite this guy!
Suddenly, a hand blocked her way.

Suzuki bowed and said, "I'm sorry, Ms. V, Captain Rin is not here."

……

V closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and unconsciously loosened her clenched hands.

Suzuki thought he was going to waste his breath arguing with this woman, but then he suddenly felt a strange sensation in his body!

Suzuki, sensing something was wrong, tried to reach out and press down on V's shoulder, but the prosthetic arm, which suddenly emitted arcs of electricity, seemed to have completely lost control!
hacker?!
Suzuki, a rigorously trained samurai, immediately realized what was going on.

But before he could react, one of his legs also started to give way.

Suzuki opened his mouth with difficulty, "You..."

V's eyes were phoenix eyes, with a faint red glow dancing in the pupils as they moved slightly.

She looked down at Suzuki, who was kneeling on one knee beside her, his prosthetic body malfunctioning.

A pleasant voice with a slight nasal tone drifted over.

"Your boss is really something."

Suzuki's face stiffened as he watched the woman's figure disappear behind the automatic door.

……

　[Cyberpunk Universe Exploration]: The cyberpunk universe isn't just about Arasaka, military technology, biotechnology, and Petrochemicals. This world has already achieved lunar colonization, with space agencies like the European Space Agency, Orbital Aerospace, NASA, and various corporations possessing their own space divisions. Mass projectors are a crucial weapon in the cyberpunk universe. Beyond Earth's orbit, these companies not only wage war but also engage in mutual obstruction, and Arasaka is no exception. This aspect will be elaborated upon in later chapters; those interested can learn more. Many companies and mercenary forces not seen in the games and anime will appear, so stay tuned.

　　[Mass Projector]: A tool that uses electromagnetic acceleration. The basic principle is to use repeatedly changed electromagnetic fields to accelerate and project magnetized objects. In the cyberpunk world, the mass projector can project spaceships at extremely high speeds to save fuel. At the same time, a mass projector built on the moon can carry out large-scale attacks on the Earth's surface.

　　[Project Cloudsea]: This is an extraterrestrial project in a crater controlled by the European Space Agency (ESA) and authorized for joint development by the company. Arasaka secretly constructed a mass projector beneath the Cloudsea base, which was leaked by an insider. The opening chapter of 2077, "The Company Dog," stems from this leak. The ESA decides to revoke Arasaka's authorization for the Cloudsea development, and Jenkins resorts to unconventional methods—physical delays.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)