Cyberpunk: From Dogville to Legend

Chapter 258 Obsession and Resistance (Part 2) [5.9K]

"How did things suddenly turn out like this?!"

"I knew it! This kid never told us anything, he's such a jerk!!"

"Hey, Rin... Boss, what's going on here?"

Inside the moving van, the two groups of people sat on either side. The vehicle's infotainment system was connected to Lin Yue's brain-computer interface. He had set the route and turned off the sun visor behind the driver's seat.

Everyone was making a lot of noise.

After all, even Qi Wei, who is usually quiet, started questioning him.

Although they all boarded the bus on their own, everyone knew that the chaotic situation at the company must have been caused by Arasaka, especially after Lin Yue's statement about being an enemy of Arasaka, which made everyone afraid to continue even though they had the answer.

Lin Yue was pondering how to explain the current situation to his old friends who had shared life and death with him.

"Hey! Do you think you can stay silent forever?!"

Pira grumbled in dissatisfaction, sensing something amiss about the situation in the company courtyard—a repulsive scheme...

"I killed the people of Arakasaka."

Lin Yue suddenly looked up and quietly stared at Pila, who was still trying to speak with her mouth open. Rebecca, who looked anxious and worried, was stunned. Although Qiwei had no expression, her pupils were filled with doubt and worry.

If they had truly angered a company of Arasaka's caliber, then their current situation of sitting in a conspicuous van seemed quite reasonable.

Arakazama's soldiers have probably already completely blocked off the city.

What about the logistics company?

They remembered that Suzuki stayed behind to clean up the mess. Did he really think that a security supervisor from Arasaka could protect such a large territory?

Qiwei is quick-witted, but she can no longer understand what cards are being played.

Good heavens, my luck seems to be really bad.

Lin Yue sighed, "I already told you not to squeeze up. Follow Suzuki's instructions. You can stay away from NID or stay at the company. I don't have a good reason for you to help me with tonight's events, so I'll find the road down to the canal by the river. You can get off here."

After saying this, Rebecca closed her eyes, and a vein throbbed on her forehead.

call!
Lin Yue turned his head and caught Rebecca's straight punch with his palm.

"It's been so long since I've heard such awful talk... that's why you won't tell us anything!"

Rebecca shouted loudly.

I originally thought today was a good day. I drank some satisfying drinks, didn't spend a boring night at the disco with those dull old ladies or uncles, and even... danced!
What's going on here?

No one can accept the feeling of something beautiful being destroyed!
Lin Yue held Rebecca's arm, but in his mind he was actually planning how to get to the Arasaka Industrial Park, an important facility in Arasaka, because he had something very important to do.

The message sent to your SMS inbox is the best proof.

"Does it matter whether I listen or not? This guy has already defected from Arasaka—"

Pila waved his hand. He knew this bastard's personality well enough: he made decisions on the spur of the moment and didn't like to involve others.

"What does it matter?!"

"It's good that you said it!"

Rebecca was clearly more concerned about what Lin Yue was doing alone.

"There's no need to cling to that kind of company, is there? Besides, with Suzuki staying there, there's no chance of success no matter what he does!"

Upon hearing this, Pila immediately became agitated and grabbed her sister by the collar!

Pila, who was always scolded by her sister and never fought back even when her sister shot her, reacted like this for the first time, catching even Lin Yue off guard.

"Do you even understand the consequences of going against Arasaka and those big companies?!"

Pila spat as she spoke, "Whatever it is—Arasaka, military technology, biotechnology—it's because we didn't care. The company couldn't exert its influence in Night City. But things are different now, you bastard! Sometimes I really don't understand what you're thinking..."

"This guy took away Arasaka's company, understand? It's not some immunosuppressant formula, nor some brain-dead company financial records, nor some company intelligence; it's an immovable asset!"

Rebecca stared blankly as Pila grabbed her collar, gesticulating wildly and cursing.

Qiwei sighed, rubbing her forehead with her hand. She believed that Pila's words, going against the company, could have many consequences—

The endless blockades and the Arasaka soldiers searching house to house, if the money-grubbing gangs in Night City were still around, they could dig people out even if they were underground.

Pila seemed to have run out of steam with her rant, and loosened her grip on the clothes as if giving up. "Forget it, they're all a bunch of idiots who can't understand a word. I might as well have carried a few more grenades with me, so I can blow up a few more of those morons from Arasaka—"

Lin Yue interrupted, "If you don't betray Arasaka, you won't have a chance."

Seemingly exhausted by the cacophony of voices from the group, he continued, "The situation in Arakasaka is very bad right now. I don't mean to hide it from you, but the situation was dire—our faction was facing serious internal problems. If we continued down this path, we wouldn't even know where a knife might be stabbing us in the back."

There was a pause…

Pila paused for a moment while packing up her weapons, then let out a "tsk" from her cigarette-smoking mouth, "Not bad at all."

Qiwei unconsciously sat up straight; she had never expected Lin Yue to explain anything to them.

But the fact that such shocking information was revealed was somewhat hard to accept.

Lin Yue gradually released Rebecca's hand. The little girl's mouth gaped open, seemingly not expecting Lin Yue to tell the truth.

After a while——

Rebecca opened her mouth timidly, "Um... what do you mean?"

She glanced at the somber-looking "old lady" Qiwei and her long-faced older brother, feeling somewhat embarrassed.

Pila, looking exasperated, was about to tell Rebecca, that loudmouth, to sit still when Qiwei spoke up, "Was it Lai Xuan's decision?"

"Wait, Yoriyuki? Arakasaka Yoriyuki? That's the son of that old man Arakasaka?"

Pira's brain overloaded for the second time.

Although they all knew that Lin Yue held a good position in the company, it was still difficult for them to see things from Lai Xuan's perspective. Qi Wei just happened to be very interested in company matters; otherwise, she wouldn't have known which faction Lin Yue was referring to.

“My… gut feeling told me that the company wasn’t a good place, but in Dogtown I had to rely on the company.”

Lin Yue pointed to his head.

Perhaps only he himself understands the meaning of those words.

He observes the world within the "third wall" from an outsider's perspective, and he deeply understands how cruel the corporate arena is.

V is actually a lucky guy.

If the location hadn't happened to be in Liz, and if the fearless Jack hadn't happened to be nearby, V would have become the head of Agent Arasaka, who would have claimed credit and received a reward.

Once he said all this, Lin Yue felt even more how terrifying idealists were.

The simple struggle was to survive. He dared not give up anything: friends, partners, and the girl he was interested in. Even though he was busy trying to survive, he still longed for a peaceful life.

Lai Xuan's struggle is willing to sacrifice everything.

He calculated Lin Yue's psychology and his choices, openly confronted Arasaka Hanako for him, prevented the backdoor from being implanted in Lin Yue's prosthetic body, caused chaos at the conference table, and led to his defection due to his own distrust—Lin Yue knew all of this, and Lai Xuan had also foreseen it all.

Lin Yue could only smile bitterly. He knew everything, but Lai Xuan was an inescapable shadow.

Time clearly did not allow Lin Yue to recount these details.

"I understand, bro."

Pi stretched out his long, thin arm and draped it over Lin Yue's shoulder, smoking a cigarette and saying nonchalantly, "To survive, we have to rely on whatever we can. But given the current situation, we have to get out of here quickly. If we still want to play around here, we probably won't have the chance. Of course, it's not that I'm a coward. Okay, I am a bit of a coward, Aragaka."

It's so true.

Qiwei nodded. "So Lai Xuan will keep us safe, right? After all, you seem to have helped him."

Hearing Qiwei's analysis, Pila and Rebecca breathed a sigh of relief. If the people in this van went to cause trouble for Arasaka... that would be really bad.

However, some people are born with a love for shattering other people's fantasies.

Lin Yue shrugged and said, "No, and I'd have to actively cause trouble for Arasaka."

"what?"

Rebecca's jaw almost dropped to the ground.

"You're treating Arasaka like a biotechnology company?"

Biotechnology is the kind of giant company that might need to purchase security from other companies. Arasaka, on the other hand, is a company that made its fortune through military industry and war. Making enemies is not enough for her. Lin Yue wants to cause trouble, which she can't understand.

Qiwei hit the nail on the head, "It's probably for someone, right? After all, I didn't see that woman leave Arasaka. But from what I know, her identity is probably troublesome—after all, she works in a department that does dirty work in the company. Plus, you're temporarily away from the company. With the heads of two departments, Arasaka won't let her leave Arasaka easily."

Pila suddenly burst into laughter.

"Rebecca, what do you think?! I told you this kid isn't interested in you."

As Rebecca drew her gun, Qiwei reacted quickly, kicking Pila and taking the gun from the girl on the verge of exploding.

“Yes, there is only one person I trust in Arasaka. Although I don’t know how Yoriyuki wants to deal with V, I have to help her, at least to stabilize the current situation.”

Qiwei nodded.

"I understand. We'll keep Arasaka Teng from dealing with internal problems and focus on guarding against you, giving her and Lai Xuan some time, right?"

A disguised form of "besieging Wei to rescue Zhao".

Rebecca crossed her arms and sullenly sat back down in her chair, her gaze so intense that Lin Yue dared not look her in the eye…

The resentment is too great.

Pila grimaced and rubbed his leg, muttering, "Ugh, I've been following you all this time, where are you going? There are plenty of Aragakas all over the world, unless we run off to New America's territory. But I think the things we did in Dogtown, going to their territory would be no different than suicide—"

"But you're all alone, and you haven't brought any heavy weapons. That might cause you trouble, right?"

Lin Yue only wanted to force Arasaka to change her target so that V could stay in Arasaka. In reality, Lin Yue knew very well that V would never leave the company, because as someone who came from the company, she was only prepared to die in this job. The only thing that could force her mind to change was reality. But Lin Yue didn't want to know that the reason behind this was him.

Once is enough to scam a VIP account.

Besides…

She really helped me a lot.

"Hey! I have an idea." Pila muttered to herself for a while, then suddenly pointed her finger and said, "Let's go to the Badlands and find a family of wanderers—"

Qi Wei sneered, "How could you even think of that? Sand got into a prosthetic body and you can't even find someone to help you fix it. Did you really think you were going to have a barbecue and drink beer in the wilderness?"

“That spoilsport old lace woman—forget it, what should we do? I’ll tell you, kid, give me a straight answer.”

Pila nudged Lin Yue with his elbow.

Lin Yue's meaning couldn't be clearer: he didn't want to betray his friends. Besides, Lai Xuan's matter had come to this point. If Sanlang found out anything, not only his son but also all of them would suffer a severe blow, because Sanlang was a guy with no bottom line and wouldn't hesitate to take action.

"Let's think of something first. It seems like I have no choice but to go with you."

Qi Wei's honesty is what makes her so charming.

"As long as this team can still see a future, I'm willing to stay with them—I don't think there's much point in having someone like Mann with his eyes darting around randomly. At least you're still clear-headed, which is a good thing."

Rebecca, seemingly resigned to her fate, feigned impatience and said, "Who knows where some Arasaka soldier might pop up if we get off now? That's it."

Pila just snorted, "Whatever, but after this trip, all your people will be gone. I want to get my hands on that Black Wall's prosthetic data, is that okay? You were so wary of me before, you wouldn't let me get my hands on it no matter what."

Lin Yue looked at the group of hypocritical guys, a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth, and felt a pang of shame...

suddenly!

The car braked suddenly!
Lin Yue immediately placed his hand on the Jinzhongwan at his waist. As the sunshade opened, his sword instantly hovered in mid-air!
Falco opened the car door with a smile.

"Oh dear, this is really dangerous. Driving still needs to be done by a human. Aren't you worried that AI might drive its car into the 'cleaner's' kidney-cutting factory?"

"Falco?"

The middle-aged man, having gotten into the car, slowly fastened his seatbelt, turned around, and smiled, "Let's go, kids?"

……
-
"That woman's authority was granted by Lai Xuan, can't it be taken away?"

In the courtyard of the ara-saka, the damp air made those guys seem dry and flammable, as if they had just returned from the desert.

"Damn it! Can't the counterintelligence and security departments see this even now? They're all spineless cowards..."

Xu Zhi felt extremely annoyed today.

Two conference tables, two identical scenes.

However, he seems to be experiencing a "severe cold" right now, and he has no interest in anything.

Lai Xuan, what exactly do you want to do?
Where is your decisiveness? Where is your wisdom? And where is the upright spine you stood before your father?
Everyone was making a ruckus, and the surrounding Yulin was full of elite soldiers that Aragaka had brought over, seemingly brought by the old man behind the president who was a technocrat.

"Kenichi Saburo, things seem to be really troublesome."

Xu thought to himself.

It's clear now who's on Lai Xuan's side. They're all like defeated roosters, all their former sharpness gone. Xu Zhi, on the other hand, still looks somewhat human.

However, Xu Zhi's silence did not mean that no one was causing him trouble.

A loud-voiced fellow spoke up, "Hey! Assistant Xu, it seems that our Lord Lai Xuan has made a mistake in his decision. In the history of our century-old enterprise, we have never suffered such a humiliating loss. It has finally become a new chapter in our development history."

"Shouldn't those of you who pushed for this decision take responsibility?"

Xu Zhi's face seemed even more expressionless.

Seeing that Xu Zhi remained silent, the doves became even bolder, launching one attack after another, while almost no one on Lai Xuan's side spoke.

Just as Xu Zhi was being falsely accused of many crimes, he spoke up.

"It seems that Arasaka's recent charity activities have been quite effective. I remember that I provided financial support to an association that protects biodiversity not long ago, and I didn't expect it to be so effective—"

Xu spoke slowly.

"Are you out of your mind? What are you talking about..."

Xu Zhi smiled. "Isn't that fast enough? The dog that was protected with Arasaka's money can speak human language so quickly."

The other party was clearly not expecting that such a long build-up would turn into a highly insulting attack, and became furious on the spot.

"Damn it... your mouth stinks like the garbage dump outside Night City!"

Xu Zhi tapped his hand on the table.

"I urge you all to think carefully before you speak. No one has ever stopped Dogtown and the logistics company from doing things, not even Lord Arasaka—are you trying to say that these people are all idiots?!"

A pigeon is always a pigeon.

A simple intimidation is enough to make them flap their wings...

Just then, Nitta Heya finally spoke, but his expression wasn't good.

"Alright everyone, let's think about how to minimize the losses first, and then let Arasaka not cause trouble for headquarters at this critical juncture."

But actually, he was very happy.

From his and Xu Zhi's perspectives, the outcome is obvious.

Nitta didn't feel ashamed of such a victory; Kenichi Saburo, and this whole farce, seemed to be helping him in every way—

In fact, Nitta He knew the entire content of the emergency meeting between the hawks and Lai Xuan, and even what Saburo said. After careful consideration, Nitta He also concluded that Saburo was also unhappy with the current situation of the Arasaka Yorujo branch.

Lost money or assets can be recovered.

What he was most eager to do was to completely remove the nails that Lai Xuan had driven into the company!
If he controls the Night City branch, then it seems that Michiko can only run her pretend detective agency when she returns, while Nitta can enjoy the spoils all to himself.

All the advantages lie with him.

Everyone fell silent, though their expressions were still subtly criticizing each other. They all wanted to hear what this president, who hadn't made any major moves since taking office, had to say.

"Jenkins, and the head of counterintelligence, where are they?"

He Ye asked a question he already knew the answer to. Kenichi Saburo, standing behind him, lowered his head and said, "The counterintelligence department currently refuses to accept any changes to its authority, and the security department is the same..."

Xu Zhi was now sweating profusely.

First it was Rin, then it was V!

These guys with codenames and military backgrounds are too troublesome... Do they really think Arasaka is made of clay?

"It seems that Lord Lai Xuan's decision has more than one problem. Assistant Xu, can you explain the reactions of the counterintelligence and security departments? Does this mean that the company has a group of hostile individuals in its vital areas?"

"Damn it! Can't you take responsibility?!"

When these things were mentioned, the hawks were completely dumbfounded.

People will avoid being accused of wrongdoing, but now that factional disputes are out in the open, even a small fry who makes a mistake can be escalated to the faction level. The opposite of "one for all, all for one" is a very simple truth.

Seeing that the hawks remained silent, Nitta He also felt the last bit of unease disappear.

At least the hawkish upper echelons are no longer able to put on a show.

Now, all we need to do is detain the head of the counterintelligence department... and the Night City branch will be wiped out.

As for assets—

Nitta will get it back, and headquarters will be very supportive.

"So what about that minister? V?"

"Could he be just like that pretty face Abernathy, a spineless sycophant?"

Nitta glanced at the time.

“V entered the Arasaka Tower ten minutes ago. Perhaps there are some things she needs to deal with first—but with more than five minutes left, Assistant Xu, you know what these Arasaka traitors are thinking, right?”

Looking at Xintian's calm face, Xu Zhi felt a tightness in his chest.

But what surprised him even more was that V was clearly outside, so why did he choose to come back? Was it because he lacked intelligence? Did he misjudge the situation and return to a deadly place?

It seems that V's only option is to leave; Nitta will make sure she leaves her life behind when she comes in.

Unfortunately, Xu Zhi dared not make a move at this critical juncture.

Everyone knows what Lai Xuan's current situation is. V's first step of controlling the counterintelligence department and making it refuse his authority was already a bad move. How dare he come to the Central Court?
Unless you've lost your mind.

As if deliberately trying to annoy Xu Zhi, Nitta said, "Four minutes left."

Xu Zhi's fists gradually clenched.

He now wants to find that guy named Rin and tear him to pieces!

Such high expectations and trust, to betray them so easily—it's utterly despicable!

Perhaps Xu Zhi didn't know that a skilled chess player can even deceive himself, and Lai Xuan was no exception; those he wanted to deceive included Xu Zhi.

"Three minutes..."

The people in Nitta's group all had expressions of anticipation, as if they were watching a good show.

Just as Xu Zhi was about to regain his dignity with angry words, the AI ​​in the central courtyard, which had been lifeless, suddenly made a sound.

The sound of guns being cocked came from the troops lying in ambush behind the jungle!

"Night City Branch, Acting Head of Counterintelligence and Security Department, Ms. V, permission granted to enter!"

The crisp sound of high heels clicking away left the doves dumbfounded—

Are you crazy?!

Nitta didn't expect this either.

It wasn't until the tall woman stood in front of the conference table that everyone seemed to snap out of their daze...

"I am coming."

The woman's face, sharp as a knife, was fixed on the man at the head of the table.

……

……

(End of this chapter)