Cyberpunk: From Dogville to Legend

Chapter 493 The Former Eldest Brother (Part 2)
"Good evening, Mrs. Wells."

"Hi, Mrs. Wells."

As Mrs. Wells emerged from the Wolf's Bar neighborhood, she watched the Haywood residents strolling in twos and threes, all greeting her warmly. The slight unease she felt in the hotel earlier eased somewhat…

The city was forever shrouded in smog and the pungent smell seeping from underground manholes. People moved around like zombies, carrying shackles all day long. But now something is changing, she said, unable to explain it.

"What's making you so happy, little Joshua?"

Mrs. Wells smiled and nodded to the parents of her child who greeted her, but instead bent down and asked the shy child standing beside the adults.

"Speak, my dear."

The child's mother stroked the little one's head. "Mrs. Wells is asking you something."

In Night City, children are undoubtedly extremely rare. Under such heavy living pressure, in this free land where technology and living standards are at two extremes, almost no one raises offspring—the cost of education is undoubtedly high, because brain-computer interface modifications and a series of surgeries are not free.

However, in order to survive in this world, even those monks from the east who refused prosthetic bodies had to have brain-computer interfaces installed.

This is followed by AI teachers created by the AI ​​education laws passed by the European Community and North America. Renting servers and even the most basic personalized customization costs a lot of money. Of course... there are very few mothers who do not realize that they should raise children in this way, or rather, there are very few mothers like Gloria.

The real priority is to ensure your child's healthy survival, save up their first sum of money to get a synthetic lung that may need to be replaced as they grow, and a resistant esophagus, among other things.

Young lives here grow like weeds, their futures almost entirely sealed in the filthy streets, destined to live alongside weapons and become one of the city's unclean survivors...

Thinking of this, Mrs. Wells's heavy face flashed by, and then she reached out and touched the child's head.

Despite the novel brain-computer interface environment, no worry was visible on their parents' faces.

"Mrs. Wells, thank you."

Thus Joshua the Younger said.

Mrs. Wells was completely taken aback by the words coming from her child's mouth, and felt a deep sense of emotion that she could never experience in the adult world.

This statement alone is enough to make parents proud and prompt them to echo their child's words...

"Thank God, you have helped us solve a lot of troubles."

The father, dressed in dirty work clothes, scratched his head with a shy smile; he was almost a giant version of Joshua.

Mrs. Wells was quite surprised to find that the couple who had been urging her to get a house soon were so peaceful.

"What are you..."

The man patted the dirt off his clothes. “The houses in the other neighborhoods are all short of machinery. I happen to know how to operate some. My company is building apartments on Quanshui Street not far away, so I went to apply for a job.”

"It's a bit embarrassing to admit, but I told the foreman and the company employee that we were from this street and mentioned your name—and that's how I got this job, paid daily, which helped me make up for the money I still needed to take Joshua to the renovation site."

Mrs. Wells was somewhat suspicious.

The company is notoriously harsh on construction workers, so could it be... another scam?

Seeing the happy family, Mrs. Wells didn't dare to speak. She only told the man to be careful and to come to her if he felt something was wrong at the company or if the Valentino gang was hanging around the neighborhood.

"I came here today to talk to you about the house... Although the airship didn't collapse your building, there are bound to be some hidden problems with the structure... There's a vacant lot to the west, would you like to take a look?"

To everyone's surprise, the woman and the man exchanged a glance.

"You don't know?"

Mrs. Wells sat up, wondering if she had slept too long or if she was getting old. The old apartment building where the family lived didn't seem to have been cleaned up.

“A few days ago, a guy dressed in a Dreamer uniform came to our door. At first, I told the men in my family not to open the door, because he was probably just trying to scam us out of something—”

The woman glanced at the child and swallowed the curse that was about to come out of her mouth. "But they mentioned your name, Mrs. Wells, and said they wanted to discuss the house... You know how we feel the building shaking every day, so we opened the door."

Mrs. Wells had absolutely no idea what this company from Pacific Island was up to.

The couple, seemingly afraid they hadn't heard correctly, Mrs. Wells's expression turned somewhat grim. "So we signed the contract then. They've already taken care of our place—a housing building converted from a bankrupt company—and it's still under the current lease, with a remaining term of twenty-five years..."

It's very difficult to buy a house in Night City.

So they usually lease them out. However, many Night City property management companies went bankrupt or had their data destroyed during the cyber war. The Dreamers who moved into Taipingzhou bought these permissions immediately, which is why Mrs. Wells was keeping an eye on them.

Mrs. Wells said nothing, but instead asked the woman to send her the contract so she could take a look…

She had expected the company to add a lot of taxes, various rental fees, appliance fees, etc., but she didn't expect it to be a simple contract. The price was neither expensive nor cheap, and it was the same as the previous property. However, it reduced the number of washing machine rental fees that property management companies would charge exorbitantly.

Looking at it this way, even a seasoned veteran like Mrs. Wells couldn't see anything wrong.

"No problem, I know about this... Just stay here comfortably."

To dispel the couple's doubts, Mrs. Wells smiled and explained.

The family was all smiles again.

The woman stepped forward and grabbed Mrs. Wells's wrist. "You must come to my house for dinner tonight, no matter what... You see, the children's father has done all sorts of things, even run errands for the gang, but he's living the most comfortable life he's ever had... I imagine you've been having a lot of trouble with those thugs lately, so may I invite you?"

Just then, the child suddenly came over, grabbed Mrs. Wells's trouser leg, and looked up at her: "Mrs. Wells, may I invite Brother Jack to come too?"

Jack?

The man, looking embarrassed, pulled the child back.

“Hey, you don’t know… there are a few naughty kids around here who tell little Joshua about Haywood every day. I guess they heard about how Jack saved those neighbors and gang members who were almost publicly executed by the Vortex Gang back then—stop fooling around, Joshua!”

Mrs. Wells was all smiles.

"Jack might be a bit busy today. Do you like him?"

Even though the child was being pulled by his father, he still nodded.

He was clearly much more talkative in this regard than before…

"Of course! I'm not making this up! They all say Jack is the best big brother and the most obedient son in the Valentino gang—the big brother who gave up wealth and luxury so as not to worry his mother!"

Seeing that the child's words were becoming increasingly outrageous, the woman quickly covered the child's mouth.

No one would bring up Mrs. Wells's sad stories.

However, Mrs. Wells did not feel offended. Instead, she said to Joshua, "Well... there's one more thing your brother Jack hasn't learned, which is not to do bad things, and to change course as soon as you realize your mother is worried."

After this little incident, and seeing the expectant looks in the family's eyes, Mrs. Wells guessed that the building had probably been taken care of by Dreamers Company.

Mrs. Wells shrugged. "Looks like I just made it to dinner time right after the company closes?"

The man's smile became even more honest. "I volunteered to work a little longer, but I still got paid... It seems like this dreamer is not the same person as those portrayed on TV."

The woman rolled her eyes at the man.

Mrs. Wells was most resistant to the company, but for the sake of her neighbors, she gritted her teeth and cooperated with it.

"Yes."

Mrs. Wells sighed, "Anyway, as long as we get through this difficult time, that's all that matters. After all, the company is about profit, so we should all try to be more united in the future."

As the three were talking, the sight of Valentino gang vehicles speeding down the road startled passersby. In the midst of this shock, faint gunshots rang out from the distance, and the Dreamers soldiers on the street, hearing the noise, immediately turned towards the ensuing chaos.

Mrs. Wells instinctively bent down to protect little Joshua, then looked around—

"Get the hell inside!"

Despite their foul language, the Dreamers' soldiers did their best to disperse the crowd.

The sudden turn of events caused Mrs. Wells' expression to change drastically.

Mrs. Wells glanced in the direction of the wolf and was about to get up to see what was happening at the bar... when the woman grabbed Mrs. Wells's arm, "What if it's coming for you?"

As they were talking, a sharp gunshot rang out, and the Dreamer soldier, who had just been trying to make the car turn around to avoid the crowd, suddenly fell backward as if he had been hit by a car!

"Depend on!"

Mrs. Wells instinctively looked in the direction of the gunshot. At some point, Valentino gang gunmen appeared on the rooftop, but their attire had shed the flashy Valentino gang uniforms, making them look like ordinary passersby who had suddenly pulled out guns and started shooting.

In a three-man squad, the Dreamers soldiers instantly formed a fire support unit, while the other tried to drag their comrade into cover...

The soldier hesitated, glancing at the gunman's features and the distinctly South American atmosphere of the street. Mrs. Wells had a bad feeling; the company might think it was Haywood's neighbors attacking…

However, the soldiers only provided suppressive fire, and the three men immediately started their patrol vehicle and retreated.

Startled, the man beside her whispered, "Quick, Mrs. Wells, they're coming for you!"

Mrs. Wells told the men to lie down; she absolutely didn't believe Camilla would dare fire at the neighbors. However, the next second she felt guilty about that thought…

As the man crouched on the ground, clutching his head and reminding himself, a stray bullet instantly knocked him to the ground. A woman's heart-wrenching screams rang out, and almost without thinking, Mrs. Wells pulled out the small pistol from her waist and opened fire on several gang members who were about to approach from across the street!
"You were hit in the arm. Take your husband and child and get out of here! Hurry!"

Mrs. Wells was quite accurate; after all, she was Jack's mother. Her weakness died the day her husband was kicked out of the house by Jack.

The man was in so much pain he could barely walk, but little Joshua, unlike other children his age, actually tried to support his father's strong arms with his small body.

The woman realized what was happening, and the group quickly ducked into the alleyway.

Mrs. Wells used a pistol at the alley entrance to temporarily subdue the gunmen who were trying to approach, and also took down two others.

She watched until the family disappeared from the alleyway before feeling relieved, and immediately began to consider how to escape—

After all, this street leader had long seen through Valentino's gang's plan, which was to capture him alive.

"Jack."

Mrs. Wells tightened the magazine, and a spent cartridge case popped out. "Was I really wrong?"

She knew her own child best. Jack trusted the Dreamers more than she trusted herself. She had no idea why her child would be fond of an organization like Arasaka's, but she realized she had underestimated the wickedness of gangs.

Mrs. Wells considered that she might have to lay down her weapon, but that would allow the gang to quickly take over the streets…

Should this place be restored to its former state?

Mrs. Wells suddenly remembered the expressions on the family's faces. Her expression shifted several times, and her grip on the gun gradually loosened...

The footsteps drew closer, and the screams and wails of the pedestrians faded into the distance. Mrs. Wells had always considered herself Jack's protector; he was naive and viewed the world with a simple perspective, like the Little Prince in that story—

A mother should never be a child's weakness.

If Mrs. Wells trusted the wrong company, she was willing to accept the consequences!
Just as she was observing the shadows and footsteps on the ground, a pair of bright, sparkling eyes at her feet made Mrs. Wells feel as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over her.

Joshua?!

Mrs. Wells had never felt such a heart-stopping moment in her life. She immediately knelt down and covered the child's mouth, shouting, "What are you doing?!"

Joshua blinked, and a timid voice came from beneath his palm, "There's a path I can take you; I discovered it while playing with them..."

Mrs. Wells wouldn't listen to the advice of young people, but she still thought highly of the boy's performance. However, she could sacrifice herself for the boy's sake.

So Mrs. Wells gestured for the children to hide themselves first. The moment the shadow on the ground drew near, Mrs. Wells dodged away, and several blazing flames flashed rapidly in the alleyway!
Amidst the wails of the Valentino gang members, Mrs. Wells quickly grabbed her child's hand and rushed inside. However, several members of the Tiger Claw gang, whose facial modifications were clearly those of the gang members, were already blocking the corner ahead. One of them was brandishing a baseball bat. The moment Mrs. Wells ran over, she caught a glimpse of those terrifying prosthetic eyes and knew she was in trouble!
With a whooshing sound, the baseball bat struck Mrs. Wells squarely in the chest as she dodged, sending her flying backward and knocking the child down with her.

The excruciating pain in her chest, accompanied by tinnitus, made it impossible for Mrs. Wells to see anything; her prosthetic eye was instantly filled with error messages.

By the time she could see a little better, the child had already been grabbed by the hair and lifted up by a member of the mohawk-haired "outsider" Valentino gang.

The child's loud scream of pain brought Mrs. Wells to her senses in a second. Just as she was about to fight back, someone stepped forward and kicked the gun out of her hand. At the same time, a metallic scraping sound rang out from the wrist of the man holding the child.

Mantis Knife!

The child stared at the blade approaching beneath his stomach, while the creature screamed in shrill Japanese, "Tender meat! Hahaha!"

"do not want!"

No matter how strong a child is, at this moment, they can only respond by crying and screaming.

Mrs. Wells tried to get up, but the two strange members, whose arms were almost touching the ground, held her down firmly.

"Camilla will get her comeuppance!"

She couldn't bear to watch any longer.

Suddenly, a whistle rang out from the alley entrance…

The man, with an Asian-style face, slightly weathered and with a stubble beard, wore a samurai-style haircut. Beneath his exquisite suit were bulging cybernetic muscles, and a jet-black samurai sword hung at his waist.

"You Westbrook trash haven't changed at all (in Japanese)."

"Are you all enjoying yourselves?"

The man emerged from the shadows, a blade-like line running from his eyelid to his cheek adding to his menacing aura…

The man grabbed the child's hand, turned his head, and cursed, spitting as he spoke: "You bastard, are you looking for death?"

Immediately afterwards…

"Oh! He's just a company dog! Hahahaha! I've chopped off at least eight or ten idiots like you... What are you even saying!"

The man remained silent, but slowly drew his sword in a standard samurai attack stance.

Since the person opposite him was a drug-addicted madman, there was no need for him to waste his words any more.

"My lord...my brother asked me to take some people back—"

"You bunch of bastards are probably going to die soon."

The Tiger Claw Gang members were stunned for a moment upon seeing the man's actions, and for a moment they began to doubt themselves.

Could it be that the Mantis Blade and Sianwistan on my body are not obvious?
The scarred man suddenly turned his blade towards the enemy, his body instantly becoming ethereal!
"Suzuki! [See above]!!"

……

……

(End of this chapter)