Cyberpunk: From Dogville to Legend

Chapter 324 Fraudster

"Pira? Hello?"

The distorted sound on the other end was too strong, and the connection was lost shortly afterward.

My heart sank to the bottom.

For now, he can only try to see how to get his hands on the core of the experimental prototype while protecting himself to the greatest extent possible.

Lin Yue, who was searching for the control port, looked at the values ​​on the panel and was at a loss for words.

"My old friend really knows how to pick his time to give advice..."

Lin Yue knew the terrifying state of Cyber's psychosis. He stared at the immunosuppressants tightly arranged next to the prosthetic assembly structure. Each syringe was as thick as a beverage bottle. It seemed that even the scientists in Benzhou who designed this prosthetic could not avoid the pressure this prosthetic would put on the nerves.

After all, no one would be confident that such a prosthetic body could be installed and used by an ordinary person...

It is obvious that the panel's prosthetic capacity uses intuitive data to dissuade Lin Yue.

No wonder the cybernetic body brought on such strong symptoms of cyberpsychosis when it was attached to David. Lin Yue also experienced the onslaught of cyberpsychosis; the feeling of not being able to distinguish between illusion and reality was terrible.

The signal on the other end was already unstable, and Pira's reply was only barely audible when he said "time is running out"...

The numbers on the panel seemed to be watching this brave guy, but Lin Yue remained calm.

With time running out, and the vehicle being more easily spotted after passing through the storm, Lin Yue needed to use this time to complete the loading of his prosthetic body—or rather, half of it, which meant he couldn't be anesthetized.

At this moment——

[Incoming call - Unknown]

"Rin, can you still hear me???"

V's voice suddenly became clear!

Lin Yue was taken aback.

I was pleasantly surprised for a moment.

So he quickly asked, "What happened, V? Weren't you at Arasaka Tower? Are you alright?"

V's voice was filled with intense anxiety.

"Military-technology hackers are attacking our data fortress. I found traces of your login in the data fortress—the prosthetic body's self-installed modules are connected to the Arasaka network!"

"I couldn't concentrate just now, so I had to use Night City's public network to connect you with Pira and the others..."

Lin Yue's expression immediately changed...

It seems the bad side of this double-edged sword of a company has come to the fore.

The benefits of using the company are obvious: Arasaka's pursuit of him has not been effective and has instead turned into a dogfight. The disadvantages are also obvious: the cybernetic body has aroused the covetousness of the military science, and it is not their style to leave empty-handed!
Lin Yue never expected that military technology would so openly wage war against Arasaka in cyberspace...

“Military technology personnel are heading your way, and my people are there too… but you need to be prepared that it will be a three-way entanglement.” V’s tone was full of guilt. “Michiko gave the order, and I can’t refuse, so you have to find a way to deal with that prosthetic prototype as soon as possible.”

Lin Yue nodded.

At this moment, the world outside the truck had become a dim, yellowish-brown world, and no sound could be heard except for the howling wind.

"Pira asked me to install this implant. It seems he's already spoken to you about it?"

"Are you confident? I couldn't help you with the specific transport route, but Michiko wanted to use this operation to purge my people—her plan backfired. The head of the technical department was holed up in Arasaka Tower, thinking I wouldn't dare touch them; not a single one was killed, but they all fell… I handled it, and my reasons were justified, so don't worry." V ​​paused. "Also, I have some data here, collected during the initial testing of the Honshu Cybernetic Transformer…"

Lin Yue didn't know what V had gone through in the Aragaka Tower, but at this critical moment, she was still desperately trying to tell him these things through the internet.

“V…”

"Rin, I haven't been able to get in touch with your squad. I hope they've withdrawn..."

With communication methods cut off, Lin Yue could only focus on the task at hand.

It seems she didn't want to put too much pressure on her partner.

The woman on the other end sighed softly, "No matter what, we have no way out. Don't you understand? This time, you will become the strongest guy in this city."

Seemingly not intending to give Lin Yue a chance to express his feelings, V cursed under his breath, "Those damned new American lackeys... the defense of the data fortress, uh... damn it!"

Lin Yue stared blankly at the empty communication channel, and almost without hesitation, he started the loading process of the prosthetic body. No matter what, so many people had devoted themselves to this matter, and he could not back down because of the problem of the prosthetic body's capacity—that would cause all the efforts of the event to go to waste.

Having made up his mind, Lin Yue carefully considered the situation and made a plan.

Above the prosthetic body is a miniature human figure: a simple line drawing of a body without limbs, containing the UID of the current progress.

According to structural analysis, the prosthetic body will first remove the subject's arm, and then complete the installation of the arm and back... The core firmware will be implanted and coupled just after the microgravity field of the left arm is loaded.

This not only ensures that the prosthetic body is not damaged by external force, but also guarantees its integrity. However, without anesthesia, the patient must endure the pain of having their arm torn off while fully conscious to remove the prosthetic device…

Lin Yue immediately thought of the story of scraping the bone to remove poison.

Forcibly tearing apart the body's structure?

The fear surrounding this event caused fine beads of sweat to constantly appear on his forehead.

A truly insane plan—

It even goes against human nature completely.

With a clear goal, support from teammates, and good fortune falling into place, it seemed like only this one move was needed.

Lin Yue's body had already stepped into the humanoid capsule housing the cybernetic body...

[Incoming caller ID: V]

Lin Yue's expression instantly froze. He was already in the process of being fitted with the cybernetic body, and he didn't know why V was calling again at this crucial moment. Shouldn't they continue to focus on fighting against military-grade hackers?

So he answered the call immediately.

"Rin, don't pretend to be a cybernetic superhero!"

The woman's low growl pierced our eardrums instantly!

Lin Yue's scalp felt like it had exploded instantly, and his body felt as if it had fallen into an ice cave!

and many more…

what's the situation? !

"Holy crap... damn damn damn damn!"

Seeing Lin Yue's grim expression, V immediately guessed that Rin had entered the prosthetic body's programming.

"Find a way to stop the process. Headquarters has intervened in this matter. There are traces of transoceanic hacking activities—the data fortress has been partially breached by military-technology hackers. Your lines have been exposed. Reverse tracing tells me that the squad is currently being hunted down! That hacker—has lost his combat capability."

"Rin, stop right now!"

Lin Yue suddenly stood up, but the dense pipelines behind him instantly coiled around his body like venomous snakes!
When his skin was pierced and his nerves felt a sharp pain without anesthesia, Lin Yue finally understood why this prosthetic body was on this route…

No, perhaps other circuits also have this prototype.

Without time to answer V's question, Lin Yue used the power of his physical strength to rip off the right arm of the prosthetic body, causing the prosthetic fluid being injected behind him to solidify.

These biological agents replace blood in completing the internal circulation between the prosthetic body and the physical body, which constitutes the largest portion of the body's structure…

The splashing milky white liquid and Lin Yue's low growl made V's expression appear extremely painful.

"Arasaka Saburo!"

he growled.

No wonder…

From beginning to end, Lin Yue overlooked many things.

Rebecca's expression was one of pity. She probably never wanted to find a more dangerous prosthetic body. Old Vie, Pila, and Professor Lost Island had all expressed concern about the excessive weight of prosthetic bodies... How could they possibly urge her to get one at such a crucial moment?!
Right now, this thing exists for only one purpose: to lure and trap us.

The secrets of prosthetics are not exclusive…

If Honshu's reasoning is flawed, he could easily understand the predicament of Lin Yue's prosthetic body.

All of this is too unbelievable. Lin Yue can't think of anyone who can understand this game except Lai Xuan's father!
"No...no no no."

V's voice began to tremble slightly.

"Lord Arasaka!"

Michiko looked at Saburo on a holographic screen in a room that was a 1:1 replica of her Tokyo office.

Her expression was one of shame and embarrassment…

She thought she could make a name for herself in Night City, but she found that she had accomplished nothing.

“You know your own child best… Michiko, I’m not here to blame you, I’m here to praise you… Everything has been done exactly as I wanted.”

"I have seen your courage, perseverance, and your determination to change certain factions within Arasaka."

Saburo spoke very slowly.

“When I was young, I once wanted to give up on myself—but I found that talent is not innate, but cultivated, so I have always given everyone the same equal opportunities, whether in the family or in the company.”

Michiko was stunned.

Even with her poor comprehension skills, she realized that everything she had done since returning to Night City was at her grandfather's behest, and what was most terrifying was that... Saburo had never given her any direct orders.

"Your uncle didn't rely solely on his ruthlessness to gain a foothold in Arasaka. In any situation, taking action means taking risks and exposing certain weaknesses—this can only be done when you feel the benefits outweigh the losses."

Saburo's left eye, which had a white, cloudy membrane, didn't seem to be blind; it appeared as if he could see through everything.

"It's true that we need to keep testing any colleague within the company if they are suspected, but you haven't found the key to the problem—we can complete our own transformation internally without outside interference. There are villains hiding among you, and the fact that those Americans reacted so quickly was also within my expectations."

Is there a traitor among the higher-ups in Arakawa?
It all made sense.

Using others' hands to benefit oneself is a consistent style of Saburo Arasaka.

"To make a long story short, kid. Hua Zi has already done the necessary steps to lure the bear into the trap, so that he can destroy himself. Ben Zhou's methods are almost perfected... This time, he won't be able to get past it."

"I really hope this is just my imagination."

"Your uncle..."

Saburo on the holographic screen seemed to have lost all his energy and aged dramatically in an instant. "It seems he's on the wrong path."

"Am I overthinking it?"

Michiko dared not answer these questions and answers even if she had a thousand lives. She could only lie on the ground in fear, staring at the floor and her own reflection in it.

“Grow up quickly, child… If this variable (Rin) can still exist, then avoid confrontation. The saying that a wild bee can kill an elephant is not without reason. Perhaps one day I will figure something out, and then I will need your help, child and your aunt.”

……

"Oh shit!"

Lin Yue carefully reviewed the conversation he had just had.

The bizarre and flawed details infuriated him.

calm down!

The stinging pain left Lin Yue no time to consider how the instigator of this whole affair had managed to complete the deception.

But clearly, this high-level gameplay...

She had already aroused Saburo Arasaka's murderous intent.

"Old thing."

Lin Yue could only vent his anger and frustration from the pain by cursing.

"Boss! The squad—"

Both DRAR's people and V experienced the same situation. Lin Yue became anxious, his hands lost strength, and his body was once again pulled back into the groove of the prosthetic loading process by a tremendous force.

At this moment, the DRAR members who had just dispersed around the vehicle gathered around. It was clear that V had used his hacking skills to break into Lin Yue's company's communication system.

Jack, a mercenary from Night City, was known for his bravery and daring. His immediate priority was to stop the car. The armed forces under Arasaka (sent by Saburo to Michiko) had likely already received orders and had dispersed.

After all, they didn't want to get entangled with the cyber madman.

"Madam, have someone from the company find a way to stop the car!"

Jack cursed incessantly, his tone agitated and restless.

"I told you long ago that you shouldn't flatter Saburo Arasaka! Amigo, I'm coming right now!"

The company personnel lined up in an orderly fashion on both sides of the truck. Emma's hand was already useless. She showed Roger the terrain map and confirmed that there was a hilly area with desert boulders ahead. She then ordered the company's security soldiers to use steel cables to tighten the sides of the truck.

shhhhhh!
As steel cables were strapped to both sides of the vehicles, all of them began to decelerate drastically, and a piercing noise of tires being unable to drive echoed in the storm.

"Hold!"

The dreamer slammed on the brakes, but still couldn't stop this behemoth.

"Executive Emma! There's no way around it! This thing is too powerful."

At this point, Emma was in a state of extreme panic. Her psychological problems were being magnified, and she was worried about what she would do if Rin died. Her strong dependent personality became a huge obstacle at this moment.

"A lady? A lady?!"

Jack had no choice but to swerve the motorcycle to the side, circling behind the truck. Luckily, they found themselves on the edge of the storm.

The surrounding landscape now exhibits the most obvious characteristics of Yardang landforms…

Each weathered mushroom-shaped rock.

The world's original destiny is just that magical.

The car has reached the pivotal point that will determine the fate of the last world's dreamer (David)...

Jack looked to his left and noticed that the rope was a bit long, so he shouted, "Drive the rope into that rock!"

Since the soldiers couldn't hear Emma's orders, they had no choice but to obey.

It's too late to say.

All the grappling hooks instantly sank into the red boulder!

"Hey, you on the right, cut the rope right now! Damn it, it's too late!"

Several vehicles on the right were thrown overturned and kicked up clouds of dust because the ropes snapped because the disconnection wasn't timely enough.

Just as Jack was gazing at the thin sandstorm ahead, he suddenly saw a ravine!
His heart sank instantly, and he muttered, "It's all fucking over!"

call!
The truck's immense inertia instantly taut the ropes, and Jack swallowed hard, watching helplessly as the grappling hooks snapped one by one...

Just when things were about to reach an inevitable dead end, the speeding truck finally couldn't withstand the tension of the rope, and with its center of gravity too high, it overturned without warning!

Amidst a series of screeching sounds, the car finally came to a stop, perhaps because something had changed; it stopped some distance from the ditch.

Jack's keen combat instincts were a huge help!
The motorcycle came to a stop, and Jack quickly climbed onto the overturned cargo box and used all his strength to pry open the lid.

Looking down, the inside was a mess, with a faint smell of blood lingering in the air, accompanied by the lingering echoes of the storm.

"cold!"

Emma, ​​who had climbed onto the lid, began to bleed profusely from the wound on her hand.

The prosthetic body loading process was still running within the circuitry—

Boom!
There was a loud noise!
Everyone quickly bent over and hunched their shoulders, hearing even more whooshing sounds.

Emma felt a weight lift from her shoulders, watching helplessly as Rin, hidden deep within the container, disappeared into the distance…

A buzzing sound accompanied by Jack's loud shouts filled his ears, and his blurred vision made it impossible to see anything.

……

……

(End of this chapter)