Cyberpunk: From Dogville to Legend

Chapter 307 The Cyber ​​Mental Illness Case: Value (Part 1)
squeak-

With a piercing sound, Lin Yue reached out and pushed aside the clutter blocking Brandon's path, staring with interest at the creature with a humanoid soul inside its mechanical shell.

"Wow! I feel much better all over, and I have more energy to breathe."

"Thank you, handsome boy with a blurry face."

Rebecca, sipping her Coke, patted Brandon on the shoulder, her expression saying: Look how funny my friend is.

Introducing your good friend to someone you enjoy talking to is definitely a happy thing.

It experiences pain and can express its needs, unlike the kind of marketing-oriented robots launched by companies... because it uses logic that is very close to human comforting behavior, such as giving away free things, to express friendliness—in contrast, the powerful AI in cyberspace is more like a cold program that crushes humanity.

However, regarding how Brandon knew him, including the fact that he seemed to be able to see through Lin Yue's facial features and behavioral characteristics, it remains to be seen.

Where is your camera... or any optical sensing equipment?

Lin Yue didn't overthink the issue. After all, in this indifferent society, Brandon's words were indeed very pleasant to hear, which explained why Rebecca liked him so much.

“You’re being too presumptuous. If I weren’t forbidden from using foul language—those are my eyes, and I’m looking at you right now—as for how I know you, that’s easy enough. Just listen to what the neighbors are saying on the street.”

Well…

It's not very convincing.

After all, Lin Yue didn't recall telling any strangers that he had so many secrets. As for the fact that it described itself as a bug—Emma's access to the Cloud Top system had also given him the creeps, so he didn't think about it too much.

"So you've seen me before. You must be... one of the assets of which company again?"

Brandon: "SCSM, this is how it's set up from the factory. This is the name I use publicly—but my good friends all call me Brandon. I'd like to ask, last time you came to the building next to mine with a tall guy."

"You all look so worried, has the problem been resolved?"

Lin Yue was speechless.

"It's Brandon. The matter is resolved, but... there's a problem with that tall guy."

Brandon let out a sound of sympathy.

"Sorry to hear that, how about a joke?"

Rebecca, seemingly not wanting Lin Yue to be down because of this, laughed and said, "Brandon has a knack for telling jokes!"

Lin Yue didn't want to refuse the two adorable guys' suggestion—

"Okay, go ahead and tell me."

Brandon said, "Night City has about 30,000 cyberpsychotic victims who apply for disability funding every year, and 50 percent of them are unable to move in both legs, but why do we rarely see people in wheelchairs on the streets?"

Lin Yue thought for a moment, and Rebecca answered first—

"It's because it's inconvenient for them to go out!"

It seemed Rebecca hadn't grasped the point of Brandon's joke, so Lin Yue tentatively replied, "Because they're all scammers, is that right?"

Clearly, Brandon knows what a joke is.

"No, that's because wheelchairs in Night City are much more expensive than prosthetic legs!"

As she finished speaking, Rebecca, with candy residue still clinging to her lips, stared blankly at Brandon.

hiss…

It's so cold.

Are you sure this isn't a lame joke?

However, Brandon wasn't finished yet. "Why is it that some victims only received funds once and then stopped, yet all their personal funds were still taken away?"

Lin Yue: "I don't know... Hey, Brandon, I think—"

He meant that Brandon seemed to have strayed from the realm of lame jokes that a vending machine should be thinking about.

"That's because they got new legs and became cyber lunatics, and then the money went to the Terrorist SWAT team and new victims!"

Depend on!
Lin Yue mentally scoffed.

Even Rebecca frowned and patted it, "Brandon, this isn't funny."

Well, it seems that in Night City, these jokes don't really matter.

But to be honest, Lin Yue finally understood why Rebecca wanted to show him Brandon. Although the joke wasn't very funny, it did indeed transcend the attributes of a vending machine and was even better than some companies that specialize in making comfort robots.

"Brandon, you're so human."

Lin Yue exclaimed in admiration.

He made this a joke because he realized that the machine's apparent understanding of its surroundings was a pathological condition that defied logic.

"Oh, please don't say that, I'm blushing."

"If I overheat and burn something, the company will recall me, and the neighbors will definitely be heartbroken."

Lin Yue and Rebecca exchanged a smile.

Spending a whole day with someone like Rebecca was undoubtedly incredibly relaxing. After a short while, Lin Yue said, "Thank you, Brandon. Rebecca, you too—"

Rebecca finished her soda, let out a short burp, and waved her hand, saying, "Unhappy things should be forgotten. Besides, that big guy is alive. As long as he's alive, everything is fine."

However, Brandon sabotaged things.

"Even so, Beckham, you seem to really enjoy doing dangerous things, which is quite worrying."

Rebecca blushed. "That's different. That's how the cyberpunks in Night City make money and survive."

The voice trailed off towards the end...

then.

A small corner next to the H8 staircase of the tiny skyscraper was filled with a cheerful atmosphere.

Just as the group was enjoying a warmth that shouldn't exist in this city, Lin Yue glanced back and saw a figure standing by the trash can at the corner entrance. He instinctively frowned and placed his hand on his waist—

Someone approached you silently, without you even noticing.

This is…

Rebecca, however, was nonchalant. "How about we go? Bye-bye Brandon, looks like someone wants to buy something."

As they were talking, the little girl tried to pull Lin Yue away, but Brandon, who was usually very emotional, was completely silent. Before Rebecca could take a step, an arm blocked her chest...

Rebecca was taken aback, wondering when Lin Yue had become so bold. She was about to scold him for doing this in public when Lin Yue's voice suddenly came from above.

"Something's wrong."

Almost without hesitation, Rebecca pulled out the gun that was slung over her oversized jacket.

Although Rebecca looked puzzled, she knew Lin Yue's combat intuition was very accurate...

During this brief moment, she also took a look at the guy.

Just like the homeless people you'd expect on the streets of Night City, her cheap synthetic clothes hadn't been washed in ages, emitting a rotten, sour smell from afar. Underneath her inappropriate shorts were shoes that were completely mismatched—it was the kind of neo-kitsch that only girls from the Moxie gang would wear…

He was very thin, and what caught Rebecca's attention the most were his two lower legs below the knees, which gleamed with a cold silver light.

The cybernetic bodies in Night City are diverse, and it's normal to not have seen the models before, but you can tell from the appearance that this cybernetic body is very new and definitely not something a guy dressed like a homeless person could afford.

He kept his head down, his tangled and messy hair obscuring his face. Rebecca bent down slightly to try and see what was going on with him.

The next second, this guy suddenly lifted his face.

His jaw was covered with metal wire joints, making him look as if he had been punched hard in the face and his entire jaw had been blown off—a truly terrifying sight.

"Fuck-"

Rebecca saw the guy's pupils flicker rapidly. Lin Yue's voice was calm: "Cyber ​​madman."

Rebecca didn't speak, but gripped the gun tighter, glancing at Brandon behind her out of the corner of her eye...

"Uh... Hi! Naderson!"

"Long time no see, what would you like to drink? Coffee? Tea? Or sparkling water or something... You look great."

Lin Yue knew that Brandon had definitely noticed its arrival the moment it suddenly shut up, and now it was showing fear and dread just like a human.

But all Brandon received was silence.

Lin Yue looked around at the surrounding streets. Not far away, several groups of Tiger Claw Gang members were gathered around a few motorcycles at a street corner. Some of them had samurai swords on their shoulders and were making lewd jokes.

Rebecca was behind them at that distance. Although she was a great shooter, her problem was that she lacked quick reflexes.

Therefore, I need to kill him with one blow, since Cyber ​​Madman has no senses and he'll be a big problem if he touches Rebecca.

But even if he's stronger, is he really any better than Adam?

Cybermaniacs can still be dealt with.

As for why Lin Yue knew why this guy had a prosthetic body that could speed up his reactions, it was because the Oracle had already made a list of the prosthetic bodies on that guy's body. They were all things that weren't in the database, and the name S.A.W.S. was clearly visible.

If I'm not mistaken... this is the consequence of Night City's recent tightening of the criteria for defining military cybernetic bodies.

"Just a cyber lunatic," such thoughts gave Lin Yue the urge to strike first, and the mess he would leave was not his concern.

"Uh, Xiao Bei, Rin, don't do anything."

Brandon quickly said.

Lin Yue could tell that Brandon behind him was hesitant.

"That's a cyber lunatic."

Rebecca muttered.

Seemingly determined to keep Lin Yue and Rebecca out of the picture, Brandon offered his own answer, "My friend, without someone to help you, your defective prosthetic body probably can't do much..."

This guy even knows all this, but now is not the time to think about that.

Before Lin Yue could say anything, Brandon continued, "Didn't Lina come with you? Nadson... could you please move aside and not block the way?"

Lin Yue simply couldn't believe such an unreliable suggestion, especially since it was from a machine.

After all, it's one thing for Brandon to be interesting, but it's another thing to worry about their safety.

However, upon hearing this, the cyber madman actually stepped aside.

Lin Yue's eyes were strange, as if he didn't understand why the cyber madman would obey the machine's instructions.

"Uh—step back a bit. If you step back a good distance, I'll tell you where Lina is, okay?"

So, to Lin Yue and Rebecca's slight astonishment, the guy actually backed away, ignoring the cars coming and going at the entrance of the skyscraper, and walked straight back.

The screeching of brakes continued.

The drivers who had been sticking their heads out, raising their fists, and cursing the homeless man standing in the middle of the road soon gathered together.

This scene naturally attracted the attention of the Tiger Claw Gang on the other side—

"Let's go, Beckham, with your friends."

Rebecca tugged at Lin Yue's sleeve, "Don't make too much of a commotion on the street, don't forget."

The girl was also reminding Lin Yue that it was best to avoid causing trouble given the current climate.

After Lin Yue and Rebecca emerged, the guy who had infuriated the drivers on the street began to slowly incline towards Brandon, and the congested road gradually returned to normal traffic flow.

Lin Yue and Rebecca stared at the guy, and Rebecca muttered, "This madman won't do anything to Brandon, will he? Speaking of which, shouldn't a cyber madman be like you, killing anyone he sees and completely unable to speak?"

"Let's see. Don't make any moves without permission. Miss Emma warned us about that."

Lin Yue frowned and nodded.

After using his prosthetic eye to close the distance, Lin Yue heard Brandon's intermittent voice.

It's probably about Lina, but I don't know what Lina's relationship is to him.

Just as the two were worried about Brandon's safety, a loud noise came. The cyber madman, his forehead pressed against Brandon's body, was punching him repeatedly, and Brandon's outer shell immediately began to dent...

The anthropomorphic vending machine was still groaning in pain, constantly trying to explain something.

Before the two could react, a group of Tiger Claw gang members came swaggering over from nearby. The leader had a prosthetic eye that looked like Superman from a Japanese manga, wore a floral shirt, and had the Tiger Claw gang's signature bright red knives.

"Hey! What are you doing here, you bastard?"

"You arrogant bastard—"

The Tiger Claw Gang members who surrounded him all spoke with a sharp, rolling Kansai accent. When their attempts to stop him failed, the leader simply grabbed the bastard who was constantly pounding on the machine and making noise, pulled him over, and then delivered a knee strike!
The power of the modified prosthetic leg was considerable; the cyber-mad homeless man immediately bent over and knelt on the ground.

Kneeling on the ground, he muttered incoherent, meaningless words repeatedly. The leader of the Tiger Claw Gang grabbed his greasy hair, "Damn, you smell like you've been rolling in a dung heap! What are you doing? Are you crazy?! Looking for trouble near Cloud Peak—"

"It's you?"

The Tiger Claw Gang, still not satisfied with their cursing, kicked him several times.

Enraged to find that the man kneeling on the ground showed no shame or intention to resist, he grabbed the homeless man by the hair. The Tiger Claw Gang members were initially shocked when they saw the man's gruesome face, but they burst into laughter after seeing the real thing.

"I heard from that bitch that you're dying? You're perfectly fine, you still have the strength to smash the machine."

A burst of loud laughter, the jarring sound causing Lin Yue and Rebecca in the distance to frown.

"Lina...give her back to me."

"What did you say?"

After pinching his nose and getting closer to the homeless man, the Tiger Claw Gang members slowly straightened up, a frivolous and mocking smile appearing on their lips.

"Friendly gentlemen, please spare this poor man. I can offer you some cooling herbal tea."

Brandon seemed a little flustered and quickly tried to stop him.

"Fuck you, you stupid robot!"

Someone from the Tiger Claw Gang gave the middle finger.

In an instant, the homeless man's eyes seemed to stop trembling and instead shone with a hopeful light.

However, someone immediately shattered this moment of clarity.

"Lina? You know what—it's much more comfortable than those in Japan Street. The prices offered by the sellers are also higher, but we bought it ourselves. It's worth quite a bit of money."

"Didn't you learn your lesson after I broke your leg last time? You're a hopeless idiot."

Hearing the undisguised voice, Rebecca looked at the NCPD patrol team leaning against the wall in the distance, smoking, and wanted to rush out and curse those bastards.

"Step back, Rebecca, that guy..."

Rebecca felt a lightness in her body as Lin Yue pulled her back a few steps. As soon as they stopped, an indistinct shadow flashed past in the light and shadow, which seemed more like an illusion.

The head that had just spewed out filthy words was gone, leaving only an empty neck, the prosthetic fluid flowing like a fountain at the entrance of the city hall in the night...

"My grass!"

One of the Tiger Claws touched the warm liquid on his face and screamed!
……

……

(End of this chapter)