Cyberpunk: From Dogville to Legend

Chapter 547 Labor Pains
Wow...

The shackles, specifically designed for serious offenders, dragged across the ground.

Humans are fascinating creatures. When it comes to punishment, they tend to be conservative, opting for heavy, fixed punishments that make people feel oppressed and unfree—this seems to have been the case throughout history.

Thinking this, Lucy continued to drag her body forward.

Sim's expression was a mix of embarrassment and a hint of coaxing a child...

"Your father just hasn't seen you in a long time... He's a law-abiding man, and the events in Warsaw these past few days have been troubling him. Can you understand?"

It must be said that, apart from her appearance, Sim really resembles a rigid, conservative, and ignorant Japanese housewife.

It's hard to believe that she was the genius girl who led the 404 hacker group online with her intelligence and wisdom, and once threatened the whole of Poland and even Northern Europe... Love makes people stupid, but why am I not so hopeless?
Lucy could only reveal her feelings with a soft laugh.

Too much of a good thing can be bad. In this situation, pretending to be a fool, or acting like a girl being manipulated by her mother, is not a wise decision. Anyone would feel angry after being offended.

"Sim".

Calling someone by their first name is already an impolite start.

Lucy stared blankly into the vast main hall on the middle floor of Arasaka, her steps unwavering. "Do you think you can make me like Takeda with just a few words, and think I'm a child with happy parents and a family?"

"Big mistake."

Him's expression froze.

Looking at her unfamiliar daughter in front of her, the slight guilt she felt was the real reason she kept quiet.

Lucy continued, "I just had no other choice. I wanted to attack your weaknesses and your career. I've hated him from the beginning... I hope you won't say anything that would make me hate you anymore."

Him stopped in his tracks, staring blankly as his daughter walked ahead, a hint of the gloom that should have appeared on his face.

That was the resentment of being disobeyed and belittled.

The team escorting Lucy was very simple; the security department sent five ninjas, and interestingly... this time, David Martinez was in charge of the mission.

Lucy checked her brain-computer interface and combat prosthetic code. Although it was currently shut down, she wanted to make a final check to ensure that Arasaka's mark was not detected during the server self-check. After all, her position in Arasaka was not low, and if Him, who had been working in the network for countless years, noticed even the slightest oversight, it could lead to unexpected situations.

David had a few drops of cold sweat on his forehead.

Because he had absolutely no idea where Lucy was to be sent, although Mr. Rin's methods outside were beginning to take effect, causing some chaos within the Warsaw branch...

But if Lucy is unable to protect herself at this critical juncture, should he intervene?

It must be said that Takeda is a cunning old fox. Just because of a glance they exchanged in the hangar at Arasaka Tower that day, he appointed David, who knew nothing about the Warsaw cyberspace, as his bodyguard.

"Calm down, David..."

Lucy's eyes were extremely serious as she silently muttered to herself.

She knew this boy in front of her too well. He was full of passion, and even if he became a little smarter, there was no guarantee that he wouldn't make the wrong judgment because his intuition would prevail.

Intuition is often not the optimal choice.

Lucy needs to get involved.

Whether out of embarrassment or not, Him turned the conversation to David.

"Mr. Martinez, I heard you're a top student at Arasaka Academy in Night City? Why did you choose to join the most dangerous security-related department?"

What appears to be casual conversation is actually a prying exercise.

This couple is truly a pair of snakes and rats in the same nest.

David's tone was slightly hesitant, "Uh, Mrs. Him... to be honest, my family background is not very good, and the security department requires a smart mind, whether it's personnel, technology, or counterintelligence that requires seniority. Perhaps I am a little insecure about myself, which is why I signed up to join the Arasaka Security-related department."

Him nodded. It was common for poor people to be unable to access good education and instead join the company's army.

I heard that the person in charge of the riots that swept through the Far East and Northern Europe was a deserter who ran away from the Soviet petrochemical plant. The lower class is not stupid, but they are inherently disadvantaged by resources.

David's words, though he stumbled over them, were sincere and did not involve the need for connections or other things, which undoubtedly left a good impression on Him once again.

"If Lucy can obediently follow our wishes and dedicate herself to Arasaka, I think... such an excellent child as you—"

Lucy's voice suddenly rang out.

"Shim, how long are you going to keep this up?"

"Are you planning to tell others how peaceful and serene Warsaw's cyberspace is? Or are you going to say that the children in the underground cyber facilities all died in...accidents?"

David looked surprised and instinctively glanced at Him.

Him's eyelids drooped, and the resentment within him had intensified...

Are all children like this, ungrateful?
Lucy was breathing heavily. Him was intentionally or unintentionally bringing up topics related to male-female relationships, and even trying to help her recall things.

The children's hands were clasped to their chests like chicken claws, and the blood from their mouths and noses and their helplessness were once Lucy's most terrifying nightmares. Now... she has to recall them again.

The "endpoint" that Himm refers to is actually easy to understand; it is simply a network access point.

Over the decades of competition among companies, most of them established an architecture that connected their internal subnets to networks near the Black Wall. The "Youth Network Facility Center," where Lucy and the other teenagers were imprisoned, was simply called by this name.

More than a decade has passed, and Lucy doesn't know how Shim has managed the endpoint, but she still remembers those terrifying creatures that could shred a person's consciousness into countless fragments. That's why she tries to remind herself of the potential dangers through her memories. Shim's purpose is also obvious: to use Lucy as bait, as they want to observe the changes in the Black Wall.

"This time it will be safe."

Standing in front of the elevator, Him suddenly spoke.

Lucy looked at the woman and noticed a glimmer in the woman's eyes. "You must have felt very lonely, young you and me, who was always looking out for the bigger picture (referring to Lucy exploring the internet with those kids alone)... I'll be with you this time, as an apology to your father. We're still family."

David looked at the mother and daughter, whose relationship was extremely strange, and secretly prepared himself to deal with any unexpected situation at any time.

Lucy's wide eyes gradually narrowed, and before the elevator arrived, she whispered, "I did it all for you, Him."

That's a lie.

Lucy received no support from Him beyond words, and she knew very well that this woman loved her husband more than anything.

Him smiled, and David and the group of ninjas in front of him extended their hands, "Please."

What pleased Him most was that David understood the situation well and at least respected Lucy, and respect for prisoners was precisely respect for the Takeda family; she had to maintain the noble head at all times.

The feeling of the elevator falling made Lucy panic. At this moment, besides the courage given to her by Rin and David, she was more afraid of the unknown road ahead.

She wanted to tremble, trying to escape the psychological trauma left from her childhood, a permanent scar on her heart, even though the Aragaka of Night City had armored her up...

David kept glancing at Lucy out of the corner of his eye, though very subtly.

"Are you feeling unwell, Miss Lucy?"

The surrounding ninjas made way, and David reached out and lifted Lucy's body a little. "If you feel unwell, please report your vital signs immediately, and the medical department will come to handle it. If you experience occasional dizziness during an elevator descent, I suggest you watch less Mewtwo, even if it's beautiful."

This is a secret code unique to David and Lucy.

In the early stages of their budding romance, David had watched the moon with Lucy countless times, and he hoped that these words could comfort her.

His language seemed rigid and methodical, yet it contained a hint of gentle persuasion, and he glanced at Him unintentionally as he spoke.

“How gentle, Mr. Martinez.”

David tightened his Arasaka bulletproof armor, nodded slightly, and continued to guard the front without overstepping his bounds.

Hearing this, Lucy's fear of her childhood trauma subsided somewhat. She didn't reply, but simply clenched her fists tightly. *Ding...*

The cheerful elevator announcement did not make Lucy feel relaxed. The heat emanating from the underground equipment, which had been hidden for a long time, carried a strong smell of electronic components and rubber. Beneath the dark, semi-transparent floor, there were dense, spiderweb-like blood-red marks—wires as thick as an adult's waist.

The blood-red data is a color characteristic that only appears when approaching or passing through the Black Wall in cyberspace.

The entire basement was about ten stories high. In the middle, like the Eiffel Tower, the main server, covered with wires and equipment, was roaring. Below, in a circle of hacker chairs, the Arasaka hackers, wearing flowing code, were conducting operational tests.

Those skinny guys who risked their lives, their hacker glasses adorned with red and black code, were Takeda's confidants.

Seeing these people's attire, Lucy's face paled even more.

In a daze, I seemed to see that little girl with short, snow-white hair running towards me in terror, screaming as she ran, as if she was looking back to see if the guys were catching up.

"Lucy?"

"Lucy?"

Him frowned slightly and nudged Lucy's shoulder.

Coming to her senses, she saw a tall figure stepping towards her from the darkness, and her expression instantly changed—

"Takeda."

Looking at David and the ninjas performing the Japanese samurai salute ahead, Lucy felt a sudden, inexplicable panic.

Takeda had visibly become more haggard in the past few days; his once meticulous silver-white hair was now disheveled, and his eyes remained harsh and cold.

"Does this sound familiar, Lucia?"

Lucy's face darkened. Sensing something was wrong, David flashed to Lucy's side first. In an instant, the Arasaka Guards stationed in the hall raised their weapons in unison, a dense barrage of red lines enveloping the two of them. At the same time, Lucy's expression turned ferocious, and she gritted her teeth, ready to charge forward—

"Don't be rude!"

It must be said that David is a very clever guy. He has a deep understanding of Arasaka's etiquette and knows that Lucy is going to clash with Takeda Kenji.

David restrained Lucy with one hand. Lucy turned her head and screamed, demanding that David let her go. This was no acting. Lucy wanted to rush up and bite off a piece of this bastard father's flesh, even if she had to use her teeth.

Takeda raised one hand from behind his back, and the weapons and various surveillance devices aimed at the two men slowly moved away, while he nodded slightly.

"Lucina."

"The Takeda family rose to power by taking advantage of the wasteland. Loyalty is their top priority. Being willing to take risks for the sake of the cause at any time is a great quality. Obviously, you haven't grasped this principle after living in those garbage pits for so many years."

"But it doesn't matter, your mother is kind enough."

When Takeda spoke, he had a kind of arrogance unique to Japanese war criminals, and his strange and rigid expression was so fanatical that it was as if he had been drugged.

But Lucy knew that this was the real Takeda.

“She’s going to stay with you.” Takeda walked slowly. “We’ve maintained the ports well. As for you… I apologize to my colleagues at Arasaka, because I made the same mistake as your mother, being too lenient with you. The important data is in your brain or on an external storage device. We can execute you and extract it using Soul Killer.”

"But there are no parents who don't love their children. Hand them over, Lucy."

Lucy was pinned down by David, her body hunched over so her expression couldn't be seen, and she chose to remain silent.

Him looked anxious. "Lucy, stop hiding."

The hacker's sudden attack made David's body stiffen abruptly.

The intense pain from the overload of the prosthetic body and nerve friction caused Lucy to lie on the ground whimpering, while David clenched his teeth involuntarily, his eyes becoming even more serious.

Mr. Rin…

Is this really okay?
This is the cruelest thing in the world: your loved one suffers, and you have to endure it.

"Hold."

In her anger, Lucy let out a chilling laugh.

"You and your damned career... you'll all be wiped out, you'll die on the black wall!"

"I want it... okay!"

"I really want to see how you and your bunch of dogs die on the internet—ugh!"

Lucy's muffled groan indicated that the hacker, provoked by her words, had launched a malicious attack...

David's low growl rang out instantly, "I really want to die!"

Seeing that the security personnel were about to draw their guns and leave only a corpse, Him and Takeda remembered David. Of course, they prioritized execution. With the Soul Killer copy program as a backup, they could extract the code no matter what. In addition, David's roar seemed to be directed at Takeda and sounded very powerful, as if Lucy was about to be executed at any moment.

"stop!"

Him rushed to Lucy's side, his wide kimono reflecting the crimson data light, making him look like a deathly spider lily.

"Lucy, please stop..."

Lucy's hand moved swiftly to the back of her neck, tearing off the skin used to cover the network access compartment's opening. Before she could even grab a square metal memory device, a ninja swiftly kicked it aside, sending it rolling to the ground.

"Takeda..."

I want to watch you die!

Lucy's voice was resentful and shrill, like a curse from hell!

The bloody truth, the one who was unwilling to give up and wanted to confirm it one last time, and even the one who stubbornly proposed the plan, was her—she still remembered that person in the room that day, whose tone was hesitant yet helpless. His voice was steady and deep, more like someone who was worried about her.

Lucy has already found her true home in Night City: Rin, who silently smokes and smiles on the sofa; David, a silly boy scratching his head; and a mother who will always stand silently behind her children.

So she decided to let it all go.

For a moment, Him forgot to keep his hand on Lucy to comfort her, and instead subconsciously picked her up. The moment his surprised expression met Lucy's cold gaze, it turned into a pile of ugly filth that was hard to look at.

An instruction, already operating at a level higher than the Arasaka Self-Defense Program, has begun to take effect in Lucy's brain. She... is to be the executioner who slays a world so corrupt that even kinship cannot be tolerated!

Lucy was dragged up and led to a chair below the server that was clearly different from the one used by the hackers.

David felt the girl's arm was cold and carefully tightened his grip. Lucy had been cooperative throughout, so David used this method to express his comfort.

David paused for a moment when he saw those eyes that had captivated him countless times.

The girl's eyes held a smile, as if to say—

“You’ve grown up, David.”

She was then pushed onto the hacker chair, which resembled an execution rack, by David's eager-to-claim-credit ninjas.

Lucy's eyes were more serious than ever before, and David subtly pressed something down on Lucy's body.

"Good luck!"

"Scum who plotted to murder Arakawa."

Half of what I said was true.

……

……

(End of this chapter)