Cyberpunk: From Dogville to Legend

Chapter 310 Terrible (Part 1)

Night City, Arasaka Academy.

David, wearing the Mewtwo Ring around his neck and with his hands in his school uniform pockets, walked through the graffiti-covered corridor at the academy entrance after a day of classes. Two bandages stuck to his face made his eyes look somewhat vacant, yet his gaze still wandered around…

Tension, anxiety, and fatigue are all visible on a young person's face.

"call…"

After glancing at his schedule, which showed no classes for tomorrow, David Martinez's uneasy mood gradually calmed down.

Maybe Sheng Nan and her gang have already gone to those brothels in Night City to have some fun. Looks like we're going to be spared some physical pain today.

David used to dislike going home. He would wander the streets and alleys of Santo Domingo looking for some extra money. After all, his mother's working hours were unpredictable, and it was common for her not to come home for a whole day. Since she joined the trauma group, her rest time has been greatly guaranteed. David can also eat warm food and no longer sees his mother lying wearily on the sofa covered with a light yellow coat.

everything is fine.

Except myself.

David once thought that a good life was about to begin. Thanks to Mr. Rin, he was surrounded by more fearful eyes at school, his mother had found a good job, and he could focus more on his studies.

However, there are some things that are simply beyond his knowledge.

All he knew was that the single man and his cronies had started acting recklessly again.

David scanned the students chatting in small groups at the college gate and suddenly caught a glimpse of blue.

David, who hadn't even clearly seen if it was one of those people, quickly shrank back and walked outside.

If you ask the other students at Arasaka Academy what they think of David, the answer is that they have no impression of him.

The only assessment from David's AI teacher was that the use of non-Arasaka Academy educational system certified SuperDream devices to reduce costs led to unpredictable risks to the system.

Good grades are not an outstanding advantage in themselves.

For students at Arakawa Academy, grades are no longer the most important thing.

It's not that they need academic qualifications to change anything, but rather that they need academic qualifications to enrich their resumes.

To the side of the school gate is a dark alley filled with garbage and graffiti imitating gang markings. The students in the school like free and unrestrained things, and some even admire the Voodoo Gang or the Tiger Claw Gang—so there are quite a few students with distorted perceptions among the high achievers, after all, they have not yet seen the truly wicked side of this city while living in the ivory tower.

David, who thought he had narrowly escaped death, did not expect that Sheng Nan, who was at the door, had already scanned him with her high-precision prosthetic eye.

And since they had nothing to do the next day, they decided to test something on David.

"Boss, do you think it's really okay for us to beat David up like this?"

Sheng Nan's lackeys were not as well-off as him; they were just children from middle-class families in Night City, whose parents worked as managers or senior engineers in companies or the Night City government. Ever since that incident at the academy gate, they had avoided David for a long time.

There are many speculations and rumors among the students:

Some say David is the illegitimate son of a high-ranking Arasaka official, others say David's mother became involved with a wealthy man... In short, there are no good words to describe him.

Some even said that David's mother might be a gang member, because Pila, who stood up for David that day, didn't look like someone with a respectable job.

"Shut up, you bunch of idiots!"

Whenever this matter is mentioned, Shengnan is like a cat whose tail has been stepped on. After all, she suffered a great humiliation that day, and even her father did not dare to stand up for her.

Now, everything has changed.

As a high-ranking member of the school's board of directors, Katsuo's father was naturally aware of the new personnel changes within Arasaka.

Rin, Katsuo remembers that guy's name.

A piece of great news came from his father: Rin was out, most likely due to being purged by Arasaka.

It's impossible for the academy's higher-ups to know anything more, but this is enough for Tanaka to use his son to take revenge.

Like father, like son; Tanaka is definitely not a magnanimous person.

"That poor bastard's mother is in the trauma team. I had someone check it out. It cost me over two thousand euros. She's just a regular medical worker. But there's no information about that guy named Rin. I think the relationship between David's mother and that guy is definitely not ordinary."

Ordinary medical staff.

This is how wealthy young men like Sheng Nan describe a respectable job.

The two lackeys shrank back.

Sheng Nan stopped in her tracks, blocking the entrance to the dark alley, her voice low and sinister.

"If you're scared, you can get lost now. That kid hasn't fought back or talked back to me lately, and you're worried about that?! Why don't you go over there too? And try out my own kung fu chip while you're at it?"

Upon hearing this, the two exchanged a glance and immediately burst into smirks.

Sheng Nan rolled her eyes at the two cowards and gestured for them to block the other road from the side...

After the wheat-skinned boy appeared at the corner of the corridor, Sheng Nan saw his surprised look and smiled happily, even a little sinisterly. Coupled with his long blue hair, Sheng Nan crossed her arms and felt extremely good.

He loved it when David gave him that look.

"Mr. David Martinez!"

This guy deliberately mimicked the principal's tone when sending a holographic notification of report cards and other matters via text message, saying, "We heard you did well this time, so a few of us came to give you some rewards."

However, David always maintained the same expression.

Even though Sheng Nan has bullied him so many times, David never seems to get angry when faced with such situations. Instead, he just looks puzzled and says, "Hurry up!"

"what?"

David didn't understand what Sheng Nan was trying to say with that tone; he only knew that he was going to suffer a beating.

Sheng Nan closed her eyes, gritted her teeth, and laughed in anger.

"When can you stop using that damn pirated software?"

David looked down and saw the Tricky Master logo on the Mewtwo headband; it looked so glaring.

"This is the genuine product."

Just as David was about to defend himself, Mewtwo's headband was removed.

Behind him, Sheng Nan's lackey grinned as he held up the headband, making David somewhat anxious—

That was bought for me with my mom's first month's salary; it wasn't cheap, and it's a perfect alternative to the Arasaka Academy education system.

"The Bureau of Crossroads?"

The Mewtwo headband was tossed to Sheng Nan by the lackey, who twirled it around like a toy with his long, slender fingers. "Still saying it's not a bootleg! Damn it—the whole class is using the school-customized Arasaka headband, and where did you get this from?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than David rushed to Shengnan's side.

If it were before.

David let them hit him a few times, but the Mewtwo Ring was his precious treasure... He couldn't let it fall into the hands of this bastard!
"give me back!"

Sheng Nan let David's hand push against her chest, and he pretended to stumble, causing the headband to fly to one side as his balance was disrupted.

His eyes were fixed on the flying headband, his chest uniform wrinkled from gripping it tightly. He lunged forward, his knees and elbows scraping painfully against the ground, but thankfully he caught the headband.

"I go!"

The lackeys clapped and cheered, "You should go to the Ye family's football team. I heard they make money there much faster than your mother."

Just finished saying this.

David's hostile gaze instantly locked onto the rude fellow.

The lackey, already lacking confidence, instinctively took a step back.

Sheng Nan was instantly annoyed, stepped forward, grabbed David by the collar, and lifted him up!

David steadied himself and tried to break free of the restraints. Seeing that Sheng Nan was about to make a move, he put his arms over his head to protect himself. However, as Sheng Nan's entire body's nerves surged, the Kung Fu chip's effects were officially activated.

"Let my thousand euros beat you up!"

"Ada~!"

David looked at Sheng Nan, who seemed not to be moving, but he felt a gust of wind coming from her face. In fact, some of the AI ​​eyes that could speed up imaging and slow down movement could see that Sheng Nan had already thrown dozens of punches at the air in front of David.

call!
Suddenly, Sheng Nan's fist appeared in front of him. Her punching posture was extremely standard, with her lower limbs twisting and her upper limbs swinging, a style inherited from Eastern Kung Fu.

David felt a throbbing pain in his face, and his head suddenly lost blood flow, sending him flying!

"Depend on!"

The lackeys stared in disbelief as David flew away like a broken sandbag. "A cybernetic body?!"

Looking down at David, whose face was half swollen, Sheng Nan smiled smugly. "Those kinds of prosthetics are just a slow poison for these cheap people. We are the elite class that will make those brain-twisted, muscle-bound guys work for us. It's just... let our good student David see that my meager allowance can bring him down."

"Aren't you right, David, the good student?"

Blood gushed from David's nose, and his eyes stared blankly at the dome above.

My face was burning and hurting.

He considered that he could fight back, but he couldn't even see the other person's movements clearly.

Dissatisfied, Sheng Nan's gaze fell upon the Mewtwo Ring that David was clutching tightly in his hand. She rose from her half-squat position, raising her foot to crush David's hand and the Mewtwo Ring together—

"Article 3 of the Arakasaka Academy Student Code: It is strictly forbidden to install and use combat cybernetic bodies on campus, and it is strictly forbidden to bring bladed weapons that can fire or cause damage."

A neutral voice stood out clearly in the empty corridor.

Sheng Nan suddenly turned around.

A slender figure stood at the back of the corridor, wearing a girls' school uniform, with jet-black hair and a standard Eastern face—a bare face that stood out somewhat among the group of girls who had already learned to put on makeup. Her eyebrows were slightly light, but what was most striking were her colorful pupils, which appeared to be some kind of prosthetic eye.

When the girl finished speaking, she tilted her head slightly, seemingly expressing her incomprehension of Sheng Nan's continued actions.

Or is it a warning?
"I've given you your warning, and I've also reported the chip usage to the college's disciplinary department. Now, can you let me pass?"

David's swollen eyes were barely open.

The blurry figure seemed strangely familiar, but he couldn't quite place it.

The two lackeys exchanged glances and subtly retreated behind Shengnan. Shengnan asked irritably, "Who the hell are you? I've never seen you before."

"You guys are from class 2075, I'm from class 2076... Is there a problem?"

The girl looked at Sheng Nan as if she were a wall, and that arrogant contempt reminded Sheng Nan of the poor kid at her feet who wouldn't fight back.

Sheng Nan hesitated.

After all, the kung fu chip was something that was forbidden to be brought into the school. Although her father knew that he wouldn't say much or punish her, Sheng Nan was still very unhappy about the embarrassment.

The girl seemed unwilling to continue.

Carrying her schoolbag, she slowly walked up to Sheng Nan and the others, saying, "Make way."

Sheng Nan looked at the girl, who was half a head shorter than her, and suddenly burst out laughing. She gave a thumbs-down and said, "Are you standing up for this kid?"

The girl glanced at David, who was standing at her feet with blood on his face, half of his face almost swollen like a pig's head, after being reminded. She coldly looked away and said, "No."

Sheng Nan put her hands on her hips and tossed her hair.

Which company do your parents work for?

The girl's expression remained unchanged. Sheng Nan, who had a confident smile on her face, felt a chill run down her spine when she saw the girl's cold eyes, and unconsciously swallowed.

"Is your comprehension really that bad—why would Arakawa Academy accept you?"

The girl sighed helplessly, "You're blocking my way."

This sarcastic remark made Sheng Nan's face flush red instantly.

"What's your name?"

Sheng Nan was certain that this girl did not have a particularly wealthy family background. "If you want me to move aside, hand over your recording equipment."

The girl reached out and tapped her head.

"What's inside the brain-computer interface? Want to take it apart and see?"

Hob meat?
Sheng Nan had rarely seen a girl at school dare to speak to her like that, and she became very interested.

Just as he was about to speak, he saw the girl's fair hand on his chest. Sheng Nan's physical fitness was not good to begin with, and the girl's seemingly slender wrist was surprisingly strong. Sheng Nan was not careful and lost his balance. In addition, David blocked him, and he immediately sat down on the ground!
Not only Sheng Nan, but the two lackeys were also dumbfounded.

When did our boss become so frail?

The girl walking past David had an extremely familiar scent about her. The scene seemed to freeze. By the time everyone reacted, the girl had already walked two or three meters away. David vaguely saw the girl slightly tilt her head and glance at him...

"Hey! You stinky brat!"

Sheng Nan's voice suddenly exploded.

David watched as Sheng Nan clenched her fist and charged forward, his head buzzing!
Even a fool would know that the girl was helping him by not leaving through the main entrance. He hurriedly got up and tried to grab Sheng Nan's clothes, but with the help of the kung fu chip, he was too fast!
"careful!"

However, the girl didn't turn her head and walked forward on her own, as if she hadn't heard the voice behind her.

Just as the fist was about to hit the girl, a spark suddenly appeared in the chip slot behind Sheng Nan's brain-computer interface!

His entire movement became rapid and chaotic; the powerful inertia ripped his balance apart in a second!

The girl slightly turned her head to dodge the misdirected punch, and stepped aside; everything was just right.

Sheng Nan lunged forward, rolling several times on the ground, her body convulsing uncontrollably.

The scene was completely silent…

The two lackeys immediately panicked.

"What have you done? Do you even know he's Director Tanaka's son?!"

however--

The girl's voice remained calm and composed.

"Black market chips are very easy to implant backdoors—"

"You two, his chip seems to be malfunctioning. Are you sure you want to just stand there yelling instead of helping him remove the chip?"

Sheng Nan's follower was immediately dumbfounded.

"If he dies from the black chip, think about what will happen to the two of you."

The two of them felt as if they had been doused with a bucket of cold water.

They rushed over and lifted Sheng Nan, who was screaming in pain. One of them, despite the burning pain in his fingers, pulled out a chip that was completely disfigured.

"I'm going, I'm going!"

The guy who kept shaking his arms shouted, "Boss, I'm the one who saved you!"

Seeing the group in disarray, a fleeting, indistinct red light flashed in the girl's eyes before she turned and left.

David was left staring blankly as she disappeared into the alley.

……

……

(End of this chapter)