Cyberpunk: From Dogville to Legend

Chapter 55 Afterlife and Checks and Balances [Please continue reading]

Twenty hours ago, at Red Clay Bar.

Mann stood on the Gobi Desert, which was covered with yellow earth, where the air was hot and dry.

Under the scorching sun, his shadow appeared somewhat thin, sweat dripped down his young, dark face, and he had short, malnourished, light-gold hair.

The horizon, where the clear blue sky meets the horizon, seems to stretch endlessly.

The once frail boy began running barefoot on the gravel, not knowing where the end was or what his destination was.

Someone once told Mann: You have to keep running so that your body can sense the confidence you want to have, and Mann firmly believes this.

The sand and gravel stung his feet, the pain slowing his steps and making his breathing heavy.

It remains as weak as ever.

"Mann! Mann!"

Mann had a red mark on his forehead, was still sleepy, and had the rock music playing in Red Clay Bar playing in his ears, the classic song "Chippin'in" by the Samurai Band.

Dorio looked at Mann with disdain, guessing that this guy had probably been watching disgusting Mewtwo all night again.

Mann grinned innocently, revealing a tooth. "It was all Pila's doing, asking me to go with him yesterday to see the new stuff he found."

Pila pointed at Mann, about to speak.

"Shut up!" Mann said in a deep voice.

"Damn it!" Pila protested the injustice while smoking, but there was nothing he could do, so he could only turn his attention to the rock 'n' roll girls in the bar.

"The supplier is here?" Mann didn't know why Dorio had woken him up. That dream always made him feel dizzy and he felt a little annoyed.

Dorio, arms crossed, watched Pila whistling at the girls and casually asked, "What have you thought about Faraday's matter?"

Mann adjusted his sunglasses. "That guy always treats people like dogs. Tch, working for that four-eyed middleman—I'd rather make a few bucks with Lin Yue in Dogtown."

"Faraday is the middleman who makes his face in [Afterlife]. He seems more transparent than Lin Yue, the boss who never shows his face, right? I thought you would be interested."

Dorio knew Mann would never be interested in Faraday's terms. As a typical cyberpunk, Faraday only cared about money, and he wanted to make it safely. Even though Faraday's offer was very attractive, Mann would most likely no longer trust this middleman.

“He said it was an accident, and no one can trace it back to us—do you believe that? Lin Yue’s boss went to great lengths to save us from that den of wolves in Dogtown. I don’t believe Faraday, that unpleasant guy.” Mann glanced at Dorio and asked with a question.

“Lin Yue and his boss Lin are indeed a bit unpredictable. He seems to know a lot about us. I don’t know why we were investigated so thoroughly by others.” Dorio shook her head helplessly.

Mann: "Tell me about it."

Dorio: "Have you forgotten when we first met? This guy really held back... His aim is pretty good. And he gets along with Rebecca so naturally, doesn't he? He's not surprised by anything Rebecca does... There's a weird sense of familiarity about him."

Mann nodded seriously. "It seems so."

But in the blink of an eye, a lewd glint appeared in Mann's eyes, which even his sunglasses couldn't hide. "Do you think they might have already..."

After being woken up by Dorio's punch, Mann became more obedient.

It doesn't hurt, but my sweetheart's hands are so soft; he just loves this kind of hand.

He's strong, it's fun to fight him.

Mann wiped the blood from his nose and was about to say something when a woman with burgundy hair walked in from outside the Red Clay Bar.

She wrapped herself in a large, pale yellow jacket, and seemed a little awkward, as if it were her first time in a bar full of Sixth Street gang bastards.

"Hello, are you, uh, Mann?"

Gloria wiped the sweat from her brow with her hand, while Pila braced her long arms on the table, staring intently at the woman.

Dorio watched her silently, a cigarette dangling from his lips. Only Mann was a gentleman; he pulled out a chair for her to sit down.

Damn it, what kind of people are these...?

Gloria felt increasingly tense and fearful, but apart from these cyberpunk squads, the prosthetic doctors were extremely demanding in their pricing, and the black market prices were the same. Under immense financial pressure, she had no choice but to take a gamble.

“I need money, so can you talk to me about this business?” Mann adjusted his glasses, his smile seemingly warm but actually resembling that of a snarling silverback gorilla looking down at someone from above.

“Of course, no problem, Ms. Gloria.”

……

Lin Yue lay sprawled on the sofa, his eyes vacant.

A flame licked at the bloodstained banknotes as it hovered in the air, seemingly being taken away by the souls of heaven.

He didn't keep the ten thousand yuan; instead, he silently waited until night to burn it for the mother, a tradition from the Xia people to commemorate the dead.

His eyes darted around, and the light from the phone call shone through.

"Is there any result?"

"..."

"Hmm, I see—thank you for your hard work."

V brought her news about the animal gang and Angela's circle of influence.

Aside from the character's face, the most important thing right now is Angie's request.

Lin Yue has finished gathering information, and An Qi's goods are ready to be shipped at any time. In other words, the Animal Gang's Aye will be dealt with "discreetly" for the foreseeable future.

Lin Yue had two concerns:

On one hand, this job involves assassination and information tracking, but these tasks are really difficult to complete without a hacker. Having a hacker would reduce the trouble by more than half. Hacking is a profession with technical barriers, and Lin Yue, who doesn't know anything about it, is afraid of hiring a traitor, as it would be bad for everyone if something went wrong.

Mann refused to bring Sasha from his squad to Dogtown to work together, and there was no better candidate at the moment.

On the other hand, there were internal power struggles and changes within the Animal Gang, as well as a lack of transparency regarding information from Angie's side. Helpless, Lin Yue obtained more information about the gang from V.

It has to be said that Arasaka's counterintelligence has an uncanny grasp of the Night City's gangs, down to the specific individuals and the conflicts between factions.

Intelligence indicates that Angie is actually in dire straits herself; this trip is a desperate gamble.

She probably didn't even know that the Animal Gang actually had a designated person to be the next person in charge of the Dogtown's accounts, and even if Aye died, theoretically it wouldn't be Angie's turn to interfere.

So Lin Yue, the new middleman, directly arranged everything for this animal-related client.

Since Angie can't gain control of the Dogtown Animal Gang no matter what she does, she'll make a deal with Aye's successor.

Lin Yue's idea was simple: Anqi would manage the accounts and keep the underground boxing prosthetics business, while Aye's successor would pretend not to see it—that would be the best solution for both of them.

Most importantly, Angie can control the gang's cybernetic smuggling business, which will create a long-term business and benefit everyone.

After sending all the mission information to all the team members via Rin's number, Lin Yue got up from the sofa.

The middleman has to think more than the mercenaries. He needs to ensure the client is satisfied and all three parties benefit. Lin Yue will naturally tell the team what he needs to say, but it's best if they don't know things they shouldn't know.

Lin Yueqi shook his head to clear his mind—silently suppressing all the emotions he had felt yesterday.

The military gloves were still on the table. They had been washed and their original color was now visible. It was Sino who had forcibly changed them from grayish-white to brown.

Lin Yue put the gloves on and let out a long sigh of relief.

Lin Yue had arranged to meet Mann and the others an hour later, deep in thought. He wasn't about to be late. He muttered to himself:
"I hope your gloves are really durable, slip-resistant, and sturdy, buddy."

……
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【Afterlife】: A club located in Little Chinatown, Watson District, in Cyberpunk 2077. Owned and operated by the underground queen Rogue, it is a dream destination for mercenaries and legends—"Would you like your name to appear on the drink menu, mercenary?"

Thank you to [白给你坤坤] for the 1000 points!

Thank you to [Excessive Isolation] for the 1500 points!

I will add more 2077 side stories later.

(End of this chapter)