Cyberpunk: From Dogville to Legend

Chapter 318 Borrowing a Knife (Part 4)

"missile?!"

Rebecca nearly choked on her breath from the heat of the explosion. "What's going on?"

Lin Yue reached out a hand to help hold the steering wheel in the hands of the already panicked and pale-faced "driver." "This is Badlands, not Night City—don't look back, Qiwei, while the network signal still covers this area, get the rest of the company to come this way! Hurry!"

Qiwei's forehead was covered in cold sweat.

Even the best off-road vehicles with the best chassis and suspension can't withstand rough terrain. She tried to hold down the laptop with one hand while operating the other hand at lightning speed.

Only by utilizing the internet can Qiwei contact allies within pre-established communication channels.

Without a doubt, this area has been completely locked down by Arasaka's hackers, making it virtually impossible to make a phone call.

Lin Yue glanced at the stiff, breathing recruit in the driver's seat and whispered, "Don't think about anything else, floor the accelerator, and do it according to the operation plan—"

"But Arakasaka is catching up!"

The driver was clearly stunned by the immense fear he had experienced.

Lin Yue silently planned for the arrival of the reinforcements. He only needed to temporarily hold back Arasaka's pursuing force, and the transport convoy, whose center of gravity was drawn away, would have an opportunity to take advantage of the situation... The key operation was in this step. With the number of people he had at hand, the chances of seizing the cybernetic body were still not very high.

So he had already arranged for Emma to recruit a mercenary squad in Night City. These mercenaries were eager to make a name for themselves, and if they could pull off this one job, it would be a world-shaking deal!
"Joel, drive forward, keep your grip on the steering wheel, or you'll only end up dead."

Smoke billowed as the Arasaka field operations force moved at an astonishing speed, gradually closing the firing distance. Soldiers who realized they couldn't defeat their opponents with long-range firepower had already stuck their heads out of the windows. The Arasaka smart weapons were all in use; as long as the target was locked within the frame, the bullets flying everywhere wouldn't miss.

The uneven road surface, which had hindered shooting, now appeared to have been smoothed out...

"Everyone get down!"

Rebecca yelled and shoved Qiwei's head down. Lin Yue and Joel in the driver and passenger seats also lowered their heads. All they could hear was the roar of the engine and the dull, deathly sound of the glass being pounded. As this "funeral" melody grew louder and louder, even the bulletproof glass couldn't withstand the repeated blows and shattered!
Sharp debris was scattered everywhere, and some miniature guided bullets, still fueled and deformed, bounced erratically inside the carriage, leaving marks on everyone's skin.

"Is everything okay?"

The bad soil contains many hills. This volley of fire failed to catch these people, so next up is the area set up by Lin Yue.

Michiko wouldn't let any opportunity to kill her slip by; Arasaka's mobile force arrived so quickly and accurately, something even the Customs couldn't have done…

Fortunately, Lin Yue already had a good idea of ​​what was going on.

His goal was not to escape, but to lure the enemy into a trap.

Large companies' troops have certain problems with mechanized execution, which gave Lin Yue an opportunity. A powerful beast is not quick to receive information and instructions, not to mention that the guy leading them was in a state of existential doubt.

"Hold!"

Qiwei quickly shook off the residue on the computer, as hot air rushed in from all around.

Ahead lies a narrow intersection formed between two hills.

Lin Yue shook the glass shards off his head, glanced at the absent-minded Joel, and the car sped into the hilly area amidst a cloud of yellow sand, accompanied by the clanging sound of sand and gravel hitting the car body.

The Arasaka Mobile Force behind them was clearly very familiar with the terrain. The rolling traffic split into three streams: the two on the left and right accelerated to flank from the sides, while the middle one continued the pursuit, seemingly having a complete grasp of Lin Yue's escape route.

Under the gloomy sky, a storm was brewing.

The Badlands of Night City often face extreme weather, which makes the buildings on Pacific Island seem to be covered with a light yellow, sugar-like coat for millennia.

"Miss Emma has been contacted!"

At this moment, Qi Wei's eyes were flashing with an orange-red light, and everyone entered the line.

"In the company?"

Lin Yue's first question was about Emma's location.

Emma's reply came without hesitation—

"Of course, darling."

Lin Yue breathed a sigh of relief. He glanced behind him and noticed that the Aragaka troops were experiencing a slight slowdown due to the large number of vehicles. Immediately afterward, Lin Yue gripped the steering wheel with one hand and shouted, "Give it gas!"

As Joel slammed on the gas pedal, Lin Yue quickly lifted the handbrake with his other hand. The steering wheel was as obedient as a toy in Lin Yue's hands. The car suddenly swerved and rushed towards a group of buildings that looked like an abandoned factory on the side!

"Damn! That's awesome!"

Rebecca gripped the handle on the roof of the car, her cheek pressed against Qiwei's hair, her expression one of excitement.

Where are the people who were supposed to meet us?

Emma on the other end of the phone said, "Beside you."

After the roaring vehicle sped out of the factory area, a sand-based version of the Falcon appeared on the right side. The woman in the cockpit was wearing sunglasses, and her red lips were raised in a beautiful curve.

She saw the worried expression on the man's face beside her, yet he was holding back his anger.

So cute.

Emma would never entrust such an important task to anyone else. She even chose to personally bury Hansen's main force, let alone Rin.

"I'll be waiting for you up ahead."

Emma left a message, then slammed on the gas pedal with her multi-functional terrain boots that fit her calves perfectly. The Falcon sped off in the sand, where it was not meant to fly!
"That's... Emma? Wow, Lin Yue, your girl is amazing."

Rebecca craned her neck, her eyes filled with envy.

He was destined never to be a speed demon, because Rebecca wrecked a gas station the first time she drove MAN's car...

But even with her small head, she reacted quickly, pulling her head back from the window. "Damn!"

"Lin Yue, are you hiding something from me? Why didn't I know Miss Emma was coming here?!"

Qiwei looked at him with pity.

Her eyes narrowed, and she caught a glimpse of Joel's deathly pale face in the rearview mirror.

Without stopping the accelerator, Joel, sensing something was wrong, reached for the door handle the next second. Unfortunately, Lin Yue's heavy gorilla arm pressed firmly against his chest. Qi Wei behind him wasn't idle either. Since Ultraman was offline, Lin Yue's hacking function couldn't be used, so Qi Wei took over the task.

"Eh?"

Rebecca didn't know what a mole was.

All she knew was that whoever Lin Yue and Qi Wei pointed a gun at was a bastard.

As Qiwei's eyes flashed with the light of a hacker intrusion, Joel yelled, and the brain-computer interface immediately shut down!

"Holy crap!"

Sparks flew from the back of Joel's neck, but it wasn't fatal.

Because it's not time for this guy to die yet.

At the same time, Qiwei, who had already connected to the car's infotainment system, pressed the button on her handheld device to disable the system, and the car door was opened.

Lin Yue, carrying Joel in one hand, felt his legs go weak. His face had turned a near-desperate bluish-red, and he knelt on the ground, staring wide-eyed at Rin, who was facing away from the sun and pointing a gun at him…

Finished!

"cold?!"

Emma suddenly got out of the car in the distance, her long legs, wrapped in a rugged denim outfit, stepped out from behind the car door. She was clearly not expecting that Rin would deal with the traitor in this place.

However—Lin Yue only wanted to ask one thing.

Tell me, who gave you the locator?

Joel gritted his teeth, knowing that the other side would most likely not tolerate his betrayal, just like what he said on his first day in the counterintelligence department:

To remain absolutely loyal to Arasaka forever…

Now, he has shown absolute loyalty to Arasaka, but in return, he receives indiscriminate attacks from Arasaka.

"I…"

rare.

He saw an extremely angry expression on "Mr. Rin," whom he had not met many times.

The man's tone was chilling, "Do you know how much effort Suzuki went through to protect you? Your background check was terrible. Even your supervisor, who treated you the best in the entire DRAR, didn't want you to be sent to your deaths immediately. And what about you?"

Joel was speechless.

He had no idea when he was discovered. In his mind, it was Arasaka who abandoned them, which meant that he didn't feel safe enough in this startup. The powerful Arasaka could kill him at any time, so he chose to betray Dreamers at this point in time.

The problem is, Arasaka felt nothing; the sensation of those death bullets whizzing past his scalp made him doubt whether his choice was right.

"Did you see what Arakasaka was going to do?"

Before Emma could even approach, Lin Yue reached out and blocked her. He didn't use any force, put away his gun, and wore an expression of restrained anger, determined not to let it affect his subsequent judgment.

"Rebecca, Qiwei, see him off after this is over."

Qiwei stepped forward, grabbed the guy by the collar, and knocked him unconscious with a chop to the neck. "The detector is on your back. It's probably using an old protocol. You're using it to lure Arasaka's large force... Is that the plan?"

Lin Yue nodded.

A car sped out from around a corner of a nearby sand dune, and inside, Falco, with a cigarette dangling from his lips, looked completely nonchalant.

"I like open spaces; they remind me of the days when I grew wheat, herded cattle, and made a lot of money back home—"

"Falco!!!"

Rebecca shouted excitedly, then gave Lin Yue the middle finger with a bitter face, "You all like to lie to me, damn it! Do you think I can't keep a secret?!"

Falco waved his hand, and beneath his kind beard came words that chilled the young woman to the bone.

I guess so—

"Hmm! Looks like you're the one trying to have it both ways? As someone who's been there, let me tell you, don't be greedy. I genuinely regret that you missed out on a great boss..."

Despite her slender arms, Qi Wei was surprisingly strong, lifting the unconscious man and shoving him into the back seat.

She and Rebecca got into the car together.

At this point, Rebecca wouldn't pester Lin Yue to go with her, because she always knew one thing: that guy was smart and had his own ideas.

"Uncle, Texas is such a fun place, why are you looking for work here?"

I heard Rebecca muttering.

Falco started the car and waved to Lin Yue.

"Because I'm looking for the most thrilling car race in the world, one that will make me feel afterward, like, 'Oh, so life of growing wheat and raising cattle isn't so bad after all.' Girl, the thrill of battling Arasaka in the Badlands is something most people can't experience."

"See you later, Rin. See you later, Miss Emma."

Lin Yue nodded, "Be careful... After Angie meets up with you, don't take the initiative to attack. Let the mercenaries make the first move, following the route we agreed on before."

“Especially you, Rebecca, listen to Qiwei.”

Just as Lin Yue finished speaking, the car, which had been spinning its tires for a while, suddenly started moving, leaving only Rebecca's shouting.

"I won't listen to that old woman!!!"

Lin Yue's lips twitched slightly.

At that moment, Emma walked over. Perhaps the harsh sunlight of the Badlands was too intense, causing her face to flush red. But the heavy clouds that seemed to foreshadow an impending storm shouldn't have made Emma blush—but no matter how many times, Emma was always like this, a rose that only bloomed when she saw her lover.

"damn it…"

She reached out and wiped the bloodstains from Lin Yue's face.

"You shouldn't have come."

Lin Yue grabbed Emma's hand, looking as if he couldn't bear to scold her.

The woman was quite generous, grabbing Lin Yue's hand in return. "But I still came. If it weren't for the time crunch... I'd be happy if you squeezed me too hard, but now we have to go, hero."

Lin Yue sighed, and the two of them got into the car.

"It wasn't explained clearly over the phone."

Emma skillfully fastened her racing car seatbelt. "We've borrowed that big sword of military technology. Do you think they'll go to war in Badlands for the Cybertronian Kong and Arasaka? Although, according to the city hall's agreement, the company can't conduct large-scale armed operations within the border..."

Lin Yue reached out and helped Emma fasten the last button, watching her obediently grip the seatbelt with both hands before saying, "Nothing in this world is guaranteed. If it weren't for V leaking the information, this mole alone would have caused us a lot of trouble. You borrowed the military technology weapon from me, so I should thank you."

Emma's smile was unrestrained.

"It's undignified to pretend to be a sex doll who overdoses in a motel, but I think it's fine for you. Consider it carrying out your mission, Mr. Rin—"

Seeing that Lin Yue's expression held a slight hint of reproach.

"Okay, I'm just worried that I won't be able to get that damn core as expected... that thing that made you risk your life."

Lin Yue started the car, glanced at the storm, and drove straight toward the void ahead where the sandstorm was beginning to take shape.

"Although Arasaka has fallen behind in military technology and Kangtao in most military fields, you know that portable microgravity field technology is very attractive. Military technology companies will definitely fight for it, and the knife you borrowed can definitely kill people."

Emma nodded and said softly, "I hope so."

Then she asked a question casually.

"But are you really going to kill the person Suzuki left behind?"

"This is the first time I've seen someone execute themselves..."

Lin Yue's expression remained calm.

“Adults have to pay the price for their choices. I’m not a charity. He should be glad that no one around me suffered any loss… Suzuki gave him a chance to choose freely, and he stayed, but he didn’t realize what responsibility meant.”

"I feel sorry for myself and Suzuki."

Emma turned her head to look out the window.

This guy has never changed; he has always been him, and he is gradually becoming more powerful.

……

……

　[Joel]: An original character from Chapter 231, a former Arasaka counterintelligence employee who stayed at Dreamers and did not choose to leave.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)