Cyberpunk: From Dogville to Legend

Chapter 531 The Attack! (Part 1)

"Your body temperature is too low. Tell them to turn the external blood circulation pump to its maximum power."

"Abnormal norepinephrine levels, damn it—"

Beep beep, tap tap.

Aside from heavy breathing, all that could be seen in the blurry vision was the cold, silvery-white metal ceiling and the pale lights embedded within it…

It seemed like someone was talking, but their voices were shrouded in a thin film, and it was impossible to hear what they were saying.

Sasha Yakovleva guessed that she must be in a very bad situation right now.

On the neatly made bed, her body and prosthetics were in a worse state than being covered in wounds. The prosthetic surgeons could only carefully use tweezers to pick up some broken pieces of the prosthetics and consider how to remove the completely ruined arm and access box. However, all the prosthetic surgeons and technical experts were doing this work with trepidation, knowing that Sasha had experienced heart failure multiple times during the process...

Lin Yue sat silently, leaning against the back of the chair outside.

Everything has a price. This was the most reckless baiting operation Lin Yue had ever done. Taking risks is in his nature.

Sasha's life or death is of great importance; now it has even come to test the ultimate cost of this gamble.

Is a future without sacrifices truly achievable?

Lin Yue had asked himself this question several times, but now he had to admit that it was a serious weakness. His ability to accept things had already become precarious after several of his previous acts of resistance against the system.

In other words, he was just a guy who never lacked courage but was unwilling to make decisions about the fate of those close to him.

The rescue operation lasted a long time. Aside from occasionally glancing at the operating room lights, Lin Yue spent most of his time meticulously calculating the possible locations of the Arasaka armed forces that had been lured out. The entire defense network of Warsaw was revealed during this fishing operation—

At the same time, his use of the Black Wall gateway to divert the disaster eastward was also very successful, and Takeda's losses exceeded those of any previous attack by the Free Front.

Lin Yue didn't know how many hours had passed when Vladimir, who had sent a text message through his contact information, squeezed in with a face covered in wounds and a frozen body, wrapped in wind and snow. Upon seeing Lin, he reached out and handed her a business card and a chip.

If I'm not mistaken, this is probably the verification port for Gilafa.

Artyom Sokolov, the company's leader who rose from the ranks of Far Eastern wanderers and street mercenaries, was a force that Lin Yue had long wanted to unite with.

Seeing that Lin Yue hesitated to take the item.

Vladimir looked down at the vibrant Gilafa logo flashing on it, and suddenly whispered, "Our boss wants to see you."

Lin Yue did not answer.

Gilafa has a hard time finding collaborators, and of course they would be willing to work with someone as perfect as himself. Everything happened precisely as expected... only a little bit of joy was missing.

"How is she? The girl who likes you?"

Vladimir took out a cigarette and took a satisfied puff.

Lin Yue replied, "They're still trying to save him. They've brought in the most famous doctors in Warsaw. The key is to keep him alive."

Vladimir chuckled, "Oh my, what a wealthy and powerful boss."

"Did you carry out the cyberattack?"

Lin Yue didn't answer "yes" or "no," but instead glanced at Vladimir and asked, "Is there anything else? Your boss—that Mr. Artyom—shouldn't he have something to say to me, this guy who suddenly appeared in Warsaw?"

Vladimir didn't hide anything.

"My boss told me to talk to you about this later, and since you brought it up..."

What is your relationship with the Dreamers of Night City, North America?

He pointed to the operating room door. "That girl is the company's hacker; he knows that."

It seems Artyom did a lot of research behind the scenes. Lin Yue didn't go into too much detail in his answer, "We came from Night City."

Vladimir nodded repeatedly.

"Okay, I can report back now."

"The boss said he'll cooperate with you on everything. I don't know why you're as eccentric as my buddy, but in my eyes you're both awesome. In this world, there aren't many people who don't care about money or their status and power."

"Damn company."

This company is not that company; everyone knows that.

Vladimir, with his hands in his pockets, seemed about to leave, but for some reason, he turned back. "I'm sorry, I hope she's alright. I'll work for whoever saved my life."

"Thanks."

Watching this interesting fellow leave, Lin Yue, who had been expressionless, revealed a slight smile. No one knew what he was thinking. Soon after, the doctor came out and delivered the good news that Sasha's condition had stabilized somewhat.

Through the doctor's eyes, he saw the girl on the hospital bed, her eyes lowered as she looked at him, her body covered in tubes.

"Boss, there's a situation."

Just as Lin Yue was about to go in, Qi Wei, who was standing next to her, stopped her.

When news of Night City reached Lin Yue's ears, the anger that had been building up over various events finally surfaced...

"Are you sure you've caught Rebecca and the others all the way to the Free State?"

Lin Yue spoke calmly, but Qi Wei knew that some damned bastards were going to pay the price again.

She nodded and said, "What Miss Emma means is that Arasaka wants to hire you to intervene as a third party—Conto's operation is the best choice among those who are unaware of the situation. At that time, I'm afraid that someone as bold as Miles might be able to enter Night City to arrest people, so you, boss, have to take action."

Sasha, lying in her hospital bed, overheard the simple conversation.

Just as she silently closed her eyes, wanting Lin Yue to go and deal with important matters first, he still came to her bedside.

“I’m sorry to keep this from you, but Lucy knows you definitely wouldn’t agree to this action.”

Sasha opened her eyes and raised her hand. Lin Yue glanced at her and grabbed her cold prosthetic body.

"Go... Never, never feel guilty, this is your enemy."

"The battle will never be fought alone... Abandon compromise!"

The man's pupils contracted sharply.

After a long while, he let go of her hand, allowing Qiwei to focus on the treatment progress, and then left.

Soon, on the other side of the ocean, Lin Yue opened his eyes. He simply patted his head, then pulled out the tubes from his body and canceled the system self-check. The anger that he had perfectly suppressed in the ward was now on the verge of its limit.

V, who was pacing back and forth anxiously with his arms crossed, was the only one outside the cabin.

Upon seeing Lin Yue emerge, her first words to him were to inform him of the movements of Black Hand and Rebecca.

The process was briefly summarized, but Lin Yue became increasingly gloomy.

"President Miles is quite adept at using someone and then discarding them, and at getting something for nothing."

Lin Yue sneered.

V knew this guy well. "It seems that killing her in Night City wasn't the worst option."

Retaliation is inevitable.

But the most urgent task is to bring Morgan Blackhand and Rebecca back as soon as possible. "I have mobilized most of the Free State's intelligence agencies, and Contau also intervened to create an opportunity for Morgan Blackhand to escape. They should be within the vicinity of the state border by now... but Miles and the federal government have not stopped, and they have been under military attack for a week."

"Since our enemies are so reckless, we can fight them to the bitter end."

Ultimately, it's still V-Zhentian.

Lin Yue admires V's personality the most.

"Lai Xuan said to bring the people back first. We sent out a lot of Arasaka ninjas... but it's a drop in the ocean. They won't come back."

“Miles wanted to test the Free State’s attitude, and Lai Xuan was looking for a place to vent his anger—Kantau had given him a few sharp rebukes.”

After saying that, Lin Yue had already walked several meters away.

"Let's go, let's teach Miles what pain is. Some people won't learn until they've been slapped once."

"Tell Aras not to interfere too obviously. She only throws a tantrum when she has no other options. If Miles wants to fight, then we'll make sure she doesn't get the chance."

Lin Yue said this.

V asked, puzzled, "Are you alone?"

However, Lin Yue's answer was simpler.

"enough."

……
-
Morgan didn't know how many hours he hadn't slept.

But after the mysterious force (Contau) restored power to his vehicle, it completely drained the ethanol fuel in the tank, and he finally came to a stop with a rumbling sound and shaking.

The lack of sleep under high stress can overwhelm even the most powerful lone wolf, leaving it only able to keep its already shut-down hormone controller running as stably as possible.

Morgan felt a persistent lack of strength in his chrome-plated arms, so he shook his hand and lifted Rebecca down.

"From Georgia to Tennessee..."

"The nearest free state... um, Colorado?"

Arasaka is no longer as powerful as before. With the launch of the new U.S. military's midnight operation and the death of Saburo Arasaka, more and more free states in North America have become part of the federal state. Miles's willingness to carry out such a ruthless pursuit is inseparable from the series of progress she has made recently.

Even though Morgan had lost some of the combat functions of his prosthetic body, he still managed to teach a house full of homeless people to communicate on an equal footing through his "kindness."

This group of people were the illegal immigrants who were contacted by both the gang leader and his underlings.

The anticipated pursuit seemed to have stopped, and Morgan found this situation strange...

The newly appeared squad was like a mad dog, attacking from both sides, but it didn't actively chase after him and Rebecca. Instead, it was as if the Dreamers' people had come to their aid.

Morgan, however, clearly didn't have the energy to think about those things. He disengaged his weapon, shielded Rebecca with his own body, and kept watch on the various people trying to escape in the confined space. Swaying, he closed his eyes.

A few fools happened to see the girl and a tired, weathered old cowboy, but after they were all thrown off the train, they all became much more obedient.

It wasn't until Morgan opened his eyes and saw the blinding sunlight that the old lone wolf realized he had been off guard for who knows how long…

Startled, he quickly grabbed the weapon in his arms. The stowaways lying haphazardly in the dark boxes were still asleep. He was only awakened by a beam of white light shining through the crack...

The smell wasn't very pleasant.

Morgan wrinkled his nose, patted his pocket, and discovered a damn truth.

It seems I've finished smoking my cigar.

Morgan inserted the human-computer interaction cable from his wrist into Rebecca's neck and finally felt a glimmer of hope. Rebecca's various stats were excellent, and the system had also restarted. It seemed that her coma was caused by some kind of technical glitch.

The map shows they are approaching Tennessee.

Morgan has many old friends in the federal state, but with the new United States wanted by the authorities, it's hard to find anyone reliable. However, there is a homeless man in Tennessee who is an old acquaintance of his, and one of the few he doesn't mind being called "Fake Morgan."

Morgan, however, felt guilty.

The homeless man seemed to know someone who was Morgan, the one who died in Dogtown…

But it doesn't matter.

I'm even being a friend to people for free. Friends are... you have to use them when it counts.

If they obtain legal status, they can take the intercity express to the Free State near Night City.

And he prayed that there would be no more New America lackeys or those Arasaka ninjas on this road. Morgan, whose combat prosthetics had been weakened by 80%, could no longer struggle against either side.

Just as they feared, the slight shaking of the vehicle stopped. The sudden disappearance of the bumps and the calm sound woke up all the already anxious stowaways. When they realized that the vehicle had stopped but no one had opened the door of the rear container, they knew that they had probably encountered a border official's inspection.

But these smuggling attempts often involved bribing officials, so Morgan didn't panic. Instead, he used an enhanced audio-visual system to listen to the outside sounds.

The driver opened the car door and got out. Most of the conversation revolved around whether the car could be exempted from inspection. Even with all the paperwork in order, in New America, you absolutely needed money to bribe these corrupt border inspectors.

Of course, there is one exception.

If the money paid by these illegal immigrants exceeds the amount required for bribery, there is a possibility of detention or deportation.

Morgan listened intently as the driver skillfully argued with some sarcastic men. The occasional sound of lighters and the clanging of border guards' rifle butts against the cargo box outside made everyone anxiously await the outcome of the argument outside.

It seems like one last scan is all that's needed.

This is a good thing.

The outdated federal-state border scanners are simply incapable of detecting current cheating methods.

After the truck started moving, Morgan's night-vision prosthetic eye saw many pairs of relieved eyes, and some sounds of relief...

The bumpy speed bumps and the sounds of external instruments didn't last long before the alarm suddenly went off.

"Squeak!"

The sudden braking instantly put Morgan on edge—

"Damn it, what's going on? Why is there someone under your carriage?"

people?
Morgan's eyes flickered slightly...

He knew that the soldiers and police outside were not shouting at them, the illegal immigrants.

If there's someone below...

Morgan looked down.

Just as the riot outside continued, a bloodcurdling scream and the sound of bullets being fired rang out!

A row of irregular holes immediately appeared on the cargo box, letting in sunlight. At that moment, some stowaways were hit and cried out in pain.

A soft, strange sound, like someone waving something in the wind, was followed by a loud noise that made Morgan jump up!
Sean Westan?
Before Morgan could react, a blade, chilling in the sunlight, pierced straight in—

……

……

(End of this chapter)