Cyberpunk: From Dogville to Legend

Chapter 352 The Story of Santo Domingo (Part 1)
Standing on the hill, Santo Domingo looks like a bright pearl embedded in the industrial area. The bustling traffic and the unique orange-yellow color brought by the decaying steel give the city a heavy filter, like late autumn.

After the war and since the reconstruction in 2045 (the Red Era), the underground was once the main place of residence for the people of Santo Domingo.

As the nuclear radiation dissipated, the people of Santo Domingo, who had grown up in the harsh environment, became like resilient spring grass, quickly becoming one of the most densely populated residential areas in Night City.

The market in Santo Domingo has no high-tech buildings or holographic advertisements that block out the entire sky; it only has empty land.

They sell a lot of cheap goods here, some garbage with usable or edible value, or some medicines obtained from irregular channels.

“I said… if you have nothing better to do, can you please get out of the way? You’re blocking the way—tch, I hate you rock 'n’ roll idiots the most.”

The people of Santo Domingo are also very simple and honest.

Anyway, everyone in Night City is very hostile, which is normal, and Lin Yue won't say anything about these few complaints.

The old captain's contract with the band is now in effect.

The middleman's request was simple: write a few songs that resonated with the hearts of the people of Santo Domingo, which they could freely view and share, and the performances would proceed as usual.

Do you have anything to eat here?

Lin Yue simply sat casually on the mottled, peeling leather stool, looking at the piles of food products from Whole Foods Factory in the boss's counter, feeling a little apprehensive.

Upon hearing that there was business, the boss's expression softened considerably.

"You can look around anywhere, eat whatever you like, but I recommend [Synthetic Meat] - um, the kind where one bite makes the whole family happy."

"But... hehe."

The shop owner rubbed his hands together expectantly. "Thirty euros."

Lin Yue had eaten synthetic meat before. Right now, the boss was offering about 400 grams of meat for 30 euros, which was clearly an attempt to rip people off. The meat had a strange texture with no muscle fibers, and it tasted more like a starchy version of canned lunch.

"Hey rock singer, don't listen to that idiot lying to you. They're all mass-produced food from those cyber lunatics in Watson District, the stuff that gets dumped in the food factories!"

Of course, he started cursing when there were food vendors nearby.

This isn't Asia; the bosses here have honed their verbal skills through long-term "verbal battles" with customers.

"Fuck you! You want to fight?!"

Lin Yue was both amused and exasperated. He hadn't even said anything yet, and the market had already started to get noisy.

Thirty it is, but that's all I have in my pocket.

"But I need to talk to you about something."

Seeing that he couldn't stop this guy who was asking to be ripped off, the boss waved his hand dismissively, squatted down, crossed his arms, and continued to brag to the people next to him about how exciting the Mewtwo movie he watched last night was.

"Okay, chatting isn't illegal. You're not interested in me, are you?"

"I hear your rock scene is pretty chaotic, but I have a family."

Lin Yue glanced at the guy's unshaven face. He wondered if the prosthetic eyes were the wrong size, but there were very few signs of modification. The tattoos from his gang days looked distorted and strange due to his overweight body.

Give me the money.

Lin Yue extended his hand, and the boss immediately became obedient.

He chuckled as he fried the synthetic meat on the hot plate.

"Let's chat."

Lin Yue glanced around at the shelves behind the boss; they had everything, even medicine.

"Do people really come here to buy medicine?"

The shopkeeper glanced at the yellowed packaging of the medicines behind him, wondering if they were still usable, and said, "Of course we do. These days, viruses are constantly emerging. Sometimes even cyborg doctors can't figure out the cause and can only treat it with antibiotics. If antibiotics don't work, then we can only buy some painkillers and see if we can tough it out."

"Of course you're sick. What, you've never been sick since you were a child?"

Lin Yue didn't really understand the concept of getting sick. First of all, the Netherhound had sufficient medical care, not to mention Arasaka. It's also possible that his full-body cybernetic enhancements were too advanced, causing his immunity to reach an absurdly unknown level.

I only overheard Rebecca mention in casual conversation that Night City experiences frequent large-scale flu outbreaks, all thanks to the last mass extinction.

Since then, the animals of Night City have been reduced to living cockroaches, and the strange viruses released by the company in an attempt to take down its rivals have caused even more innocent people to fall ill.

“That makes a lot of money, and the life is comfortable. It’s not bad—at least it’s better than singing in a bar.”

Unexpectedly, when the boss pushed the fried meat in front of Lin Yue, he let out a self-deprecating bitter laugh.

"If you run into an alcohol-fueled idiot, you might be able to make more money. But our lives are anything but comfortable. We live a life of bitterness and resentment every day. We have wives and kids who need money. But we do get up every day and curse the company and the Night City government."

"The NCPD also comes here from time to time to try and make some money..."

He sighed, "Gangs now only want young people. When they're young, they don't know any better and always think they can live a glamorous and carefree life. But when they can't run anymore or they get disabled, those gangs run away faster than anyone else."

Following his gaze, Lin Yue noticed that the boss's right leg looked somewhat empty, replaced by a very simple mechanical prosthesis, making it extremely difficult for him to even walk.

This thing is like walking on stilts; the broken edge is constantly subjected to friction, which can cause discomfort to the body and nerves.

Once he started talking, he leaned on the counter with one hand, “Both the Valentino gang and the Sixth Street gang have been in charge of this place. The Sixth Street gang says that all the neighbors are human, but they bully anyone who is not of their race. They keep saying that they want the new America to be strong again, but in reality they are a bunch of racists.”

Lin Yue deeply agreed with the apt description.

"Valentino is no better. He wears gold watches and necklaces one after another, and does whatever makes money quickly!"

Although his friend came from the former Valentino, the Night City gangs are basically organizations that have been exploiting the already emaciated lower class, and they cannot escape their criminal origins.

"You haven't been in Night City long?"

The boss asked with a grin.

It's been a year and a half, if you say it's not long, but if you say it's long? Most of the time, it's been about scheming and fighting with the company just to survive. Under the premise of being an "ordinary person," Lin Yue hasn't really been here long.

"I heard there are connections in Night City, let's take a look."

Hearing Lin Yue's words, the boss quickly shook his head, "You should listen to me, go back to where you came from!"

"The advertisement calls it the City of Dreams, so I think it's worth a try."

The boss had nothing to say to these clueless young people. After thinking it over, he finally pulled out ten euros from the pocket of his dirty chef's apron. "You should have bargained next time. You're so damn naive."

Lin Yue refused to take the money. "It's a one-off deal. Once I become famous in Santo Domingo, my performance fees will definitely be more than this."

To be a rock 'n' roll kid, you have to act like one.

"Awesome! Then I look forward to the day you become a big shot?"

The boss didn't know what to say. "Speaking of which, what you sang was... uh? Women, money? Or those kinds of incomprehensible lyrics you hear when you're drunk?"

The boss, who doesn't understand music theory and only listens to the radio for the sake of listening, can only try to describe his problem.

"Just like you, cursing the company and cursing Night City."

Lin Yue answered with a smile.

The boss perked up at the mention of that, exclaiming, "Hey! You really are something else!"

"If we're talking about cursing the company, the neighbors would all want to point their fingers at those company dogs and curse them ten times over without repeating themselves—"

Lin Yue wasn't there to hear them swear; he was there to hear about a story of how the Santo Domingo people had been cheated by the company.

"But I'm more interested in what the company did in Santo Domingo?"

At this point, the boss's expression suddenly changed from joy to indifference; he finally realized that the customer in front of him had come prepared.

"So you were asking about that. Sorry, I can brag to you about anything else, even criticizing the company, but I can't talk about this... You can keep the money."

Without saying a word, he slapped ten euros next to Lin Yue, then turned around, crossed his arms, and continued watching the small TV screen.

Lin Yue frowned. "Playing dumb is not a good thing, boss."

The boss's ears twitched slightly, but he still refused to answer.

Lin Yue: "At least let others know what happened to Santo Domingo, not..." The boss suddenly interrupted.

“What good will it do to sing it out loud or curse it out loud? Hasn’t the company caused enough trouble like this before? Every time, they’ve grabbed the lifeline of us poor folks, leaving us homeless, depriving us of water, and preventing us from receiving our subsidies—that’s how they always handle things. They know we dare not speak out, and no one would believe us if we did.”

"Do you think the person who made you sing here ever considered your safety?"

"Aren't you afraid of dying, young man?"

Clearly, the shrewd boss knew the ways of survival in Night City.

Lin Yue didn't intend to force things that couldn't be forced. Since the conversation had stopped there, he figured he'd fill his stomach; there was always a way.

Lin Yue's "field research" was actually very simple.

The old captain's intention was probably to create some trouble for the company, and Lin Yue's goal was the same, but which company specifically was not yet determined.

This free-form question ultimately led Lin Yue to pinpoint an incident involving the mass disappearance of employees at the Santo Domingo factory.

Eighty lives were lost overnight in the fire at the factory.

Some people say that certain employees' families are aware of the incident, and the boss's sister was involved in it...

"tasty."

After finishing his meal, Lin Yue prepared to get up, but only glanced at the ten euros and did not take them.

Just as he turned to leave, a dark figure bumped into him. Instead of instinctively dodging, he caught the person who was about to fall...

Massimo! Help me!

The woman's hurried voice accompanied her as she pushed Lin Yue away, and she collapsed onto the counter.

She seemed to lose her balance, which startled the TV-watching boss!

"Hold!"

Before Lin Yue could figure out what was wrong with the woman, a series of harsh curses followed.

He stepped slightly to the side, and several members of the Sixth Street Gang rushed over instantly.

A Mexican woman and a bunch of self-proclaimed patriots made a mess of things.

The boss took a step back when he saw her ashen face, his expression somewhat complicated.

"Rhodes is dying. The medication hasn't been working, he..."

Several gang members surrounded them, shouting, "You damn foreign bastard, dare to try selling medicine to this bitch?"

The boss's face darkened, and for the first time, Lin Yue saw a kind of suppressed anger in the boss.

Now he finally looks like someone who used to be involved in gangs when he was young.

"Over seven hundred euros, Aimore! This isn't a free charity; your child's life can't be sustained by these medications..."

However, what the boss said next stunned not only the woman and the members of the Sixth Street Gang, but even Lin Yue was dumbfounded.

No wonder…

Over seven hundred euros—anyone who dares to extend such a large debt to their neighbors in Night City can be called a great philanthropist.

The woman instantly knelt down, letting out a suppressed, painful wail.

"Oh ho, we thought you had paid back the money you borrowed from us, and we thought you were worth more. Turns out you still have a mountain of debt."

"If you ask me, you should just let this fat guy have his way with you. That's how we pay off our debts, isn't it? The gang just started a new place, and they really need someone with your face..."

Looking at the woman's passable face, Lin Yue deduced the whole story from just a few words.

The woman's child fell ill, and they were borrowing money everywhere; the gang also had debts.

For ordinary people, that kind of interest is basically enough to ruin their lives.

The appearance of the Sixth Street Gang caused everyone in the market to avoid eye contact. These violent groups made life miserable for the residents of Night City. They were not a corporation, but they were even more powerful than one. Even the smallest provocation would be remembered and retaliated against.

Everyone could only hurriedly get up and watch from a distance.

"Keep your mouth clean."

The boss is also a person with a temper.

"When I was in the Sixth Street Gang, you bunch of kids weren't even fully grown yet, so get the hell out of here!"

Several members of the Sixth Street Gang suddenly shifted their attention, and one of them rushed up and grabbed the woman's hair, causing her to let out a wail.

"Mexican pigs in a Mexican community, are you kidding me?"

"Just because of what you said, nobody's fucking leaving today!"

As they spoke, all the soldiers from the Sixth Street Gang pulled out their guns and knives, and Lin Yue could smell a strong stench of alcohol from a great distance.

It seems he really did make a foolish mistake.

Lin Yue sighed and turned to leave.

Suddenly, a hand patted his shoulder from behind. "Are you deaf?"

A thug from the Sixth Street gang, who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, noticed Lin Yue's movements. In fact, the moment Lin Yue felt a surge of electricity coursing through his body, he almost smashed the guy's head with a punch, but to reduce the risk of being exposed, he pretended to be surprised and turned around.

"Let go, I'm calling the police."

This remark immediately drew laughter from the surrounding soldiers.

Attracted by the attention, the group of thugs quickly surrounded Lin Yue, and the guy who had been pulling his hair strode past his men and stood in front of Lin Yue, who was half a head taller than him.

Seeing that the woman had been distracted, the shop owner quickly crawled out from behind the counter to help her up, but to his surprise, two members of the Sixth Street gang turned around and pointed their guns at them.

"You're pretty awesome?! You sing rock?"

Lin Yue held his breath to avoid the smell of alcohol, and his body was pushed hard several times.

"Let's give it a try and see if those cops come over."

Lin Yue sighed, feeling that he was probably having some bad luck.

The only reason Lin Yue was recognized as a rock singer was because of his typical rock kid attire.

"Now you're in trouble."

The Sixth Street gang soldier shouted, "Watch this, all of you! This is what happens to those who don't learn to be humble in Santo Domingo, you out-of-towners!"

A deathly silence followed, punctuated by the malicious sneers of the Sixth Street Gang.

Lin Yue just watched the guy in front of him making a complete fool of himself.

"You're talking nonsense, are you scared out of your wits?"

Lin Yue was shoved aside, and the butt of a rifle slammed into his ear. The onlookers couldn't bear to watch.

Snapped!
The sound of a palm striking steel rang out, and the powerful blow that would have knocked Lin Yue unconscious was firmly stopped by his hand.

The Sixth Street gang member who had raised his gun was stunned at first, then tried to pull it back, only to find that the gun seemed to be magnetically attached to the guy's hand, and even using all his strength was to no avail...

Lin Yue raised his eyes and looked at the Sixth Street Gang soldiers who were behaving inappropriately.

"It would be such a shame if we couldn't call the police; this is the best solution for you."

"At least no one got hurt, right?"

……

……

(End of this chapter)