Cyberpunk: From Dogville to Legend

Chapter 157 The Edge Traveler (22) (First Update)
"A girl?! A girl!"

Jack looked at the coolant hose in his hand, which was beginning to frost over. He wanted to try to reach out and unplug the device that could instantly cause frostbite, but then he saw Sasha's chest suddenly bounce up on the hacker chair, and for a moment he could only shout a few times.

He paced back and forth, holding a gun in one hand.

"屮!"

The current situation left even the fearless Haywood at a loss.

It wasn't just a security team, it was the whole company!
Jack had no idea how many soldiers' heads he had blown off at Military Technology... If this job hadn't been arranged by V, he would never be here now!

Just as he was hesitating, the little girl who dared to return to cyberspace gradually calmed down. The small, dimly lit room felt like a sauna, and Sasha's small body was like a fuse in a power supply box, radiating terrifying heat.

Jack had worked with hackers before, and he knew that the girl's body had reached its limit.

The worst part is that V, who was just communicating with me, has disconnected again!

Based on his experience, Jack guessed that the company's battlefield might be in cyberspace.

Jack walked out of the small room. Having released some of his emotions with profanity, the lone wolf accepted the reality of the situation. He slowly sat down on the leather sofa next to the hacker girl. The heat in the room made him sweat profusely, and the salty liquid stung his wounds.

It has to be said that it's already the limit for this street kid to have fought this long with a dagger stuck in his forearm.

Jack Wells' only thought right now is to go home and eat his mother's stew—the Night City lone wolf who has tasted blood isn't without fear; on the contrary, he always thinks of his mother waiting for him at home when facing danger.

However, giving up on his dream was far more difficult than Jack had anticipated.

Just as Jack was bowing his head and repeating the prayer that Misty had taught him, the girl on the hacker chair, whom he hadn't seen, slowly opened her tightly closed eyes, and her eyes were filled with an extremely terrifying scarlet light.

At this moment, Jack seemed to sense something was wrong. He looked up at the girl, whose condition seemed to have stabilized but who was still emitting hot steam—

[Incoming caller ID: V]

Jack's heart immediately settled down. "A girl?!"

V, panting heavily, shouted, "Jack! Get away from Sasha right now—"

Jack paused for a moment.

"But…"

This girl is equipped with an industrial-grade cooling system. Jack knows that if he leaves, this girl will be frozen into an ice pop in a second if she tries to leave cyberspace.

"No time to explain! Get the hell out of here, Jack!"

Jack, who had known this girl from the Charter Hill Company family for a long time, was hearing panic from her for the first time.

Jack immediately stood up. In his mind, apart from his family, Misty, and Old V, only V would never betray him.

Just as Jack took a deep breath of his healing potion, he discovered that Sasha, who had been sitting in the hacker chair moments before, was now...

gone!
Jack became alert and immediately raised his gun.

"Damn it! Sasha is gone."

"I swear, girl, she just disappeared in the blink of an eye."

V on the other end quickly fell silent.

“Jack…she’s very likely a cyberpsychotic now…”

Jack frowned.

He was breathing heavily, the sights of his gun moving around as he slowly retreated toward the door behind him.

"A cyber madman? What on earth is going on—"

V, trying to keep a low voice, said, "Hey Jack, don't panic, Rin's coming right away. This is complicated to explain. If she just disappeared, then she probably isn't planning to attack you. Get out of there quickly!"

Jack's large boots rustled as they stepped on the ground.

Because of the factory attack, the power supply in the room was very unstable, and the pale white lights flickered on and off. In the hazy darkness, which was difficult to see clearly, there always seemed to be a pair of crimson eyes scrutinizing him...

At this moment, Haywood's tension reached its peak. However, as he retreated, his body suddenly touched something soft, and his skin instantly tightened, his body stiffening.

Jack stood there, his face twitching uncontrollably, and several sharp fingernails lightly scraped across his throat.

The other party didn't seem to want to kill him; Jack only felt something light clinging to his back.

If someone were standing directly in front of all this right now, they would see:

The slender young woman's close-fitting black bodysuit was badly burned in many places by the intense heat, leaving her almost completely naked. Her eyes were bloodshot, and she clung to Jack's shoulder like a four-legged feline, her delicate nose close to his cheek, as if confirming his scent...

This bizarre situation left Jack momentarily at a loss.

Jack could only stare intently as the prosthetic hand, made of military technology and resembling a "cat's paw," slowly moved away from the girl's prosthetic hand. He gritted his teeth and suddenly exerted force!
The lithe girl was immediately grabbed by the arm by the quick-thinking Jack!
The girl's body was so light and soft, as if she had no bones, that Jack flung her straight in front of him. However—her body, which should have crashed into a large obstacle, twisted in the air in an incredible arc, just like a cat that had been thrown out and would always remain in a four-legged position!
The catwoman's claws left a long, gruesome scratch on the ground. She lay prone, gently raising one hand, her eyelids drooping slightly. She extended her tongue, which seemed to have been soaked in blood, and lightly licked the sharp, prosthetic Ripper...

"Why do you smell like Rin?"

Jack felt a chill run down his spine and fixed his gun intently on Sasha.

“Hacker lady… Hey, Sasha! This joke isn’t funny.”

Of course, Jack wasn't foolish enough to talk to a girl whose condition was clearly abnormal. Instead, he tried to distract her with words so that she would retreat to the door.

Sasha paused for a moment when she heard her name called, and her expression stiffened for a second.

Her head shook mechanically for a moment, and she licked her lips. Blood from the cut on her tender tongue gently flowed out, staining her pale lips with a mysterious light red.

"Tsunami... Military... Industry, at your service—Error."

Although the girl's voice was soft, the twitching and intermittent murmurings made it sound extremely eerie.

Oh shit!

Jack felt like he was having a really bad day. First, there was Rin, who seemed like a cyber-psychopath, and then there was Sasha!
But clearly, the girl in front of him was putting more pressure on him.

"Rin, no!"

The girl suddenly let out a piercing scream, sending chills down Jack's spine!
This time he really had to think about himself, and he pulled the trigger of the gun without hesitation.

Sasha growled like a startled cat, easily dodging the sparks from the bullets blasting around her, before disappearing into the darkness. Jack moved his gun, firing wherever those crimson pupils appeared—

He reached out from behind and pressed hard on the automatic door's open button.

Tick ​​tock!

The most beautiful sound rang out, and Jack cursed and hurriedly left the room.

Huff... Huff...

Despite the blood loss and strenuous exercise, Jack persevered with sheer willpower. In the pitch-black passage, he turned his head to observe the route ahead... Behind him, a pair of eyes flashed with an excited light, like that of an animal hunting, as they drew ever closer!

hiss!
Whether it was the prosthetic body moving too fast or the sound coming from Sasha's mouth, Jack suddenly turned his head and put his arms in front of him to block!
Four sharp white lights crisscrossed on one side, and Jack's sleeve instantly had several clean, large holes cut into it!

"Ouch! Damn!"

Jack, his nerves throbbing, cursed loudly as he slammed his knee into Sasha's abdomen. Sasha took the blow and flew backward, growling as if she were completely enraged.

After Sasha landed, the scarlet light in her eyes began to flow, even accompanied by traces of indistinguishable blackness!
Jack's prosthetic eye began to flash violently. Although this big man didn't have any cybernetic modifications, his brain and prosthetic eye, which are modifications that almost everyone in the modern world has, were naturally the targets of this "darkened" hacker lady!

With his prosthetic eye blurred, Jack could only vaguely make out that a shadow with a movement pattern completely different from that of a human was stepping on the wall and rushing towards him like a cheetah pouncing on its prey.

Bang bang bang!
Sparks flew from Jack's gun barrel; he could only rely on his instincts!
Just after the brief malfunction of the prosthetic body ended, a few cold glints in Jack's eyes began to grow infinitely larger!
At that moment, Jack had only one thought:
The company is full of damn scumbags!
He sighed helplessly.

V, listening to the static on Jack's end in the voice channel, looked as gloomy as if he were about to burst into tears.

However, just as this street kid was preparing to accept his death, a strong hand pressed down on his shoulder, and then, the guy behind him used tremendous force to pull Jack backward—

The newcomer only gave Jack a broad back view and black hair that was flowing in the time-stopped state.

cold? !

Lin Yue held the knife in one hand, gently turning the hilt so that the sharp blade faced him, while the back of the blade was left to the girl.

Time instantly resumed its flow!
The violent impact erupted instantly!
Lin Yue's blade trembled slightly, emitting a piercing metallic scraping sound and sparks. His eyes reflected the girl's crazed and bizarre face, filled with apology and reluctance...

With just a slight effort, he pushed the girl, who was frozen in mid-air, back down.

Seeing the girl lying prostrate on the ground in a strange posture, Lin Yue felt as if his heart was being torn apart.

He tried to say in a soft voice, "Sasha...it's me."

Sasha's crimson eyes flashed, and Lin Yue reached behind him, intending to take this opportunity to eliminate her—Jack looked puzzled.

"Dude, she's insane... If you keep her around, she'll either attract the terrorist squad or die in the street, which is a painful situation."

Lin Yue nodded.

He knew it, but the guilt he felt as a guilty person made him always want to try something.

Lin Yue had seen Sasha as she looked now—no, at least he had seen her on television.

Cats, being wary animals, can always clearly sense the hostility of others. Therefore, Sasha was like a cat with its back arched, sizing up the powerful opponent who had just blocked her way... Various rapid decryption processes were scrolling through her prosthetic eye at an inhuman speed. It was the roaming AI of Tsunami Military Industry trying to defeat this man from Arasaka on her behalf.

However, AI is very good at calculating probabilities, and it discovered that it couldn't beat the man no matter what...

“Jack, these are the things in my head. Sasha took some of them, and the rest are strange things released by the military science team.”

As he spoke, Lin Yue's blade fell to the ground, making a clinking sound.

He slowly bent his knees, just like when he received V's gift on his first day back at the company residence, cautiously calling to his wary cat.

Sasha was puzzled by the man's action of discarding his weapon, so she raised her face, squinted her eyes, and twitched her nose slightly.

She was smelling the scents like an animal.

Looking at this bizarre scene:
Jack thinks that apart from V, none of Arasaka's members are normal!

He couldn't understand why Lin Yue didn't choose to end the girl's suffering immediately.

But Lin Yue knew that he wouldn't be hurt by Sasha.

This stems from the vague connection he's had with the Black Wall AI that's been lingering in his mind for so long. Killing Sasha would be easy for him, but it's not something he can actually do.

“Come here, Sasha.”

Lin Yue mustered his courage and called out.

Just then, a gust of wind blew in from outside the corridor.

From downwind, Sasha caught a whiff of familiar smoke beneath the heavy smell of blood on the man.

bass!
Sasha suddenly retracted the melee prosthetic device made of military technology from her hand that she had placed on the ground as a cat's paw!
call!
Immediately afterwards, the girl rushed towards Lin Yue at an extremely fast speed!

Lin Yue gripped her hand tightly. Just as he thought he was about to knock Sasha unconscious the moment she got close, a soft mass crashed into his arms, wrapping around him like an octopus. Her whole body gently draped over him, her head buried in his chest.

Does this work too?
Jack's eyes widened, one bigger than the other.

What do you mean?
Why doesn't the cyber madman attack this company dog?

Is it because I'm too attractive?

Damn it, that must be it.

Lin Yue comforted Sasha, whose humanity had been almost completely destroyed by the roaming AI. He knew very well why Sasha was exhibiting animalistic characteristics.

Because in the mind of AI, there is no society, no moral concept, and no understanding of how to walk as a human being. These are all prominent characteristics of low-level, wandering AI. In contrast, advanced AI is very close to humans. They can even make some hackers who have been lurking on the Internet for years unable to distinguish whether they are real people.

Lin Yue knew he had messed up.

At first, he only wanted to lure the wandering AI in his mind out to fight against the military science, and then find a way to get out of cyberspace, which might solve the problem of the wandering AI!
However, to his surprise:
This AI, whose brain is designed with a black wall structure as its underlying logic, has somehow managed to bring its own consciousness into the network!

Now, Lin Yue finally understands where the even more sophisticated "Digital Soul Technology" came from, which is even more ingenious than the "Soul Killer".

The AI ​​in this world is fully capable of quickly uploading human consciousness to the network because they have already learned from the Soul Killer [Ultraman Cunningham]. In other words, after iterations, they have mastered a more sophisticated way of digitizing souls than the Soul Killer.

The soul protection of Arasaka and the technology of Saburo's reincarnation... are very likely things that were dug out from the AI ​​that had learned Soul Slayer from outside the walls!
Now, the black wall AI in my head has fully learned all of my abilities as the main consciousness.

As it learns, this black wall AI becomes very curious about itself. The reason it wants to bring itself into the network is simply because of its "high-dimensional" memories as a time traveler that it cannot swallow or tamper with.

Simply put: AI finds different enjoyment in different ways than humans. Some enjoy solving logic puzzles, some enjoy impersonating humans, some don't care about things outside the online world, and some just want to devour data...

The AI ​​that emerged from the Black Wall finds pleasure in altering and assimilating human memories. Once it achieves this goal, these poor people become useless in its eyes and will only be ruthlessly abandoned or die from physical decay.

To this black-walled AI, Lin Yue is now like a novel research subject.

This is also why it wanted to bring Lin Yue's consciousness into the vast depths of cyberspace so that it could study it slowly...

Sasha's meddling has caused all this trouble.

In Lin Yue's mind, he even accidentally accessed a piece of data about the black wall that divided the AI:
It turns out this AI isn't the only one!
The lark also possesses AI similar to his—this is a key reason why the lark can communicate with the black wall to bring down the data stream "divine punishment," and it is also a crucial factor in the loss of humanity within the Xiaobeidou underground network facility.

The most obvious characteristic of this "creature" that has been transformed from the black wall is its ability to devour memories.

"No wonder the lark couldn't remember its youth, but only regained its memories after connecting to the Little Big Dipper's facilities..."

Lin Yue murmured to himself.

Ugh…

Lin Yue's thoughts returned, and he lowered his gaze, revealing a hint of tenderness as he quietly watched the girl in his arms rub her cheek against his blood-stained shirt—just like a clingy cat that hadn't seen its owner in a long time.

How did things turn out this way?

He felt very guilty.

Based on the current situation, Sasha's mind mainly consists of the roving AI from the Tsunami Military Industry, and also includes the Black Wall AI that was forcibly separated from her...

This was the worst news for both Lin Yue and Sasha.

His body was still occupied by the wandering AI, and his flesh continued to decay. Now, the innocent girl in front of him dared to take the brunt of the wandering AI's damage just because of his affection for her... But the neural matrix in Little North Star can only be used once!

Lin Yue naturally wouldn't leave it to the lark, but at this moment he didn't know what to do.

Moreover, Lin Yue realized why he had a strange feeling when he came to find Sasha and Jack. The part of his humanity that he had lost had been restored. Now he would worry, blame himself, and feel helpless.

V probably isn't feeling too good either; Lin Yue can tell what the woman in this company is up to.

She also wanted to deal with this AI through internet surveillance, but she didn't expect that this AI was a black wall, and seemingly fueled the flames, harming Lin Yue.

In this situation that appears to be a victory for Lin Yue, everyone actually suffered a complete defeat.

The company was purged by V, the financial records of Kejing Logistics were obtained, and the encirclement and suppression by military technology was broken. However, both he and Sasha were on the verge of death.

Lin Yue comforted Sasha.

Sasha's eyelids began to feel heavy, and the crimson light in her eyes began to fade. Lin Yue took off his suit jacket and draped it over the girl's ripped black dress, which could barely conceal her shapely figure.

He gently picked up Sasha. "Jack, please take her to Old Vie. The Delaman taxi will be here soon."

Rin, a company employee, had never sounded so dejected.

Jack took a step back.

"Are you sure Lao Wei can do this job?"

Lin Yue pursed his lips, still not revealing that he had provided Lao Wei with a lot of materials from his own prosthetic body.

“Just tell him that this girl is just like Rin, and he’ll know what to do. I only have one request: please don’t make the cybernetic enhancement too high. — I’ll cover the knife wound on your arm. V’s salary will still be paid, and I’ll also give you extra money.”

As he spoke, Lin Yue bowed slightly to express his gratitude.

Jack sighed. "Honestly, I'm surprised to hear such human words from someone like you in a company..."

"If you were on the street, you'd definitely be a good buddy. Are you sure this... Ms. Cat won't get up and scratch me?"

Lin Yue smiled wryly and said, "Don't worry."

Jack took Sasha.

He turned and left a message: "I know you're going to do other work, probably with those idiots in military technology—but leave a message for the girl: when you're out in the world, you have to rely on yourself, and also on these poor guys and girls, understand?"

Lin Yue nodded, watching Jack's broad back disappear into the messy corridor.

His gaze slowly darkened.

Oh shit…

These bastards in the military technology sector seem to really think they're the world's number one company?

If it weren't for Lai Xuan's promotion of the "nationalization" of Arasaka's assets, military technology wouldn't have developed so comfortably for so many years—Lin Yue didn't care whether Arasaka lost or lost the corporate war; those who dared to so recklessly attack his people should have their heads rolled on the ground.

His dangerous gaze swept over the numerous cameras lurking around him, and he silently lit a cigarette.

[Calling: Mann]

Lin Yue found that he couldn't get through to Mann's phone, so he had no choice but to call Dorio instead.

Dorothy looked tired, while gunshots and explosions continued to ring out over there.

"Mr. Rin? You've resolved things on your end?"

Lin Yue nodded and walked towards a bank-security-grade office on the top floor. "Hmm, how's the situation?"

Dorothy gritted her teeth. "We'll be dealing with the rest of them soon."

Lin Yue glanced at the time.

"Once the convoy is dealt with and all the cargo is destroyed, we will retreat without lingering for even a second longer."

Dorothy thought Rin was afraid of the NCPD, but she still agreed.

Lin Yue's gaze was calm. If he guessed correctly, military technology would arrive soon.

But before that—

"Be careful, Dorio."

Dorothy seemed surprised by Rin's caring words, but smiled confidently and replied, "Don't worry, Rin! Squad Mann won't hold you back."

Tick.

After hanging up the phone, Lin Yue stopped in front of a heavy and brand-new gate.

V then initiated a call with him.

V said, "Joey handled it. That guy messed up the merger like that, [and when my men took him out, he peed his pants]."

Lin Yue laughed and said, "I should get myself an artificial bladder."

V paused for a moment, then a faint smile appeared on her lips.

"Hmm, it seems you're back."

Lin Yue hummed in agreement, then said with a precognitive air, "V, don't blame yourself, and don't listen to what that AI is saying... You and I know very well that every investment the company makes carries risk, even the same applies to decision-making... Daring to take on the Black Wall, that's really impressive—"

"Thank you, V."

V's expression had never been so blank.

Lin Yue knew he had to say these words.

No one owes anyone anything; everyone acts according to their conscience.

“I owe Sasha… If you are able, please help old Vi, he might need some of Arasaka’s technology.”

After a long silence, V said, "Honestly, I doubt you remember anything from before."

Lin Yue touched his lips. "I haven't lost my memory, of course I remember..."

Of course, everyone tacitly agreed not to mention the "lip-sticking game" they played in the office that day.

Damn... that's so embarrassing.

V cursed "idiot," his expression somewhat unnatural, and then fell silent.

However, she did have a strange feeling in her heart. From the moment Sasha barged in, she had been blaming herself for not doing a good enough job and almost causing Lin Yue to be doomed. In fact, she had a very selfish thought: that Sasha had taken on a part of the AI, which made V feel a little more at ease.

She liked the flesh-and-blood guy in front of her much more than the cold and aloof Manager Rin.

V was simply worried that this guy, who had returned to the human world, would once again be burdened with things that didn't belong to him.

Sasha... must be making Rin very sad right now, right?
V thought so.

She didn't understand what Little Beidou was, nor did she know about Lin Yue's predicament; she only knew that her efforts had been recognized.

Everyone needs to be recognized.

Just as V was lost in thought—

Lin Yue stopped in his tracks.

The lone wolf, who had killed several people in the logistics company's factory area, quietly examined the high-strength steel gate in front of him, which was at least ten centimeters thick.

Ordinary methods wouldn't work, so Lin Yue looked around and saw the call panel and probes on the side.

at this time.

Inside the room, a disheveled woman sat in the darkness, staring intently at the young, scarred man on the screen.

The guy squinted, took a drag of his cigarette, and exhaled it onto the camera lens. Then, he leaned closer and said, word by word:

"Jenny, the game is over. I'll leave you with a message."

"Go to hell, you stinking bastard!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the cigarette butt in the man's hand flicked onto the camera lens, sending sparks flying all over the screen.

Jenny's expression was filled with fear, and her body trembled involuntarily.

Lin Yue gently pressed his hand on the panel. For a hacker of his computational prowess, he could easily crack the control system of this door without the aid of a black wall.

As the door in front of him opened gently, Lin Yue stood up straight and stared quietly at the woman inside who was screaming loudly.

Several gunshots rang out.

Lin Yue tilted his head slightly, looking with interest at the bullet holes left by the bullets that had grazed his face.

Then, his figure disappeared from the spot.

He then stood next to the woman, holding Jenny by the hair.

"What have you been colluding with regarding military technology?"

Jenny trembled like the most powerful toy in the adult store on Twisted Street, while the man in front of her held a knife in one hand, the blade just one centimeter away from her throat.

An unpleasant odor wafted over.

Lin Yue sneered.

"You and Joey are truly a perfect couple, exactly alike. You know what? When my colleague took your husband out of the Arasaka Tower, he peed himself too."

Jenny was on the verge of a breakdown.

"I just want to save my company—sir! I am a company employee protected by corporate law! You have no right to kill me!"

Lin Yue's voice came softly.

“Indeed. The company law stipulates that Night City law does not apply to company employees, so I guess I really can’t kill you… But let me remind you, Arasaka law doesn’t have this provision. Go on your way, and give my friends an explanation.”

V on the other end of the line certainly knew what Lin Yue was doing.

It would have been more convenient for her to keep Jenny as a witness for the prosecution, but she still didn't voice her objections.

Very strange.

V saw in Rin's face a combination of the decisive and ruthless man and the emotional man.

Perhaps she didn't understand that this was a sign of growing up for the youth of Dogtown, just that their way of growing up was unique...

Heads fell to the ground.

Lin Yue clapped his hands, leaving behind a dark silhouette, like a traveler walking on the edge of danger.

It was also another stage in his life...

Endgame and beginning.

……

　【Soul Killer】: A software developed by a genius hacker (Ultraman, Johnny's ex-girlfriend) that allows consciousness to be uploaded to the cyber network.

　　【Digital Soul Technology】: Refers to the underlying logic of the Soul Killer's operation.

　　[Nationalization in Japan]: During the corporate war, Yorihiro encouraged the Japanese government to annex Arasaka's assets, thereby accelerating Arasaka's loss in the corporate war.

　　[He wet his pants when my men took him away]: In the 2077 game's War Pig mission, Joey lost control of his bladder when Agent Arasaka took away Joey's acquisition deal.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)