Cyberpunk: From Dogville to Legend

Chapter 413 Fission and Transformation [1.1 words]

Dexter DeShawn has been holed up in a small hotel in the Kabuki district of Night City for many days.

Aside from changing locations and continuing to hide, DeShawn dared not go out at all—every day he did nothing but drink and constantly disguise himself to try and contact his connections in Night City.

Arakasa, military technology, that company in Taipingzhou, and even many middlemen in the underworld are looking for him.

Dexter finally learned what it meant to stir up a hornet's nest and get into trouble for not getting his hands on the lamb...

"Damn bitch!"

Dexter has gained nothing: money, fame, and not even a ticket to escape to the outskirts of Night City.

They all messed up.

With things having come to this point, running away was inevitable, but Dexter was unwilling to give up.

In retaliation, he hired Night City gangs to have Evelyn's body left to rot in the streets—while simultaneously trying to gather intelligence to maintain his advantageous position.

Right now, the only information he can sell is what Relic has to offer…

Dexter wanted a chance to live.

How exactly does it work?
According to the technical specifications, once the chip is put into use, it cannot be removed. However, Dexter knows whose head it is in, and many Europeans are interested in it.

Of course, Dexter knew he was courting death...

Since we're going to die anyway, why not give it one more shot?

The burly security guard beside him said in a deep voice to Dexter, who was curled up on a dirty and cheap sofa, "Boss, the hacker we found in Japan Street has located the signal source using European programs. It was very short-lived, and it's in Chinatown in Watson District."

Frustrated and irritable, Dexter poured the last bit of whiskey left in the bottle into his glass.

"call…"

Where is what we want?

The security guard nodded and replied, "The boss over there told us to go to the landfill from the road behind Charter Hill before evening, and then a cargo airlift truck will take us out of the city."

Dexter rubbed his cheek; the perfume and gold pendant he usually wore were gone…

The current situation is far more tragic than when they fled Taipingzhou a few years ago.

As for the compensation…

The loyal security personnel didn't want to continue. They were now easy targets. The only companies and organizations in the European Community that dared to go against Arasaka and that crazy company in Taipingzhou.

Dexter wouldn't be in this situation if he could contact the network surveillance system.

Dexter leaned back on the sofa, still facing one problem, though it wasn't difficult for him... the hacker payment from Japan Street hadn't been made yet.

It's worth noting that Dexter contacted an old acquaintance. After TBUG parted ways with that woman from the Animal Gang, a hacker plugin shop on the roundabout in Japan Street had been quiet for a while—

Dexter is the same long-faced Japanese woman who tricked Yoko, the shop owner…

"I know what you're trying to say: have Ms. Yoko keep quiet and bring us Relic's receptor information—"

"As for how to pay the fee... you know."

The security guard nodded without hesitation and made a phone call to Yoko.

Dexter stood up and stared at the dusty and spray-painted blinds in front of him. He parted the blinds with his thick fingers and saw the gloomy sky outside the blurry glass.

"To die in this hellish place, Night City, is to not find peace even in hell."

Dexter hadn't even finished half of his cigar when there was a rhythmic knocking at the door...

From his perspective, the security guard, who had drawn his gun, tucked it behind his waist with the butt sticking out. The moment Dexter and the security guard made eye contact, Dexter tapped his cigar, signaling the guard to let someone in before speaking.

"Who?"

"Yoko..."

The automatic door opened, and Yoko, wearing sunglasses that looked like reading glasses, walked in. The security guard immediately stepped aside and stood behind her.

Dexter forced a warm smile, "Miss Yoko!"

"Professional, fast, I've found a treasure."

Yoko glanced behind her, a mocking smile on her face. "So this is how you plan to treat the people who work for you? If you want the data I downloaded, then tell me exactly how TBUG died!"

Dexter's face froze...

"Miss Bug is dead?"

Dexter subtly took a step back, and the security guard had already placed his hand on his waist.

Yoko was lured here by this middleman under the pretense that TBUG needed help, and now it seems Yoko knows a lot of things—

“I haven’t been able to get through to BUG on the phone even once, and he hasn’t replied to any of my messages. You’re trying to keep the Azure Mansion thing a secret, aren’t you, Dexter—”

You're in deep trouble!

Yoko stood with her hands on her hips, pacing back and forth in a fit of rage.

“I’ll be dragged out and treated like a dog by the company too!” Yoko raised her hand and gave him the middle finger. “Fuck you, Dexter Desean!”

"Dark-skinned Fat Jesus" could no longer maintain his relatively respectable expression, and immediately asked with a gloomy face, "So what does Miss Yoko mean?"

Yoko's eyes had a hint of red...

Dexter lowered his hand, not only to reassure him, but also because the hacker seemed intent on taking action... Dexter didn't want to lose his life here should anything go wrong.

"OK... let's all calm down."

Dexter paced back and forth, smoking a cigarette.

The security personnel understood and took no excessive action.

“My point is simple… I want to follow you out of Night City; also, I found out that something in Night City is constantly receiving signal values ​​from that chip called Relic. What are you collecting?”

Dexter felt a surge of annoyance and forcefully suppressed the urge to curse.

"This is none of your business, Miss Yoko. Where are the things?"

Yoko crossed her arms and sneered, "I brought them. Tell me how you plan to leave the city first."

Dexter pretended to make a phone call, but actually asked his hired gang members to check if Yoko had any people or other situations nearby.

"Hmm... I think there's some misunderstanding, Ms. Yoko."

Dexter began with his classic combo: "There's no such thing as a risk-free deal in Night City. TBUG has been with me for so long, of course I feel sorry for her..."

“But we made money, that’s a fact, Miss Yoko. As long as we leave this hellhole, we’ll have a life of luxury for the rest of our lives, won’t we?”

Ultimately, it all comes down to money.

"Online banking transfers are already very insecure. I still have 100,000 euros in my money chip, and we'll have to go out of town to get the rest of the cash... As a hacker, you should be well aware of the current situation, right?"

Yoko remained noncommittal, her expression shifting between light and dark.

She currently lacks the equipment to verify the money chip, so it's hard to say whether it actually contains 100,000 euros. Furthermore, rashly using a human-computer interface to check it could lead to viruses or other malware...

In the end, Yoko chose to believe.

“Let me tell you, the Azure Building and the chip target in Night City are both part of the plan. The Europeans can afford the price, so I advise you not to get too involved.”

"There's no time to lose. Go to the bathroom and change into your clothes first... Let's go now."

Finally, after Dexter's elaborate scheme of using deception and persuasion, Yoko went into the bathroom to disguise herself; it contained clothes that Dexter and the security guard had changed out of…

When Yoko went in, the security guards were already standing by the automatic bathroom door.

Dexter's eyes were sinister. He made a slashing motion across his neck with his hand, and gestured for the security guards to move further into the blind spot.

Yoko scrubbed her face hard with cold water in the bathroom, looked at her terrified reflection in the mirror and her sunglasses, now soaked with water droplets, on the sink, shook the water off her hands, and then muttered in a low voice, "BUG..."

"I'm so sorry, I just wanted to avenge you, but I didn't know these bastards were targeting the company..."

Why would you do something so risky?

Without giving herself a chance to feel sentimental, Yoko grabbed her jacket from beside the sink, draped it over her shoulders, and walked out of the bathroom without a second thought.

"Miss Yoko!"

As soon as Yoko stepped out of the bathroom, she heard Dexter's shout. She instinctively turned her attention to Dexter DeShawn, when suddenly a dark figure appeared beside her.

"Fuck me!"

Yoko subconsciously uploaded a quick crack.

Dexter's security detail was strong and powerful, and he slammed the butt of his gun into Yoko's temple.

Yoko felt everything go black. "Dexter, you scoundrel!"

Clearly, the heavy blow from the security guard had rendered Yoko completely unable to react; she could only lie on the ground, trying her best to open her eyes, which displayed a distorted image.

"From what you're saying, it seems like you're investigating my supplier, right?"

“If you pretend not to know, you can just treat them as European friends… But let me tell you, these guests don’t really like people prying into their privacy.”

Yoko crawled forward one step.

The security guard punched her on the head again, and soon Yoko could only lie helplessly on the ground with her eyelids drooping, letting the security guard pull her hair and grope her body.

"You fucking want to mess with me, don't you?"

Dexter suddenly became agitated. "The company's attacking me, and you're attacking me too? Look closely, I'm not one of those idiots who can be easily manipulated. You think you can get away with just uploading the data to your own terminal?"

"Look closely, your little tricks won't fool anyone."

Dexter found something resembling a chip on Yoko's body. Clearly, Yoko's preparations were worthless in the eyes of the cunning Dexter.

"Don't think I don't know someone has contacted you!"

"Miss Yoko..."

Goodbye.

Yoko tried her best to spread her arms to defend herself, but Dexter, having drawn his pistol, still pulled the trigger...

In the moments before her eyes went dark, Yoko was concerned about the tall man who had come to the Japanese street that day... He said that Dexter hadn't told a single truth, yet Yoko still believed TBUG's choice.

The rain started to fall...

Two hours later.

The gloomy sky, coupled with the stench of decay surrounding the landfill, made Suzuki wrinkle his nose. His eyes keenly scanned his surroundings as he pressed the pistol in his hand against Dexter's soft flesh.

"If you want your head to explode right now, then tell me where you left that Japanese woman?"

"idiot…"

Dexter was practically about to pee himself. The guy next to him, a head taller than him, exuded murderous intent, especially with the scar on his brow and the skillful gripping technique, plus the guy's Asian features—

Dexter could only guess that he was Arasaka's.

"Damn it... I know! Don't shoot!"

Suzuki's eyes were cold as he looked at Dexter, who was rolling around like a lump of fat, and sneered, "Which side is the European you were contacting?"

Dexter hesitated for only a moment before receiving a powerful kick to the buttocks…

"How could I possibly know?"

Suzuki noticed that Dexter's gaze had been drifting to the side since they arrived, so he kicked the guy off the garbage heap. "How disgusting... Do you even know those people are Arasaka's?"

"To be precise... it's Arakawa Hanako, whose struggle has already been lost?"

Ignoring the stench and grime covering his body, DeShawn quickly got up.

"D...DRAR?!"

Suzuki stood atop the pile of trash, gripping his gun and looking down at Dexter. He then suddenly jumped down, and Dexter felt a slight tremor in the ground beside him!

This guy... has a considerable amount of prosthetic material.

Dexter's knees buckled, and he immediately knelt on the ground, bending over and covering himself with his hands. "Damn it... I really didn't know! I didn't mean to mess with Dreamers."

A cruel smile suddenly appeared on Suzuki's face. He held the gun to Dexter's chin and slowly pulled him up from his kneeling position.

“You had a chance to escape, and my boss might not even have had time to deal with you, but you were incredibly ungrateful, trying to sabotage the person he cares about most—”

"Isn't it a bit too clever of you to try and outsmart me now, Mr. Dexter?"

Dexter's eyes widened in disbelief. "Your boss...? Who is he?"

Suzuki's smile widened.

"Of course, it's Rin who survived even with military technology..."

Dexter's eyes were filled with despair. If it were just a minor manager, he might still have a chance... How could this be someone from the Night City Killer? Dexter panicked and let out a pig-like scream.

"That woman! Yes! That woman is under that pile of garbage!"

"I swear, I'm just trying to make a name for myself in Night City..."

Suzuki looked at the arm sticking out from under the trash, then suddenly turned his head, causing Dexter's whole body to twitch several times.

wrong!

Dexter's gaze towards the scarred warrior grew increasingly calm, his eyes filled with pleading and terror!
"No! I can tell you about the network signal receiver nodes that our European clients have set up in Night City!"

The gun in Suzuki's hand exploded instantly!

Dexter's head arced across the gray sky, blood splattering from the bullet's powerful recoil... This dark-skinned, fat Jesus, who punched the animal gang and kicked Pacific Island, died in a way that seemed destined...

however--

Suzuki simply said lightly, "No need."

After he dragged Yoko, who was already dead, out of the junkyard, he stared at her silently for a long time. In fact, Suzuki had expected that this TBUG's partner would choose to believe Dexter's words.

He was ordered by Rin to eliminate everyone who knew about the chip, including Dexter, who was hiding in Night City…

Suzuki retrieved detailed data from Yoko's body, indicating that the girl had made several preparations. He then found a can of fuel in the junkyard and poured it evenly over Yoko.

"Goodbye."

As Suzuki left, the white smoke rising from the rain and mist left the place once again a desolate wasteland.

Three hours later.

The Dreamers Company's army in Taipingzhou began to take action.

The Night City media, already in an uproar, were thrown into an uproar.

Suzuki, wielding his knife in one hand, killed the enemy at the last signal collection point, then looked at the computer screen in the distance, where data was still scrolling.

The word "relic" appeared frequently on it. He looked up and followed the network line, his gaze seemingly extending through the ceiling of the building to the signal base station above, his eyes seemingly projected onto the Shinko space station currently orbiting the Earth.

"Please rest assured, Miss Emma."

"No one in Night City can lay a finger on any of our company's members."

"The intelligence society has been eliminated—"

……
-
Watson, Little Chinatown.

"Old Wei..."

"I'm thinking about a possibility: the chip in that box has been out for a while... Could its integrity have dropped to a very low level? According to the technical parameters, could there be a situation where the chip's personality cannot be read and used normally?"

Inside the dimly lit clinic—

Lin Yue stared at Old Wei, who was watching the boxing match, and asked quietly.

He managed to sleep for only two hours while lying in the chair, but then slowly got up again.

Amidst the flickering screen and deafening shouts, the sounds of boxers striking each other were clearly audible…

Old Wei fell silent.

Victor, who hadn't really been in the mood to watch the games lately, sighed softly...

Coincidentally, the boxer who was clearly in the lead was suddenly knocked out by a hook punch. He was stunned for a moment, and as he swung his thigh, the chair wheels under his buttocks made a sound and slid to Rin's side.

“Child, I remember telling you…you need to rest now.”

Lin Yue simply shook his head.

"Old Wei...how could he possibly sleep?"

Old Wei chuckled lightly, "I don't think so. If you don't want this girl to worry, then you should get some rest."

"Don't exhaust yourself. I don't have the sophisticated replacement parts for your prosthetics. You still have to run to Taipingzhou while clutching your stomach."

After offering words of comfort in a joking manner, the highly skilled prosthetic doctor began to answer Lin Yue's questions.

"how to say."

"I've read a lot of the technical specifications for that thing. The company's research on this kind of 'resurrection' technology is beyond my understanding of prosthetics and medicine..."

"However, as you understand it, the layers and the internal personality entity should be independent... so we cannot rule out the possibility that the chip's storage problem caused the process to be blocked."

Naturally, the weather cleared up after a period of overcast skies.

Lin Yue's surprised expression turned into a hint of surprise.

"Really, Old Vivi?"

Old Wei saw Lin Yue's dark prosthetic arm instinctively grab his arm, so he smiled wryly and quickly raised both hands—

"Don't you dare break these old bones of mine."

Old Wei then asked, "This chip has been constantly connected to the internet. Have your people found the source of the signal? Although some cutoffs have been made, I still don't think it's safe. We need to find the terminal for Relic data transmission, including the people who know about this..."

Lin Yue knew very well that the terminal of this thing was most likely the Divine Carriage, but there were still people in Night City who were still trying to cause trouble for Rebecca. For him, who already had a wound in his heart, he had already made arrangements for these things.

Old Wei, who had been smiling, sensed that Lin Yue's aura was beginning to become somewhat dangerous.

Old Wei rarely saw this young man display such a ruthless side…

"Don't worry, Lao Wei, none of them will escape."

however

Old Wei nodded, and a smile reappeared on his face.

People are dying in Night City every day…

For Old Vivi, his greater concern was that something might go wrong with the patients he had carefully treated…

Lin Yue quietly watched the petite figure lying on the operating table.

The removal of network signal base stations does not mean everything is fine.

He guessed that Hua Zi must still have the Black Wall as a backup plan, since Relic can connect to it at any time through the Black Wall, meaning that a significant portion of the data would be stored in the Black Wall.

Hua Zi can still obtain the experimental data for this thing—

From now on, the Relic on Rebecca's body will provide a rich sample for Saburo's rebirth, and in addition, Hanako Arasaka must have a backup of Saburo's consciousness... Lin Yue simply thought downwards.

I immediately thought that if Hua Zi got her hands on a copy of Sanlang's consciousness, would she use extreme methods, such as kidnapping or infiltration, to insert the chip into Lai Xuan's brain?
It shouldn't be this fast right now...

Ideally, the chip's integrity should be very low, and Rebecca shouldn't be experiencing a personality conflict.

"I hope the chip is broken."

Lin Yue kept repeating this possibility, while Lao Wei smiled, shook his head, and stood up.

only…

When Dr. Victor turned around, his smiling expression immediately changed, and he was clearly not as relaxed as before.

While this is the technical guideline from Relic, Rebecca's brain nerves visibly improved after the initial severe head injury. Besides the coating's function, the increased neuronal activity in her brain was largely due to stimulation…

At this moment, Rebecca's state is like that of an ordinary person having a high-intensity dream, even more frequent than the brain activity of a normal person in a waking state...

For example, right now, brain activity is even causing the equipment to emit sounds similar to those of a normal person who is awake.

Old Wei glanced discreetly at Rin, who was swaying slightly as if she were about to fall asleep, and then reached out to turn the volume of the machine down considerably…

He examined the girl's condition, considering whether to wait for the Relic surface to completely disintegrate before removing the Relic chip stuck in Rebecca's brain-computer interface...

However, when Lao Wei's high-precision surgical instruments were extended behind Rebecca's brain-computer interface, the state of the brain near the slot gave Lao Wei a sudden shock, even though he didn't have high hopes for Lin Yue's conjecture...

But now, there are absolutely no other variables in this situation.

Because the relic had ruptured and wrapped around a damaged section of the meninges at the back of Rebecca's head, it's unclear how it maintained this delicate balance. Removing the relic prematurely...

Old Wei guessed that the girl would soon lose her hard-won chance of survival due to a brain hemorrhage.

He instinctively glanced at Rin behind him…

Lin Yue's condition has been terrible these past few days; he can only wait for the girl to wake up...

He rubbed his face and slowly sat down next to Rebecca. His guilt wasn't because he couldn't save her, but because he had witnessed the slow-acting poison multiply and help this dying body stand up—

All of this was merely to preserve this physical body.

Old Wei's gaze fell upon the girl's tightly closed eyes, as if he wanted to see what the world inside that chip was like...

At this moment, a burst of footsteps came.

Old Wei looked at Suzuki, who seemed unsure whether to speak up, and shook his head helplessly.

Lin Yue turned his head and saw Suzuki, whose face was still stitched with steel pins from a prosthetic body and the gauze hadn't been removed...

"died?"

Suzuki nodded.

After a long silence, Suzuki suddenly lowered his head and said, "Please leave Watson now and go back to any place where you can rest."

Old Wei, who was deep in thought, suddenly paused, his mouth slightly agape as he looked at the loyal warrior who seemed to be offering a "martial remonstrance"...

Lin Yue was also dumbfounded, completely unexpected that Suzuki, this blockhead, would suddenly speak in such a loud voice.

"..."

Suzuki raised his head and stared intently at Lin Yue, giving him the impression that he would be bowing to him all day if he didn't speak.

This hard-fought "confrontation" ended in Lin Yue's defeat.

Urged on by Suzuki and advised by Lao Wei, Lin Yue finally went to sleep on the rocking chair of Misty's spirit.

Misty's psychic shrine business has never been very good; it's a pretty quiet place.

Only after Lin Yue left did the loyal warrior turn to Old Viktor and ask in a deep voice, "Dr. Viktor, I want to know..."

Old Wei simply shook his head, and Suzuki's expression instantly turned sour.

"Is there anything I can do? If Arasaka's cooperation is needed, I can handle the communication—"

In fact, Suzuki knew that Rin knew everything, and that the relic process was irreversible; he was just gambling on a sliver of hope.

Old Wei: "The situation is not optimistic. This girl is lucid from time to time, and her brain is unusually active. I guess there is a high probability that she will experience a personality conflict."

As he said this, the rain was still drizzling outside.

Standing to the side of the basement door of Old Wei, smoking and watching the hairless cat eat at his feet, Lin Yue stubbed out his cigarette. In the rain, a vague curse for Arakawa Hanako escaped his lips.

……
-
"Give the veteran some change?"

Inside the underground pedestrian passage of Night City, an old soldier leaning on a cane had one empty trouser leg.

A rock star carrying a guitar walked by from the side, his slightly wavy long hair paired with a military-grade high-strength textile bulletproof vest, making him seem somewhat out of place in Night City, a city that prioritizes fashion.

After a while, the guy walked back backwards.

The rock kid just kept staring at the veteran, who was completely taken aback. But this staring contest lasted for less than five seconds... and the veteran, leaning on his cane, suddenly turned around, as if he wanted to run away!
The rock kid immediately grabbed the veteran's arm.

"I can give you the money, but you'll have to wait."

The rock star pulled out crumpled change from his pocket, struggling even to buy a decent meal…

Perhaps they had been hungry for too long.

The veteran touched his stomach, standing there at a loss—

Perhaps he sees all artists as crazy?
Unexpectedly, this guy suddenly put down the guitar on his back, strode over to a few stalls selling sunglasses, and "friendly" borrowed their generator with his "silver-white" pistol.

The veteran hadn't seen this type of lunatic in ages. Honestly, if he still had his legs... he'd be running away right now without looking back.

Whoever has a gun is the boss; that's how Night City is.

When the veteran smelled the strong stench of alcohol on the guy, he knew he was in deep trouble. These artists, after a few drinks, didn't know their place.

People coming and going were all watching this strange man who was engrossed in playing the guitar.

Johnny took the microphone with his silver-white arm, which looked like a combat prosthetic, and tested the sound in a voice that sounded like a drunkard's ramblings...

"You idiots and bastards of Night City!"

"Look here!"

The rock kid's distinctive black-voiced shout immediately attracted the attention of many pedestrians.

Nobody enjoys being criticized.

Soon, a large crowd gathered in front of Johnny Silverhand. Their F-words shattered Johnny's eardrums. Some guys even shoved the drunk rock star!

Johnny was pushed and swayed from side to side...

"Where did this idiot come from? Are you tired of living?!"

"These rock-and-roll idiots—"

"What's the difference between you and these old codgers who lost the war of unification?"

Johnny carefully observed the faces of the men around him. The louder the curses grew, the quieter the deafening explosions in his head seemed to subside...

The veteran was suddenly being stared at by so many malicious eyes, but Johnny was still holding his arm so firmly that he couldn't even escape.

Just as the crowd's voices grew louder and more urgent, and those who were pushing and shoving tried to hit people.

A sharp gunshot ripped through the curses!

The silver muzzle of Johnny's gun emitted blue smoke, and everyone was stunned, including the veteran—

His leg buckled, and he almost sat down on the ground.

"The battlefield's cannons and mechs didn't destroy you, but do you think my pistol can?"

Strangely enough—

After Johnny Silverhand pulled out his gun, someone recognized him.

"Holy shit! Johnny Silverhand!"

"Live!"

Johnny Silver released the veteran's arm. "Today, I've decided to sing a few songs for you bunch of bastards, and then take the money out of your pockets and give it to this soldier next to me who doesn't even know who he's working for... okay?"

2017 years.

After being suppressed by his record company and suffering from a hangover for a whole month, Johnny sang for the first time.

It certainly sounds a bit awful, but it doesn't affect its popularity at all. After all, this is Johnny Silverhand himself appearing in the complex underground passageway—Night City's most rebellious rock star.

Solo singing naturally lacks the accompaniment of many instruments.

Johnny chose a song with simple techniques, and started without any warm-up. The drum beat was just a paint bucket under his feet.

A blind man got lost in the streets.

There's a pattern here; I need to see it (it seems like there's some kind of unseen law at play).

……

The soft singing, like that of a poet, makes one mistake it for a genuine rural folk song.

But as the lyric "tie a knot in my brain" played, Johnny's voice suddenly became hoarse and high-pitched—

A plosive sound exploded from his lungs!

Johnny suddenly bent over and rapidly strummed the guitar, the strings almost snapping as he plucked them so fast he took a step forward—

The black Doc Martens boots stomped on the paint bucket with a muffled, thunderous sound!
The tremor caused the crowd to jump rapidly, and the veins bulging on their collarbones throbbed with each roar…

I don't know if I'm still hallucinating, but a vicious black dog is running back and forth above the heads of the crowd.

This mad dog is like myself, unable to escape the city's cage...

The moment the guitar was slammed down, the two gray-green ends of her hair seemed to brush against the guitar...

It vanished in an instant, as if it were an illusion.

The black dog in my head
Guiding me to the end
The singing softened again until Johnny was interrupted by a wave of nausea from a hangover—

The crowd remained enthusiastic.

They don't know what a theme is; the frenetic rhythm of the guitar is their nourishment, they entertain the prosthetic body, entertain tragedy, entertain the truth of this world...

The veteran stared at the banknotes lying on the ground in front of Johnny, his expression turning numb yet excited.

suddenly!

His shoulder was pulled aside by the drunken rock star, who said, "Say it—"

Fuck your new America!

The veteran's expression shifted from blankness and disbelief to anger.

As Johnny Silverhand was pushed away, the one-legged old man was still cursing Johnny for being such a blind idiot who had no idea why Night City even existed...

It's as if the world became a better place because of the new America?

He shouldn't have been hungry for very long...

Johnny was pushed aside by the crowd, the money on the ground was trampled and made dirty, and the veteran was overturned like a small boat in the ocean.

Johnny stumbled out of the underpass, carrying a guitar with a broken string, laughing until tears streamed down his face.

However, the troubles didn't end there.

The several fit and healthy men on the street, seemingly buying food from a street food stall, showed absolutely no signs of malnutrition.

They dropped the cheap protein and carbohydrates they had already paid for but hadn't eaten, and walked forward with their hands on their backs.

"Hey! Robert Johnny Lind!"

Johnny, feeling dizzy and disoriented, heard his real name. He looked up and saw the black muzzle of a gun hovering directly above his head…

"Fuck your mother!"

Johnny's silver prosthetic arm swiftly deflected the gun, but a heavy blow from behind caused him to stagger forward a few steps, his vision blurring with distorted colors...

Just as the gunman behind him came to finish him off, Johnny, who was lying on the ground, suddenly grabbed a large pile of garbage next to him and hurled it at the guy. A gunshot rang out, and Johnny felt as if he had been hit in the back by a shot put.

"Hold!"

Johnny fired a shot haphazardly behind him, causing chaos in the street. Ignoring the pain, Johnny charged forward onto the road amidst the screech of brakes!

Just as Johnny was looking at the curb across the street, thinking he could slip through the intricate buildings on the other side and shake off the assassin, a speeding car suddenly appeared on the side of the traffic that had all come to a complete stop, and Johnny was thrown into the air!

A wave of pain, almost enough to shut down my brain, spread throughout my body…

On the rough asphalt road, Johnny's silvery-white hand moved, and the side of his head was covered in blood that looked black against the road.

At this moment, the man wearing a pirate bandana, panting heavily, knelt on one knee in front of Silver Hand. "Damn! Johnny?! Wake up?"

Johnny felt his body being pushed—

He really wanted to get up and curse this idiot to death...

With all his ribs broken, only Kerry would do something like that to himself.

A long period of darkness followed, as if death were truly approaching.

……

"beep…"

"beep…"

A series of regular machine beeps accompanied Johnny's heavy eyelids as he lifted them...

The serious and upright dark-skinned prosthetic doctor is a clinic that Johnny Silverhand frequents.

"Fuck... Kerry? Kerry? You motherfucker—"

Johnny opened his eyes, and despite the pain in his body, he still remembered the grudge he had before he fainted.

It's rare to hear a slightly cultured voice at the bottom of society. The doctor replied, "Save your energy, Johnny. You look like you're about to die, but I didn't expect you to still like to swear when you get up."

"Friendly reminder—it wasn't your best buddy Kerry who saved you; he was detained by the NCPD for disturbing the peace by shaking a corpse in the street."

Johnny hissed in pain…

I don't know if they were just stunned by Kerry's stupidity.

"This is the one who saved you..."

A strong, powerful stride rang out.

Johnny extended a hand from the side. The man was bald but wore a pair of flashy earrings. Johnny thought this must be a damn sissy.

"Hello, Mr. Robert."

His voice was full of energy.

The guy stretched out his large, fan-like hand. "I'm McCormack, the manager of Free Music... the most rebellious rock kid in Night City. I have an investment to discuss with you!"

"The kind that criticizes the new America... Interested?"

A full minute.

The silver-white prosthetic arm on the surgical chair, with its elbow joint and two small blades, stood up and gripped the guy's hand.

"Fine, you sissy."

……
-
"Fuck me!"

Rebecca suddenly woke up—

My nerves felt like they were all squeezed together, a sharp, stabbing pain shooting through my head. I instinctively reached up to touch my chest and body to see if any parts were missing…

However, even though he had exerted force, his body did not feel any sensation from his prosthetic arm.

It was only then that Rebecca realized one of her gorilla arms was missing…

Rebecca's expression instantly turned panicked. This feeling of powerlessness and helplessness made her inexplicably anxious, until she regained some feeling in her other, slightly heavy gorilla arm...

Suddenly a figure appeared beside me.

Rebecca was still very weak, so she could only tilt her head slightly to look at the guy, and then, quite pathetically, lick her lips...

She then forced an awkward, silly smile, but she was too weak, so it looked more like a sickly and pitiful smile.

"how do you feel?"

Lin Yue seemed to want to see through every detail of Rebecca's prosthetic body, and the deep worry in his eyes could not be concealed.

"Old Wei..."

"Lin Yue..."

What Rebecca actually meant was that she thought she would never see them again.

"Are you feeling unwell?"

Lin Yue subconsciously squeezed Rebecca's hand, his brows furrowing slightly.

Rebecca thought for a moment—

"No... but I had a dream, wow... so real."

Even knowing the outcome, Lin Yue's hand still instinctively gripped the leather on the side of the chair tightly, and he looked up at Old Wei.

"It's so depressing... um, like I'm drunk."

"I was still screaming and singing, but I just couldn't sing well. It felt like a stone was pressing down on me."

"You know I'm not very good at singing..."

However, as Rebecca was rambling on and on, she noticed that both Lin Yue and Lao Wei looked terrible.

"What's wrong…?"

Rebecca clearly didn't understand the situation.

However, just as Lin Yue lowered his head and mustered his courage to speak, Old Wei spoke first...

"child."

"That wasn't a dream."

"That's... a memory."

Rebecca's expression immediately went blank.

Old Vieira gently placed his hand on Rebecca's shoulder, staring into the girl's dazed eyes, and said, "It's another variable that has appeared in your body."

……

……

(End of this chapter)