Cyberpunk: From Dogville to Legend

Chapter 226 Contact and Thanksgiving Methods

"David, I'm back."

Since leaving her former company, Gloria no longer wears her signature light yellow jacket when she goes out. At this moment, she looks exhausted, with a faint smell of gunpowder emanating from her. Her hands are also a little red—and because of the recoil of the gun, her hands are trembling as she reaches into her pockets.

David was never one to respond much to his mother when she came home. Gloria shook her head helplessly and walked into the kitchen in her slippers.

David, sitting in the room, peeked at his mother, then turned back to his computer and continued checking the news from Night City over the past two months, even reading some unverifiable rumors.

Open the microwave, and you find the same old tacos, topped with a squeeze of whole-food jam. They're packed with dietary fiber, carbohydrates, synthetic protein, and bad fats. Aside from being a little nauseating, there's nothing wrong with them because they're so cheap.

Gloria, her eyes vacant, stuffed the food into the microwave, leaning against the wall to relieve the day's fatigue, listening to the hum of the old-fashioned microwave.

She was smart; she knew that the first lesson in joining the trauma team was to have good tactical skills, but she simply didn't have the extra money to enroll in the comprehensive tactical skills training course offered by a security company, so she had to resort to some unconventional methods—

For example, those weapons sellers.

In Night City now, bullets are cheap, but guns are very valuable. Gloria needs to spend 30 euros a day to rent a pistol and learn how to improve her accuracy in the shooting range. Of course, she's still missing one crucial thing...

Without exception, all members of the trauma team use smart weapons. Gloria needs to have a seemingly useless prosthetic device from Night City implanted in her hand—the [Smart Connection]; in addition to it, she also needs even the worst smart gun and expensive micro-guided bullets.

Fortunately, the weapon shop owner taught Gloria a lot.

Smart weapons aren't just about raising your hand and pressing the trigger. They require the user to perfectly predict the probability of cover blocking the bullet and to lock the enemy within the frame. For Gloria, this is almost a scenario that can only be imagined in her mind.

Of course, what worried her most was what she had mentioned to David before: how is that kind man from Arakasaka doing now?

Before this, Gloria and David had tried to contact Rin... but the calls and messages they sent seemed to have disappeared without a trace. Gloria didn't seem to have much reason to bother such a young and promising company executive, so she could only silently pray that this kind person was safe.

After all, in this single mother's mind, ever since that tall and handsome man came to the family dinner last time, she had actually assumed that Mr. Rin would no longer have anything to do with people like them. However, what was unexpected was that Mann had an accident at the headquarters of the trauma team - it was because of this that she got the most valuable opportunity of her life and received Mr. Rin's reward.

But damn REO charged a hefty penalty for breach of contract, Gloria's once decent savings were wiped out. In her desperation, she even invested in the stock market, and the outcome was predictable...

Fortunately, she was a conservative person, and the stock market only swallowed up a small portion of her savings, thus preventing her from going to her death.

If Mr. Rin knew that he had made such a mess of his life with his help—

She had no idea how disappointed that person would be…

Thinking about this, she felt a little dejected and kept rubbing her sparse hair on both sides of her head... She even started to regret whether she should have chosen the trauma group.

In fact, she had had a terrible thought more than once: to contact Mr. Rin and seek his help. However, Gloria was afraid that such an action would disgust him, and besides, he had already helped her so much. He seemed to be a man born with good luck, giving her the opportunity to realize her dreams...

Night City is a melting pot of crime, money, and chaotic freedom—a woman adrift in it, most of her hardships unknown to others.

She couldn't rely on anyone and could only make herself a "seemingly reliable" support. If it weren't for Mr. Rin's appearance, she would have just used the idea that "David will definitely make something of himself" to numb herself and work REO for nearly fifteen hours a day.

"Should we... give him another call?"

This terrifying thought swirled in Gloria's mind. Staring at the still-vivid image on the trauma team interview invitation in her hand, she pursed her lips, unsure of what to do...

Perhaps she was just too incompetent; even with others' help, she still messed things up.

Does this mean I really have no chance to pursue my dreams?

Perhaps... joining a trauma group is a misguided idea for someone like me from the bottom of society, a pipe dream.

The slightly messy kitchen was evidence of Gloria's chaotic state of mind. In a daze, she returned to that steamy afternoon when the sunlight was just right in the small kitchen. The man's face was not clear, but she could see the slight smile on his face and his mouth opening and closing.

"No, you're still young, you can have your own dreams."

The man said.

Dreams are like fuel that hasn't reached its ignition point, but once a spark called hope is ignited, they will burn fiercely.

She didn't blame Mr. Rin for his advice; it was her own limited perspective and personal issues that led to the increasingly difficult situation. Compared to the Night City's thuggish nature of "a little kindness is appreciated, but too much kindness breeds resentment," Gloria was more willing to blame herself.

"mom!"

"Mom?! What are you doing—"

David's increasingly clear shouts rang out, jolting Gloria awake. She realized she had inexplicably been sitting on the floor against the wall, almost asleep. The microwave, which lacked a timer, had heated the tacos inside to a charcoal-like state, the center of which still faintly glowed a dark red.

"Hot, hot, hot!"

Black smoke filled the kitchen. David, in a flurry of activity, put on oven mitts and, grimacing, pulled out the scorching hot microwave tray and tossed it into the sink.

Pfft!

David's expression relaxed as he rinsed his gloved hands in the cool water.

As steam rose, Gloria covered her face with one hand, startling David, who was about to turn and complain. The astute David could tell how bad his mother was. He pursed his lips and said, "The microwave needs fixing. There are some tacos I heated up on the coffee table outside..."

"Go out first, Mom, I need to take a shower."

Gloria pressed David's shoulder and pushed him aside. "Let me do it, David."

David stared blankly at Gloria's burgundy, tousled hair, which trembled with each movement as she washed the dishes. Noticing that David was still there, the woman turned her face away and forced a smile. "The new job is a bit troublesome. My head is buzzing with gunfire every day... Sorry, David, what brings you home today?"

Before David could speak...

"If you're short on money right now, you can wait a few days. I need to find some other work to earn some money."

It has to be said that the mother and son do share some similar subtle movements. David rubbed his face with one hand, "I've said before that I'm not a child anymore, so why—don't you tell me anything? I can earn money to support the family too..."

The sounds of flowing water and clinking plates abruptly stopped.

Gloria's voice was soft, but abrupt: "David, Mr. Rin sponsors you because he believes you can excel at Arasaka Academy. I firmly believe that you will become a man standing atop Arasaka Tower, just like Mr. Rin! But before that, don't do these things."

The atmosphere suddenly turned very bad.

Gloria has a quirk: she always cries before she gets angry. Perhaps it's because she feels guilty for not being able to provide better conditions for her child, and the fear that David's studies might go astray, coupled with the pressure, makes her lose control of her emotions.

David had his hands in his pockets, turned his face to the side and leaned against the door frame, the pendant around his neck making a soft tinkling sound as his legs shook.

Gloria sniffed, wiped her face with the back of her hand covered in detergent foam, and turned around to continue cleaning up the messy kitchen with a red nose.

Silence between family members is often full of hurt. Perhaps no one should have lost their temper, but no one can perfectly express their emotions or feelings. They are all sorry.

David mustered his courage and his Adam's apple bobbed. "I'm sorry... Mom, I just have a very important assignment to do recently, and I think I should clean the kitchen."

Gloria froze for a moment, then slowly began to wash the dishes.

"Um... I'll respond to your greetings when you come home next time, and I'll study hard too. And I really haven't done anything wrong at school, I—"

David's voice trailed off as he caught a glimpse of a shadow flickering in the corner of his eye.

puff!
Gloria wrapped her arms around her son's shoulders, which were beginning to broaden, and embraced the child who was slowly showing signs of growing up. She buried her face in his shoulder and sobbed softly, just like David had sought her comfort when he was a child and had been wronged.

It seems that teenagers haven't shown kindness to their parents in a long time. These cool kids always put on an indifferent expression, but deep down they care a lot.

David's expression changed, and he raised his slightly stiff hand to pat his mother's back.

"I'm sorry, David."

Gloria is a good mother; she knows that her emotions have caused harm and is willing to apologize for it.

David made a negative "hmm" sound through his nose.

Looking at her mother, she asked, "Do we need a lot of money?"

Gloria shook her head, then nodded, her expression becoming increasingly unnatural.

How many...?
For Gloria, a smart weapon to practice with, professional armed training, and a smartly connected prosthetic body—five thousand euros would be enough.

But this amount of money seems insignificant compared to Rin's generosity...

Damn it, I instinctively wanted to ask for help again.

This is the real reason for Gloria's awkward expression...

David observed his mother's expression and tentatively asked, "Ten thousand?"

Gloria wasn't going to give David a chance to ask any more questions. She pushed him towards the door and said, "Go do your thing."

"Eh?"

David was completely bewildered. What had he asked? Had his mother gotten into trouble?
"and many more!"

Gloria urged her son on, "Hurry up!"

David gripped the doorframe. "I don't have anything to do, Mom... no, I have something to tell you."

Gloria pushed her son out, put one hand on her hip, and waved her hand, saying, "Nothing else matters. If you really have nothing to do, then go study. Although I can't understand your studies, I can understand your report card!"

David scratched his distinctive spiky hair. "I was originally going to talk to you about Mr. Rin! Um, I think he should be... fine."

Gloria composed herself.

Before David could explain why, his mother pulled him back, asking, "What?"

The young man didn't expect his mother to react so strongly to the news. Gloria's seemingly slender arms were surprisingly strong, and she almost pulled her son down.

David raised his hands in surrender, "Really, Mom."

He then showed Gloria everything he had recently found, the reason being a semi-public corporate cocktail party. After all, corporate cocktail parties are a point of interest for many fashion magazines and online groups, because the attire of corporate executives often redefines the word "fashion"—of course, this does not include Arasaka executives who only wear high-end suits.

David speculated that Rin was alright because the party was secretly recorded by a suicidal employee of the Ember Bar. Of course, the Mewtwo incident didn't involve Rin herself, but rather was just a casual conversation among a few Arasaka Corporation employees.

At David's prompting, Gloria put on the Mewtwo headband for the first time.

She couldn't wait to know what her son had discovered.

In the picture, two men with their legs crossed are sitting on a luxurious sofa, holding cigars in their hands, while a woman with a dignified posture and a bold, avant-garde dress stands beside them.

A: "I'm so fed up with that cold-faced woman from the counterintelligence department! Damn it—something that could have been handled by just one person from the security department today, why did they have to send people from our public relations department? And they have the nerve to say that we're here to record things, to promote Arasaka, and to control public opinion! Are they afraid some drunk idiot will start doing a striptease?!"

B: "Hehe... You're really bold. If those counterintelligence bastards find out, you'll be lucky to escape with your life... Let's drink. Forget all that nonsense, aren't you satisfied with these two beautiful ladies beside you?"

A round of toasts and laughter ensued.

A took a nice drag on her cigarette. "Sigh... I wonder what that woman is capable of, that she managed to kick out that ruthless Minister of Security! That kid's lucky, I heard he's still alive."

B: "Hey buddy... who the hell are you talking about?"

A sat up slightly and leaned closer to her companion. "Who else could it be? Dogtown has been in complete chaos. Arasaka has practically become a money-printing machine lately. It's the Minister of Security, Rin! Sigh... that Rin was completely used as a pawn... If you ask me, in that position, what role would the Counterintelligence Department play?"

B remained silent for a long time.

"Holy crap...really?" A had an expression that said, "A bunch of idiots got on. If it were me, I'd kick Jenkins and that good-for-nothing V who's always giving me attitude out of the game!"

B: "V and Jenkins?"

A: "V was brought up by Jenkins, don't you think?"

(Noise)
……

The light in Gloria's eyes faded, and she slowly removed her headband, next to David, whose face was filled with hope.

The woman stared blankly at the cold headband in her hand, unsure of what to say.

David immediately beamed, "Look! Mr. Rin is still here, which means this time it will—"

Gloria's eyes darkened, her expression inscrutable, and she interrupted, "I don't think you should laugh, David... what they said doesn't seem to be good news for Mr. Rin."

David immediately realized what was happening, and his joyful expression vanished.

He was so focused on finding evidence that his benefactor was safe that he overlooked other information in the conversation. It seemed that Mr. Rin had lost at the company... Perhaps his situation was really bad now.

Gloria shook her head.

"With Mr. Rin's abilities, he wouldn't be too bad off even outside the company, but we've contacted him many times, and he may have already made his stance clear... Forget it, David, don't waste your energy on this."

As she spoke, she stood up, the automatic door closed, leaving David completely bewildered.

Gloria slumped onto the sofa, grabbed a coat haphazardly, and stared blankly at the ceiling.

David, who was inside the room, didn't seem to have any intention of coming out...

The drunkard next door was blasting his TV. Gloria looked out the window at the colorful neon lights of Night City and for the first time understood what it meant for their fate to be completely over.

Mr. Rin may have done his best without replying to so many messages, and even when problems arose in company affairs, he did not let Gloria and David get into trouble.

Gloria had seen the true filth of the metropolis outside her window. She had met many decent people, and many villains as well. Even driving her old car every day, she worried about being hit by a stray bullet.

Living hand to mouth seems to have become the norm here…

Everyone lives for their own benefit; it's almost impossible for anyone to be kind to you for no reason.

David may not be bad at Arasaka Academy, but he's not the best kid.

The woman who received the stranger's donation for the first time wondered what the other person actually wanted...

David's potential? The company's top management's investment? The employees' hobbies? Charitable activities? Even—

Many times she looked at her face and figure in the blurry mirror in the bathroom—if the other party was interested in her, she was prepared to make sacrifices so that David could finish his studies.

To be honest, Gloria had thought far too much about that abrupt family dinner.

Her clothes, which she hadn't worn in a long time but were still presentable, and her carefully applied makeup, were actually her armor.

Gloria even wondered if she would become one of those pitiful women who died in the scavenger's hideout. In fact, before she met Rin, her strongest emotion was fear.

However, when that guy praised her cooking skills and uttered the word "dream," Gloria felt for the first time what it meant to think like a despicable person. For a moment, she almost dared not look directly at the composed young man, feeling guilty for having defiled his thoughts, and even annoyed at herself for having such dirty thoughts common in Night City.

Now, for the first time, she applied the title of "good person" to the employees of the company at the bottom of Night City, whom she described with all sorts of dirty words.

Gloria let out a deep breath, and her prosthetic eye displayed the email interface where she had sent several messages in the past two months. She typed a lot of words, but then deleted them all.

She decided to make a phone call.

The phone kept ringing, and Rin's avatar—completely inconsistent with her usual demeanor—kept floating on the screen. Gloria nervously swallowed, terrified that the call would be answered at any moment…

Time is very long.

Only when she heard the message notification tone did Gloria breathe a sigh of relief, but a strange sadness welled up inside her.

"Hi! Mr. Rin."

Gloria tried her best to force a polite smile in the holographic video.

"Well... I apologize if I may presume, but I've heard you've been in some trouble lately; we saw what happened between you and the company on TV—it's all my fault for being too busy."

Gloria's clothes were almost being gripped tightly.

"David, that kid... he's very clever, and he often likes to tinker around. I know you're alright, but are things at work bothering you?"

The more she spoke, the more awkward she became. Gloria's face flushed red, unsure of what to say. Perhaps her anxiety emboldened her, for Gloria's breathing quickened, and she mustered her courage to say, "I'll just say it..."

"Hey, thanks for helping me and David. I just want to say that if you really run into a lot of trouble, don't think you'll have to bother us—I know Arasaka, Gun... well, anyway, these big companies are dangerous."

"I want to say we're here, and I'm here too—"

"No, it's because we can help you!"

In a moment of impulsiveness, Gloria blurted out something she almost couldn't back down from.

Too ashamed to continue, she fled, saying, "If you see this message, Mr. Rin, please call back... okay?"

pat.

The phone hangs up.

……
-
Night City, Watson District.

It must be said that Suzuki acted quickly. Deep inside the logistics company's factory, Suzuki had already arranged a room exactly the same as the apartment in the company square, and even used Arasaka's virtual technology to decorate it as the scenery of the Charter Hill mansion garden.

Outside, insects chirped, and stars could be seen—a sight almost impossible to find in a city in this era.

For some reason, Lin Yue felt a sense of security at this moment. In fact, every day when he opened his eyes and saw the skyscrapers and logos of several giant companies outside the floor-to-ceiling window, he always felt like he couldn't breathe.

He sat on the sofa, his body covered in wires. The person in charge of this inspection was that mad scientist from Arasaka Tower.

There was a sound of footsteps.

Lin Yue didn't open his eyes; he knew it was Suzuki.

"Lord Rin, everything's arranged in Dogtown. The two Europeans expect to use our logistics channels to bring people into Watson District once things calm down a bit."

As the results came out, the heavy weight in Lin Yue's heart quickly lifted.

He nodded, feeling that Emma's abilities were beyond his expectations. The entire operation proceeded without any surprises, and the goal and result were perfectly aligned.

But after Suzuki finished speaking, it seemed he still had something to say.

"I must say... Miss Emma's decision was very decisive; but I would like to ask you, should Arasaka step in to help her resolve the aftermath? She... used weapons restricted by the convention in Night City, and the casualties among the Ghost Hounds were heavy. If the colonel of Dogtown could find something to hold against her..."

Lin Yue opened his eyes and slowly sat up.

He knew what Emma had done, and given her mental state and empathy, it was almost a perfectly reasonable choice.

“Suzuki, if the situation were evenly matched, even if the colonel had something on him, we could smear him for deliberately fabricating evidence; but right now he seems to be the fourth and we the sixth—no one will believe him.”

Suzuki was surprised that his boss resolved the issue so quickly.

Lin Yue pondered for a moment, "As long as Emma isn't involved, it doesn't matter if the colonel finds the body and traces. We can use our people to take appropriate precautions. The key point is still here."

Suzuki nodded and slowly left the room.

Lin Yue wouldn't let anyone who sought benefits for him lose, so he had no intention of judging Emma's decisions by so-called moral standards. The Ghost Hound was 100% scum, and coincidentally, so was the company.

If it were him, he would use the black wall to slaughter all the ghostly hounds that had been lured out.

Just then, the state's scientific team completed this round of testing. From the beginning, Lin Yue had seen the old "mad scientist" shaking his head incessantly, and most of what he was saying in Japanese was:

What's going on? Still not working? Damn it…

Lin Yue shook his head and smiled, "Don't bother, expert—I can see the results of the system self-check. It seems that there is a problem with the underlying logic of the combat prosthetic body. Replacing the prosthetic body is indeed the best solution."

The guy said seriously, "The development of prosthetic bodies won't be that fast. We have to try every possible method. This is a scientific and rigorous attitude—I hope Minister Rin won't make fun of us."

Lin Yue, feeling snubbed, shrugged with an expression that said, "Do as you please."

The old man started tidying up the cables, muttering, "Your communication system seems to have been tampered with, probably due to AI. We fixed it while we were at it. If your email, phone, etc. are full, or you hear frequent notifications, just wait patiently for ten minutes."

Lin Yue seemed to be deep in thought. If this guy hadn't pointed it out, he really wouldn't have realized that there was something wrong with his communication system.

Just after everyone left, Lin Yue's brain started playing a bizarre ringtone, which even made him subconsciously jump onto the sofa—and as he watched, his expression changed.

That damn Japanese!

Lin Yue had never received any harassing text messages since he woke up. He thought it was because of Arasakako's network and didn't pay much attention to the problem. But now that guy has fixed this bug in the anti-harassment system, and all the text messages that had been accumulated for nearly three months have come in.

Have everything.

Furthermore, Lin Yue also discovered numerous text messages and even 99+ missed calls from former clients from his time as a middleman in Dogtown…

"Depend on!"

Lin Yue shook his head in frustration, but he couldn't turn off the notification sound. Helpless, he could only get up. It was already four in the morning—he decided to take a bath and get a good night's sleep.

Tomorrow is the day Rebecca's team will operate, and Lin Yue needs to meet with the team in person to arrange the mission in a tight schedule.

Lin Yue had barely stepped into the bathroom when the automatic door opened.

The woman outside the door, dressed in a military-style trench coat with a distinctly corporate look, had long, slender legs and indifferently surveyed the room.

V frowned slightly and listened intently...

The sound of rushing water brought her peace of mind. She loosened her grip on the dagger in her pocket, walked to the sofa, and sat down gently, patiently waiting for the person she was to meet.

Lin Yue, increasingly irritated by the noise in the bathroom, simply tried to shut down his hearing.

Unexpectedly, once the auditory system was turned off, the irritating and monotonous beeping sound diminished considerably. To further combat this noise, Lin Yue, washing himself in the steamy air, confidently began to sing, even without being able to check his own pitch.

V, whose gaze was fixed on the water glass outside the door, reached out her delicate and beautiful hand and picked up a glass of cold water from the coffee table.

Just as the water glass was brought to her red lips, a sound even worse than a drunkard's ramblings came from the bathroom. If V hadn't heard records, she would have thought Lin Yue had been electrocuted in the bathroom.

Her expression shifted from confusion to curiosity. She slowly put down her water glass, tilted her head, and stared intently at the guy who was about to emerge from inside, facing the shame of his life.

……

……

(End of this chapter)