Cyberpunk: From Dogville to Legend

Chapter 355 The Ghost (Part 1) [7K]

If KIA's first song paying tribute to the Samurai Band was one of the few moments of intense excitement that Red Mud has created over the years, then the second song, "Fire Source," completely overwhelmed the atmosphere.

It wasn't the kind of meticulously crafted, line-by-line recording produced by record companies, but it awakened the passion in many veteran rockers who had transitioned into working-class lives, prompting them to shout—

"This is fucking rock and roll!"

Pure, just rhythm.

Lin Yue stepped aside as lead singer, and Li performed his own lyrics in his own unique way.

The raging fire seemed to be scorching those unwilling souls, while the woman's high-pitched voice seemed to resonate with the workers struggling to survive.

Those who didn't understand the music liked the rhythm, while the neighbors silently watched the band on stage.

A simple promise, fulfilled so quickly.

Fire Source's musical style is a blend of classical rock and gothic rock, with well-utilized punk elements.

Their clean and pure band style made many people instantly become fans.

Perhaps because Lin Yue didn't put any pressure on the band before they went on stage, each member was completely immersed in the performance.

[The tax bill black hole swallowed the child's name;]

The exploited have no coffin to bury their bodies.

[The hymn sings praises of money and shame;]

Our heartbeats have stopped beating in the code data...

Li's lyrics brought back all of this to the minds of many long-time residents of Santo Domingo who had long forgotten the street legends.

The song makes no mention of the fire, the executions, or the Santo Domingo fuel plant, yet it relentlessly denounces the fire.

[A neon ghost entangled in concrete]

The bloodstains on the circuit board will be wiped clean!

[Let a silent scream permeate your dreams—]

People whose painful memories have been awakened clench their fists. Music, as a human art form, is far more than just sound wave vibrations; it has a heartbeat, breath, and thought.

Anyone who makes a living from stage performances will be quite good.

Improvisational performances often make formal rehearsals seem deliberately awkward and unsightly.

Mendelsohn's strumming technique, accompanied by the up-and-down movement of his body, resembled people being tortured in a raging fire, scratching at the air, with many revealing a sorrow beneath the surface of madness.

Music is truly magical—

Even though it's a cheerful melody, it can evoke a strange sense of sadness even without lyrics, while some sad tunes often have a touch of dark humor.

To outsiders, they looked like a bunch of high-dose, head-shaking zombies.

It's cool, but it has no substance.

True rock and roll is about expressing accusations with an unruly attitude.

Clearly, KIA captured the essence of this spirit that rock kids can only imitate, not the form.

You build hell, and we become the evil spirits that construct its walls!

Lin Yue's shout brought the three-minute song "Fire Source" to an end. Iron sparks sprayed on the stage, and the lingering sounds of various instruments on stage came to an abrupt end—as if nothing had happened.

The stage went dark instantly.

The scattered sounds below gradually quieted down, and some dazed, nearly drunkards remained silent.

At this moment, no one cares which band is better; instead, their attention is focused on the bright-eyed, quietly standing young rocker on stage.

Let alone the audience.

The members of the ND band, who were waiting to see what would happen, all had expressions of shock on their faces.

The lead singer, who had been holding his arms across his chest, unconsciously put them down with his mouth open. Embarrassingly, he, a veteran rocker, was completely absorbed by the song – he not only perfectly immersed himself in the music, but was even fascinated by the "fire" in the song.

The song's purpose was fulfilled by him, a man hostile to KIA…

"Yes... that's pretty awesome."

The gloomy young man next to the bearded man was the one who had spoken rudely. His face showed a mixture of envy and resentment, yet he had no choice but to admit defeat.

The other members hesitated to speak, keeping their heads down as if afraid of being noticed.

The most embarrassed people were the fans who had been enthusiastically promoting their band.

Keep in mind that he's still standing next to the ND members...

The way he shouted for KIA just now almost blew the ears off the band, who were now wishing they could disappear into a crack in the ground.

So he could only grumble, "Where did these guys come from? I've never seen many guys this badass in Night City..."

ND was convinced.

They lost at least when it came to playing music.

It seems the time will come for them to humiliate them.

They wanted to leave, but the crowd was so dense that they were blocked inside and couldn't escape.

at this time.

The dark-skinned neighbor closest to the stage suddenly seemed to realize what was happening, and immediately raised his fist and shouted, "KIA!"

Like a small pebble thrown into a calm pond, the surface of the water instantly becomes turbulent—

The silence was shattered, and shouts of "KIA" came from every corner of the crowd, like sparks falling into a pile of dry wood. The flames quickly merged, and cheers and shouts of approval were heard everywhere.

"Really awesome!"

"Go for it, woof!"

Lin Yue subconsciously turned his head, only to see that his teammates were also watching him.

"I can't believe we actually did it..."

Only then did Li belatedly realize that his hands were numb and trembling uncontrollably, a consequence of excessive concentration and tension.

Mendelsohn, holding his guitar, reached out and patted Lee on the shoulder.

Staring at the boisterous crowd below the stage.

He said things that someone with his appearance shouldn't say.

"I really want to sing for KIA for the rest of my life."

The noise wouldn't last long, so Lin Yue decided against starting another song. Instead, he slung his instrument over his shoulder, walked to the front of the stage, and squatted down to listen to what the fans at the very front were saying.

That gentle look in his eyes was completely different from the beast-like voice he had just spoken...

Only Lin Yue knew that the neighbors were scrambling to come in and tell him what he thought of the song, and he wanted to hear it, and he definitely would.

Seeing that KIA hadn't even noticed his group, the bearded lead singer could only give a wry smile. Being aggressive and combative seemed to be a common trait among young rock musicians, and he hadn't expected the other side to go looking for fans... He could only say that he had lost in both the arena and in terms of magnanimity.

"Let's go."

Taking advantage of the surge of people, the teammates tried to slip away through the gaps, covered in dust and dirt.

The bearded man waved his hand.

Amidst the astonished gazes of the crowd, he said, "No, I need to order a drink and sit here to listen again—"

"Their next songs are definitely even better than this one."

The second half of the sentence was like a shameful expression of honesty, which left the rest of the band dumbfounded.

……
-
Red mud second floor.

A middle-aged man leaning on the railing was dressed in a rather eccentric manner.

He wore a floral shirt, had a bowl cut but long hair, and slippers, just like the sunglasses-wearing dream dealers squatting on the street in Night City.

However, there were no other customers near his private room. This was partly because the scene below was crazy enough to attract people down there, and partly because middlemen like the old captain were elusive and Hongni had his own special spot.

Where did this person come from?

The old captain felt he had seen many impressive people in the tenement buildings, companies, and even the badlands of Santo Domingo…

But this one is just too awesome.

The bodyguard behind him stepped forward, placed his hand in front of him respectfully, and said, "It's very clear. The Atlanta investigation found out that there was indeed a rock kid who was involved in gangs and disappeared for a period of time, which happened to be the time when Night City was causing trouble."

No well-known middleman in Night City would do anything that is a waste of effort.

Would the old captain be kind enough to support a rock band?
Of course, it was because they had their eyes on something from KIA. The old captain could smell the scent of anyone who possessed it from a great distance. This thing was obviously a sign of utter hostility towards the company.

Despite his unkempt appearance and weak voice, the old captain, who was easygoing and forgiving as long as you did your job well, was not as rough and mediocre as he seemed.

Santo Domingo was the only middleman he had built up in a short period of time, creating a near-monopoly, which in itself speaks volumes.

Emma is meticulous in everything she does.

If the company doesn't thoroughly investigate and pursue Lin Yue's "new identity" in Night City, there's virtually no chance of any problems arising.

"A guy who took down a whole bunch of Sixth Street gang members and stood up for the neighborhood has come to Santo Domingo."

The old captain stood up and patted the railing. "The song is indeed good. Follow the contract."

However, that first sentence was full of distrust.

Perhaps because he himself leans towards the poor and hates companies, and because of this money-driven world, he doesn't believe that there could be such a guy among the rock musicians who are full of vices—and that those with that kind of skill are all ruthless characters.

Time reveals true character, and the old captain always believed in this principle.

"Does this person have some kind of grudge against the company?"

The old captain, who had asked a few more questions, didn't get the answer he wanted; both security guards shook their heads, indicating they didn't know.

Seeing this, the old captain asked no further questions.

He soon received a business call, and his attention was no longer focused on the band.

"What did you say?!"

The old captain was speechless.

"Your belongings have been confiscated?"

"Damn, I really trusted you... I'll get someone to bring the stuff back right now."

That's just the old captain's style. If he does a good job, he gets plenty of money and praise; if he doesn't do a good job, he's too lazy to pretend and it's common for him to give the cold shoulder.

I don't know what was said on the other end of the phone, but the old captain's face suddenly seemed to be shrouded in shadow...

"died?"

He put his hands on his hips, paced back and forth, and took a sullen drag on his cigarette.

“He’s been with me for eight years. That’s how it is in this business; you send the money to his family first, and I’ll cover the rest.”

"I'm not done with those bastards!"

The two security guards exchanged a glance. "Boss, what's up?"

The old captain plopped down on the sofa.

"What's wrong? It's about not getting anything at all—"

He decided he wasn't going to give anyone a nice look today.

Several cars smuggled in from outside Night City were seized. These sports cars were quite valuable, all engine monsters. The old captain paid special attention to this shipment, as it was related to the funds and revenue of his business in the near future.

For this purpose, he specifically assigned one of his most trusted people, as well as a middleman who managed a large group of drivers, to do this.

I thought everything was foolproof, but things still turned out unexpectedly.
When he answered the phone, he thought it was those hungry NCPD guys causing trouble again, but he never expected that the NCPD hadn't even touched his goods.

These things lost control on Taiping Island, and the drivers on board were instantly thrown into a panic, including their most trusted confidants. Now, the question was, who had the items?

"Uh... that batch of Lake Maiden's Swords? The car driven by the Atlanta company executives, right?"

The old captain was furious. Hearing his men repeatedly rubbing salt into his wounds, he became even angrier.

"Of course! Could it be fruits and vegetables?"

"And the Sword in the Stone, the white one."

The two naive security guards chatted back and forth.

The old captain really wanted to throw those two idiots off the second floor.

But scolding will be scolded.

But in reality, he kept wondering who he had offended recently.

The old captain was confident that he could still find some clues through his information channels.

In fact, the people the old captain hired did not dawdle or shirk their responsibilities.

The middleman who lost the goods probably realized the seriousness of the situation and was very frightened. He immediately sent people to track down the whereabouts, but there was nothing to be found in Taipingzhou. Therefore, the main suspects could only be the major forces that existed in Taipingzhou.

The entire robbery was very sudden. After the people behind realized what had happened, they found out that the car rental company's GPS antenna had been hacked, which caused the car's infotainment system to be hacked as well.

This matter cannot be left unresolved.

Given the choice between tightening their belts for a year and finding the items now, the old captain unhesitatingly chose the latter.

"The animal gang is now holed up in Dogtown..."

The old captain pondered, "What about the Voodoo Gang? Their methods seem very similar to those idiots whose brains were burned by electrodes."

After this matter was mentioned, news of the successful purchase quickly reached the old captain.

It's a bit too fast.

In fact, the old captain was extremely reluctant to deal with those religious hackers. The original Haitians believed in voodoo, and this bloody witchcraft continued in the online world. They were mysterious and didn't really interact with outsiders. They committed crimes without any bottom line, and were almost a group on par with the Cleaners.

The Cleaners target kidney cutting, murder, and dismantling of prosthetic bodies, while the Voodoo Gang uses the internet for unscrupulous extortion and kidnapping.

Once the car is in their hands, they will most likely resell it to raise funds.

Pulling himself out of his thoughts, the old captain stared at the mercenary who had come to deliver the message and what he had taken out of his pocket.

"Old Captain, my personal advice is not to watch it."

However, the messenger's expression was very unpleasant when he arrived. After the chip used to play Mewtwo was pushed in front of the old captain, the mercenary pressed the chip and gave him a special instruction.

"Is there a virus in this?"

Upon hearing the other party's denial, the old captain probably knew that the contents might cause great discomfort.

After the old captain's hacker had scanned and deleted everything, he started looking at it.

These appear to be two young people who stumbled into the Voodoo Gang's lair through the abandoned underground intercity high-speed train passage of Taipingzhou. Due to the realistic feeling of the Mewtwo experience, he could even feel the damp and cold atmosphere in the pitch-black environment.

"Holy crap! There's a wired internet connection here, come quick!"

A series of black tubes, twisted to the thickness of an adult's waist, resembled a dense network of pythons leading to a void that occasionally emitted a whistling sound.

"Damn...no way, there must be hackers around here."

"When they enter the network, turret mines will go into sentry mode. Don't be reckless!"

Another person tugged at his partner's sleeve.

But it's impossible for teenagers not to court disaster, especially since these are kids who grew up like weeds on Taipingzhou Island—

Clearly, the guy who enjoys fussing over these things, the one from the old captain's perspective, spoke with an air of fearlessness.

"You underestimate me? You've forgotten how I completely outmaneuvered that company jerk last time?"

"Don't worry, these things aren't as scary as you think."

"Do you know how many likes Mewtwo got last time on an adventure theme? It was about to go viral, and you idiot, still acting all girly!"

The scattered footsteps and the pitiful glow of the cell phone made this place seem like another world. The two young people followed the network cable and found that it disappeared above the hole that had been deliberately knocked open. The remaining steel mesh there was already rusted, with pieces of cement covered with moss on it.

Meanwhile, the road in front of them was blocked by an abandoned train, and both sides were completely blocked by piles of stones.

"I go…"

Those who chose to continue were clearly disappointed; it was too high up, over six meters high, and the dim lighting below made it impossible to tell whether the gap next to the line was big enough for a person to fit through.

The partner breathed a sigh of relief.

He prefers safety to risk his life for likes and vanity.

However, as it turns out, there's no stopping someone who's determined to court death.

Thick cable ties became the young man's climbing tool; despite his companions' repeated attempts to stop him, he continued climbing on his own.

Perhaps fearing being left in such a dark place, the second person had no choice but to climb up as well.

It's so quiet.

Even the server noise typical of hacker hideouts was absent, and the veteran captain, who had dealt with hackers many times, quickly discovered the problem.

The entire building structure was converted from the train's entrance passage and platform. The half-buried train carriage, which had just been buried in the soil, was now in this hall. There were traces of people having been there everywhere. The large server, converted from the train, was currently idle, like a crouching beast lurking to the left of the two young people.

The few light sources are fluorescent lighting devices that do not require electricity or raw materials to operate.

The prosthetic eye was too low-end, and the equipment this guy used to record Mewtwo was also very poor, so he couldn't see any more details at all. Only occasionally, some wires that had burned out due to overload would spark and emit a series of strange hissing sounds.

Secondly, what's even more concerning is the stench.

That's right, Night City's air quality isn't good to begin with, not to mention the dark underground where hackers used to hide; it's normal for it to smell bad.

But the smell here is too strong.

The old captain felt that sometimes the rich sensory experience that the Mewtwo device brought wasn't a good thing; it was a stench, more irritating than the garbage cans on the side of Night City where there might be corpses.

Throughout our long evolutionary history, humans have become extremely sensitive to the smell of the dead of their own kind, and the urge to vomit and flee is subconscious.

"vomit!"

The one with a slightly weaker constitution couldn't resist immediately.

"Holy crap! What's that smell?!"

The leader began scanning his surroundings, trying to find an auxiliary lighting device. He eventually managed to find the most common type of floor lighting in Night City, which was more like a fill light used on a film set. However, because it was cheap and durable, gangs with less-than-ideal living conditions liked to use it.

Fortunately, the circuit still works...

A young man who was trying to use his phone to light his way to find something suddenly tripped. Although he didn't fall, the phone flashlight in his hand, which hadn't fallen, suddenly started flashing.

"and many more!"

The suppressed, terrified voice of his companion came from behind.
"Who touched me?!"

"Someone...someone!"

However, the leader said, "Big brother, I need to edit this, can we stop building up the atmosphere first?"

They clearly planned how to film Mewtwo from the beginning.

"I'm not lying to you—"

The companion, whose anxiety was already amplified by the lack of light in the darkness, immediately hissed in a low voice, "Can you shut up?!"

“Really!”

However, because this thing was acting so timidly the whole way, its companion, whose phone screen kept flickering, was counting on it for light, but the garbled screen wouldn't get better, so it immediately went black...

"Oh shit…"

"How could I be so unlucky?!"

Perhaps because they heard their companions were angry, the person who was afraid of being left behind only made things worse by trying to explain more.

The rustling sound accompanied the buzzing of the circuit being connected, and the surrounding area of ​​more than ten meters was immediately filled with white light. The boy who led the way was indeed quite capable; he actually managed to turn on the light by just groping around.

"Can you fucking shut up—"

Pfft!
In the shaky view, his companion standing behind him staggered and fell backward to the ground, his face pale, his hand trembling as he pointed to the ground.

Looking down at the young man leading the group, a chill ran down his spine as if an electric current had passed through him. He immediately jumped up, letting out a series of startled cries…

"Hold!"

dead?!
So... I tripped over a corpse just now!
The guy, wrapped in a long-collapsed, tight-fitting black bodysuit, lay on his side on the ground. The prosthetic module behind his spine, revealing his white bones, was connected to a network cable. His body was surrounded by a ring of black filth, and the source of the stench seemed to be right there...

"I...I thought something was wrong!"

Seemingly realizing he'd lost face with his unconscious shout, the bravado-seeking leader transformed his embarrassment into a curse, while simultaneously addressing those who might see this Mewtwo in the future:

"Hey fans! Look what this is?!"

"Wow! Has anyone ever seen what bones look like up close? Look at this network access pod, tsk tsk... It's a black market customer service product, or maybe it's a brand name one. Maybe if you peel it off, wash it, and it's still usable. It's priceless!"

The guy who fell to the ground on his back, his legs weak, was even crying. Not to mention that he seemed to have been touched just now, but it was unclear whether it was just a hallucination caused by excessive fear.

"Don't touch him, please!"

The bolder ones didn't care about any of that; they kicked the bones everywhere as if venting their anger, and even ripped off the implants with their bare hands. Even though the dense bionic nerves had dried up, they were still worth some money.

"You're a bastard if you don't make money."

"Also, we'll film after we finalize the script. If you keep abandoning me like this, you son of a bitch."

Sure enough, after his threats, his companion became much more obedient.

Those who were focused on identifying valuables on the corpse had long forgotten that it was a dead person.

"The Crossroads Division, Raven Microcontroller... Holy crap!"

"I've only ever seen pictures of this online, wow! The quality is amazing!"

The prosthetic body in his hand felt heavy, like the weight of money.

Just as the bold were indulging in their dreams of getting rich after the fear subsided,

A sudden change occurred!

The guy, who was trying to figure out where to pry open the black customer service booth, suddenly heard a sound!
My companion's position looks like... someone is dragging something.
The Mewtwo recorder, suddenly looking up, realized that his timid teammate, who had just been standing there with trembling legs, was now there—

It disappeared...?
Gudong.

The guy, who had been standing there as if he had been doused with a bucket of cold water, stared blankly at the dark area.

"Hey?"

Yes, it was a true disappearance, as if the person had never existed there in the first place.

Now even the bravest guy can't keep squatting to dismantle his prosthetic body.

He quickly continued shouting and cursing—

"Evan? Evan?!"

"Hey! Stop joking, you idiot! Don't you have a brain?"

Even now, this idiot still can't tell whether the prosthetic body on the corpse or the number of likes is more important.

"Prosthetic bodies are very expensive. Can we find everything and then see if there are any other things left nearby before taking pictures?"

However, there was no response.

Apart from the echo of that guy's high-pitched voice, there was nothing else in the hall.

He was truly dumbfounded.

"Ok?"

A voice, sounding like a human's question, came from behind.

Under immense mental pressure, he suddenly turned around, only to see a faint, shimmering light in the distance…

That light looked like the kind that only a cell phone could emit.

Feeling cheated and having worried for nothing, the guy placed the prosthetic body on the ground and swore:
They absolutely have to give Evan a good beating before they're satisfied!
"Fuck you, you like lying, don't you?"

Picking up the glow stick at his feet, he stepped over the uneven "debris" on the ground and strode quickly toward the light source of the phone. "Did you hear me?!"

"Evan" seemed to be curled up in some abandoned bathtub, his phone glowing brightly, his hand rapidly swiping across the screen, seemingly not taking his words seriously at all.

"Are you deaf, you bastard?"

The angry photographer was completely unaware of the strange way he was holding his phone and the speed at which he was scrolling...

It doesn't look very human.

Snapped!
He slapped "Evan" on the shoulder with obvious anger, but he regretted it the next second.

The young leader felt as if his palm had struck steel, and a piercing pain made him punch "Evan" on the head.

"Click-clack-clack-clack..."

A burst of static, like an electrical interference.

Evan has finally turned around.

Under the glow of a cell phone, on a face with eyes that looked as if they had been scorched by flames and were completely bloodless, two electronic eyes darted around.

A radio was playing nearby.

Strange syllables, like poor imitations, came from inside.

"Someone..."

"Touch me..."

……

……

(End of this chapter)