Cyberpunk: From Dogville to Legend

Chapter 298 Memory Collapse and Stubborn Rescue

The moment Lin Yue was plunged into cyberspace, the torrent of data tore apart his personal firewall.

Did Ultraman make a move?
Lin Yue was unaware that, in his current anxiety, he could only watch his online avatar crumble, witnessing the very scene hackers dreaded most. He imagined his nerves enduring excruciating pain, screaming in agony, or his brain erupting in flames, licking away his life completely—

But nothing.

He witnessed firsthand how data fragments transformed into countless tiny specks of light, things found deep within the data, called memories.

As these strange, jellyfish-like data matrices pierced through his flickering virtual image, Lin Yue finally saw something:
That is…

The darkness and the damp, chilly feeling of the mixture of ice and water in the hibernation pod were very real. Just as he was trying his best to see who was under the liquid surface covered with blue ice, his vision suddenly became clear.

The face was exactly the same as the one he saw in the mirror, especially the rich details on the face, which instantly gave him a chill.

He saw oil drilling platforms on the azure sea, and countless corpses and warship wreckage drifting in from the other side of the sun…

He saw the terminally ill boy watching his beloved game, falling into a deep sleep in his hibernation pod…

He crawled out of the garbage heap, disheveled and filthy, and stabbed the drug addict who wanted to take a piece of his old prosthetic body with a rusty dagger…

I also saw myself sitting in a dilapidated tent in the Ghost Hound camp, with dark circles under my eyes, wiping beer foam from my mouth like a walking corpse…

Many things are not clear.

At this moment, he was gripped by an almost insane obsession—

What exactly happened to my memories? What I saw was actually true?
He knew his memory was no longer reliable.

At least before meeting Rebecca and the others, all his memories seemed to have been affected by something. Even if what he was seeing now was real, Lin Yue had already judged it to be false.

He just wanted to know what had happened.

As unfamiliar images flickered on his retina, Lin Yue's expression gradually became slightly distorted. He suddenly realized a huge problem: his obsession seemed to go beyond this, and a voice kept repeating in his mind.

“Kill Saburo Arasaka.”

This idea seemed to originate naturally from the body. Lin Yue couldn't remember what Saburo Arasaka had done to him, but it was that kind of crazy idea that made him lose his mind that kept taking over his wavering heart.

He tried his best to control his emotions and ignore the replaying footage.

"Ultraman was cut off by the Night Clan... It seems I really underestimated this company."

However, the current situation is not like Ye's plan. Cyberspace is layered, and the deeper content is more useful, but it also means an increase in the amount of computation and level, which can only be accomplished by deep dive.

I don't recall having a hacker chair under the control tower, so my connection method must be a low-data-volume operation.

Calm Lin Yue…

He knew that, besides Ye Shi, some unknown "thing" was preventing Ye Shi from persuading him.

Moreover, he already had a vague answer in his mind about that thing.

The data dissipated, and the black wall "arrived as promised."

really.

For some reason, Lin Yue silently gazed at this entity—possibly the least reactive yet powerful enough to halt military-grade mutated AI—and felt a pang of sorrow.

It's more like they're in the same boat, sharing a similar plight.

The Black Wall is also doing everything it can to find an answer it has to find.

It had to exist here, like a big tree sheltering it from the wind and rain, enduring boundless loneliness.

"Looks like you don't think much of the Ye family either? Hmm..."

Lin Yue muttered to himself, "After all, they are a bunch of lunatics who can use security companies to play experimental games in people's brains—oh no, they are most likely your kind. As for me, I don't think of myself as an AI. AIs are not as good at hiding their true nature as I am."

The subconscious reflection is too obvious.

Even though I've been constantly on the path of struggle, there hasn't been a moment when I stopped thinking about having some savings to live off the company, as if fighting against the company was an impossible task.

This is a sense of desolation that originates from within.

"When the world is controlled by selfish desires, when people are domesticated and lose their ability to think..."

"you--"

For the first time, Lin Yue realized that this large-scale program of the two-way blocking algorithm had revealed information!
However, Black Wall ignored all of Lin Yue's information and instead expressed itself unilaterally.

"The only solution to all problems is self-destruction, except for the restoration of order."

Lin Yue was stunned for a long time.

Can we rebuild order on our own?
There are too many problems to solve, like a child's longing to see what the mountains further from home are like.

Since Black Wall had poured cold water on his superiors at a crucial moment, Lin Yue wanted to see what these guys were up to.

It seemed like only a short while before the surrounding darkness began to recede like a tide—

Typical characteristics of escaping deep-sea diving.

Lin Yue swayed a few times while standing still. After a brief look around, he immediately disappeared from the spot, leaving only the heavy blast door behind him with the ticking countdown of a fixed-point bomb.

……
-
Inside the V-4 hovercar, Trauma Team A operates so smoothly that one doesn't even realize it's in operation.

This group of trainee doctors had been waiting for half a day.

"Everyone—especially you, Gloria, are you all ready?"

The guy sitting in the corner, who was noticeably smaller than the gunman and had the trauma team logo painted on his head, nodded—though he seemed a little hesitant.

Logically speaking, platinum members shouldn't be the responsibility of the trainee team.

However, the environment surrounding these two platinum members is currently the most complicated, and the more experienced groups have pushed this unwelcome trainee group out...

Gudong.

Gloria's breathing was rapid beneath her helmet, and even through her tactical gloves, she could feel the cold, heavy stock of the [Classic Smart Submachine Gun].

[Smart connection complete//…]

The sudden appearance of subtitles and the red aiming retina startled Gloria, causing her body to tremble. The "medical expert" leading the charge (actually an armed man at the forefront) naturally spotted the guy.

Is this a corporate war?

Clearly, before the leader could even speak, Gloria launched her attack first.

This is a question everyone wants to ask.

Nobody's an idiot. If nobody wants to get caught in the crossfire between the two companies' armed personnel, they need to get the intelligence clear—

It's unclear whether the person in charge is showing off their seniority, as they seem to be keeping things under wraps, leaving everyone feeling uncertain.

A few thousand euros a month isn't worth risking your life for.

Besides, the Platinum members are all powerful and wealthy people. If they get sick and die, it's a clean break. The trauma team's lawyers and legal counsel are always top-notch when it comes to medical assistance and terms.

"war…"

A rough laugh followed, "Gloria, are you kidding me?"

"The situation below is quite obvious. Those guys from that company called D... whatever their name is, have all swarmed into the arms of another company. Apparently, these inexperienced idiots failed to find the platinum client. It looks like the other platinum client is already dead."

"But we need to land there and take photos as evidence."

"The client is the head of the Dangerous Girls Investigation Division 3. We can refuse to pay the claim even with company personnel guarding the area, but it has to be done on the spot! That's the rule!"

"Right now, everyone in that new company is working themselves to the bone for their superiors. Our opportunity has arrived."

I enjoy listening to this; it'll give these idiots a good talking-to all at once.

Gloria grew increasingly nervous. The two companies were openly clashing at the NCX spaceport, a place she could never afford to visit in her lifetime. She felt like she was doomed.

She could no longer hear what the leader was saying; she only caught the second word.

A person's face appeared on the holographic screen inside the helmet. Gloria felt that the face looked familiar, but she couldn't remember it no matter what she did.

"Takeyoshi Suzuki, this client's trauma team program has been stuck for a long time and is not covered by the claim. We have reminded you of this many times."

"But judging from the looks of it, he's most likely dead, too—"

"Quickly take photos as evidence."

"complete."

The atmosphere inside the hovercar instantly became lively. After landing and taking photos, the platinum clients wouldn't have to get a single penny refunded; the sales figures would go to them.

"Is this really okay?"

someone is asking.

The team leader reiterated, "Everyone, pay attention! Do you really want to risk your lives for the other teams? Let me tell you a truth: when the company is fighting amongst itself, whoever has the upper hand gets priority. Just don't fire on anyone related to the trauma team."

"Study the company's contracts more thoroughly, and stop thinking about using your limited skills to save some big shot or something—"

Everyone laughed.

Unexpectedly, the captain became serious in a second.

"Follow my instructions: check the weapon and ammunition counts, upload them to the cloud for later billing! Remember, firing is permissible in open areas, especially in chaotic situations."

There was only one person under the helmet whose expression wasn't good.

Or perhaps "torture" would be a more accurate description.

The trauma team had a clear division of labor: four people were responsible for defense, and two medical experts were on-site to provide emergency assistance.

Gloria is now playing the roles of the two people in the back.

She needed to verify the customer's identity with a flatbed scanner before providing emergency assistance. With such good conditions, she should save as many people as possible—yet she heard thugs' remarks among a group of people disguised as medical workers.

Greed is not enough to describe it; she only felt angry.

Gloria's body sank as her fists clenched and the hovercar began to land.

The smart weapons fired automatically in unison. Gloria instinctively grabbed the tablet beside her, nodded to the medical expert opposite her to confirm, and a scarlet light illuminated the cabin. Gloria's location was now connected to the main control system of the hovercraft.

"gogogo!"

The captain shouted!

As four guards, armed and in defensive stances, formed a defensive formation on all four sides, Gloria and another technical expert jumped off the hovercar, one on each side.

The trauma team's helmet is expensive not only because it provides a 360-degree field of vision, but more importantly because it can be perfectly fitted with various models of prosthetic eyes, enabling surgical interventions to be performed under adverse conditions. In other words, as long as the ground is flat enough, they can make a move.

The medical expert was at the forefront; he was a man, much more robust than Gloria.

As he reached out to move the steel plates washed by the torrential rain, the joints of his prosthetic body made a clicking sound. Gloria stared blankly at the mess around her under the gray sky.

The blood seeping into the cracks between the bricks looked so glaring—

boom!
The moved concrete steel plate crashed to one side.

The captain, gun in hand, looked in the direction of the most intense gunfire. Anxious, he turned and shouted, "Quick!"

"Fibrinogen 100...Norepinephrine..."

The kneeling medical expert reported the numerical values. Gloria instantly snapped back to reality and hurriedly knelt down, looking at the girl whose face had long been smashed by building materials, revealing the prosthetic wires. Her complexion looked so rosy...

She's a bit like a girl group idol who sings and dances on TV.

The fibrinogen level is too low; it's not a level a living person should have.

"Too low, blood urea nitrogen has exceeded 2.86 mmol/L..."

The medical expert let out a suppressed dry cough, and following his pointing finger, Gloria saw her neatly cut waist, buried under the rubble.

"Relax..."

That person kindly offered a reminder.

Gloria didn't feel like vomiting. In fact, she had been working as a corpse collector in Night City for so long that she had seen corpses with intestines hanging all over their thighs, and heads shaped like pancakes...

It's just so sad.

The membership fee for a platinum member is not low, but the company failed to provide her with a good future.

This city is probably just like this...

"another!"

Gloria's voice was calm.

The medical expert was taken aback, "Hello..."

He had no recollection of ever offending the only woman in the team.

Following the programmed location, Gloria took a few quick steps, and the guards behind her hurriedly moved in her direction, shouting, "Damn it!"

Such a rash action...

Gloria heard the sound of rain as she knelt on the ground and began to dig through the rubble.

"Scan your identity with a scanner! Stop digging!"

Screw it, Gloria was just doing what she was asked when she joined the trauma group.

Seeing that they couldn't persuade Gloria, the two security teammates used their gorilla arms to twist the surrounding steel and forcefully moved the U-shaped building structure, revealing a man lying underneath who looked like a boiled hot dog.

Yes, extensive burns.

But in this day and age, burns are no longer a basis for determining the death penalty; data is required.

"Take a picture—you fucking bastard!"

Gloria suddenly plunged her body into the cave, and the medical expert beside her reacted quickly by grabbing Gloria's tactical belt around her waist.

"Did you take the picture?"

The sound of the rain was made even more irritating by the captain's urging.

The wait of several tens of seconds felt incredibly long. Heaven knows how Gloria endured the sharp steel bars piercing her body as she inserted the data cable into that guy's almost burning neck.

"The client has vital signs!"

Gloria suddenly popped her head out, her face beaming with joy beneath her helmet.

But after that sound, everyone around froze in place.

Gloria's joyful breathing stopped abruptly as her sharp eyes caught the captain's hand, which was gripping the smart weapon, tightening its grip.

"What are you doing——"

Gloria felt a tightness behind her neck as she was instantly pulled behind her by the guards.

The captain raised his gun and walked to the edge of the pit.

"Gloria, it's past the deadline! Seven minutes to save me, or I'll refund you—do you think about how much time has passed? You fucking connected to the customer trauma team program without permission, it's on record! The company will make you lose everything, down to your last pair of pants! You won't even have enough to live on!"

Harsh words accompanied Gloria's murmured "no, no."

The gun muzzle, reflected in his pupils, was already aimed at the large crater.

at this time.

A sudden whistle broke the silence amidst the torrential rain, muffled and as if heard through a mask.

A tall, thin figure stood not far away, arms crossed, his expression obscured.

"Back off!"

Perhaps like a frightened bird, the guards shouted a warning.

Unexpectedly, the tall, thin woman, who looked malnourished, knelt down on the ground, holding the back of her head.

Her eyes flashed with a hacker-like red light that disappeared in an instant, and her tone was calm with an electronic sound effect.

"Save him, trauma team."

"Otherwise, DAR could make you pay for your underwear too. Don't just think about dangerous girls; we're a company too—"

"That's really going too far."

……

……

(End of this chapter)