Cyberpunk: From Dogville to Legend

Chapter 320 The Raging Tide (Part 1)

Yellow sand began to sweep in from the side of the sky, creating a stark contrast with the calm on the other side—

It's just like a calm coastline awaiting death before a tsunami.

A convoy slowly approached from the horizon of the Badlands. The insect-shaped prosthetic eye shell of Arasaka Samurai reflected the horrifying scene, and after withdrawing his gaze, he continued to stare at the uneven road ahead.

"We've entered a sensitive area; the risk of attack is 30%—"

In the middle of the convoy was a vehicle that Arasaka Corporation almost never produces. It was completely autonomously driven, and the convoy could not interfere with its pre-set route. Inside the dense, thick, gray-white Arasaka paint shell was a silo-like design, which contained the prototype of the cybernetic body that Arasaka was focusing on this time: Kongo.

"If attacked, do not block the path of the escort target. It is self-defenseable. We just need to ensure that no person or machine gets close to it."

Honshu has piled all the technologies that Arasaka has independently developed in recent years onto it. In the eyes of Arasaka scientists, this is a machine that piles up materials abnormally, and no one can withstand its corrosive effect on the body's nerves...

"Yes!"

The convoy's Arasaka security personnel responded in unison on the channel, their expressions beneath their tactical masks extremely solemn.

originally--

Headquarters had previously considered Adam Hammer, Rin (the test subject of the Black Wall derivative prosthetic body), and Sasha, and was almost ready to completely abandon this "monster" who could see the future.

However, Adam Hammer's death was undoubtedly a devastating blow...

Furthermore, the loss of control over the Black Wall-derived prosthetic subjects led to pessimism among the tech bureaucrats of Arakawa, who even lost all confidence in the future development of Arakawa.

The cybernetic body is more like a stubborn product that was brought out out of desperation to prove that Arasaka was not in a state of exhaustion. They were praying for the appearance of another Adam Hammer, who could perfectly withstand the corrosive effects of this cybernetic body on the body's nerves and allow Arasaka to once again have a killer who is no different from a machine.

All of this still needs to be further tested in Night City, a lawless melting pot.

Before the transfer of authority, Arasaka's counterintelligence department, led by Kate, had a team considering prosthetic subjects who identified many suitable test subjects throughout the city. These individuals came from every social stratum, but all shared one extremely obvious characteristic—

Become stronger and never stop moving forward.

With the increasing importance placed on cybernetic bodies and the fact that the counterintelligence minister, V, has seized control, the list of these test subjects will enter the evaluation process to avoid errors.

Wow!
Beneath the neatly ironed trousers, the woman's legwork was perfect; the friction between her fair ankles and the taut tips of her patent leather high heels created a slight sonic boom as they landed directly in front of him, who was still reeling from the aftereffects of reactivating her prosthetic eye…

The high roundhouse kick landed hard on the security guard's shoulder, V's knees dipped slightly, and he suddenly exerted force!

The robust Arasaka samurai collapsed to the ground, groaning in uncontrollable pain from his throat…

"屮!"

V glanced down at the guy, her upright posture suggesting she was considering whether to continue using excessive force.

It seems the counterintelligence department wasn't fed enough. The technical department always cooperates with the counterintelligence department unconditionally. After the personnel changes, they tried to sabotage her at this stage of the process. Then, non-compliance became V's excuse to take action... But what she wanted was to stop the losses of the counterintelligence department personnel in a short period of time, and on the other hand, to identify the specific route for Rin.

Looked up.

Emerging from both sides of the deep corridor in front of V were burly men dressed uniformly in black suits, their arms covered in cybernetic patterns. They wore samurai-style hair and were clearly not security personnel from the technical or security departments, but rather people brought by Michiko.

Even when things fall apart, one must maintain decorum; V has always been very particular about this.

Even though Michiko and she were already bitter enemies, she still couldn't bring herself to kill her at Arasaka Tower.

If the task succeeds, even if the process is non-compliant, it is still necessary for the task; if the task fails, V and his team members will be the ones who need to make sacrifices.

Michiko wants to have it all, but V won't allow it.

A raging fire made the woman's beautiful eyes shine even brighter—

"Ms. V, please leave. The technical department is working on it."

Actually, these "outsiders" didn't really intend to make things difficult for this woman who was good-looking and had a capable style, but the "famous" V in Arasaka couldn't be dismissed with just a few words.

So the woman bent down and picked up the samurai sword from the security guard's waist.

As he slowly got up
Her long, flawless middle finger was also raised.

"Fuck you."

"Also, no rank or title—you'd better stick your ass out and get a beating!"

Ok?
Everyone who heard the woman's pleasant, slightly nasal voice thought they were hallucinating.

In that moment of hesitation, the knife that the woman was seemingly playing with was pulled out of her hand!

V threw the scabbard like a dart in a bar. Unfortunately, without a tail fin for stability, the scabbard quickly began to spin rapidly. The security guard, who had good reflexes, raised his arm to block it, and the scabbard clattered to the side. A sharp pain shot through his prosthetic arm.

So strong...

V, who was in training, was known for his superhuman strength among that batch of recruits.

It would be a huge mistake to treat her as a figurehead in management.

The enraged security guard's attention was drawn to the scabbard...

"careful!"

The person behind shouted a warning!

A flash of cold light arrived in an instant!

The security guard's face contorted in an instant as the highly flexible blade of the new composite steel slammed into his face. With a heavy thud, his teeth flew out along with blood and saliva, and his body was slammed against the wall beside him by the impact of the blade.

甑！
The blade hummed.

The woman stands holding a knife, her suit fitting her figure even better than her armor.

"Distracted, rude, is this what people from Hokkaido are like?"

V's words immediately enraged these outsiders. Michiko's followers naturally obeyed her orders completely, and they were full of ambition to overthrow the management outside of their master.

But the mission was to stop V, and the opponent clearly ignored that; neat mantis blades emerged from the deformed structure of their wrist…

The sight of Arasaka's mantis knife, a standard accessory enjoyed by management, appearing on a group of security personnel transferred across regions in the intubation program is quite intriguing.

"Be careful of others."

"Just me!" V flicked the knife in his hand a few times as if in defiance. "Trying to frame me for splitting up the company?"

No nonsense.

Upon hearing the other party's arrogant tone, the group's blood boiled instantly.

They swarmed forward!

The messy shadows on the corridor walls depicted a chaotic scene.

……
-
A sand dune.

The sand dunes on the side suddenly caved in, and the yellow sand that had been blocked by the hydraulic structure below poured down like water. As the sand dunes gradually stabilized, a vehicle carrying two people roared up from the side.

"It seems Rogge did his homework well?"

Lin Yue nodded.

“The homeless people around here know this terrain very well; she probably got it from them.”

"Let's not talk about that now—"

He gestured with his chin towards the screen integrated into the car's infotainment system in front of Emma, ​​"Did V's internal line send a message?"

Emma shook her head.

“One-way communication cannot accurately obtain information from her side, so… we can only proceed as planned and check each vehicle one by one before they enter customs.”

As he spoke, he skillfully reached out and opened a file.

Scattered photos appeared on the red-themed screen. "I've split up the middlemen in Night City to find clients as planned. Most of them are ruthless villains who want to get rich quick and are not afraid of trouble. Serious cyberpunk clients basically won't come."

Scumbag...

Lin Yue frowned slightly. "Where did you find this?"

Emma smiled sweetly, "It's a secret—of course, it's for your sake."

"Is it really necessary to scam others? Anyway, it's not wrong to find people who like to court death... Besides, middlemen have a lot of resources. Some scoundrels do dirty work on commissions or have made enemies, so this is a form of revenge?"

Lin Yue said in a deep voice, "I'm very worried that the company might be deceived by that data chip."

Now that things have come to this, the plan for Lin Yue, V, and Emma to integrate their efforts is gradually becoming clearer.

The company was used as a weapon, to allow Rebecca and her group to escape amidst the chaos. The cybernetic pathways were blocked by the cyberpunks, and Lin Yue gradually identified each one—the backup plan was that if V could utilize backup methods, he could directly inform them of the correct cybernetic pathways during the operation…

Lin Yue's plan was to minimize his own losses and avoid major risks throughout the entire process.

The feeling of having one's power taken away at any time is extremely unpleasant. Nothing is as good as having the ability to do things oneself, and this is something Lin Yue is determined to achieve.

"That guy named Dexter DeShawn is still happy to make money, but I bet he's going to be in trouble after this job. If Military Technology finds out he's been used as a tool, he'll be hunted down to the ends of the earth by those New America mad dogs."

"That's what you said."

Emma added, "Dexter is the second complete stranger to be tricked by Lin Yue like this."

There was this guy named Faraday before, and it seems that Rin personally dealt with him.

"By the way... why are you so hostile towards that Dexter? The lower-level mercenaries in Night City have a pretty good opinion of him."

Dexter.

Lin Yue sneered.

It's obvious that Dexter couldn't cover up the company's problems by pulling off a big heist and ruthlessly exploiting the mercenaries.

Although in the original timeline of this world, Arasaka Yoriyuki pinned the blame for patricide on V and Jack, who were hiding in the closet and witnessed everything, Dexter's ability to figure out how to deal with the two hotheads who went to steal from the Azure Mansion before running away was also a series of blunders.

Overall, the promises and hype surrounding "big orders" have become the aspirations of low-level mercenaries.

It's unclear whether this person is a variable.

Solving this problem also solves future problems...

No one knows whether Lai Xuan will run to Night City with Relic this time. If Lai Xuan's operation fails and Hua Zi regains the initiative, everything will be the same.

After all, Lin Yue had a strong belief in his own insecurity; people who made him feel uncomfortable often brought him a lot of trouble…

Without exception.

Seeing that Lin Yue didn't speak, Emma didn't ask either. Even if Lin Yue told her that he knew the original course of this world, Emma would definitely believe him one hundred percent.

As the car drove along, sand and gravel relentlessly pushed into it before the storm arrived. The advantage of this storm was that it allowed them to loot in the chaos, but the disadvantage was that it would also affect Lin Yue and his group.

"and many more."

The sounds of the car starting and roaring were mixed together. Emma reached out and tugged at Lin Yue's sleeve, while pressing her other hand firmly against her earpiece, which emitted a static sound as if the signal was being interfered with.

"Hackers are conducting cyberattacks nearby."

Lin Yue shifted gears and began moving in the direction Emma had indicated.

at this time.

The convoy from Arasaka was speeding along the bumpy dirt road, with cars closely following on both sides. Most of those cars were ostentatiously modified, and the people sticking out of them and firing guns were all Night City mercenaries with all sorts of modifications.

The indifferent Arasaka soldier held up his shotgun, a glint of light flashing on his smooth mask, followed by a crisp snap.

The vehicle, struck by shotgun fire, swayed a few times, and the mercenaries, showing no weakness, returned fire recklessly—

"Block them!"

puff!
Before the mercenary could finish speaking, the powerful shotgun bullets smeared him against the car door, leaving only half of his body, still connected to wires, swaying as the driver kicked him out of the vehicle.

Of course, these cyberpunks must have some tricks up their sleeves to survive in Night City.

For example, a squad's well-equipped vehicles may have been carrying hackers, and the first vehicle in the squad may have been compromised, since the firewall of a vehicle's infotainment system is simpler than that of a brain-computer interface.

A sudden stop was heard!

After the first car stopped, the drivers of the two cars behind reacted just as well, risking rollovers to glide past it.

The fourth car—

Heavy vehicles, whether or not they are equipped with prosthetic bodies, show no awareness of the need to evade.

The wheels, almost as tall as the car body, charged forward at full speed! The cargo truck, weighing almost as much as two tanks, crashed directly into it!

On the rough surface, there were parts, body tissues, an unknown mechanical fluid, and a series of ear-piercing friction sounds—

The large wheels had pulled a lot of things underneath it, and the unstable vehicle suddenly tilted its head up and over the car.

The people inside the vehicle, which was reduced to more than half its original height, would have been crushed to death long ago…

The truck started to accelerate, and Lin Yue also accelerated the accelerator under his foot!
"I hope it is..."

Emma's prayers were barely audible.

Soon, these cyberpunks spotted an "awesome" vehicle approaching the Arasaka convoy.

"Damn it, old captain! How come there are so many people?!"

"Wakako, you old bastard!"

Everyone was complaining, but no one dared to stop holding their guns.

The soldiers in Arasaka were accurate shooters; everyone was risking their lives...

Lin Yue kept calculating the time, and the coordinates were being sent to the company's fleet, which consisted of Dreamers' own people.

"Estimated time... thirty minutes?!"

Emma's face darkened.

The first mistake occurred.

No one expected a truck to be going so fast!
According to calculations, if Lin Yue is unlucky, he will find the last vehicle in three hours. Furthermore, if Arasaka's mobile force does not have military technology to stop them and turn back to protect the convoy...

No!

Lin Yue reached out and began to unbuckle his seatbelt.

"I'll try to get closer to it and attempt to crack it."

The faster this thing goes, the harder it will be for the company's own people to catch up. For now, we have no choice but to take the risk and do it.

"Your cybernetic body?! But..."

Emma clearly hadn't expected this to happen.

"No buts. I'll try to sabotage it using technical means, at least slow it down. Without heavy firepower, this thing will keep operating!"

Emma, ​​not wanting Lin Yue to take such a big risk, looked somewhat gloomy. "Damn it—"

“There’s no time to explain, Rebecca. V is taking a risk, and so are you… Get in the car and help me.”

Emma struggled to suppress the irritating feeling of losing control that was nagging at her.

"it is good."

The voice was surprisingly gentle.

Without hesitation, the two unbuckled their seatbelts and switched positions. This action was not complicated, and the car's automatic control system would stabilize the operation.

But as they passed face-to-face, the woman still kissed the man's Adam's apple...

When the car door opened, the speedometer was already approaching 130 miles per hour!
"wait for me."

As if to reassure Emma, ​​Lin Yue left her some comforting words, then sprang into action. Emma gripped the steering wheel tightly, determined not to let the car break down on the bumpy road...

They said they didn't care.

Emma could still see out of the corner of her eye that Rin successfully climbed onto the truck step by step.

Just as she was about to breathe a sigh of relief, in the view of her rearview mirror, which was mostly obscured by the large truck, a car that had flanked her from the side suddenly leaned out...

An automatic cannon is mounted on this jeep.

Emma's pupils dilated instantly—

……

……

(End of this chapter)