Cyberpunk: From Dogville to Legend

Chapter 90 Loyalty and Unexpected Changes (6K Three-in-One)

Arakasaka Counterintelligence Department.

"Hey! Did you hear? Abernathy and Jenkins are going to handle the Osaka case together, and apparently there's been a bit of a problem."

"Keep your voice down... if those two lunatics hear you, you'll be in trouble."

"Tch, just office politics—but that case is pretty important. Two people with a chance to climb to the director position are fighting tooth and nail for it. After this chaotic struggle... I'm afraid things will change after the Jakarta corporate summit."

V, who was passing by, slowly retreated from the corridor, crossed his arms, leaned against the wall, and watched a few people gossiping on the sofa in the rest area.

The man, who had been sitting with his legs crossed and looking smug, noticed the sudden change in the expressions of the two women in front of him and quickly turned around to look.

He stood up as if struck by lightning, his expression frozen on his face—who in the counterintelligence department didn't know that this cold-faced woman was someone Jenkins had personally promoted?
Gossiping about someone's boss is definitely a bad thing!

“Uh, V.”

V nodded, his tone anything but polite, "Hmph. Judging from your tone, you think you can handle the boss's problem? Why don't you go and take a look? Is your job too easy, or is the fire not burning your eyebrows yet? Don't you all know the rules?!"

Counterintelligence personnel all knew that V had one characteristic: arrogance.

"Yes, uh..."

The three of them walked to their offices with their heads down. V irritably smoothed her hair, and that nauseous feeling in her throat came back up.

[Quantitative enlightenment reveals three important pieces of information: your cortisol and other indicators are abnormal.]

V ignored the data reported by the prosthetic eye, glanced down at Rin's employee evaluation form, and took a deep breath.

It would be extremely easy for her to enter Jenkins' office; her cybernetics and weapons wouldn't be removed. This was one of Jenkins' little tricks for managing his subordinates—seemingly 100% honest... He would even tell V some evidence that the Night City branch's board of directors was backing that bitch (Abnersey).

Jenkins sat at his desk. Another woman with heavy eye makeup sat quietly opposite him, dressed smartly with her hair in a thick ponytail, her gaze fixed on V.

"V, have a seat."

V sat down next to Abernathy without any hesitation, knowing full well that she was the one to embody her boss's contempt.

Moreover, V never thought his boss would lose.

Abernathy couldn't stand this rude style.

She raised an eyebrow. "Your people have always been so unruly."

Jenkins reached for the tablet V handed him, nodding as he looked at it. "Hmm... very detailed, well done, V."

Abernathy stretched out his hand, his alloy nail polish gleaming with a cold, bright red light. "Don't forget Jenkins, I also have access to view that."

The tablet contains information about Arasaka employees:

[Rin]

[Superior: Arthur Jenkins]

[Training: Excellent experience in using combat cybernetic devices, judgment in complex situations, and the ability to protect company assets through armed conflict]

[Employee Assessment: This employee organized an offensive operation, successfully obtaining target data and mitigating the impact on Arasaka. This employee also successfully completed a spy infiltration operation, infiltrating the target's territory.]

Abernathy, seemingly used to her arrogance, slammed the tablet onto the table. "How could I possibly understand such rough data?"

Jenkins didn't reply. Instead, V looked at Jenkins, not even glancing at Abernathy, and slowly said:
"The counterintelligence regulations stipulate that the information of specific company personnel must be protected during specific periods, and the board of directors must report regularly without interference. The information must be declassified after the operation is completed. Have you forgotten? But speaking of which, you... seem particularly interested in the employees Mr. Jenkins recruited. May I ask why?"

Abernathy stood up abruptly, ignoring V.

"Then I wish you all the best in your new business, Jenkins. But don't forget about Osaka; we'll go there together in a week."

The clatter of high heels faded into the distance, and the automatic door closed.

Jenkins poured himself a glass of his favorite bourbon, and after a moment, suddenly cursed:
"Fuck Abernathy!"

V didn't really know much about Susan Abernathy, and treated the boss's curses as just a passing breeze. In fact, Jenkins cursed quite often.

Jenkins didn't go into details about what happened in Osaka, and V didn't ask.

After Jenkins finished his drink, he nodded and said, "Well done. Last time, it was Abernathy who listened to someone on the board and went through Dogtown's files. She wasn't very interested in our business before."

Abernathy missed the last piece of information, which was Rin's employee evaluation.

[Employee Assessment: This employee is not easily controlled, but possesses strong motivation and a willingness to serve Arasaka's corporate values. While not particularly ambitious, they have a certain level of efficient autonomy and are well-suited for fieldwork.]

Jenkins pointed to the tablet. "The assessment is the same as yours; they're hard to control. You wiped out the Tiger Claw faction too cleanly last time—the local middlemen are quite resentful, especially the one who's the Tiger Claw's behind-the-scenes boss."

V shrugged noncommittally: "Then she can only blame her own people for being disloyal... As for Rin, I think as long as she's loyal, there's no problem."

Jenkins chuckled. “Loyalty…indeed, I recall your periodic assessment was ‘no signs of disloyalty to Arasaka.’ But that’s not necessarily true. He’s out of power in Squeezedog Town. If he were to take over and choose that warlord, how loyal do you think he would be?”

V: "He's disloyal, so there's no other choice. Hansen wants to minimize the impact on his other partners for this deal. He's done a lot of business with Junke... Currently, Rin doesn't have any people of his own besides the company. A team of mercenaries can't accomplish anything."

Jenkins wholeheartedly agreed, “Hmm…just what I was thinking. I promised him I’d clean up the mess in Dogville if anything goes wrong. As long as he stays in Dogville, this case is our leverage to take another step forward. Before, we couldn’t get involved, but now that we’re in, there’s no reason to back out—even if it means getting our hands cut off.”

"You'll be in charge of things in Europe. I also have things to do and might not return to Night City until 76. So, have Rin keep an eye on things."

V raised an eyebrow, clearly not believing it: "Can Rin hold her ground in Night City?"

“We have a better option. My man [Harry] can keep an eye on these guys…”

Jenkins interrupted, “You know Dogtown’s value better than I do… Dogtown has too many connections with the company, both overt and covert. It’s impossible to keep it exclusive, but now that we have this opportunity, let’s integrate it into the community—feed the fish more, you understand.”

“Right now, the middleman in Dogtown doesn’t dare to fire, afraid that the warlord will find out about his dirty business. But because someone leaked the information to him, Rin has also been caught in the crossfire. That’s why I agreed to meet this agent and keep him calm.”

V nodded. "You think it's Abernathy?"

Jenkins: "Some people in the higher-ups were afraid that the details of this failed deal would be revealed. Abernathy was just acting on orders from a higher-up. Fortunately, Rin didn't lose too much data, so the Tiger Claw Gang incident is over. The higher-ups understood the implications."

However, V also found the mention of the former company middleman in Dogtown troublesome.

If it weren't for Rin, she probably would never have gone to Dogtown, nor would she have investigated that company dog ​​who escaped from Pedro Petrochemical.

V: "Let's just find a way to get rid of this middleman and let Rin go up. That would be the best way."

Jenkins stroked his chin. "That Pedro Petrochemical company is no ordinary entity; it's one of the Cuban Group's hedges. Eliminating them isn't a good solution..."

Just as Jenkins was pondering the problem, V suddenly said, "I've always been curious about how a ghostly hound could coerce a former employee of Petró Petrochemical. I can't think of any other way besides Hanz's secret being known... But that's unlikely. You know, we went through a lot of trouble to find out about Petró Petrochemical, and there's a detail... He seems to know that a biotechnology drug had a problem."

After hearing V's words, Jenkins frowned.

The Arasaka counterintelligence department is always very thorough in its investigations, so it seems like Rin didn't investigate thoroughly.

V continued, "According to intelligence analysis, his resume and cognition are completely disproportionate. He knows and has mastered some of the rules and secrets of how the company operates, but he lacks experience in ambition and struggle. However, he learns very quickly—it feels like his first ten years and now are like two completely different people, as if he has a different soul."

Jenkins shook his head helplessly, "Don't say such stupid things, V."

Jenkins then issued the order: "Have one of your people plant a spy in the biotechnology department and investigate this matter."

To V's utter surprise, Jenkins' first reaction wasn't skepticism, but rather a keen interest in biotechnology.

Jenkins clearly had his own perspective: "V, you have to understand, those who survive in this city are smart, daring, and... people like us who dare to use people. It's not a big deal that he has his own secrets. As long as we find out that he has never worked for the company, we can treat him as a loyal person."

"If he wins, we'll have some influence in Dogtown... If he loses, all his secrets will be gone, and we won't lose anything, right?"

Taking unconventional approaches and disregarding details is Jenkins' consistent style.

V will be soon too.

After leaving the office, V sat down and carefully considered all of this.

Recalling her first encounter with Rin: From the information she found on the Dogtown website, her intuition told her that this living Ghost Dog, Lin Yue, was somewhat capable, but not much. Therefore, at the time, she rescued Rin simply to develop an informant and submit a report to Jenkins regarding this matter.

But now the business that Rin is in charge of has become the one that Jenkins values.

The employee evaluation said he had no ambition, but V disagreed. How could a guy who was chased by Hansen for half a day and was willing to go back be without ambition?

Rin's ambition is obvious, just not in Arasaka, but in Dogville. His cleverness lies in knowing how to approach and utilize the company. In just a few months, Jenkins has promoted him repeatedly, and now he's about to give him managerial authority…

However, V knew that Jenkins' actions were merely a test to make the other side show loyalty.

"I hope Rin is truly intelligent enough to know who Jenkins really trusts," V sighed.

It wasn't arrogance, but rather that V knew Jenkins's habit of using only agents he had personally promoted and trained in Arasaka.

To be fair, V doesn't want this guy to be eliminated so early.

This feeling seems somewhat contradictory. If V didn't know Rin, she would see Rin as someone who would steal her job. Rin... always gives her a feeling that she can't quite figure him out, but Jenkins thinks he's still useful, so none of that matters. The key is that even V, with her brilliant mind, admires his learning speed.

But after today's conversation, she knew that Jenkins was up to his old tricks again—undeniably, she felt a strong connection with Rin.

The Dogtown affair came to a complete end with the elimination of one faction of the Tiger Claw Gang, and the higher-ups approved the way the matter was handled.

V considered Rin's situation; it was truly a terrible predicament: the Ghost Hound couldn't infiltrate, and a middleman was watching him. Although things were going well for now, and he'd taken a lot of business from the middleman, it was all temporary. However, what she didn't know was that the renowned Mr. Hans had no idea that Rin and Lin Yue were the same person.

According to V's thinking, if Rin were to be squeezed out one day, his value would be nothing more than a high-intensity henchman. Given Jenkins' personality, it would be impossible for someone with such an impure background to stay in the company.

So it all depends on how Rin carves out her own path in Dogtown.

V decided not to let too many things distract her; she herself had a lot of troubles, such as how to infiltrate biotechnology.

Good luck then, Rin.
-
Incoming caller: Cat

Lin Yue answered the phone, and the cat on the other end was still the familiar Cybercat avatar.

The voice on the other end was no longer the familiar AI tone, but rather sweeter, with a slight "tickling" sound.

"Mr. Lin, hello. I apologize for calling you this first time."

The voice on the other end sounded too young, and Lin Yue felt a little guilty at first. But then he thought that Sami, the little hacker at Peizhuo Petrochemical Stadium, was quite skilled, so he decided to listen to what Cat had to say for now. He decided that if Cat showed any signs of weakness, he would contact V immediately to ask her to help promote a new hacker.

Lin Yue chuckled lightly, "If you're so bold as to presume, tell me your thoughts."

The cat on the other end spoke calmly, “Sir, generally speaking, company assets are protected by subnet-controlled security measures. I may not be able to enter and complete the task alone, so we need a lone wolf. After all, this is a military technology-related job, and having worked with your team for so long, I think Lin Yue is more reliable to participate.”

"Of course, you can have other better lone wolves if you want. You should know better than me how difficult the company is to deal with."

Lin Yue nodded and said, "Okay."

When the cat heard Rin agree, its tone relaxed a bit. "Okay, then please give me some time. I need to spend some time online to help you figure out exactly how this job is done and how much time you can allocate."

Lin Yue: "Just hurry up, don't let this 'distinguished guest' run away halfway."

The cat chuckled, "You might not be very knowledgeable about hacking techniques. I've looked at the bypass information provided by those company hackers in the attachment. This important figure is probably being closely watched by a certain company hacker. He won't be able to escape anytime soon."

Lin Yue paused for a moment, then resolved to take advantage of his free time to learn more about network technology.

The cat is smart; she knows it's Arasaka's hacker watching "Face," but she doesn't say it outright... Is it to avoid offending her?

If possible, Lin Yue would prefer to deal with hackers. They are intelligent and speak clearly, but at the same time, they are more likely to be tricked by them...

"Okay, let's get in touch."

After hanging up the phone, Lin Yue confidently handed over the preliminary investigation work to the cat.

As for the compensation, Lin Yue was confident. Knowing the various commission prices in Night City, he offered the Mann team a price that no other middleman could match.

The reason for this is that he takes less commission as a middleman. Lin Yue knows that in Night City, if you don't play the emotional card and give more money, things generally won't go wrong.

So it's no wonder that V-Zhentian is so popular with middlemen. He's rich, easy, and capable—a true nuclear-powered donkey!

The most important point is that the ability must match the skill level. Since V thinks Cat is capable, then someone who doesn't understand hacking shouldn't get involved. Let professionals handle professional matters.

While he was thinking, Lin Yue transferred 30,000 euros to the cat, adding a note that this was for the preliminary investigation.

The cat also liked Lin Yue's quick-paying nature and replied with a cute string to express its feelings.

Lin Yue smiled and patiently handled the several cases he had received that day.

He distributed tasks to the team via text message; several of today's requests were urgent.
The first request came from a guy from the Sixth Street Gang in the morning. He said his buddy had been kidnapped by the Animal Gang. Lin Yue contacted Angie but found out she wasn't one of his men. So, based on the information from the Animal Gang, Lin Yue decided that only two strong attackers were needed to take care of it. Mann and Dorio were then assigned to do it.

The second job involved a cleaner killing a client's family, who then demanded revenge. This was even simpler; Rebecca could just take a heavy machine gun, find a driver from the Animal Gang, and they could handle it. Rebecca was initially reluctant about splitting up, but once she heard the pay was ten thousand more than Mann's, she immediately went to contact the Animal Gang's driver.

The last job was a perfect fit for their expertise: a generator at a shop in the Petrified Petrochemical Stadium was malfunctioning, and few people in Dogtown could fix it, so poor Pila was sent out.

After settling the matter, Lin Yue went through An Qi's accounts and prepared to go and check them next month as Lin Yue.

Then there's the batch of plugins that Pila made. Lin Yue arranged for Earl to smuggle them out; there are plenty of people in Night City's weapon shops who will buy them.

Doing business is fine, but Lin Yue has always avoided Kurt Hansen.

His current ruthless acceptance of commissions is naturally a powerful pressure on Hans, and his embezzlement is already very obvious in Taipingzhou.

We're all just trying to make a living, so there's no need for any grandstanding. From the moment fair competition began, Lin Yue never intended for Hanz to have an easy time!

What he wanted to do was to squeeze all of Hanz's business into the Ghost Hound, turning Hanz, the apparent middleman, into a complete puppet.

Of course, things always turn around when they reach their extreme. Lin Yue would still deliberately leave a few less promising projects for Hanz, and last month Angie's business would also give Hanz about five percent of its profits.

What would happen if a middleman were well-versed in military strategy?

Just like the frog being boiled in lukewarm water, Hanz, realizing the water temperature is not right, is probably about to retaliate.

At that moment, Emma's words came to Lin Yue's mind: "My husband and I will push you into the abyss."

He couldn't help but miss himself from that time, when he still had a shred of decency when dealing with the enemy's family. But now, Lin Yue was prepared for the final outcome.

If we're really going to lose, then we should "dig our own graves while shooting ourselves," and before that, they must also perish with us.

Let's see what cards Mr. Hans is going to play.

Lin Yue crossed his arms and waited quietly for the team to reply.

……

Rebecca fired her big gun wildly at the building where the Scavengers were hiding in the distance.

The flickering firelight occasionally flashed across her ferocious and crazed face, her twin ponytails trembled rapidly with the recoil of the heavy machine gun, and her laughter mingled with the screams of the scavengers opposite her.

At this moment, Angie was huddled behind the car door, his lips pale, and the heavy machine gun pounded on his fragile heart like the beating of a bell.

Everyone says that the animal gang that goes to Dogville can get plenty of food and have synthetic meat supplied, but no one has ever mentioned that they'll be working for the Cyber ​​Madman!
To die to die!

Rebecca glanced at the novice behind her, who was clutching his head in fear. "What are you hiding for?! If you don't shoot, you're going to die! Coward!"

The guy was carrying a kinetic rifle and had clearly noticed that there was a steady stream of cleaners surrounding him.

He gritted his teeth and suddenly stood up. Rebecca could only cover fire from one direction, and if he didn't help, she would be in even greater danger of being attacked from both sides.

Perhaps it was Rebecca's cursing that ignited the steroid-fueled guy's ferocity, because he also picked up a gun and joined Rebecca in dealing with those disgusting scum who had their kidneys harvested.

"That's right!"

Rebecca stood in the back of the pickup truck, laughing loudly, and turned the muzzle of her gun, the red-hot muzzle showing no signs of stopping.

At that moment, a car suddenly accelerated rapidly toward Rebecca at an extremely high speed, and Rebecca immediately sensed that something was wrong.

The animal gang was stunned when they saw the car rushing towards them. Rebecca immediately dropped her gun, jumped down, and the gorilla grabbed the big guy with her arm and threw him aside!
"I'm going to die!" The guy even started to cry.

She aimed the iron gun in her hand at the oncoming car and fired, until the car finally lost control and wobbled into a big tree on the side!
Rebecca quickly restrained the bewildered members of the animal gang, and a violent explosion rang out!

As the smoke and dust dissipated

The two survivors got up, and the animal driver stared blankly for a long time before letting out a silly grin, as if he had escaped with his life.

Rebecca, gun on her shoulder, tossed her ponytail, her face full of confidence. "Die? Of course not."

The animal gang dared not underestimate the woman with the gorilla arm implanted. Overjoyed, they stood up and thanked her profusely. Just as Rebecca was generously telling the big, silly guy that she could protect him, a loud bang exploded in their ears.

That guy's head exploded like a shattered rose in front of Rebecca—

Depend on!
Rebecca lowered her head, the feeling reminding her of the first time Lin Yue sniped her.

Her heart sank to the bottom in that instant.

How could the Scavengers have a sniper?!
-
[I will put future annotations in the author's comments section to save you some coins.]

　[The Osaka Case]: In the official backstory, an incident in Osaka became Abernathy's personal stage, where she smeared Jenkins and rose to the position of Special Operations Director.

　　[Harry]: V's subordinate, a cyber expert who asks V at the start of the 2077 corporate wars whether to withdraw the biotechnology spy.

　　[Tongue-twisting]: Sasha Yakovlevova shares the same last name as Russian singer Olga Yakovlevova (who sang the theme song for Ghost in the Shell: SAC), so she speaks with a slight trilled "r" sound. She is a Russian girl.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)