Cyberpunk: From Dogville to Legend

Chapter 527 Who is it? Everywhere (Part 1) [5.5K]

The exploding fireball, accompanied by a roar, forcefully withstood the artillery fire that was enough to destroy aircraft, falling to the ground like a meteor in the astonished and terrified gazes of the Arasaka soldiers.

This is anger at being completely toyed with—

Arasaka's weapon became something that others could use at will. If it weren't for this improved dragon knight prosthetic body, his rotten head would have been blown to pieces in time!

A howling wind accompanied by snowflakes swept through the air. The Arasaka soldiers shielded their hands from the surging air currents caused by the humanoid monster in front of them, cursing the hackers in the tower as a bunch of good-for-nothing bastards.

Splash... splash...

When the Dragon Knight's prosthetic body moves, a terrifying muffled sound is emitted.

The soldier from Arasaka, still trying to shut down the fire control system, stared wide-eyed and sweating profusely, completely unaware that the soldiers around him had quietly retreated… They dared not utter a sound to warn him, because Heavy Hammer had a history of attacking his own comrades in previous operations against the Freedom Front—

"They blocked the way like cockroaches."

This is Hammer's post-war report.

"Roar--"

The moment the crimson eyes emerged from the smoke and dust, accompanied by a mechanical electronic sound and a creaking noise, a pair of iron hands grabbed the guy by the neck and lifted him up. At the same time, Lucy, who was almost knocked unconscious by the powerful blast, was thrown out like a rag doll!

She tried with all her might to make sure Heavy Hammer was still alive, but unfortunately, through her blurred vision—

She watched as the man lifted a soldier who was kicking wildly and killed him in a near-brutal manner to vent his anger, an act that terrified all the soldiers on the rooftop, who retreated in fear.

Only after that guy left with heavy footsteps did the soldiers feel as if they had been given a second chance at life. Several of them came over and lifted Lucy up, their movements not too rough, perhaps because they were still frightened, and they even whispered to ask if she could walk...

Of course, Lucy misunderstood this as Takeda giving some kind of order, and immediately fell silent.

Hammer recognized Sasha, and since Rin and Michiko, who were completely unprepared for the situation in space, were on guard against Rin's hacking attack, they chose to connect Hammer's prosthetic body to the near-Earth orbit network...

This is undoubtedly a troublesome matter.

However, Michiko and Hanako know that Rin is still alive... Does Takeda know this?

With these questions in mind, Lucy was slowly led away by the soldiers. She glanced at the sky outside Arasaka Tower one last time, her eyes turning cold.

"Adam, what are you doing?"

Takeda had already appeared in the hangar on the top floor of Arasaka, with his hands behind his back and two Arasaka ninjas standing behind him.

The moment the heavy hammer appeared at the end of the corridor, the ninja's expression behind his mask turned solemn.

The massive man, nearly three meters tall, walked step by step toward Takeda, but Takeda's expression remained unchanged, his gaze still grim as he stared at the heavy hammer's pale head—

"Boom boom boom!"

Heavy Hammer suddenly quickened his pace and slammed his fist into the wall behind Takeda!

Black building materials fell with a rustling sound, and a few strands of Takeda's silver-white slicked-back hair were blown away by a sudden gust of wind. The guy's blood-red prosthetic eye was fixed on the woman in the kimono behind Takeda, and he let out a cold laugh.

"Takeda, your dog doesn't seem very strong."

Heim's features remained unclear, and he continued his aggressive and rude remarks.

"Don't hurt me, you slut..."

Takeda's eyelids twitched, and he said, "Don't be too high-profile. Adam... Raiyuki doesn't know you exist. If he knew you were still alive and kicking on the ground, you would be surrounded and killed by the army... Do you understand?"

Adam, seemingly unconcerned about whether he took Takeda's words to heart, instead said grimly, "Then let these idiots come over."

The sound of rustling footsteps rose, and seeing the fear in the soldiers' eyes, Takeda was furious. However, he had no time to worry about the soldiers now. He and Him's eyes turned to Lucy, who was walking slowly towards them with her eyes drooping and her arms being held.

Lucy seemed to sense the person in front of her. She slowly raised her head, but even though she had told herself to be hard-hearted, she was still stunned.

So many years...

They seem to have never changed.

But Lucy was no longer the pitiful girl who cut out her father's photo from an Arasaka advertisement when she was homeless; she just wanted to know—what were they after?

What could drive parents to such depravity that they treat their children as objects to be used and discarded?

Takeda's lips twitched almost imperceptibly. "Lucy, after all this time... you're still trying to find ways to cause us trouble?"

Lucy knew it.

Perhaps I shouldn't have had that unrealistic fantasy...

Is this some kind of joke?

He couldn't believe his father didn't know that the teen hacking center was killing kids!

"Thank you, Takeshi Takeda—you didn't catch me in the NCX, you didn't kill me...you're disappointed, aren't you?"

Snapped--

A resounding slap amused even the still-angry Heavy Hammer, who took a step back to look at his enemy's accomplice.

He really wanted to see how funny it would be if Takeda found out that his daughter was a colleague of Arasaka's greatest enemy.

But Chongchui himself would never say that he had his own plans.

Lucy tilted her head, her hair slightly disheveled from the slap...

"Who taught you to be so rude? It seems that living with those trash has taught you to live without any sense of morality?"

Takeda withdrew his hand.

What he received in return was a pair of extremely cold eyes, filled with such resentment that even Takeda, who considered himself to be on the moral high ground, dared not look directly at them…

"It's so funny."

Lucy's shoulders twitched, then she threw her head back and let out a shrill laugh like a madwoman. Takeda's eyes grew increasingly dark, as if he were about to make a second move.

"What about you?"

Lucy's maniacal laughter came to an abrupt halt.

Her gaze was fixed on the woman who seemed to live in her father's shadow, and in this context, Lucy's question became intriguing.

Before long, Him wore a polite smile, like a harmless little lamb. She seemed to have Western features in appearance, but her every move was extremely like that of a traditional Japanese housewife.

"Don't be so harsh on children."

Lucy looked at the woman's flawless smile, which truly suited her position in the 404 hacker group and her hacking style. Weak and ineffective programs often trap the enemy. She was good at defense and was the strongest behind-the-scenes help for Takeda Kenji to reach the highest position in Warsaw's largest company.

Him stepped forward, and Lucy made a slight forward movement, but was immediately grabbed by the wrist by the soldier behind her.

The mother, whose makeup concealed her emotions, reached out and gently tied Lucy's hair up, looking very loving.

But Lucy's heart was half-chilled...

If her face showed even the slightest hint of remorse, even just a tiny bit... but everything was just as Rin had investigated: Takeda Kenji and Him were birds of a feather.

"Look at you, what has the bottom line made you into... You have no worries about food and clothing, and you have become a capable assistant in the company. The prosperity of our Takeda family is all thanks to you."

"You were so stubborn that you went back to Warsaw. You see... a naughty child can't get anything done."

Lucy sneered, "A capable assistant? Are you sure you're not sending your own child to the grave?! You have the nerve to mention children... You don't deserve to!"

Takeda Kenji was about to explode when Him stopped him, saying slowly and deliberately, "To become a warrior, one must be prepared to sacrifice at any time... The Arasaka family's philosophy is the same: only by overcoming fear can one be worthy of all of this."

“Your father and I both thought you could overcome that hurdle, but you misunderstood our good intentions.”

I feel so nauseous.

Lucy's only thought right now is to use hacking to attack her mother in front of her, so that she can be taken by these people to the most secure cell in the counterintelligence or security department inside Arasaka Tower as soon as possible. At least there, she can calmly think about how to help Rin next.

However, there was a slight sound from the side, and Lucy felt a sudden tension in her heart. If the hammer revealed that she had some connection with Arasaka, her parents would definitely try their best to find out about Arasaka in Night City. Although Ms. V and Mr. Rin had erased the traces... it was hard to guarantee that her mother would smell a hint of something fishy.

However, Heavy Hammer just chuckled a few times in a distorted voice.

"I love you heartless bastards, it makes me feel so good—human scum disgusts me."

With that, his dragon rider's knee joints began to make a transmission sound, and he left the hangar amidst a thud of footsteps.

“Lucy, don’t think your accomplices in District D are so clever as to bypass my defenses. I’m just indulging you… Take some time to calm down in the tower and reflect on the glory of the Takeda family,” Him said.

Lucy wanted to spit on the woman in front of her, but ultimately held back. "So you almost hid in the tower, too scared to come out? Just you wait and see—"

Him's expression turned cold.

"Take her away and keep a close eye on Miss Lucia. I personally designed the blocking procedure. Do not give her any opportunity to use any network devices or prosthetics that can connect to the internet."

Takeda Kenji didn't turn his head, letting his wife treat their child like a prisoner. He just pondered with a gloomy expression how to make Hammer more under his control. In addition, the reshuffling of District D after the elimination of the Freedom Front was imminent.

Just as the group was about to part ways, someone arrived late…

David Martinez, whose childishness had faded considerably, led his team to the top floor. Takeda Kenji sneered as he looked at this so-called assistant sent by Night City with an entire elite Arasaka squad. "Looks like Mr. Martinez missed the news again?"

David frowned, and as he walked around behind Takeda, he saw someone he absolutely did not want to see there.

Lucy looked slightly nervous, glanced at David, pretended not to care, and lowered her head. However, David was completely stunned...

How could this happen?
Isn't Lucy always with Rin-san?
"Mr. Martinez, do you intend to bring the style of Night City to Warsaw?"

Just as David was reeling from the shock, Takeda's threatening words instantly brought him to his senses. Clearly, the president of the Warsaw branch had also noticed that David's expression seemed to be directed towards Lucy—

"Bringing people and approaching the regional president of the company's branch office without any defense agreement—is this how Lord Arasaka Yorinobu teaches his subordinates?!"

David looked away.

Lucy, looking down at the ground, was filled with terror.

This is bad!

It's unclear whether David and V, who were disconnected, were aware that they were risking their lives to enter the Warsaw branch to retrieve information about the virus's origin and to launch an attack on the branch.

She was terrified that while she was imprisoned, David would find various ways to get close to her and ask why, since her parents' spies were all in this tower...

"Feel sorry."

“When the network experienced a disruption, it was too late when we received the threat agreement… President Takeda, I will promptly write an action log and submit my oversight and self-criticism to headquarters.”

Takeda raised an eyebrow.

A poor boy from a working-class family in Night City, who has been incredibly lucky in his past lives, ends up doing manual labor in Arasaka, and somehow manages to assess the situation and act accordingly…

The cunning Takeda pursed his lips, looking at the soldiers who all bowed their heads, awaiting reprimand. Whether intentionally or unintentionally, he said, "Martinez, I've seen your resume. A key contributor to Night City's cyber warfare, and you also assisted in a high-ranking European defection incident—"

“Lucina, my daughter… has been led astray by the people on the streets, and it is said that she has been active in Night City under your rule for a long time.”

"If you're having difficulties as a parent, can you temporarily take care of my daughter using your North American methods?"

David stood up straight. "Yes."

After everyone left, David thought of the heavy hammer that had been radiating murderous intent earlier... Could it be that even a strange person like Mr. Rin couldn't handle Adam?

But no matter how turbulent the doubts in his heart were, David forcefully suppressed the slightest emotion that might cause him to make a mistake. He knew that once he agreed to this trip to Europe, he could not do things as he pleased.

So he waved his hand and said, "Take this...Miss Luxina away."

The soldiers knew she was President Takeda's only daughter, so their grip loosened. As they passed a security camera, Lucy's eyes lit up. She desperately wanted to tell David this might be a trap set by Takeda, but…

She could do nothing but remain silent.

David watched his men take Lucy away with a sullen face, seemingly lost in thought, before turning and leaving.

"The program restrictions have been lifted..."

"Mr. Rin was right after all."

Lucy's slight wavering at the thought that Hammer hadn't died didn't last. Rin might actually be able to kill Hammer if he wanted to, but he'd much rather see the Warsaw Tower collapse without any information being revealed…

If Paris and Madrid realize something, it will inevitably have negative consequences.

However, there are two questions Lucy still doesn't have answers to: First, why didn't Hammer reveal to Takeda that his nemesis in Night City might be in Warsaw? Second, did the person behind her father make a mistake in judgment?

Beforehand, Rin had analyzed the situation and concluded that no one else besides Hanako Arasaka and Michiko could have accomplished this task.

There were too many things Lucy couldn't understand, so she could only take it one step at a time, relying on the cards she had at hand.

Although she and Rin had vastly different perspectives, neither of them realized that this was an extremely serious mistake by Saburo. He misjudged the situation and had no idea that a spark had already landed in Europe.

Rin was like an omnipresent ghost, and this elusiveness began to play its true role at this moment.

Rin was never a defender of the city.

Lucy, who was led into a glass-enclosed room in an indoor ecological garden, undoubtedly became a hacker who was cut off from the internet. Her parents were extremely thoughtful, not even giving Lucy a single bit of wireless network signal.

She sat on the bed with her knees drawn up to her chest, glancing out of the corner of her eye at the indifferent couple in the corner of the room, hidden by optical camouflage. They must be watching her right now.
“Takeda-san, the regional network is difficult to access, but 404 has infiltrated Night City… We’ve retrieved their internal counterintelligence and personnel databases, and we’ve also retrieved Lucy’s activity records.”

At this moment, Him showed no trace of a housewife. Dressed in a high-end black customer service outfit that covered her skin, she lay on a cooling chair, surrounded by screens flashing bright red data and biometric QR codes. Her voice sounded somewhat hollow at this moment.

"This child only stayed in Night City for a while. The failed NCX operation led her to Philadelphia... She did a few deals with a bunch of bandits and mercenaries in Philadelphia, and finally returned to Europe via Orbital Aviation at the Philadelphia launch site."

"At the same time... several other people also arrived."

Him's voice sounded somewhat relaxed, "No wonder, it seems that the troublemakers in Sector D were Lucy and her cronies?"

Takeda, however, looked worried.

He found it hard to believe that his daughter, whom even the hacker center feared for her defection, could break through the firewall designed by Him one after another. Also, was the attack on the Arasaka factory really just a coincidence that the Freedom Front was working with Lucy's team?

Too many things don't make sense...

"What exactly happened with the AI ​​that may have existed before?"

Him let out a long sigh...

"The earlier records of those soldiers' deaths make it clear that the source of the attack was neither the enemy nor the hackers. As of now, apart from the technology of New America, very few programs can fully convert the Black Wall's offensive capabilities."

"Perhaps there's a problem with our gap. To prevent Lai Xuan from becoming suspicious... I think I'll have to stay online for a while. It's very likely that some AI has sneaked in."

Takeda slammed his hand on the table.

"damn it…"

At this moment, Him said softly, "Darling, relax a little... At least we know that Lord Saburo is still alive, and that's enough. On the other side of the black wall is the hope for Arasaka's complete transformation. Soul Killer is an accident created by humans, but there are many more beings on the other side who are superior to Soul Killer."

"Lai Xuan will lose sooner or later."

All right.

Now that things have come to this point, Takeda Kenji and Him's suspicions have all become clear.

Lucy, using her knowledge of her parents, specifically studied the 404 firewall and exploited the vulnerability to attack Him's network node. Meanwhile, a "gap" dug by Arasaka allowed a wandering AI to escape. Since Him was the authorized administrator, the AI ​​naturally targeted her, causing losses to Arasaka's factory.

Everything seemed reasonable, and with a high-level hacker like Him as a guarantor, Takeda could only suppress any sense of unease he might have.

“Lucy is back too. Although the key she has is outdated, we can still use it. Nobody knows whether Lucy actually made any formal contact with it (the Black Wall).” Him chuckled. “Also, can you relax a bit? Maybe… we should have a family dinner or something.”

Takeda's hawkish style, which was as sharp as a falcon, now showed a hint of dejection.

"Although Lucy's birth was an accident, should she continue to be the vessel of the Black Wall?"

Him, however, remained silent for a long time, as if he were angry.

"Among those children, she responded the best to the program. The brain is the most sophisticated thing in the world—the data in the Black Wall is too complex, and they are also trying to break through the shackles of the Black Wall. Lucy is the container they recognize."

“We must be ruthless towards Takeda. For the future we envision... the sacrifice is worthwhile. I think Lucy will understand how grand this vision of the future is.”

“Once the Black Wall is successfully personified, then the Arasaka family—no, our Takeda family—will have absolute power, and the world will be in the hands of a small minority like us.”

"We are the superior humans who secretly control the world's direction and are omnipresent."

……

……

(End of this chapter)