Cyberpunk: From Dogville to Legend

Chapter 271 The Undying Enemy (Part 2)

In 2076, it would be difficult to find a place in Night City with such a completely last-century architectural style.

It is said that Richard Knight, the creator of this Night City, personally requested that the law be like a solemn and orderly thing, and only an old style can complement it.

However, the truth is that the price of freedom must be based on the disruption of order.

Perhaps Richard never imagined that one day in the future, the terms and conditions set by the company would become something that crossed the line of morality, superseding all power, even the right to life!

Emma is the kind of woman who can completely control her body language and micro-expressions in important situations; this is thanks to her past dealings with so-called political and business elites. No matter where you are, hypocrisy is always the first lesson for adults. However, she knows that although she is being scrutinized by the eyes of other "enemies" in court, she is not the main character.

It's hard to imagine that, under the pressure of corporate law, this case, which was influenced by the power of the companies, could drag on in court for so long, thanks to Rin's absolute force and the constraints between the companies.

Emma didn't know whether to cry or laugh.

At this moment, the court's pupil projection technology on her eyeballs showed her the steps that needed to be taken, namely the unfinished court debate from the last time.

What she needs to do is ensure that this step doesn't go wrong under her control.

As the gavel struck, Emma looked up, the brooch on her suit, which matched the dark wood tone of the fabric, gleaming.

"Kei-Kei Logistics, Arasaka, and... the jury."

Emma's gaze inadvertently met that of the jury member who was a member of parliament. Emma was initially taken aback, but then a slight smile appeared on her lips—she understood all too well that trapped beast look in his eyes; Rin or someone else was starting to exert their influence.

This gave her more confidence.

Like the old, crumbling system, every court in Night City still adopts a mutually strong adversarial model, with judges and juries in a passive and detached position... especially in the almost argumentative and quarrelsome parts, the judge's power is limited to striking the gavel.

“If I were you, Ms. Emma… I wouldn’t help a bastard steal shares from a child (referring to Joey Livani’s child).

Someone is asking.

In Emma's eyes, everyone's faces were a blurry blur... This was because she was overly nervous.

Being adept at labeling is a common tactic used by almost every company's legal team.

Emma seemed to let out a faint, mocking exhale through her nose, her beautiful eyes glancing slightly to the side. "When it's profitable, it's the company's asset; when it's not profitable, it's the child's asset. Do I really need to put the paperwork for Kejing's sale of the logistics subsidiary in front of you?"

Kejing Logistics is simply envious here, because they know that the people from Arasaka are interfering, and they can't swallow this insult, so they definitely want to take back the company that is profitable.

But it's too late now.

Emma's response to Respectable Logistics was purely a matter of politeness.

No one else knew where Arasaka was going to start.

At that moment, from an angle Emma didn't notice, there was a gloomy Asian-looking man with small, droopy eyes behind his glasses.

There was no one else besides Fujino.

According to the order of speaking, Emma was expected to argue with Respectable Logistics for a long time, with both sides listing a lot of things and arguing endlessly, until the final decision was made by the jury.

It's so boring... Fujino thought.

He had to make this seemingly impenetrable woman reveal a weakness, at least... to prevent some rebel behind the scenes from reaping the benefits without lifting a finger.

Fujino was certainly aware of the major battle at the Arasaka Industrial Park. He was now hoping that the guy named Rin would die as soon as possible. His intuition and long-term legal training made him realize one thing—the woman in front of him was either fighting for her own interests or acting on emotion.

The question is about the relative importance of the two; Emma is the middleman in Dogville, and Fujino knows that…

At that moment, Fujino casually pressed a button on the table, indicating that he wanted to temporarily supplement the evidence.

Emma, ​​who was prepared to talk herself hoarse, suddenly heard that damned voice, and the English name of Arasaka and the white logo appeared. She immediately clenched her teeth.

Fujino's voice could be clearly heard in everyone's ears through the brain-computer interface: "We acknowledge that Rin was once an employee of our company. Now we demand that she be held accountable under Arasaka's corporate law. Here is the employee list data, which can be reviewed."

When Lin Yue's entire data and Night City's most basic digital identity verification were so openly presented in court, Emma's head was buzzing.

Kejing Logistics had known for a long time that Arasaka's employees were suspected of shorting the company, but they never expected that the person behind it was this guy.

What Emma least wanted to see was Lin Yue being exposed like this.

This means that Lin Yue will now be the official representative of the company, and other companies will have more ways to target him, since the target has already been identified.

In the end, Arasaka chose the shameless method, putting everyone at the table in the open. This is Arasaka's style, always has been—the mad dog Arasaka is no joke. Even the military technology had to hold its nose and keep the matter of Dogtown a secret.

If Emma could see the bigger picture, she would definitely think that the two companies, Arasaka and Junko, with their completely different images, took opposite measures against NID Logistics' subsidiary this time. Junko exerted external pressure, while Arasaka adopted a self-destructive approach in court, which was different from their previous methods.

"so what?"

Emma looked at Arasaka's side, her eyes devoid of any emotion. "If I remember correctly, Arasaka denied shorting the company long before the trial started. Is he now admitting to what he did?"

The representatives of Kejing Logistics were all bewildered.

The desolate slopes of the ditch connect the respectable logistics for fun.

Fujino might not fully understand the methods Emma used when she went crazy, but that didn't matter anymore, because someone was backing Emma up.

"A certain company carried out an operation in NID. Was that an illegal tactic used before the company took over? Was it Arasaka?"

Fujino didn't think this woman from Dogtown would dare to expose NID's affairs, as it involved internet censorship, and the Military Science Academy wouldn't stand idly by—at this point, the Military Science Academy was already putting a lot of pressure on Arasaka Fujino, mostly by making some promises that Arasaka had broken.

The internet police—neither of these two people wanted him here.

However, everyone present—from the city hall and the company to the jury—is focused on the mastermind behind Arasaka's revelation.

Too young, and everyone knows who defeated Adam at Arasaka Industrial Park. Everyone knows perfectly well who it was.

Everyone will remember this kind of enemy. This city, cloaked in civilization, is far more ruthless than the laws of nature.

"Mr. Fujino, may I speak?"

Fujino wasn't flustered, because he had already achieved his goal: to expose some things about the logistics subsidiary and Dogtown within reasonable limits. Other companies might not be able to find out about the past, but at least he had to warn them that a new guest had arrived in Watson District and that they had to treat him well.

“Of course, Ms. Emma…”

Fujino isn't a fool; once he's achieved his goal, he's unlikely to implicate Araka.

"Arasaka did not participate in any attacks against NID. Joey is Rin's subordinate. All of this was a behind-the-scenes operation carried out by Arasaka without his knowledge."

That's what they say, but who would dare to investigate Arasaka?
However, Emma was clearly unwilling to let Arasaka off the hook. Even though she knew she might face various assassination attempts or attacks from Arasaka, she still had to express her stance on Rin's behalf. It was like an eye for an eye; the company wouldn't back down, but it would weigh the other party's power.

"I don't know if any internet monitors are involved, but the current head of Night City's branch, Arakawa North America's Vice President Kazuya Nitta, is involved in multiple charges of cybercrime."

Ito's face twitched. "Please don't bring up unrelated topics."

Emma smiled. "What if I could tell you other things too?"

Arakawa's jury was completely unable to exert their full strength in the ring surrounded by blades and had no choice but to back down. The internet censors' investigation of Arakawa had never stopped, and at this critical juncture, Emma had attracted their attention.

Perhaps the internet regulators will actually contact Emma, ​​just to give it a try.

Fujino tightened his suit jacket. He couldn't believe that in this situation, with two juries, one composed of Night City officials and city councilors, and the other of the company, it would be meaningless to say anything if they couldn't get the votes.

As for outside the courtroom…

Fujino knew there was an event carefully prepared for them. Enjoy it.

……

Time passed by, and Emma's performance was flawless, without revealing the slightest flaw in front of her opponent.

However, in the two juries below, half of the members "made a smart choice" due to external factors—both because some people, without company affiliation, were targeting him, but whose methods were not much different from those of a company.

Counterintelligence is what they do.

Even at this crucial moment, Emma was still very nervous.

She wasn't sure if Rin had kept her promise. She didn't feel like she had gained anything in this current situation; it was just that someone had to be there at this point in time.

Politicians, corporations, and the so-called public opinion of Night City—these are all tough nuts to crack.

Is it possible?
She could almost see Arasaka's smugness.

After the Night City nuclear explosion, the NID area became almost a ghost town, and many companies invested heavily in this fertile land where nuclear radiation had not yet dissipated.

When the fruit ripens, the mean neighbor will come knocking, because branches from the tree have fallen into his yard.

After the war, Saburo never shied away from his own style of doing things.

NID (Northern Industrial Zone) soon began to decline in the same way that Arasaka had done...

[The reason Arasaka was able to achieve all this was by using his legal team and their bank to defeat one enemy after another in this territory, turning it into Arasaka's backyard.]

They've never lost, so naturally they're arrogant.

"The jury will now give their opinions!"

Emma looked at the rising star of Night City, the guy who had been talking eloquently about attacking Arasaka on television.

Jefferson's face was extremely grim, and of course, the team members behind him who had vowed to make Rin, this lawbreaker, look just as bad. In just a few hours, they had all become swing voters.

No... I'm a supporter of Rin.

Because while intelligent people might choose courage when faced with a greater cause, when it comes to the interests of two companies, they will choose the one that will cause them the least harm.

"The official jury vote in Night City is..."

Fujino glanced at his assistant behind him, who had just received the news but dared not report it, and his face instantly darkened.

"One hundred votes in favor of Ms. Emma's proposed NID logistics subsidiary plan, ten abstentions, and five votes against."

Oh shit!

Fujino practically growled as he asked, "What the hell is the counterintelligence department doing?"

The assistant dared not look directly at Arasaka's invincible legal team representative. "Minister V... uh, no, Acting Director, the operation has been carried out—due to the security of other companies, it did not achieve the expected results."

Emma's expression didn't change; she was just a little regretful that she had had some doubts earlier.

But it's not over yet—

What were the company's results?

Surprisingly, Kejing Logistics was the first to step forward.

"agree."

The agent stood up, raised his middle finger at Arasaka, and yelled, "Fuck Arasaka!"

Depend on…

They left almost without any regard for appearances, but Emma knew very well that Kejing Logistics had gotten its fill of talking and dragged Arasaka down with one of its subsidiaries, making other companies more wary of Arasaka.

Most of the other companies abstained.

The most interesting thing is that the military science department voted in favor without any explanation or clarification.

Fujino, who thought he had everything under control and even plotted to cause trouble for Emma, ​​never expected that his slap would turn 180 degrees and land right on her face.

Seeing Jefferson, who was almost losing his strength and looked pale, and those gloating or indifferent gazes, Fujino, who was always calm and composed, suddenly stood up!

Staying here is tantamount to being humiliated.

Today's court hearing was meant to get all the companies involved to strip NID Logistics' subsidiary of its legitimacy, but not only has it failed to achieve that, it has also shot itself in the foot!

Jefferson looked up at the smiling woman, then, unable to hold on any longer, he plopped down on the bench…

His hatred for these rule-breaking opponents reached its peak.

……
-
"Boss, is it going well?"

After the car came out of the underground parking lot, Emma lazily nestled in the back seat, and the passenger in the front seat asked a question.

Emma gave a muffled "hmm" through her nose, then suddenly stood up, resting her bright and alluring face on the side of the chair. "I really want to hear you call me boss every day, but..."

She ran her fingers lightly over the animal security guard's shoulder, then chuckled and sat back down.

Why did the jury's attitude change so quickly?

The "Animal Gang Security" in the co-pilot's seat looked out at the receding scenery and laughed, "Counterintelligence agents have guns pointed at their heads, while my squad is running all over the city with things that the internet surveillance is interested in."

“If any problems arise and our foothold is gone, I will choose the latter approach.”

The fact that those words, which were almost suicidal, came out so easily from that guy's mouth made Emma take notice.

If you're afraid to lose anything, you'll gain nothing.

perhaps…

He's gotten this far with this kind of drive, hasn't he?

“There’s a dog named Nitta. I haven’t even contacted him yet, but he’s already contacted me. He’s been making some connections with a few people, and he wants to do something to you.”

The animal security guard turned his head, the glint in his eyes fading rapidly, revealing a youthful face.

"What was that saying again?"

Lin Yue glanced at the map. "Close the door and beat the dog."

At this moment, Emma patted the chair next to her and said, "I really wonder what kind of expressions those people who thought you were going to be half-dead will have when they see you?"

……

……

　[Arasaka's Rise in NID]: Saburo once used his banking and legal skills to seize the investments that other Japanese companies had made in NID after the war, turning the area from prosperity to decline, thus satisfying the company's absolute interests.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)