Cyberpunk: From Dogville to Legend

Chapter 202 Continuous Provocations
Lin Yue stood quietly outside the one-way transparent glass.

With one hand in his pocket, he reached into his mouth and took the nearly burnt-out cigarette, momentarily dazed.

"Suzuki, do you have any particularly clear information about the European branch?"

Suzuki lowered his head slightly. "Lord Rin, it's hard to say."

Lin Yue was bending down and stomping out the cigarette with the tip of his leather shoe, his brows furrowing slightly.

"Hard to say?"

Suzuki explained, "The various branches in Arasaka, Europe, have even greater authority than us. Few people care about our affairs, and if headquarters issues an order, it could lead to leaks—"

"I'll go myself."

Lin Yue nodded, expecting this to be the case.

In fact, the moment Lin Yue received the employee handbook, he realized that the relationship between a large company like Arasaka and the European Community was too complicated. With the intertwining of interests, the status of Arasaka's European branch rose accordingly, and Night City was just an outpost of the North American branch.

Myers’ war of unification caused significant losses to the New American military science interest group and Arasaka. On the surface, Arasaka was just a company building in an absolutely free city on the California coast, but in reality, the free states near Night City were all taking orders from Arasaka.

In this way, Michiko Arasaka truly deserves her title as the former Vice President of the North American Region.

In fact, Sasha's desire to remove her prosthetic body went against Arasaka's interests. The fact that Lai Xuan sent a medical team and V secretly cracked the neural matrix was already the maximum effort they could have made…

Suzuki noticed his boss's predicament and silently handed him the completed procedures.

"Lord Rin, Arasaka Tower's authority has already placed you in a temporarily suspended state. The final review authority rests with President Nitta Kazuya."

Review authority?
How could it be Nitta?

Sensing something was amiss, Lin Yue reached for the document, his expression slightly grim. "Does headquarters need the branch manager's approval for something like this? What kind of rule is that?"

Suzuki said seriously, "That's because headquarters has been breaking the rules for you, Rin-sama... The national presidents and board members of all the branches went to Japan before, of course... you and Ms. V were not among them, but Mr. Jenkins went."

"These words were also spoken to me by Mr. Jenkins; he said that once you have read the transcript of the entire meeting and separated the chip, you will know what to do."

Lin Yue didn't understand for a moment why Arthur Jenkins, who had hardly made any major moves since taking office, was in such a state.

From any perspective, Jenkins' behavior is extremely conservative, usually turning a blind eye, and many of V's overstepping of authority went unpunished. There are even rumors circulating in Arasaka that sooner or later the counterintelligence and security department will squeeze out the special operations department...

The rumors did not come out of thin air.

If Lin Yue hadn't made the request himself, he would most likely have been placed on par with Jenkins soon.

Lai Xuan's operational logic was very simple: with honors bestowed upon him, he used the power of headquarters to promote Lin Yue all the way, and this method of operation made it impossible for Sanlang to find any fault with him.

So it seems... the variable is actually himself. Lai Xuan probably didn't expect Lin Yue to want to leave Arasaka Tower.

Lin Yue took one last look at the girl lying quietly on the hospital bed, then walked back to the office with Suzuki.

The moment he sat down, he inserted the separation chip into the holographic screen next to his desk. A curtain slowly descended outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, revealing a huge oval conference table. The heads of various Arasaka Towers sat around the table, while the other board members sat in attendance…

In the scene, Saburo walks in, supported by a maid.

Lin Yue stroked his chin and instantly understood what Jenkins meant.

No wonder... When I saw Lai Xuan at the underground shrine access point that day, he looked a little haggard. Although I knew that Arasaka had done a lot of things to fight against the new America, Lin Yue had a feeling that it might be Saburo's doing.

Looking back at the entire operation, it was clear that the latter half had already spiraled out of control.

Whether it's Hua Zi's arrival, the media war he ignited in Washington, or his subsequent approach to treating himself... it doesn't seem like Lai Xuan was personally involved at all.

Lin Yue sighed.

He felt he was becoming more and more skilled; most of the underhanded tactics used by the company could no longer fool him.

"Don't look at it."

Lin Yue waved his hand, and before the curtain was even raised—just as he was about to speak—a phone call came in.

Using the internal communication system of Ara-saka, the identification code was still 001, and Lin Yue immediately knew who it was…

Before I could even go to him, the other side attacked me first.

As for He Ye, Lin Yue was too busy dealing with Dogtown and the mess behind him to know anything about him except that He Ye was a technocrat with no real talent or ability, except for resorting to threats.

At least... she's far inferior to Hanako and Michiko.

It seems like he has both a lack of strategy and a lack of courage.

"Mr. He Ye".

Lin Yue glanced calmly at the man on the holographic screen, his tone neither humble nor arrogant.

"Looks like you're recovering well—you know how to avoid taking it easy, Captain Rin."

He gave a forced smile, and since it was an internal communication, Lin Yue simply played his voice aloud so that Suzuki could hear it too.

Upon hearing this, Suzuki's expression turned colder. Saying such things was nothing more than a way to make things difficult for someone.

Lin Yue returned a forced smile.

"Thank you, Arasaka."

Nitta Heya nodded. Few of Arasaka's employees dared to criticize this statement, and Heya was not wrong in this regard.

"Let's skip the pleasantries. I need to know about the various businesses this company is responsible for regarding your personnel transfer, and I also need internal information to be open and transparent—even though this is a deal from headquarters, I don't think I have no right to even ask about this."

Lin Yue rested his elbows on the table, took a deep breath, and crossed his hands as if he were thinking about how to answer.

In contrast, Suzuki practically had the words "this is outrageous" written all over his face.

Lin Yue: "This is a business of Dogtown in Night City. Mr. He Ye has the authority to inquire about it. I'll send it to you now."

Nitta He also nodded, his expression a mixture of satisfaction and disdain.

Smart people can see the situation clearly. With all the commotion in Dogtown, the old emperor has tied Rai Xuan to Japan. With some follow-up maneuvers, it's only a matter of time before Arasaka Michiko returns. At the same time, the entire framework of the Black Wall cybernetic body is nearing completion, and Rin is no longer a problem.

In other words, we can disable him.

Sometimes Lin Yue felt that Sanlang was insulting him, making such a worthless piece of trash fight against him.

"Isn't the company's business scope too narrow? Is it just logistics transportation for Dogtown? But I saw that Arasaka Tower has set aside a whole floor, and there are some research teams I don't know doing something about... Can you explain that?"

Explanation? Explanation my foot!
Although Lai Xuan didn't say anything, those people were definitely trying to keep it from He Ye's eyes. Moreover, for He Ye himself, these Arasaka researchers were responsible for analyzing the information from the Black Wall.

That's right. Although these people are responsible for optimizing their own prosthetic bodies, Lin Yue still wants to make the best use of them. It wouldn't be good to waste the young president Arasaka's good intentions.

"It's the team that's repairing my prosthetic body. As for whether it's related to the new company—Mr. He can ask headquarters, and they're leaving soon anyway."

Lin Yue's tone was neither warm nor cold.

Nitta Heya was silent for a moment before deciding to bring up the most important matter.

"I approve your temporary leave of absence."

Lin Yue and Suzuki looked up at the same time and exchanged a glance.

Clearly, no one expected Nitta He to release the prisoners so quickly…

Lin Yue thought to himself, "Could it be that He Ye has a master guiding him behind the scenes?"

When someone does something that deviates from their usual behavior, be careful. Lin Yue nodded, "Thank you, Mr. He Ye—"

He, sitting up straight in the holographic lens, interrupted, "But your temporary departure is a loss for us, so Arasaka Tower needs corresponding emergency support measures. As for that girl, the Night City branch will be responsible for the maintenance of the prosthetic body and the dispatch of operations from now on."

Although Lin Yue's face was expressionless, his hand, which was placed in front of his lips, was clenched tightly. However, he still said in a calm tone, "The cybersecurity expert cat is no longer suitable to continue using the Black Wall prosthetic body. The self-degradation phenomenon is obvious. Should we reconsider building a new receptor?"

Nitta Kazuya suddenly burst into laughter, as if he had heard a joke.

Lin Yue's expression gradually darkened.

He laughed for a while before slowly saying, "You've had your share of self-destruction too, haven't you? I'm from a technical background... In this situation, it's okay to push forward with body cybernetic transformation, right? So Mr. Rin, are you saying we're just wasting our time? Lord Arasaka personally instructed that the Night City branch has the right to develop Black Wall cybernetic bodies."

“But you see, it seems we don’t have the opportunity to participate, so this matter cannot be done as Minister Rin wishes.”

Nitta Kazuya looked at the expressionless young man on the holographic screen with a hint of smugness.

After all, Hanako had made a promise to him. Now that Rin had run away, she had to give him an explanation. Otherwise, wouldn't that be ignoring the orders that Saburo Arasaka had given him at home?
Lin Yue: "I don't know Arasaka... sir."

Lin Yue struggled to pronounce the word "adult," saying, "He said something like that."

"That's not a level you can reach. Go back to where you are, face reality. Michiko heard it with her own ears at Lord Arasaka's house—"

Immediately afterwards, He dialed someone's number.

Lin Yue looked at Arasaka Hanako's name and number next to the internal communication system, and his heart sank to the bottom.

That bastard…

From the beginning, Lin Yue used many methods to keep him out of the Dogtown operation. Of course, He was right. With Lai Xuan backing him up, no one in Night City could touch him, but without backing, he couldn't reach the board of directors.

"What is it, Nitta-san?"

After Hua Zi's face appeared, he saw Lin standing calmly to the side.

Just a few days ago, the superior and subordinate had almost fallen out, but now they acted as if they were strangers, saying, "Rin-san is here too."

Lin Yue: "Miss Hua Zi."

Nitta He, in a similarly directive, got straight to the point: "Ms. Hanako, Minister Rin is inquiring whether the Night City branch has the joint development and research rights for the Black Wall cybernetic body. We need that cybersecurity expert."

Hua Zi turned to look at Lin.

“My father did mention this at the family dinner on the anniversary of my mother’s death. If you still have doubts, you can ask my brother.”

Now that things have come to this, asking Lai Xuan is useless.

Lin Yue had overheard Lai Xuan mentioning that Sasha was going to stay in Night City in order to escape as soon as possible. However, the decoding progress of the neural matrix was not good, and V and he were doing this behind the backs of their superiors. He just didn't expect that this meeting would give He Ye the initiative too early, and now they were stuck at this critical juncture...

The Minister of Security could only think, "What the hell is going on?"

Lin Yue subconsciously tugged at his tie. Suzuki, who was beside him, knew he couldn't be of much help, so he sent a message via text.

【Lord Rin, I'll check if there's any risk of information leaks at any stage】

After receiving instructions, Suzuki quickly left the office.

No one knows whether He Ye knows about the Neural Matrix, after all, too many people are involved in the joint: V, himself, Suzuki, and the hacker team that decoded the Neural Matrix.

Of course, it could also just be bad luck, and that's where it happened to be.

"Arasaka needs you and that hacker's mature black-walled cybernetic body architecture, and you've also been hiding a lot from us, remember, Rin-san?"

Hua Zi's tone was calm and unhurried, but it made Lin Yue's depressed mood heavier and heavier.

“This girl named Sasha Yakovlevova has a prosthetic body that replicates your technology. Theoretically, Arasaka should be investigating this matter; of course, my brother gave you the authority, so he bears the responsibility… These things are not for me to investigate, so please don’t make things difficult for me.”

"It's wise to protect yourself... I hope you don't take Arasaka for a fool, Rin."

This statement carries a strong warning.

Lin Yue, who had expected the outcome, was not surprised. On the contrary, this was the main reason why he had been frowning and puzzled these past few days.

However, Lin Yue would not accept that whatever they said was the truth.

He tapped his fingertips on the table, quietly "appreciating" the two working together.

The fact that the doves and the naives are in cahoots is all too obvious.

Moreover, at this time, Michiko Arasaka was still in Japan. It was highly likely that Saburo brought this granddaughter back to make this biased woman re-examine the relationship between military technology and Arasaka, including the matter of the new American hacker hanging on the black wall in Dogtown, which Michiko should have already seen.

To completely defend against attacks from within the company, you need to consider issues from the perspectives of different interest groups.

Saburo sees Lai Xuan as very assertive, and perhaps only by uniting the young and the dove faction can they barely hold on for a while...

However, this was just Lin Yue's bold speculation; he had already figured out how to attack the two of them.

At the same time, Hua Zi noticed that the other party had taken a short while to think, and his expression became noticeably more serious.

The guy had a half-smile on his face, with a hint of disdain.

To be honest, Lin Yue was just a senior manager at a branch office, and in reality, he wasn't even qualified to have long phone conversations with these two people.

But who knows when Lai Xuan will be released?
Saburo Arasaka was able to control his subordinates because, although he was manipulative and cunning, he was very trustworthy.

What you promise, you keep.

If they didn't want Lai Xuan to notice anything two months later, Hua Zi and Xin Tian He didn't dare to attack directly.

Hua Zi had always been puzzled by one thing: why was the guy in front of him so difficult to deal with? He never made a single mistake and his thinking was extremely sharp. It could only be said that Lai Xuan was just too lucky...

“Miss Hua, hackers are all about logic. When did CEO Arasaka Yoriyuki Arasaka ever tell you two that one of you had to stay at Arasaka Tower? I remember at the foot of this tower, Mr. Yoriyuki said that if I went to Japan, I would leave my subordinate behind—”

Lin Yue looked at He Ye's face with a cold smile.

He wanted to remember the face of this man who had become his enemy.

Putting aside the matter for now, Hua Zi had caused trouble for him twice after he woke up, which made Lin Yue's anger get hard to suppress.

After all, he owed Sasha and the others their lives. He couldn't mess with these partners who were risking their lives for Dogtown!

Then, he uttered a rebellious remark.

"Or is it that Miss Hanako has once again acted on her own initiative... and promised Nitta Kazuya something to the country's vice president?"

Only Lin Yue would dare to question the top echelons of the Arasaka family like that…

But only he himself knows clearly.

That was a provocation returned to the insatiable "human".

……

……

　[Orders given at home]: In the chapter "The Tamed Dragon", Saburo gave the order that the Night City branch could participate in the development of Lin Yue's prosthetic body at the family banquet table.

　　My head is spinning today. I can't take it anymore and want to sleep. I guess it's because of too much pressure. It's the end of the year, and the company is preparing for all sorts of inspections. I'm in a writing position, so it's very mentally taxing. I'll stop here for today. Goodnight everyone~ (I don't want to work anymore. I really want to rest.)

　　o (╥﹏╥) o
　　
　
(End of this chapter)