Cyberpunk: From Dogville to Legend

Chapter 43 Cybernetic Body Expansion [Please continue reading]

EBM Petrochemical Stadium.

Lin Yue and Rebecca turned their heads as the Ghost Hound's mech slowly passed in front of them, the ground trembling slightly.

"This thing is really hard to clean up."

Rebecca pouted and complained.

Lin Yue deeply agreed. If it weren't for the storage container of Alcohol 2, he might have been killed by the Netherhound that night.

The area around the stadium was where the most Ghost Hound gunners were located. The steps outside the stadium were covered with bunkers and barbed wire constructed by the Ghost Hounds, and graffiti unique to the Ghost Hound army was sprayed everywhere. There was no doubt that Hansen was asserting his ownership of this large black market.

Originally, Lin Yue was supposed to be the only one picking up the information chip from Bestone today, but Mann and the others said they were going to Santo Domingo to discuss the prosthetic body business with the middleman they had previously negotiated with, and they left Rebecca behind.

Rebecca is a strange girl. She seems to never care about anything, including the house in Night City where she has lived for several years. Even though there are still things left in there, she doesn't feel sorry for them.

She enjoys playing with guns and drinking, and is the most adapted to living in Dogtown among the team members.

Lin Yue didn't want to bring her to the stadium, but she said she was too bored at home and there was no new Mewtwo to watch, so she wanted to come here to find something.

As for the new supplier that Mann contacted to sell prosthetics... what a coincidence?
Lin Yue had just established a smuggling channel, and Mann had confirmed that the other party was not a cleaner, so Lin Yue simply explained the channel to Rin in his own words.

The big man was overjoyed, as if he had eaten honey and excrement.

"What are we doing? Are we trying to get information for... Mr. Rin?"

Rebecca glanced at the hounds that were stationed every five steps and tugged at Lin Yue.

"It is indeed a big job. Mann will explain everything when he gets back."

"It's not the right time yet, because I'm afraid you might get drunk and start talking nonsense."

Rebecca was stunned for a moment, then puffed out her cheeks, the veins on her forehead throbbing.

I really want to kick this stinky-faced bastard in the face a few times.

My drinking manners are perfectly fine!
Lin Yue pointed to the steps in the distance, "Wait there first. I'll tell Baishitong and give you the chip later. I need to go to the stadium to take care of some things."

Rebecca said "Oh," took out her phone, and sat down. Several Dogtown gamblers were sitting on the armrest next to her.

"I lost everything, I have nothing left."

"I don't have the money, I won't lend it."

"Please... this is the last time, I beg you."

Lin Yue was looking down, fiddling with his phone.

Rebecca ignored him, smacked her lips, and rubbed her stomach, as if she was a little hungry.

At this time, Lin Yue had already contacted the prosthetic doctor there. The purpose of this trip was to have the prosthetic body installed, so that he wouldn't be attacked by a hacker one day. Lin Yue couldn't afford to take that risk.

As for the rest of the team, he planned to collaborate with the doctor a few more times to obtain more self-made ICE, which would be a great boost to the team.

"I'll be right there. It'll take at least two hours, and at the latest until noon. If you're hungry, go get something to eat first."

"Don't wait for me!"

Lin Yueren immediately disappeared into the entrance of Dogtown Stadium. Rebecca had no idea what he was doing, and instead looked at this place she had never thought of coming to, resting her chin on her hand.

The place is old and desolate, with huge buildings still bearing signs that haven't been removed. Some buildings look tall, but their top floors have been damaged by artillery shells or similar objects.

Just as Rebecca was lost in thought, a text message came in.

[Sasha]: You guys went back to Night City?
[Rebecca]: I don't have any, only Mann and a few others... too lazy to move, you know what I mean.

[Sasha]: Don't you miss me?

Rebecca's expression froze, and she became somewhat discouraged.

[Rebecca]: Sasha... I miss you so much.

[Rebecca]: There aren't many hacking jobs in Dogtown, you're doing great in Night City :)
Rebecca isn't good at lying; this statement sounds more like an admission of guilt, and it's rather awkward.

As far as she knew, Lin Yue had already been secretly searching for the hacker's trail.

The team didn't have any hackers to complete these big projects; it was all thanks to the hacking experts Mr. Rin found in Night City to gather information.

[Sasha]: I understand. Take care of yourself, darling. I'll be there for you when you need me, okay? Rebecca typed for ages, then gave up and replied with "I love you" before closing the message.

……

Sitting in the operating chair, Lin Yue was calculating the capacity of the prosthetic body. According to the current capacity, one prosthetic body needed to be removed before the new ICE could be installed.

Seeing that Lin Yue remained motionless, the doctor who was preparing for surgery said, "You should lie down now."

Lin Yue looked at the prosthetic body in the soft plastic bag in the distance; the company's code label was still on it.

"I want you to help me remove one of my prosthetic bodies."

The doctor thought he had misheard. "Remove one? Hmm... I see you have a lot of prosthetics in your vital signs, especially that thing in your hand. But that's fine too. If you don't want to remove it, I can get you a [brain computing power enhancement chip] from our company. You can have peace of mind."

Brain computing power enhancement chip? What's that?

Lin Yue seemed to have never heard of this term before.

"Your body is like a magazine, and the prosthetics inside are like bullets. When you fill it to the brim, you'll find that you can't fit any more bullets in. At that point, you loosen the spring a bit and then insert another one."

"Some people say it works, some say it doesn't, it all depends on you, 1000 euros a piece."

After listening to the doctor, Lin Yue took the chip, and the panel quickly read its name.

[Prosthetic Body Expansion]...

Lin Yue chuckled, but upon reflection, it made sense, since they couldn't see the prosthetic body's capacity.

Without saying a word, Lin Yue took out the money, inserted the chip into the slot behind his neck, and the prosthetic body's capacity data fluctuated, ultimately barely meeting Lin Yue's expectations.

Being cautious, he calculated it several times before lying down on the chair to make sure it was okay.

"By the way, where do you hang out? I've never heard of a hacker like you in Dogtown."

Lin Yue scratched his head. "Hacker? I'm not a hacker."

"What did you say?" The cyborg doctor strode over to Lin Yue, his expression ashen, as if he'd swallowed a fly. "You're not a hacker? Once this prosthetic body is installed, your brain will be burned out, you know that?"

“Sammy, you little bastard—this thing is only for hackers with sharp minds! You can’t use it.”

As they were speaking, they tried to shoo Lin Yue out.

Lin Yue was completely baffled as to why this guy canceled the surgery to install his own ICE as soon as he heard that he wasn't a hacker.
After analyzing the doctor's words and remaining silent for a long time, he finally understood what the doctor was talking about.

According to the panel: the self-ICE prosthetic body requires 10 points of intelligence. If an attribute like intelligence can be raised to 10, the person is most likely a hacker.

Since there are no such parameters to refer to in the game, they use the brainpower enhancement software as a prosthetic expansion tool.

Lin Yue's intelligence attribute points had already reached 10, so he wasn't afraid of this situation happening at all.

The self-ICE is a source of anxiety for Lin Yue; the speed at which his prosthetic body disintegrates in the face of hackers is a constant warning to him.

After being reborn into this world, Lin Yue kept installing prosthetic bodies on himself for peace of mind, and also to survive in this strange world.

After thinking for a moment, Lin Yue came up with a plan—in order to force the doctor to perform the surgery, Lin Yue immediately transferred the money.

I've given you the money; I'll take responsibility for the consequences.

Lin Yue looked at him with an expression that said, "If you don't have the surgery today, I'll smash your signboard."

Is someone really that suicidal?

The doctor looked at the money that had been deposited into his account, while Lin Yue's voice, calm and even in the distance, said: "Fit your prosthetic body, and when you die, just dump me out on the street. Thanks."

The doctor's face was grim as he stared at the young man lying on the operating table, dumbfounded.

a long time.

"Let me make this clear first, I take no responsibility."

"Please feel free to do so."

Holding the prosthetic piece that was to be implanted into his frontal cortex, he muttered a curse under his breath:
"damn it--"

"Another lunatic!"

(End of this chapter)