Cyberpunk: From Dogville to Legend

Chapter 325 The Power to Change Fate! (Part 1)

The sky was pitch black, and the wind howled.

The high beams could only illuminate the lamppost, which was less than five meters in diameter, in this world swept by sand and gravel. Each time, stones no smaller than a thumb were suddenly slammed into the car door, making a series of terrifying thuds.

A vehicle, its surface covered in battle scratches, crawled along in this terrifying world.

It was teetering on the brink of collapse, seemingly about to be torn to shreds at any moment.

No one knows what Rebecca's team went through...

They narrowly escaped death multiple times during the pursuit, and only managed to temporarily shake off their pursuers thanks to Falco's bold and meticulous driving skills. But now they are clearly facing the most dangerous enemy—a sandstorm that even wanderers dare not easily venture into.

"Damn it!"

Qiwei tried many times, clenching her fist and slamming it hard on the computer keyboard. Not finding a signal meant they had lost their way, and in the complex and treacherous environment, there was a high possibility that an endless abyss lay ahead.

Upon hearing the sound, Rebecca's face darkened, and she gently bit her lip—

"Old women get wrinkles when they get angry."

Qiwei knew the little girl was trying her best to comfort her with a lighthearted and humorous tone, but right now, without any direction, everyone on the bus was doomed in the storm…

Seeing that Qiwei, who was in charge of the retreat, was angry because of the slim hope, Falco also whispered, "Right now, I'll slow down as much as possible and find a place with large bumps around to shelter from the storm—don't worry, in my experience, we won't be so unlucky as to run into the eye of the storm."

What Qiwei needs now is a place similar to a signal transmission tower, anything will do, even a digital TV signal converter.

Network surveillance has installed access points on all devices within Night City's coverage area, so at least one way to leave can be found.

"I wonder how Rin is doing... Falco, slow down as much as possible. I'll use the search equipment to see if there's any place along the way that can generate a signal—the chances aren't great, but we have to try. Rin definitely needs our help."

Rebecca immediately made a face...

Yeah, Rin and Emma, ​​even with the company's armed forces, can they really find the prosthetic body in all three routes?
Her anxiety was no less than Qiwei's.

There was silence.

"That guy... well, how should I put it? I've never seen anyone like him before—"

Falco seemed unwilling to let the oppressive atmosphere permeate the surroundings, so he broke the silence with a single sentence: "Special, even very special."

"special…?"

Rebecca frowned slightly, her punk-style light green eyebrows wondering what those two words meant.

On the other side, Qiwei raised her eyelids slightly.

Falco glanced at the rearview mirror. "Haven't you guys noticed something? That guy... never seems to be afraid of the company."

Having composed herself, Qiwei continued fiddling with the computer's search equipment. "Hmm... I'll know as soon as I make contact. I know someone from before... a certain hacker colleague (Lucy)—"

It seems they didn't want to use any nice words to describe the girl.

Because Qiwei was the first to betray them.

“We’ve investigated this guy. He’s a new recruit in the Netherhounds. In such a short time, he’s become a member of the company’s management, started his own business, and is playing with fire right under the noses of Arasaka, military technology, biotechnology, Dogtown… even New America and the Internet censors. I doubt many people in Night City would believe something like this, would they?”

"If this isn't special enough, then I really don't know what is."

Seeing that he had achieved his goal of comforting her, Falco smiled slightly and stopped talking, focusing intently on the road ahead and trying to control his speed.

Rebecca murmured, "He deserves it, because that bastard never values ​​his own life—"

The conversation turned.

"That guy... he's like a gunslinger in a video game adventure. Sometimes I really want to crack open his head to see if he thinks he has a resurrection scroll. Hmm... or maybe he's not human, an alien? From another world or something—oh haha."

These words stunned the other two people in the car, and a bead of cold sweat appeared on their foreheads.

For some reason, they truly felt that this was the only explanation that made sense, because Lin Yue had done many things that seemed to indicate he knew the future, and he could even reveal information that ordinary mercenaries would never have access to in their entire lives, yet no one knew exactly how he knew all of this…

Rebecca paused for a moment, looking at the expressions on their faces.

"Hey... I was just kidding."

Falco sighed. "Then there's even less reason to worry about him. We need to think about ourselves now... But thank you for your comfort, Rebecca."

Rebecca patted her flat chest, indicating that she was indeed a true friend.

"Bad things may turn out to be good things, and good things may turn out to be even better. That's the secret to happiness."

Qiwei agreed.

"Hmm, for example, if we can't find a signal, at least the other hackers can't use the network to hack my car or my brain, which is indeed a good thing."

Rebecca clenched her fist and yelled, "Hey, you hackers are so mean! Do you think I'm stupid? Fuck!"

The chilly, stormy atmosphere has mostly dissipated.

The hacker is feeling much better now.

Immediately afterwards, her pale yellow pupils tilted slightly to the right, and an icon suddenly appeared on the dusty computer screen, even emitting a somewhat pleasant notification sound!
"Falco!"

The car suddenly came to a stop!

“Found it?!”

Qiwei stared at the screen in disbelief.

There is a high-power signal device supported by a transformer box nearby... which means there is a high probability that there is a place to shelter from the wind and rain.

So she lit a cigarette and, without hesitation, pulled out the human-computer interaction circuit and tried to plug it into the laptop.

Just then, Rebecca suddenly said, "Can you determine the distance? Perhaps we can determine the direction based on the signal strength. Entering the network might be vulnerable to military technology and Arasaka's hackers..."

"Of course I'm not worried about you, old lady. What if you lie down and we can't find our way?"

Rebecca would always say things that sounded off when she was worried, but Qiwei could understand her.

She gently pinched Rebecca's round cheek with her slender hand. "Save some time."

As she spoke, the human-computer interaction line was inserted, and with a shimmering light appearing in her eyes, Qiwei quickly compared the map to determine her location and pointed out the way to Falco using a three-point positioning method—

Out of the corner of her eye, Qiwei glanced at the girl watching her anxiously to the side, and she felt that she was needed and cared for...

"This isn't because—"

At that moment, at the rear of a convoy in the storm, the hacker lying in the cargo hold opened his eyes, his blood-red eyes like those of a vengeful ghost!
scoff!

Qi Wei's pupils widened instantly.

Under Rebecca's gaze, a series of electric arcs shot out from the back of her head, and in the reflection of her pupils, the glint of light from the slender cigarette on Qiwei's mask traced a dazzling trajectory like a shooting star.

A large hand suddenly appeared from the front and snapped the human-computer interaction line in Qiwei's hand with a single hand.

"is that a lie…"

Rebecca looked at Qiwei's arched back, her pupils twitching rapidly, her body trembling along with the coughing sounds coming from her throat.

Realizing what was happening, she immediately pounced on Qi Wei and ripped the gorilla's fingers off her mask, allowing her respiratory system to have a larger area exposed to air.

"Qiwei! Qiwei!!!"

"Damn it, Falco, think of something—"

The experienced driver, staring at the sandstorm, could no longer discern directions.

"cough…"

Qiwei raised her hand amidst Rebecca's bewildered and fearful gaze, pointing forward with one finger, as if she wanted to give her teammate directions.

"There are first-aid equipment and medicines in the back!"

Upon hearing Falco's voice, Rebecca frantically ripped open her backpack, scattering miscellaneous items all over the floor. Her hands trembled as she searched through the pile of clutter for anything Qiwei might need. "Damn it, damn it..."

"Rebecca!"

"Rebecca! Hey!"

Falco loudly reminded Rebecca to calm down—

Rebecca trembled as she pushed canisters of oral medication into Qiwei's trachea, while Falco gritted his teeth, feeling that the situation was extremely bad.

"cold…"

"What should we do next?!"

Falco asked himself this question.

However, the only response he received was from the enemy who had located the location!
Boom!
It felt like a huge iron ball, about the size of a car, had fallen in front of me…

The dull thud made one wonder if an earthquake had occurred!
Falco watched as the vehicle lifted into the air, and in that instant, he saw the black arm on the hood!

Is this... something a human could do?
boom!
The exhausted vehicle rolled wildly across the ground, the world a blur of dizziness and disorientation. Finally, the vehicle flipped over completely. The people clinging to their seatbelts had already passed out. Rebecca's swollen eyes saw a pair of silver-white mechanical feet slowly approaching, passing through the prosthetic structure and emitting a sharp, whimpering sound. The face was obscured, with only two red eyes visible.

"Hold…"

"Your military science..."

Rebecca's gorilla arm extends a middle finger.

"What did you say?"

The man crouched down and couldn't hear the voice clearly.

After seeing the girl faint, he got up, waved, and pressed the old-fashioned headset on his ear, "Come here."

The roar of engines filled the air; without exception, they were all people using military technology.

……

"what are you doing?!"

Three people were sitting in a modified off-road vehicle with its lights off during a storm.

Mitchell, in the passenger seat, pulled back the girl who was about to push open the car door and get out. "Didn't you see? That car might be a homeless vehicle, but those people are definitely from the company! Look!"

The machine gun on the vehicle, which was originally intended to attack the enemy, was now functioning as a high-powered scope. The company squad that had come down with their guns had surrounded the overturned vehicle. Panan, the man in the middle with his back to them, saw the whole thing that was going on. That thing had little to do with people anymore; it was completely a mechanical weapon!
"Military technology..."

“Scorpion, we’ve both been dogs of New America. Parnan’s planning to go down and provoke those guys, what do you think?”

Scorpion, who always wore a black windproof tactical face mask, shook his head. "The company's thugs, the high-level ones... we're just noobs, those bastards are really in trouble."

Mitchell glared at Panan with a warning look. "Don't be reckless. We were helping Thor persuade you to go back, and now the wind has picked up—come on, find a house to stay in for the night, forget what you saw, and obediently go back to camp."

"Besides, graffiti by wanderers? They're not our people, and they might even be from the [Red Ochre] tribe. Why worry about it!"

Panan's fiery temper immediately ignited the two men.

"Bullshit! You're just going to stand here and watch the company soldiers execute those people? Damn... if the company's doing this in this bad soil, the homeless will be wiped out sooner or later!"

The scorpion was stuck between the driver and passenger seats. He reached out and patted Mitchell. "Hey, I'm talking to you!"

Mitchell said helplessly, "Panan, Thor just wanted to find a way out for the tribe. You've seen the consequences of not cooperating with the company—"

Just as Mitchell was about to continue his "gentle persuasion," a gust of sandstorm hit the driver.

"Damn! Scorpion!"

Scorpion tried to get down and grab Panan, but Panan, as he passed the back seat, kicked the door back a little with his powerful thigh, which was wrapped in light-colored jeans.

As the two large men, supporting the cart and braving the fierce wind, walked down the slope, Panan, trying to maintain his balance, clutched a jet-black weapon—

[Ice Storm]

This sniper rifle, also known as a cannon, has a capacity of only three bullets. Hitting a target is no different from being hit by a bomb.

"Are you crazy?!"

Panan didn't care about any of that. "Even if I can't save it, I'm going to disgust the company. I'll record all of this and show Saul what kind of company it is!"

"Let go! If you keep this up, I'll shoot right now!"

Mitchell quickly released Panan and raised his palms to signal her to calm down.

Miss Adcardo is really capable of launching an ice storm on the spot... Also, this kinetic sniper rifle is very heavy. Panan's seemingly hot figure is full of power, and her high bun of curly hair is now blown into disarray by the wind. "Go get the ground-to-air weapon from the trunk and use it here. Hurry, those guys are going to be finished."

The scorpion shrugged.

"Okay, okay, okay! Can we go home after we finish this?! Thor said there's been a lot of trouble in the Badlands lately, so at least we can discuss Thor's proposal at home, okay?"

Panan stretched out her long legs and knelt on one knee, her perfect hip line outlined in the sand and dust. The weapon was already pointed downwards, the dark green scope blocking the view caused by the sand and dust. She deliberately glanced at the wind speed in her prosthetic eye, and then the scope began to deflect sharply to the side.

"This is insane!"

Mitchell took the heavy weapon from Scorpion's hand, the one he felt like he was sinking into the ground as he carried it on his shoulder, and began to aim at the ground below.

Panan's gaze swept around and he suddenly noticed something unusual.

"Don't move! Shh!"

"What is it now, Grandma?!"

……

Below, soldiers using military technology dragged and pulled several people out of the carriage and threw them to the ground.

A military technology team, hampered by poor intelligence gathering, attempted to interrogate these individuals, who were high-value targets for revenge and had been given strict orders within the military technology organization.

Rebecca, who had been lifted up, looked at Qiwei lying on her side on the ground, reached out and grabbed at empty air, and was thrown into the truck. As the sound of sand and dust in her ears subsided, she knelt on the truck floor after her knees were hit by the butt of a gun...

The man in the black trench coat looked somewhat stern, and Rebecca let out a suspicious sound…

"what?"

Am I about to die?

Rebecca felt she had seen this man before…

Falco was also brought up at this moment.

The military technology convoy broke through the encirclement, mostly thanks to the driver and gunman. The hacker seemed to have been compromised, so the group ignored him.

"Where is your superior's location? Have you found the prosthetic body? Don't want to talk?"

"It's okay if you don't say anything... Our hackers are stealing data from Arasaka. Telling you early will lessen your suffering, okay, Rebecca..."

The man glanced Rebecca up and down, squinted, and patted the sand and dust off with one hand. "It's too much trouble for you to be dressed like this. Is your boss reluctant to part with you, or does he think you can't handle this kind of stuff?"

Rebecca kept her head down, staring blankly at the floor.

The girl seemed to be saying something, but Morgan couldn't hear her.

"what?!"

Bang!
With a powerful punch, Falco fell to the floor. The soldier, who had retracted his attack stance, grabbed Falco's hair, seemingly watching Rebecca's performance.

Rebecca didn't say anything.

Bang!
"Cough cough!"

Rebecca's body trembled, and the two soldiers behind her who were holding her gorilla arms felt her hands shaking.

Is it fear?

In the blurred vision, all that could be seen was the cold gaze of the military-tech soldiers. In the hazy, blood-red field of vision, the soldiers raised their guns and pressed them against Falco's head.

Perhaps for Rebecca.

The last thing that should exist is fear...

She was angry.

The trembling was her attempt to regain control of her body.

Trembling—

It was also her prayer.

"Where are you?"

hum…

A phantom, so insane it seemed to reach the extreme, appeared…

As the cargo hold disintegrated, the cargo hold, which was cracked all around like a malfunctioning grenade, seemed to freeze in the second before it exploded. The afterimage covered the entire troop carrier, with one side being mechanical and the other humanoid, and the eyes of the creature flashing red and blue light alternately.

That face appeared behind Morgan, who remained unresponsive.

Like the silence that follows the fall of Death's scythe...

Boom! ! !
The man, whose side was quickly bent by the impact, shot out like an arrow drawn taut by an external force. At the same time, the cargo hold disintegrated in a second—as did the soldiers!
The small body was protected by a cold, hard mechanical arm, and the image, like a high-magnification afterimage, quickly coalesced!
Like a wind god hidden in a storm, those emotionless eyes stared at the person in his arms and Falco, whom he was carrying in his other hand, while his eyes looked at the black-clad man who had shot off like a bomb and smashed through a boulder.

"Fake."

These are funeral verses for some people who are about to die.

……

……

(End of this chapter)