Cyberpunk: From Dogville to Legend

Chapter 368 Who is the Monster? [6.5K]

"Director Bridil."

"There is a situation."

Night City Internet Surveillance Office.

Bridil casually flipped the tablet on the table over, and the operator who came in immediately noticed this subtle movement... People always flip over things they don't want others to see, which is actually a very strong form of self-protection.

"newcomer?"

Bridil is now a completely different person from who he used to be.

He now has a stubble beard, wears the light striped shirt most cyber police agents like, the prosthetic pattern of the network access module clings to his neck, and his body has become much more muscular.

“Uh, sorry… Mr. Bridil.”

"It's urgent, I should knock on the door or something—"

Bridir reached out and gently pressed down. "Hehehe, relax, okay? I was just asking..."

After experiencing that upheaval, Bridil was even a little dazed when he saw this young man... With the passage of time, he finally understood what the look in old Wendy's eyes meant.

It was a lament about the irreversible passage of time.

The young man could only blush as he handed the items to Bridil.

This director, who is widely regarded as a workaholic by internet regulators, doesn't seem that troublesome, and is even quite approachable.

Bridil shook his head. "If it were a regular AI incident, this kind of thing shouldn't be handed over to the director in the emergency response process, right?"

Actually, taking a look wouldn't have been a big deal, but Bridil's mind wasn't on that at all.

“I have a lot of things to do. For example, those corporate dogs working on the internet in the Ember Bar are my targets. I’ll hand over the roaming AI to the action department and arrange for AI hunters to handle it. I can afford the money, the manpower, and the internet surveillance. Don’t go to your superiors for everything.”

The young man's feet seemed to be covered in superglue, and Bridil's hands were pressed on the tablet.

He accepts the rashness of newcomers, but that doesn't mean he can tolerate stupidity.

Few people brought in by the internet police aren't smart; this guy in front of me seems rather clueless...

"Please take a look first before you decide."

The young man's gaze was earnest, as if he was determined that the contents would pique his interest.

Bridil opened the folder—

His intuition told him that the young man wasn't just there to show off.

"Snapped!"

The folder in Bridil's hand was suddenly closed.

The neatly formatted documents inside felt like steel needles piercing my eyes.

"you…"

The young man quickly spoke up to defend Bridil.

"Director, you seem very concerned about Arasaka's situation. In the six months I've been working in the Internet Security Bureau, I've heard more than once about how you and Senior Inspector Wendy escaped unscathed during the Blackwall rampage in Dogtown. Please forgive my intrusion, I just want to help you."

At this point, the young man's eyes lit up with hope.

"It has always been my dream to be in the front-line operations department. You can punish me, but my work in the intelligence department has dampened my enthusiasm until I learned what you are investigating!"

"These are all documents that I, at my level, have access to and that are not in violation of regulations, so please rest assured."

A bead of cold sweat appeared on Bridil's forehead.

There's an unwritten rule within the internet surveillance system: using internet surveillance resources to conduct in-depth investigations of a company often encounters obstruction from superiors—this is an ironclad rule.

Perhaps in the eyes of ordinary hackers, the status of cyber surveillance in the online world is beyond question. They are ruthless, and even hackers arrested under legally mandated detention procedures may have their brains burned by the infamous "Black Ice program" depending on their mood.

Every internet user needs permission and a scan from network surveillance, a severe violation of personal rights, yet no one dares to speak out…

But how does the company see it?
Perhaps in the Red Era, internet surveillance would take center stage at company summits, but human nature is inherently greedy. The cost of transgressing the rules is far lower than the cost of upholding them. They cannot curb the increasingly rampant arrogance of companies, and even if they know that these companies are making holes in the wall, they dare not act because of the high costs involved.

Young people may be passionate.

But he inadvertently accused Bridil, the director, of causing trouble for Arasaka.

Bridil assumed the man before him was eager for credit, greedy for promotion and wealth, and utterly impatient…

But he actually asked to go to the front lines!
If he had a choice, Bridill would prefer old Wendy to be alive; the feeling of dedicating himself to the internet surveillance simply for the sake of getting things done was wonderful. However, now he also has to consider these petty schemings... even though his goal is extremely simple: to prevent the company from causing more dangerous incidents online.

"How did you investigate?"

Bridil felt that he might have unintentionally stumbled upon a meticulous and daring individual, a natural fit for being a frontline cyber surveillance officer.

"You care about the Relic project in Arasaka. In the operation against Ember, although you obtained evidence of the company's illegal activities on the Internet, it was shelved due to insufficient evidence. You have been willing to take risks in many operations, just to speed up your promotion. There is a high-ranking person in the company, I know him."

The young man looked at the tablet that Bridil was pressing down on tightly with his hand.

That thing should be an offline device.

Network surveillance prohibits any offline devices from entering the premises; this is a crucial measure to prevent the copying of confidential information.

"We all have a grudge against Arasaka."

Bridil's face grew increasingly grim.

The young man opposite me had his back soaked with sweat...

He stared into Bridir's bloodshot eyes, as if he were about to frame him and get himself kicked out of the internet police!
suddenly.

Bridil laughed, revealing his neat teeth, as if he had seen a joke that brought him the utmost joy.

The young man could only force a forced smile, wondering how far this guy who could decide his fate would take things...

"To be able to deduce so much from such a small amount of information, one is indeed not suited to work in the intelligence department."

"but--"

Bridil stood up. "Can you afford the price?"

He placed his hand on the young man's shoulder, and the young man saw the person he had deduced—the very person Bridil had been relentlessly pursuing…

"cold."

This name is strange. It seems like only Japanese companies like Arakawa would use such a code name.

What surprised him even more was that... this guy's identity was far more terrifying than he had imagined.

At the age of 22, he was the security chief of the Arasaka branch of Night City. He even managed to steal a piece of meat from the company, making Arasaka the only giant in Night City where the employee won against the company. If it weren't for the missile from Badlands, Rin might still be alive. Bridil always believed that it was the real culprit who killed Wendy.

"Sir, I'm not stupid."

Bridil has already shown him these things, which means that Bridil will agree to the young man's request.

"Internet police are full of smart people, and when there are too many smart people, monsters will appear."

"Let's talk about this document..."

Bridil thought there was something slightly wrong with the young man's report.

[The incident of a mobile AI bypassing the Great Firewall]

Threat Level: Unknown

[Network Zone - Night City Public Network (Taipingzhou Sub-zone) (Status: Under Maintenance)]

AI data spores were left near the DRAR data fortress of Taipingzhou Company, suspected of having been used in an attack. The data was taken offline too quickly, and the investigation is ongoing.

[A user with high data similarity to Arasaka was detected using a masking method within a data interlayer to bypass AI blocking, suspected of unauthorized access to the Great Firewall.]

[Intelligence Summary: Based on behavioral data comparison, this user is suspected to be the same user involved in the 10023 incident (Dogtown Black Wall) and the 100486 incident (Ember incident); the method of concealment appears to have used AI processing, suggesting they may be a bounty target.]

Hard to imagine.

This young man dug things up to this point without knowing who Bridil was investigating.

"Relic is related to the Black Wall."

Bridil revealed the matter without the other party being prepared.

Some things cannot be faked.

Anyone with hacking experience would have been terrified upon hearing such words, but the calm in the young man's eyes gradually calmed Bridil's expression.

"Go report for duty. I'll give them the transfer order from the HR department, but don't forget—you have to persevere even if you've begged for it."

"According to the procedure, we will split our people into two teams and enter Taipingzhou. Those who are posted online should be more careful... First, confirm if it is him before proceeding."

The daring fellow's delighted expression didn't seem fake—

The moment the young man left the office, Bridil quietly looked at all the information he had collected over the past six months on his tablet:
In a sense, this is more like the story of how someone named Rin became famous.

All Bridil could find out was that he came from Dogtown, as if an outsider had appeared in the world. The waters of Arasaka were also stirred up by this guy who came from the most chaotic region. The conflict between military technology and Arasaka, the power shift in Dogtown, the mysterious death of the middleman in Pacific Continent, and the huge loss of Arasaka's assets made it difficult for Bridil to take action.

Old Wendy taught him a lot about a principle that exists in organizations like businesses and internet monitoring agencies—organizations that appear public but are actually privately run.

When someone is truly remarkable, it's not just because they have exceptional abilities, but also because someone is helping them and needs their help.

Just like a chessboard, no matter how strong the pieces are, they will eventually fall into the hands of the player.

Bridill didn't want to find out who was playing chess, but he knew that as long as there was no explanation for old Wendy's death, his hatred would continue to fester...

Too much negative emotion has turned the young internet monitor into a beast that climbs up and stares at the unsavory past. The young man just now was also a beast. Everyone has the greedy desires of a beast.

Bridil could tell that the young man's actions, though seemingly clumsy, were actually meticulously calculated, but he didn't intend to expose him, because such purposeful individuals were particularly easy to use.

"Just you wait, old Wendy."

……
-
"You consider yourselves superior, calling us cockroaches and crawlers."

"We should have been living in peace, but you tried to harm my people and destroy my company..."

Lin Yue shook the crumbs off his hands.

No matter how powerful AI is, it still needs sufficient production tools. It can provide ideas, designs, and even terrifying technologies that have been iterating for decades outside the Great Firewall, but without hardware to implement them, they will look extremely crude.

Lin Yue heard the sound of hurried footsteps behind him.

"Transcending to ascension, this is the most beautiful state of datafication at its ultimate level..."

The dark-skinned fellow was the one presiding over the sacrificial ceremony, but Lin Yue was unaware of this. It seemed that these strange fellows from the Voodoo Gang were determined to make Lin Yue pay the price.

"The Voodoo Cult believes that everyone will gain immortality in the online world, and you are embracing them too, so why are you so hostile towards us?" Lin Yue was stunned for a moment.

The woman he had just killed seemed to have left with her soul in her shattered body. However, Lin Yue underestimated the strangeness of these things. They were like interconnected containers... The guy who spoke in the exact same way as Maman Bridget took a step from the side with a sinister look.

Immediately afterwards, four or five people spoke at the same time, "Become a part of us."

As if by instinct, Lin Yue felt a surge of violence and irritation whenever he heard these guys' voices.

"Boom!"

Standing still, Lin Yue saw out of the corner of his eye that the floor was rapidly covered with cracks. The human body modified by AI was like a disposable tool. They didn't care whether this way of moving would destroy the body. They just wanted to devour the guy in front of them.

Data, fresh and exciting data.

AI cannot resist temptation.

They don't think about why Lin Yue is connected to a large AI in cyberspace; they just instinctively want to rush up and hunt him.

The Rabids virus perfectly exemplifies the aggressive nature of AI; it doesn't roar, it doesn't shout, and it doesn't verbally threaten like an enemy…

Lin Yue touched the unpleasant sensation on his arm with one hand. The gorilla's arm was covered in red and black data fragments, and S.A.S.'s power was already turned to the limit.

Physical abilities have their limits, but AI never stops thinking.

Lin Yue will be facing the "Returning Corpses" that inhabit the entire facility.

With a screech of his toes against the ground, Lin Yue moved like a cheetah taking off with its back arched, as if he were fighting against his former self.

These are all individuals who have surpassed the limits of the human body. Even if their prosthetic bodies are crudely modified, they are ultimately products of AI, and with their ingenuity, they are much stronger than the genuine prosthetic bodies of many companies.

Lin Yue knew that technical term:

Prosthetic bodies are now permitted.

Relic chips can enable monomolecular wires, mantis knives, gorilla arms, and other devices to achieve this function!
When the opponent resorted to a near-life-or-death tactic, Lin Yue's Shadow Strike activated instantly!

Time-stop effect in progress —

Lin Yue saw a familiar light appear in the guy's eyes.

Quick crack!
"Humph…"

Fueled by his physical prowess and reflexes, Lin Yue's fists were like machines of immense strength. When ICE sent out an intrusion warning, the guy had to hold his hands up to take more than a dozen heavy punches from Lin Yue. Then, with a powerful kick, he shoved the limp-armed guy into a pile of construction debris with exposed steel bars...

The guy's body was pierced, and his human life functions were rapidly dissipating. The AI-level computing power eventually pierced through Lin Yue's ICE, causing a burst of fire to rise from his arm and a searing pain to pierce his skin.

This poor fellow, in his final moments before death, gasped for breath like a ruptured balloon, yet still managed to keep the network access chamber, which was emitting overloaded black smoke from the back of his neck, running. This quickly led to synaptic melting, and with orange flames filling his eye sockets, he seemed to have temporarily regained control of his body, howling like a demon from the underworld—

The air was thick with the stench of burning rubber.

Moved!

Lin Yue's rock-and-roll leather jacket, designed to protect against cuts, was burned by the fire, but the unnatural appearance of his single arm did not prevent him from drawing his knife.

As he drew his sword, only confidence filled his eyes.

It was an expression of fearlessness after being plunged into hell.

Voodoo Gang…

These entities, even more despicable than corporations, impose their self-imposed desires upon the entire world. If the Black Wall collapses, these indiscriminate data monsters will burn to death all the people whose brains are now almost 100% covered by computers. Any data will become their nourishment, and at that time, the shackles of self-destruction will be broken by these people.

shhhhhh!
Extremely accurate marksmanship!

Lin Yue had never faced such precise gunmen before. In the hands of these voodoo gang scum, the technical rifle had become a weapon of extreme precision!
Even after using [Close Combat], Lin Yue felt that these bullets were almost cutting off his next smooth attack.

Another unsettling feeling for Lin Yue was that these AIs, driven by their thirst for data, had just resorted to network intrusion, even if only for a brief moment, which could very well attract new cyber surveillance forces.

He needs to do it faster.

Ding Ding Ding!
The blade in Lin Yue's hand was now an impenetrable shield—

To outsiders, it appeared to be a casual parry, but after deflecting the last bullet, he immediately raised the blade horizontally with one hand, mimicking a posture to prevent impact.

boom!
Using human impact as an analogy is not an exaggeration at all.

Lin Yue saw that the guy used a method that exceeded the threshold of the prosthetic body to accelerate to the speed of a small car. The prosthetic material on his body, which was as hard as steel, was now the most dangerous weapon!
Pfft!

The high-powered humming sound of the prosthetic body twisting through the gaps in Lin Yue's half-body prosthetics was awe-inspiring!

This is a living, breathing humanoid combat machine, a monster among the Lone Wolves of Night City!

"Humph…"

Lin Yue let out a painful sound from his throat, as if he had been struck by the other party. It seemed that two modules of the gorilla's arm had become dislocated in the impact. It was already the most robust prosthetic body, but now these AIs were tearing a hole in it in a way that was like "abandoning life".

This is... trying to wear yourself out!

Lin Yue, expressionless, slowly deflected the opponent's impact with a lunge. At this moment, his durable military boots left black marks on the ground, like those left by a car braking suddenly. The ground was shattered by Lin Yue's final exertion, scattering several sharp cement fragments.

The guy opposite him had both legs broken and was writhing on the ground like a lump of rotten flesh. Not only that, but he was also preparing to use a quick way to stall Lin Yue.

This time, Lin Yue had no intention of holding back.

The exact number of people in the Voodoo Gang controlled by AI is unknown, and Lin Yue needs to pinpoint the location of the AI ​​server before the company team arrives.

He suddenly leaped up!
The swords in his hands made a whistling sound as they slashed through the air, and the blades made strange thuds as they struck the prosthetic body beneath the skin. Eighteen strikes per second was Sianwistan's limit, and also the limit for the three who were trying to create distance and continue shooting at the Voodoo Gang members.

Dismembering it into eight pieces is nothing special.

The white wolf's sharpness meant that every slashing or cutting motion became a cause for the opponent to be dismembered.

call!
Without pausing after completing his action, Lin Yue turned his head with sharp eyes and saw four or five Voodoo Gang members who were blankly raising their guns. He regained control of his arm, which had been affected by the rapid disarming of the control technique, but suddenly clenched his fist as he raised his hand!
boom!
A perfectly rounded arc appeared on the ground, then collapsed by about ten centimeters in an instant!

Lin Yue stared coldly at the guy inside—

It's like throwing a tomato into a juicer.

"You, like us, have never had any sympathy for these crawlers."

"I admire your excellent performance."

Is AI praising itself?

"Only by becoming symbiotic organisms can we be of the same kind."

Lin Yue twirled the blade, then suddenly held the hilt behind his neck. Immediately afterward, a bullet struck the blade and bounced out, sending sparks flying!

His exceptional combat awareness was earned through countless battles.

Lin Yue never hesitated to take turns killing his targets.

"Compared to Ultraman's communication methods, your version is inferior and laughable."

After completing a near-divine parry, Lin Yue stood up and looked in the direction of the Voodoo Gang's high priest. "Get this straight, what I want is for you to be absorbed by me and disappear on this side of the wall, not for you to negotiate with me..."

The voodoo gang's gaunt man, whose prosthetic body had strange markings and whose two silver-white prosthetic eyes kept rolling, twitched.

Swish!
A burst of white smoke exploded!
Dense red lines instantly covered the area!
The source is Rin, who moves swiftly while hidden in the shadows, and the fantastical micro-robots created by Professor Shijima and Pira, whose job is simply to disrupt the enemy's vision.

"Lost Island, I hope you're right..."

"They should be considered... robots, right?"

Lin Yue needed to create some space; he couldn't let things drag on any longer. This place would soon become the focus of attention for multiple forces, especially with the internet censors and the company getting involved…

The program's controller, judging from the voodoo gang puppets' judgment, no longer trusted vision; they preferred to use rapid decryption to find Lin Yue's true whereabouts.

however…

The highly deceptive miniature robots blurred the prosthetic data, and the so-called targets they found were all their own people. The AI ​​could only frantically sift through the data to find the real Lin Yue.

Relying solely on data is AI's Achilles' heel.

Even to the naked eye, Lin Yue's location was almost perfectly clear—

Guess it right!
Lin Yue's eyes darkened.

“Lost Island, Pila…you guys are fucking geniuses.”

Blades emerged from the scattered shadows; the terrifying speed of the S'anwistan ninjas became a reaper of lives. The incessant S'anwistan chant, accompanied by gunshots and the muffled thuds of bodies falling, became the main theme of the bloody battlefield.

Lin Yue's chest heaved violently; S.A.W.S. was on the verge of his limit.

"We're finally reaching our limit."

The AI ​​in the facility used various collected information to synthesize data from S.A.R. Steinstein and arrived at this answer.

Lin Yue's gaze swept over the remaining Voodoo Gang enemies hiding behind cover. He tilted his head back slightly and closed his eyes, seemingly adjusting his breathing to alleviate Sianwistan's discomfort…

[Rapid Intrusion]

[Brain-Computer Overclocking Protocol Approved]

[Shallow Black Wall Protocol] [Upload Complete] X1…

[Upload complete] X1…

……

The moment the network access module interface appeared, Lin Yue was like the Grim Reaper, ready to eliminate any enemy he could catch. He would unleash his most powerful hacking techniques without hesitation once his eyes were on someone.

"Regulator."

The AI's calm voice hadn't anticipated that the attack methods of the black wall they had tried so hard to overcome were already known to the tiny humans before them!
The world inside the prosthetic eye was torn apart by a stream of bright red data. Lin Yue watched as those people who had been controlled and detached by the AI ​​temporarily regained their consciousness, staggering as they received massive amounts of data being poured into their implants and brain-computer interfaces from the black wall, followed by a halting roar... Red and black data traces, like viscous liquid, spilled from their open mouths...

One by one they fell down.

"I bet you'll be holed up in the offline server, too scared to reconnect to the network."

"Try finding me."

"If I can't find you, then I'll find you."

Inside the underground facility, where undulating pieces of corpses were scattered everywhere.

Lin Yue's voice was terrifying, echoing throughout any sound-producing device!
The beast, having just completed its counterattack in the hunter's eyes, temporarily hid in the darkness, relentlessly pursuing the disoriented hunter...

……

……

(End of this chapter)