Cyberpunk: From Dogville to Legend

Chapter 453 Rabid Dog (Part 1) [7.5K]

On the screen, the concrete images of data projection being instantly compressed and then forcibly decomposed played back and forth, while the London-based internet surveillance officials at the round table remained silent.

If we're talking about upholding the law impartially, then this cyber police team could be considered to have done so while Curtis was in charge.

However, when Curtis passed away, this ambitious "enterprise," under the leadership of its new owner, revealed its true ambitions.

Nobody knows the name of this high-ranking official.

Yes, even though he appears at the conference table as a silver-haired gentleman with round glasses, he is actually another extraordinary internet genius after Curtis.

Curtis demanded that under no circumstances should internet surveillance be allowed to be controlled by people who don't understand the internet, and that only those internet users with superb hacking skills could complete this power transfer.

Rumors circulate that the promotion of network surveillance rank is manipulated through a system of procedures, with Curtis having set up strict protocols that allow anyone who can crack them to control network surveillance…

Of course, the silver-haired gentleman is not the real person; it is just a highly realistic holographic image.

Even "Rome" (the head of the Internet Supervision Bureau) himself admitted that he was constantly supervising the actions of the Internet Supervision Bureau online.

Therefore, those below are very well-behaved, while those who are restless die in all sorts of bizarre ways.

Even though these high-ranking officials, whose political and business ties are intertwined, possess excellent hacking teams comparable to enterprise-level ICE, they can still be killed by run-down self-driving cars or other accidents just hours after disobeying Rome's orders.

"As a result, many companies in the European Community have a problem with us. They've had the idea of ​​dividing up the new America for decades. Miles's move is very clever—she wants to wage this war."

People in London saw it clearly: the moment SpaceX crashed, they knew exactly what Miles was up to.

However, they were puzzled as to why Miles was able to take the initiative in many international affairs. More than one cyber intelligence agent reported that the new United States might have cyber weapons based on the Black Wall to spy on Miles' enemies.

Now that the Great Firewall has been breached, for internet regulators, the truth is far more complex than simply endorsing European companies.

By severing the node and taking over Night City, Europe has gained a voice on the new American soil, all in the interest of its own interests, not on the supremacy of human rights.

Rome remained silent.

He took off his glasses and looked at the data traces playing back and forth on the screen.

What we need to wait for now is to find out the relationship between ordinary users and this so-called "Dreamer's Cyber ​​Weapon".

The atmosphere at the scene was extremely tense.

Rome looked up from the screen, glanced at the group of people whispering and occasionally offering suggestions and ideas, and let out a sneer.

"Panic?"

Everyone was covered in cold sweat.

What's the difference between that and farting? It's just an obscure little company, formerly a branch of Kejing Logistics, a piece of meat that fell from Arasaka's mouth...

Research and development funding, a mature software science team, and world-class hackers…

No giant corporation can guarantee that burning money will allow them to acquire such cyber weapons; otherwise, they wouldn't have succumbed to internet censorship.

Night City is arguably the weakest link in internet censorship. Within the European Community, internet surveillance wields absolute dominance online; they enforce the law ruthlessly, employing the infamous Black Ice program, but as long as you don't tamper with the Great Firewall—

Internet monitoring is also a qualified business partner.

"Don't you understand what all this means? If they can really do it, doesn't it mean... that we've completely lost our authority in Shinmi?"

"These useless people from Night City... First, they had nothing to show for their relationship with the Voodoo Gang after all these years, and then their wall-building plan failed—the only decent middle manager is now courting death by investigating Arasaka and this company."

At this point, the higher-ups standing nearby were clearly unhappy.

"William, are you going to start crying and calling for your mom next?"

The African man next to him was a typical African immigrant with a heavy British accent, and he straightened his suit collar.

"You fucking-"

“That’s absolutely impossible.” The black man turned to look at the panicked executives beside him. “You and I both know how the Black Wall came about. Only we can fix it if it’s broken.”

"Regardless of what kind of cyber weapon that small company has, even a firewall bypass program requires a smart person to activate. You think you can bypass permissions and use it as a tool at will? Please, do you think that program will listen to outsiders?"

The woman snorted coldly.

"Don't talk like that when you're not in the situation, James."

“We haven’t even figured out whether that’s a person or a program yet, and you’re already spouting nonsense here.”

James shrugged, hands on his chest, and explained, "Are you crazy? Or am I crazy?"

"Could five top hackers who are close to Curtis really cause this kind of commotion? Who do you think he is? Ricky Bartommos?"

"That can only be a kind of AI that circumvents our supervision, with a huge amount of data, pieced together over several years using subpar nodes to resist the stupid AI that has been locked up by the Great Firewall for who knows how many years!"

Someone worried, "Our chances of maintaining firm control over the Night City network nodes are dwindling. We can't afford to lose all our citizens. Once they're all dead, forget about getting that money from Night City—"

"What's the point if all we get are dead cities like Busan or Hong Kong?"

"The key is to extract enough savings from citizens! To get European Community companies involved! This was agreed upon from the beginning."

Another voice sounded.

"Tsk tsk, the Night City government is a bunch of cowardly parasites. They can't wait to explain this to the citizens, as if they're afraid that the corporate army won't be able to stop the millions of people in Night City."

"In this respect, the companies that have set up branches in Night City are quite sensible. They all make money together, which is obvious. Only these politicians don't understand."

The chattering and noise were off-topic.

Every meeting represents the beginning of a consensus among differing opinions, but only if the best one is supported by sufficient evidence.

Rome clapped his hands lightly a few times.

"Gentlemen and ladies, the time for free discussion is over."

The higher-ups all swallowed their grievances and kept quiet.

"money?"

"What can this money be used for? It's meaningless except for dividing it up... The point is that we have to get something, and on that point, James and I are in agreement. We can make this money anytime."

"Look, everyone, here's everything I could get. I just... found it from some online community, it's still fresh."

Everyone looked at each other.

In less than ten minutes, Rome had already dug up information about this dreamer on the networks of other regions, and that region was obvious—Night City!

Network surveillance is incredibly convenient for accessing many backdoors, especially now that Night City's network is in complete disarray.

"This is... the guy who killed Saburo Arasaka?"

"Damn it...it's definitely him!"

"Didn't they say it was dead? The Dreamers are managed by a woman."

Some people couldn't sit still any longer.

Now that things have come to this, they finally connected this small company with the sensational news from a few years ago.

Roma smiled slightly, "To be precise, this former security chief named Rin from Arakawa is dead. The Dreamers and Night City have irreconcilable conflicts—"

"Look, Black Wall weapon prosthetic body, suspected report of roaming AI."

Rome's smile faded, his expression turning somber.

Everyone looked at each other.

Perhaps Rome's words were too serious, especially since even the very confident guys like James began to waver.

"They absolutely cannot repair the Black Wall, and I don't believe that a lone wolf with a combat prosthetic body would be more knowledgeable about network technology than the AI ​​hunter team!"

"Don't even mention Ultraman... even ten Ultramen couldn't save it!"

Rome gestured for him to calm down.

"Coincidentally, I think so too."

"Night City's network is a complete mess right now. Whatever that thing is, unless it's a second black wall, the cyber weapon will eventually be worn down by the AI... I suspect that ordinary user is a high-level hacker controlling a cyber weapon, Otto is responsible for blocking AI trying to enter the wall, and there's another one..."

A mocking chuckle.

"She tried to patch up the holes in the company's senior management, who didn't have a particularly clear understanding of themselves."

The worried and solemn expressions on everyone's faces gradually changed.

Rome suddenly bent down and laughed out loud, as if it were the biggest joke in the world.

As he slapped his hand on the table, the surrounding executives chuckled in surprise, especially James, who shook his head and laughed incessantly, his forehead still covered in cold sweat.

The worst area in the US, where things are done in such an incomprehensible way.

The Dreamers couldn't clean up this mess, even though this configuration would be considered terrifying by many companies.

Otto Cunningham, the largest entity in cyberspace; a mysterious cyber weapon; a special operations director under Arasaka…

Rome rubbed his temples, then let out a quick laugh followed by a sigh of relief.

"No human can do that, not even Barthemos."

This sentence essentially defines the "ambitious" statement of the dreamer.

"Whether that guy named Rin lives or dies is completely unimportant; what matters is that they're all doing things that are beyond their capabilities—"

Rome rose.

"Gentlemen, nothing has changed. Prepare to take over Night City."

"It's impossible for a second entity stronger than Ultraman to emerge from cyberspace, but..."

He pointed a finger at the crowd with a slightly serious expression, "The reason for the collapse of the Black Wall must be found out. Apart from the resistance of its own internal 'personality,' no external factors can exist that could cause the Black Wall to have this problem."

"It has become very fragile, and we cannot let more people know about the vulnerability of the Black Wall."

When the so-called "built-in personality" was mentioned, everyone nodded in agreement.

"The Black Wall's performance over the past decade has been very poor. This trend was already present when Curtis was in charge, and it has only intensified in recent years..."

The speaker was a high-ranking executioner from the internet surveillance department.

The current internet surveillance system has changed from the gentle approach it had when Curtis was still in power, and has continued for more than a decade, all of which are inextricably linked to the performance of the Black Wall.

If we go back twenty years, cyber hackers would prefer to have their work handled by cyber surveillance rather than by hackers hired by companies when they are stealing company secrets or causing cyber damage.

The reason is obvious. After all, the hackers hired by the company would make your death extremely ugly, while the cyber police would take law enforcement actions such as arresting or cutting off programs against hackers within the limits of the law, as required by Curtis. This was also the reason why the cyber police were able to hold the top spot at the global corporate conference.

However, the Internet Supervision Commission now severely punishes all individuals who access the Great Firewall outside of companies, including, but not limited to, using the most brutal torture to force hackers to confess their accomplices or to execute them on the spot.

The reason why the company won't be investigated by the internet monitoring authorities is equally simple.

Everyone knows about the wall-breaking activities, but the companies involved are more secretive, limiting their destructive power. Furthermore, internet monitors themselves often have to bypass the wall to access old websites and search for something.

This is what happens when you live a peaceful life for too long. Internet regulators and companies know what's on the other side of the wall and want to get enough treasure from the devil. Ordinary people, and even some fanatics with extreme beliefs (Voodoo gangs), see the black wall as something that hinders freedom and the progress of life.

"Let our people prepare. Ultraman is Arasaka's enemy. Let those old fogies in the orbital space think of a way—we'll strike at the right time and wipe out the exhausted cyber weapon, the delusional ordinary users, and that crazy woman who claims she can save Night City."

Rome's smile exuded confidence.

This is a foregone conclusion.

"If you don't believe me, I have another piece of news to tell you:"

"The seemingly chaotic sea of ​​data in Night City's network is actually a form of AI, except that it should be a large entity that has infiltrated the Black Wall and been captured. We don't know its purpose or function, but it seems to have tampered with the network's underlying architecture, which is why I say they will never succeed."

After taking the reassurance, everyone's tense nerves relaxed a bit.

"I've heard that the company in Night City has done a lot of things. They've suffered losses in Arasaka and military technology. The shrewd Night family and the Night City government have been tricked by these people more than once."

"The fact that Pacifica could be taken away is enough to show how weak those fools in North America are."

Everyone was talking about it.

"But could that so-called ordinary user be the one who killed Saburo?"

Some high-ranking officials were very interested in the murderer of Saburo, thinking, "If we could catch this ordinary user..."

"I'm really curious why such a genius hacker isn't even a little bit famous."

Rome nodded repeatedly. "That's exactly what I was thinking. The agents who crossed from London into North America are ready to make arrests. This DRAR is quite interesting; but I'm more concerned about that guy named Rin. You've all seen the investigation report on the day of Saburo Arasaka's death. As a lone wolf, he was undoubtedly top-notch, and his physical decline was extremely subtle—"

"You should know that her companions would have been dead long ago if they didn't have the neural matrix technology of the new America."

"Arasaka Yoriyuki's interests are highly aligned with those of the Dreamers. Whether he's dead or not is a matter of opinion." Time ticked by, and the higher-ups in the internet surveillance were waiting for the chaos in Night City to become unmanageable before forcibly intervening. At that point, North America would also have European territory, which would undoubtedly be a timely change.

Their faces showed either contempt or mockery—

"Notify the companies in Night City and tell them to take a clear look at the situation before choosing sides."

Rome waved its hand.

According to his estimation, most of them would make a smart choice, except for Arasaka Yoriyuki, the gang CEO who was obsessed with starting a war. However, the network that the communication relied on was cut off, so the internet monitor began to connect to the Night City Corporation's headquarters in other parts of the world.

Rome's strategy was also very shrewd.

If enough benefits are offered, companies will naturally cooperate actively, such as the development rights for the new Night City network.

The internet regulators remain the same regulators, nothing changes. The companies that fight tooth and nail for this huge pie will eventually split it equally. London will regain the credibility that the Night City branch of the internet regulators lost.

The top brass of the General Administration were very excited after learning what Rome meant.

Despite numerous unexpected changes, the game has returned to normal. The only difference is that internet censorship now has an outpost, allowing it to gradually project its influence to North America, and eventually Asia.

Unsurprisingly, companies like military technology, declining biotechnology, Pedro Petrochemical, and Kangtao all indicated they could abide by the agreement to monitor the internet. However, Kangtao's reaction was very strange; they showed no desire to compete for profits and simply accepted the contract signed with the United Nations when it established internet surveillance.

In other words: it's fine if it's you, but it's also fine if it's not you; Kangtao only cares about its own smart industry.

Perhaps in some ways, Contau was the one who followed the natural course of events, but Rome was still somewhat unhappy—

The company representative on the other end of the line smiled warmly and then hung up the call, leaving the internet monitor seething with anger but unable to vent it.

"Kangtao doesn't get involved much online, and since he doesn't intend to make money from it..."

A high-ranking official spread his hands.

Only Arasaka remains.

No one knows how Rome intends to handle the Arasaka situation, considering that Night City's Arasaka was the first to provoke such intense conflict, but other companies have ignored this behavior.

Arasaka's position in Europe is similar to that of Contour in North America. Saburo Arasaka has moved in and out of the European Community several times, using his shrewd methods to make Arasaka a member of the European Community as well. However, the internet censors are not currently siding with Arasaka's people on the ground—

In any case, if the European Space Agency had no interest in him, Rome wouldn't dare to let Arasaka Yorinobu gain anything easily.

"The request for Arakasaka to agree to rebuild the network is rejected in terms of development rights."

Roma said.

The higher-ups also agreed with this approach. "That mad dog Lai Xuan has attacked the European Community several times over the Arasaka Hanako issue. Sometimes I even really wonder if he's a descendant of those homeless thugs. Isn't he afraid of war?"

One person nodded and said, "I believe the European Space Agency will also agree with this approach."

Some high-ranking officials also expressed their hostility towards Lai Hsuan, saying, "He actually dared to send people to try to repair the Black Wall. I can only say that Lai Hsuan is far inferior to his father; he's a mad dog!"

……

Lai Xuan had been closely monitoring the changes in the Night City's data traces.

Including Rin's enormous figure repeatedly annihilating AIs in cyberspace—AIs powerful enough to destroy an entire hacker team within a company—if Emma hadn't mentioned cyber weapons, few would believe that this was a human of the same kind as the hackers from Night City who operate online…

"You can't kill them all."

Lai Xuan has been urged by his subordinates many times, and even other branches are strongly demanding that he leave Night City.

He simply prepared the plane and then stood quietly on the rooftop enjoying the breeze.

"Those two who helped Arasaka salvage his losses..."

As Lai Xuan watched the massive phantom that was still shattering the AI, he felt that compared to the sensational Night City, this was nothing new to him. It was far less exciting than the spectacle he had witnessed in the cyber network. So he turned his head and asked while recalling the events.

“Recruit David, and Lucy, a hacker from the counterintelligence department.”

The head of the human resources department lowered his head and replied, "They seem to be... a couple?"

"I'll handle this, boss."

Lai Xuan reached out his hand, but smiled with some surprise. "Waiting time is always long. I was just asking to give you a reward."

The HR manager took a step back anxiously, somewhat puzzled as to why Lai Xuan, who always valued company rules more than life itself, hadn't nitpicked the employees' non-compliance.

Are you waiting for the results?

The new head of the counterintelligence department, someone promoted by V, was also on the rooftop.

That would naturally be Harry.

"Forgive my bluntness, Lord Lai Xuan, but the fact that a weapon capable of destroying AI has been created by a dreamer proves that this is indeed a company worthy of respect. However, there are just too many of them. After the Black Wall is breached, most companies estimate that the death toll will be more than 80% of that of Night City. It is already quite impressive that we have reached this point."

Lai Xuan glanced sideways.

Harry quickly added, "I mean, this is a very promising opponent."

Lai Xuan stared at the phantom that had torn a sub-level AI to shreds and said loudly, "When have I ever needed such flattery? A bunch of idiots... It's not that they have potential, we've already lost to them. Arasaka, Military Science, Biotechnology—we all have a say in this."

Harry shut up, looking annoyed.

Lai Xuan was capricious; he simply wanted to urge Lai Xuan to leave to ensure his own safety.

However, the internet surveillance team, trying to locate Lai Xuan, discovered that this powerful figure was nowhere to be found in any of the company headquarters. He was, in fact, the only CEO in the entire Night City corporate plaza who dared to linger at this time…

"It's from London, the internet censors."

The hacker jumped out of the cabin, his eyes flashing a few times, and transmitted the signal again through his personal brain-computer interface.

Lai Xuancai, having just listened to those Europeans' utter nonsense, is now coming knocking on his door again; he's probably going to get his hands on some meat...

How to decide one's attitude and how to place the bet is an extremely difficult question.

Lai Xuan's decision-making team began to help their boss analyze the situation, and even if the boss had no other options, they would eventually have to find the outcome that was most beneficial to Arasaka.

However, Raiyuki didn't think too much about it. He simply beckoned and took the heavy satellite communicator. "This is Arasaka Raiyuki."

Everyone around him watched Lai Xuan's expression intently, but he stared at the dazzling data trails of Night City like a casual tourist, occasionally responding with a few "uh-huhs". Some of the higher-ups in Arasaka couldn't help but start pressuring the hacker, wanting to hear what the internet monitor was saying.

Finally, at Lai Xuan's prompting, everyone heard the internet monitor's blunt voice from the other end, and everyone's hearts were in their throats.

"Does Arasaka mean he doesn't care about Night City or North America's industries at all?"

"What about the Free States?"

Lai Xuan was silent for a moment, then said, "You want me to give way to my army so you can have a good time on North American soil, is that what you mean?"

The woman on the other end wanted to speak, but Lai Xuan interrupted her, saying, "Besides, you're not even allowed to eat with Arasaka. You've taken all the benefits, haven't you?"

The continuous questioning made the other person lose patience.

"Then let me make myself clearer."

"Whether Arasaka participates or not is irrelevant. If you don't participate in this game, you'll be kicked out. After all, Arasaka isn't—"

Arasaka Yorinobu sneered and paced back and forth a few steps with his hands on his hips.

This is a sign that anger is about to erupt.

They were still using threats and inducements, even going so far as to say bluntly, "Are you waiting for a small company to snatch assets from your hands to save the network that's rotten to the core? First it was Comtasia, then Arasaka, is Tsunami Military Industry going to do the same thing?"

Just as the Arasaka administration was sweating bullets, praying that Lai Xuan would suppress his anger and find a way to negotiate with the internet censors...

"Did your cosmetic injections get into your brain...?"

"You dare to say things that London wouldn't dare to say? Do you think your life is too easy? Your children are too healthy? Or you have too many lovers?"

Lai Xuan's words were utterly ruthless, tearing off any pretense of civility.

"Do you really think Arasaka is going to lose this land?"

The other side clearly hadn't expected Arasaka to be so assertive; not only the internet censors, but even Arasaka's higher-ups were stunned...

"Arasaka Yorinobu, you and I both know perfectly well where Relic came from, don't go too far!"

Lai Xuan retorted, "To put it another way, why would Rome allow an ignorant woman like you to speak to me?"

Lai Xuan then launched into a string of curses in Japanese.

That person was clearly so angry they were practically grinding their teeth to powder.

"very good…"

"Since Arasaka is unwilling to cooperate, the opportunity for the new network will naturally not fall into your lap. Do you really think that a hacker can take care of this crappy network? You are too naive, Lai Xuan."

"Europe is ready to fight anytime. We'll protect your free state and see how long you can keep laughing."

"If you don't believe me, we can watch together and see how long this little company that boasts about being able to save Night City Network can last?"

Lai Xuan can't go either way. Once he accepts the terms of internet censorship, Arasaka can forget about ever touching the internet again.

North America has also lost its meaning in creating value.

If they don't accept it, it's like pinning their hopes on Rin and V. At least from the perspective of internet censors, Lai Xuan is betting that V can succeed.

"The relic issue is easy to resolve."

Lai Xuan's tone suddenly became calm.

The person on the other end said "Oh?", thinking that Lai Xuan's venting time was over. People always have to bow their heads eventually, and the European Community has made Lai Xuan bow his head before.

"Go to hell and ask my father, you wretch."

Amidst the astonished gazes of the Arasaka executives, the communicator plummeted from the top floor of the Arasaka building. Lai Xuan clapped his hands, loosened his tie, and turned to look at the dumbfounded crowd.

Choosing this way is not wrong.

If V, who is still online, can use the internet censorship program to fix the Great Firewall, Arasaka will be the ultimate winner. This means that Night City will no longer be subject to regulation, and the initiative will be in Arasaka's hands. Conversely, if Arasaka completely loses Night City as an outpost, it will only be a matter of time before the surrounding Free States are lost.

……

"Refused?"

Rome didn't care at all.

This disdain made the female executive, who was feeling somewhat resentful, feel relieved.

It's obvious that Arasaka is slowly declining. Since he's unwilling to admit defeat, there will always be a time when he regrets it.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Internet Surveillance is committed to global cyber peace and is willing to cooperate with you to build a more orderly, secure and shared network within the Great Firewall."

All the companies in Night City that agreed to cooperate are eagerly awaiting the opportunity.

Their death toll is also unbearable, and only strong intervention from internet regulators can stop the farce of the Taipingzhou Mad Dog Company.

The three-hour dogfight was nothing more than companies fighting for their interests.

The more this is the case, the more reassured internet surveillance becomes.

The outcome is not important; what matters is that the internet is controlled by the internet regulators.

While the internet censors were observing the power struggle from afar, their entire system issued an extremely loud warning, so loud that everyone who didn't react almost thought they were hallucinating…

"BOSS."

The high-ranking official who received the message from headquarters immediately looked at Rome. The moment he saw the look in his staff's eyes, Rome's smile froze.

"what happened?"

The executives all craned their necks to look in that direction, and some companies stopped their verbal battles.

"Night City..."

"The internet...the internet—damn, I don't know how to say it."

Rome stared at the other side.

The guy suddenly stood up and disconnected from the company.

"Night City's network has lost our oversight, and... and it's back to normal..."

……

……

(End of this chapter)