Cyberpunk: From Dogville to Legend

Chapter 21 Uninvited Guest

[Call: V]

"Boss, we've arrived in Dogtown... while we're at it, put Hanz on the upper wing."

V: "Not bad, Hanz's wife has a pretty amazing figure. Riding in the same car with such a hot woman must be an easy job."

Lin Yue: "..."

"What's the specific situation?"

Lin Yue shook his head. "It's been a day, and there's still no news from Hans. But I can understand... When I'm angry, I force myself to calm down. Maybe this busy man is calming down and thinking about how to get rid of me."

"I'll keep you informed about Dogtown, and I'll call you directly if needed."

"But you need to make sure you stay in Dogtown, so you don't become a hindrance for Hansen. I'll leave now. Contact me if anything comes up."

After hanging up the phone, Lin Yue squatted down at the Dogtown basketball court and watched the residents playing street basketball.

This world is so wondrous. This place will be where V waits for Li De in the future, and Lin Yue, this uninvited guest from "outsider", is sitting here just like V, contemplating how to survive.

Lin Yue spent the night in an unfinished building. He definitely couldn't go back to the house at the Long Beach stockpile. Although his current attire wouldn't be immediately noticed, it was inevitable that some of the Ghost Hounds from Dogtown would access the NCPD database.

This thing is really powerful; it can identify you no matter what kind of disguise you're wearing.

Apart from--

Behavioral characteristics facial features.

However, there is still no clue about this matter. For this reason, Lin Yue even went to the black market at the stadium, but all the prosthetic doctors shook their heads.

No, and even if they were available, they wouldn't be easy to buy.

【information】

Lin Yueyi's eyes flashed with a notification; he had finally received a message from the "busy man."

Mr. Hans: Good tactic, my friend. A mercenary like you, who's willing to do anything, is perfect to be the company's lackey.

Lin Yue: ?
What is this bastard saying? Lin Yue was a little confused. Could it be that Hanz is so powerful that he can just look up Arakawa's database at will?

Mr. Hanz: Let's get straight to the point. I have a very clear record of your superior. Lin, does that sound familiar?

Lin Yue looked at the message with a strange expression...

That's just me!
So, what exactly is Hanscha investigating?

Or was V's information too realistic, leading Mr. Hans to genuinely believe that a guy named Rin was working in Arasaka?
This world, it turns out, is also a huge makeshift operation...

So Lin Yue: LOL (laughs).

Hans was getting impatient: "Friend, do you think you can erase the fact that you're Arasaka's lackey by not saying anything? I knew it! Who is this genius who knows so much? Tell your boss not to mess with me."

Lin Yue: No.

It took Hans a long time to reply.

Hans: Get your supplier here so we can talk face to face. All he wants is money, fame, and status—we can give him those, but we need to compete for them.

Lin Yue: Sorry, you're not worthy to meet my supplier. Here's a smart suggestion: release the business, and we'll split it 50/50.

Hanz: Where are you? Let's talk in person.

Face-to-face meeting?
Lin Yue knew that once the verbal sparring in the game escalated to exchanging phone calls, the next step would be real-life confrontations.

Hanz's expression must have been terrible; only a fool would go.

Lin Yue: Do you think I'm an idiot? I'm not the one running the business. My boss takes the jobs, and I'm just trying to make a living. What use is it for you to work for me?
Hans: Okay, since your superior doesn't want to see me, he must be in Taipingzhou right now, right? After all, business needs to be kept in mind.

Lin Yue cursed secretly.

Dad is not only in Taipingzhou, but also squatting in the backyard of your house (with a heavy heart) watching others play basketball.

Hans: Business is done by mercenaries, whether it's clean or not, and you need trustworthy people. Does he have one?
Lin Yue: Yes, it's me. Stop talking nonsense and be smart. If there's work, push it to my boss, Lin. Remember, I can find your wife anytime.

Hanz: ...You? One person can't do anything big.

Lin Yue: That's something my employer is considering, you don't need to worry about it.

After typing for a long time, there was still no sound.

Lin Yue knew this was very "inhumane," but based on the principle of "I won't offend others unless they offend me," Lin Yue felt that sharing some business was already doing the old man a favor.

If you won't let me live, I'll cut off your source of income. It's fair, isn't it?

Hans called anyway.

Lin Yue thought for a moment. There were many things that needed to be coordinated in business, so he accepted the call. "I don't think you guys have a good chance of making a living here. Hansen won't let the company into Dogtown. To even make a living in Dogtown, you need a business card."

Lin Yue hummed in agreement. "Where we're from, we call it a 'pledge of allegiance.' If you don't have a criminal record and cause a huge uproar at the company, the colonel in Dogtown won't trust you, right?"

"Since you know that your superior has extended their treacherous reach into Dogtown, what's their motive?"

Lin Yue replied, "The wages are too low, so you want to mess with Hansen... Isn't it obvious? If you mess with Arasaka, Arasaka will mess with you. It's normal. So, dear Mr. Hanz, you have to keep this a secret."

Hanz exhaled a long breath from his nostrils.

"Business deals are difficult to coordinate, so it's best to send someone over. I can give you half of my contacts, but I can't control who they trust. The client will only trust you if you do your job well."

"Of course, I will also recommend my new clients to you. As for how to persuade others, your upline will have to handle that himself."

"Listen, I have to warn you, don't make things too ugly. At worst, I'll just retire, but your upline won't be able to get out of this mess."

Lin Yue thought Hanz made sense; pushing Hanz too far would only lead to everyone exploding and bring no benefit.

This old bastard still wants to make some extra money; otherwise, he would have retired long ago and fled California with his beautiful wife.

"Okay, I'll come in person to discuss it. The upline has agreed."

The phone was hung up.

The time and place were set for tomorrow night. Lin Yue had to go, as he was preoccupied with his own thoughts. Mr. Hans had unintentionally taken the first step in making a big show of things, and Lin Yue only needed to confirm with V.

This matter is definitely going to be handled well.

The phone is fine when it's not ringing, but once it starts ringing, it never stops.

Just as Lin Yue was about to send a message to V, another call came in from an unknown number.

The voice on the other end was hushed and seemed to have some sound effects added, so Lin Yue couldn't hear it clearly.

"Are you... uh, Lin Yue?"

"Yes, who are you?"

"Holy crap, you're still alive!"

"Do you want me to live or die? Who are you? Have you no manners?"

There was a long silence on the other end. "Long Beach Stockpile, we hope you can come."

"Dude, do you think I'd go after you've said all this without any context?"

Lin Yue was about to hang up. Night City was full of shady ads and AI sales pitches; it was hard to say if it wasn't some kind of prank.

"Who the hell is a buddy... Never mind, Lin Yue, I know this is presumptuous. But we're in big trouble, Hansen's men are still chasing us."

"..."

"Okay, I'm Rebecca."

“I know this is…not good, but I want to ask you, are there any other ways out of Dogtown?”

Lin Yue's expression was priceless.

"Huh? You guys are still hanging out with Hansen in Dogtown? Awesome!"

It's true, Lin Yue never expected that this cyberpunk team was still in Dogtown, hiding and being hunted down.

"How did you get my contact information? Besides... how did you know I was in Dogtown?"

“Our team’s hackers are still in Night City… Anyway, the fact that you can get back into Dogtown means you have a way—can you come? We’ll pay you.”

Lin Yue hesitated. Helping a cyberpunk team, especially one being hunted by Hansen, at this critical juncture was really unnecessary.

However, a plan came to mind.

"Sure, but I can survive in Dogtown because I have a 'boss'. How about this, I'll ask my boss if he needs any workers, so you can leave Dogtown and come back, and maybe pick up some jobs along the way."

"The boss will pay you, he won't take a penny, and he'll even give you money. How about that?"

Rebecca on the other end clearly couldn't make the decision. "You go first, okay?"

"Okay, but once I get there, it means you've agreed. If you change your mind halfway through, just call me anytime."

……

(The view of the Long Beach stockpile is below~)

(End of this chapter)