Cyberpunk: From Dogville to Legend

Chapter 393 Reappearance (Part 2) [5.2K]

"I fucking didn't tell you to sell that thing!"

In a dilapidated hotel in Night City, Herman not only had to endure cockroaches that might crawl across his mattress at any moment and tacky neon lights, but he also had to deal with this messy situation.

Clearly, he overestimated his current status.

"What a load of rubbish! Three hundred thousand euros is a fixed price. You should be thanking your God that you can put your ass in the transfer point we've arranged."

"That's Arasaka, not your mom who's looking for you to skip school."

The brokers in Chiba's black market are anything but polite.

Herman's face flushed red and then turned pale. "Please, give me that thing right now, I'll buy it."

The man with a distinct Japanese accent chuckled coldly.

"You've already run away, why are you still bothered by Arasaka's dirty business? You want to leave a good impression on your previous employer, right... But you seem to have forgotten Herman. Even if you lick Arasaka's shoes now, they'll still want to kill you. Arasaka's plan to bring the living dead has already been exposed. How am I supposed to return your things to you?"

Hermann's eyes, hidden behind his glasses, were wide open—

"what?!"

This renowned scientist is most afraid of such short-sighted scoundrels...

Actually, the brokers of Chiba Black Network aren't exactly thugs, but Herman just felt that these guys at the bottom were completely oblivious to danger.

"A bunch of weird and wonderful data that doesn't fetch a good price, plus that nonsense about Arasaka being able to resurrect the dead, and yet someone actually buys it!"

“I remember the hotel I booked for you had a TV, Herman, turn it on and take a look—”

Hermann wanted to say something more.

A gunshot rang out on the other end of the phone…

"What the hell are you all standing there for?!"

"Fuck me!"

The shrill voice on the other end of the phone made Herman hold the phone further away, even though he wanted to hear what was going on.

He covered the camera and stared intently at the phone lying on the screen.

He could see nothing but blurry images and the flashes of gunfire; Hermann's body trembled rhythmically with each gunshot…

It's all fucking over.

The Chiba black market was no match for Arasaka. Now that his supplier had been arrested so quickly, what was he supposed to do… Herman froze. He hurriedly tried to hang up, but the screen began to shake, and a large hand, seemingly wrapped in black fabric, grabbed the phone—

The sign for Arakawa was so glaring.

The guy's mask featured a holographic image of a demon, and Herman knew at a glance that it was Arasaka's elite force.

Hua Zi has probably already begun to settle scores...

The soldier on the other end of the line was clutching his phone. He seemed to be able to see the fear in the other end of the lens. What frightened Herman the most was that he didn't say anything. He simply pointed two fingers to his eyes, indicating that he was watching her the whole time.

The call ended.

Herman, panting heavily, slid helplessly off the side of the bed.

When the catchy, brainwashing Whole Foods commercials on TV were cut off, Herman knew he still had one last lifeline.

relic sample core.

That thing requires a constant low-temperature environment and needs a precise place to preserve it, so Hermann brought it with him.

In his view, this was the only way to get the company to accept him willingly; it was a kind of pledge of allegiance…

The news broadcast on TV continued.

Night City was shrouded in gloom and rain. A crowd began to gather beneath the Arasaka Tower, which seemed to stand tall in the clouds. Herman's mood calmed down a little... Although his handheld computer data had been sold by an unscrupulous middleman, the Arasaka Night City branch was clearly in trouble.

What he needs to do now is to get the Relic chips he has into the hands of his downstream customers as soon as possible.

Who to look for?
This is Hermann's biggest problem...

Outside Night City, the air was thick with tension. He wasn't sure if Arasaka was already searching for him in Night City. He hurriedly got up and rushed into the bathroom, which didn't smell very good. Looking at the Relic chip soaking in a mixture of ice and water in the bathtub, he paced back and forth, thinking of a solution.

Night City was a completely foreign place to Herman, and the only thing he could think of was relying on these guys on the streets who had connections to both the legal and illegal worlds.

Isolated and helpless, Herman was terrified of contacting these low-level middlemen and mercenaries, but at this moment he was the one who was all alone and had no choice but to do it himself…

Herman checked the temperature and, confirming the chip's integrity wouldn't be damaged, quickly found a razor. His pampered life soon revealed his true colors; the moment the razor cut his skin, he erupted like a powder keg, yelling and cursing incessantly—

"Fuck fuck fuck!"

"Why did his mother become like this?!"

But before long this emotional outburst could be contained, the sound of someone pounding on the wall came from next door.

"You motherfucker, keep your voice down!"

Herman immediately stopped making noise. Listening to the sounds from the couple next door, he felt utterly miserable.

As Herman stepped out of the motel, he finally learned the name of the filthy, chaotic motel that seemed to have been abandoned by its owner.

[Keep your mouth shut.]

Herman paid no attention to any of that. Even though he had taken off his well-tailored suit, his shirt was still dazzlingly clean. He could only buy a jacket that didn't smell bad from the garbage vendors at the entrance. Then he messed up his hair and walked into the street like a timid newcomer.

Herman is about to learn his first lesson in life.

That is, the speed at which the secret was kept in Night City was very poor, and his name was known not only by Arasaka, but also by others.

Herman, who thought his disguise was flawless, was soon spotted.

Inside the car, splattered with colorful graffiti, was a burly man in the driver's seat—Night City's favorite mercenary bodyguard. His eyes were fixed on a guy hunched over on the sidewalk, his arm casually draped over the car window…

"Boss, we've found the person. Should we arrest him or...?"

"Yes, the intelligence on T-BUG is correct. We've confirmed his digital identity. The first thing this guy did after landing, keeping it a secret, was to fire a cannon..."

"Hmm, that's what that sex doll said."

The phone hangs up.

The big man gestured with his lip. A man and a woman got out of the back seat of the slowly moving car. They were full of kitsch style, especially the woman, who had eye-catching neon-colored hair.

Two mercenaries stood one in front and one behind. Before Herman could figure out what was going on, the woman behind him pressed against him and delivered a heavy slap, while the man carried Herman on his back.

Everyone around was avoiding them, but no one tried to cause trouble. Even the NCPD officers in the distance didn't glance in their direction.

This is Night City.

……
-
Five hours ago…

"It's all sorted out in Japan."

Lin Yue, who had just woken up in the hacker chair, shook his still somewhat heavy head.

He has made all the arrangements he could in a short period of time.

First, Lin Yue, through the intelligence and information provided by Otto, ensured that Lai Xuan did not lose his identity at the shareholders' meeting. The most crucial piece of evidence refuting this is that Hua Zi used Arasaka Saburo's identity token to issue orders. The matter had already escalated, and if Hua Zi insisted on going his own way, Saburo would be the one who couldn't save face.

Lin Yue predicted that Sanlang would ultimately choose to compromise and smooth things over.

He knew the family business's management style all too well; the children could do whatever they wanted as long as they didn't disturb Sanlang's grand dream of immortality.

But the problem is...

Both children did very poorly in this regard.

We have to thank Hua Zi for this.

Lin Yue always thought Hua Zi was just cowardly, and his long-term family education made this top hacker unable to distinguish right from wrong.

In fact, this woman's servile mentality was extremely serious. In Hanako's eyes, the so-called family was just an excuse for the transfer of power. She wished that her father could sit in the position of CEO of Arasaka for the rest of his life. In Hanako's view, only Saburo could keep Arasaka in check.

She didn't care whether the digitized Sanlang was her biological father or not. As long as the thing thought like Sanlang, it was her biological father in Hua Zi's eyes.

Lin Yue was shocked and incredulous by this combination of moves, and felt that God had given him an opportunity.

In fact, Lai Xuan had already lost.

If Lin Yue hadn't appeared at this crucial point in the story: Lai Xuan would definitely have taken Herman to Night City, carrying that damned chip, and let Sanlang die at Lai Xuan's hands, repeating what should have happened in his memory.

But Lin Yue's appearance allowed Lai Xuan to regain his composure.

In any case, Saburo cannot harbor murderous intent towards Yoriyuki. If he does, it will ultimately allow the Chikachi faction to turn the tide in Night City, leaving Yoriyuki as nothing more than a puppet whose dream has failed to be realized.

The second thing was that Lin Yue had V manipulate things to cause Night City to sever ties with Japan.

This was to prevent the doves from getting involved and increasing the variables. On the other hand, Lin Yue was prepared to make the doves suffer one last loss. Lin Yue was good at and very skilled at this two-birds-with-one-stone strategy.

Moreover, in order to ensure that the matter proceeded smoothly, Lin Yue did not reveal too many details to V, as he believed that V would trust him.

Perhaps to anyone, it would be difficult to rashly entrust one's trust to another, but the panel allows Lin Yue to see the other party's intentions.

V is a necessary condition for absolute stability.

The third thing was to ensure Herman's successful escape.

Relic is a hot potato. Hua Zi is fully responsible for losing her because she is confident that Herman can be detained in Night City. She plans to pin the blame on Lai Xuan to make Sanlang decide to take action ahead of time.

Unfortunately, he lifted a rock only to drop it on his own foot.

The person behind Chiba's black market who helped Herman escape was not a mystery; it was Lin Yue himself.

Regardless of Herman's methods, he had to get this thing out of Arasaka's territory. The best way to deal with Saburo's immortality plan was indeed what Lai Xuan did: to leak the Relic technology. It was a stopgap measure, but effective.

No one in Arakasa could keep this thing under control; Kang Tao was the one who suffered the injustice.

The evidence that Kangtao was trying to dig up Herman was conclusive and basically required no investigation, thus shifting the conflict that was destroying Saburo's dream of immortality to the outside world.

With each step interconnected, Lin Yue, with the support of the company and AI, is now beginning to actively control everything.

certainly…

We can't give Sanlang too much time to react.

Lin Yue would not underestimate his opponent, especially this old dragon from Arakasa.

If Saburo could see any clues in this, it would be extremely dangerous. So he decided to help the old man recall the nightmare he least wanted to see.

That's a repeat of 2023...

Lin Yue's band should have already appeared around the company square by now.

Lin Yue's act of leaking some of Herman's Relic technology created a terrifying nightmare that "rich people" would live forever. This undoubtedly brought public resentment to its peak. Regardless of how credible this idea was, in a hostile environment like Night City, it was like setting off a powder keg.

Combined with the fan base and connections that the KIA band had built in Santo Domingo, the performance quickly turned into a protest.

The Arasaka Yoru no Shiro branch, kept in the dark, had just re-established contact when the Arasaka shareholders' meeting took place, leaving them no time to pay attention to the landmines that were gradually heating up outside the Arasaka Tower.

This is Lin Yue's overall plan.

Of course, this plan took some time to develop.

When he went to see V, he already had a rough idea of ​​what to do with him.

Having a firm grasp on the original course of this event, he only focused on the key moments. Just like a tightly fitting set of building blocks, Lin Yue found the crucial point and caused it to collapse with a bang.

Only one last thing left…

The emergency situation in Night City is escalating so much that Lai Xuan needs to be brought to Night City.

Yes, that's right.

Lin Yue had even considered this aspect.

He did this because he was worried about this "filial son".

Yoriyuki Arasaka had already failed once in Tokyo decades ago, and even though the Japanese government nationalized Arasaka's corporate assets, this monster is still one of the world's top three giant corporations.

Tokyo was not the point where the explosion should have occurred; Yoriyuki's forces were too weak to launch an uprising in Saburo's stronghold.

Only Night City, the only legally recognized place of freedom in the world.

The surrounding free states and the new America are all variables, and it can also radiate to Europe, which is the ideal situation.

Hua Zi made such a big mistake. If Saburo is old and stupid, he should let Lai Xuan clean up the mess of this emergency public incident in Arakasa and take care of the Relic leak incident... Lai Xuan is so filial that he will never let his dream of resurrecting his own father come true. This is Lin Yue's whole plan and the point of benefit.

There is only one problem.

Can it really be changed?
Lin Yue didn't know.

There was a time when he felt the powerful force of the world rewinding through these living people, and he was unsure whether there were any variables in these events.

"Boss, we have news."

Suzuki walked in and bowed his head in greeting.

Lin Yue sighed. "Suzuki, I've told you so many times, I don't really like Japanese etiquette—is there any news from Hermann?"

Takeyoshi Suzuki smiled.

"It seems you were right to have me keep that military technology intermediary around for now. Roger has released information that has piqued his interest, and he's already sent men to kidnap Herman. We..."

"Should we go and steal that thing?"

Lin Yue was almost laughing in exasperation at Herman.

The relic sample chip, which contains the secret to immortality, is being soaked in a bathtub by Herman. If a solution cannot be found within five or six hours, the chip's integrity will be lost, and unpredictable situations will occur if it falls below 80%.

"Don't touch that thing."

Lin Yue's expression was very serious.

"Hermann himself only had two options: death or defection to another company. The chips could be in anyone's hands, but not ours."

Suzuki also became serious, "Yes!"

Lin Yue pondered how to prevent Arasaka from taking the chip back, since Dex DeShawn was unreliable—this guy did everything for money, and if Arasaka made a deal with him, it was possible that the chip would be bought back.

Of course, nothing is 100% guaranteed, so Lin Yue could only adopt a conservative strategy.

"Keep a close eye on the chip. If any of the Arasaka people come into contact with it, we'd rather destroy the chip than return it to them."

Suzuki gritted his teeth.

In the end, I couldn't help but say it.

He dared to speak because he was so curious and shocked, and because Lin Yue's attitude was always quite mild.

Can humans really live forever?

At this moment, Suzuki truly felt that the world was beyond saving.

If that's the case, then ordinary people won't have a way to survive at all...

He hadn't expected to hear an answer from Lin Yue, but instead found Lin Yue looking intently into his eyes and saying, "Yes, Suzuki."

"Although it is just a process of re-importing a human-like AI program into a body, it is a kind of immortality. The basic technology of the Soul Killer will preserve the host's thoughts and memories completely... That is immortality."

Lin Yue tried to discern the purpose of the warrior's questions from his expression.

This is very important.

Suzuki's expression turned grim, and after a long silence, he sighed softly, "But the one who lives forever will never be the farmer's son, will he?"

Lin Yue smiled.

That statement was enough for Lin Yue to believe in Suzuki.

"Correct."

There's no need to continue the conversation here.

Understanding each other is more important than anything else, and that's the meaning of having partners.

"Mr. Rin, are you planning to go to the company plaza yourself?"

Lin Yue's eyes were bright.

"Of course! The main course hasn't been served yet."

Suzuki wanted to go with Lin Yue.

The more chaotic the place, the greater the variables. No one knows if Arasaka will react violently. Decades ago, they didn't dare to lay a hand on Johnny Silver, who was holding a concert at the foot of Arasaka Tower. Decades later, they might use ruthless methods.

Lin Yue, on the other hand, took it all in stride.

"They dare not kill everyone."

"Our efforts will be rewarded at this moment; the Dreamers are ready to intervene in Night City at any time..."

Suzuki nodded emphatically.

If Emma were here, Lin Yue could have spent less effort, but right now Emma is in Europe for her final negotiations concerning Dogtown's three-year weapons deal, which is extremely important.

Do your best, listen to destiny.

Lin Yue hesitated for a moment before taking a step…

"Is there any movement from the Netherhounds' side?"

Suzuki shook his head.

"The Animal Gang has been keeping an eye on things. Hansen has been behaving himself lately, and we're keeping to ourselves for now. They won't react aggressively until the black market's nuclear reactor is taken away. However, they seem to be doing some pharmaceutical business recently, probably in Cuba. Miss Emma wouldn't dare to push them too far..."

Lin Yue waved his hand to indicate that he understood.

Maybe... there shouldn't be any problem?
Lin Yue could only tell An Qi to be more vigilant.

Upon exiting the door, Lin Yue saw the Dreamers Company team, already fully prepared and ready to depart, leaning against the wall in the corridor.

He scanned everyone's faces. "Get moving, buddies."

Seeing that everyone had given him the OK sign, Lin Yue felt a little more at ease. However, Qi Wei glanced at him a couple more times, and Rebecca seemed a bit distracted. He didn't have much time to ask her a few questions, so he could only tell the team to be extra careful and prepare for any possible changes that might occur in the Watson District.

Everyone watched as Lin Yue's figure disappeared at the end of the corridor.

Only Rebecca stared blankly, refusing to turn around.

Qiwei's gaze fell on the girl's ponytail, and she narrowed her eyes slightly...

Suddenly, she spoke.

"Leave the team, Rebecca. I can't keep this secret for you."

……

……

(End of this chapter)