Cyberpunk: From Dogville to Legend

Chapter 434 Hero (I)

Endless darkness.

The only sounds in the air were Rebecca's panting breaths and the nerve pain from her various senses.

The lark seemed to have completely gone offline, as if its signal had been blocked by something. The excessive pressure on his brain and computer also meant that Johnny could no longer stay with Rebecca.

Just as Lin Yue said, she had no choice but to run for her life.

Rebecca, who was never prone to sadness, experienced warmth on her cheeks and a sour taste rising in her mouth.

If all of this is just for one's own salvation...

Do we really have to make even more sacrifices to achieve this?

However, the girl, who wasn't very quick-witted, carried even more burdens.

She had to become a hero, just as Lin Yue wanted her to be—a true hero who saved the "new American president"...

Rebecca couldn't understand what was behind Miles, but she knew that only by finding Miles could she gain a form of control.

Rin's greatest strength is that she lets her subordinates know what to do.

[Beckham, we know the route. Miles's men dug a tunnel under Pacific Island, in the old, collapsed military technology underground facility.]

Miss Emma asked me to tell you: Don't be afraid, and don't look back.

Rebecca arrived at the secret door that Brandon had pointed out, which was exactly where Morgan's Black Hand had escorted Miles away.

Following Brandon's notification in the system was a small smiling emoticon ":)", and Rebecca wiped her face and continued rushing forward.

The cramped, dimly lit tunnel was filled with a lingering damp, musty smell. It was so dark you couldn't see your hand in front of your face. Rebecca activated the night vision function and turned on the lighting equipment before sliding down the manhole ladder.

[Caller ID]: Sasha
Rebecca seemed surprised to receive a call from this friend at this particular time.

Hey! Little Beckham.

Rebecca's suppressed emotions were showing signs of breaking down.

“I…I don’t know Sasha, I’m scared.”

Sasha on the other end seemed to be online, without the gentle face shown on the holographic screen, but her voice was very gentle.

"This is something we have to do, not just you. Miles has ill intentions, we can't let this bomb explode in Pacific, understand, honey?"

Sasha seems to have an innate ability to understand everyone's feelings.

Clearly, this statement is meant to dissolve some of the shackles that Rebecca carries.

"But…"

"No buts!"

Sasha's voice carried an air of unquestionable certainty.

“The politicians have gone mad, trying to prolong their dirty chairs with war. Night City will not accept this, nor will it follow their orders.”

“Rin has clearly pointed out the way for you in the midst of the chaos, Xiao Bei—it’s all up to you to do it.”

Rebecca gripped the gun tightly, her teeth clenching instantly.

The power of companions is undoubtedly strong. Now Rebecca needs to know what a hero should do and how to gain a chance of survival in this chaotic situation.

“Sasha, I really don’t want to mess this up… but I… I need to know what to do…”

Sasha reassured Rebecca, "Don't worry, we have time..."

"Fortunately, the woman who was watching you was forcibly restrained, which is good news."

“Little Beckham, the president of the new United States must be effectively controlled. Arasaka is going to take action again in Washington—to keep Miles quietly in Night City for a month. Can you do that? You come and rescue her and send her out. That was Rin’s plan from the beginning.”

Rebecca was a little confused.

"Didn't we agree... that the company would control Miles?"

Sasha chuckled, “Control in disguise is still control. As long as you keep an eye on things, and we’re online, Miles will be desperate to retreat without finding a pretext for war. Then it’ll be up to you. Rin said this is an opportunity to say goodbye to that bastard in your head.”

Rebecca finally felt completely at ease.

“That Rin guy…”

She wanted to say that this guy was wicked, always assuming that others had his brilliant mind and could seamlessly follow his plans…

Sasha teased, "Lin didn't do anything wrong. He calculated it very accurately. Little Bei, haven't you always trusted him?"

Rebecca continued to feel her way forward, "To be honest, Rebecca, that woman called Nightingale is really scary... her eyes are much uglier than Rin's!"

Sasa let out a soft laugh; during this process, she was also responsible for the company's fortress defense data.

It was precisely because of Ultraman's guerrilla-like tactics that the pressure on the company's fortress ICE was greatly reduced. At the same time, Rin keenly noticed that the Nightingale was being held back by Washington, which prompted Sasha to quickly point out a way for the silly girl Rebecca.

The most natural performance comes from ignorance; Rebecca made even the lark think she had succeeded.

Precise calculations are Rin's forte.

It's just that Rebecca is a bit of a waste—

"Miles doesn't have many options right now, but it's still quite difficult for us to hack into Washington's entire data fortress. It's not uncommon for the new America to react defensively and take some drastic action..."

"you mean…?"

Rebecca noticed that Sasha's tone was somewhat heavy.

“Miles is a complete gambler, she’s capable of anything, that’s what Rin said.”

"So even if Miss Emma seals off the military technology facilities beneath Pacific Island again and again, it's inevitable that she'll get in... So you have to take action. The Dreamers' forces have already begun entering the underground passageways of the Pacific Island ruins."

"Furthermore, Hansen's offensive has been blocked by Miss V, who was directing the operation from the front."

"Go quickly, Rebecca, don't be afraid—the Nightingale could come online at any moment. Don't let her succeed! That woman only wants to kill Miles!"

The confusion and bewilderment in Rebecca's eyes vanished instantly. Wiping away her tears, she carefully said goodbye to Sasha.

No one knows when they will meet again in this chaos, but Rebecca holds onto the hope that she can get better... She never wants to experience that chilling feeling of death that Relic brings her from time to time again.

The fact that Relic's failure and Miles' arrival coincided at a critical juncture seems to be a hint of fate.

……

"This way, ma'am."

Morgan, who had returned from scouting ahead, looked rather grim, because according to the plan for building the safe house in advance, there were several paths leading to Dogtown…

But it was as if the enemy had suddenly gained supernatural insight. Morgan thought he could safely get Miles into Dogtown, but as he saw a large number of armed forces appearing in the tunnels…

Morgan found himself with many blocked paths, so he had to take Miles on one detour after another.

"These bastards!"

Miles crossed his arms, and the anger in his stomach grew stronger as he heard Morgan dismiss one of their few options.

Morgan frowned. "For your safety, I still think it's more reasonable to follow the contingency plan and leave Night City's controlled area."

"You don't need to put yourself in danger. The thugs in the company are capable of anything."

“Including the incident where you were shot down by the company in Pacific, we cannot be certain whether the company intended to kidnap you or pose a threat to your life—” Miles looked at Morgan with a gloomy gaze.

“Going back empty-handed is not in my nature… Morgan, get on with your job, I don’t need to tell you twice.”

"But--"

Morgan was about to speak when a strange sound from above interrupted him, as if something was violently rubbing against each other...

He quickly reached out to shield Miles from view, his gaze fixed intently on the ceiling. Inside his prosthetic eye, the map of the underground tunnels was filled with glowing dots indicating enemy activity heading in their direction…

It must be said that Miles has the demeanor of a warrior. Without any hesitation, she placed the gun that was on her back in front of her and leaned firmly against the wall.

As the sound grew louder, Morgan finally understood what it was. The Dreamers knew their exact location underground and were drilling through the ground to deploy mechs into the underground pipeline system!
boom--! ! !
In the instant the wall collapsed, Miles was caught in a series of afterimages and quickly dodged to the side!
The all-silver-white mecha suddenly plummeted from above.

"go!"

Morgan Blackhand's two Saragato rifles were incredibly accurate, instantly sending sparks flying across the surface of the mech... Behind Miles, gaps began to appear, and soldiers were being deployed from above.

"What the hell!"

Morgan Black Hand never expected Rin to come with the intention of killing him. Why? At least in Morgan's view, Rin shouldn't be such an impulsive person...

Morgan's original plan was for Rin's people to come to him. He was confident that he could take Miles away from Night City and teach this crazy politician woman what it means to back down when things get tough.

I never imagined that Miles's stubbornness and willingness to take risks would exceed my expectations. In addition, the Dreamers Corporation really didn't seem to be afraid of starting a war and took a siege-like approach to deal with the new president of the United States.

"Are you really trying to start a war?"

Isn't this exactly what Miles wanted?
From Morgan's perspective, he was trying to help Rin avoid as much trouble as possible, but he didn't expect this guy to catch up with Miles. If Miles were controlled by the company, that would be the real danger.

The president is not a soldier; if he dies, he is simply wiped clean, and the war compensation is given to his family, and that's it.

As a re-elected president, Miles holds the keys to many of America's secrets, and every newly elected president who is dismissed will once again gain access to military technology.

Even a sinecure wouldn't let Miles fall into the company's hands.

A full-scale rescue is necessary, but Miles will definitely be impeached by Congress once he returns; that's a foregone conclusion.

Headache.

Morgan lives a normal life on one hand, but is relentlessly pursued by Rin on the other.

"call out!"

The sound of bullets whizzing through the air interrupted Morgan Blackhand's brief moment of distraction. The first impression Morgan Blackhand had of the Dreamers' mechs and soldiers was their mechanical, efficient execution.

The brutal style of soldiers in combat was almost nonexistent...

It was as if these people were facing not a new American president, but a mortal enemy with whom they had no chance of a fight to the death!
"Damn it, why are they all crazy?!"

Morgan watched the angle of the mech behind him as it turned, pinning Miles to the side emergency entrance, and used his Saragato to take down several Dreamers soldiers.

However, while Morgan's gun was highly accurate, the Dreamers' soldiers' shooting accuracy was not to be underestimated, and even made Morgan a little nervous... Several sparks had already flashed across his body.

Miles, standing in the emergency exit bunker, was also firing, but the weapon she was using was that of an ordinary soldier, so she used suppressive fire to temporarily slow down the advance of those fearless machine soldiers.

hum-

"Damn it!"

Miles, who was firing intently, heard the sound of the mech turning and quickly alerted Morgan!
At this moment, the two dared not peek out, pinned down by bullets behind cover...

The mech's machine gun seemed capable of collapsing the entire train tunnel; if the tunnel weren't so cramped and the machine weren't moving so violently, it probably would have rushed up and torn Miles apart.

"Where to go?"

This question turned Morgan Blackhand's face as black as the bottom of a pot.

If Morgan were alone, he could simply fight his way out.

It was just Miles beside him.

Morgan scanned the passageway densely packed with tracer rounds. It seemed the only escape route was the emergency exit beside him. "Go!"

At this point, we didn't care about titles; getting out of there was the priority.

Morgan made up his mind that as long as he could get rid of the Dreamers, he would do anything to send Miles back to the White House in Washington, because the biggest problem would be if Miles died there.

"Where are you going?!"

Even now, Miles' attitude remains very tough, and he seems to still be questioning Morgan Black Hand!
"Madam, do you think there's a big difference between being alive and being dead?"

"Forget about any plans. If you die, war will still break out, and you'll lose everything!"

"Morgan!"

Without a word, Morgan Blackhand hoisted Miles up, staggered back a few steps, and, after being struck several times from behind by soldiers who had circled around, shielded his cheek with one hand.

call!
The powerful kick was the best proof of his high physical strength, and the steel door was kicked down...

Before Morgan could rush in, a cold blade slid down suddenly!
"Again?!"

Now Morgan and Miles both believe that the dreamers aren't planning any kind of presidential kidnapping... they're just after lives.

Ding!
Jinzhongmaru slashed fiercely at Morgan's chrome-plated prosthetic arm. He gritted his teeth and looked down, seeing eyes in the darkness that resembled those of a wild wolf.

Takeyoshi Suzuki…

"Oh shit!"

Morgan reversed his grip and tried to disarm the knife, showing his great trust in his subcutaneous armor.

Without a word, Suzuki immediately threw down his knife and pistol and pointed them at Miles's back.

Morgan Blackhand felt the temperature rise instantly above his neck, and he was filled with rage. He knew Suzuki Takeyoshi from the time he was in the Blue Sky Palace that he was a suicidal guy!
Left with no other option, Morgan had to abruptly toss Miles aside.

Just then, Dreamers' soldiers surged forward, their mechs' side shells aimed at the emergency exit entrance.

In a moment of panic, Morgan shoved Suzuki Takeyoshi a few steps forward. Looking at the surging tide of soldiers at the door, Morgan roared, "What the hell?! Are you crazy?!"

The mech's heavy cannons suddenly landed on the ground!
Morgan was suddenly shoved from behind by the blast wave!
He and Suzuki spun and flew through the air, locked in a fierce struggle, and the two men who landed on the ground, along with a large group of soldiers around them, were all stunned by the shockwave...

A cloud of smoke and dust spread, making the entire passage unbreathable...

It was pitch black, and the only sounds were the coughs of soldiers.

One of the Dreamers' soldiers cursed, "What the hell is wrong with these mechs?!"

Morgan, who had been shaking his head on the ground, had just come to his senses...

Turning around abruptly, I found that the passageway I had just passed through was now completely blocked by various building materials from the collapse.

Morgan quickly stood up, his body tense, and swallowed hard as he looked at the densely packed, dust-covered heavily armored soldiers around him…

This time, it's really over.

……

……

(End of this chapter)