Cyberpunk: From Dogville to Legend

Chapter 29 Price
an hour ago.

[Incoming caller: Rin]

V pulled the Cloud Sea Project chip from behind his neck, and messages from his contacts appeared in his eyes.

"what happened?"

After the person on the other end of the phone said a few things, V immediately fell into deep thought.

"Do you know the price? Once the people from Arasaka take action, their operation records can be checked."

"..."

"A biotechnology person? You're not one of Arasaka's people, you don't have that authority..."

"..."

"Hmm... Alright then, don't disappoint me."

After hanging up the phone, V got up and drafted the operation permit with Arasaka's security department on the computer.

V left the office and walked to the elevator in Arasaka Tower. He took the elevator to the Arasaka underground parking lot, where the Arasaka agents were already waiting in front of the car.

The leader extended his hand, "Please give me your permission to move."

"The chip is here... Counterintelligence, V, the license code has been sent."

"のmeaningがわかる(understand)..."

The agent's prosthetic eye emitted a light that read the chip, and after confirming, he opened the car door.

Everyone got into the cars, and the tires of the two Aragaka cars screeched to a halt as they sped out of the parking lot at high speed, heading towards Taipingzhou.

……

“I’ve contacted a prosthetic doctor in Taipingzhou. Go and take a look. Don’t let biotechnology plant some weird puppets in your brains.”

V directed the agents behind him to help the team members.

Lin Yue helped Mann up, his eyes confirming that the burly man was alright.

His eyes lit up.

"Each person paid 10,000 euros, and the treatment costs... the boss has already paid."

Mann wanted to say something more, but Dorio stopped him with a look, while Rebecca kept glancing at V and Lin Yue, "And you?"

"I'm fine. I have some things to tell her. I'll come to the prosthetic doctor's place to find you later."

Watching Agent Arasaka escort the group to the car, V, standing behind Lin Yue, quietly observed him.

"Pretty good. I never thought you'd be so bold as to use our name to start taking on company jobs in Dogtown."

"What, you've really made me a top-notch middleman?"

Hearing V's words, Lin Yue's lips curled into a bitter smile. "It's not easy. Just today, Hanz almost tricked us again. You know I'm short-handed. If you hadn't come today, the team would probably have fallen apart—the team wasn't very united to begin with."

“Oh, I have no objection. In the future, the middlemen who will be well-known in Dogtown will be working for Arasaka. That’s a pretty tempting offer.” V didn’t mince words and went straight to the point about the compensation.

"That's why I asked you to come and stand up for me. I've agreed to your terms."

Lin Yue made his choice and paid the price for his first order today.

“During the Fourth Corporate War, biotechnology remained neutral. Now, the companies at Night City headquarters are on the surface dealing with each other, except for military technology—but look at how biotechnology has gotten into trouble today. It’s hard to say there aren’t other hidden dangers.”

"Biomedicine, prosthetics, alcohol 2... I also need to consider the consequences of today."

Lin Yue shook his head. "You're not as honest as I was when we first met. Just tell me your request."

Deathly silence.

V asked, "Are you sure you've thought it through?"

Seemingly surprised that Lin Yue wouldn't negotiate, V sighed, "I, or Arasaka, will ask you to do other things. Of course, if we find anything about Mewtwo, that will be the highest priority."

"Now you're considered one of Arasaka's people. The Operations Department's data has been uploaded, and my superiors can check it at any time."

"The other things you mentioned, including settling things for the company?" Lin Yue was considering the potential costs.

V continued, "It's not just that, you're going to sell your entire person to Arasaka..."

After listening to V's request, Lin Yue roughly understood.

V's conditions were numerous. In short, he wanted V to do everything except investigate clues in Dogtown. "Your prosthetic devices must all be connected to Arasaka's sub-network, and your personal assets, including accounts, real estate, etc..."

From this day forward, Lin Yue's entire being, including everything else, will be in Arasaka's hands.

V was absolutely right; he had completely sold himself to the company.

So, if there are personnel changes in the company, or if someone is eliminated in a power struggle—just like when V was kicked out of Arasaka's company—no matter how much money or how successful Lin Yue is, his account will be confiscated by Arasaka.

These prosthetics will also be discontinued, and you can only go to a prosthetics doctor to remove them and install second-hand or miscellaneous brands.

This is considered a good outcome; it's not impossible that they were dealt with by secret agents.

There's no way around it; people always have to make choices.

In Night City, there are no shortcuts other than making the most of every available resource to secure your position.

Lin Yue didn't want to fall in a pool of blood and become an unlucky ghost in a street fight.

Lone wolves were never part of Lin Yue's plans. To carve out a path in a complex city like Night City, he needed a company, which was an indispensable part of the process.

As for C's translation of Ara-zaka, C's translation of America, C's translation of Ti Zhi, etc., those are not things we can consider right now.

Being able to live and earn money, and being able to lie down without needing a catheter, is already a blessing.

"Okay, I agree."

"But I have one condition: you have to help me when I need your help."

Lin Yue knew that trying to negotiate with a tiger was not a good idea, and the situation would become even more complicated in the future.

“Since we’re going to help you, there will naturally be costs involved—funds, authority, everything,” V said.

Now, the deal between V and Lin Yue is considered complete.

"By the way, judging from that doctor's appearance, is the 'Safety Spirit' thing true? If so, we can let the media talk about it." V remembered this. Everyone knows about the mess between companies; it's just a matter of whose media is more powerful. The smear campaign between companies happens every day.

Counterintelligence agencies love this kind of thing.

"You mean [WNS News] (note)? It must be a media outlet you control, right? As for the matter of Security Spirit, that's a secret."

Lin Yue waved his hand, refusing to answer any further questions. V then casually plugged the wire into Lin Yue's brain-computer interface, and a whole host of programs began loading inside Lin Yue's body.

Lin Yue lit a cigarette with a snap.

V said expressionlessly, "Smoking has no benefits other than being pretentious, and it smells awful."

Lin Yue was a little puzzled. The previous owner of this body loved this kind of thing. Besides, he had fought a bloody battle with the cleaners and confronted the company today. His hands were still trembling a little. Smoking one cigarette wouldn't be a big deal.

But then he froze. If he remembered correctly, Johnny Silverhand had been taunted by V before, and it felt strangely familiar.

"How did Hanz investigate me?"

Lin Yue wanted to know just how capable Hanz was.

As V watched the program load, he said, "The hackers from Dogtown? I don't know much about them. Anyway, they didn't find anything. The hackers we hire aren't just sitting around doing nothing."

Suddenly, Lin Yue felt nauseous, as if a brick was stuck in his throat.

"Take a deep breath. This is normal. You'll feel even worse when the permissions are revoked... Anyway, you'd better pray that day never comes."

He couldn't quite hear what V was saying; his ears were ringing, and his heart was churning uncontrollably.

Lin Yue's vision blurred, and he slowly squatted down against the car...

The price of this deal... is really huge, but not unacceptable. In return, Arasaka will solidify his identity as Rin, like a nail driven into Dogtown.

V got into the car after Lin Yue had almost recovered.

Looking at the young man standing outside the window, V rested his chin on his hand, seemingly lost in thought.

A faint, almost imperceptible sigh.

Her eyes lit up.

"Solved, the nail in Dogtown is in place... Hmm, aside from this job at Night City headquarters, we can use them anytime..."

……
-
WNS News: It is said to be a news media supported by Arasaka.

Note: News Channel 54 is also a puppet media outlet of the company.

Thank you Dreamfish for the 100 coins!
　Please read~
　　
　
(End of this chapter)