Cyberpunk: From Dogville to Legend

Chapter 457 The Post-War Era (Part 1) [7K]

Dogtown.

In the dead of night, apart from the hounds on guard, the doorbell of a prosthetic clinic rang in an underground pedestrian underpass piled with garbage.

The man standing at the door was like a mountain, silent and dark.

He pressed the doorbell again, and a noisy female voice suddenly came from inside.

"I have some records from the period after the unification war for sale. Do you want them?"

"I asked the man."

"uh-huh…"

The door opens.

Li De silently slipped into the half-open door, where Farida stood.

"Long time no see, comrade."

Farida waved her hand and walked straight back to the prosthetic computer on the left side of the rectangle.

Unfazed by such occurrences, Li De walked to the prosthetic surgery chair as if it were an offense, perhaps due to the habits of a special agent—

The thing he trusted most was the mechanical wristwatch on his wrist.

already…

Five days?
The girl on the operating chair showed no signs of waking up; he just watched silently, seemingly lost in thought.

There were too many things that Li De couldn't understand.

Which side is the lark truly on? Why is she giving me credit? Which one is the real Song Zhaomei? And also…

Is this apprentice really doing well?

“Li De, she is seriously injured. I dare not connect the chip in her neck to the network rashly. You have caused me a lot of trouble again.”

Farida seemed to have lost interest in her work, her arms tightly crossed over her chest, a psychologically defensive gesture.

Apparently…

She was quite dissatisfied with the Joint Logistics Command's actions.

However, she owed Li De a favor, but Li De was someone who couldn't distinguish between public and private matters, causing Farida's hard-won peaceful life to be disrupted again...

The situation was not optimistic. I felt like I was standing on the edge of a storm where I could be torn apart at the slightest mistake, and I was just one step away from hell.

Who doesn't know that New America and the major corporations suffered a brilliant defeat?
The corporate wars at the network level ended after the unification war, but the result was a single winner…

Farida felt very unsafe here, and she often thought about how to escape from Hansen's watchful eye.

"Isn't serving our country our duty?"

Farida heard that infuriating answer from Li De again.

Her self-protection mechanism was to avoid hearing too many secrets, but given Li De's current state and the rumors circulating in Night City... Rodline Miles was definitely in Dogville, and Li De's mind was filled with waiting for the mercenary to wake up, hoping to see if he could extend that foolish president's life or something.

“Alright, I shouldn’t interfere in your affairs, but there’s one thing… I’m no longer a member of military technology and New America, for the last time, Li De.”

"I can only keep her for one more day."

"The Ghost Hound's physical exam is coming up in a few days. Do you think I can hide such a cute girl who's covered in company-grade cybernetic implants?"

Li De supported himself with his hands, seemingly in a plea.

“This is a very crucial person. She is the one who knows the most about the situation among our enemies. Although she is currently a friend and has even done some good work... Mai, uh no, they asked me to keep her alive. She is of great use.”

Farida never understood why Li De was willing to be used.

The most important thing about this girl is not the super-limited prosthetic body that could cause cyberpsychosis, but rather the chip that plays a key role. It's less about keeping her alive and more about keeping the biochip active.

Li De pulled over a chair. "I won't bother you. Just for one day. I'll contact the doctor myself to see if there's anything I can do to help her."

Farida sighed helplessly.

“Li De…”

Li De remained silent, so Farida stopped asking questions, and no one knew Li De's exact thoughts.

This guy from the Joint Logistics Command, who almost died at the hands of the Dreamers' strongest lone wolf, has clearly lost his most prized target.

While Farida was engrossed in her own work, Li De pulled a chip out from under his worn-out, old-fashioned maroon long leather coat.

The failure of the Birdcage Project

[Detection revealed that the neural matrix fixation has failed; the target 'Lark's' procedural portion has escaped and its permissions have been changed.]

[Song Zhaomei, Chief Intelligence Expert of the Joint Logistics Command, Current Status: Killed in Action]

[Bioinformatics and networked records...]

The word "killed in action".

Li De thought he was numb enough, but he still couldn't recover.

No one knows why he persisted for Song Zhaomei, but he knows best in his heart.

The girl who had committed a serious crime in Canada was blackmailed by the slightly younger Li De into the Joint Logistics Command... He watched helplessly as the girl's body was covered with cold steel and new materials. Even though the lark had never hated him, Li De did... He deeply loathed his subconscious two-faced behavior.

He firmly believes that he is fully responsible for Song So-mi's current state.

Miles is undoubtedly a liar, but Li De wants Song Zhaomei to leave unscathed. Her sins have been atoned for, and she deserves to have her own life.

But there's no point in saying all this now.

After inquiring through various channels, Li De finally managed to buy some items from the Japanese online black market.

The content is very simple: a string of data, records of accessing the black wall before a hole was created.

Although it was later patched, the access records were leaked by that reckless hacker…

Lark

Just from this title, Li De knew that Song Zhaomei was still online.

It's important to know that Washington did not unilaterally declare Song Zhaomei physically dead. They determined that Song Zhaomei experienced the same situation that occurred before the death of the hacker god "Bartlemos," with her consciousness remaining on the network, but her body and brain remaining normal due to the existence of her life system.

Therefore, Li De did not believe, nor dared to believe, the Joint Logistics Department's claim that the lark's self-awareness had been extinguished.

The girl in front of me has a very cyberpunk style.

Li De had worked as a security guard at bars in Night City, and he had seen too many "bad girls" like this, wearing cheap, vulgar prosthetics, and most of them were sex dolls or gang members.

The girl's arms were simply too terrifying; their perfect mechanical proportions suited her petite frame, and the force of her punches was comparable to a forklift running at full speed. Moreover, her spine was military-grade S.A.R.S. steel.

"brute."

Li De was cursing the guy who almost killed him.

In his eyes, Rin was the kind of girl who would stop at nothing; she was frail and weak, yet she had to bear such a heavy burden with her prosthetic body…

This reminded him of his relationship with Song Zhaomei.

Li De investigated a lot of things: the Japanese district, Santo Domingo... It seems this girl is also Rin's lover.

The current situation is quite frustrating: Li De knows how to efficiently complete special agent missions, but he knows nothing about technology. Miles is very interested in the chip around the girl's neck, even though she tries to hide it from Li De…

Rebecca is the next Song So-mi.

The moment this thought arose, Li De could no longer suppress his tormented conscience, which he was almost unable to bear.

Dogtown is now a truly isolated town.

He carefully considered his conversation with Miles, trying to find a solution.

“Li De, things have come to this point and there’s no going back. Xiao Song could have made a choice—I know there are many things you don’t believe me about, but I’ve already given Birdcage the final order for treatment.”

"Do you know what that girl lying in the clinic represents? The chip around her neck is the key to bringing people back to life. The new America needs this technology."

“Take her back to Washington, get the chip using military technology, and her life can be saved. Song Zhaomei can use this chip to rewrite her consciousness and reposition her body…”

"With this chip, we no longer need loyal warriors like Song Zhaomei to sacrifice their lives. We can manufacture weapons to protect the new America. Everything is just right, so why not?"

Actually, Li De wanted to call Miles a bawdy b*tch who talks a lot of nonsense, but he couldn't…

He couldn't tell how much of what he said was true and how much was false, so he had to verify it himself. However, the reality gave him a rude awakening.

The reason why Hanako Arakawa, who lost to Toru Arakawa, wasn't swallowed up by the European Space Agency and the High Knights in space was all thanks to this chip.

This chip represents a capability that humanity has always aspired to.

eternal life.

Li De's ideas were extremely simple; he only knew that people were alive, and the so-called soul was not within the scope of his consideration.

Perhaps the best ending would be if the girl in front of me never woke up?

Li De was tired.

He couldn't even contain his anger, and repeatedly questioned himself why he hadn't killed Rin when she was dealing with the trouble.

In fact.

Some things are more likely to happen the more you fear them.

Farida glanced at the instrument from a distance, while Li De stared blankly as the girl sat up from her chair as if she had just woken up.

Their eyes met, and then—

A loud noise.

Fortunately, Farida had altered the girl's prosthetic backdoor program beforehand, preventing her from successfully activating Sianwistan, and Li De easily dodged the girl's attack.

Li De, who grabbed the girl's wrist, just frowned.

"Hey... calm down."

The girl looked furious, her chest heaving. "You're Li De!"

"I followed you!"

The new American agent, who had been planning to interrogate her, suddenly found himself speechless. Although he knew that he and Nightingale were being followed, he hadn't expected the girl to blurt it out herself.

“I know, but this isn’t the time for you to throw a tantrum. Do you remember what happened before? The Ghost Hounds are looking for you everywhere—”

"If this escalates, it won't just be you getting arrested; the person you brought out will also suffer. Do you want to see what Night City becomes? Still want war?"

Rebecca looked around like a wary young animal for a while before grumbling unhappily, "Let me go!"

Their first meeting did not seem to go very well.

Farida was in a real bind; all she wanted now was for Li De to leave quickly if he had nothing else to do.

"OK, there are plenty of people cheering you on outside if you want to fight, but I'm going to deactivate your prosthetic body now. No one is allowed to stay overnight here."

Li De said helplessly, "Falida..."

Rebecca glared angrily at Li De, while Farida stepped forward and glanced at the girl's terrifying prosthetic body with slightly evasive eyes.

To be honest, if she were to recover and punch herself, her head might be completely obliterated.

Perhaps because Rebecca didn't reject the cyborg doctor's approach, she even casually tossed her pigtails to allow the doctor to access her data slots.

Farida shrugged and acted quickly. With a creaking sound from the prosthetic structure on her arm, the humanoid battle girl returned to normal.

The atmosphere gradually became subtle.

Farida watched the two slowly retreat. She didn't care if they fought; she just didn't want to stay in this place any longer.

The two of them just stared at each other blankly for a full minute or two.

"Cough, cough, cough!"

Just as Rebecca was about to give the guy who had caused Rin so much trouble a beating, she suddenly started coughing violently. Li De hadn't expected that the girl, who was lively and energetic just a second ago, would suddenly be unable to breathe. He thought that Farida had disturbed her synthetic lungs.

Because Rebecca's hands were pure black, she couldn't see the blood. She only felt a sweet, metallic taste, like rust, filling her mouth and throat. A message popped up indicating a Relic malfunction...

However, just like the scientists from Honshu and Arakawa said.

If Relic hadn't malfunctioned, her consciousness would have been completely overwhelmed by Johnny's silver hand long ago.

Speak of Cao Cao, Cao Cao appears...

With a clatter, Johnny, wearing a bulletproof vest, leaned casually against the operating chair.

"Welcome back, beautiful new world."

Strangely, although Johnny was residing in the chip and forming a mental defense with Rebecca, Johnny did not lack the ability to obtain information because of Rebecca's fainting. It seems that he already knew what had happened in Night City.

“I thought you were dead, Johnny.”

Rebecca silently cursed the persistent ghost that had been haunting her for two years.

Of course, at least in the midst of the panic, she finally encountered someone she was somewhat familiar with... Although her goal was to remove Johnny from her body, that didn't stop them from being old acquaintances.

"Hmm, let me guess what. They couldn't get anywhere with the company, so they turned to those inhuman bastards at New America?"

Johnny adjusted his sunglasses and made a sarcastic tsk-tsk sound, which was his usual way of mocking Rebecca. Rebecca knew that this guy was deliberately trying to disgust her. How could he, who could read minds, not know about the things between Rin and her?

Of course, Johnny doesn't really believe in dreamers either.

"If you ask me, even a stupid company can't cover up its problems, so don't expect these stupid politicians to solve them."

Johnny, with his hands resting on his knees, observed the struggling Li De. "Tsk tsk, look at that resolute expression of 'I'm going to give my life for the system.' Are you sure you want to get involved with this kind of person? He seems like the epitome of a blindly loyal idiot."

Rebecca already had a headache.

Having a familiar old friend beside me when I first wake up helps me feel more at peace...

But Johnny is just too good at making sarcastic remarks.

Johnny talks nonsense, and Rebecca often doesn't believe a word he says.

"But now you're a big shot in Night City. Even if it's just some company clerk pushing you, being the new US president's savior still gets you a lot of benefits, right? Is there a solution to our problem?"

At this point in the conversation, Rebecca sensed something was amiss. Johnny, who usually either remained silent or selectively ignored the matter, was now giving a direct response.

"Huh? You changed your personality after I lay here with the prosthetic doctor for a while?"

Rebecca shook the blood off her hands, while Johnny said seriously, "I feel like your consciousness and I are getting more and more complicated. Isn't your body warning you? Look, we're like a flood that's been building up during the rainy season, and now the critical point has been reached—"

"The collapse was faster than ever before."

When the other party became more candid, Rebecca felt awkward and simply let out a soft hum.

"Seriously, if I were to take your own things right now and take that damn new US president away, wouldn't extorting him be better than you being his dog?"

"Shut up, Johnny!"

As Rebecca listened to Johnny coming up with more crazy ideas, her anger flared up, and she couldn't help but curse out loud. Of course, this wasn't an accident; it was a symptom that would occur when Rebecca's consciousness merged to a certain point.

This actually indicates a worsening of the condition.

"Rebecca?"

Rebecca's words clearly frightened even the usually silent Li De. He had heard Farida say that the thing might contain a program, which was being widely circulated online as a digital soul, essentially an independent personality.

Rebecca's behavior indicated that she was communicating with that thing, which made Li De feel a little uneasy, so he looked around.

"You just said it out loud."

Rebecca, feeling that the uncomfortable feeling had dissipated considerably, turned her head away.

She always carried the drugs Misty gave her in her pocket. One type of drug was used to suppress Johnny's increasingly strong rebellious instincts, while the other was used to allow Johnny to take control of her body.

Although she always fantasized that she would never have to use these drugs, the increasingly severe side effects and the memory of Johnny flooding her mind forced Rebecca to consider when to use them.

At this point, Li De couldn't say anything more. His mind was in turmoil. He needed to figure out how to get Miles and Rebecca out of Night City, and for that, he might need to find someone to help him plan their route.

At the same time, he also took a closer look at the chip on the girl's neck.

"If you want to live, come with me."

Li De had nothing to say to the hostile girl. He smiled slightly apologetically at Farida, then turned and followed Rebecca out.

It wasn't until several minutes after the two had left that Farida finally let out a sigh of relief and relaxed. The clinic seemed quite quiet.

A short while later, footsteps could be heard.

The man's eyes were filled with worry, and his face bore the look of an ordinary drug addict from Night City, appearing as if he might collapse at any moment...

Farida coughed.

The man turned his gaze to Farida. "Thank you for your help."

Farida looked up at the man she knew what he looked like and said, "I will do as you say."

The man smiled warmly, "I rushed here to find you, and haven't even had a proper chance to say hello yet."

Farida was realistic, though she managed a polite smile. "A bunch of companies couldn't control you, do you think I'd rely on a bunch of wandering agents from New America and a new US president whose legitimacy is still uncertain?"

"Besides, I know how much my life is worth."

Rin sighed.

Farida is the kind of person who knows a lot but chooses to remain silent.

He asked, "You know, you're the doctor Night City is most likely to hire. No offense intended—"

Farida waved her hand. "I know what you want to ask. The girl's health isn't very good right now. I don't understand how that chip works, but it seems like she has some kind of malignant tumor... The lesion is on that biochip in her brain."

Lin Yue nodded.

"That thing will turn the brain into an empty shell, and in the end, the personality in the chip will live in place of Rebecca."

Farida and Lin Yue were among the first people to know each other in this city. Upon hearing this, Farida quickly waved her hand, adopting an ostrich-like attitude, "Don't tell me these things, it'll only cause more problems if I hear them."

Lin Yue was both amused and exasperated.

"Although this promise is highly unreliable, Farida, make any demands you may."

"At least I can take you anywhere from Dogtown."

Upon hearing this, Farida stood up amidst Lin Yue's astonished gaze, a sudden movement that startled him.

"you…"

Farida shrugged and spread her hands. "Let's go."

Lin Yue couldn't help but feel a little ashamed; Farida's style of doing things was still so decisive.

“These things…”

Farida didn't even glance at it.

"No more."

Lin Yue glanced at the valuable items and admired Farida's determination to give up everything for freedom. But since Farida had been a great help, Emma would naturally not treat her unfairly.

Farida got into the car on the roadside in Dogtown.

She was curious about how Lin Yue planned to get her out of the house. Was he really going to just casually take a car? Obviously not…

But as the car rounded a street corner and headed towards the Dogtown gate with its mechanical turrets, Farida was visibly alarmed. "What the hell are you doing?"

Farida is someone the Dogtown colonel has explicitly forbidden from leaving Dogtown. If Ghost Hound were to see someone with a face like her leaving Dogtown through the main gate... she has no idea what the situation would become.

However, this seemingly composed man said in a calm tone, "Don't be nervous, Farida. There's a reason why I'm taking you away like this."

Every gesture she made was extremely natural. She tossed her cigarette butt out the window, and the windshield was raised to prevent the soldiers of Dogtown from seeing Farida's appearance with the naked eye.

Farida gripped the passenger seat armrest tightly with both hands, feeling extremely uncomfortable, and kept leaning back in the seat.

Lin Yue simply smiled, and the large door in front of him burst open with a loud bang, revealing a dense array of red lines inside, resembling deadly monomolecular lines.

These lights would scan all the prosthetics on the people inside. Lin Yue slowly controlled the accelerator, and after stopping at the red line, the words "Scanning" lit up in both of their prosthetic eyes simultaneously.

If nothing unexpected happens, their identities will be revealed in the next second, and the people inside, along with the car, will be impounded.

Farida strained her eyes to look at the fully armed hounds above. Their eyes, hidden behind their masks, gleamed with a cold light, and she couldn't help but swallow hard.

In her haste, Farida failed to notice the gleam of data surging in Rin's eyes as he squinted ahead. Lin Yue could manipulate the entire Night City network, both information and traffic, at will.

However, the data barrier that Dogtown thought it had built with professional hackers was, in Lin Yue's view, basically a piece of paper that could be easily punctured.

However, Lin Yue was able to bypass this perfectly, and many times it was through this method that Dogtown was successfully turned into an information cocoon.

The scanned information shows two ordinary citizens of Night City with numerous criminal records.

"Drive the hell faster?! Are you waiting to eat? Damn it."

The hound's rude curses rang out, the front panel of the car went down, and Lin Yue gently pressed the accelerator and drove forward.

Upon entering Taiping Continent, Farida looked around at the city still belching black smoke, a scene reminiscent of the unification wars of over a decade ago.

"Post-disaster reconstruction is very troublesome, but fortunately we found the mastermind behind it."

"Falida, thank you for giving me my first generous reward in Night City, allowing me to seize many fleeting opportunities with this prosthetic body..."

Lin Yue muttered to himself.

Farida turned to look at the unresponsive Dogtown checkpoint, knowing that the guy in front of her was one of the rule-makers in the city.

So Farida's biggest fear now is not freedom, nor is it her eager hope that Lin Yue will give her enough compensation. On the contrary, she has to consider whether she will be executed for knowing too many secrets.

The car quickly arrived at the Lijiang Scenic Area.

When several company vehicles and many soldiers appeared ahead, Farida glanced fearfully at the sickly man beside her.

She was terrified that his next sentence would be:
"I'm grateful to you, but you have to die."

Fortunately, Lin Yue did not do that. Instead, after he got out of the car, the soldier helped Farida open the car door.

Ahead stood a tall woman with striking beauty and minimal signs of cybernetics. Farida knew her name: the Empress of the entire Pacific Continent, a powerful intermediary, and the apparent controller of the Dreamers.

She now wields immense power in Night City.

Under Emma's orders, the company's forces launched an attack from Heywood amidst the collapse of the city's network, thus expanding the territory of this business map once again.

"Ms. Farida."

The woman extended her hand, her face displaying a well-mannered expression.

"thanks for your help."

Farida was surprised that the other party did not ask any questions but greeted her politely.

Lin Yue waved his hand, "Let Ms. Farida leave early. Hansen is keeping a close eye on things, so..."

Emma gave an apologetic smile. "Sorry, please take this hovercar. Someone will come to pick you up at the Night City border."

Farida walked onto the hovercar with some skepticism, and Lin Yue waved encouragingly.

Emma made subtle movements many times, but Lin Yue, standing beside her, restrained the urge to eliminate any potential problems.

Just before Farida got on the bus—

"one thing."

“Li De’s.”

……

……

(End of this chapter)