Cyberpunk: From Dogville to Legend

Chapter 35 Rebecca's Wine [Please continue reading]

Moonlit night.

The side of the Heartfelt Club, enveloped in neon lights resembling emeralds, is a place where drunkards chat in the open.

The walls were covered in rock and punk graffiti, and bursts of laughter could be heard from time to time.

Lin Yue looked up at the sky, his wine filled with a whole block of ice, water droplets dripping onto his feet.

Champagne should be drunk while it's still fizzy.

Rebecca leaned against the railing, slid down to Lin Yue's side, and drank the wine in large gulps, revealing a satisfied smile.

Lin Yue nodded, the bitter taste of the wine causing him to furrow his brow slightly.

Rebecca teased, "Hey...you can't hold your liquor, can you? How innocent."

Lin Yue was unconvinced and gulped down a mouthful of champagne. The next second, bubbles appeared in his nostrils.

Rebecca clutched her stomach, pointed at Lin Yue, and burst into laughter.

"You show-off brat!"

Lin Yue coughed and wiped the champagne from the side of his mouth. "You're more like it than I am."

After laughing, Rebecca retorted defiantly, "Don't look down on me. I'm not that much younger than Pila."

Lin Yue stretched out his palm, placed it above his head, and then slowly moved it to the black hair clip on Rebecca's twin ponytails, everything was understood without words.

Without saying a word, Rebecca grabbed Lin Yue's clothes and tried to climb on top of him to punch him in the head twice.

Having had her fill of commotion, Rebecca slumped to the ground, swinging her legs. She was a little hot from drinking a bit of alcohol, and the zipper of her jacket was down, revealing a beautiful light pink tattoo on her chest.

"If you look at me again, I'll take your glasses off!"

Lin Yue reluctantly withdrew his gaze; he just wanted to see what the tattoo meant.

Really.

Around a distant campfire, several troubled customers danced wildly with bottles of liquor, seemingly able to forget that this was Dog Town, a place littered with corpses.

"You're a really strange guy."

Rebecca seemed to be talking to herself, but also to Lin Yue.

"You act like a novice whenever you see something new, but you're incredibly skilled when you actually do it. You're always full of clever ideas. You had a great boss in Dogtown who made us a fortune..."

“Pila said you’re too kind—like a con artist… You know, a small team like ours doesn’t have this kind of regular work.”

"I've had a really comfortable time lately."

?

Lin Yue thought to himself, "Wow, he sees right through me."

Just as Lin Yue perceived Rebecca's personality, she only appeared indifferent to everything on the surface, but in reality, she understood many things.

Everyone could sense the boss's favoritism.

As for Lin Yue, who was always curious about new things, he was actually just a reincarnated person experiencing shock.

Just imagine:
When this city, teeming with data and neon lights, comes into view, when those futuristic technological devices, prosthetics, hacking techniques, and everything else... are all areas that the other world has never touched, yet are intimately connected to you, it's only natural to feel awe.

Is there a lack of freedom in the military?

"What?" Lin Yue realized that Rebecca was probably asking him about his past life in the Netherhound.

Although he had the original owner's memories, the feeling was very disconnected, like watching someone else's movie without Lin Yue experiencing anything.

"Maybe? Anyway, it's just Dogtown, daily training, doing errands for Hansen—occasionally burying a few dead brothers, that's it."

Lin Yue honestly recounted the events from his memory.

Rebecca said "oh" and remained silent for a moment.

"Hey, you bastard, how did you know my name?"

Lin Yue was speechless.

What should he say?
Tell Rebecca not to meet a boy named David Martinez, not to install the [projectile launching system] on Mann, not to let Dorio shield her sweetheart from the Trauma Team's bullets, and especially not to let Pila get close to the cyber lunatic who is urinating?
Or perhaps I know all about your life trajectories, and Rebecca, you will die under the tower on the deserted slope of the company, smashed to pieces by the [Adam's Hammer]?
He couldn't speak, and he was even uncertain about his own future.

This city has blinded people with cutting-edge technology and a bizarre lifestyle.

No one can live a good life without being able to protect themselves.

"Did the boss tell you?"

Rebecca didn't seem to intend for Lin Yue to answer; everyone has secrets, she understood. Lin Yue shook his head. "Maybe it was what that person... mentioned when introducing your team?"

"That person?" Rebecca's big eyes were full of confusion.

"Hmm, that guy is from the east of Asia, he's a... hacker. The boss was looking for people to fill the gaps when he found out about your name."

Lin Yue nodded in his mind. Yes, Earth, Lin Yue, a player from Xia Country.

Too reasonable.

Rebecca can be quite naive at times; she actually nodded in agreement with such a ridiculous reason.

"No wonder you didn't snipe us when we were looking for the hacker's hideout. So you weren't working for Hansen back then... Did the middleman Hanz find out and sell you out, and then use that to lure us in? Is that what you mean?"

Although Rebecca's imagination was not entirely consistent with the facts, she was right about one thing: Hansen wanted him dead, and Hanz was fishing.

It's true that he held back, and it's also true that he was betrayed. Lin Yue didn't even know that the Netherworld Hound was really coming for him.

It was at that moment, with his severed arm and the aura of death, that Lin Yue finally accepted that he was a living, breathing member of the Night City underworld, not some high-and-mighty "player."

"Mann sent you, didn't he?" Lin Yue didn't look at Rebecca; he was quick-witted and knew what everyone was supposed to do.

Right now, Rebecca's doubts are probably the same doubts that Mann and the others have.

There is no free lunch in the world.

Lin Yue used Lin's identity to find work for everyone and make a fortune together, without any cost.

At least in Mann's eyes, it was the mysterious middleman Rin who carried the company's background and assigned jobs, and not only that, the pay was quite generous.

For cyberpunks who are used to living on the edge, this is a very desirable job.

Rebecca was a little embarrassed. "My brother is right, you are really smart."

Lin Yue smiled and gently clinked his glass against Rebecca's.

"Dogtown is a complicated place. Hansen has trustworthy people, like Yuri, and the bookkeeper Gago... and there are gangs, the Cleaners, the Animals Gang, the Voodoo Gang... Do you want me to find them to work with for the boss?"

Lin Yuefa was short-handed, and Dogtown was a place of ruthless gangsters; he would never team up with gang scum to make a living.

"By the way, thank you for the money, Mann, really."

Lin Yue was genuinely grateful and had no intention of returning Mann's transfer; sometimes, not refusing someone's concern is a form of politeness.

“You should thank me in person,” Rebecca said thoughtfully. “But then again, yes, those weirdos on the internet, Mann and we have never dealt with them before—”

"Sasha said that these people are known for causing trouble online."

Lin Yue was stunned.

Rebecca thought Lin Yue didn't know Sasha.

"Oh! I forgot you didn't know, our team has a hacker, a... well, a very cute girl, like a cat." Rebecca introduced casually, winking as she spoke, "So, want to meet such a cute girl?"

Lin Yue was impressed by this clown.

“But Mann won’t let her come to Dogtown. Sasha has called me several times, and Dorio has also received calls.”

Rebecca sighed, hugged her knees, and slowly said to Lin Yue, "She's hard to read, very smart, but Mann thinks she shouldn't be in the cyberpunk industry... Her sister looks down on us because she went to police academy and seems to want to join the NCPD."

"Oh, I see," Lin Yue understood.

It seems that Sasha should be able to live a better life without having to commit crimes online.

Lin Yue understood Mann's thoughts; this thoughtful older brother was probably protecting Sasha.

The two gazed silently at the moon.

Rebecca muttered, "Anyway, let's not do something as stupid as rushing out to take a bullet for him today—"

"Also, Mann said you've had a lot of prosthetics installed, you should stop now."

Lin Yue nodded, his expression serious, "Next time you'll take the hit for me, but with your physique..."

Rebecca gritted her teeth and jumped up suddenly!
Mann and the others, who had just left the Heartfelt Club, watched as Rebecca kept patting Lin Yue on the head, while Lin Yue gave them a "I'm thick-skinned, hit me all you want" look.

"They've started fighting again."

Dorio shook her head speechlessly, Mann chuckled, and Pila casually puffed on a cigarette.

"You bastard who attacked my body!"

Rebecca's embarrassed and annoyed voice echoed above the lively campfire, where many were preoccupied with their own thoughts...
-
[Yuri]: A high-ranking member of the Hound in the side quest "A Recruit's Day" in the Shadows of the Past DLC 2077.

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(End of this chapter)