Cyberpunk: From Dogville to Legend

Chapter 170 Stray Dogs and Night Meetings

“Attention residents of Dogtown, this is Kurt Hansen.”

"Uh...time flies, in the blink of an eye we've been in this stinking ditch for six whole years!"

"When I first came here with my men 70 years ago, there were three orders. I dutifully carried out the first two. What have we faced over the years? Promises from idiot politicians, unfair terms, political pressure... Now we have overcome these difficulties."

"That's right, it's us together."

"Here, I want to remember some of our old friends: [Stan], who is the epitome of loyalty... I still remember the day when the gunshots rang out, this dancing kid rushed in front of me, spinning around on his feet."

"I thought to myself, what the hell are you dancing now? It's ballet, which I hardly ever watch."

"Then Yuri told me that the sniper's gun barrel was almost touching our heads... and there was also medic Carl, the mechanic from Atlanta—a complete bastard with no moral compass."

"There are too many... The people here are free and vibrant."

"Ugh…"

"A moment of silence? That's not Dogtown's style. If you've got the gear, raise your fire sticks and sing a hymn for our friends!"

"Please remember: My promise since the establishment of Dogtown still stands. As long as you follow the rules in Dogtown, I will protect your business."

"Everyone needs to keep their pockets close and lock the gates at night. The people down below say some shady characters are planning to cause trouble on our turf... For everyone's sake, don't get involved in gunfights that aren't your business, or you'll be coming to my hospital for medicine after getting shot by the Ghost Dog."

"Finally, I have to announce something: if any 'conflicts' break out in Dogtown, don't fucking get involved. As for whether martial law will be implemented, we'll discuss that later!"

The cheap speaker sound, the noisy tone, the familiar sound.

Several gunshots rang out on the basketball court. Lin Yue, with a cigarette between his fingers, squinted as he watched two young men playing a street game on the basketball court.

[System Error Detection]

Data retrieval failed.

Tick-tock.

In his eyes, the chip reading progress had restarted nearly a dozen times, but unfortunately, none of them were read successfully.

Everything that just happened felt like a dream... If it weren't for the cool feeling in the slot behind his neck, Lin Yue would have thought it was just a memory distortion caused by AI.

"I hope we can meet again, my friend."

Lin Yue sighed. He looked down at the skin exposed at the bottom of his trousers. Dark purple veins were spreading, and blood was seeping from the skin from time to time. He rolled up his trousers and found that the bright red color on the relic was rapidly covering the decaying body.

He pulled down his trouser leg. As a recipient who had dealt with the Blackwall AI for a long time, he naturally knew that the moment Relic was inserted, the Blackwall protocol quickly entered a connection state.

This is practically irrefutable evidence.

The technology for relic sample cores can only come from that source.

He exhaled a deep puff of smoke, and his phone beeped; Hanz's message had arrived as expected…

[Hanz]: Sorry, my friend. The people below were just keeping an eye on you for me, worried you might get lost. I assure you this was just a friendly reminder, not surveillance—and they paid the price for their intrusion.

Ah…

Hanz played the double game without any guilt, shifting blame, shrugging his shoulders, and giving a piece of candy to make it all go away.

Lin Yue stroked his chin and slowly replied:

【？】：It's okay. It's normal for the people below to be disobedient. Sometimes my dog ​​doesn't like to eat dog food either. But you know, training a dog is a skill. You have to take it slowly.

[Hanz]: I'm very happy to appreciate your generosity, but the facilities in Dogtown aren't great. If you're interested... you can come to my territory. All kinds of services are available here, and at least you can sleep peacefully, right?
[Hanz]: I'll give you time, my friend... but I hope you can set a fair price.

Lin Yue smacked his lips.

One should act according to one's identity. As a European arms dealer who has come from afar, it is indeed too suspicious for him to randomly choose an unfinished building in Dogtown.

If I go there with a heavy heart, how will I meet Emma?

Perhaps it was because Lin Yue hadn't replied for too long, because Hanz's phone showed a message that he was typing.

The following news, however, made Lin Yue see once again the 'determination' of this Dogtown middleman.

[Hanz]: My territory has nothing but Dogtown's good wine and good food. Of course... I'm not here today, Emma will keep me company. If you'd like, the heavy door will be open for you—goodbye, friend.

Using one's own wife to bait the fryer is this middleman's traditional skill.

Lin Yue shook his head. The risk of seeing Emma had been reduced without him even realizing it, which was exactly what he wanted.

Just as he was sending the message, a shadow sat down behind him, and a whiff of chocolate-scented women's cigarettes wafted over.

"Can I borrow a light, buddy?"

Lin Yue handed it over, and the other hand grabbed the lighter. "Wow! It's an Asian product, ugh... hiss."

A puff of smoke rose from behind.

"I thought you weren't coming, boss... That idiot Hanz thought I was going to die. When are we going to deal with him? I wish I could shove that old bastard's head back into his ass!"

Lin Yue gazed at the basketball court, which was eliciting cheers.

Has Emma continued to expand her prosthetics business?

Angie paused briefly, then said, "That bitch has gone mad... Before, to put Hanz at ease, she split the cybernetic business with the Cleaners, and she whitewashed our people as wanted criminals in Night City. Now the Animal Gang has gone underground."

"You know, the Savage King's gang is no longer a threat—but I just can't swallow this insult. Do you know what people are saying about us in Taipingzhou?"

Lin Yue smiled and asked in return, "What?"

If your subordinates have grievances, then let them vent their anger... I'm really not a good enough boss. Not to mention that I'm entangled in the company's mess and have basically left Dogtown to its own devices for a while, on the other hand, I've used most of the money the Animal Gang earned to fill my own gaps.

It's perfectly normal for people in Night City to get very angry when they're broke.

"These idiots said we're...we're fucking...wild dogs!"

Lin Yue noticed that An Qi behind him was speaking through gritted teeth.

Let her speak her mind so that Lin Yue can better assess the current situation.

"And then there's that madwoman Emma... Although this method is very efficient, I almost got detained by Hansen's men. I thought I was doomed, but as soon as that woman left the gate of Gemstone Blue, she started taking drugs. I wonder if she called you, boss."

"Uh... damn, he doesn't even blink when he's carrying a dead man's head."

Actually, Lin Yue felt that everything was fine before.

He just didn't know how to evaluate Emma's condition.

Are they crazy? But judging from the results, they aren't...

According to Angie, the leader of the Dogtown Animal Gang, this woman's behavior has changed since she met her in the afterlife, and she seems to be acting recklessly.

But when did Lin Yue ever anticipate the consequences? Dogtown is a gambler's table where anyone with guts will gamble—only those who lack the strength think too much. On the contrary, Lin Yue felt that Emma's quick and decisive approach to saving time suited his own interests.

Of course, this poor 'Arasaka middleman' had no idea that Emma was terminally ill—otherwise he could have rejected the proposal to elevate Emma, ​​the envisioned 'Queen' of Dogtown, on the spot.

"Alright, Angie, are you short on money? Or just need a place to vent your anger?"

Lin Yue shook his head helplessly, "You were the one who pushed Emma to the afterlife back then, and now you're complaining... about Angie."

Angie was biting a cigarette butt.

She knew, of course, that it was taboo to belittle her colleagues in front of the boss, but how could she say something that would make the boss take Emma's dangerous behavior seriously?

Just as she was worrying about these things, Lin Yue handed her a money chip.

The money that needs to be spent will be spent in full.

In business, power speaks louder than money; that's always been the case.

"No... uh, damn it! Anyway, boss, you'll know what's going on once you meet Emma. I have to warn you, this woman is a great actress, really—I've always thought that prosthetic doctors' psychological counseling is bullshit."

"But you really need to make her see a doctor."

Lin Yue nodded.

If he were Emma, ​​he probably wouldn't fare much better. His own husband treated her like merchandise, so wouldn't he have to climb the rope like his life depended on it? People who are desperate to accomplish something usually have some issues. We'll talk about it when we meet tonight.

Angie put away the money and chips.

The man's voice came slowly from the front, "Angie, I don't need you to make money, but you need to have enough people. I don't know how many friends this Mr. Hans can bring, but you need to handle the gang warfare."

"Emma and I will kill Hanz tomorrow."

Angie's hand trembled slightly as she held the money.

"The hound's lair is very close, could there be... a problem?"

Lin Yue stood up, dusted off his trousers, and as he passed An Qi, he looked down at the woman and placed his hand on her shoulder.

"His being alive is the greatest insult to all your efforts."

“In human social systems, abandoned or driven-out domestic dogs will slowly revert to wolf-like behaviors, forming packs, hunting, and attacking in waves… Before species extinction, stray dogs were once the biggest enemy of urban ecosystems.”

“They threaten the safety of citizens, carry the rabies virus, and a bite can cost a lot of money.”

Angie looked confused.

When she was born, the mass extinction of Night City had already occurred, and she was completely unaware of these things.

What did Mr. Rin mean by saying that?
"There's nothing wrong with stray dogs. As long as they can kill prey and fill their stomachs, what's the use of caring about their reputation?"

Immediately afterwards, he gently patted Angie's hand.

Anqi suddenly realized what was happening and turned to look. But there was no sign of Mr. Lin on the road behind the overgrown weeds on both sides of the street.

The chip gleamed in the sunlight.

Angie held the chip up and with a flick of her wrist put it into her pocket.

It's a pity that after Mr. Rin's business went underground, he never saw the young man who proposed the plan to kill the king again... It's said that he was besieged by a group of people from the company, that's what's going on in Dogtown.

a long time.

"Get the people below moving, and there will be plenty of money."

She stubbed out her cigarette and said this.

……
-
Are you sure this guy will come?

Meredes crossed his arms and looked at the man, the disgust in his eyes just wouldn't go away.

She had assumed Emma was some kind of troubled sex doll, but little did she know that the generous middleman at the Azure Mansion would send his woman to 'do business' with European corporate dogs.

Hanz stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the green leaves simulating a tropical rainforest on the window of his workspace and the Egyptian cat that occasionally flashed by.

He had little respect for Meredith either…

Dogtown isn't a place to be contained by simply being submissive; it's time to put this dog, who almost got kicked by the military, on its toes. "The colonel is right, cooperation. Do I need to explain so much to you?"

When Meredith wasn't wearing a company suit, his attire remained standard American: a well-made jacket and an unfiltered cigarette between his fingers.

"Cooperate? You mean you're suggesting sending a woman to give your client a good time, and I'll use the resources I have in the company to smooth things over for you and protect your business? Is that even possible?"

"The hackers from New America are also looking for him. What's your answer? If you're late, we'll go it alone."

"Looks like you're no good at dealing with your wife, and you're also very slow at gathering intelligence."

"If you can't tell whether your European friend is Arasaka or not, I won't have my people backing you up tomorrow... Forget about it."

Hanz took a deep breath.

It's only been one day.

The company really has no patience.

Perhaps Emma's situation affected him, because the usually composed Hans started speaking rather rudely, "I appreciate your help, but you seem to be treating Dogtown like a dumping ground..."

Meredith smiled dismissively. "Isn't that so?"

Hanz sat up straight. "The cyber police told me that your people in Watson District are dropping roving AIs into the controllable network area... Is that true?"

Meredes glanced behind him instinctively.

The only thug he brought wasn't there...

Hans gestured to the sofa beside him. “Sit down, madam… In a sense, you’ve encountered the same dilemma I faced when I was young. Once you gain power, you think you can get away with anything, you’re adept at playing the corporate game, manipulating corporate politics, and suppressing negative impacts for the sake of performance.”

"But haven't you realized that you've already been abandoned?"

Internet monitoring…

Meredes' expression shifted.

This really hit Hanz where it hurt. What she couldn't understand was how Hanz got involved with the internet surveillance system.

Hanz's smile became somewhat satisfied when he saw the company's "wild dog" sit down obediently.

Hanz, of course, wouldn't reveal how he persuaded the internet censors to provide intelligence—

The internet police are watching the Voodoo Gang's affairs every day. All I need to do is find a way to get in and have someone infiltrate, and everything will fall into place smoothly.

Trading time for space?
No, no, Mr. Hans's forte is talking about power and background.

Actually, if it weren't for Rin's intense pressure from the outside, Hanz could have turned things around on his own this year. If he's lucky in the future, it's only a matter of time before he can go toe-to-toe with Hansen.

However... what I lack now is a powerful weapon. No matter how clever the operation is, it will be difficult to achieve anything without resorting to some violent means.

Hanz dreamed of having a mercenary who was obedient, reliable, and had excellent execution skills.

Once you leave the company, such a capable lone wolf is extremely rare.

Now look at the cards we've been dealt: Fuyutsuki Electronics has already messed things up, Cleaners is out of control, and Cuba is full of money-grubbing idiots... As for the last one, the Internet Supervisors, these guys who only care about network security, maintain the system every day, and mess with the Voodoo Gang through the internet can't do much.

It has to be said that Hansen is a master of strategy.

Sometimes even Wade Blick had to admit that the colonel could see what was going on below, but he seemed too lazy to care. After all, the emperor's eyes only saw balance, not absolute dominance.

Therefore, Hans gave him a handy weapon.

However, using this weapon comes at a price: it must be kept under control.

Since the Voodoo Gang was already defunct, Hanz was happy to do the Internet Police a favor. Although he had once orchestrated the Voodoo Gang's mess, that didn't stop him from squeezing out the last bit of value from the Voodoo Gang.

Look, now we've got the reins to tame the wild horse, and everyone's back to an equal table.

Meredith rubbed his temples. "Say only half a thing? You think the internet regulators will follow up on these things the company does? Don't disturb the dreams of ordinary people; the internet regulators can't be bothered with this—"

Hanz took a sip of tea.

"No, I'm exchanging my intelligence for yours... The one fighting against him is your target, right? The internet monitors said someone is tampering with the network defenses protecting us, guess if it's him... For what you have to work, it has to be deployed into my subnet."

"If not, what I give you is your backup plan. If you can't find him, I'll provide you with information."

"On the condition that... you have to make my business possible."

Meredes nodded.

"Hmm! It looks plausible."

Hans said, “I know what it feels like to be abandoned by a company, like a stray dog, homeless, looking for food everywhere—those old friends either want you dead or stay far away…but you are happier than me.”

"At least your superiors left you some wealth and gave you the opportunity to go back."

Meredes snorted, "It's not that this Arasaka dog... stealing a few jobs from competitors, getting promoted two levels isn't difficult."

Hans readily agreed, but a lingering doubt remained in his mind—

The intelligence he found indicated that Rin Arasaka was an extremely skilled lone wolf, not just a ruthless dog who only knew how to play the corporate game. Meredith only brought one person; could he handle Rin...?

After Meredith learned of Hans's thoughts, he crossed his legs and slowly said:

"Don't think I don't know Hansen is going to come out and put on a show. To tell you the truth, Rin is basically useless. Our network expert got the AI's estimated computing power before he died. Arasaka probably wants to try some new fields and simply put the roving AI on a human."

"With such a massive amount of computation, either the brain-computer interface or the human body will have to be destroyed."

Hans then asked, "Are you sure?"

Meredes' eyes were resolute. "Of course... if some hacker from New America hadn't told us he was in Dogtown, I would have thought I'd seen a ghost. Optimistically speaking, the fact that he can even walk is a testament to how well he learned his skills from those few wallflowers on Ara-saka."

"He was probably brought in in a wheelchair by his subordinates."

A humorous joke.

Hanz shrugged. “That’s interesting.”

"However, I must remind you."

Meredes: "What?"

Hanz tossed out a stack of paper documents. “This Arasaka guy tried to oust me from Dogtown. He had a lone wolf under his command who almost slit my throat, and he has your Faceplate Technology.”

Meredes' expression began to darken.

"Lone wolf?"

Within Arasaka's system, Lin Yue's name had long been completely annihilated along with the data. In the data investigated by the enemy company's spies, only the name LIN (凛) remained.

Meredes scanned the files that only Ghost Hound soldiers possessed; the young man in the file wore a military uniform and had a powerful gaze.

“Our people were purged by Arasaka, I need to investigate this guy’s background.”

"That European's entourage... is there such a guy?"

Hans shook his head. "There was a bodyguard with a bun hairstyle, and the size difference was huge. We checked, and he's from Haywood, hired by the company... He can't do the whole thing. Jack Wells, he's even been on TV."

"Uh... [guns and horseback riding]?"

Meredes breathed a sigh of relief. "Add a few hackers to the subnet, and this thing can be detected."

Hanz nodded and did as instructed.

"Tonight I need to find out more about this German man first, see how their conversation went in the dark, and what's going on behind his back. Maybe I can find out without going through all that trouble..."

Meredes clapped his hands.

"Dogtown is really an interesting place. Watching your wife sleep with a supplier, you're something else—"

Hanz's expression was unreadable.

"It's from my collection, thank you."

……
-
Preoccupied.

The toppled billboard at the entrance instantly brought Lin Yue's thoughts back to the time when he led his team to find Hanz.

Back then, everyone was thinking about making a big splash, and Lin Yue was one of the ambitious ones.

However, times have changed, and everything is no longer the same.

The Netherworld Supercar was parked at the entrance, and the Netherworld Hound stepped down the steps and opened the car door.

It has to be said that the relationship between Hanz and Hansen is always hard for outsiders to understand. Are they both enemies and friends?

The only places where Ghosthound openly supports himself are the stadium and when he's deep in thought—Lin Yue can't yet determine where Hansen places Hanz, but to outsiders, nothing in Dogtown has changed.

"Hello, Mr. Schumacher..."

The heavy gunners of the Ghost Hounds are very polite.

Lin Yue came alone; Jack was currently at a bar in the Long Beach stockpile, experiencing the local culture, so he didn't bring him along.

On the other hand, it's also inappropriate for outsiders to be present when meeting with informants.

German surname, German face, and German mannerisms.

Lin Yue nodded slightly, and the guests coming and going occasionally glanced in their direction.

Looking at the familiar scene inside, he seemed to hear Rebecca's cheerful laughter coming from the table in the distance. His gaze turned to the elevator entrance, where the hound's sentry post was still standing...

"Sir, please go up to the entrance on the side with your deepest thoughts. It's private room E4 on the second floor. Mrs. Emma is waiting for you."

Lin Yue was very familiar with that entrance.

I entered Night City [that prosecutor] from here; it's also the only VIP area where I'm preoccupied with my own thoughts.

He stepped onto the neon-lit stairs, one by one. Every five steps on the second floor, there was a sentry post, filled with Dogtown soldiers, their heads darting around. The Oracle's Prosthetic Eye immediately lit up.

It seems Mr. Hans is still observing?
A smile played on his lips as he walked straight into the private room.

Under the alluring dark purple light:

The woman's eyes shone with a soft light, and her voice was soft and sweet, yet husky as if from thirst...

"You've finally arrived?"

……

　[Three orders]: Hansen received orders from the new United States to attack, garrison, and retreat.

　　[Stan]: The soldier who died in battle mentioned in Hansen's broadcast in the DLC.

　　[Prosecutor]: Georgina Zabinski, an NPC character with a heavy conscience, is the subject of a 2077 DLC commission.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)