Cyberpunk: From Dogville to Legend

Chapter 483 Blind Loyalty (Part 1)

Japanese Street.

The pinball shop remained open as usual, but the number of Tiger Claw gang members in the vicinity was increasing day by day. Not only that, the Arasaka Police had completely moved into the entire Westbrook area, and the whole city was abuzz with rumors that Wakako had messed with someone she shouldn't have.

Only Wakako herself knew that the Tiger Claw Gang was almost wiped out...

It was all because of that extremely powerful woman who silenced the entire Tiger Claw organization because of a man with a mysterious code name.

"Still haven't found Bamboo Village?"

Wakako has already figured out how to hand this guy over.

As people get older, they make mistakes they wouldn't dare to make when they were young, especially for someone like Wakako, who sits firmly behind the scenes controlling the balance of power in the Tiger Claw Gang... She thought Arasaka's control over the lower classes had decreased, but in reality, she hadn't seen the current situation clearly and wanted to use Takemura as a loophole to create some amazing profits.

The appearance of V was undoubtedly a sobering slap in the face.

In the face of the company, gangs are practically irrelevant, just another point of contention...

The Tiger Claw Gang has been exploiting the people, and Arasaka is no longer the only point of contention. Only now has Wakako of the Tiger Claw Gang come to realize this.

The subordinate bowed.

"Madam, we haven't found them. After Zhucun disappeared in Santo Domingo that day, several groups of our people went in. The local middlemen are difficult to deal with—that old captain who sold the car, he's very close to the company in Taipingzhou..."

"And many key members were killed by that guy that day..."

Such are the objective conditions.

Wakako fell into deep thought for a moment.

What she didn't expect was that, just as the entire Tiger Claw Gang was busy searching for someone, the curtain adorned with pendant wind chimes began to jingle...

The robust man's face was weathered, and his stubble indicated that he had not lived a good life. His leather jacket suggested that he used to live a relatively comfortable life, but clothes, like people, become tattered once they lose the nourishment of money and status.

A man with a samurai head, wearing black clothes, and with tightly packed prosthetics around his Adam's apple.

Who else could it be but Takemura?
Wakako's hands clenched unconsciously. The Tiger Claw Gang mid-level member beside her, still pondering how to prevent his boss from making things difficult for him, froze upon noticing the newcomer. His hand slowly began to reach behind him…

Takemura seemed oblivious to what was happening, quietly staring at Wakako.

"Araka found out about you?"

After discovering that his prosthetic body was being further locked down, Takemura naturally sensed the changes within the Tiger Claw Gang. However, he chose to lie low for the time being out of fear of being betrayed by the Tiger Claw Gang. Now, he has a certain amount of confidence in his appearance.

Wakako's forehead veins throbbed.

The wound V inflicted on his shoulder with a knife that day was still throbbing, and besides feeling ashamed, he was mostly furious.

Mrs. Westbrook, known for her roundabout and hypocritical ways, simply laid her cards on the table...

With Takemura's appearance, regardless of whether the Tiger Claw Gang has captured this person or not... she can now report back to Arasaka.

then--

“Takemura-san, you have three minutes. The Tiger Claw Gang has already notified the nearby Arasaka Police Station. If I were you, I would give up everything in Night City, and I would also give up all my past grievances and honors…”

"You and I both know who's in charge of this city now."

Takemura paced.

He first walked to the boss's desk, reached out and stroked the expensive ornaments that Wakako had placed there, his gaze deep as if he was thinking about something extremely important.

Wakako gestured to the Tiger Claw Gang members beside her not to act rashly. After all, she wasn't sure about this guy's actual combat strength, and if he did something to her detriment, she would have no recourse.

She would rather Zhucun turn around and run away right now.

three minutes…

Takemura slowly looked at Wakako, "You're already halfway to the edge of a cliff, Wakako-san... When we first met, you gave me a chance to survive, so now I'm going to give you a chance too."

Wakako didn't have much time to hesitate.

Time flies by so quickly.

The two men locked eyes, and the Tiger Claw Gang's mid-level leader was sweating profusely, as if he were about to draw his gun and fire at any moment!

Just as the occasional sound of car brakes coming to a stop could be heard outside the pachinko shop, Wakako sighed…

Clearly, she was afraid of losing everything, and equally afraid of dying at the hands of those ruthless guys in the company, so she succumbed to her current predicament.

"Let's take Zhucun to the back first."

When the police officer Arasaka rushed in, Wakako and the Tiger Claw Gang mid-level member lying on the ground surprised the group.

"What about people?!"

Wakako pointed to the side, "Unfortunately, this former colleague of yours just left half a minute ago... You know, we dare not forcibly detain him, I have to think about my old life."

Wakako's performance was subtle and understated; even though the police chased after her and left some behind for questioning, they still got nothing...

When the police left.

The niche containing the ornaments was slowly pushed open, and Takemura walked out with a gloomy face from a space that could only accommodate one person standing inside.

He cursed in Japanese as a lackey.

Wakako sneered, "In a sense, aren't you Saburo's loyal dog too?"

Takemura's expression hardened, and he said in a low voice, "Lord Saburo is an indispensable figure for the company and for me. Even if he is no longer here... this company should be maintained and managed by someone who is suitable for him. A warmonger like Yoriyuki is not worthy."

I have absolutely no interest in listening to these waka poems.

"Today is the last time we'll meet, Takemura-san—I hope I can make some things clear, as a way of repaying you for eliminating many threats to me over the years."

“You are a very professional bodyguard. No wonder someone like Saburo Arasaka would appreciate you. Utako and I are not people who don’t know right from wrong, so… what do you want to know? Then stay away from Westbrook, and we’ll pretend this never happened.”

Takemura placed his hands on the table. "I want to know... is Arasaka going to start from the company plaza, pass through Japan Street... and hold the memorial event for Arasaka-sama according to this procedure?"

Wakako nodded.

However, her expression wasn't pleasant. "What are you planning to do?"

Takemura shook his head. “Just tell me, Wakako-san… these things aren’t really secrets. After all, I’ve seen all the overwhelming publicity from Arasaka, and all the holographic images in Japan Street are undergoing maintenance. I can naturally guess the route.”

Takemura's luck was exceptionally bad, but fortunately, he had keen observation skills.

Actually, what I wanted was…

Takemura hesitated for a moment, but decided to reveal his purpose.

But this time Wakako interrupted, "Sorry, what you're doing is none of my business. Are you looking for security arrangements or something inside Arasaka?"

Takemura didn't expect things to go so smoothly.

However, being clever, he still asked in a low voice, "What exactly did Arakawa do to you... Also, you can pin the blame for Sawada getting the job on me, as a way of repaying you, Wakako-san."

Wakako was detained by Arakasa at the time.

The assassination request received by Sawada, one of the branch leaders of the Tiger Claw Gang, clearly included information about Arasaka employee V, and the source of this information could only be within Arasaka.

Takemura took a chip out of his pocket.

"Lord Arasaka needs to access the data at any time, and I have kept this outdated information for three years... If they need evidence, you can hand it over. In addition, I have also made data standards, so the entire intelligence evidence is a closed loop."

Wakako was somewhat surprised.

I never expected Takemura to be able to accurately guess Arasaka's request even when he wasn't present...

“Takemura, let me give you a piece of advice: the Arasaka are not people you can mess with right now. They are the winners of this war, and I think you know what that means.”

"Furthermore, our people know that the woman from Arasaka has gone to the Dark Matter Club. If you're targeting that woman, I don't think it's necessary to go through all that trouble... but if it's Arasaka Yoriyuki, I advise you to be more realistic."

Takemura, of course, would not reveal the truth behind all these assassinations.

There's no Lord Arasaka, no expired chip; he simply accepted a mission from deep space.

A group of self-proclaimed redeemers who were banished by the dragon.

Hanako Arakawa…

Before leaving the pachinko parlor, Takemura glanced at the drowsy old man at the entrance. The old man, however, was a light sleeper; noticing someone passing by, he smacked his lips and muttered, "Those damned Arasaka cops, utterly useless, always fighting with these gangsters—"

"Ok?"

"It's you again, [Hidetoshi Hino]?"

Zhucun's face darkened.

He didn't know why he stopped. "Old man, I'm not Hino Hidetoshi..."

The old man's eyes widened.

"Nonsense, when you came over a while ago you were reciting Hino Hidetoshi's classic TV line to me—"

"fasten your seatbelt!"

Takemura has essentially surrendered.

He tried to amuse the old man as if reciting a script, and the old man clapped his hands and laughed. Zhucun smiled and sighed, preparing to bid farewell to the last bit of warmth in this world.

From now on, Takemura will be a warrior who avenges what happened in the past.

[Incoming call]

Takemura answered the phone; a woman's voice came through, and her tone was somewhat strange.

"Hey? Did you get it sorted out?"

Hearing the other party's urgent question, Takemura nodded, "I've received everything I'm entitled to. How's it going on your end?"

Surprisingly, it seemed that Goro Takemura already knew about the information that Wakako had kindly given him; he lowered his voice on the other end, and Takemura could even hear some rhythmic sounds similar to heavy bass music...

"I saw it, you were right!"

"I...I can't believe it."

Takemura pursed his lips, a subtle gesture that cannot be ignored before someone lies. He said, "The company is a part that no one can escape. You would be extremely surprised if you knew his true identity."

As he spoke, Takemura jumped into a nearly totaled car, buckled up his seatbelt, and tried to start the engine.

The streets of Japan were nearly deserted today, as if something big was about to happen. Takemura looked down through the windshield at the thick clouds... He hated this kind of weather the most.

Life's experiences are already unfortunate; if the weather were like this, it would seem as if everything were rushing headlong towards its doom.

The Dark Matter Club isn't far from here, and Takemura plans to get close to it to give the Night City branch, which is now strictly speaking the headquarters, a real shock.

The only problem is that the woman who made the phone call has to be sacrificed.

Takemura considered many solutions, but ultimately chose this unethical method for the sake of his so-called morality.

Once the car exits the bridge, all that's needed is to cross it to reach the Dark Matter Club at the boundary between the company square and Heywood…

He uploaded the data he obtained from Wakako to the bulky laptop in the passenger seat using a special method.

This computer is connected to a network in low Earth orbit.

Seeing the data successfully uploaded, Zhucun felt as if he had accomplished a major task.

He had already repaid Arasaka Saburo for his help, and taking no loss was the result Takemura wanted.

The car was still driving...

"It's strange that there are so few people today."

Takemura looked around aimlessly.

When he realized that someone was blocking his way, he hurriedly slammed on the brakes... The car with worn-out brake discs had a long braking distance. When Takemura looked up, he saw that the dark figure in front of him was still standing there. His heart first relaxed and then immediately clenched.

It was a slender and tall figure.

In the slowly falling rain, the guy's whole body seemed to be one piece. His face was covered by a black mask with various protruding structures, and his hair was tightly tied back. Upon closer inspection, it looked like some metal pipes or something similar, but it was actually the brain-computer interface's cooling device.

Two extremely long samurai swords crossed behind him…

Takemura's eyes fell on the side of the man's shoulder, where a pattern resembling the Arasaka logo, yet with some altered elements, adorned the side of the jet-black armor—

It resembles a sophisticated mechanical ninja with a strong Japanese aesthetic.

call!
The ninja draws his sword.

The long sword in my hand spins...

He slightly bent his knees, the blade already overhead, assuming an attack stance.

"Damn it, we've been found out after all..."

Takemura frantically drew his gun, and when he opened the car door and felt the sluggish weight of the prosthetics inside his body, his heart sank completely...

The prosthetic body was locked.

It seems I'm facing Lai Xuan's henchmen...

Takemura thought about it carefully, but still couldn't figure out where things went wrong. The only problem was with Wakako.

Takemura cursed fiercely, but still raised his gun like a samurai, letting the rain wash over his face.

"Goro Takemura."

“I will take over your business. Furthermore, your whereabouts were discovered by Night City’s targets more than ten minutes ago. You have lost your eligibility.”

Takemura's heart sank.

"Kuso!"

This is actually another faction from Arasaka that has almost disappeared from the ground?!

call out!
Opposite him, the genderless cyborg ninja moved almost silently through the rain like an arrow released from a bow. The cyborg, the fighting style, and the speed were all things that Goro Takemura had never seen before!

Can't move.

This distance, this speed, this prosthetic body that transcends cognition—

However, someone was watching all of this from afar through the rain.

“V, looks like we’re in luck today. No wonder Li followed us to the Dark Matter Club.”

A soft chuckle.

The pitch-black hand clenched tightly!
The woman holding an umbrella beside him watched the scene quietly.

In the blink of an eye, a dark shadow beside me violently blocked the raindrops, and the powerful whistling of the compressed air caused a straight, crackling white line to burst out from the ground.

Boom!
The ninja's longsword was already close in.

When he sensed the power emanating from the side of his body, a black hand had already clenched into a fist!

"cold?!"

The mechanical ninja was crackling with electricity, as if he were being watched by the Grim Reaper…

Only a very few people in this city know about the surviving, invincible lone wolf—

"Damn it! Bamboo Village!"

Rin's movements seemed to freeze a split second before he could clench his fist. Had he deliberately stopped to gather strength while rapidly approaching the enemy?!
The ninja's multicolored electronic eyes reflected the sharp angles of that guy's profile.

The EMP unleashed a violent arc of electricity, pulverizing the raindrops...

"Dare to come down?"

That guy seemed to be mocking.

The force arrived in an instant!

……

……

(End of this chapter)