Cyberpunk: From Dogville to Legend

Chapter 265 Continuing Towards the Dream

I'm sure some fool's head is already half empty.

V would never willingly reveal any of his thoughts or decisions.

Those were almost pitiful eyes, like those of a lost, stranded whale that had finally found the water it needed, stubborn yet gentle. Dewdrops clung to its fluttering eyelashes like morning dew, and even as the air in one's lungs was being frantically sucked away, it could still make one forget everything else—

Then keep a close eye on her.

Sometimes, aesthetic terms have to be expressed in a crude way, which is also the most authentic description of Night City:
This girl is absolutely gorgeous.

V ...

Her icy hands held the man's cheek firmly, her breath coming from her nostrils like a sob of relief.

The eyes of a lover are filled with images of love, etched with a lost soul.

Lin Yue, who was staring intently without blinking, almost forgot that the other party was about to completely deprive him of his right to breathe.

When the stinging pain on his tongue and the protest of his lungs losing their ability to breathe came at the same time, Lin Yue subconsciously shoved the domineering woman opposite him with one hand, wrinkled his nose, and a trace of blood seeped from the corner of his slightly pale lips, but he only muttered in dissatisfaction, "You dog?"

but--

The woman's face remained fixed on the screen, and glistening tears rarely appeared in her beautiful eyes.

Well, sometimes it only takes one look to cross the line.

Lin Yue didn't want to guess the meaning of the other person's eyes, but he understood very well that this was an expression of longing and concern. Perhaps it was love that had naturally blossomed? Or perhaps it was because she had once again escaped a crisis? Or perhaps she felt regretful about this "ending" that was almost a complete break?
"you…"

Lin Yue wiped his mouth with one hand, noticing that V's eyes were fixed on his empty left arm, and her eyes had reddened even more.

Is it possible that my tears are about to overflow?
But compared to the tears that contrasted with her personality, the pinkish glow on her face, which couldn't be suppressed even by the dim light, was truly interesting.

Perhaps it was because my gaze was too direct and curious, or perhaps I didn't want the other person to see that expression on my face—

Then a slender, cold hand immediately covered the guy's unblinking eyes.

Lin Yue felt a slight weight on his legs, the clatter of his patent leather high heels hitting the ground. He instinctively swung his left arm, wanting to end this powerless battle, but all he got was an empty sleeve brushing against the delicate fabric of the woman's company dress.

Incidentally, the fabric accentuated the curves of the legs.

"That's a fucking rip-off, Old Wei—"

Lin Yue felt that mentioning Lao Wei verbally at this time would be a real downer, but he didn't hold back his inner complaints.

Then he tasted the softest "pastry" in the world, soft, glutinous, cool, and fragrant.

The raw and gentle feeling was like a form of compensation.

"I think…"

“We… um.”

A hand rested beneath his chin, its index finger supporting the man's jaw as he tried to speak and open it. The soft palm gently pressed against his Adam's apple, forbidding any resistance.

Anyway, that's how it's always been. Some people have lost their little bit of pride in taking the lead and have become "obedient" instead.

Even after V's awkward and gentle attempt to stop, Lin Yue, though his eyes were covered, could still sense her watching him. From her slightly parted lips, a fragrant breath escaped from her pearly white teeth, slightly disheveled—

Then she gently pressed her forehead against Lin Yue's forehead.

"Sorry, I'm a coward..."

His voice trembled, filled with regret and helplessness.

This made Lin Yue's body stiffen slightly, and then a gentle smile appeared on his lips.

Lin Yue gently grasped the woman's hand, which she didn't want him to see, then obediently closed his eyes and gently brought his forehead close to hers.

"Life at the company is everything to you, and it happened so suddenly... I, uh."

Lin Yue felt that he had never been good at expressing himself, but he still tried his best to explain because he was willing to respect the other party.

"I just felt this job was very important to you, and I didn't have enough time to explain it to you—"

V whispered, "You are just as important."

She's a girl who refuses to admit defeat and doesn't want to be seen as less than perfect in the other person's eyes, just like she never accepts flaws in her work.

“Fortunately, I found a way, and so far things are going well, at least we…” Lin Yue’s Adam’s apple bobbed several times, and some of his words were enough to make anyone’s face burn, “We’re all fine.”

A soft, chuckling sound came from V's nose.

"Terrible love talk."

She then began her own command-style process.

Lin Yue grabbed her hand as she was about to put it down, his face showing a look of bewilderment.

V's beautiful eyebrows and eyes immediately became alert—

"You're injured here too?"

Lin Yue was stunned for a moment, then shook his head repeatedly as if he suddenly realized something, "No, no... how could that be?"

The woman breathed a sigh of relief upon receiving a positive reply. She suddenly exerted force with both hands, and Lin Yue, who had lost his support, was pushed against the back of the prosthetic surgery chair with a rather heavy force.

A red glint flashed in V's eyes. "Don't be ungrateful."

Lin Yue was not resisting.

Rather, he didn't know how to shoulder the responsibility of this relationship.

Just like the initial exploitation and wariness, and every little detail in the past.

Lin Yue will remember this graceful woman, and the woman will remember the man who would help her with difficult choices without asking why.

"I'm sorry, I'm really afraid you'll die someday."

"So I need to get some."

Hardcore love confessions.

Only in the City of Night.

Seeing that the other party complied, she gently curved her red lips, and with a flick of her full, lustrous black hair, which was as smooth as silk, she tied her hair into a high ponytail. On her wrist, which was slender yet fair and delicate, there was a dark red hair tie with a cat-eye sheen.

"I—hiss!"

V said she had a dream, and it was something Lin Yue, who was lying on a cloud, heard in a hazy state.

She was to handle the "fish on the chopping board" the way she had dreamed.

V considers herself a smart woman because some things that rely on imagination are actually not difficult, and she always seems to maintain a firm grip on the initiative.

"Love you."

The words were barely audible amidst the murmurs and breaths.

As Delaman said, the bonds between people can never be broken, and some things are destined to be futile to resist.

……
-
Crack! The firelight reflected off V's face.

Then a hand ruthlessly snatched the cigarette that hadn't even been smoked yet.

Anyway, there are some things that can't be persuaded by this guy. V, who had just raised his eyebrows, could only give up silently, gently swinging his legs and sitting on the edge of the operating chair, which attracted the other party's attention.

If I remember correctly——

This girl sat like this on the graffiti-covered cement platform in Dogtown, humming a tune. "You came here at this crucial moment, and what about Arasaka? What are you planning to do now?"

Lin Yue didn't feel particularly happy; on the contrary, he felt somewhat burdened.

He certainly didn't want this girl to go back to a snake pit like Arakasa, even though he knew he couldn't stop her, it still troubled him somewhat.

Because I can no longer numb myself with the words "partner". This is the bond of lovers, which makes everything bear the burden of something called a weakness - the future events are completely out of the cognition of my memories. V may face more trouble. How can I protect him?

"after?"

V's smile held a hint of slyness. "Ah, looks like you've fallen for someone really fast. Don't you want to think about that one in Dogtown?"

Lin Yue looked slightly embarrassed.

However, V made a startling statement, as if he wouldn't rest until he had completely shattered the other person's dignity.

She's always been like that.

"Hmm, you're still recovering from a serious illness and you're having sex in bed. Judging from your behavior, you should be fine."

Seeing that the other party was behaving well, she decided not to pursue the matter further and instead began to answer the questions seriously.

"I glanced at the time. Right now, that woman should be handling the company control issue for you—those people in court are not easy to deal with, especially Nitta. That guy is even starting to prepare to overstep headquarters' orders—but it seems there hasn't been any reckoning yet."

"There's no need to worry about what happened to me today. I'm in the counterintelligence business, and I have plenty of ways to deal with it."

Wasn't she sidelined?
It seems I still have a low level of confidence in V.

"Don't do this next time."

V's tone suddenly turned somber.

She lifted her legs and placed them on her sides, just like she had accompanied Lin Yue from the R&D center to the hovercar in Benzhou. Lin Yue guessed that was the most relaxing sitting position for her.

Now that's what a girl should look like.

Lin Yue shook his head. "If I don't fight with all my might, I'm doomed. If I don't latch onto Arasaka, I'll be lying in the garbage dump of Dogtown. That's how it is—I'll be careful, but... I want to be able to settle down."

Stable?

V found it unbelievable that such words would come from the mouth of someone who, under pressure from Saburo, suddenly executed a representative of a rival company.

"Lai Xuan's game is getting harder and harder to play. It's not that the headquarters doesn't want to settle accounts with Xin Tian, ​​but he has to be there. It doesn't matter who dies at his hands, because there will be new people to replace him anyway."

V was very curious about one thing: how he was going to die.

Lin Yue crumpled the cigarette butt in his palm and stared at the ashes falling from his hand. "I don't want to give this opportunity to anyone else. The more desperate he is, the more crazy he will become—I remember all the difficulties and obstacles he caused us, and everything he did to me."

"Besides, you won't have peace and quiet if he's around, will you?"

"At the Arasaka board meeting, he was probably the one who most wanted to get rid of you, right?"

Lin Yue looked at V with a smile.

V stared blankly for a long time at the guy sitting cross-legged at his feet, his smile still somewhat childlike.

In my memory, every move Nitta makes always feels disgusting yet unavoidable. Even so, he is thinking about the company outside, but at this critical juncture when he has just recovered from exhaustion, he chooses to reduce his stress.

"Why…"

V felt very distressed.

She knew the company's reputation wasn't good. Jack, Misty, and others had all advised her against it, saying that the place was a den of monsters. Although she didn't want to say it, continuing to practice her will in such a group that everyone resisted would undoubtedly be lonely.

After all, the most common term used on the streets of Night City is "idiot company dog"!
"I thought you thought I was blinded by greed and eagerly wading into the fire pit of Ara-saka!"

Lin Yue shook his head.

The educational resources and the indoctrination a person receives can obscure the reason for their own persistence. Right and wrong are not the criteria for judgment. There are rules on the street and rules in a company. Everyone's experiences, backgrounds, perspectives, and pursuits are different.

Seeing that the other person just shook their head and didn't say anything, V smiled.

He patted the person next to him, and the guy leaned his head in, very obediently.

“I’m sorry, sometimes I don’t even know what I’m persisting in. The company’s property isn’t my home. The company sofa and the small office outside Jenkins’ door feel more like my place—sometimes I can’t help but wonder what it’s all for.”

"For money? For fame?"

Lin Yue looked at the ceiling and the woman's face beside him, "To be so stressed in the toilet that I vomited."

V's hand immediately froze, and his nose wrinkled slightly.

"How the hell did you know?"

Lin Yue found it particularly natural for V to use profanity, and he figured he was probably sick...

"Who knows?"

Night City forbids dreams the most. What happens if you don't do it is what most people think about. In contrast, the streets outside the company are much simpler—can't survive? No money? Want to be famous? Simple… pick up a gun and make a name for yourself in history.

The more Lin Yue read, the deeper his understanding of a single sentence became.

Shattered dreams are merely fuel here.

"actually…"

V's hand slid lightly across Lin Yue's eyebrows. "Besides Arasaka and other companies, I don't know where else I should go."

It's most likely V's family, right?

Lin Yue thought to himself, but he simply reached out and gently touched V's cheek. "Nobody needs your answer."

After a long silence, the woman said, "The stars on Mount Charter were very bright. I could see them when I was little, but they're gone now."

Lin Yue's brows twitched.

This is something I didn't know outside of my own memory.

V's company affiliation, family, and past are like a mystery, perhaps only she herself knows the truth.

V saw that Lin Yue was just listening quietly.

"Aren't you curious?"

Lin Yue shook his head. He felt that it was already very presumptuous of him to know most things about this world. In fact, everyone has their own secrets, and knowing too much would only mix in too many non-subjective emotional factors, such as kindness and hatred.

He dislikes certain people; it's like it's ingrained in his very being.

However, that was only because I had seen their life stories from a third-person perspective, but in reality, everyone was just trying to achieve the goal of living.

"There's no need for that. Don't force yourself. You don't need to reveal everything you don't want to say as if you're pledging allegiance," Lin Yue said softly. "You only need to know one thing."

V quietly looked at this guy whose eyes were full of tenderness.

"Ok?"

Lin Yue continued, "I'll be there for you whenever you need help, Valerie."

Lin Yue played his first card in the city with great care.

The lover doesn't know everything about the other person; he just wants this beautiful dream to continue forever.

……

……

(End of this chapter)