Cyberpunk: From Dogville to Legend

Chapter 142 Uncontrollable (12)

Dogtown, burdened with worries.

The glasses clinked together, making a crisp sound, and the ruby-red liquid swayed back and forth, crystal clear.

"Wishing you continued success in future business and big orders."

Emma smiled sweetly and raised her head, a crimson stain sliding down her neck as she downed the wine in one gulp.

Hanz took a sip and set the cup aside.

"You must be terrified by what happened to Ganbi, right?"

He placed his hand on Emma's shoulder, his eyes sincere and seemingly without any pretense.

Emma shook her head, resting her head on Hanz's shoulder, her voice soft and submissive—

"Hmm... I was in the guest room at the time. The AI's warning came just in time, and the security from Ginkgo arrived shortly after... Honey, wouldn't you say we were lucky? I thought we were going to die there..."

Emma couldn't see Hanz's eyes.

At this moment, the cold-blooded businessman, who had long been famous in Taipingzhou, had a glint in his eyes, as if judging how much truth the woman in his arms was telling.

"Emma, ​​you know I trust you completely."

"But there are some things I need to know the bottom line about..."

Emma's hand went to the back of her neck, and she handed her a chip. "That guy has been with me for a long time. You should be able to see the time records... He really likes the technology you got from Cloudtop."

Hanz's lips twitched.

Any normal man would know what his wife has been through.

But at this critical juncture, Emma cannot be kicked out.

Hanz is cautious and never talks business with people in person. The incident with Peizhuo Petrochemical has long left a scar on his heart. He likes to use various intermediary means to ensure that things are handled properly for the power he wants to gain.

Taking things one step at a time has always been Hanz's approach in the industry.

He stared at the pink chip in Emma's hand, then helped her up.

Hanz looked into the woman's questioning eyes with utmost sincerity. "I'm sorry, Emma... I made you suffer some injustices you shouldn't have had to endure. I want to say—thankfully you were there. I sincerely apologize to you."

He knew the price of having one's personality manipulated, so this middleman never stopped testing his bed partner.

The more he probed, the less confident Hanz became.

Submissiveness seems to have become synonymous with Emma; she is as obedient as a doll and even helps her with other business that she is too busy to handle.

She seems to have truly figured out how to survive in Night City.

No one knows what methods this woman used, but Angie's business kept going out of business, leaving only some insignificant prosthetic body businesses in her territory.

Emma waved the chip in her hand. "Take it. I didn't even notice it."

She leaned close to Hans's ear and whispered, "To achieve something, you have to pay a price, right, Mr. Hans?"

"Actually, I'm the one who should apologize. That guy is from Europe and he has ICE chips that prevent data from being read... If we could read the data, we would have more control. So you should take a look at this log. Maybe this data chip can help you?"

Hanz, who had vowed never to trust anyone again after leaving the company, had a moment of doubt.

For the first time, a feeling of guilt arose in his heart.

However, that deep-seated contempt quickly gained the upper hand; nothing could affect his business, let alone a woman from Night City.

He smiled and reached out to pinch the chip on Emma's fingertip.

Emma's eyes concealed the malice and mockery perfectly.

Hanz put the chip away from his hand, and the guy seemed to want to go further, reaching out to touch Emma.

Emma, ​​like the soft air slipping through fingers, easily dodged Hanz's movements.

She said coquettishly, "I have to take care of Catherine tonight, have you forgotten?"

Hanz spread his hands, laughing as if to cover his embarrassment, "Okay, I forgot. I told Catherine I missed her and that I've been very busy lately... She even called me yesterday."

After discussing "family matters," they resumed their business discussions.

Emma sighed. "I have to remind you, Hans... the other side has a lot of sources, most of which are weapons resold by Arasaka. Their origins aren't exactly clean... I have a bad feeling about this. By the way, have you finalized your deal with Kangtao?"

Hans pondered for a moment, "Contau's prices are quite high, and we... can't afford that much money right now. But didn't that European friend say anything? You think it's hard to judge clearly, don't you?"

Emma felt a little more at ease; it seemed that Hanz had no way out.

After all, she was still very afraid that Hans and Kanto would reach an agreement.

Compto and Arasaka are top-tier companies in the field of smart weapons. It seems that Compto is not offering too much profit, and gamblers like Hanz who want to recoup their investment in one go can't wait any longer.

It's worth noting that Cuba has been basically letting Hanz roam free lately.

Everyone knows what they're up to... it's to see if Hans can hold on.

Just like Night City Bank lending, if your repayment ability and shortfall are questioned by the other party, you'd better grit your teeth and persevere.

If everything goes smoothly, the other party may increase the amount invested. But if anything seems amiss, these companies will use "legal" means to send ruthless mercenaries to collect the debt.

In other words, Cuba is considering whether to continue supporting Hanz.

However, what's strange lately is that the warlord has not made any moves.

All of this is thanks to Emma, ​​who used her "meticulous" methods to stabilize various business channels and incidentally "deal with" Angie.

Otherwise, Hanz would have been torn to pieces by the forces of Pacifica and Dogtown long ago!

Emma comforted him, "European customers want a profit-sharing arrangement and will meet with you in person. That's why I said luck is on our side—he will come to Dogtown to talk to you personally. Aren't you going to praise me?"

Hanz looked astonished. "This...this is wonderful! Darling."

At this moment, Hanz felt both uncomfortable and relieved.

The reasons are:

He never took Emma's abilities seriously, merely using her as a decorative object or a canary.

If he had known Emma was so good at controlling men, he wouldn't have let those two idiots from Zeta Tech have their way with her.

However, he was indeed overwhelmed by a series of hidden attacks at the time—the Cleaners were causing a great deal of trouble, and Arasaka had disappeared without a trace, which gave Hans a real headache.

So, as a last resort, he sent his woman to try and salvage the situation. To his surprise, she not only managed to keep the cleaner in check, but also dealt with Angie. Now, she's even helping him secure his European clients...

Apart from the disruption to the logistics channels, the business is no longer in dire straits.

Therefore, Hans regrets treating Emma like a sex doll.

After all, even the shrewd businessmen didn't expect that Emma, ​​who seemed determined to be a strong woman, would accept the status quo so easily.

At that time, Hans did not give up on Emma and brought her back, driven more by a sense of conscience.

However, what frightened him was that women were even more ruthless than he was. Objectively speaking, only someone with Emma's mentality could survive long enough in Night City. It seemed that the canary in the ivory tower had finally learned something.

However, Emma was ultimately going to be abandoned by him, something Hans had already planned for.

The funny thing is:
This arrogant man pushed Emma into this dirty world, but now he's the one who looks down on her.

In his eyes, Emma was already at the level of Night City's Twisted Street, only she was still useful.

Emma had no idea that the man she called her husband was measuring her worth with extremely filthy thoughts; all she felt right now was suffocation.

She had to go; she needed to find somewhere to get some fresh air.

The seemingly docile woman nodded, stood up, and a fragrant breeze wafted from behind her elegant black dress. She beckoned with her finger.

"Then...see you tomorrow?"

Hans smiled and nodded. "Good night, and good night, Catherine too."

……

On a luxury car, deep in thought.

"Hey? Honey, it can't be that serious... We agreed to deal with this tough nut tomorrow, why are you in such a rush tonight?"

Angie on the other end of the phone sounded like she was about to fall asleep.

Emma asked, "It's been three days, and your people still can't get him to talk? Are you going to wait until your boss comes to Dogtown before dealing with him?"

Angie was displeased when she heard this.

"You think this is simple? We've tried many methods. Why don't you give it a try?"

Angie heard Emma's calm voice on the phone, "Then I'll come."

Angie, who was sleeping on her desk, looked puzzled, while the voice seemed to send chills down her spine.

Angie cursed "crazy bitch," got up, picked up a stick, and went into the basement at the back of the room.

She turned on the light, and there sat a man with a face covered in scabs of blood on a chair; she could vaguely make out his company uniform.

"Don't sleep, everyone. Go to the stadium and call the prosthetic doctor over."

The streetlights in Dogtown cast a somber orange glow at night, Emma's eyes were hidden in the darkness, and streaks of light flashed across the corner of her lips in a cold smile.

After operating for so long, Emma had long since developed her own network intelligence. Since Angie couldn't solve it, she could only use some unconventional methods to deal with the stubborn enemy.

The people of Night City seem to have no weaknesses; their greatest concern is their own lives.

However, the truth is that there will always be people who are held back by various constraints.

So Emma's goal this time was to completely crush their hopes and take control of all the underground businesses in Dogtown; she's getting better and better at it now.

She wanted to dedicate it to Rin, to the flawless kingdom of Dogtown.

Her obsession and madness grew unchecked, and Emma became completely unrestrained.

She knew that her paranoia was incurable.

Cyberpsychosis has nothing to do with her; she is simply mentally broken.

Emma gripped the steering wheel, her breathing becoming increasingly difficult.

Her hand trembled as she fumbled around, the medicine bottle rattling in her hand. She opened the cap, grabbed a handful, and stuffed it into her mouth.

A dry, swallowing sound came from behind.

She pressed the accelerator even harder.

"laugh."

A cold laugh suddenly broke out in the carriage, and then the laughter grew louder, as if a painful wail was surrounding it.

The disgusting pretense had already caused Emma serious psychological problems.

Her pupils seemed to be wandering aimlessly, as she looked at the road while simultaneously experiencing hallucinations.

The man with calm eyes sat in the passenger seat, and the slowly drifting smoke was Emma's favorite smell—she squinted her eyes and greedily inhaled the air as if enjoying it.

A calm male voice came from inside, "Emma?"

Emma smiled frivolously, "What's wrong, Mr. Rin?"

The man then said, "Stop the car."

Emma's car was already going extremely fast, swaying from side to side, but listening to the whooshing sounds beside her, she didn't seem afraid that she was driving on the winding mountain road in Dogtown.

The brake pedal was slammed down.

Emma leaned forward rapidly!
The tires screeched and left trails of blue smoke, while ahead lay an endless abyss!
The car glided along—

She chuckled softly, seemingly unconcerned that she was walking a tightrope between life and death.

squeak~
boom.

Everything returned to calm, and at that moment, the tranquil night enveloped everything.

Emma was breathing heavily, and she slowly raised her head.

The car, which had been running wild like a runaway horse, finally came to a stop with extremely strong braking, with part of its front end even sticking out of the cliff edge.

Below are abandoned buildings; they were just one step away from turning into mud.

Emma's eyes were bloodshot. "Why did you lie to me? You've all been lying to me!"

suddenly!

Her gaze fell upon the man in the passenger seat next to her, smoking and seemingly oblivious to everything.

The guy slowly turned his face. "What's wrong? Are you throwing a tantrum, Emma?"

Emma screamed in a broken voice, "Why did you let me go? I'm suffering so much... I can't take it anymore."

"real…"

Rin said calmly, "But you want everything Hans has, don't you?"

Emma felt as if a bomb had been dropped into her head. Her expression froze, and she muttered to herself, "Yes, I'll make him pay."

After a long silence.

Rin's voice reached her ears, "Treat me well."

Their eyes met again, and Emma swallowed hard.

The screen flickered again.

She reached out and crawled towards the passenger seat.

If someone were outside the window at that moment, they would see the woman's perfect hips and waist.

She breathed heavily and hugged Rin frantically.

Rin didn't seem to reject Emma's advances with her lips, neither responding nor refusing, just like an owner who doesn't pay much attention to their pet after returning home, with a cold look in their eyes.

So strange.

Emma suddenly felt unwell and coughed violently a few times.

Rin naturally sensed the offense, grabbed Emma's chin with both hands, pinching her painfully, and forced Emma to look into his dark eyes.

Emma could even see her own pale, terrified face reflected in those black, hole-like eyes.

Then, Rin's eyes flashed a blood-red glint. "Don't like it? How about I find you someone else?"

A hazy light flashed across Rin's face, and the middle-aged European man's expression instantly changed—he pursed his lips, and strands of hair on his forehead fluttered in the breeze outside the window.

His expression always seemed to carry a sense of bewilderment.

Emma's hand unconsciously touched his face.

"Is that you, Lin Yue..."

The young man smiled calmly. "It's me, madam... How have you been lately? I'd like to go to Dogtown, and I'll need your help."

Emma chuckled, and a glistening tear slid down her beautiful profile.

"Okay, so does that mean I have to be your hostage again?"

Lin Yue shrugged and said jokingly, "That depends on whether Madam is willing. I promise I will try to be as gentle as possible."

Emma murmured.

"it is good."

I'm afraid it's all just a bubble that will burst.

She expressed her overwhelming longing with the gentlest gestures, wishing she could merge herself into her lover's body.

Breathing gradually becomes heavier.

As Emma moved, a bottle of medicine rolled out of the passenger seat; the name on it read—

【Induction Communication】.

Emma's illness seems to have worsened.
-
Lin Yue was about to get up and leave the office.

The girl tugged at his sleeve. "Can I go?"

Lin Yue felt more heartache than anything else for the girl with pale lips who seemed to be showing a hint of fear.

“Sasha…is Mann and the others.”

Sasha responded with an "oh".

In Mann's eyes, he was already a dead man.

It would be a lie to say that Sasha doesn't miss Mann and the others; what she longs for most is to walk the streets and alleys of Night City with Rebecca again.

Only now does Sasha truly understand what her sister meant when she said those words:
"True freedom is when you forget the resentment and hatred of the past."

Sasha was burdened with hatred for her mother's death, but she completely lost her freedom.

Although Rin didn't say it, Sasha had long been prepared to stop wandering around outside the Arasaka Tower.

Night City has a population of one million. Even if there is only a one percent chance that these people will know that Rin is still alive, it would be a huge problem for her.

After all, it was his own request to enter the Arasaka Tower…

However, when it comes to Stella, Sasha hasn't contacted her only relative for a long time.

Sometimes she felt very sorry for her sister.

But she had to restrain herself. According to her personality, if she met her sister... she was afraid she wouldn't be able to resist telling her everything.

Stella is now a member of the NCPD, and we must not let her know anything about biotechnology.

Everything we have is hard-won, which is why we should cherish it all the more.

Sasha wanted to end these grudges herself, even if it was unfair to Stella.

Lin Yue crouched down slightly. "Are you alright?"

Sasha shook her head.

She wasn't afraid of entering the black wall, but... she was afraid of never seeing the person she wanted to see again.

"I just feel scared afterward... I actually lost that day."

She sighed. "Maybe I was too arrogant before. I know how to be a good mercenary, and I know how to use my hacking skills to help the team—but the company is much more powerful than I imagined."

"I think I can do even better."

Lin Yue knew that Sasha had fallen into the trap of stubbornness.

As Saburo said: Fear is like the wind, making everything you have sway.

Fear often stems from self-doubt.

In Lin Yue's eyes: how bad could a hacker with the ability to crack the biotechnology data office, use a somewhat mediocre network access warehouse, and upload cyber-psychotic data with extremely excellent RAM management capabilities be?

Self-denial makes it easier for willpower to crumble.

Even Lin Yue, who had lost some of his humanity, couldn't bear to watch anymore.

Of course, I'd take any risks to survive.

But does Sasha really need to risk her life for revenge?
So Lin Yue stood up.

"Let's get used to Arasaka Tower a bit more; this is how everyone lives here—"

"Of course, you can leave me anytime... Once we start touching the black wall, there's no turning back."

This was his biggest concession.

Because "veteran" corporate employees have long since given up on their illusions.

As Sasha listened to Rin's words, her eyes welled up with tears.

She finally released her grip slowly, and Rin walked straight out of the office without pausing.

The girl watched the man's tall, well-proportioned figure disappear behind the door the entire time.

She bit her lip, her eyes filled with a lonely, abandoned look.

Am I being too weak?

She never gave up her ambition to enter the Black Wall and help Rin.

Rin isn't very good at comforting people; Sasha just wanted some encouragement...

So she had to deal with it all by herself.

After a long time.

Her eyes lit up, as if she had remembered something.

Sasha strode back to her hacking room, sat down in front of her computer screen, put on her holographic glasses, and immediately logged into the internal network page of the Arasaka Network.

She ignored all the information about the "Company Plaza Housing Rental," the "Great News from Crystal Palace," the "Employee Evaluation Form," and the "Action Record."

Ultimately, the young hacker's gaze fell upon the Arasaka Medical Services appointment page.

She touched her lips, and a performance comparison chart of various products from Arasaka Medical Department appeared behind her glasses…

Sasha stared at it intently for a long time.

There are frontal cortical prostheses with RAM management, limb prostheses representing good motor performance, and of course, a decent network access module.

A muttered voice came from behind, "You're the one."

But as the girl looked around, she realized she was facing a huge problem: money.

The prosthetic body I chose was very expensive, and the money in my pocket was simply not enough.

Hmm... what should I do?

Immediately afterwards, her eyes lit up as nearly one million euros were transferred into her account.

It seems that Rin never does anything to mistreat her own people.

Sasha packed the selected items together, humming a Russian folk song as she did so, just like an ordinary girl buying cosmetics and clothes for herself.

OK, order placed!

She never hesitates in what she does; that's always been the case for a young girl. It's like she's cracking a program—once she's set her sights on a goal, she can't give up!
Sasha may have thought herself quite good in Night City, but in Arasaka Tower, she felt increasingly weak.

The scene of that cyber attack and defense was still vivid in Sasha's mind; she could never forget it.

If the counterintelligence agents had arrived any later, would Rin still be alive?
She didn't want to experience that kind of uncertainty again.

This ambition to become stronger has completely pushed aside the so-called drawbacks of implanted prosthetics in girls.

Sasha doesn't know if she'll regret it someday, but she knows that her desire to keep up with the times is already irrepressible.

……

Lin Yue walked down from the 90th floor to the hangar, ignoring the curious and awe-inspiring looks from the surrounding employees.

He hasn't had time lately, so he's temporarily postponed dealing with the employees.

Traitors can appear in any department, but counterintelligence departments have the most.

There's no way around it; we're all spies, and we're all pretty smart.

According to V, countless opportunists in the counterintelligence department die every year.

Suzuki followed behind him step by step, and when they reached the end of the corridor, the words "Uploading" appeared in his prosthetic eye.

Given his level, Arasaka Tower would send him a hovercar, but why would it be an extremely expensive vehicle like the Holy Sword?

However, these are not your personal assets. When the company wants to take these things back, it often means that you have lost your eligibility to participate in the game.

Therefore, Lin Yue didn't care much about such material possessions.

Now everything seems to be going in a different direction, and Lin Yue feels a sense of confusion and worry about the unknown.

Will Lai Hsuan win?
Will there ever be someone like David, whose fate still coincidentally appears even after things have changed?

he does not know.

The Reifeld Sword in front of me was extremely sleek. Arasaka had made some modifications to it, slightly changing the paint job. The silver-white, well-made side hood was printed with Arasaka's white logo.

Suzuki held out his hand. "Get in, boss."

After sitting down, Lin Yue was immediately struck by the allure of money.

A good car is not about its price, but about the perfect experience and the unique understanding of aesthetics by human craftsmen.

He subtly touched the soft leather cushion beside him.

Suzuki sat opposite him.

Just then, footsteps echoed through the empty hangar.

V crossed his arms and glanced at Suzuki. "Get down."

Suzuki glanced at his boss and, seeing that the boss was expressionless, went downstairs somewhat dejectedly.

V sat down opposite Lin Yue, holding onto the armrest, her face still showing signs of fatigue from having just finished her work.

Suzuki lowered his head, and the floating car's compartment closed.

V asked, "How was it? The commendation from headquarters was pretty good, wasn't it?"

Lin Yue, with a stubborn tone that suggested he was alright but didn't want to be a nobody, replied, "Not bad."

V's smile was as if he were looking at a proud boy. "Well, Lai Xuan gave it to you, but I made a little modification, the positioning program—"

Lin Yue frowned.

V seemed oblivious. "This is headquarters' order. Why do you think I rushed back from Jakarta? I have to take responsibility for these orders... so we're completely tied together now."

"If something happens to you and headquarters blames me... I won't be able to escape."

Lin Yue stared at him suspiciously, "So, back then in Benzhou, it was Lai Xuan who asked you to keep an eye on me?"

V was not as relaxed at the company as he was in Honshu; it was as if he was always on guard.

She reached for a glass of wine and rolled her eyes at Lin Yue:
"Don't look at me like that, like you would look at your own mother. If I had a son like you... I would have gone crazy long ago."

"You think I want to cling to you? You're such a jerk who can't even open his mouth to kiss."

Lin Yue was completely speechless.

In this cultural system, V speaks these words as casually and simply as if he were expressing his eating habits, which is completely different from Lin Yue, who is naturally reserved in his emotions.

V, noticing this, took a sip of his drink and raised an eyebrow.

"Are you shy?"

Lin Yue solemnly said to the AI, "Destination: The next life."

V let out a victor's laugh.

Then her eyes lit up, “Headquarters funds, a total of five million euros, you can allocate them yourself.”

Lin Yue looked at the numbers in the account. "Something's not right, is it? There's still three million left."

V gazed out the window at the aerial view after leaving the Arasaka Tower hangar and said calmly, "This two million is for you to reward your employees. Someone in the counterintelligence department helped your hacker—his name is Harry, and he's very reliable."

“I’ve already given him the money, so don’t worry.”

"As for the rest of the money... you don't know how to manage money, so I'll keep an eye on it for you. After all, you're the kind of idiot who spends 600,000 on a used car without batting an eye, I'm not comfortable with that."

No refusal is permitted.

Lin Yue, meanwhile, secretly thought to himself:
my money!
Valerie now is not even half as gentle as she was back in the state.

Lin Yue turned his head away somewhat defiantly, exhaling a heavy puff of hot air from his nose.

V tilted his head back and drank the remaining liquid in the glass, his lips curving into a perfect arc, seemingly due to the act of drinking.

……

　【Sensory Activation】: 2077 Shadows of the Past DLC, a certain substance in a recruit's day that greatly stimulates brain activity, presenting fantasy to the human senses in a near-realistic way.

　　I apologize for the recent typos!
　　o(╥﹏╥)o I'm a master of typos, but I'm just too sleepy~
　　I can only do a rough proofreading after finishing my writing each day, so please let me know in the group that I'll revise it when I'm done resting, everyone.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)