Cyberpunk: From Dogville to Legend

Chapter 154 Shattered (12)

Night City, on the pedestrian bridge at the border of Watson District and Pacific Island.

Thick clouds slowly swallowed the beams of light on the horizon. On the highway with guardrails painted with various gang graffiti, the van that was once the vehicle that made Mann's fortune drove smoothly.

The car was eerily quiet, as heavy and oppressive as the clouds.

The back seats faced each other. The seat that used to belong to Rebecca was empty, with only Pila dozing off with her long arms draped over her shoulders—while Qiwei and Lucy sat at opposite ends, each lost in their own thoughts.

Lucy turned her head to the side, and through the car window, she could see the spaceships inside the airport spewing flames as they ascended into the mysterious high heavens…

But her attention wasn't on that; it was on Mann, the nominal leader of their squad, who was wearing sunglasses and gazing at the endless road in the rearview mirror.

As a hacker who had been on the run from the bottom for so long, the first thing she learned was to read between the lines. There was a subtle atmosphere in the team, and she knew that the problem lay with Mann and Dorio.

Mann's broad back was so large that even the driver's seat couldn't cover it, revealing a dried, stained bloodstain seeping through the back of his distinctive stand-up collar vest... Lucy had investigated the team's situation, and Mann's current cybernetic modifications were already beyond the limit.

Qiwei's lifeless gaze met Lucy's.

[Caller ID: kiwi]

Lucy's eyes lit up as she answered the phone call from the person who had been guiding her through Night City.

A woman's voice echoed in my mind, "This job will run into problems."

The few simple words were almost exactly what Lucy had in mind—so she was prepared for Qiwei to say she was quitting or to withdraw as soon as possible, depending on the situation.

"You think Mann can't handle it, right? I think so too..."

With a click, Qiwei lit a cigarette and inserted it into the filter gap in her mouth.

"Hmm... Have you thought about your escape route, Lucy?"

"I'm asking you very seriously."

Lucy remained silent for a long time before slowly saying, "That guy from Arakawa promised each of us 300 million euros... Do you think he'll let us off the hook if we withdraw? Besides, I need this money much earlier than I planned, so I have no reason not to do it."

Qiwei's laughter was hoarse.

"Hmm... what I want is different from what you want."

"Even if this big guy goes crazy, I still have to finish this job."

Lucy couldn't understand why Qiwei was still so full of fighting spirit at this critical juncture.

Qiwei: "Don't even mention 300 million per person... just this encrypted money chip in my hand is enough to buy all of our lives. Name your price, and I think there are plenty of people in Night City willing to do it..."

Lucy chuckled softly. "So you've discovered something."

Qiwei crossed her legs, holding a cigarette, and looked at Pila across from her, who was "snoring away" with her head tilted back.

The two were using silent call mode, so they weren't worried at all about others being able to hear them.

Qiwei fanned the smoke in front of her. "It's probably because this Rin has known the team for a long time. Based on my understanding of Night City... a team of our caliber doesn't deserve such a large sum of money, but Mann and the others don't seem surprised by the price."

"So after this mission, we'll either be silenced, or we'll all die on the mission... ah, and of course, there's one last possibility—"

Qiwei stared at Lucy, "Rin, give us the rest of the money so we can leave North America and live in anonymity for the rest of our lives."

Even a fool knows that the last possibility is zero.

Lucy's gaze darkened.

"Knowing you as I do, you wouldn't choose the last option—"

Qiwei interrupted, her tone casual, "No, I will choose."

"Be smart. If the squad can't hold out, then find a way to save your own lives first."

Qiwei didn't say her last sentence, which was that her goal was never the three million euros. The company's arrangement for them to live under assumed names meant that their lives were still in the company's hands.

She didn't want personal promises, she just wanted the company to protect her.

Lucy was surprised by Qiwei's choice, but she didn't ask any further questions.

For her, there was nothing in Night City worth staying for.

……

Mann gripped the steering wheel with his large hands, the cigarette between his fingers almost burning his fingers.

He was extremely exhausted, like when he was a child and had been chased and beaten by his classmates for a long time, and then he had to run home in a disheveled state, feeling powerless and completely drained.

Perhaps it was because the highway from Night City to Taiping Island was too straight and offered no driving pleasure, but his bloodshot eyes behind his sunglasses unconsciously narrowed.

I feel itchy all over from time to time, which is probably what Dr. Victor called "a crawling sensation".

This is said to be one of the signs that the body is warning of a worrying mental state.

While Mann was lost in thought, he felt an itchy sensation on his fingertips; the dark red of the cigarette butt had already burned his skin.

Sparks hit the windowsill, and Mann performed the instinctive action like a machine.

Click!

Mann's pupils trembled slightly.

The highway seemed to have changed its appearance. On both sides, there was yellow sand like barren soil, and the scorching air made the road, which had been covered with black oil, appear somewhat blurred.

Click!

The car was driving under dark clouds again.

Mann rubbed his eyes and groped for the cigarette box next to him with trembling hands.

Of course, all of this was noticed by Dorio, who was in the passenger seat with her arms crossed and a grim expression.

"Mann... are you alright?"

Mann turned his head and said, "Hmm."

Dorothy glanced at her teammates behind her, all of whom were resting, and swallowed back the words she wanted to say.

The acrid smoke entered his throat, and Mann felt a little better.

But frustratingly, the world he sees keeps changing.

Mann knew he hadn't taken the wrong path, so he simply told himself it was just an illusion and wouldn't affect the mission.

But caught in a mental vortex, he didn't realize that he had lost control of his movements. He pressed the accelerator harder and harder, and the gears were gradually shifting up.

Is cyberpsychosis really as terrible as they say?

Mann didn't know; he just prayed that God would give him more time to earn the last bit of money and give it to Dorio.

Obsessive thinking is often a trap for those who are unaware of their own flaws.

Perhaps four million is enough to live on, but Mann can't let go of his promise to Rin, his love for Dorio, or even his reason for living.

After that fire, Mann couldn't accept not having a goal to make himself stronger.

"oi!"

As Mann was driving, Rebecca's pleasant voice suddenly came from the passenger seat.

Rebecca crossed her arms. "Are we in for a big job?"

Mann was stunned.

“Rebecca…”

Suddenly, a hand with pink cat-themed nail polish reached out from the driver's seat headrest. Sasha smiled sweetly, "Mann, you're not worried, but I am! We're going to be big shots in our next life! Mann Squad, legends of Night City!"

Mann's pupils began to tremble rapidly—

There were even slight signs of tremors in his head.

"Damn it, watch where you're going."

Dorio held Rebecca in his arms, a cigarette dangling from his lips, and sported the wild smile that Mann loved most.

"Mann, your driving skills are even worse than Lin Yue's!"

Pila's raven-like voice cackled strangely from behind.

A warm yet crazy smile suddenly appeared on Mann's blank expression.

This was the first time he hadn't panicked about being trapped in this dream; everyone was there, everyone was still alive and well.

The big man thought to himself: This seems pretty good too?
Cyber ​​neurosis?
Go to hell!

Mann said in a low voice, "Luckily I drove today; running would have been too tiring."

hum…

The engine was spinning at its maximum speed, and the steering wheel began to stiffen. His gorilla-like arms gripped the steering wheel tightly. If he were to make even the slightest mistake at this point, it would result in a horrific rollover.

Click!

The world in Mann's eyes did not change as a result; it remained the nightmare that had plagued him for many years.

However… there were no more members of the squad in the car.

Mann searched anxiously all around.

He tried to brake, but found that no matter how he operated the brakes, all the mechanical transmission parts of the car malfunctioned.

Where are you?

Just as beads of sweat rolled down Mann's dark face, he noticed what appeared to be several figures in the distorted boundary in the distance.

Mann craned his neck to see if it was them, but the car was already at its maximum speed.

It's them?
Mann looked at the familiar colors on his teammates' clothes—

Swish!
The scene suddenly zooms in!

Mann discovered that his teammates, one by one, were tied to wooden stakes dozens of meters away, just like the villagers tied to the supporting pillars of wooden houses during the Mexican-American War…

屮!
Mann slammed on the brakes, but the car still hurtled toward them at over 180 miles per hour.

Bang!
Sasha and Rebecca, who were hit first, quickly deformed, spreading out a layer of blood-red that obscured their windshields!
Time seemed to freeze in that one second.

"Stop, damn it!"

……

Inside the slightly swaying carriage.

Because Pira's prosthetic eye is a modified product, it's impossible to tell whether it's in a sleep state.

He was actually awake the whole time.

I can't seem to forget those things in my mind, and in a daze, I can almost smell a faint candy scent on the tip of my nose—it's my younger sister's favorite lipstick.

Pila, who was pretending to be asleep, shook his body and reached into his pocket with his prosthetic hand.

He touched the two lipsticks.

This was a bit too shameful for a grown man, but Pila knew he had to leave something behind to remember his family before he died.

When Mr. Rin presented the mission, Pila accepted without a second thought, showing no fear of death. He had nothing to take with him from Night City; three million euros—that money-grubbing girl Rebecca probably couldn't save that much in her lifetime…

Pila has no sense of money management and always asks her sister for money like a rogue whenever she is short of cash. Rebecca never hesitates to give her money, except for scolding her a few times.

If only I could have received this money sooner…

Pila clicked her tongue, seemingly ashamed of her excessive "thoughts".

The scenery outside the window began to blur, and Pila noticed that the car was speeding up.

The two hackers on the other side seemed to have their own agenda. Pila wasn't stupid either; a technical expert's IQ wouldn't be low. She naturally understood that Mann in the team was too fanatical about modifications, and that if the prosthetic stimulation was too frequent, the variables would be extremely high.

But... so what?

Since they're all driving fast and recklessly towards their doom anyway, Night City isn't very interesting.

at this time--

The car, which was moving smoothly, suddenly braked hard!

Several people leaned forward uncontrollably.

"Mann!"

Pila grabbed the handrail and, along with the two hackers opposite, looked at Mann, who was driving, with a puzzled expression.

Mann gripped the steering wheel tightly, panting heavily.

Dorothy gripped the control panel with both hands, she couldn't take it anymore, "Stop driving, Mann!"

Everyone inside the car, except for those still shaken, exchanged bewildered glances.

Mann's breathing began to stabilize. In the rearview mirror, many cars were blocked by them, honking their horns incessantly to urge them on.

"Mann!"

Mann ignored him and mechanically turned the key to start the car.

Dorothy gripped the key tightly with her hand.

She looked behind her and said, "Pila, you drive!"

Snapped!
Mann slapped Dorio's hand away.

"Nonsense! You stinky woman."

The strong woman's expression froze on her face; it was the first time she had heard Mann curse at her.

Seeing that Mann was heading down an uncontrollable path, Dorio naturally wouldn't let him continue, and began to reach out and pull him away. Mann, however, kept resisting.

The two men's movements became increasingly violent, and the carriage began to shake.

Just as Pila was about to pull his hand to offer some advice, suddenly—

A striking sound rang out!

Pira's words caught in her throat.

Mann's outstretched fist trembled.

He stared at himself, speechless, but then his pupils began to tremble wildly, and his expression turned cold.

Just as Mann withdrew his fist to prepare for a second strike!
An orange monomolecular thread wrapped around the bag behind Mann, and Lucy pulled out an inhibitor. Pila, understanding the situation, took the inhibitor and, without Mann noticing, stabbed it hard into his neck!

The inhibitor's automated injection system quickly propelled the drug into Mann's body.

Mann's outstretched hand slowly fell down.

In the passenger seat, his lover tilted his head to the side, blood dripping from his mouth and nose onto his clothes.

At this moment, Dorothy looked as if she had lost everything, her gaze unfocused.

The car started.

They continued driving along the "original" road.

The broken lover offered no apology, no tenderness, only a long, suffocating silence.

……
-
snort…

Lin Yue let out a muffled groan.

The body's vital signs inside the prosthetic eye began to fluctuate.

[External injury detected; multiple fractures found in the leg bone]

[Emergency medical intervention recommended]

The trauma group program is popping up...

The question about whether to start a war had clearly provoked the ACPA pilot, whose thick mechanical arms seemed ready to crush Lin Yue.

[Protocol detection failed: Trauma team detected your activity within company assets.]

We recommend upgrading your plan or paying for the associated costs of a large-scale armed operation. Price details:…

Lin Yue sneered.

The saying goes, "three minutes is a lifesaver," otherwise refunds would be a joke amidst company disputes.

Perhaps around 2045 there will still be employees using the trauma group mechanism for internal company struggles, but nowadays the trauma group mechanism has long since undergone logical modifications.

"Look here!"

Having narrowly escaped death, Jack certainly wouldn't ignore his partner who had unexpectedly saved his life from the sidelines.

He held his gun, trying to find a weakness in this behemoth, but each bullet hit the mech with little effect.

Unless there is a controlled weapon like the Nekomata, it is impossible to penetrate the weapons that major companies around the world are competing to develop.

Lin Yue's gaze wavered. His lower body was all real flesh and blood. If he didn't want this humanoid hydraulic press to crush him, he could only use the Black Wall to unlock his prosthetic body.

The ACPA pilot clenched his fist and pressed down hard. Suddenly, a flash went through his vision, and the lone wolf who had been fighting him just moments before had already distanced himself.

Jack, panting, said, "Night City has these things? Mechs controlled by the NCPD?"

As he spoke, he glanced at Lin Yue a few times.

Rin actually used her cybernetic body to withstand that thing that was no different from an NCPD mech. Even someone as knowledgeable as Jack found it utterly unbelievable.

Lin Yue pulled the knife from the ground, pursed his lips, and slowly walked around it, trying to find the thing's weakness.

The interface of the desolate moon floated in his eyes. The amount of RAM required for any type of quick cracking far exceeded that of the mecha he had encountered in the Azure Building.

It's quite tall?
Lin Yue sighed inwardly: No wonder ACPA is the most mature weapon in the world.

What's strange about this thing is that it's just an outer shell that's not connected to the internet, and much of the technology on it is beyond Lin Yue's comprehension.

According to the information flashing within Lin Yuezi's network: if ACPA appears alone without participating in large-scale warfare, it will directly block the connection between the pilot's brain-computer interface and the external network.

Even on the battlefield, complex and encrypted military networks are very difficult to hack quickly.

Now, he was facing a knight dressed in modern technological armor.

While Lin Yue was observing this thing, the ACPA pilot didn't seem to be in a hurry to take action. Instead, he was observing the weaknesses of this extremely fast lone wolf.

“Jack…go find Sasha.”

"Once you leave this factory, you should be able to re-establish communication with V and ask her to meet you."

Lin Yue held the knife, his tone nonchalant.

Jack glanced at the gun in his hand, "Damn it!"

Heywood's son said thank you and stepped back into the corridor behind him.

call.

Lin Yue felt a little relieved.

If Jack insists on holding out here, I'll have to worry about him. After all, no matter how powerful Jack is, he can't get the better of this kind of weapon.

At that moment, the driver suddenly spoke.

"Arasaka, the prosthetic body you have is the prototype of the Black Wall, isn't it?"

The sound was quite clear, just like a normal person talking to themselves.

Lin Yue's body moved again in an instant!

Lin Yue didn't want to waste time on nonsense. Now that the prosthetic body was unbanned, he had to quickly deal with this thing while trying to suppress the AI!
With the time-stop effect nearly 50% effective, Lin Yue was naturally able to bypass the mech's frontal attack.

He placed his feet on the raised structure on the back of the mech, leaped high into the air, and plunged the knife in his hand straight into the brain of the thing.

Compared to his own slow ACPA speed, he was simply trying to find a weakness.

however--

ACPA responded immediately!
The driver reached his hands behind his back. Although this thing couldn't keep up with the speed of the powerful S.A.S., its agility was top-notch. Lin Yue dodged the large hand that was grabbing him and plunged the blade down hard!
Ding!
A tooth-grinding clanging sound rang out, and for the first time since Lin Yue started using a knife, the blade slipped from his hand!

His heart sank, and he suddenly lay down and leaped behind him!
The stinging pain in his legs burned through Lin Yue's nerves, but his expression remained completely devoid of any pain.

ACPA turned around, his right hand twitched, and with a mechanical click, a machine gun the size of a fist replaced his fist—

Oh shit!

Time seemed to freeze in Lin Yue's vision as he slightly tilted his head to dodge the grenade-thick projectile.

shhhhhh!
Lin Yue dodged and weaved, rushing through the dense smoke and lines of fire to the guy's face!

The machine guns behind them pounded the buildings like bombs, creating a series of ear-piercing roars!

"Idiot!"

"You still dare to come?"

The driver connected to the ACPA prosthetic eye, and the words "tracking lock" appeared inside.

Lin Yue's eyes were bloodshot as he slammed his fist into ACPA's chest and quickly retreated.

The exhaust plumes of missiles filled the sky, turning the area around the building orange-red. Lin Yueyi's eyes locked onto these small missiles used to target heat sources.

The Black Wall Protocol rapidly infiltrated the three-way connection established by the missiles, the mechs, and itself!
Lin Yue stood quietly in place.

The missiles flew past my side one after another, each one arcing upwards into the sky before exploding into brilliant sparks!

Lin Yue's hair swung wildly in the strong wind as the missile passed by.

The mecha slowly rose to its feet.

"You're thinking of using the Black Wall prototype?"

"As long as you use a black-walled gateway or some other protocol... our hackers will release the captured roaming AI. You might think you can be rescued by Arasaka like you were in Dogville—"

Lin Yue's gaze gradually darkened.

"But you'll definitely die too."

Lin Yue, who had remained silent until now, finally spoke.

"What about you?"

The driver answered almost without hesitation, “My task is to get you to use the Blackwall protocol, that’s an order.”

A dead silence.

at this time:

Lin Yue suddenly chuckled softly.

The driver on the other side seemed not to understand why this senior employee of Arasaka, who had no way out, could still laugh.

Lin Yue slowly plunged the knife into the ground. The pain from the fracture made it impossible for him to stand for long. Under the driver's gaze, he pointed to his head.

Beneath the young man's bloodshot eyes, there seemed to be a layer of obsessive madness.

"You guessed right, I will definitely use the black wall."

"As for the roaming AI—"

"Sorry... I have some too."

Click!

A strange sound rang in my ears.

A very bad feeling rose in the driver's heart!

Wow!

The holographic screen in front of the driver suddenly began to flicker, and the field of vision darkened by several degrees in an instant.

In view! The chaotic code mixed with red and black light seemed to tear apart cyber fear, materializing in the real world and beginning to pour out!

"Are you fucking crazy?!"

The driver thought he could subdue this guy, but he never expected that even knowing this, he would still try to use the black wall?!

How could Arakasaka allow such a madman to become a high-ranking official?

屮!
"Hurry up and let the stalking AI into the subnet!"

The driver practically roared those words!

However, the black-haired man who was staring at him like the Grim Reaper seemed to have several layers of voices:

"Data, I haven't had this in ages."

The biting cold almost shattered the last shred of courage the ACPA driver had left.

"you!"

Lin Yue opened his arms, and those "evil spirits" that had once made him a stranger quickly burrowed into the network, searching for targets within the self-imposed confinement of the subnet where he could feast.

It looked as if something had shattered.

Lin Yue's eyes, which once held all human emotions, were now blurred and indistinct... as if they were about to sink into a quagmire of black and red...

He once looked at the massive torrent of data, and his past memories drifted away with the wind.

"When the body can no longer hold on..."

"Only willpower can break through the encirclement."

Lin Yue firmly believed in this statement; he absolutely refused to believe that he would die from the cleansing of AI and the Black Wall!

Swish!
His finger pointed to the machine stuck in the red mud, and in the next instant, his body quickly pulled closer!
A black prosthetic hand was placed on ACPA's chest—

Wow!

Lin Yue casually tore open the loading screen that was already invalidated on ACPA's chest strap.

The heavy steel slammed into the ground with a tremendous thud!

now.

Inside, the pilot, dressed in bizarre equipment, was connected to various pipelines. His eyes were hidden behind his goggles, as if he had lost his soul.

How can this be?

The headset was filled with the screams of military scientists unleashing the horrific cries of roving AI hackers.

How can one person simultaneously control the black wall and what's outside the wall?

Lin Yue's cold, black hand pressed down on the head of the trembling driver.

He lowered his head and murmured:

"You've lost again...but—"

"I will collect the debts owed to the military science department slowly."

……

(End of this chapter)