Cyberpunk: From Dogville to Legend

Chapter 16 Family
Good morning, Old Wei.

V greets.

Just as the two were talking, Old Wei arrived at the shop to prepare for today's business.

Old Wei first put down his clothes, then pointed to the back of the prosthetic surgical chair behind Lin Yue, "Lie down first, and I'll check your procedures again—I'm getting old, my skills haven't deteriorated, but I always forget a few things."

Lin Yue lay obediently on the chair.

V stretched and yawned repeatedly. "Old V, this guy is paying for your surgery. If he tries to renege, come find me. I have to go to work."

As soon as Lao Wei plugged the data cable into Lin Yue's brain-computer interface, he said, "V, you need to rest. The company doesn't care about your lives, but you have to take it seriously."

V chuckled, waved his hand, and left the prosthetic store.

Lin Yue's gaze was deep. Old Wei, strictly speaking, was more like V's real family.

"Arakasa, squeeze every last drop of value out of you." Old Wei shook his head and complained, then began to carefully examine Lin Yue's various physical and prosthetic data.

"Um, Dr. Victor, about my surgery..."

Lin Yue scratched his head. Although Lao Wei's voice and demeanor always gave people a sense of reassurance, he was still worried about the bill.

He would never forget that when Old Vie was young, he was a gangster who would send messages like "I'll kill you" to others, and a boxer of considerable renown.

As for his good attitude, ultimately, he maintained at least some respect for this loyal and righteous "Old Wei" of Night City, hence his soft tone.

“V was worried you didn’t have the money, so she paid 10,000 for your surgery. If you have the money, pay another 10,000… we’ll give you a discount. Give it to V, and she’ll pass it on to me.”

Lin Yue's eyes lit up when he realized he still had enough money.

"No need, I trust him. I've already passed it on; his skills are excellent. Please pass it on to V."

Dr. Victor enjoys customers who appreciate his skills, but he also knows these young people can't keep their money.

“You young people always like to do big things. You get fashionable prosthetics in the city, hang out with your cronies, and go racing cars—but you have to be realistic about what you can do with prosthetics. If you do too many, you’ll turn into a complete madman.”

"So I only install good stuff, things that are good for your health and suitable for young people like you who like real sex."

"Also, you gave too much money."

Lin Yue shook his head. "I want you to change my appearance, a completely new one."

"You've caused trouble? Fine... but changing external characteristics isn't a good idea. Those databases that are compatible with the advanced products of [Crossroads Division] will leave you nowhere to hide."

Lin Yue roughly understood. Old Wei, or even the worst prosthetic doctor, could give you plastic surgery, but the problem was that it was only a temporary fix, and your true identity could be exposed at any time.

"Dogtown has some shady technology, behavioral signature faces. It's said to be a good thing, capable of turning you into another person from head to toe—it requires a lot of things, including adjustable skin and muscles, vocal cord simulators, and full-dimensional sampling of the target's information..."

"To be honest," Old Wei smiled sheepishly, "I also want to see what this kind of technology looks like; it should be very valuable for research."

[Behavioral Characteristics Facet]?
Lin Yue remembered that V from Dogtown used this black technology to become [Aguilar] and threaten Hansen's men with judgment. He didn't expect that after hearing Old V's explanation, the complexity was beyond his imagination.

We need to get to Dog Town first; we can look for prosthetic bodies like that later.

In the end, Lin Yue still underwent facial feature alteration surgery.

After leaving Old Wei's place, Lin Yue walked around to the back door of Misty's shop, and he even nodded politely to Misty.

Now he has to figure out how to get back to Dogtown.

Although Mr. Hans and the colonel in that wretched place wished they could grind him to dust.

My performance earned me the opportunity from V, and now I have to rely on myself to make it happen.

Of course, V can help Lin Yue, but Lin Yue himself can't just say, "Send me to Dogtown."

In this way, his own value would be almost gone, since Arasaka would be better off sending in a reliable agent.

Lin Yue had boasted and made grand claims, but all he wanted was to temporarily utilize the company's resources.

That's right, Lin Yue's idea was to take over Mr. Hans's order.

This is the first step.

Lin Yue will not make it public knowledge that Mr. Hanz has a background as a corporate dog.

Once the more powerful figures learn of Hanz's downfall, Lin Yue won't have a chance; the business in Dog Town, Taipingzhou, will be completely divided up. Moreover—his sudden demand and threat that Hanz give him a share of the business might lead Hanz to act desperately. Besides, clients won't trust a middleman who suddenly appears.

The beginning is always the hardest, but Lin Yue never thought that starting was a troublesome thing. The most terrible thing was not knowing where to go.

[Incoming caller ID: V]

Lin Yue sat next to a food truck on Twisted Street, eating the Japanese food that [Bamboo Village] had criticized as garbage.

Sometimes Lin Yue felt that he didn't know much about food. Zhucun said that the chicken meatballs and ramen were from Origi, but Lin Yue felt that apart from the poor taste and hygiene, they were fine to eat.

Whether this meat is legitimate or not is unknown, but it's definitely not real meat.

Synthetic protein or high-protein insects?

"The data is ready, Rin."

V's efficiency truly justifies her rapid promotion, and her title has also been changed.

They have great execution skills!

Lin Yue nodded, "Yes, sir!"

"You'd better head to Dogtown as soon as possible; I have a lot of things to investigate here. Company matters are plentiful, and it's not suitable for me to be frequently seen in Dogtown—"

"That lousy place, Hansen could smell the stench as soon as the company's people went in."

Lin Yue had an idea.

"Boss, have you investigated Hanz?"

V gestured for a moment, then replied after a pause, "Hmm... I checked, my wife is German and likes to speak French—"

“Emma (Old Germanic), that’s the name.”

"Hans hired a security company to protect the mother and daughter all day long."

"What's wrong? Are you attracted to someone else's wife?"

Lin Yue took a sip of ramen. "What does his wife like to do most? Uh, to put it another way. Does his wife have any leisure time, when the security personnel aren't around to serve her tea and water?"

V instantly understood Lin Yue's meaning: "If you want to cause trouble for others, it's indeed appropriate to target your family."

“Every Saturday, Mrs. Hanz goes to the Dream Club in Westbrook to have some fun with some corporate women and entertainment stars. Security is always outside there.”

"But I advise you not to go too far, or the people of Dogtown or Kurt Hansen might step in."

Lin Yue got up, not having finished his ramen.

"No, it's just a 'peaceful' exchange that'll keep Mr. Hans awake for a few days—"

"I wouldn't do anything to a woman."

V hung up the phone. Lin Yue stared at the greasy glass bar next to the food cart on the right and admired his new look. Old V's skills were indeed exquisite.

He's even more handsome than before, damn it.

"Boss, the ramen is delicious!"

Lin Yue gave a positive review to the guy who looked like a Japanese chef and was extremely busy.

"Arigato kusai imas! Guest, your approval is truly..."

Just then, a green-haired member of the Tiger Claw Gang nearby choked on his food, exclaiming, "Damn it, why does this taste like X?! Is this some kind of dish?"

"What?! Holy crap, how come there's a cockroach in the bowl?"

The boss's chubby face was full of embarrassment as a member of the Tiger Claw Gang grabbed him by the collar. The gleaming Japanese sword mingled with the surrounding threats, screams, and curses.

Lin Yue turned his back and walked away, shaking his head helplessly.

"I have some in my bowl too, what's wrong with you..."

　Tiger Claw Gang:

　　Keep reading, you bastard! (Just kidding, I'm not insulting the readers.)
　　
　
(End of this chapter)