Cyberpunk: From Dogville to Legend

Chapter 314
On the cracked road piled with rusty wreckage, tumbleweeds stuck next to a road sign leaped high as two cars sped past.

The barren world is also the most chaotic place in Night City.

Encountering living people here is rarely a good thing. Beware of wandering ghosts, and even some homeless people might try to steal a few pieces of flesh from you. This is the Badlands.

“That guy confessed everything, and the situation is more serious than I thought… I need to sort this out carefully. That scumbag said that more than a few people from Night City have gone offline… And I’ve already investigated Lina’s matter thoroughly, but I guess you don’t want to hear it.”

Lin Yue glanced at the illusory city in the rearview mirror; the tallest spiral neon lights made the metropolis look exceptionally charming.

"It's alright, Regina. I just didn't expect that all the girls inside had been connected to the subnet. It seems the Tiger Claw Gang had already planned how to destroy the evidence—"

Regina said earnestly, "Hey, I know about your relationship with Kazuko... Honestly, you've done a great job."

"Lina is a student at Arasaka Academy. Nadson has severe kidney failure, apparently due to excessive heavy metals in the drinking water at the [Protein] Farm... Anyway, he needs some money to get his dad a kidney transplant. You know what happened next, Lina was... fucked by those bastards from the Tiger Claw Gang."

Lin Yue pursed his lips and remained silent, simply staring at the road.

Seemingly feeling that the topic had become too heavy, Regina changed the subject—

"I'll let you know if there's any news. I'll keep your partner's situation in mind. I'll transfer the money to you now. Don't refuse, this is a separate matter."

Lin Yue looked at the five thousand euros that had entered his account and was both amused and exasperated.

The situation seems to be much more serious than imagined. The major companies in Night City are developing prosthetic bodies like madmen, and V has not been sending any messages. However, Lin Yue does not seem to be that serious.

The two vehicles had by then reached the border area.

Holographic guide lines suspended in the air and orderly entry prompts appeared by the window. Lin Yue, with a cigarette between his fingers, rested his elbow on the window and watched the fully armed NCPD border soldiers inspect the vehicles.

I don't know what's going on today. In the past, vehicles leaving the city were almost never checked, but today is an exception.

"parking."

The soldiers holding guns slowly raised the roadblocks, and one of them swayed to the side of the car.

The soldier, who had been driving a seemingly harmless car, glanced down at the faded logo on his jacket and then turned to look behind him. "Is that car behind yours too?"

Lin Yue nodded, keeping his hand within the soldier's sight. "Yes, sir, to do some small business."

The soldier scoffed, "Damn it, not a word of truth comes out of your mouth... People like you rushed into this city like madmen, almost lost your lives here, and then swarmed back out?"

"Get out of the car and submit to inspection,"

Lin Yue's mouth twitched.

Before leaving, he glanced at the small truck behind him and, urged by the soldiers, entered the interrogation room.

The simple interrogation room looked so familiar.

Yes…

If the story of this world unfolds from the perspective of the wanderer V, then this is where it all began.

“What are you doing outside Night City? To be honest… my colleagues are all waiting outside. I know right now what’s hidden in that truck of yours.” The border officer put his feet on the table, emphasizing the last few words, “Be smart.”

It seems that Rogge's warning was not unfounded.

These greedy scumbags often try to profit from both sides.

"Of course, it's up to you what you think it is."

When Lin Yue came in, the weapons had already been handed over. Of course, he wouldn't choose to cause trouble at a place like customs. Instead, he patiently pushed his Night City paper identity document, along with a small gift, from the table to the border officer.

Lin Yue keenly noticed some of the small details.

He noticed that the guy was wearing a watch and would occasionally glance at it.

"You'd better not let me find out you're with those stray dogs around here."

Even after taking the money, their attitude remained arrogant.

This is the most lucrative job in Night City.

"One last question, you're a DRA... what was your mother's name again? That company's name is infuriating—"

Lin Yue's bewildered expression didn't seem like he was acting.

"Anyone from that company who shows up must be detained here, right? Are you one of them?"

The border officer, who had been shrouded in darkness, slowly rose and appeared in the light of the desk lamp, his expression seemingly playful.

The young man opposite seemed to fall silent.

The border officer tapped his fingers lightly on the table. Just as Lin Yue was about to speak, a form that the border officer was supposed to fill out was thrown in front of Lin Yue. "If it's not what you're looking for, then fill out the form and get out of here."

This form is for verification upon the next entry. The fact that Lin Yue filled it out himself proves that Roger had pulled strings.

"I wish you a happy life."

Lin Yue gave an awkward smile, picked up the form, and left.

"and many more--"

Lin Yue placed his hand on the door, turned his head, and his face, which had been gloomy with his back turned, now showed some confusion.

"Take your gun with you."

Lin Yue nodded and walked out of customs.

As they were taking their weapons, the obese border officer, whose face was so large it filled the small opening, grumbled sarcastically from inside the window, which was fitted with thick blast-proof glass and bars, "Welcome back to Night City, you shitty city."

When Lin Yue went outside, he saw the driver of the car behind him being questioned outside. The two soldiers who opened the cargo box looked at the large chunks of synthetic frozen meat inside, exchanged glances, and then stepped aside, waving to indicate that they could leave.

A kilometer after the car left the border, a voice came through the earpiece, Rebecca complaining incessantly.

"Oh my god, I want to get off the bus. My prosthetic body is freezing."

The company team members randomly chose an abandoned house to get out of the car and rest.

"I didn't expect the inspection to be so strict. When that guy was stabbing my flesh with the barrel of his gun, it even grazed my head."

Rebecca found a clean spot and plopped down, grumbling to herself, while Qiwei beside her silently wiped the water stains off her coat.

This is the current combat capability of the company's team.

Of course, the driver was one of the company's security personnel; he used to be in the intelligence department and was still a new recruit.

"Boss Rin, Miss Emma has successfully crossed the border. What's our next step?"

I don’t know if it’s an illusion.

The security guard noticed Lin Yue glance at him and said, "Go and take the weapon down first."

After that guy left the house, Qiwei spoke.

"Just a few of us and the company staff? They'll definitely take Arasaka's prototype very seriously—Night City isn't very peaceful right now, those guys have definitely strengthened a lot."

Qiwei is practically a semi-intelligence analyst.

When this operation began, Qi Wei had mentioned strengthening the team members' cybernetic bodies. What worried Qi Wei even more was whether Lin Yue could now take on the main offensive mission.

Even if you can't win, you have to try.

As soon as Lin Yue said this, Qi Wei felt somewhat incredulous, "Didn't I say before... that your strange computing power that supports prosthetic bodies is having some problems?"

"Does that mean it's usable now?"

Lin Yue shook his head.

Rebecca's face immediately fell. "Hey... I already said we should install some prosthetics before this mission. The three of us definitely can't handle the entire Arasaka convoy."

Qi Wei looked at Lin Yue with a worried expression. However, Lin Yue said, "Actually, the cargo transportation route is random, so we can only wait at the border. As for the prosthetic body—I think we should consider this matter first, after all, cyberpsychosis is no joke."

The pathogenesis of cyberpsychosis is extremely mysterious.

Sometimes one arm is enough.

Just as the team was worrying about the upcoming mission, Rebecca hugged her knees and quietly looked at the small stones on the ground. However, she felt as if the ground was shaking, perhaps because her prosthetic eye was damaged by the cold.

Rubbing her eyes, she noticed that the debris on the gravel floor began to vibrate rhythmically, as if—

Something's approaching?!
Qiwei was the first to react, rushing out to see a car emerging on the distant horizon of the yellow sand...

Immediately afterwards, a line of vehicles sped toward this place, kicking up dust!

"Hold!"

The four-person team immediately got into the car. Lin Yue looked at the company recruits beside him whose hands were trembling, and Rebecca behind him turned around and shouted, "It's Arasaka!"

Looking at the company's troops in the rearview mirror, the group realized for the first time just how brazen the company was outside Night City.

"Drive, and have Emma's people head to the coordinates I gave you."

"quick!"

Qiwei frowned as she looked at the scene behind her. Could it be that Arasaka had found out the truth?

But there's no time to think about that now; I just have to take off running.

……

……

A campsite.

The crackling sound of the campfire reflected in everyone's eyes.

The wandering musician strums his guitar and sings melodious country tunes; this is Adcado's stronghold.

"Here you go, scorpion."

A girl wearing drab gray skinny jeans, with fine, curly hair and healthy, natural freckles on her face, handed an ice-cold beer to her companion.

Mitchell complained loudly, "Panan, where's mine?"

Panan tilted his head back and gulped down a mouthful of the icy cold drink; even the harshest conditions on this badland couldn't compare to the comforting taste of this beverage.

"Go ahead! Scorpion helped me abduct the Night Wanderer, you're just a coward who only knows how to shout 'retreat' in the channel!"

Mitchell looked somewhat embarrassed.

"It's not Thor yet! Keep your voice down!"

No one seemed to take it seriously. The vagrants had very little supplies, so it was understandable to squeeze some interest out of those bastards. However, the burly man who came out of the house in the distance turned pale instantly.

“Hey Thor… I…”

Mitchell spotted Thor striding towards him first. He stood up to stop Thor, but the leader immediately pushed him aside.

Panan, tilting his head back and sipping his beer, glanced behind him out of the corner of his eye. The melodious country music in his ears stopped, replaced by the sound of his tribesmen spontaneously standing up and leaving.

Since Scorpion had worked with Panan, he naturally wouldn't sell her and run away. Instead, he stood up with an expression of awaiting his fate.

“Panan, tell me, why are you going to cause trouble again? Don’t you know that things aren’t very peaceful near the border lately? There are company people everywhere. Do you even care about Adcardo? Can you afford the risk of the camp being exposed?”

Panan stared at the campfire.

The leader was so talkative that she was practically bored out of her mind; all she wanted was a beer and to go out for a walk.

"you--"

Thor was furious at Panan's disregard for the rebellious girl and reached out to grab her by the shoulder.

Mitchell looked down at the scorpion with his face covered and nudged him with his elbow.

"Do not touch me!"

Panam is a real firecracker, she's like a bonfire, easily ignited.

Thor was clearly offended by Panan's rude behavior, and his face darkened considerably.

Panan stood up and wiped the beer off his face. "Don't think I don't know what you're up to, Saul. You're trying to get involved with the company—I saw you drive out of the camp that day. People from the city came, right? They looked all dressed up, but do you know that was all a company ploy?!"

Seemingly having finally found a place to vent his pent-up anger, Panan decided to speak his mind freely.

"You want to work with the company? Give me a break! Do you think the company treats us like human beings?!"

Thor seemed to have reached the limit of his patience—

"enough!"

I swear to God.

This was the first time the Adka people had ever heard Sol shout so loudly at Panan.

Panan hadn't expected Saul to act this way, and just as she was about to lash out, Mitchell grabbed her arm.

"You keep saying the company is no good, and that I have to be responsible for my people. How much of our supplies can we get by relying solely on the night ghosts and searching through ghost towns?! The medical care for our people, the supplies needed by the prosthetic doctors—all of these require money!"

Panan stood with her hands on her hips; she simply didn't approve of the company.

"That's not a company."

Thor looked decades older. "Someone from the city is the former chieftain's old flame—Rogge, you know?"

"Rogge sent someone to tell us that the company is planning something big in the area soon. For the safety of the tribe, Parnan..."

However, Panan always believed that wanderers should live freely in the wilderness, just like Adcardo had before.

Like a sky full of stars, although the light is weak, it still makes people feel good.

“We can move; if the company is nearby, we can leave and go further away—”

Saul found that neither his gentle persuasion nor his harsh tactics could convince this unruly girl, and the anger he had finally managed to suppress surged back up.

He snatched the beer bottle from Panan's hand. "Scorpion, Mitchell, you're both veterans, you know Adcardo's rules... calm Panan down, take her car keys, don't make me resort to force."

“Scorpion, you too, give your weapons and car keys to Mitchell for safekeeping.”

Mitchell and Scorpion were clearly reluctant, but the wanderers had no choice but to obey their leader's decisions.

Scorpion Hand placed on Panan's shoulder. "Sol will be fine once he calms down."

"Damn, Panan, don't make things difficult for me," Mitchell muttered from the side.

Panan, who was being held down, kept yelling.

"Thor, you're a bastard! I'd rather be a mercenary in Night City than a dog of the company in Adcardo!"

Panan was a girl with excellent physical fitness, and since it was difficult for two big men to take action against her, she actually managed to break free from their restraints!

As the car started, an embarrassed Mitchell and Scorpion stood there dumbfounded.

"Let her go."

……

……

(End of this chapter)