Cyberpunk: From Dogville to Legend

Chapter 317 Borrowing a Knife (Part 3)

"Dexter Desean!"

"Holy crap, it really is him!"

In the next life, the dance floor, shrouded in smoke, blended the gaudy, colorful neon lights into a chaotic mess. His belly resembled a marble sphere at the entrance of the Taiping Continent Empire's shopping mall. A red-gold-armed fellow, a cigar tucked between his fingers, wore dreadlocks and sunglasses, his expression one of utter indifference to his surroundings.

Of course, there are also limited edition sneakers, like the genuine Kim Fat Man.

Mercenaries who have made a name for themselves in the next life are all keeping an eye on that guy. Nobody knows what Dexter did in Pacific a few years ago, but... according to industry insiders, Dexter has settled everything and is going to do a big deal to retire. He has learned to be humble and start from scratch.

Judging from this "big shot's" walking posture and the bodyguards following behind him, humility doesn't seem to be showing yet...

"Damn! I need to go up and leave my contact information or something."

The female guitarist next to the male mercenary, who seemed even more manly than him, rolled her eyes. "Ha! Come on, you idiot. Dexter only uses the people he wants. He won't even give a damn about those who come to him on their own. You should think about whether it's more practical to play poker with two girls at the bar tonight—or you can bring me along."

Returning to this city is not a pleasant experience.

"Fat Jesus" only takes big jobs, which used to be Dexter's rule; but in just a few years, he lost all his connections, gangs, and confidants. Making a comeback was much harder than he had imagined. The underlings were celebrating, but only Dexter knew that he could never take off that tattered crown.

He would occasionally wander into the afterlife. Logically speaking, Taipingzhou was his old home where he made his fortune, but since he had a home to return to, he naturally couldn't go back.

There's a new manager in Taiping Continent, known in the underworld as the Empress—it's said she had a close relationship with Hans in the past, and some even say that the Ghost Dogs can't do anything to her. Her background is as solid as cement. Dexter wanted to make connections, but she wouldn't even give him a second glance.

Night City is a cesspool; newcomers replace the old, and no one can hold onto those at the peak of their careers…

Dexter felt a pang of emotion.

In the afterlife, Roger gave this former "legendary figure" a lot of face. Roger talked to him. To outsiders, it seemed like the underground queen of Watson District was colluding with him, but in reality, Roger was just drawing a line between them, keeping to himself and not interfering with each other. Dexter's hands would not touch Watson District.

Its bulky shape caused the sofa to quickly sag.

Dexter let out a deep breath; his thick, dark fingers were covered in gleaming gold, and his leather vest looked extremely tight.

A short while later, a girl walked in.

The tightly-knit, airtight customer service team, the flamboyant large earrings, and the bald heads—these perfectly match the individualistic habits of these internet addicts.

【T-BUG】

In Dexter's view, intelligence is always the top priority. A skilled hacker is worth seven or eight skilled gunmen; that's an ironclad rule. Besides, there's no one more reliable than T-BUG, who has helped him a lot in the past.

"You broke up with that 'Muscle Angel' from Taipingzhou? BUG?"

Dexter smoked silently.

He actually hoped that the newcomers who looked at him with innocent, foolish eyes on the dance floor would squeeze in and ask him all sorts of questions, at least to make it seem like his business was good, since after all that he only had this female hacker.

"uh-huh…"

When T-BUG sits down, he likes to cross one leg on the sofa. "We don't get along. [She went to fight in underground boxing] - The Animal Gang members only have a few hobbies. Isn't it normal for Night City to part ways amicably? The trouble she caused last time was too big. The Animal Gang members are all afraid of her."

Dexter adjusted his sunglasses.

T-BUG stared straight ahead, "Ask me whatever you want, I don't care if you ask for a consultation fee."

Dexter is a man who loves to beat around the bush, but he does have ways to make big money. T-BUG is willing to follow him and share some information with him, which might just be a huge business opportunity.

"Don't worry, Bug, I'll find a few good, lucrative jobs to make up for the shortfall—"

T-BUG sneered, "If you hadn't bought that nice car with the last bit of money you had left, I bet you wouldn't be in such a difficult situation now..."

Dexter, with a cigar between his fingers, revealed a mouthful of gold teeth.

"I disagree with you on this point."

"Night City is unlike any other city I've ever seen... The lower classes are obsessed with creating gods. See how they practically beg me for work? But they're frustrated by their own lack of ability. That's when I found a big job that doesn't require an excessively high commission—"

"Just tell him: 'Kid, you are a born legend'... and people will rush to work for you and make a fortune in kickbacks."

Dexter flashed the authentication chip on the gold "Delegation" luxury car at his waist, "Everything has to be stored in these things."

Eloquent.

Dexter excels at inspiring people, while Bug is much colder; it's a miracle she doesn't complain about her incompetent Night City teammates.

"Okay, okay, Master Encouragement, what do you want to know? I can answer you while I'm writing code."

As they were talking, BUG picked up the laptop on the table and started working.

How much do you know about Taipingzhou?

T-BUG typed on the keyboard, “That guy isn’t the middleman. The Queen is the guy who shares the dog town with Hansen—I have reliable sources saying that the Queen is backed by Arasaka, but I know she was involved in the attack on the Arasaka Industrial Park… As for the rest, the company hackers are online 24/7 like mad dogs, and I haven’t found much.”

"Pretty impressive, at least we can't afford to mess with them. If we mess with someone like that... you'll probably have to run away again."

Dexter, who had intended to stop exploiting the bug, never expected that the man who had been gloomy just moments before would suddenly seem to have sensed a business opportunity.

"I'm not as good as you at reading code, but you clearly can't see the meaning behind this."

Dexter took two wine glasses from the tray, one large and one small.

"What is Arakasaka... a colossal behemoth."

"That lousy place, Dogtown, can only be ruled by Hansen. Wouldn't anyone be anxious if there were one more person in charge?"

BUG paused for a moment while typing code.

"The only ones who dare to mess with a company are the companies themselves; you have to believe that."

Bug crossed his arms. "Couldn't it be one of those super-powerful squads? What if Emma has someone, and Hansen from Dogtown can't handle him—"

"and many more!"

"It seems Hansen moved some surface-to-air missiles, and the news is spreading like wildfire."

Seeing that the girl had suddenly understood, Dexter remained silent and filled two glasses with wine.

One is large and the other is small, extremely asymmetrical.

"The fact that a small player can emerge unscathed from a collision with a large one is itself a game governed by rules. The smaller player needs to be wary of many things to avoid being swallowed by the larger one, doesn't it?"

T-BUG looked at the drink Dexter offered him and said, "Thanks, but I don't drink."

Dexter wasn't annoyed; he smiled and finished both glasses of wine.

"Also, how do you plan to conduct yourself in Night City and compete with those middlemen for business?"

Dexter reacted as if he'd heard a joke.

"Who said... I'm going to do business as a middleman?"

"My name alone can attract attention. By handing these tasks over to other middlemen, I can not only do them a favor but also get their valuable resources to follow me. Wouldn't it be better to find a few hotheads to do a big, awesome deal?"

T-BUG nodded repeatedly. "Heh, a middleman? Interesting."

Dexter continued, "You're a shareholder, so you naturally get the lion's share of the big deals."

"Spread a few messages out, and you'll help out—pick a few decent people and bring them over when the time is right."

T-BUG nodded and continued writing code.

Dexter, his eyes behind his sunglasses, stared at the hazy dance floor outside, squinting as he pondered how to make one last fortune in this shitty city.

“Madam, you cannot go in—Mr. Dexter DeShawn is inside, and he will not see anyone else.”

The security guard's indifferent voice came through.

"Please, help me, I... I'm dying... We need this money, it's a company matter."

The woman looked like she was about to cry.

"Would you believe me if I said I work in military technology? Don't come any closer, I don't want anything bad to happen to you."

Dexter, who was smoking with his head down, heard the key words.

"Let this lady in; it's not good to block customers while we're discussing business."

A moment of silence followed outside— "Okay, boss."

As the door to the private room opened, a tall but pale woman stood in front of Dexter.

Her clothes looked cheap, and the neo-kitsch style clashed with her messy black hair. "Damn, my wig."

Her makeup was smudged, but she was undeniably a beautiful woman.

Dexter gestured for security to come in.

The woman, hastily adjusting her clothes, was completely unaware that the security guard behind her had pulled out a pistol and placed it in front of him.

Dexter is capable of dealing with some presumptuous swindlers.

He just had a smile on his face, trying his best to make himself appear as the one sitting firmly in the seat of authority.

Are you Dexter DeSean?

The nominated guy spread his hands, "The real deal."

T-BUG scanned the woman and found that her name was Emma Watson. The only implant in her body was a chimeric neural network that could connect to the brain-computer interface of the dream device. In short, this thing was most likely for use as a sex partner.

Losing interest, Bug continued with his own business, sending a text message to Dexter indicating that this woman was a sex doll.

Dexter frowned.

The woman's exaggerated movements dragged down her beautiful appearance by several notches.

"I have something left behind by a mercenary. My God, he only spent 500 euros. I thought I'd never have to deal with those corporate dogs in my life, but who knew—"

"Madam, please choose the dry ones."

Dexter clearly had no patience to listen to this soulless woman's fabrications.

The effeminate man made an exaggerated expression and suddenly walked over and sat down next to Dexter, a presumptuous act that made the security guards tense up.

Dexter quickly stopped him with a gesture of disapproval.

"That mercenary left behind something incredible. I... I don't know what it is, but it's definitely from the company! I recognize that logo, Arasaka!"

Dexter's heart pounded.

He looked at the separation chip in the woman's hand, reached out and took it... The security guard stepped forward and took the chip from Dexter's hand. After he inserted the chip into the brain-computer interface, a flash of light appeared in his eyes.

The woman also watched the security guard's every move with tension.

"Hopefully this will work... I hope so..."

"Miss?"

The woman, brought back to her senses by Dexter, was pale.

"Who exactly is chasing you?"

"That mercenary!"

Dexter nodded, and the security guards finished their inspection. "The items are exactly as he described."

Next comes the T-BUG check.

The heavy atmosphere in the private room lasted for a long time. T-BUG stared intently at the screen and said, "It's a shipping order for one of Arasaka's prototypes. It's from a big company, and the encryption measures are very comprehensive—that's their style."

Dexter looked at the woman beside him, his expression softening and his voice gentler.

"Besides you, who else has seen this? Does anyone else know about it?"

The woman paused for a moment, "No. I took a casual order—I, damn it, I was drunk and can't remember. I even knocked over a hole yesterday."

Dexter's voice became even softer.

"Which area do you work in, ma'am?"

"Hmm... the Keep-it-to-Have-a-Secret Motel, it's nearby."

Dexter gestured to the security guard to check, and the man opened the door and said a few words.

T-BUG, without needing to be told, had already begun checking some necessary network information.

Time passed slowly. During this time, the woman yelled and screamed, and even took some induction pills, though in small doses—Dexter saw all of this, and his expression grew increasingly relaxed.

"No problem boss."

The security guard came in and nodded.

At the same time, T-BUG shrugged, indicating that the woman knew nothing and that the mercenary had probably been dealt with by the company or someone else.

Everything is just right now.

"However, there have been rumors recently that what this woman has is not a single replica. Someone secretly hired mercenaries to go to the Badlands, and it is estimated that the mercenary who assigned the mission lost this thing."

A conversation that was completely unreserved.

If this poor woman understood what such an open exchange of information meant, her first thought should have been how to survive.

"What? Someone else got this?"

"Bullshit! You just don't want to give me money, do you?"

Dexter quickly reassured her, "This chip is worth at least ten thousand euros, you deserve it, ma'am."

His smile looked a little strange.

Only after paying a €2000 "prepayment" did security take the woman, who was about to cause trouble again, away.

At that moment, Dexter said on the phone, "It's not a big deal that she lives in the downtown area. Are you guys that stupid? You can do whatever you want to deal with her—but please make sure it's done cleanly, without leaving any traces. Add something to the medication so that this lady can leave easily and pleasantly."

T-BUG shook his head. "Another poor woman, Ms. Emma."

Dexter shook his head. "If you ask me, some things are just destiny."

T-BUG asked, "If it's not an exclusive secret, how are you going to make money? Are you going to hire a few idiots to steal this from Arasaka's guards? That guy who's been looking for mercenaries is a moron, you can't be one, can you? Friendly reminder... Night City isn't what it used to be, rare cybernetic bodies are available through any channel—even I want to earn some money to buy a new cybernetic body, otherwise it won't be enough."

"Moreover... your style is different from before. I remember you used to be the most trustworthy, and you were quite good at double-crossing people."

Dexter lay comfortably on the sofa with his arms outstretched.

"I can distinguish between doing long-term business and running away with a lucrative deal, and I know which method to use. (BUG...)"

“I’m not one of those law-abiding bastards who call themselves the saviors of Night City’s underclass. If you want this job to fetch a good price, you have to find someone else—”

"company."

T-BUG's brow furrowed instantly.

"Ha...Are you crazy again? Do you think the company will obediently hand over the money?"

Dexter stared at the ceiling, a half-smile on his face, and said:
"How do you think I survived the company? I just need to see if my old connections are worth this huge gamble, BUG—"

"I have a feeling that Night City is going to get hot again."

Finally, the hacker girl couldn't hold back any longer, "So which company are you planning to contact?"

"Go find whoever Arasaka gets along with the most."

Dexter drew an "M" in the air with his hand—

"Military technology."

……

……

　[Muscle Angel]: According to the backstory, T-BUG once worked with a member of the Animals Gang, and the two-person team ventured into Night City. This guy from the Animals Gang was called Muscle Angel. In the main game of Cyberpunk 2077, the opponent of the boxing match that Dr. Victor supported and watched was Muscle Angel.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)