Cyberpunk: From Dogville to Legend

Chapter 390 Meticulously Designed [5.1K]

Lai Xuan wanted to ask the guy in front of him how he did it.

This is Tokyo.

The main base of Arakasaka.

Leaving aside the number of cybersecurity experts stationed inside the Arasaka Tower and the years the data fortress has been maintained, bypassing internet surveillance without the support of a large company is practically a pipe dream.

To put it another way.

If Arasaka were at war at this time, such an invasion would basically mean that Arasaka had already fallen in the cyber domain.

In modern corporate warfare, losing the crucial territory of cyberspace is tantamount to defeat, and a crushing one at that…

Let's go back ten minutes.

Within the Asia region network—

"Otto, we need to hurry, Lai Xuan looks like he's already..."

Lin Yue didn't continue speaking.

He wasn't blaming Lai Xuan, but rather that Saburo Arasaka was putting too much pressure on people. The fact that Saburo, from a world-class giant corporation, dared to let Lai Xuan sit in that position already indicated that most things in the company were under his control—Hanako Arasaka was taking advantage of this frightening point.

In fact, Lin Yue was very grateful to himself.

It was he who had Ultraman attempt to steal intelligence in Japan. What was originally a casual arrangement due to a bad premonition turned out to be very useful.

"Have you met V yet?"

Ultraman is still trying to break through the final network barrier of Arasaka.

Lin Yue nodded.

"Yes, I gave her all the information you told me, and the puppet AI you wrote has already been implanted into Arasaka's communication system. Night City is now offshore, so even if Japan drops a nuclear bomb, the North American branch might not even know."

As he worked, Ott said softly, "She really trusts you."

Seeing Lin Yue's confusion, Otto continued to explain.

"If there were such high-ranking personnel within Arasaka, I wouldn't have had to go to such great lengths to enter Kamikori..."

"I want to know, in your eyes, how would these things have turned out?"

As Lin Yue watched the massive data wall before him being gradually deconstructed by Ultraman, a hint of reminiscence appeared on his face—

"Are you aware of Arakasa's Cloud Sea Project?"

Ott nodded.

"The Cloud Sea Project has been leaked, and the Night City branch of Arasaka has taken over the job of cleaning up the mess. Actually, it's not unreasonable for the Night City branch to take it over—as an important branch in the unification war, they have the capability."

"Unfortunately, it was an open conspiracy."

Otto's comprehension was amazing; even if Lin Yue mixed in a few words of Chinese, she would listen to him as usual.

"Jenkins was ousted by Abernathy, and everyone was purged, including V. Luckily, V was at the Ritz Bar at the time, and Haywood kid Jack Wells had some reputation in that area, so Arasaka's agents let V go..."

"What happened next was that Lai Xuan brought Relic to Night City, probably intending to deliver that thing to the Internet Police or other companies, making Arasaka a target of everyone's anger... Unfortunately, his father caught up with him, and then... then Lai Xuan killed his own father, and things all went completely wrong."

After saying all this, Lin Yue felt it was unbelievable even to himself, and he smiled wryly.

"Unbelievable, right?"

Ultraman, however, showed no sign of doubt.

Compared to humans, AI will completely trust the outcome given sufficient conditions.

Rin is unobservable in Ultraman's eyes and has a close connection with Bartmos. Ultraman believes that what he says is what should happen in this world.

"Well…"

"Then why don't you tell me the result?"

Lin Yue shook his head.

There was a long silence.

"Because in the results, Lai Hsuan only won once, and lost the rest."

Ultraman also fell silent.

"So, this is what you came for?"

Lin Yue shrugged. "Maybe it's because I've experienced too many unimaginable things. Bartmores even said that I've been trying to go against the company and I've lost every time. How many times has this happened? Oh well, it doesn't matter anymore. Anyway... we can't lose on Lai Xuan."

Otto said calmly, "I've always thought human nature is the hardest thing to predict. All these memories of yours have become the greatest help, gradually making human nature more certain—"

"But will things really turn out as you expect?"

Lin Yue said almost with certainty, "Lai Xuan's goal was never to make Arakawa the world's number one. He wanted to destroy this thing. But right now, he doesn't trust anyone. If he said that, Saburo could kill him ten thousand times over."

"So...we need to hurry."

“We’ll try to avoid Arasaka setting up a dedicated ICE for you, but I think as long as you don’t get close to the Kamikori access point, there aren’t many companies in the world that can stop you.”

Ultraman's attack speed increased.

"However, what you just said about humanity becoming more certain... that's really hard to say."

Without him.

Lin Yue said this entirely because he was reminded of Arasaka Hanako's series of actions.

In fact, when Ultraman revealed that Hanako had used Saburo's digital identity to give orders to Arakawa while Saburo was asleep, he was somewhat skeptical.

In Lin Yue's mind, Arasaka Hanako was a woman without any bottom line. It seemed that the world in her eyes only consisted of Arasaka. She could even accept the fact that her father was reborn into her own brother's body... Lin Yue thought that was out of helplessness. After all, his brother was thinking about destroying Arasaka every day. Hanako did not want to lose her current favorable conditions, status and power, so it was somewhat understandable.

He just didn't expect that before his older brother made any big moves, she would be so ruthless as to use his father's "decree" to actively eliminate his own brother.

This operation...

No.

This father and daughter are really quite abnormal.

"I thought the brother and sister had a good relationship."

Lin Yue smacked his lips.

"broken."

Ultraman breached Tokyo's public network as easily as eating and drinking. As expected... as long as this entity doesn't touch anything related to the shrine, it truly is a top-tier fighter and ally.

The reason Arasaka could make Ultraman scratch his head was because Ultraman had been imprisoned by them, and they specifically developed ICE to suppress Ultraman's data link.

Internet monitoring in the Tokyo area is noticeably less diligent.

Japan has a very serious problem of marginalizing international organizations. After all, Tokyo is dominated by Arasaka, with companies like Kaisaku Military Industry and Kijiro Tsukasa in second place. There is basically no room for internet censorship in Tokyo.

So the two people who entered the public network area encountered no obstacles at all...

Some clueless cyberpunk hackers tried to sneak in, but before Lin Yue could even speak, Ultraman killed them all with a single slap…

Well.

The most poisonous heart is that of a woman.

Lin Yue had gotten used to being with Ultraman, and considering the punishment she received for his mistake in fighting the AI, it was clear that Ultraman wasn't exactly a merciful person.

"I have no humanity."

Lin Yue felt a little embarrassed.

"Girl, you're in charge."

When Ott led Lin Yue toward the Arasaka subnet, the situation was already more serious than expected. Many orders were being sent to Arasaka's facilities and armed forces through the subnet. Ott stopped those orders without hesitation and then explained to Lin Yue, "These were all sent from the Arasaka Tower."

"Lai Xuan?"

Lin Yue hurriedly inspected the items.

"Depend on…"

What does it mean to go completely dark?

This is called.

It's understandable that Lin Yue realized Lai Xuan couldn't outmaneuver his father...

The only flaw of this leader of the Steel Dragon is that he is afraid of his father.

To what extent was she afraid... that's about it.

“In my family’s history, there was a prince who was so afraid of his father that he dared not kill his relatives to seize the throne until his father died—this was Lai Xuan.”

It seems so.

In my memory, the original fate of Arasaka was probably the same as that of Yori no Kensuke: starting a war at the wrong time resulted in the premature exposure of his trump card.

Ott watched with great interest as Lin Yue, covered in sweat, studied the intelligence reports.

Meanwhile, I overheard him muttering, "What Hua Zi did was even more outrageous than what you did!"

"Ultraman, do you know what it means to falsely convey an imperial edict?"

"This is!"

Ultraman floated silently...

"Looks like you have an idea?"

Lin Yue nodded. "Yes."

"Based on the information you provided earlier... we must contact Lai Xuan."

"We can't give Hua Zi any leverage."

Ott gently raised his hand, and the two quickly shifted positions in cyberspace. "I've found many ways to deal with these subnet hackers."

"I'll help too."

Ultraman did not refuse.

Time is the scarcest thing right now, and she understood Rin's thoughts.

Backed by the data fortress, the hackers on the Arasaka network should have been able to delay the two for a long time, but after breaking in, Lin Yue and Otto were dumbfounded... Chaos ensued.

The Arasaka network was clearly divided into two parts. One part was launching a major attack. Otto, who randomly grabbed the hacker information, discovered that the IP address of this group of hackers was from Tokyo, but not from Arasaka Tower. They should be Hanako's people.

Because of the internal strife between the two sides, Ultraman and Lin Yue were like hungry wolves attacking a flock of sheep!

Even though these hackers discovered the problem, and some of the hackers who were attacking each other abandoned the battle and hastily set up defenses, they were still easily destroyed.

Ultraman is like a large-scale barrage of fire; a skilled hacker can withstand it, but can't do anything else besides defend against it.

Lin Yue is more like a nimble assassin. His network projection consciousness moves freely across the network data battlefield, ruthlessly killing the hackers who are desperately resisting the Ultra Invasion from behind.

The rabies kit's intrusion capabilities were far stronger than Lin Yue had imagined.

Bartmores Avenue's minimalist design makes the rabies control panel far more user-friendly and precise than Sasha's self-designed cat litter kit. Holding the rabies kit in his hand, Lin Yue realized that Sasha had only superficially imitated Bartmores.

The vicious dogs behind him could detach themselves from his body at will, tearing apart all the various forms of ICE that the hacker manifested on his body!

Immediately afterwards, the data chains wrapped around Lin Yue, resembling venomous snakes, would insert themselves into those gaps, reverse-engineering the opponent's ICE. In this way, ICE would mistake the user for an intruder and launch a frenzied attack. Many people have died at the hands of the very ICE of the company they were so proud of...

Ultraman looked down at the chaotic state of the battlefield and quickly established a network connection with Arasaka Tower.

Just as she was preparing to wreak havoc on the battlefield for the second time, as if by telepathy, she suddenly looked up at the vast black area of ​​cyberspace.

"cold."

Lin Yue is still launching a fierce attack.

Upon hearing Ultraman's call, it immediately retreated!

Just when he thought Ultraman had opened a path to call him, a cage-like object of light enveloped Ultraman's massive body!

ICE?!
Where did it come from?

Lin Yue looked at his AI partner, who was not moving at all and was just looking up, and shouted, "Ultraman!"

Otto simply reached out to stop Lin Yue.

"That woman was on guard the whole time."

Lin Yue's face was grim.

"That pale-faced guy..."

Needless to say, Hua Zi must have set up an ICE targeting Otto here in advance. It seems that Hua Zi has always regarded this entity as a major threat. Once they discover the data anomaly here, Lin Yue and Otto will be trapped and eliminated.

Without almost any hesitation, Lin Yue's hacking kit data volume skyrocketed!
Otto looked at him with a puzzled expression.

Then Lin Yue roared, "Get Black Wall to help us. If we die, we'll never see him again."

"Don't forget we just helped him dig something up!"

Ultraman quietly watched the human.

She admitted that this guy was incredibly resourceful.

After focusing on a specific spot on ICE, Ultraman's body began to swell rapidly!
That was the result of pushing the computing speed to its limit. At the same time, Lin Yue used hacking techniques he had learned from Ultraman and in his regular studies, choosing to work with Ultraman to open the hole in the ICE...

The distance was too great, so Lin Yue could only hope that Ultraman could contact Black Wall.

By the time I found the black wall and explained everything, it was too late.

The vicious dog behind Lin Yue suddenly pounced!
Its fangs, like those of an extinct saber-toothed tiger, gnawed fiercely at the ICE wall. Even as the wall rhythmically released data spikes powerful enough to destroy a hacker, the vicious dog remained stubbornly fixed on it.

The more pierced the body, the stronger the vicious dog's bite became!
It let out a terrifying howl like a mad dog, raised its head and made the wall curve like jelly!
[Please ensure prosthetic device functionality while under brain-computer interface overclocking conditions. Administrator warning.]

Lin Yue completely ignored this information.

His data chains suddenly lashed out and entangled the vicious dog, attempting to increase their force.

Inside, Ultra was not idle either. An even more intense data bombardment was taking place inside. Even though her body was affected by these aftershocks, scattering data fragments and data spores, she continued to increase the intensity without any emotion.

"Break it for me!"

The limits of brain-computer interface overclocking have been reduced.

Ultraman's half-body was destroyed by ICE and his own power, and at that moment, the head of the vicious dog was also torn off by Lin Yue's data chains!

A barely audible sound.

A gap appeared in front of Ultraman.

She opened her eyes almost without hesitation, and the brilliant blue light swept across the end of the available network, reaching the calm wall.

One second…

Two seconds…

Lin Yue was panting heavily, completely ignoring the hackers who were about to pounce on him from behind.

The Ultraman inside stared intently at the users who wanted to kill Lin Yue. For some reason, Lin Yue saw a look of hatred on the Ultraman's blurry face.

A flash occurred within cyberspace!
The wall, which had been like a lifeless object, vanished instantly after that flash!
Only the network space (usable network) with light blue data dots on a background remains, along with the pitch-black, blood-red space outside the wall, and that clearly defined line...

Black wall…

Disappeared? !

However, the black wall reappeared the next second.

The stray AIs that frantically poured into the usable network from the blood-red space took various forms, but their numbers were truly astonishing. In just a second, tens of thousands of stray AIs were let in from outside the black wall!

however…

The wall, which had just been out doing something, reacted. Thick chains emerged from the jumbled data points beneath the wall, tightly binding the stray AIs that were trying to penetrate deeper into the usable network. Amidst the AIs' cries of agony, the chains bound them one by one until they crumbled!
Data spores scattered, like an electronic cherry blossom rain falling on the available network.

It was then completely absorbed by the chains of the black wall and spat out to the back of the wall.

at the same time.

A cyberattack, like a tsunami, suddenly slammed down behind Lin Yue!
When the tide receded, the place was empty, and the light-based prison disappeared in that instant, replaced by a broken gap.

Everywhere were fragments of data stained with blood red. The Arasaka hackers who launched the cyberattack were all overloaded, their bodies being swallowed by the red data.

"Fuck me!"

Lin Yue pressed his hand to his chest, with Ultraman supporting him from behind.

"We almost lost everything."

Needless to say.

The two had now arrived behind the Arasaka Passage that had been instantly torn open by the black wall.

The data ICE, specifically designed for Ultraman, was practically useless against the Black Wall, so Lin Yue was right.

Without wasting any words, Ott stuffed Lin Yue into the data communication chain, located Lai Xuan's position, and kicked out all the signals belonging to Hua Zi in the communication!

After doing all this, she simply guarded the data pathway quietly.

"Only five minutes, Rin."

"ASAP."

……

The moment Lin Yue met Lai Xuan, he felt a pang of sympathy for this man who was seen as a believer in rights by outsiders but as a young revolutionary by himself.

Having managed the company for over twenty years, he never changed his mind about Steel Dragon.

He was a true warrior.

“Mr. Lai Xuan, time is running out. I will tell you all the information. Do nothing more and do not resist in any way.”

"I know it's hard for you to understand why I'm telling you this—"

"Hanako Arasaka used Saburo Arasaka's identity number to complete these instructions without authorization. You've been tricked."

Lai Xuan's eyes widened as time seemed to stand still!

How dare Hua Zi?!

Lai Xuan, who had always thought his sister wouldn't do such a thing, was clearly stunned.

No wonder…

He couldn't sense his father's style in this series of events.

"This was a fabricated charge."

What should we do then?
Lai Xuan couldn't guess...

He has a lot of experience, and given the current situation and the type of data, Lai Xuan guessed that this was a black wall.

Rin is indeed still connected to the Black Wall!

“Although Saburo Arasaka doesn’t know why he let you go to spy on Relic, Hanako will definitely get Herman to defect, and that will solidify your guilt.”

"Trust me, don't let Hua Zi's plans change. Night City has a big gift for her..."

Lin Yue quietly looked at everyone in the room, his gaze finally landing on the guy named Koizumi Shigeru behind Lai Xuan.

Lai Xuan's eyes darted back and forth between Rin and his subordinates.

Could it be…

Lin Yue's virtual avatar stretched out his hand, making a blade shape, and gently wiped his neck.

Lai Xuan understood.

“The evidence is available on your private device.”

"That's all."

“Mr. Lai Xuan, we…”

"See you again in the City of Night."

……

……

(End of this chapter)