Cyberpunk: From Dogville to Legend

Chapter 386 A Bird Startled by the Bow (Part 1) [520 Love You All~]

last night.

It's that dream again.

It hasn't appeared for a long time.

Perhaps because he received too many privileged conditions in Tokyo, the warm home of his childhood felt increasingly distant.

A river covered in oil and emitting a putrid stench, farmland with excessive heavy metals, children clutching rice balls in their dirty hands…

This is Zhucun's home.

It seems that such memories are shameful and not very honorable under the title of Arasaka's first safety supervisor.

But Takemura still misses it.

Even though he could no longer remember what his grandmother looked like, and his home had vanished into the cage of rising steel, he never encountered any fellow countrymen again, speaking with a standard Tokyo accent…

But he couldn't control himself.

When his thoughts are in turmoil, Takemura often dreams of these past events.

So much so that... he began to mock himself, perhaps a pathetic person whose pride was the root of all evil.

To outsiders, Takemura Goro, the bodyguard of Lord Arasaka, the advisor accompanying the world's most powerful man, and a man of unfathomable combat strength, should hold an extremely high position within Arasaka's inner circle...

Only he himself knew the truth—

His life, his clothes, all these conditions were given to him by the Arasaka family, and he could not cross that line in the slightest.

The meaning behind the name Goro Takemura is: the most loyal dog of the emperor, who must not touch power.

Saburo Arasaka valued this highly.

In many cases, even when Saburo asked Takemura for his opinion, he could only nod woodenly and reply with a phrase etched into his very being, "Everything will be done according to Lord Arasaka's wishes."

Whenever Takemura answered this question, Saburo Arasaka would always respond with a satisfied smile.

The old emperor of the Arasaka Group would frequently enter the cryogenic treatment room, and sometimes he would stay there for as long as six months.

At this time, Goro Takemura would stay in the security personnel's room near the frigid clinic. In addition, he would check the operating data of the cryogenic equipment every half hour to prevent any mistakes from happening to this person who would cause bloodshed immediately once he died.

Although Takemura couldn't imagine anyone being bold enough to assassinate Arasaka Saburo.

He has been doing this seemingly dangerous job, which actually only requires him to do his best as a nanny, for so many years.

Takemura tried not to think about it:
Questions like, "Who turned my childhood village into that place, or did Arasaka make a mess of Japan?"

This seems absurd.

In reality, when Takemura accompanied the local tyrant of Arakasa with a cold expression, he was thinking about these "boring" questions.

But it must be said that Saburo Arasaka is a boss who doesn't cause much trouble.

Every time Takemura touched the smooth fabric of his expensive suit, he reminded himself that these were all gifts from Saburo Arasaka.

Because all the children in that village had seen Lord Arasaka.

Although Arasaka-sama was already quite old at that time, he was still very energetic... He stroked the heads of each child with his large hands, especially patting Takemura, the tallest child, on the shoulder several times.

"You're really energetic."

To this day, Takemura still remembers Saburo's gaze and words.

So boldly, he shouted, "I want to be your most loyal guard!"
Saburo Arasaka's rhetorical question is quite interesting.

What is your determination?

Takemura told him.

Even if he were hired by the family that symbolized imperial power, he would still have to serve the adult who had solved the problem of food and clothing for all the children in the village and provided them with employment.

"Then give it a try."

Goro Takemura's arduous life began from that time.

He worked harder than anyone else.

In Hokkaido, he was called a madman by his instructors because no one could train in knee-bending tactical formations with their feet covered in frostbite, and no one could endure the torture until the instructors dared not continue.

Goro knew he wasn't the strongest, but he was sustained by the vow he made as a naive boy, moved by the fact that he had finally achieved basic survival.

There are too many powerful guys in Arasaka.

Sometimes even Goro Takemura felt despair.

Even though this vow could never be fulfilled, he still held onto that hope.

Then Saburo appeared once again.

That "operation" seemed full of flaws to him now, after years of combat experience; it might just be a training method used by the instructors. But they were still assigned the task of protecting the Arasaka leadership.

It seems that the group of homeless thugs in Tokyo who are hostile to Arasaka are about to do something crazy.

Unlike his own oath of loyalty to Saburo Arasaka, Takemura was the calmest, most focused, and most careful to protect himself during combat training.

Because training in Hokkaido has a death rate.

In the dormitory of Takemura and a group of young people, twelve people were crammed onto the tatami mats. Three years have passed, and he is now the only one left lying alone in the middle.

Therefore, he knows the value of being alive better than anyone else.

A scholar dies for a confidant.

Takemura believed that he simply hadn't met someone he was willing to give his life for.

If I must die, it must be for a benevolent sage like Lord Arasaka.

The boy was trapped by things that were unattainable for his entire life, not only by girls and love, but also by his dreams.

Of course, it's not that there's no love at all.

The girl's neck was blown off, and even the titanium alloy spine couldn't withstand it. It was the first time that Takemura learned that the prosthetic spine was filled with bio-hydraulic fluid, which was even more viscous than blood.

Once memories begin, they are hard to stop.

"Recruits."

"With an elimination rate of one in a hundred, you've made it this far. Today, some of you will die, but what I want to tell you is—"

“The big shot in Arakawa is dead. If you were alive, I would show you what it means to wish you were dead.”

The rude instructor's voice seemed to still echo in his ears as the fully armed young man, whose eyes had long been replaced by murderous intent and coldness, sat fully armed in the security vehicle.

Takemura is planning...

What should I do if I encounter an emergency?
He mentally rehearsed all the possible scenarios that might happen.

Until he inadvertently turned his head and saw the profile of the person in the back seat of the VIP vehicle.

He was stunned.

It's also a bit funny to say.

Takemura's first reaction was that he was doomed.

Because he didn't think they could protect someone like Saburo Arasaka at all.

Seeing his silent companions, Goro swallowed his words.

He understood that panic was the greatest enemy.

How exactly the car overturned is no longer important.

Perhaps because it was a cheap car, when everyone scrambled out of the vehicle, their vision was blurry. The prosthetic eye had some noise and distorted images due to the impact…

Arasaka equipped his recruits with the worst prosthetic bodies to unleash their full potential. Combined with the pharmaceuticals from a biological company with which he had a good relationship at the time, this made the Arasaka ninjas a fearsome assassin group that struck fear into the hearts of many companies.

Arasaka's strong lead in software engineering made ordinary Sinweistan-type prosthetic bodies more dangerous due to the existence of optimized software, breaking the monopoly on core operating system technology.

Of course, that's all beside the point. The main thing is that Takemura's mind was completely blank.

He watched as the soldiers, contaminated with ethanol-2 fuel, howled in pain, and could only aimlessly search for the guy he cared about most.

later…

Goro Takemura saw a vehicle that didn't need his protection at all, parked beside the bunker surrounded by security personnel.

The vehicle was badly damaged, and many soldiers had died outside.

They were all vagrants who were besieging the city.

Unlike the homeless people the instructors had described, these Tokyo thugs were well-trained, and Takemura sensed a sense of kinship among them.

They were all crazy guys working towards the same goal.

They're just on opposite sides.

In the end, only one samurai remained in Arasaka.

Takemura looked as if he had been soaked in blood.

He could only grit his teeth menacingly, his hands trembling as he circled around, holding his katana, looking at the four or five enemies he still hadn't dealt with.

The feeling of a knife piercing the stomach is not painless; on the contrary, it can make one scream in agony. Fortunately, Takemura had been stabbed before.

However, his physical strength had already reached its limit.

Without any support, Takemura had no choice but to resort to a last resort.

He gripped the three knives plunged into his stomach tightly, while a highly explosive grenade gradually heated up inside his chest.

If it weren't for that hacker, Takemura guessed he would have died a horrible death.

After the car door opened, the owner of the wooden clogs and cane gently bent down.

His eyes were all red, and the blood had congealed, making it difficult for him to even move his eyeballs. He could only stand there breathing heavily.

The person who prevented the grenade from exploding was a young woman wearing a white kimono.

That's how the relationship between Saburo Arasaka and his daughter and Takemura was established.

The reason why Takemura was determined to serve Saburo Arasaka for the rest of his life was:

The empire's supreme ruler gently pressed his wound with his hand.

"Arasaka won't let you die, young man Takemura."

Hanako Arakawa just looked at Goro.

"Father, it seems he won't make it."

“A child who cannot be killed by disease and germs will not die like this. Please hold on a little longer.”

"The Warriors of Arakasaka".

Because of these few words, Takemura found his "soulmate".

His unwavering loyalty to Sanlang and Huazi stemmed from this.

Even amidst such intense internal strife within the Arasaka clan, this is precisely why Goro always despised Arasaka Yorinobu.

He was only loyal to Saburo.

Next is Hua Zi.

As for Lai Xuan…

He prefers to call them by their first names, using "Lai Xuanhe and his gang of lackeys" to describe the hawks.

Wow…

The tap water and the chill in the air made Zhucun much more awake.

Goro Takemura looked at the streams of water running down his face, his tired eyes, and the scars on his face.

At this moment, he wished he were the Japanese comedian Hino Hidetoshi that his colleagues jokingly referred to, so that telling silly jokes wouldn't make him feel so heartbroken.

“Takemura, you are a shameless bastard.”

"KUSO!"

He cursed himself.

Now, caught between memories, beliefs, and reality, Goro Takemura is at a loss as to how to cope.

He has always hated the idea that companies are harmful.

Arasaka-sama's achievements can be described as unique.

However, whenever he recalled his conversation with Hanako, Takemura Goro felt only confusion and helplessness.

"Den!"

There was only one knock on the door.

A young samurai named Arasaka stood at the doorway with his arms crossed, his pupils consisting of only a black dot and the whites of his eyes being gray.

He bowed slightly.

"Takemura-san."

Afraid that his emotions might reveal even the slightest problem, Takemura tugged down the hem of his suit jacket. "Oda... Has Miss Hanako arrived?"

Xiao Tian shook his head.

"It's just that the young lady asked me to ask you for a favor."

Takemura wasn't in the mood to invite this guy, who was like an apprentice and a colleague, to sit for a while.

“Oda, you know that I can’t move while Arasaka-sama is undergoing hypothermia treatment.”

As he spoke, Takemura's gaze fell upon the misty room behind the glass, where Saburo Arasaka, on the priceless cryogenic bed that embodies cutting-edge achievements in life sciences, was avoiding the ever-present risk of death; it was simply a matter of probability, the longer the cells remained in a low-activity state, the lower the probability of instantaneous death would be.

What does it feel like to die of old age?
In fact, ending one's life without pain should be considered normal...

Looking at the refrigerator-like house, Takemura once wondered why such a heroic person had to be bound by life.

He only learned what kind of family it was from yesterday's conversation.

He was like a bird that was intoxicated by the virtual beauty and paradise, startled and fluttering its wings in unease by the rotten and morbid appearance behind the glamour.

Oda stepped forward.

“You and I both know what happened. Miss Hua Zi has never made the wrong choice—and you are also fighting for your promise, Zhu Cun.”

"please."

Oda is a very loyal follower of Hanako.

Takemura could even sense that this guy's feelings for Miss Hanako involved more than just a contractual obligation.

"Didn't Miss Hanako mention what Lord Arakasaka... said?"

There was no sign that Takemura had been persuaded.

For the first time, Takemura found the title "Lord Arasaka" a bit awkward.

Xiaotian was somewhat taken aback.

His expression quickly calmed down.

"Lord Arasaka's most trusted person has never been Yoriyuki, as you know this all too well as the Lord's security chief; he just wanted to put an end to this conflict in a gentle way."

Oda spoke these words, defying the current president of Arasaka, in a leisurely manner.

In the faint reflection of the glass, Takemura's two hands also gently clenched into fists.

"That's enough, Oda..."

Bamboo Village's voice was too soft.

Hua Zi's group of followers were still talking to themselves.

"The reason why Arakasaka is called this name is because of Lord Arakasaka."

Xiaotian crossed her arms in front of her and looked toward the hypothermia treatment room.

"Are you still going to pretend to be deaf and dumb and watch Lai Xuan continue like this under the helpless forbearance of Lord Lai Xuan? I think you should know what kind of person Miss Hua Zi is."

"I don't want Miss Hanako to be in any unfavorable situation. Lord Arasaka is getting old—"

Takemura suddenly turned his head.

"That's enough, Oda!"

Xiaotian's lips immediately stopped making a sound.

He looked at Takemura with an almost suspicious and strange gaze.

This reaction…

Why such an extreme reaction?

Takemura took a deep breath to even out his breathing.

"Lord Arasaka isn't here, what are you trying to do?"

Takemura's expression was extremely gloomy.

His attitude toward upholding Sanlang's authority was almost subconscious.

"It's not about what we want to do, but what we want Lai Xuan to do?"

A chip was given to Zhucun.

The samurai who caught the chip hesitated to open it.

Instead, he kept muttering to himself...

"How could it become like this?"

……

……

(End of this chapter)