Cyberpunk: Becoming a Legend from Dogtown

"Woohoo!"

Rebecca blasted the last landmine, the safety fuse sparking and crackling as the defending Maelstrom gang members were officially wiped out.

"Lin Yue, Maine! What's taking you so long? Maelstrom's gonna be on our ass any second now!"

Dorio's voice crackled through the comms, sounding a bit anxious. Lin Yue and Rebecca advanced through the corridor, sweeping for any remaining threats. Suddenly, a drone darted out—Rebecca shredded it with several shotgun blasts, the sound of her reloading echoing through the hall.

"You're welcome."

Hoisting her shotgun, she strutted down the hallway under Lin Yue's exasperated gaze, stopping at the final door at the corridor's end.

Lin Yue pried the door open with his bare hands, cyberware whirring audibly.

"Really could use Gorilla Arms right now…"

"Rebecca, give me a hand!"

Both pulled with all their might until the door finally gave way.

"Don't shoot!" a trembling voice cried out from behind a desk.

Lin Yue yanked the guy up like a ragdoll. "Maine! Found him—arms and legs still intact."

Rebecca, shotgun slung over her shoulder, followed Lin Yue while updating Maine over comms. The piss-scared target was dragged all the way to the entrance by Lin Yue.

A van screeched to a stop in front of the building. Dorio, one hand on the wheel, called out, "Let's roll!"

With Maelstrom's curses and gunfire ringing behind them, bullets whizzed past their faces as the van sped down Dogtown's hills.

Dorio stomped the gas pedal. "Maine, your damn car fixed yet? This junk needs a retirement plan!"

"Bear with it, cars are expensive as hell!" Maine groaned, clearly feeling the financial strain.

Rebecca, firing back, casually asked, "Wanna hit up Heavy Hearts tonight?"

Lin Yue winced as he dug bullets out of his cheek. "Nope. I need to hit up the ripperdoc."

Spitting out blood and a few shattered molar fragments, he added, "Ugh."

Dorio glanced at him through the rearview mirror. "With wounds like that, what kinda chrome are you even running? Still walking like nothing happened?"

Lin Yue tensed at the question.

Maine glanced at him and grinned. "Don't forget to see a dentist!"

The whole van erupted in laughter. The only one not laughing was their rescued target, curled up in a corner with terror in his eyes.

"Are these guys even professionals…?"

While everyone eagerly anticipated the payout, Pilar's eyes stayed glued to a briefcase they'd snagged from Maelstrom's den.

"We're rich!"

Cigarette in hand, Pilar cackled.

Rebecca leaned into Lin Yue's face, squishing against him as she peeked at her brother's find.

Lin Yue, now teary-eyed from pain and being jabbed by her sharp bones, groaned, "Ow! You're stabbing me with your ribs!"

"What ribs?" Rebecca's expression darkened at the indirect jab at her figure. She responded by grinding her fist into Lin Yue's head.

Inside the case lay a cyberware implant, silent and pristine. Lin Yue squinted. It looked familiar.

"Is that… a secondary heart?"

Pilar smirked, raising a finger. "Nope! This, my dude, is the real jackpot."

Beside the implant sat a chip, quietly awaiting discovery.

"Plug it in," Pilar handed it to Lin Yue.

In a rare generous mood, Pilar decided to share his "treasure" with Lin Yue.

Pushing Rebecca aside, who was eager to see the chip's contents, Lin Yue slotted it into his neck port.

Blueprints flickered across his optics.

"Crafting Specs?" he muttered.

Pilar froze.

Rebecca's eyes widened. "Bro, I think he actually understands your nerdy tech stuff."

Sure enough, the chip contained crafting specs for two weapon mods. And not just any mods…

Lin Yue's expression shifted as realization hit. Pilar noticed instantly.

"Shit! You bastard, give me that chip back!"

Lin Yue blocked Pilar's hand, already copying the data.

These are the mods for tech sniper rifles…[Through-wall Piercer] and [Oni Overdrive]—doubling charge time, eliminating wall-penetration damage drop-off, and speeding up reloads? Hell yeah.

Pilar, realizing he'd lost the goods, yelled, "Damn you, kid! Hand it over!"

Lin Yue smirked, pulling the chip out. "Chill, chill. Here. Stingy much?"

Rebecca burst out laughing. "Oof, poor guy. Guess it's bedtime-crying session for the hoarder tonight~"

Pilar grumbled. "How the hell do you even know these are crafting specs? No rookies can read that shit! What the hell are you, some kind of freak?"

Lin Yue crossed his arms. The implant was definitely going to Pilar. No one else was interested in the specs anyway—except him, who had sneakily copied the data.

"Uh… that's… mine," a weak voice whispered.

Pilar grabbed their rescued target by the collar. "Yours?"

"…Uh, no. Nope."

"Thought so," Pilar sneered. Not like he'd let go of easy loot anyway.

"Hey, kid! I'm working on these specs. Wanna learn a thing or two from me? I'm the best techie you'll find."

Pilar offered eagerly.

Lin Yue didn't hesitate. "Sure! Thanks!"

Pilar blinked. "Uh… wait, what? You're not even gonna bribe me?"

Lin Yue grinned. "Oh, right! I'll treat you to some premium braindances later. The spicy ones."

"You little shit! Those cost money, damn it!" Pilar roared.

Up front, Maine and Dorio exchanged glances and sighed. This was their third gig together, and the team was settling into a groove. Over two weeks had passed since the first gig, and they were making waves in Dogtown.

The van screeched to a stop by a canal near the Petrochem Stadium. Rebecca kicked their cargo out of the van, leaving him swearing at them for having zero decency.

Lin Yue checked his account. The upfront payment from the client barely covered his intel expenses. V had connected him to a reliable fixer, but damn, were they pricey.

After payouts to the team, Lin Yue was left with only 30,000 eddies.

Rebecca lit up. "Holy shit! We scored 15K each this time!"

She patted Lin Yue's shoulder. "Hey boss, nice work. You don't see payouts like this in Night City."

Pilar and Rebecca were thrilled, but Maine and Dorio seemed distant.

After a long silence, Maine finally asked, "Lin Yue… your boss isn't gonna drag us into working for Arasaka, right?"

The perceptive merc had sniffed out the connection from day one.

Cyberpunks like them avoided corps like the plague.

Lin Yue gazed out at the run-down Dogtown streets, listening to Rebecca and Pilar's playful bickering.

After a long pause, he quietly replied, "No."

He had already made it clear to V:

That was Rin's problem. Not theirs.

---

[Crafting Specs]: In Cyberpunk 2077, blueprints used to craft weapons, mods, and consumables.

[Oni Overdrive]: A tech sniper rifle scope that stabilizes ballistics and powers the rifle for faster recharges.

[Through-wall Piercer]: A mod that boosts weapon power for wall penetration with double charge time, maintaining full damage.

...

[Check Out My Patreon for 30+ Extra Chapters!!!]

[p.a.t.r.e.o.n.com/rosewhisky]