Cyberpunk: From Dogville to Legend

Chapter 218 Admission
after one day.

Night City, Ember Bar.

This is the only members-only club in this neon metropolis. It has no shortage of the elite; what it lacks is admission tickets.

For the wealthy in the company plaza, cybernetic implants are no longer tools for displaying power. On the contrary, you can see many people here who have modified their implants, such as the [EPM Thread], into a luxurious yet understated dark gold. Their attire is extremely exquisite. For example, right now, a deep red hovercar is landing in the open space outside the bar.

The woman with the shawl possesses an extremely distinct kitsch style, her waist swaying, and the security personnel who have retired from the bloody battlefield of the company will greet customers with extremely good etiquette.

The people of Night City, chasing fame and fortune, flock to those coins that reek of victory, presumably all for this moment.

"Depend on…"

Jack Wells straightened his tie. "I feel uncomfortable just standing at the door of this place—you can smell the poor guys from several blocks away. I really should take some work photos or something; I think my mom would really appreciate how I look now."

Lin Yue sat in the back seat of the vehicle, patiently waiting for the other members to enter.

I glanced at the time; it was exactly right.

"To be honest, Rin, what are your thoughts on that matter?"

Jack recounted everything about Mann, but Lin Yue still hadn't said how to handle the matter. Since they had nothing else to do, Jack casually brought up the topic with Lin Yue again.

Lin Yue rubbed his temples. "Jack, you asked him all about it at the Wild Wolf Bar yesterday—but I can't judge what Mann is doing based on those few words. But I have a guess that it might involve Arasaka. I'll give V a heads-up after this trip."

Jack couldn't understand how the company operated. He knew that the young man sitting in the back had become successful, that the Watson District NID had its own company, that the popular figure in Arasaka, and that the girls in the counterintelligence department were all on his side... That's why he didn't understand why Lin Yue still needed to come out and handle things personally.

In the rearview mirror, Lin Yue kept staring at his prosthetic arm opening and closing, as if he was preoccupied with something.

Jack shook his head slightly. "Hmm... The prosthetic body isn't working well? That's why I said you should go see Dr. Victor. Many doctors in Night City respect our living angel—I heard that whenever new genuine software arrives in the city, Dr. Victor is always the first to know."

Lin Yue could hear the concern in Jack's words and gave him a reassuring smile. "You know what's going on down there in Dogtown. The Black Wall... There aren't many doctors in Night City who can handle it. I need a professional medical team, as well as a research team specializing in prosthetics."

"But Old Wei's cooking skills are impeccable."

Jack shrugged. "Okay..."

The car moved forward slowly.

Lin Yue watched as high-society figures stepped out of the cars ahead, while the system rapidly tested the functionality of the network access warehouse.

“Rogge has done Rebecca and the others a great favor, so I have to help them out. So once we're inside, we need to be extra careful. I'll go and plant the surveillance puppets in the subnet first, and then you'll have to go and meet Rogge's target.”

"I'm afraid there might be some uncontrollable issues with my prosthetic body, so I'm asking you for help."

Jack waved his hand dismissively, "There are so many middlemen in Night City, and they even take Rogge's orders. What kind of mercenary are they?"

Lin Yue smiled but didn't intend to say anything.

The muttering voice came again, "How much does it cost to stay in a suite at this bar/club for one night?"

The target Rogge mentioned almost never leaves the company square. He's registered with every club that requires identification, and he hires European security companies for all of them. It seems this bastard knows he's messed with the wrong person.

As expected, the car stopped again.

Ember's business is booming. It seems that when V was at his wit's end, Arasaka Hanako was able to book out the entire Ember venue, so the money must have been spent like water.

"It starts at around 5 euros, but for someone who goes to Crystal Palace several times a year, staying here is actually the most economical option."

Lin Yue patiently explained to Jack.

Jack spread his hands. "Fuck!"

I don't know if it's resentment towards the rich or what, but he's not envious of Rin's money. After all, it's earned through risking his life. If he had to hang in Dogtown for so long, risking being roasted to death by the internet, Jack would never do it.

"But I heard from the girl that your boss is Lai Xuan?"

Lin Yue was taken aback.

V was truly open and honest with Jack, sharing everything he knew...

Lin Yue nodded. "What's wrong? Do you remember Lai Xuan?"

Jack may not understand the company or high society, but he certainly knows the Night City legends and street gossip.

Haywood turned his head and said seriously, "Arasaka Yoriyuki! The most damn awesome top-tier rich kid on this planet, his family owns a money printing factory, haven't you heard of Channel 54? On the entire rich list, Yoriyuki is the only heir with a criminal record, and he doesn't even pay taxes!"

Lin Yue immediately became interested.

On the streets of Night City, the boy heard a version of Lai Xuan that was not the one he remembered.

"Oh? No taxes?"

Jack launched into a long tirade, “Lai Xuan openly criticized the issue of taxes, saying that paying taxes is like supporting bureaucrats’ mistresses, houses and money—not a single penny goes to the citizens. It’s greedy, just like the criminal organization he’s involved in.”

Lin Yue listened quietly.

Jack: "I just don't understand! What exactly is Lai Xuan lacking?"

Lin Yue sighed, "Maybe I'm just lacking motivation? Living with too much money is pretty boring, isn't it? Once people have money, they won't think about risking their lives. They can do whatever they want without any scruples, and then the financial report program will say that this guy is a true character."

Jack waved his hand. "What does that have to do with crime? Think about it, his father is the most powerful man on this planet. Wherever Arasaka points, he can do it. To put it bluntly, if an Arasaka aircraft carrier came to Night City Port, it could be loaded with nuclear bombs and level the entire North America!"

"And what happened? This guy actually went and started a gang, Steel Dragon—I heard they drive heavily modified motorcycles on the streets of Tokyo, just like those Tiger Claw gang members."

Lin Yue was both amused and exasperated.

Sometimes, the view you see depends on your position. If you didn't have memories of your past life, you might see Lai Xuan the same way.

His series of rebellious actions made it difficult for people to see the core of his motivation. Even now, Lin Yue is not even sure if Lai Xuan is ready to devote himself to his ideals. The world is too complicated. Although the trajectory of fate has quietly shifted, people's hearts are still an option that Lin Yue dares not gamble on.

Now, Lai Xuan is like a tiger about to break free, while Saburo is stalling.

Jack smacked his lips and slowly turned the steering wheel. Lin Yue in the back did not express any opinion, because he was thinking about the progress of the Relic matter. These matters must represent the Arasaka family's top secrets, and it was hard to say whether Saburo knew about his tricks.

If I were to call Lai Xuan right now and tell him, "Dude, you'd better watch out for your dad, he's planning to possess you," it wouldn't be a good thing.

Lin Yue felt that Lai Xuan's intelligence should be able to guess something, but once Lai Xuan felt that the matter was in danger, it would definitely trigger a key point in his predetermined fate.

Lai Xuan's theoretical identity is still too different from his own. If he were to arrive in Night City one day without anyone noticing, he would be left helpless.

So he was thinking about how to get Lai Xuan to notice these things. This was something he had to consider, because everything he had now was deeply tied to Lai Xuan. If something happened to Lai Xuan, he would have no choice but to do his utmost. Lai Xuan seemed very generous, but Lin Yue knew very well that if he showed even the slightest thought of breaking away, Lai Xuan would be the first to deal with him.

After the young steel dragon was destroyed, the first thing the church leader Lai Xuan did was to show no mercy.

He may be naive, but he is never lacking in determination.

His own father and sister were nothing compared to breaking the company's colonial rule...

The car slowly approached.

When two burly men walked over and opened the car door at the entrance of the Ember Bar, Lin Yue was already prepared.

"Please verify your membership code."

Lin Yue looked up at the two people, but showed no intention of answering. Instead, the moment his leather shoes, which were hanging down from his long suit trousers, touched the ground, he exuded a sense of fearlessness.

The two security guards looked at each other in bewilderment.

Lin Yuede praised one point: the security at Yu Jin was more discerning than that at Gan Bi Building.

They didn't stop Lin Yue from leaving, because they saw the silver brooch on the lapel of his suit, a symbol of high-ranking Arasaka executives. Although this customer had no club membership record, a monthly salary of several thousand euros was not enough for them to bear the consequences of angering the company's dogs.

Jack drove the car into the underground parking garage, and Lin Yue went straight to the elevator. To his surprise, there were two Arasaka security guards standing at the elevator door.

In truth, the two Ember Security guards following Lin Yue were somewhat uneasy. After all, the man in front of them seemed too young. Company executives were rarely this young, especially the men; they preferred to project a middle-aged image to demonstrate their composure and competence.

Aside from female executives, male executives don't spend time on skincare.

When the two Arasaka security guards saw the newcomer, they naturally knew who he was, because they were from the security department.

"Your Excellency, Minister."

When the two guys from the embers saw Arasaka's security guard bow ninety degrees and call out the title of "department head," their Adam's apples involuntarily bobbed.

Luckily, they didn't do anything stupid. If they had stopped this guy, they might have died in the alleys of Night City after work.

Company employees are very vengeful...

Lin Yue stared at the security personnel; without even thinking, he knew that Arasaka's people were here—

Who's here?

Two security personnel opened the elevator, signaling Lin Yue to enter first, and did not want the people from the Ember to know who the newcomer was.

The elevator doors slowly closed, and the two security guards spoke up, "It's Minister V. She's here to hold talks on behalf of Arasaka and the Yoru Corporation... You?"

Lin Yue thought he really knew how to pick his days.

Having left Arasaka, V naturally had no right to know about these things, including what the company was going to do, which was all done by V alone.

"I'm here to relax, I won't disturb you."

The two security guards exchanged a glance, followed by the young man's voice, which came softly, "It's best not to let V know I'm here."

Recently, Lin Yue's relationship with V has become extremely tense. He doesn't want to give V the impression that he has to meddle in everything. This exchange condition was already set when Lai Xuan promised him the reward.

The dual ministerial role was Lin Yue's way of entrusting V with this responsibility; she needed this identity to protect herself amidst the impending impact from Arasaka.

As for himself, it was even simpler. Relying on NID, he wanted to try to forge his own path—yes, that's the wise saying of Stanley, the fast-talking celebrity from Night City Radio.

The security guard nodded hurriedly.

There are many "legends" about this young department head in Arasaka Tower. Dogtown mobilized countless people, but they were all slaughtered by this humanoid weapon. He was bedridden for two months but was still full of energy. Some gossipy folks even said that Department Head Rin wasn't human at all—

It is an AI-powered intelligent weapon created by Arasaka.

Lin Yue forced a smile, patted the two security guards on the shoulders, and headed to the private rooms on the next floor.

"Should we... uh?"

One of them meant it quite clearly.

The other guy shook his head. "Just pretend you don't know anything. Minister Rin's position is reserved. Don't cause trouble. Haven't you heard about that?"

"what?"

Some people were completely confused.

The man nudged the other with his elbow. "It seems like Minister V didn't get any feedback from Minister Rin. Let's not go looking for trouble. Let's go...get to work!"

After his companion explained, the clueless guy suddenly understood.

The two security personnel could only swallow their saliva and leave the scene of trouble as if they knew nothing.

Subsequently, under the guidance of the ember waiter, Lin Yue completed the registration of his membership with "a little" money, since no one dared to stop the two people brought up by the Arasaka security guards.

Having refused all of Ember's other services, he finally arrived at a private room that he had seemingly chosen randomly but was actually the closest to the intelligence target.

Lin Yue took off his suit, loosened his tie, and his eyes turned red as he carefully observed the network's direction on the closed-circuit television. He needed to figure out where Yu Jin's subnet was located.

"Are you online yet, Jack?"

Lin Yue's prosthetic eye quickly detected a ventilation duct located above the room. Prepared for the worst, he didn't rush to touch the network cable but instead contacted Jack first.

Jack was in the elevator with his client's entourage.

He calmly returned to the online chat in silent mode. Standing next to him was a young man who looked more like an undergraduate student from Arasaka, yet he exuded the air of a corporate dog.

Jack, who deduced the other party's identity from various details, began to have doubts.

"What are the internet monitors doing here?"

……

……

(End of this chapter)