Cyberpunk: From Dogville to Legend

Chapter 248 Subduing the Tiger (Part 7) [7K]

Jerry was fiddling with his newly purchased porcelain at his desk.

No matter how times change, the rich always appreciate things with a sense of historical weight. This man, who rose from a company employee to become the head of Night City's largest law enforcement agency, has only one hobby: making money—a rather simple hobby compared to buying some bizarre sunglasses.

That's why he was so greedy.

Jerry would sign off on anything the NCPD could cut without hesitation, even amidst complaints, he was still happy to do it.

Every time, he would point at the head of the procurement department, repeatedly emphasizing how much weaponry and equipment he had obtained from Arasaka, and how much it had increased the safety and job satisfaction of NCPD officers—

But he couldn't see that the NCPD's radiation had already retreated to Watson District and Westbrook... Of course, Santo Domingo could only be considered half of it.

"Squeak, squeak..."

Jerry's handkerchief made a pleasant sound as he rubbed it against the smooth porcelain. He was unconsciously drawn to the deep blue crackle glaze, and thus he held the item, worth hundreds of thousands of euros, in his hands...

"Director——"

Jerry's hand trembled, and the small porcelain piece almost fell to the ground!
"Damn it! How many times have I told you?!"

The subordinate who rushed in to report quickly bowed his head, and a thick copy of the Night City Codex flew past his scalp with the rustling sound of its pages.

“If this thing breaks, I’ll send you to play in the mud with the cleaners—you wouldn’t be worth that much even if I sold you.”

Since the item was intact, Jerry didn't cause any more trouble. Instead, he carefully placed the artwork on the table, glanced at his watch, and leaned back in his chair. "Got a tongue?"

The subordinate gave an awkward laugh and quickly said, "The Tiger Claw Gang killed a veteran employee for some reason—uh, the information has been sent to your terminal. It seems he was with an intern, and unfortunately, he ran into the Tiger Claw Gang."

Jerry clicked his tongue...

"Didn't we give them the inside information? That Tiger Claw gang bastard who can't drive probably got a good beating from his boss—how come someone still died?"

At that moment, Jerry wasn't thinking about warning the Tiger Claws or getting the NCPD to react; his first thought was that the Tiger Claws needed to give him more money.

"I don't know, who the hell knew those two guys wandered onto the Tiger Claw Gang's hiding route? They thought we weren't following the rules..."

Jerry didn't listen any further, but instead beckoned his subordinate over.

Just like the military, the NCPD has a rank system. This is similar to a managerial position in a company. Once recruited, this guy can only sit like a roly-poly toy and let Jerry rub the few hairs on his head.

"That's where you're being naive. The damage has already been done, and to save face, everyone has to give in... You didn't warn the Tiger Claw Gang, did you?"

The subordinate remained silent.

This was the answer Jerry least wanted.

"What the hell-"

Jerry slapped the guy several times. Although he hadn't modified his body with prosthetics, he swung his hands very vigorously.

The subordinates dodged.

"But…"

Jerry cursed, "You son of a bitch! Now, get your men and find those bastards for me right now, you hear me? These gangsters think they're so tough? Huh? Even Valentino wouldn't dare talk back to me—"

"Those Japanese! Damn it!"

At this moment, the subordinate quickly added, "Don't worry, a trainee officer has already figured out the location of those Tiger Claw gang members—we've already sent people."

Jerry was overjoyed.

At least the Tiger Claw Gang, these ruthless guys, need to be kept in check from time to time. How his subordinates make money or get ahead is none of his business; what he wants is absolute cooperation. If the Tiger Claw Gang wants to do their flour business, club business, and other things properly in Westbrook, they have to be handled by him.

"That intern?"

Subordinate: "Dorio, the recruit, has a background with the Animal Gang—she seems pretty law-abiding, but she almost got killed along with the Tiger Claw Gang."

Jerry gave a cold laugh.

"Look how powerful the Tiger Claw Gang is now."

"Make Dorio come see me when he's done. There aren't many guts in the NCPD. I'd like to see what kind of guy from Pacific Island he is."

The subordinate finally finished reporting his work to his capricious boss and, with his backside tucked in, tried to walk out.

Jerry didn't even look up. He put his feet on the desk, spun around in his chair with a relaxed air, and whistled with his eyes half-closed.

The sound of the automatic door closing didn't last long before it rang again.

Jerry, with his eyes closed, gritted his teeth and cursed, "You can't poop it all out in one go, huh?!"

However, the footsteps continued until the person at the desk didn't say a word...

Jerry found it strange. Sometimes people have a sixth sense; they know even without opening their eyes that the person who came in wasn't their subordinate from before.

"Um…"

He seemed to be pretending to be stupid with his eyes closed, when suddenly!

Before his hand could even reach the pistol on the table, a black dagger was already embedded just a tiny spot in front of his fingertip. The chill from the dagger seeped into his fingertip, and Jerry saw a man in a sharp suit with graying hair behind the knife…

"Who are you?!"

Jerry's chair slid down, and the guy across the table didn't even seem to notice how it happened, but his hand was already on Jerry's arm.

"Arasaka's..."

At first glance, he thought this was someone sent by Rin.

The old man, with gray hair and a weathered face like a Japanese fisherman, sported a Hemingway-style beard. If you separated him from his clothes, he would resemble the kind Asian grandfather figure in a street advertisement.

Aside from the cybernetic markings on his face, Jerry didn't see any other extra cybernetic implants on him. After all, with his knowledge, he immediately knew that this was probably an old ninja trained by Arasaka.

The other person seemed to want to avoid making too much noise, but still reached out to help him up…

Was it really sent by Rin?

However, the old man spoke up, with a heavy Kansai accent, "Sir, I am Kenichi Saburo."

Jerry swore he didn’t recognize the name at all.

Perhaps when Kenichi Saburo was active, he was just a little boy playing video games at home in some North American city...

"What do you mean? Does Rin mean she's reached the point where she can come and go as she pleases at my NCPD? And... I don't even know you! Japanese names are too complicated, I don't follow the habits of you Arasaka guys."

To be honest, the NCPD director wanted to give Rin a hard time.

He pushed Kenichi Saburo's hand away, cursing inwardly for the ignorant fellow who had thrown a knife on his expensive desk as a show of force.

Kenichi Saburo wasn't annoyed; he simply smiled and watched Jerry straighten his suit.

The other person's displeasure was practically written all over their face, yet he took a step back. "It seems, Director, you didn't have a pleasant working relationship with our former employee?"

Jerry immediately grasped the key information.

前？
"What do you mean?"

Seeing that the other party had asked a question, Kenichi Saburo then tossed the item to Jerry.

He maintained a composed demeanor throughout, even in his old age, he stood tall and straight like a tree in the snow. Seeing that Jerry had inserted the separation chip, he slowly said, "Two weeks ago, the security minister who caused such a ruckus in Dogtown was kicked out—he is no longer involved in any of Arasaka's operations, and his position is classified."

"He was appointed as the head of the new company, backed by Arasaka, and was in charge of the business in Dogtown."

Kenichi Saburo's calm tone at this moment infuriated Jerry, whose face changed and whose fist on the desk clenched and unclenched.

What a greedy guy...

Kenichi Saburo just stared at the so-called head of law enforcement in Night City.

Actually, he wasn't very confident about this trip. After all, it seemed that Rin had helped this NCPD member clear out internal opposition forces and was supporting him with Arasaka's weapons and money. Arasaka's agreement seemed like a losing proposition, all for the sake of his position.

If he had any gratitude, Jerry would never have made that face.

and so…

Kenichi Saburo is preparing to increase the intensity.

"It seems your partners aren't very transparent? Hmm?"

The separate chip that Jerry was reviewing contained Arasaka's data, the most eye-catching of which was the asset estimate and projected profit of the so-called new company in Watson District. That was a huge sum of money that Jerry could only earn by colluding with the Cleaners or gangs for more than a decade.

But he seemed to have forgotten that it shouldn't have been his.

Adding fuel to the fire made the flames spread faster than anyone could have imagined. "Your partner has made a lot of money in Dogtown, but I have to tell you the most important news: the higher-ups in Arasaka have decided to make you the link between Dogtown and Night City for transferring benefits."

"But now... it seems you're no longer eligible to join the game."

Kenichi Saburo eventually fell silent.

He left that mansion in Japan to perfectly carry out the orders given by his master (Hua Zi).

This order was given to someone he cared about deeply.

Michiko Arasaka…

Kenichi Saburo watched Michiko grow up from a young age.

He viewed the girl's feelings more as a change in loyalty to Arasaka Kei.

Her father possessed a captivating charm, adhered to rules, and had the affable nature of a traditional superior.

On the day the Arasaka Building collapsed, he was the one responsible for protecting Michiko.

He always believed that protecting the bloodline of the Arasaka family was his lifelong duty; now that Miss Michiko was being ostracized by Yoriyuki's lackeys, he naturally wanted to seek justice for his Miss Arasaka.

As for Nitta…

Kenichi Saburo was very good at judging people. He knew that the person would one day die because of his inflated dreams. If you want to serve this machine, you have to understand one principle.

All of this belongs to the Arasaka family.

In fact, Kenichi Saburo, who came all the way from Japan, had considered taking advantage of the shrinking influence of Yoriyuki and the expanded authority of Hanako to openly interfere, but in the end, Lord Arasaka suppressed his plan.

His exact words were: "Training tigers is often more rewarding than killing them... Give it a try, it's not a pity if you die."

Now, this "fierce tiger" under Lai Xuan's command is making quite a few moves. After leaving the company, a series of actions have made it impossible for Xin Tian to intervene. In addition, that clever woman who doesn't cause any problems—named V—used the internet censors to pin the blame on Xin Tian, ​​causing this dignified national-level president to be disturbed for quite some time...

All signs indicate that Nitta will be ruined sooner or later.

Judging from that guy's moves, Kenichi Saburo felt that the other side was ignoring him, and instead he was focusing on maintaining stability in two aspects: the hawkish faction's basic cards and the internal forces of the company.

But today, Kenichi Saburo will be using his old ninja mindset to fight this enemy for the first time.

If the other party can guess this, he will definitely cause trouble for Nitta, and Kenichi Saburo will have enough reason to take action.

While internal strife is permissible within Arasaka, it does not allow unjustified subservience or targeting of subordinates. One must either perform well enough or avoid making mistakes.

Kenichi Saburo wanted him to make a mistake.

Follow the established procedures and serve one master.

Kenichi is such a traditional old ninja.

Furthermore, he never considered Lai Xuan a good successor; he preferred to trust Hanako and Michiko.

"Oh shit!"

Jerry, like a deflated hydrogen balloon, suddenly shot up.

Kenichi's face twitched; clearly, the other person was quite angry.

"Tell me, who made Arasaka change his mind?"

Kenichi Saburo's expression turned dangerous. He narrowed his eyes. "You mean you want to take revenge on Arasaka?"

Jerry's emotions calmed down instantly; he hadn't thought to curse Arasaka at this crucial moment.

"Hmph... So tell me, who are you working for? Huh?! Are you here to cause trouble for this Rin? You bastard—you've been lying to me for so long! I even helped him get people out of Westbrook before! Damn it!"

Kenichi coughed.

"Don't involve irrelevant people. It doesn't matter who I work for; what matters is that we have the opportunity to destroy treacherous individuals."

Kenichi was well aware that these rhetoric tactics were nothing more than attempts to diminish the perceived gap between the two sides and exacerbate the sense of disparity, thus sowing discord.

The core message is to let Jerry know: You should have had these things, but Rin didn't give them to you.

Ninjutsu actually encompasses a lot, not just stealth and assassination. It includes information gathering, sowing discord, and so on—as long as it achieves its purpose, that's the ninjutsu Kenichi believed in. Jerry was furious, head bowed, panting heavily; it was like missing out on a treasure vault!

He held out his hand. "Hmm...hmm, you're right."

Kenichi, arms crossed, slowly paced back and forth, saying, "In that case, I have more good news for you: there's enough reason to accidentally hurt the other side—"

Before he could finish speaking, Jerry's eyes lit up with a message from a phone call.

He knew the caller well; it was Suzuki, the head of the Arasaka Security Department, who had cleared out many enemies for him in the NCPD.

Kenichi Saburo cast an inquiring glance his way.

Jerry ruthlessly ignored it, "Damn... calling at this crucial moment, did you leak the information when you arrived?"

Kenichi shook his head. "Maybe it's something else? Arasaka Corporation's security department found that someone used our surveillance program at a sex club, and coincidentally, the gang leader you were going to demand 'an explanation' for died there—"

Jerry: "Rin?"

Kenichi Saburo said in a deep voice, "Sir, this is a good opportunity to subdue the tiger! The chip we just separated contained data related to his prosthetic body, provided by our inside contact. If the Terrorist Mobile Squad goes there, he should die from 'accidental injury'..."

Jerry suddenly hesitated.

"But…"

He was still afraid of the woman from that company, even though Kenichi had never said that the woman from that company was out of the picture.

Even a dog knows those two slept together, and Jerry is afraid he can't withstand the retaliation.

Kenichi didn't give Jerry a chance to think at all, "No buts, do you think I can't do it?!"

Jerry looked dejected. "The Terrorist SWAT team doesn't listen to my orders at all, unless..."

Kenichi's eyes seemed to possess a seductive power, constantly interfering with the other's decision-making. His psychological tactics had left Jerry completely disarmed and starting to feel dizzy. He asked, leading the conversation, "Unless what?"

Jerry muttered to himself for a moment, then suddenly looked up, "Unless there's a cyber lunatic!"

Kenichi slowly withdrew his hand from the table. "It seems you know what to do. The Tiger Claw Gang's higher-ups are dead there. Is it difficult to lie about the appearance of the Cyber ​​Madman? Besides... once the Terrorist Mobile Unit goes there, they will encounter the Madman."

"You know, that guy led a group to do this in Dogtown."

"Confident people often lose. Wouldn't it be better to change partners, sir?"

Jerry's lingering fear was completely dispelled by Kenichi...

At this moment, Kenichi thoughtfully added, "From now on, you haven't seen me. You're only in charge of one case involving a cyber madman. If he dies... then our matter will be settled. If he doesn't die... then you'll have a reason to shirk responsibility, won't you?"

Jerry nodded hastily.

"Uh... is it too late to go now?"

Kenichi glanced down at the time. "Don't worry, it's enough. If you lack confidence, Arasaka will provide you with more."

Jerry quickly stood up, put his hands on his hips, and made a phone call.

In the blink of an eye, there was no one behind him...

Jerry slowly lowered his phone. If it weren't for the knife mark on the table, it would have seemed like he'd just had a dream... Could what Arasaka said be true? Jerry didn't have time to think about it anymore. Opportunity knocks, and whoever dares to step on it gets it!

This bureau chief is no coward!

After pacing back and forth for a few minutes, the NCPD team finally entered.

Jerry now wants to thank that trainee officer named Dorio!
If those two idiots from those companies died there, he'd be happy to promote them to sheriff!

At the same time, he began making contact with the Terrorist Mobile Unit.

He shouted angrily in a high-pitched voice:

"Stop dawdling... When the city hall is causing trouble, are you the one who takes the blame? Get your men there! Damn it, the Tiger Claw Gang leader has been killed there, and that territory is full of those Tiger Claw Gang thugs! Besides Cyber ​​Madman, who else could get so many people killed?"

The Terrorist SWAT team seemed unconvinced, as there was no concrete evidence of the cyber madman's existence.

At that moment, the two company guys, perhaps in a hurry to break through, attacked several NCPD officers.

Jerry made a notification via a dedicated line, and the vital signs of the officers who were initially listed as incapacitated began to change to death...

And the scene.

The assault team members, guns in hand, looked at their teammates who had been knocked unconscious in the stairwell and slowly released the safety behind their guns.

The firelight flickered on the faces of these officers—

The men bitten by bullets didn't even have time to scream.

"Damn it—my assault team is wiped out too! Are you blind? Can't you see?"

The other party finally fell for the trick and believed the lies that Jerry had hastily and maliciously fabricated.

"The team will arrive in three minutes. Hold him off."

The moment Jerry hung up the phone, he was incredibly excited because his men were now surrounding those two guys…

It seems like things are going very smoothly?
Jerry seemed a little uneasy and wanted to use the police officer's prosthetic eye to record what was happening at the scene.

Before they could even look, the NCPD dispatch console was thrown into chaos!
"The suspect has been contacted—"

Amid the gunfire, the officer shouted, "That bitch has a prosthetic body! Damn it! Get the fuck out of the way!"

"Where's the network administrator (short for Night City Police Department's cyberattack team member)?!"

"hacker!"

The dry, guttural roar startled Jerry; he couldn't see anything clearly in the shaky view.

"You spineless coward!"

The bureau chief, who usually ignored everything else, was now furious.

The opponent's strength was clearly unexpected...

it's okay no problem!

Jerry comforted himself with these thoughts, along with the Terrorist SWAT team...

Subordinates came in one after another outside the office. The NCPD hotline was flooded with calls from Night City media and citizens alike... like flies that had smelled blood and rot, swarming in along with the headache-inducing news!
The dispatch center seemed to be interfered with, and the officer shouted—

"Casualties! That guy over there... Holy crap!"

With the sounds of explosions and clattering dirt, everything began to head towards the worst possible outcome.

Jerry slammed his fist on the desk, kicking out the subordinates who were still bickering!

"Damn Arakawa!"

The NCPD control console received the order: "Continue tracking and lock onto the enemy's location!"

"The Terrorist SWAT team is expected to make contact within one minute!"

One of the officers was shouting, "They blew up the hallucinogenic gas canisters, they're all... cough cough, hold on!"

To create a certain atmosphere, Genting Highlands has a trace amount of neurostimulant drugs in its air circulation system. These drugs are stored in a certain location, indicating that the perpetrators clearly knew how to create chaos.

Accompanied by a report in standard British police tactical terminology, the Terrorist SWAT team finally arrived above Genting Highlands.

"Searching for target, requesting landing."

Jerry suddenly stood up and watched as the Terrorist Mobile Squad's hovercar hovered above the building outside the cloud top.

Cyber ​​lunatics aren't necessarily confined to open spaces; these executioners who prey on lunatics know how to search different floors.

However, it took longer than I had imagined.

Jerry felt like almost a year had passed, but only ten minutes later, the Terrorist SWAT team on the first basement floor saw a scene of utter devastation.

Their excellent prosthetic eye system quickly identified friend and foe. The fluctuating numbers told them that this was not some kind of killing field for cyber lunatics at all... because these police officers seemed to have been attacked by guys equipped with high-speed moving prosthetics. There were no fatal and tragic incidents, only the humiliation of being toyed with.

Melissa, who was in the lead, was holding a large-caliber shotgun, her eyes beneath her compound-eyed helmet filled with disgust…

Without saying a word, she casually grabbed a guy whose hat was askew.

"What about people?!"

The NCPD operator shrank back, watching the mantis blade that seemed about to spring out from the woman's arm. "...It's too fast...We did our best!"

Melissa's exposed, fair chin made her look like a wealthy young lady, but the vicious curses coming from her mouth were completely different from her appearance. "A bunch of useless trash, unable to stop a cyber lunatic? Or... are there no cyber lunatics here at all? Are you making fun of us?!"

"no!"

The surrounding officers helped each other to their feet; they had all narrowly escaped death. That guy's speed was almost unmatched; both of them were like slippery eels. One of them had a strange cybernetic implant, and all the guns that required coordination with the arm's ballistic compensator were broken…

But most of them had their prosthetic eyes or arms reactivated.

“This amount of calculation… Melissa, something’s not right.”

For a member of the Terrorist SWAT team to be a cyber hacker, uploading so many small, quick cracks simultaneously is an extremely difficult task. Is that person a mobile supercomputer? Can the human brain do that?

Melissa, already in a bad mood, kicked the policeman away and ripped the real-time recording equipment off him.

The woman gave him the middle finger and yelled, "Fuck you, Jerry!"

He then stomped on the thing and walked away, leaving behind a group of NCPD remnants staring at each other in bewilderment.

now.

Jerry in the office seemed to wake up from a dream.

A moment's hesitation can lead to disaster, and a gamble can be lost in an instant.

Two things were ridiculous: first, Jerry didn't have the contact information for the guy who sneaked into his office; second, the people he had rushed over with were completely used as fools.

Oh no…

This was Jerry's immediate reaction.

……

Lin Yue, sitting in a dilapidated police car, patted the dust off his arms, while Suzuki, on the other side, kept a gloomy face.

Lin Yue found the guy's sullen expression rather amusing—

"The NCPD couldn't stop us, so what are you angry about?"

Suzuki hesitated several times before finally saying angrily, "That ungrateful NPCD guy... damn it."

Even Suzuki started swearing.

“If you hadn’t noticed the problem while you were waiting for me, we probably would have been stuck there waiting for the NCPD to make way for us—that was close.”

The one-minute time difference allowed Lin Yue's mind to find a solution.

He had this awareness from the moment the NCPD appeared here, or rather, he never thought Jerry was a trustworthy guy.

Lin Yue didn't answer the question. After all, he wasn't brave enough to go head-to-head with the Terrorist Mobile Unit when his prosthetic body was malfunctioning... He just hadn't expected Nitta to actually seize the opportunity, which was a bit unlike his usual rough style...

At this moment, the short-haired woman in the driver's seat turned her head to the side.

"How about we stay in that shantytown area, Rin?"

Dorothy, with a cigarette dangling from her lips, had come in with the NCPD but unexpectedly bumped into Rin.

Along the way, Dorio explained the situation clearly and apologized for almost disturbing Lin Yue's business. After all, she did not expect that Lin Yue would hold back against the NCPD who were chasing and intercepting him, and instead chose to run away in a less-than-dignified manner.

Lin Yue didn't seem to have much of a mental burden. "It's just... Dorio."

Dorothy nodded.

Lin Yue was silent for a moment, then said, "About Mann..."

The atmosphere suddenly became somewhat tense...

……

……

(End of this chapter)