Cyberpunk: From Dogville to Legend

Chapter 440 Hunting
"Fuck!"

The girl's painful cries echoed amidst the commotion. At that moment, as the door behind her closed, the noisy gunshots and the lingering sounds of explosions vanished along with the military-grade steel door.

Rebecca's field of vision was filled with torn red shadows and black data streams, the most obvious manifestation of the Relic malfunction.

A violent cough was accompanied by a sudden weakness in her legs. Rebecca put her hand to her mouth and her expression turned grim when she noticed the blood seeping out.

what happened?

Ever since encountering the lark, Rebecca felt as if her relic problem had been accelerated at an extremely fast pace. Perhaps only the lark, when it intruded upon her, knew the real reason.

"Holy shit... how are you?"

Johnny, his fingers flickering, leaned against the wall, looking quite agitated, pacing back and forth several times.

"I feel like that thing has unlocked some kind of restriction..."

Rebecca sobbed in anguish, "Johnny...? Damn, it's so good to see you. I thought you kicked the bucket along with this chip!"

Johnny didn't speak, but silently lowered his head as if searching for a cigarette. Just then, footsteps came from behind him.

Rebecca's arm was taken by someone. "Are you alright, mercenary?"

It has to be said that Miles is tough. Even though this woman doesn't have any particularly powerful prosthetics, he still managed to withstand Sianwistan's strain... Not only that, he also followed her all the way, escaping into the only route.

Rebecca, with a hint of stubbornness, gently pushed Miles's hand away, then shakily stood up and took several breaths to catch her breath.

"I never expected you to have such good marksmanship and guts."

Rebecca glanced at the rifle Miles was holding. "But it looks like you got played by the King of Dogtown?"

Rebecca had witnessed the entire scene of Miles being subdued by the elite troops of Dogtown, and of course she knew that the Dogtown soldiers wanted to download something into Miles's mind.

Furthermore, the escape route they were on was chosen by Miles, because Miles had tried many methods to get through this iron gate, judging from Miles's panicked tone just now—

"Washington didn't grant permission for this damn thing..."

Fortunately, every cloud has a silver lining, and Miles' only escape route worked, indicating that Miles' men were starting to exert their strength.

Thinking about this made Rebecca feel a bit better.

But Johnny, that spoils the mood...

"Girl, I feel like there's not much difference between partnering with New America and working for a company? Maybe we'll have to work together for a while!"

Rebecca rolled her eyes at the rock kid, unsure of what she really thought of him.

The two people, or rather, the two consciousnesses, were tacitly avoiding the idea of ​​having surgery in the future, and it seemed that they had already agreed from the beginning who would survive.

At least Rebecca wanted to live a good life.

Miles stared at the dark path ahead, and Rebecca noticed at the same time that the surrounding environment had a strange sense of familiarity, with the thick, gray-white, explosion-proof concrete walls and the deep tunnels all around.

Little Beidou…

Rebecca watched Miles silently; the president of the new United States seemed to be lost in confusion as well.

"Is this place definitely a way to leave Night City?"

Miles, worthy of being the president of the new America, possessed first-rate mental fortitude. He simply let out a sigh, picked up his gun, and walked forward, replying as he went, "No, kid, there's no way to Night City from here."

Miles seemed to be taking the lead, as if there was nothing here for him to fear...

Rebecca keenly observed this series of details.

Two years have taught a girl who only knew how to fire a gun and was rather dim-witted how to adapt to the rules here.

It seems Miles has some other plan, but I wonder if it will interfere with Lin Yue?
The outside world must have changed drastically by now. There are many things Rebecca can't understand, but she knows that the woman in front of her is the president of a country.

No kid in Night City would believe she's completely naive.

"Who sent you, mercenary?"

Miles asked casually.

Before finding Miles, Rebecca had already prepared her story: "The hacker was called Lark. She connected to me through a chip... She said the president of the new America was going to be finished. I thought it was a scam call."

"Telephone?"

Miles's expression was full of doubt.

Rebecca shrugged. "Something like that. Anyway, she was like a holographic phone that appeared right in front of me... It's like the chip in my head can connect to her."

Miles's brow twitched slightly. "And the girl?"

Rebecca shook her head. "The connection dropped before I could find you, and I don't know anything now—"

Suddenly, Miles, who had been walking nonstop, stopped and asked, "You're from that company in Pacific Island, right?"

Rebecca looked at Miles, who was silently staring at her...

This woman really has some issues.

Rebecca was originally planning to stall for time about this topic, but unexpectedly, she brought it up first...

Sometimes, in order to weave a lie, you have to keep covering it up with more lies, and Rebecca was even getting a little tired of it.

"Yes, I'm not only a dreamer, I used to be a member of Rin's company team. If it weren't for the Nightingale finding me... I would never have known that the thing in my head was beyond saving."

At this moment, Rebecca seemed to conjure up a small, wicked figure behind her, revealing a sinister and cunning smile.

Let Lin Yue keep saying he's stupid, see?! World-class performance, just like that damn Dream Star!
Miles said thoughtfully, "No wonder. With so many high-level cybernetic implants on you, even the richest person on the street probably couldn't get this many good things—well done, mercenary."

"I have to thank you for my life and for the new Americans who have expectations of democracy, even though I may not be one soon."

Hearing this, Rebecca sensed Miles's distress.

Anyway, we're moving forward anyway, and chatting with the new US president is a unique experience.

"What? I thought the new US president would have everything he wanted, be the most powerful person, and perhaps...wealth?"

"Shouldn't there be plenty of people in Dogtown trying to get you out of there?"

Miles sneered, "When you're holding the leash, those vicious dogs will obey you, but when you're asleep or not paying attention... you know what will happen."

Rebecca thought there was something absolutely wrong with these politicians.

I couldn't understand what the Night City mayor was saying on TV, and now the president is talking even more incoherently.

"Let me put it this way, kid, we're heading towards Dogtown now."

Rebecca feigned utter shock, "What did you say??? You're still running to Dogtown, huh? Do you think the Colonel isn't catching you fast enough?"

"That's a special squad of the Netherhounds!"

"I risked my life to save you not for this!"

Miles's eyes sharpened. "For what? Money? A richer life?"

Rebecca hung her head. "Um...no, actually I was trying to save my life. The lark said that if I saved you, I would live...it seems you didn't know that?"

Miles is a cunning old fox in the political arena, and perhaps he never considered the mercenaries of the company in front of him from the beginning.

"Let's go, talk as we go."

"The Nightingale's real name is Song Zhaomei. She is the chief intelligence officer of the new United States Joint Logistics Agency, but she wants to kill me."

Rebecca was immediately stunned. She didn't dare to speak, because the old hag in front of her was saying lines from her own script...

"Kill you? How could that be? She always contacted me to rescue you. Was it inconvenient for her?"

Miles paused for a moment. "That girl chose to betray some things, but it doesn't matter... She's probably looking for you to get rid of me."

"But luckily you saved me, so if you want to save your own life, I can help you."

Rebecca frowned.

Anyway, Miles still voiced Rebecca's request to her, so that she wouldn't have to bring it up herself.

"But that's only if I can get back to Washington, mercenary."

"The medical technology of the new America can pull you back from the brink of death, including that Araizaka-inspired technological marvel in your head..."

Rebecca swallowed.

The unwavering tone in which Miles said this, and the fact that he so bluntly stated what might be a secret, undoubtedly won him a lot of goodwill.

Rin would never easily believe Miles's few words, but in Rebecca's eyes, Miles was undoubtedly surrounded by a halo of trust that allowed for the exchange of benefits.

"So now if I want to save my life... I have to run away with you to Dogtown, right?"

"We don't have a choice, but I don't know how we can escape from Dogtown."

Listening to the young woman's mutterings beside me...

Miles responded softly, "Information, that's what we lack most right now. My enemies in the new America can't just pass laws to invalidate my rights anytime soon."

"First, I need to let Washington know that I am still alive."

"Secondly, we need to go up and figure out where to run. It's too naive to just bury our heads in the ground and think about escaping from the bad soil to embrace freedom. Maybe the outside world is just a pocket of the company."

Rebecca thought about it carefully and it seemed to make sense. After all, not all companies are as lenient as Dreamers, and there was more than one company that wanted Miles or the head on her neck.

"Going to Dogtown to test the waters sounds like a good idea."

Miles nodded after hearing Rebecca's words. "At most, it can only be delayed for a month, and that's assuming Washington knows I'm alive..."

“Someone will be there to pick you up, and I will keep my promise to have a top medical team in Washington take care of the chip in your neck.”

Rebecca pursed her lips, thinking to herself, "Why does this politician seem to know so much about Relic?"

Soon, the two arrived at a large door with a bright red warning sign on the door. The skull on the door looked particularly eerie in the dark environment.

It's like a warning that something is inside.

Well…

Miles' eyes lit up as if he were transmitting something, the door made a slight noise, and Rebecca took back her refusal to leave.

Logically speaking, the new US president should be able to control the underground facilities used for military technology.

But under Miles' expectant and relieved gaze, the door suddenly made a clicking sound and opened only a crack, just wide enough for a hand to pass through…

"Damn it, the network is fluctuating, it's stuck again. Those bastards who just eat and do nothing online."

Miles frantically pressed the button next to him, which was carefully marked.

This is the only route west of Dogtown leading to the underground river. After Miles's unsuccessful attempts, he peeked through a crack and saw an emergency doorknob inside…

Unbeknownst to the two, the surveillance cameras in the corridor behind them, which had not been manually operated, were now flashing red and black data like sound waves. As they slowly turned their heads, the eye behind the camera seemed to be constantly observing them.

"Help me!"

Miles discovered that he could only fit his arm in halfway, which was obviously not something he could ask Rebecca to do, since the gorilla arm in Rebecca's hand was much thicker than his own.

Rebecca wedged one hand into the door crack, trying to make the gap in the folding door bigger.

"hateful!"

Rebecca's face flushed red, but the gap between the door frame and the riot control steel door, gripped tightly by the prosthetic hand, remained completely still.

"Just a little bit more..."

Miles tried to reach his right hand inside—

My finger was about to touch the emergency switch button.

dong dong dong...

"Mr. President, you're still in the mood to dance? I'm already too weak to do anything!"

Rebecca was furious.

Miles whispered, "There's something there!"

Rebecca dared not loosen her grip, for who knew if the door might break Miles's arm or something, and there were no prosthetic doctors around.

"Damn it, what is that?"

The thumping vibrations under my feet were getting stronger and stronger!

Miles strained his eyes to look inside, but could see nothing but some vague outlines…

"What…?"

Miles felt the cool touch of the buttons on his fingers.

"Miles!"

"Hold!"

Rebecca's scream came from the side, and the chilling feeling grew stronger and stronger... so much so that Miles immediately looked up through the crack in the door when he heard Rebecca's voice.

A row of densely packed red mechanical prosthetic eyes stared down below, with only a tiny bit of black "electronic eyeballs" mixed in with the red ones peeking out from the crack in the door.

Miles instinctively pulled his hand away.

Bang!
The gate shook violently, and Rebecca hurriedly pulled her hands out from the gap. It felt as if a heavy siege weapon was pounding on the gate of a military facility capable of withstanding a nuclear bomb!
"What is that thing?!"

Hearing the terrifying noise, Rebecca wanted to immediately grab Miles's hand and retreat the way they had come.

But as soon as the girl turned around, she saw a dark, indistinct thing hanging from the ceiling of the wide corridor behind her—

It looked about the size of a small car outside, with a smart recognition module on its back that resembled a searchlight, the light inside as red as blood…

Is this a hellhound?

Rebecca wasn't sure; the hellhound was much bigger than this thing…

The key is to do it silently!
Rebecca and Miles hadn't noticed anything like this hanging from the ceiling as they walked along!

The thing crawled forward slowly, like a demon eyeing its prey... the only sound was a chilling swishing noise.

"Wow..."

A burst of chaotic noise.

Accompanied by a loud thumping sound behind the two, the thing made a sound.

"You old bastard Miles, I've found you."

"hey-hey…"

……

……

(End of this chapter)