Cyberpunk: From Dogville to Legend

Chapter 292 The Journey to Freedom is Full of Thorns (Part 4)

Arasaka?

Lucy's eyes showed fear and a hint of guilt as she glanced instinctively at Suzuki behind her.

In my line of sight, the two people who came in from the duty-free shop were dressed in the same normal clothes as ordinary travelers, but the traces of corporate cybernetic bodies on their bodies were extremely obvious. At this moment, the two people's eyes were like those of hawks, scanning the travelers in the shop. When hurried passers-by bumped into their shoulders, their scrutinizing and threatening gazes made anyone who offended them immediately swallow their words.

Watching the two of them act, Suzuki Takeyoshi spoke in a low voice, neither blaming nor questioning, but more like talking to himself: "Miss Lucy, what exactly do you know?"

Liars will subconsciously deny it.

Lucy, with her mouth covered, mechanically shook her head, indicating that she knew nothing about it.

As Suzuki checked the possible escape routes, he muttered, "Don't know? Miss Lucy is such a good liar. Even Miss V couldn't get anything out of you... Never mind, it's pointless now. I'll tell you what you need to do now, just for your life."

The loyal samurai glanced down at the gift he had brought for his wife. “Do not move rashly out of panic. Obey my orders. Control your words and actions. Do not make any unnatural movements, and do not look around.”

Lucy made a whimpering sound under her palm.

Suzuki hesitated for a moment, but then let go of his hand.

"Ha..." Lucy lowered her head and took a deep breath of fresh air, then looked up and whispered in disbelief, "No... damn it, how did I get here?"

Lucy recalled everything she knew when she escaped from Poland and was certain that she hadn't revealed that secret to her parents. But now, the Arasaka agent appearing here had obvious Eastern European features, so... he was from Poland?!

Everything's ruined...

Lucy's hope was like a candle in a room with the window open, while outside, there were intermittent storms, and the candlelight tore at her panicked mind with each extinguishing and relighting.

"I do not want--"

Thinking of this, the girl almost uncontrollably reached out and grabbed Suzuki's sleeve. Suzuki was still observing the actions of the two unfamiliar agents, and his brows gradually furrowed after noticing Lucy's abrupt movement.

I think I just told her the precautions.

don't want?

Suzuki only needed a moment's thought to immediately understand the girl's meaning...

He reached out and gently pulled Lucy's hand, which was gripping his sleeve tightly and whose fingertips were turning white, away. Under Lucy's desperate gaze, he whispered, "My mission is to escort you safely into the NCX spaceport and get you to the moon smoothly."

Lucy stared blankly, feeling her legs go weak and her eyes vacant.

Suzuki gently patted her shoulder. "Let's go."

Lucy snapped back to reality and saw Suzuki, who was half-bent over, turn his head and wave to her calmly, signaling her to follow. She stood up, her weak legs wobbling slightly, and hurriedly followed.

Suzuki reached the side of the automatic door at the very back of the store, where miscellaneous items were piled up. The orange-red laser beam from the probe above covered the entire area of ​​nearly thirty square meters in front of the door, leaving no blind spots. Suzuki pulled out the pistol that had slipped through the security check from behind him and slowly bumped it against the silencer.

Although there was a hacker nearby, she looked completely panicked, so it would be more reassuring for him to take matters into his own hands.

"puff!"

Through long-term iteration and updates, the muzzle suppressor technology of modern light weapons reached its peak after the unification wars. Perhaps this was because these wars involved not only fierce battles on the main battlefields but also infiltration and assassinations of the enemy.

Therefore, these weapons are fired at very low decibel levels, and when there is background noise such as advertisements, even professional gang members and security personnel cannot hear them clearly.

Although the sound was soft, Lucy, who was closest to the gun, was jolted by the noise. In her colorful pupils, she saw a hand steadily catching the spent cartridge that had been squeezed out of the gun.

Suzuki twirled the pistol in his hand. His gun-holding posture wasn't exactly elegant, but it was the best move to prevent theft or unexpected events around corners. Professional agents all do it this way.

As the bullet struck the probe above, it emitted a burst of sparks, then drooped its head and instantly lost its reconnaissance function.

After confirming that the surroundings were relatively safe, Suzuki wanted to get up and see if he could force the door open. They would then use this emergency passage to reach the pipeline road below the NCX spaceport hall, bypassing the NCX's logistical hazards before boarding normally.

"It's my father."

Before Suzuki could get up, Lucy, who seemed to have lost her mind, suddenly spoke up.

Father?

Suzuki, puzzled, slowly withdrew from his position as he was about to get up, patiently waiting for Lucy to provide some information—the current situation was so complicated that it would be best if Lucy could provide some useful information so that they could be prepared or predict the enemy's movements.

Suzuki was well aware of Arasaka's armed intervention process, and he still believed he could complete the task assigned to him by Rin.

"Yes, my father wanted to take me away."

Lucy suppressed a trembling voice, swallowed hard, and continued, "Those people are all from Poland—assuming, of course, that they really are from Arasaka…but their features are definitely those of Eastern Europeans."

Suzuki nodded. "I could never mistake the signs of Arasaka's cybernetic modifications..."

What he was thinking about now was why Rin and Ms. V hadn't noticed anything. According to Arasaka's internal procedures, it was strictly forbidden to move branch security forces across borders... unless the person in charge in Warsaw had gone mad.

Suzuki could only think of this one possibility: it must be an illegal and unauthorized operation that bypassed Night City's authority. In other words, if the current plan fails, the NCX's security forces will be able to discover the infiltrated Arasaka security forces, which will cause quite a stir and give them a great chance to sneak in during the chaos.

However, the second option is undoubtedly dangerous, as it involves not only facing Arasaka's agents but also being attacked by the security forces at the NCX spaceport as if they were enemies.

"Could you please help us, Mr. Rin?"

Seeing that Suzuki had been frowning for a long time without taking any action, Lucy tentatively asked.

Lucy only knows that Rin defected from Arasaka and is now an enemy of Arasaka. She naturally doesn't know that V is one of their people, so she can only ask for help from the "kind" company executive who is willing to make an exception and let her leave.

Suzuki glanced helplessly at the hacker, then gestured for her to take a deep breath, his serious expression softening slightly.

Considering that she had helped him solve the problem of choosing a gift for Yuko, Suzuki tried to keep his tone calm and said, "Miss Lucy, please take a deep breath and stop panicking like this, okay?"

uh-huh…

Seeing that Lucy was controlling her emotions, Suzuki nodded. "Contacting Rin-sama now... is actually giving the hackers on the other side an opportunity to find us. It's best not to involve him in these troublesome matters, okay?"

Seeing that Lucy still wanted to speak, Suzuki rudely cut her off.

"Considering that Lady Rin not only gave you the promised reward, but also let you go to the moon with a secret you haven't fully revealed, you'd better know when to stop."

Lucy's face flushed red and then turned pale. She gritted her teeth and slumped her head in despair.

The training of these lone wolves in Hokkaido was undoubtedly comprehensive. Suzuki learned not only effective attack methods in the military camp, but also appropriate techniques, network security knowledge, and so on. Therefore, he didn't care at all whether the girl contributed or not—as long as she didn't hold him back, he was already thankful.

But Suzuki really doubted whether Lucy was worthy of Rin giving her all the promised reward.

This girl not only likes to hide things, but her mental fortitude is also not particularly outstanding. Apart from her hacking skills seem to be more flexible than her mentor Qiwei's, she mostly plays the role of a substitute hacker in missions.

"go!"

Seeing that the two Arasaka agents weren't paying attention, Suzuki pulled Lucy along and easily opened the door using his newly acquired technical expertise...

As soon as the two entered the automatic door one after the other, eyes were immediately cast their way over—

The man with two prosthetic eyes gleaming with the scanning light of military-grade lenses called out to his companion, and the two walked toward the door one after the other with suspicion.

Is this the way?

The guy speaking Polish asked the hacker online, “There’s equipment damaged here. The NCX subnet shows an AI-assigned repair order. Go check it out—damn it, we just connected to the NCX monitoring system and the security equipment in your area is already malfunctioning. If it’s a target, you’re incredibly lucky.”

Listening to the hacker's explanation, the agent following behind muttered in dissatisfaction, "Do we have some old acquaintances in Night City? Damn it... I don't remember anything about Night City cooperating with our operations. It's impossible for them to have leaked information, right?"

Seeing his companion turn around and glance at him, he was even more willing to complain.

"Diplomatic immunity zone, tsk tsk, if something happens, we'll be like stowaways dying in a foreign land. Just thinking about it is bad luck."

"Do you think Night City might interfere, steal our work, and then fawn over headquarters?"

The agent in front shook his head. "Really? Where did you hear that?"

"My buddy has plenty of connections."

The man chuckled; he was clearly trying to take advantage of the situation.

After all, it's too easy for a few nameless people to die in a spaceport; everyone would think of themselves first.

"Let the other groups come over."

The person leading the group seemed to be persuaded, "How about..."

However, the hacker suddenly retorted: "Try getting the internal oversight team to deal with you. Do you think Lord Takeda will let us off the hook if something goes wrong? There are plenty of cunning people in the counterintelligence department. If you want to die sooner, then keep going."

"I was just saying, just saying."

The guy who brought up the topic laughed it off, looking embarrassed.

The hacker continued coldly, "Then you'd better shut your mouth now and follow him to see if it's really human intervention. The traffic on Night City NCX's subnet is too high; we can't let any clue slip by."

The two agents agreed and went to the vicinity of the area to look for electronic devices that might have been deliberately damaged. When they looked up, they saw the surveillance camera that was still emitting electric arcs.

The experienced agents immediately realized that the device had been destroyed by firearms. Without any communication, their combat prosthetics activated simultaneously, and their hands reached for the weapons tucked into their waistbands.

"There are signs of infiltration."

"careful!"

Despite this, everyone's faces lit up with joy, especially the hacker, who was immediately glad he had trusted his intuition.

"What should we do? Could it be some other guy who snuck in?"

The two agents glanced at the civilians behind them who hadn't noticed them, and patiently waited for the hacker's instructions.

The hackers, without hesitation, began reporting upwards as planned, but there was no response for a long time. Knowing what had happened, they then heard the AI's announcement from the NCX airport—

"Please note that H2 lane and E9 area are under control. To avoid any loss to your personal safety or other legal rights, please do not linger in the vicinity and follow the instructions of staff to change your boarding gate. Thank you for your support of the Airport & Airways."

Status of control?
Just then, the group received command information from the Warsaw command regarding the operation.

[Transfer of Authority]: [Night City - Branch, under the unified command of Ms. Michiko Arasaka, Vice President of North America Region of Arasaka].

"屮!"

Almost instinctively, the agent who had just been wondering if the Night City branch would take all the credit immediately started cursing.

The attachments followed.

It would have been better not to read this attachment, because once you do, it makes you furious. This so-called vice president of North America, a member of the Arasaka family, has brazenly stolen the credit. This makes the agents in Warsaw, who would rather die than be acknowledged by Arasaka, quite infuriated.

"Where is Takeda-sama?!"

Upon hearing the agent's questioning and finding no other instructions from Takeda, the hackers acted like cowards guarding a treasure trove, waiting for others to come and confront the company suspect the Warsaw branch had been pursuing for so long...

What's the difference between this and your wife being murdered?
"No way, I can see it all now. What does it mean that our CEO Michiko would rather use people who aren't from Arasaka than our experienced Polish people?"

Just as the group hesitated, they heard someone approaching from behind.

The vigilant agents spotted the approaching figure from afar.

They were several anime girls dressed like underground idols, and such attire was not considered outrageous in a fashion capital like Night City.

However, for safety reasons, one of them took a few steps in that direction and reached out to stop them, saying, "Gentlemen, please stop."

The girl at the front stared at the insect-shaped prosthetic eyes, just like those of the popular Japanese idol group Goreku Sisters. This overly avant-garde style was clearly unacceptable to the steady Eastern Europeans.

So he waved his hand and said irritably, "Go away, you freak, if you don't want me to say it a second time."

The freak spoke Polish.

The girl tapped her chin with her finger, hesitated for a moment, and tentatively asked, "From Arasaka?"

These words caused the two agents who were waiting in place to instantly draw their guns. The customers in the store who sensed that something was wrong quickly squatted down. Just then, the automatic door in the store began to close, and a sweet girl dressed with cat ears stood next to the door.

She clapped her hands with a grin, then took out a pink rifle from her cute backpack.

"Everyone, squat down obediently. Don't look at anything that happens later, so as not to scare you."

Sensing something was wrong, the agents tried to strike first, but little did they know that S.A.W.S. was hiding behind the slender girl's neck.

In the blink of an eye, the two were knocked to the ground.

"Whoa! A home run!"

The girl, leaning over the two agents, snapped her fingers. The hacker in the agent team muttered incredulously in the channel, then let out a horrifying scream.

"Your boss is worried that if you get caught by others, it will be difficult to explain, so this place belongs to Ms. Michiko."

"We'll just have to die first, no matter what."

Her voice was soft and sweet, yet it was like that of a devil.

"What's more, you bastards let those two little mice notice. You're not very capable, you idiots from Warsaw."

When all the agents in Warsaw were wiped out, the diplomatic problem disappeared.

Prey yearning for freedom is destined to face thorns on its escape route.

at the same time--

The dangerous girls all received notifications within their systems.

"CEO Michiko has arrived, and the target has been identified."

……

……

(End of this chapter)