Cyberpunk: From Dogville to Legend

Chapter 247 Subduing the Tiger (Part Six)

As the out-of-control elevator plummeted with tremendous force, the pulleys connected by the overhead steel cables suddenly emitted a slight snapping sound…

The U-shaped steel fasteners resemble melting marshmallows, slowly beginning to deform!
The glasses of the gang members who followed the boss and were involved in things like managing the organization were covered in sticky red residue. The small, lumpy particles were slowly sliding off the glasses, leaving behind blurry, pale red marks.

He couldn't see who it was, but the strong stench made his brain freeze for a moment.

His mouth was filled with a sweet taste; his hands were clenched into claws, his mouth was wide open, and for a moment he even had trouble breathing.

Normal logic told him that his boss, the leader of the Tiger Claw Gang, was probably in pieces... but there was nothing he could do.

"cough--"

He gasped for air and slammed his head against the cold elevator wall. His hands trembled as he tried to wipe his glasses clean, but fear caused them to fall out of the elevator. Everyone was stunned by the sight.

For someone to die like that in an elevator, even a fall from a great height probably wouldn't be possible...

Is it a monster?!

On the sticky floor, everyone stared at the "monster" who was only an arm's length away from them; beneath his neat short hair, his eyes had a faint crimson tinge, and there seemed to be some "debris" stuck in his black prosthetic body... He just waved his hand expressionlessly.

The elevator in Genting Highlands could barely squeeze in a dozen or so people, all crowding around to protect Pan Shangchun—it wasn't until now that they could see clearly that the thin guy, who seemed to have perfect strength and physique, was standing on a Tiger Claw gang member with a sunken chest.

One second...two seconds...three seconds...

Under such a powerful visual and terrifying impact, some members of the Tiger Claw Gang finally came to their senses!

The first to make a move was the sumo security guard standing on the left side of the elevator, who occupied the space of two or three adult men—

Lin Yue's quick reflexes allowed him to dodge backward immediately!
call!
Boom!
The heavy fist was aimed directly at the spot where Lin Yue's head had been half a second ago!

When the fist missed its target and slammed into the elevator wall, the metallic steel layer, mottled and covered in graffiti, was no different from the tin foil in a cigarette pack; it quickly deformed and collapsed.

[Black Wall Protocol (Overload)]

"The permission granted by the great dike of civilization, the thing most feared on the other side of the wall, is your will."

[The black wall temporarily transfers data access, allowing blocked data to be input into any enemy software or firmware program]...

In other words, this is a method that uses the sheer volume of data from the Black Wall to cause errors in all enemy cybernetic software and implants. The method of killing them differs from the previous struggle for body control with AI; those tainted by this substance will no longer be destroyed by the crimson data that descends from the void as seen through the prosthetic eye.

On the contrary, the data source was Lin Yue, who acted as an intermediary to input the enemy's cyber implant into his body.

[It has a destructive effect on all programs (human, machine, AI)]

This is something Lin Yue deduced little by little through practice after he woke up.

The moment the data was entered, the sumo wrestler, who was as large as a small mountain, let out a puzzled "hmm," and his small eyes, hidden beneath the milky-white mask, showed some surprise...

A piercing electrical noise echoed inside the elevator.

In the shaky view of the Tiger Claw gang members, the security guard's face was torn apart by bright red data, and the few implants on his body emitted a pungent, burnt smell—

Wow!

Hearing the crisp sound of swords being drawn, Lin Yue immediately pressed himself against the wall to minimize his vulnerable area.

In the past, when such high-intensity head-on battles occurred, Lin Yue relied on his high level of reaction movement in relatively spacious areas to complete one-against-many or even wipe out a team. However, in the confined elevator, S.A.W.S ...

The advantage is that the space is small enough that the enemy, without such a reaction-enhancing prosthetic, will be severely limited.

"It's so hard."

Lin Yue was somewhat surprised to see that the sumo wrestler's security was still holding up. Although the Black Wall protocol wasn't as strong as it used to be, constantly connected to cyberspace, it was still a level of security that most fast hackers couldn't withstand...

The Tiger Claw Gang members who swarmed in were all high-level gang members with extensive street fighting experience.

Their first instinct was to use their numbers to pin Lin Yue against the wall until he died, and then they attacked him in the abdomen with stabbing motions!
"Damn it! Let me out! A bunch of lunatics!"

The club's AI was terrified and bent over, trying to squeeze through the pile of messy leather shoes, only to have a hand lift him up!

"Xinei!"

"You bastard, you son of a bitch!"

Curses rose and fell. As Lin Yue pulled people away, a knife stabbed his other arm, which he had instinctively used to shield his abdomen. The hollowed-out prosthetic structure wedged the blade in. The Tiger Claw Gang's eyes, which were almost spitting fire, were filled with a frenzied killing intent.

Wow!
He swung both knives in a wide arc and stabbed downwards!

Lin Yue's body suddenly sank, and he squeezed into the almost suffocating space. The club's AI, which was still making strange noises above, was used as a shield, and two holes immediately appeared in his white shirt.

"Damn it! They stabbed the wrong person!"

With his throat almost blocked by blood, the gang's AI couldn't speak. Lin Yue swept his leg, knocking down the guy who kept rushing forward trying to grab Lin Yue's shoulder. He pressed forward and delivered a powerful stomp that sent the guy into cyber reincarnation.

It's important to know that Lin Yue's legs weren't prosthetics; they were genuine legs that surpassed human limits and supported reaction and movement. This kick caused the elevator to lurch down again.

This successful counterattack sobered up the gang members who were surging forward to try and kill the master with a flurry of punches. Or rather, the sound of skulls cracking had an extraordinary effect on refreshing their minds.

Lin Yue pursed his lips, his prosthetic eye scanning the gang members surrounding him. At the same time, the enemy's attack arrived instantly as the second rapid crack was uploaded!

"Lord Rin!"

Suzuki was breathing heavily through the headset, calling out anxiously.

"Please hold on!"

After blocking a forward thrust, Lin Yue retaliated by kicking the man's shinbone, breaking it. The man screamed as Lin Yue pushed him down, forcing him to kneel on one knee.

At the same time, Lin Yue snatched the knife with his backhand. With a swift and fluid motion, even though the experienced gang member in front of him had already leaned back, the knife still managed to cut his eye!
"Holy crap! My eyes!"

Lin Yue was somewhat disappointed. The prosthetic body was too clumsy. If it were him two months ago, he would have slit his own throat with that knife...

At this moment, the sumo security guard, whose brain was about to be overwhelmed, was leaning limply against the elevator wall. But unexpectedly, this guy's vitality was like that of a wild beast. He instantly got up from the floor and charged forward in a sumo-style waist grab!
Lin Yue wanted to dodge for a moment, but a knife was stabbing him from the side, leaving him with no choice but to choose one or the other.

Being controlled is the most troublesome thing. Lin Yue's brainpower is enough to support him to choose the most reasonable way in a few microseconds. Immediately, he leaned forward and the tip of the blade, three centimeters long, instantly pierced into Lin Yue's side.

The other person's vicious smile froze for a moment.

He had no idea that Lin Yue's skin was so bulletproof.

Lin Yue's lips twitched, and a knee strike sent the guy's head flying back, several teeth clanging against the elevator's metal wall.

Just as Lin Yue was about to deal with the guy who was holding a knife and trying to push the blade into his body with both hands, the sumo wrestler who was lying on the elevator floor caused a jolt, and the elevator suddenly plummeted!
The sudden feeling of weightlessness caused several knives to stab towards Lin Yue.

Lin Yue bent down and used the prosthetic arm behind his neck to temporarily block the blade—

Even the Tiger Claw Gang's attacks often landed indiscriminately on their own people!

At this moment, the broken ropes inside the elevator shaft rattled, and sparks flew from the elevator car rubbing against the cement. The deafening shouts of battle continued inside... The small space was a hellish battlefield.

In the circular stairwell, Suzuki stepped across a flight of stairs in a few strides, then suddenly used the handrail to flip over to the next floor.

He had to get to Lord Rin before the elevator descended—

Too risky!

Suzuki stayed by Lin Yue's side throughout, fully aware that Lin Yue's cybernetic body was actually insufficient to support him in high-intensity combat...

Damn it, I just wanted to relax and have a bite to eat today.

Moreover, what worried Suzuki the most was that he heard the NCPD dispatch station's voice on Night City Radio. At this moment, even the NCPD was getting involved—too much chaos could easily lead to problems, and Suzuki just wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible before that happened.

Soon...

Suzuki finally saw a floor indicator sign hanging above the stairwell, which was filled with garbage on both sides, graffiti all around, and a fishy and pungent smell of medicine in the air. The sign read "-1F" in large letters.

He took two steps in three and suddenly smashed open the long-neglected door.

The door creaked and swayed, then the loud footsteps behind it abruptly stopped—

Immediately afterwards, the door was pushed open slightly again, and Suzuki slowly backed away with his hands raised... while four or five fluorescent green laser dots flickered wildly on his face.

Fully armed NCPD police officers, brandishing standardized Arasaka weapons, slowly approached.

"NCPD, put your hands where I can see you and lie down!"

Suzuki only glanced at the bullet before it struck the side of his face, the sound of the bullet echoing jarringly in the hallway.

Depend on…

After Suzuki delivered his final words to Lin Yue, the cold butt of the gun slammed into Suzuki's chest, causing him to stumble back several steps.

……

At this moment, the underground parking lot at Genting Highlands appears empty and quiet.

Listen closely, and you can hear a faint, grating scraping sound. As the sound grows louder, the unsettling noise abruptly stops. A muffled thud comes from behind the only elevator door, and a plume of smoke squeezes out from the gap...

Squeak.

Someone seemed to be groping around inside with their hands.

As a knife emerged from the crack, the person behind the door strained—

The elevator door was forced open a crack by the knife. It was unclear whether the guy used a fist or a kick, but the elevator door was eventually sent flying out and into the elevator shaft, where the young man jumped out with his hands on the ground.

“屮…”

The man took off his tattered coat and muttered something under his breath. He casually wiped the blood on his face and neck—whether it was his own or that of an enemy—with the lining of his coat, then tossed it aside.

He touched the not-too-exaggerated wound on his waist, his lips twitched slightly, and he turned to look at the pile of corpses in the elevator.

"Wakako, it's all done, but I couldn't see her face very clearly, so I didn't take a picture."

"Please look it up yourself. We can talk about the rest later—I have some trouble here."

After finishing the phone call, Lin Yue glanced at the time, lit a cigarette, and waited patiently…

Not long has passed.

It happened to be a cigarette.

Footsteps approached, and Suzuki emerged from behind a thick, heavy pillar in the underground parking lot. He looked dusty and grimy. He glanced at Rin, who seemed unharmed, and his expression relaxed slightly, but his tone was grave as he spoke, “Rin-sama, regarding the NCPD… thankfully it wasn’t the Terrorist Mobile Unit.”

Lin Yue waved his hand, "I know, I was keeping an eye on you in the elevator."

Suzuki gritted his teeth and said in a low voice, "Besides being in the company square, what brings the NCPD to Westbrook at this critical juncture—"

Lin Yue threw the cigarette, which was almost burned down to the filter, on the ground. "Couldn't get in touch with the NCPD, huh?"

Suzuki's expression was not good.

"Not only could we not get in touch, but we were just cornered by a team of assault troops. It was easily resolved."

"The Arasaka Security Department previously handled a lot of trouble for that guy who climbed up from the NCPD, including providing him with cheap weapons, which were originally intended to be useful in Dogtown. But now it seems that not only is he not going to obey, but he's also trying to cause trouble—"

"You rejected his offer last time, didn't you? He's still trying to make money!"

Lin Yue just smiled and said, "Do you know what outsiders call this? Losing power. So many people in Arasaka are rushing to climb up, afraid of being squeezed out, isn't that what they're after? It's just that Jerry is too impatient. With his pitiful investigative methods, he thinks we're finished after being kicked out."

"Listen more carefully, the NCPD is about to dispatch the Terrorist Mobile Unit."

Suzuki thought it was unlikely, but just a few seconds after Lin Yue finished speaking, the NCPD radio station began reporting a suspected case of cyberpsychosis in Westbrook.

Lin Yue looked at his subordinate and asked, "Do you think I'm some kind of cyber lunatic?"

Suzuki gritted his teeth. For the first time, he realized what it meant to be fed a thankless wretch. Until now, aside from Jerry facilitating Arasaka's operation, he hadn't asked Jerry to pay anything expensive. But now…

Lin Yue patted his old buddy, who valued loyalty and honor, and said, "Alright, stop standing there. It's probably that bastard Nitta who colluded with this guy. As for why the NCPD took notice of this place, it's probably some unimportant excuse."

"If we don't leave now, we really won't be able to leave. Do you still want to fight the terrorist mobile unit?"

“We ambush the Tiger Claw Gang, and Jerry ambush us, the carnivorous tigers. That makes perfect sense—don’t act like you can’t take a loss. In the end, whatever that bastard swallowed will have to be spit out.”

Seeing that Lin Yue had already taken several steps, Suzuki finally realized what was happening.

He didn't understand why Rin could accept things so calmly and see through everything in such a short time.

"car!"

Suzuki offered a reminder.

Unexpectedly, Lin Yue waved his hand and stood still, subconsciously checking the system.

His expression changed slightly.

Suzuki, who was walking behind, noticed that the parking lot was filled with NCPD personnel, and the two of them were gradually surrounded...

……

……

(End of this chapter)