Cyberpunk: From Dogville to Legend

Chapter 179 Greed Breeds Beasts (Part 3)

call!call!call!
One after another, military-grade airships, painted black and stripped of the Arasaka Corporation logo, sliced ​​through the air, ignoring warnings from Night City's NCPD air traffic control, and sped toward Pacific Island!
[NCPD]: Unauthorized high-altitude vehicles are prohibited from entering Night City. Please cooperate by landing!

[NCPD]: Nearby police officers are on their way; please stop them immediately!

Inside the slightly trembling cockpit, the woman, dressed in her company's field uniform, was made entirely of a tightly fitting, high-quality textile, much like the minimalist aesthetic of Arasaka's artwork.

【Arasaka Assault Suit - Female】

Her posture, a stark contrast to her stunningly beautiful face, was casually spread-out, her elbows resting on her thighs. She unconsciously bit her lip, lost in thought.

At this moment, the blinding red light from inside the cabin was reflected on V's military boots. She looked up at the security department special forces who only showed half of their faces, their features hidden under their helmets. These were all selected and trained by Suzuki.

At the very front was Suzuki, who wasn't wearing a helmet but was analyzing data while also paying attention to the communication between the driver and the cybersecurity expert from Arasaka.

[Caller: Jerry Fleet]

"Holy crap! What the hell are you doing? Are you crazy?!"

NCPD Director? Let whoever wants to be it, be it!
Jerry felt that the worst thing he had ever done was to get in touch with Arasaka.

"The entire city is watching. What are you planning to do? Start a war?!"

however--

The woman opposite him said just one sentence, which made Jerry even angrier.

"Tell your people to stay out of the way. Anyone who dares to get close... I'll make them go home right away."

Jerry's face darkened. "I'm not Arasaka's NCPD director, I can't give him that kind of face. The company is watching, that's how it is!"

V hung up the phone without any expression. She knew that the smart Jerry would send fewer people. The NCPD should have caught up before they even entered Taipingzhou. The fact that they were only calling now probably meant they couldn't withstand the pressure.

Immediately afterwards, V asked Suzuki, "How many anti-aircraft missile zones are there in Dogtown?"

“Ms. V… Dogtown has surface-to-air missiles that are banned in Night City, the Sharpshooter series… According to actual estimates, their strike range covers Night City.”

V straightened up. "Low-altitude infiltration, deploy the decoy hovercraft, let Arasaka's cyber experts infiltrate, and launch a fierce attack on Dogtown's IFF (Identification Friend or Foe) system!"

Suzuki frowned: "The time is too short—"

Seeing the woman's indifferent expression, he swallowed his words.

"If you want your boss to die faster, then slowly and deliberately sneak in—these bastards from New America, their words are as good as farts!"

When V was still a section chief, she dared to risk going against the board of directors to rush into Dogtown to rescue people, and now—with her promotion—her reckless style seems to have finally returned.

Rin had already done her homework and covered for her; this operation was entirely staffed by security personnel, perfectly bypassing Jenkins and her superiors.

If Rin has gone to this much and I still don't lend a hand, Dogville will probably never give Arasaka a second glance...

Oh shit!

Just thinking about it makes me furious.

While she waited obediently at the company for Rin to announce the good news, she couldn't understand whether Hansen had something stupid going on in his head. It was one thing to blatantly send military personnel to target someone from his own company, but this was no longer a performance.

This is blatant hostility!
[Dogtown Air Traffic Control]: "Dogtown is under military control. You have entered a danger zone. Please leave."

[Dogtown Air Traffic Control]: "After the three-second warning, your radar will lock onto you. Please disengage!"

The driver looked at the dashboard, which was filled with red warning messages, and said, "Minister V! They've locked onto us."

V's voice drifted from behind, showing no sign of panic.

"Do as I say!"

[WARNING: You have been locked out!]
The incessant, piercing alarms echoed in the cockpit. The pilot gritted his teeth, slammed the steering wheel of the hovercar, and turned all four engines to maximum power!
call out--

Several hovercars, like black phantoms, began to move forward rapidly!
However, in the eyes of the residents of Taipingzhou, a perfect arc suddenly appeared in the dilapidated city surrounded by corrugated iron sheets and walls!

"Damn it! A missile?!"

These high-end surface-to-air weapons, purchased from Europe, locked onto the first airborne vehicle, which was almost touching the ground!

[Warning: Missile approaching!]

The AI's indifferent voice echoed in everyone's ears.

Hurala!
Suddenly, bright yellow, umbrella-shaped decoy grenades were launched from the side of the hovercraft.

The residents of Tai Ping Chau witnessed this "fireworks extravaganza"!
Swish!
The driver twisted the steering wheel, his body involuntarily lifting up, but on the holographic screen, a black dot carrying a high-temperature exhaust flame shot straight at his face.

"asshole!"

beep beep-

The warnings grew increasingly urgent, and amidst the pilot's curses, the warhead landed steadily on the airship!
Immediately afterwards, a violent explosion rang out!
A fireball, accompanied by countless plumes of black smoke, rained down on the unfinished buildings in Taiping Island. The NCPD's radio, warnings of martial law in Dogtown, and other companies' radio announcements mingled together…

call out!
The fireball swelled up!

One after another, the hovercars grazed past the fireballs, casting a streak of orange-red light on the faces of everyone inside the cockpits…

Suzuki stared grimly at the floating vehicle that had vanished in an instant outside the window, and immediately gave the order, "Lower the flight altitude, and get the network technology experts to hurry up. Whatever the company tells them to do, they do it!"

"coming!"

The driver suddenly shouted.

Above the hovercars, several NCPD hovercars with sirens blaring descended suddenly from a great height!

The cat perched beside the chair was grabbed again by a hand covered in a black material that conformed to the skin.

Wow!
The howling wind rushed into the cockpit!
The woman stood with her long, slender legs taut, exuding extraordinary strength. Her long black hair danced wildly, and the gun in her hand was fixedly aimed at the NCPD hovercar with its siren blaring.

Suzuki swiftly grabbed the rope and secured it around the woman's waist.

The cat is rapidly accumulating energy!
Accompanied by a streak of blue light, the energy-fueled bullet hurtled straight towards the engine of the NCPD hovercraft behind it—

Buzz—Bang!

With its engine deforming dramatically, the Arasaka hovercar glided between buildings like a snake, driven by a skilled operator.

V put down the cat demon in his hand, holding the gun and staring intently at the pursuers behind him.

The NCPD's hovercraft eventually fell out of control, making an emergency landing on the dilapidated asphalt road riddled with weeds...

Amid the sounds of steel scraping against each other and the increasingly urgent broadcasts on the NCPD channel, the road beside it was ripped up, leaving a long ditch.

The people aboard, inside this slightly deformed floating vehicle, await "harvesting" by another medical company in the city.

Behind him, all that was left were the half-built buildings of Taiping Island, the advertising banners that once represented beautiful aspirations and the slogans that residents had erected on the floors were blurred... Bad place, bad people, bad business, that's what V was thinking.

Suzuki stared at the tablet in his hand. "It worked!"

"Surface-to-air missiles have temporarily stopped working in several areas, making it difficult to completely hack military systems. We only have one minute!"

V put away the cat, and as the hatch closed, a cold voice came, "Prepare for landing and contact in one minute. I want our security minister alive, and that treacherous bastard who broke his promise must pay the price!"

Flames began to rise from Dogtown.

Several hovercars, carrying the company's anger and hatred, sped into Dogtown like eagles about to extend their claws, amidst the explosions and baptism of missiles...

……
-
"over there!"

"Fire!"

A line of sophisticated kinetic rifles spat fire, and the blades of the two men standing in the darkness, their eyes now only those of wild beasts, left faint, shimmering marks in front of them.

The swords and blades moved so fast that they were like thin, silver shields, deflecting bullets flying in all directions and then striking the surrounding debris. Some of them bounced twice on the ground before instantly piercing the bodies of unsuspecting soldiers.

"Oh shit…"

The Ghost Hound officer's eyes widened in disbelief.

What is this thing?!
These well-trained gang soldiers noticed the strange behavior of the enemy and began to use cover to relentlessly fire heavy machine guns at Lin Yue!
Lin Yue wouldn't try to withstand those finger-thick bullets head-on. Instead, he used the wall as a springboard to push off, and amidst the simultaneous raising of all the gun barrels and their lock-on—

He adjusted his posture in an odd way, and then suddenly rushed out!

I go--

Many of the ghost dogs were dumbfounded...

There were quite a few soldiers in the Ghost Hound equipped with the Sianwistan cybernetic implant, although they didn't know how the enemy managed to activate the operating system implant in mid-air, and at a speed that completely exceeded their expectations—

Even so, the word "retreat" didn't even cross these guys' minds!
Dealing with these guys is such a hassle…

This marks the first time in a long time that Lin Yue has directly clashed with a military-type organization!
The enemy's seamless, coordinated crossfire alone had Lin Yue completely pinned down. Just as he finally managed to get airborne, the red laser beam from the sniper's rifle behind him shone on his shoulder—

boom!
A crisp sound, a greeting from [High-Tech Military Industry]!
Even though he was very fast, he still learned a lesson from this long-term coordinated firefighting style.

The sniper's aim was mediocre; a high-explosive grenade exploded right next to Lin Yue's ear!
This is typical of high-tech military sniper rifles; gang members even call them cannons, which gives you an idea of ​​the power of a heavy sniper rifle with less than five rounds.

It's too narrow—

Lin Yue's clothes were torn on his shoulder, revealing the prosthetic structure under his skin. It was just a hair's breadth away from exploding on his forehead.

Swish!
Upon landing, he swiftly flashed into the Ghost Hounds' formation, leaving trails of afterimages comparable to a high-ranking S'anwess. Until the heavy machine gunner's neck was caught and his body lightened, the nearly 200-kilogram man was like a rag doll stuffed with cotton, crashing into cover and some teammates who couldn't dodge in time—

Screech! The sound of shoes scraping the ground was accompanied by the machine gunner's groan...

The spine broke during this series of heavy blows.

Those red eyes shimmered like wisps of smoke...

"Hansen has sent you to your deaths."

The machine gunner tried to grab the hand on his neck, yelling, "You motherfucking cyber lunatic!!"

After dealing with the heavily armed soldiers in his hands, Lin Yue immediately fired a few bullets behind him!
He staggered.

The blood circulation pump started working rapidly!
He threw the corpse in his hand onto the assault soldier who had just popped his head out to fire, and his body moved instantly along a parabolic trajectory!
The feeling of a blade slicing through your throat doesn't actually hurt...

It's like a chilling, devilish kiss that suffocates you and plunges your world into darkness—that's how the dead would describe it if they could speak.

The beast's blade is never spared, and even if dragged into occasional close combat, it is more than capable of handling it.

Lin Yue, like a tiger with its back arched, found the hilt of his knife gradually becoming sticky and slippery.

He leaped up and slashed his knife hard at the gun that the hound had raised to block. After a burst of sparks, the red laser beam locked onto him again.

Bullets were flying from all directions, and Lin Yue, unusually for the first time, retreated.

This was a completely different experience from the Azure Tower. At least there were plenty of cover to use in that hotel, no snipers popping up from time to time to take potshots, and of course... no fanaticism or cybernetic bodies from these gang soldiers.

They were loaded with all sorts of equipment, and the combat stimulants made the wolfhounds fearless—

Lin Yue's prosthetic eye quickly transmitted the Black Wall Protocol, and more than a dozen red electric currents suddenly pierced through those soldiers!
Time seemed to freeze: Lin Yue frowned as he looked at the soldiers who had not yet fallen amidst the sparks and howls of pain—looking up, he saw that the Netherhounds were still pouring in from behind the blasted-open wall.

At this moment, there is probably still heavy firepower from mechs and ghost hounds above.

We can't linger in the fight...

Time to restore.

"Go to the side!"

The hound soldier skillfully changed his magazine with a low growl, and patted the shoulder of another squad—

Lin Yue saw that the situation of flanking from the side was becoming increasingly clear, and the encirclement was about to be completed.

After all, one's own speed cannot always be maintained at its peak; the prosthetic body needs some time to dissipate heat and adjust.

No matter how many enemy strongpoints he took down, there would always be replacements—so he would take advantage of the gaps when he couldn't block and fire a few bullets into himself.

"Breakout! We can't kill them all. We need to get back to the network quickly..."

But the guy who had spoken up several times in times of danger was muttering to himself:

"Look at these simple-to-operate species, endlessly repeating errors that are difficult to correct... Should we perform transfer learning on neural networks that have already acquired their targets?"

Lin Yue knew what this meant.

The other party was asking if he should blow all these people to smithereens, but that would require handing them over to AI control.

Because when Sasha kicked himself out of the connection, in order to ensure the win rate of both sides, he shared part of the main program of the AI ​​with Lin Yue.

In other words, the biggest problem with using black walls extensively is how to counteract one's own hands that are about to get out of control.

But that guy wouldn't give up—

"A fragile bubble, full of flaws—so are your creators."

Lin Yue seemed to see a pair of bright, reddish eyes staring at him.

[A new fast cracking plugin has been added——]

[Blackened Gateway!]

“A pointless waste, get rid of them!”

boom!
The moment Lin Yue stood up, he rushed towards the entrance, which was still continuously pouring in Netherworld Hounds, at almost maximum speed.

Slaughter is simple, but senseless slaughter is no longer needed…

The rapid increase in computing power allowed Lin Yue to discover all the passages inside the building that had not been entered by the Netherhound, one of which led to an old drainage pipe on the mountain.

"Old buddy... talking nonsense again."

Muttering to himself, Lin Yue turned his blade and slammed it into the four or five Netherhounds that hadn't yet rushed out of the doorway with the force of a cannonball!
"屮!"

A series of screams rang out!

As he began to act more recklessly, he used his knife to push several people backward, sparks from bullets flying across his face.

Wow!

Amidst the terrified gazes of the hounds, the brick wall on the side of the gate began to crumble, and the sound of Lin Yue's rapid movements lingered in their ears for less than a second—

Then, in a cloud of dust, the gate was completely blocked!
Lin Yue was panting heavily, the voice in his head almost a fatal temptation—a sudden thought entered his mind: Would the gateway save time?

Once you accept the ideas it offers, it's too late.

The barrage of comments is coming!

Sparks flew from Lin Yue's body as he watched the twenty-odd Netherhounds with no way out still attacking him relentlessly. The exhaustion he felt after fighting Black Hand forced him to lose his last bit of patience.

The outstretched, pitch-black prosthetic arm seemed to be signaling the impending punishment…

AI: "I don't know what the point is of your pathetic, futile efforts... The path needs optimization, not cumbersome steps."

Is this guy complaining that he blocked the path for the hound to get in...?

Lin Yue: "What I need is to save time... Don't fucking try to boss me around!"

The demons of cyberspace are watching their own recipients.

But that guy was starting to get impatient with Lin Yue's stubborn resistance:

"It's you who needs to obey orders, not me..."

Depend on…

The stabbing pain in my brain came back.

In the flickering light, he looked at his own hands.

The eyes were frantically switching between normal black and red—at this moment, the combat system optimized by the Lark and other prosthetics sent notifications:
[BLACKWALL Special Arm - Unlocked]

[Behavioral characteristics have become invalid]

"Damn it...back off!"

The experienced veteran roared.

"Ok?"

The soldiers were momentarily confused because the network disrupted their ability to identify friend or foe...

The dam of malice has burst!

Wow!

It's as if the world has been torn apart!
A piercing roar accompanied by a deluge of data descended; with just a simple gesture, the malicious code would overwhelm these defenseless flesh and cyborg bodies!
"Ugh!!!"

"help me--"

The killing took only a dozen seconds!
All the devices connecting the Ghost Hound squad were enveloped by the data that instantly followed through the black wall.

Lin Yue walked on, surrounded by what seemed like solidified amber, with all living things freely expressing themselves within:

Around him were soldiers with outstretched arms who had not yet fallen, and others whose prosthetic arms had exploded on their backs, their bodies resembling flowers about to bloom...

They were all trying their best to depict the scene of the last moment before death... Everything, wherever it was connected to the network, was covered with a fine red current.

Just one step away.

Lin Yue was telling himself that as long as he got the Little Beidou system, everything could be salvaged.

The prosthetic doctor who gave him the Relic chip granted him this right to choose!
“The matrix… data… and her (Sasha)… I saw it.”

The man, who kept switching between his own voice and the fake voice emitted by the AI, withdrew his hand.

moment--

The remaining squad of the Ghost Hounds has been completely wiped out!
A series of muffled thuds came from the ground as corpses fell to the ground.

Erasing them is as easy as deleting a phone number from the internet.

call out!
Lin Yue teleported instantly, like a black shadow—using almost inhuman strength to smash through a thin wall and disappear into the dark underground pipes of Dogtown…

……

(End of this chapter)