Cyberpunk: From Dogville to Legend

Chapter 152 Entering the Game (Part 3)

"Don't worry, darling, this batch of goods will be shipped out in ten minutes—"

"Hmm... Of course I know, the route and stuff will change randomly."

The woman's fingers rubbed against the wall as she casually spoke to Joey on the other end of the line.

As she spoke, she directed the security guards beside her to conduct another inspection.

Although this company is a small enterprise, it is said that the councilors of Night City use its services. After all, it is very difficult to find a security company in Night City that is not owned by Arasaka and Military Technology or whose actual controller is another giant enterprise.

Arasaka is the top private security service provider in Night City, but Joey's wife, Jenny, would naturally not use such people.

Joey was silent for a long time on the other end. "I hope everything goes well."

Jenny asked, puzzled, "Why do you look so down today?"

On the holographic screen, Joey shook her head. "Uh... damn it, I don't know why I feel a little uncomfortable today. It feels like there's a stone stuck in my chest."

Jenny: "What is it?"

Joey replied, "Jenkins got promoted. The people I had in the counterintelligence department had said that old dog Jenkins was going to investigate me, but now he's been promoted... to Director of Special Operations."

Jenny raised an eyebrow. "That's great, honey... You've been in the sales department for so long, you're the most senior, aren't you on the promotion list?"

Joey rubbed his temples. "Damn... if only things were like this. Hey... listen, Arasaka Tower has a new owner now, and nobody knows where Abernathy went—"

Jenny: "Could this be a major purge?"

Joey: "Hmm... I guessed so. That cold-faced bitch under Jenkins has taken over."

The wife of the sales manager from Arasaka's department darkened. "Is that the one who asked you to submit your activity logs and personal data before? V?"

Joey then slowly revealed his guess, "The security department gave me an order before, they were short a batch of weapons, and they hoped that our sales department would place an order with the factory to replenish the stock."

"Later I found out that the items were shipped from Japan. I saw the customs documents, and they were all smart weapons."

“I guess Arasaka is going to do business with Dogtown, and all their attention has turned to this place.”

Jenny paced back and forth.

"Why now, at this crucial juncture..."

Joey looked at his wife seriously. "I won't see the customs documents until more than ten days later, so let's call it a day after this operation, cash out everything, and head to Europe."

The word "cash out" is the last thing Jenny wants to hear.

"Damn it, we finally managed to get this company from Kejing, and what can we do with just these few orders? It's less than a hundred million, and the sale of fixed assets will be very slow."

Knowing his greedy wife's thoughts, Joey, who was not usually very assertive, changed his tune, "If you don't want to be disposed of as garbage by the company, then find a way to sell it off immediately. This is not something I'm discussing with you."

cut--

Jenny laughed, seemingly in a sarcastic tone.

"Ah, Joey, it seems you're a bit timid... Cheer up, there's no need to rush. I think you've been working too much overtime lately."

“You need to know that all the financial data is here with me… There’s no way Arasaka could ever trace it back to us.”

Joey gritted his teeth and said in a controlled voice:
“Arasaka will not let us off the hook once he finds out.”

However, Jenny was equally adamant, which made Joey's expression shift between light and dark.

In the end, Joey gave in.

He doted on his wife, Jenny, after all, she deserved much credit for bringing the subsidiary that originally belonged to Kejing Logistics into their hands.

"Let's make a few more quick bucks and then leave. Who knows how long we can keep up the financial records?"

He then clicked his tongue. "I have some people in Arasaka who will help with security along the route to Taipingzhou. This isn't listed in the company's security services. As for your concerns... Jenny, be careful. After all these years, we all know what kind of company it is."

"I'll give you a heads-up if anything happens... That's all, I'm hanging up now."

After exchanging words of caution, Jenny crossed her arms and sighed softly.

Even though she's greedy, she won't ignore Joey's warning.

These two are now in a situation where there's no turning back, since they've already messed with Kejing Logistics and Arasaka... In Night City, the consequences of fraudulent companies are enormous; companies have their own corporate laws and won't be subject to Night City's laws.

Thinking room.

"Move faster."

All the delivery trucks in the yard roared in unison as a security team of nearly eighty fully armed men sat inside the cargo compartments.

Jenny watched the car leave the courtyard and then slowly walked back to her office.

……

At this moment, Arakasaka Tower.

Joey loosened his tie, sensing that there might be something wrong with the ventilation system in his office.

Night City's air quality almost never met standards throughout the year, and there was always a pungent, strange smell on the streets. That's why Joey, who was picky about his living environment, bought a detached house in Charter Hill.

There were highly resilient air-purifying plants cultivated using biotechnology there, which he, accustomed to fresh air, could not tolerate.

He tried to call his subordinates in using the buttons on the desktop, but found that pressing the bell didn't work.

His gaze then shifted to the fingerprint button next to the call bell.

Every department head in Arasaka has this on their desk, because the level of insubordination within Arasaka Tower is escalating—

In addition to the major branches in Asia, the shooting incidents are very serious in the Americas and the European Community branches.

Before 2045, it was common for subordinates in the Arasaka regional branch to bribe internal security personnel and then shoot their superiors.

Therefore, combat cybernetic bodies are disabled in most areas inside Arasaka Tower, some smart weapons are also disabled, and relevant emergency measures have been provided to these mid- to high-level personnel. The button that Joey is looking at at this moment is for this purpose.

"Damn it, where is he? Is he dead?"

Outside the office at this moment.

A burly security guard was being strangled by a woman, whose dark-haired gaze was as cold as the muzzle of the gun in her hand.

"uh-huh…"

The woman gestured for the security guard to speak, "Let him come out first."

The security guard's Adam's apple bobbed, and he hesitated, not daring to utter a single word.

V's expression grew colder and colder.

The internal passage is also authenticated by AI, making it virtually impossible to bypass; the only way to get Joey out is to trick him.

If anyone dies in Arasaka Tower, an alarm will be triggered across the entire city, so V must consider the consequences before acting.

After all, this operation is currently unauthorized and theoretically illegal. Jenkins might be able to cover it up, but V is still very afraid of Lai Xuan's rivals, especially those old fogies from the dove faction who come out to annoy Rin and himself.

"Speak up, you fucking idiot."

V said in a low voice, emphasizing each word.

"Uh, boss! The combination lock seems to be having a problem. I'll get the technical department to come and fix it right away."

Inside, Joey cursed "useless," and then the complaining grew closer as he seemed to be hurrying toward the office door.

"A bunch of good-for-nothings, it's all your fault that I can't get promoted."

V gently shook his head. At that moment, everyone in the sales department was crouching on the ground with their hands behind their heads, with counterintelligence and security personnel standing behind them. The agents surrounding the Arasaka agent leader had already placed their hands on the combination lock on the door...

Under everyone's watchful eyes, the heavy office door opened.

V suddenly exerted force, kicking the security guard in the back of the knee with the sharp tip of her high heel. The security guard groaned and knelt on the ground!

V then turned around, pointing his pistol inside—

Her eyes widened.

屮!
Joey wasn't near the door at all; instead, she had an automated robot open it for her.

"You're crazy!"

Joey scrambled and crawled toward the desk.

V's eyes immediately began to flash with a rapid cracking motion, followed by a moment of stiffness.

Without a prosthetic body... the only way to hack into him would be to break into his brain-computer interface, which would undoubtedly lead to Joey's death.

Oh shit!

V began to accelerate, trying to rush behind Joey and take him under control.

Damn...

In V's reflection, Joey's hand was almost touching the alert button next to the desk!

at this time--

A short, agile figure appeared behind V, holding a gun, and pulled the trigger!

Snapped!
The sound of the silenced weapon wasn't actually quiet, and it was now echoing abruptly in the office.

Did they fire a shot in Arasaka Tower?

V looked incredulously at the girl with pigtails behind him…

Joey instinctively pulled his hand back and touched his chest.

Uh, are you okay?
next second.

The rope of the Japanese chandelier above Joey's head suddenly snapped!

The sales manager looked up and the blow landed heavily on him...

Upon discovering that the alarm had not sounded, the Arasaka agents swarmed forward and pinned down Joey, whose face was flushed and who looked disheveled!

Seeing that Rebecca didn't speak, V quickly went to Joey's side and inserted the human-computer interaction cable behind his neck. At this moment, all of Joey's communication permissions were revoked, and subnet communication and business permissions were also temporarily blocked.

To avoid further accidents, V even locked down the program for the Joey Trauma Group.

"What the hell are you doing?!"

Joey growled in a low voice.

V leaned against the table, gesturing for the agents to lift him up.

"Kejing Logistics, does that name sound familiar?"

Joey, panting, said, "Uh... what's wrong with the M&A deal I'm in charge of? Has your counterintelligence department gone mad?! I want to see the board!"

V: "Are you tired of taking kickbacks from Arasaka? Hmm?"

Joey remained expressionless, still looking as if he had suffered a great injustice.

"Your woman is a director of a respectable subsidiary? Did you report this to the Arasaka Business Department? Tell me honestly how much you've been taken in this case, and maybe the counterintelligence department will let you off the hook."

Joey spat, "You bitch! Everyone in Arasaka knows which high-ranking person you slept with to get to this point—"

Bang!
V punched Joey in the stomach.

Having undergone counterintelligence agent training, V knows how to make the other person obediently talk to him when it comes to a raw, untouched body.

Give me that book.

The agent beside V handed him a copy of the Company Law from the table.

V gestured as he pressed the book against Joey's stomach.

Because Joey still needs to be taken to the board of directors, if things go too badly, it could give others something to hold against them. Counterintelligence often suffers setbacks due to torture and forced confessions, and can even be reported by hostile forces.

“Rebecca, use your gorilla arm to hit the book hard—but be careful not to kill it.”

Joey stared blankly; he had never heard of such a name before.

V stepped aside, and a short girl with a yellowish-pink prosthetic eye stood behind him.

Then, Joey's gaze moved to the girl's rough, red and green gorilla-like arms—

"do not want!"

Rebecca gritted her teeth, her smile filled with excitement, her elbow already behind her back, ready to unleash her power.

puff!
The moment the fist was pressed down on the book, the hard cover in the middle immediately dented!

The two agents supporting Joey both stumbled a step!
Joey's legs buckled, and he couldn't kneel down. That punch had almost sent him to his death, and he couldn't catch his breath.

"If you had told us sooner, we would have only needed to go through the termination process. The company will not kill you because of the many years you have served us."

A mouthful of acid gushed from Joey's stomach. "Damn... I don't know anything."

The financial records are in Jenny's hands; as long as he sticks to his guns, there won't be any problems!

Unexpectedly, Joey was so stubborn. V could only slowly lean back against the table. "Then we'll wait for our people to extract the real financial records from the cases you've handled."

Upon hearing this, Joey forgot about vomiting and started trembling all over.

I knew something bad was going to happen today…

Although Joey was a bit timid, he had a keen sense of smell. He thought he reacted quickly, but little did he know that he had been watched all along.

His vision, blurred by pain, was filled with the henchmen of Arasaka's counterintelligence department. Joey knew he was doomed today—

This manager only hoped to inform his wife and have some of the financial records destroyed; that was his only hope.

Just as V was patiently waiting for news from Rin, an agent came up, covered his mouth with his hand, and whispered something in V's ear.

V raised his head, his brows furrowed slightly, staring intently at Joey, who was curled up on the ground.

Then she glanced at Rebecca, the girl who was squatting to the side looking bored…

"Rebecca, don't go anywhere here. I'm going to see my superiors."

Rebecca looked up and said "Oh".

"Bring Harry over here."

V left after saying just one sentence.

Watching V's departing figure, Rebecca smacked her lips in boredom. The company was no fun at all; her wild nature made her prefer dealing with street gangs and mercenaries.

That being said, she now knows too much, and she understands Lin Yue's decision. The only thing she regrets is that she should have pestered Lin Yue to take her to Watson to steal the financial records.

Rebecca was obviously not in charge of watching over Joey. Another dark-skinned young man who came in, supposedly one of Miss V's subordinates, took over the scene.

The office was silent.

Joey was devastated. Just as he was praying that Jenny would realize something was wrong and leave in time, someone slipped something into his hand.

At that moment, Joey's heart began to pound.

Rebecca's prosthetic eye began scrolling through messages from the Arasaka website: 【Urgent Notice: Ms. V requests your presence on the 90th floor of the Arasaka Tower //

Rebecca stood up and glanced at Harry. Harry was also a little puzzled by this girl who didn't seem like a company employee at all, but the scan in his prosthetic eye confirmed that her identity was correct and that she was registered as a security agent.

He had no idea that Rebecca was a key person V and Lin Yue were protecting, and that Harry didn't stop her from leaving.

Inside the Arasaka Tower, some venomous insects lurking in the shadows began to make their move.

……
-
Inside the vast factory, only the faint sounds of footsteps and breathing could be heard.

Jack bent over and walked slowly forward, Sasha followed in the middle, and Lin Yue brought up the rear.

For this kind of offline operation to steal network information, stealth is the best option.

Once the enemy detects the anomaly, the hackers guarding the subnet could potentially modify or delete data from the database.

In fact, Lin Yue is not very good at stealth, but V probably included Jack in this operation with the intention of reducing Lin Yue's use of his prosthetic body.

"There aren't many guards in the warehouse ahead, let's go this way."

Jack, holding a pistol, peeked out and then walked out of the passage.

It seems that bringing along a street lone wolf like Jack was the right choice.

Jack seems to have done this kind of activity quite often, and this seemingly rough-around-the-edges guy is adept at all kinds of combat—

Take his memory of rescuing Sandra Dorset with V as an example. Jack was able to skillfully infiltrate from a location heavily controlled by the Scavengers with V, or he could charge in with a gun.

Street fighting experience is often more refined, while Lin Yue uses brute force to kill everything.

In the period immediately following his return from Benju, Lin Yue felt disgusted by the changes brought about by AI, and every day he felt like he was becoming a stranger to himself.

Fortunately, I received a lot of help, especially from V—

My consciousness and humanity have stabilized somewhat, but I still find myself forced to use roving AIs to assist me in many situations.

In fact, after learning that Jack had chosen to infiltrate, Lin Yue felt an uncontrollable sense of urgency.

It was as if an impulse was urging him not to use this sneaky method, but to use the loyalty pill in his hand to slaughter the entire warehouse.

Jack raised his hand, and two probes above the iron gate in front of him were rotating. The red threads inside his prosthetic eye indicated the scanning range of the camera.

"I'll have to trouble you, Miss Sasha. There are some devices that need you to crack."

Sasha touched her lips and thought for a moment:
"Cracking them one by one is too troublesome..."

"Rin, your prosthetic eye can highlight the devices. Help me find an external interface so I can hack the matrix and set all the devices to our mode."

As he spoke, a faint light began to appear in Lin Yue's eyes.

As expected of a veteran hacker, Lin Yue felt that bringing Sasha along to do the work was much less strenuous.

Sasha moved nimbly, pulled the wire from her wrist, and plugged it into the subnet external device not far away.

Less than a minute later, all three of them heard a beeping sound in their ears.

The bright red line of the front camera turned blue, indicating that the device has entered friendly mode.

Sasha whispered, "The machine gun's alert mode inside has also been tampered with, so don't be shy."

Jack chuckled. "When Kako asked me to do some work before, she said she had the best hackers in her team. It seems the company's hackers are more like the real deal."

"Uh... Wakako, do you know?"

Jack likes to chat from time to time, and Lin Yue doesn't rule out the possibility.

"I know him, the middleman in the Japanese street, he's been famous for a long time."

As for the hacker, Lin Yue guessed it was probably T-BUG.

But thinking of this, Lin Yue mentioned it to Jack, "Dexter DeSean... are you familiar with this guy?"

Jack seemed surprised that Lin Yue knew these well-known figures on the street. "You don't even know V... I thought your company only cared about performance and how to eliminate your competitors."

"The dark-skinned, fat Jesus of the afterlife, once the most influential middleman in Night City, has temporarily left for some unknown reason—it is said that the work he does is something that ordinary people cannot do."

"Seven of the top ten lone wolves in Night City in 2074 worked for him! No doubt about it!"

Lin Yue grunted in response.

"Let me know if you hear anything about him."

Jack looked at Lin Yue and said, "Don't you want to fawn over Sanlang anymore? I'm a straightforward person, and that's what I tell my girlfriends. Don't be an idiot. You're young, so you can find food anywhere."

Lin Yue shook his head with a wry smile.

Jack's personality really matches my memory. It seems he trusts V a lot, otherwise he wouldn't say such "damaging" things to a high-ranking corporate dog like me.

Lin Yue: "V got promoted...so..."

Jack: "Hmm, the company might kick you guys out any day—okay, I'll try my luck in Night City, and maybe one day I'll catch Dexter's eye..."

Lin Yue could see from Jack's face that he longed for this "runaway" middleman.

Of course, Lin Yue's inquiry about Dexter's whereabouts wasn't because he wanted to "become famous."

He was only doing this to prevent any unforeseen circumstances. He wasn't sure if Lai Xuan would bring Relic to Night City again. If the fat man then set his sights on the Azure Building, everything would once again slide into an irreversible state.

Lin Yue had considered talking to Lai Xuan about Sanlang's affairs, or at least hinting at it, but he hadn't yet helped Lai Xuan with the Dog Town project, and he wasn't sure what the consequences would be if he rashly spoke ill of his own father.

If... Lai Xuan finds out what Saburo is up to, it will only throw this anti-capitalist pioneer into disarray before his wings are fully grown.

With more than six months to go, Lin Yue was determined to cause trouble for this "dark-skinned, fat Jesus".

It's not impossible to just take them out, but he doesn't know if the world will continue to move forward as before. It's very possible that someone else will hire cyberpunks to go to the Azure Tower.

So he planned to have someone keep a close eye on this guy after this incident to prevent any further complications.

As they pondered, the group found their way to the back of the warehouse, and their journey was naturally unimpeded.

Lin Yue breathed a sigh of relief. As long as he could get past the security guards behind him, Sasha would be able to access the database and everything would be settled.

Jack stopped abruptly as he walked around the containers in the yard!
Jack looked at Lin Yue and said, "The one on your left, and the one on my right."

Lin Yue nodded, signaling Sasha to be on guard.

The two guards, still talking and holding their guns, were completely unaware that two pairs of eyes were staring intently at them from behind.

Swish!
Lin Yue's hand gripped the guard's neck, and at the same time, Jack's thick arm also pressed down on the guard.

A sickening sound rang out as the two men simultaneously snapped the guard's spine. Jack gestured with his chin toward the trash cans and containers not far away.

The dull thud of the corpse rolling inside rang out.

Looks like this job was easy and enjoyable!
Jack looked at Lin Yue, about to speak, when a person suddenly emerged from around the corner in the distance—

"what?"

The guy looked at the two men whose attire didn't belong here and immediately looked puzzled.

Subconsciously, he believed that with various cameras and devices outside, strangers wouldn't be able to get in, so he hadn't yet realized that this was an enemy...

Jack's face darkened, and he cursed under his breath as he raised his gun.

In his eyes, Lin Yue seemed to teleport backward!

puff!
The blade returns to its sheath.

The man had already been slit in the throat. Lin Yue grabbed him by the collar and dragged the guard to a blind spot. The guard was making a gurgling sound in his throat until he died.

Oh shit!

What speed is this?

Jack's eyes widened in surprise.

He had heard Old Wei mention it; was this thing the S.A.W.S.?
In fact, Jack has always believed in the survival philosophy of physical strength. After all, it is rare to see people on the street with such prosthetic bodies, so he was still taken aback when he saw it today.

Lin Yue, of course, had no idea that the other party had already interpreted his reaction speed as that of S.A.W.S.A.

"Damn... I thought you were some kind of demon, what a load of rubbish!"

Jack made up his mind. His speed was his biggest weakness, and one day when he made money, he would get himself a prosthetic body like this.

The mission continued without incident.

Sasha's RAM processing power is now very high thanks to Arasaka's modifications. So she can keep an eye on the devices that have enabled friendly mode, keep an eye on the firewall, and even have time to process the information that Lin Yue and Jack are saying.

Immediately afterwards, three security guards appeared ahead. They were positioned far away, with obstacles in between, and their lines of sight intersected.

Jack was in a dilemma.

At this point, Sasa's role immediately became apparent.

By hacking into the subnet, she quickly resolved the situation after one of the people's prosthetic eyes malfunctioned.

The group began to venture deeper…

Out of caution, Sasa repeatedly verified the integrity of the firewalls of the various devices she had hacked to avoid being discovered by enemy hackers. However, just when she thought she was about to reach the devices and read the financial records, Sasa sensed something was wrong.

As the intruder, the data reported as an error by the firewall should have been modified by her before being reported to the enemy hacker.

However, the firewall did not treat her as an intruder and continue to report errors; instead, it processed the data itself.

Sasha stopped in her tracks.

Several sentries approached from a distance, and Jack hurriedly pushed Sasha, who was a beat behind him, down.

"Damn it! What are you doing?"

Sasha hurriedly covered her mouth and looked at her boss behind her—

Lin Yue noticed a hint of unease on Sasha's face, her eyes filled with a questioning look.

“Something’s not right. I need time to check the data, and I might not be able to focus on controlling the devices inside. I need to get out and go to the network control room in front.”

Jack scratched his head. "How long?"

"Three minutes—"

Jack's eyes widened.

Lin Yue gestured for Jack to calm down, "Are you sure?"

Sasha shook her head, but to avoid any problems with the mission, she had to report this to Rin.

"I'm not sure... I might have missed it. I hope no one took advantage of the loophole."

Under Jack's anxious gaze, Sasha calmly said, "Come on... Boss, just think of it as practicing your hacking skills."

Lin Yue did not refuse.

Jack spread his hands. "Are you serious, buddy?"

Having studied network technology for so long, Bartmores was naturally going to put it to use; Lin Yue's eyes shone with the light he had when the Desolate Moon invaded.

At this moment, he is "programming on-site," gradually using software to take over Sasha's permissions and restore the friendly mode of the subnet devices!

Jack was instantly dumbfounded.

What kind of monster is V's colleague at the company?!
Lin Yue: "Let's go."

Sasha watched them walk away, then nimbly circled around to the side…

Along the way, Lin Yue and Jack worked together to gradually reach the information room where financial records were stored with minimal kills.

Jack straightened up, looking at the office worker who had been hunched over.

"finally…"

Lin Yue went straight to the computer on his desk, pulled out a data cable to connect, and began to crack the firewall outside the database to download the financial data he needed.

Jack paced back and forth with his arms crossed.

"how long it takes?"

Lin Yue: "Soon."

Jack nodded, staring at the oil painting on the wall. "Alright..."

A short while later, he clicked his tongue.

"This place is fucking quiet, by the way—"

"Never mind, why is my heart beating so fast?"

Lin Yue shook his head, not realizing that Jack was such a chatterbox.

However, his full attention was focused on data protection at the moment. If the Blackwall were in charge, it would certainly not be a problem. But he could break down the protection here within five minutes using his own skills.

It would be even faster if you were in a deep-sea state.

As Lin Yue watched the data scroll by, a rather unusual log entry caught his attention.

He leaned closer to take a look, his expression somewhat puzzled.

Lin Yue immediately realized what was going on and plopped down in front of the PC to start operating it.

"what happened?"

Jack sensed something was wrong and walked over to Lin Yue, wanting to figure out what was happening.

suddenly!

A piercing alarm blared in the office!
Jack was startled.

Their eyes darted hurriedly to Lin Yue, whose expression was grim, but the problem wasn't with him—then, Sasha's phone avatar appeared in their prosthetic eyes.

Lin Yue thought Sasha had made a mistake and asked, "What happened on your end?"

Sasha explained, "Boss! It wasn't my fault—my judgment was correct; there were indeed unknown hackers searching for our location within the facility, and their methods seemed to be... company-related?"

Lin Yue had a bad feeling.

"make it clear."

Jack scratched his head. "Damn it! What's going on?"

After a short silence.

Sasha sighed and said in a deep voice, "All security has been mobilized."

"Perhaps... something went wrong at Arasaka Tower!"

……

(End of this chapter)