Cyberpunk: Becoming a Legend from Dogtown

The precision ring-shaped automated surgical tool worked on repairing the damage to Lin Yue's cybernetic arm.

Ripperdocs in Dogtown were notoriously rough. Their clinics were often shabby—hell, some ripperdocs near the stadium even used remodeled bathrooms as their clinics.

"Your chrome's pretty fresh. Shame it got busted up. Looks like your last ripper was honest work."

"Repairs might not hold up under stress, so go easy."

This was Kostin (Note), the ripperdoc from the Longshore Scrap Yard. Decent enough in terms of skill.

Lin Yue figured trekking to Vic was too much of a hassle. Occasionally, he'd swing by Kostin's clinic in the Longshore Scrap Yard for minor fixes. Of course, this guy, who liked to hang slabs of bloody synthetic meat in his clinic, wasn't nearly as meticulous as Viktor Vektor.

"Also, you've been using your cyberarm for heavy lifting a lot, huh? Some nanomuscle fibers are torn. Might wanna swap them out."

Lying back in the chair, Lin Yue suddenly asked, "You got any Gorilla Arms here? (Note)"

Kostin looked up. "Heavy-duty stuff, huh? Yeah, depends on what you're after."

"I got some ripped off Scavs, graffiti and all still on them."

Lin Yue felt a chill run down his spine.

"Also got some in decent condition. Cleaner look, less crude. But the cheap ones... well, your hands'll be bigger than your damn head. Depends on how deep your pockets are."

Lin Yue nodded. Gorilla Arms actually suited his needs—high Body stats paired well with this cyberware. Plus, Gorilla Arms were fairly common, and he needed them to handle the weight of his sniper rifle.

And if it ever came down to close quarters? Nothing sweeter than decking someone with a metal fist.

"Shit!"

Just as Lin Yue was contemplating the cost, a jolt of pain shot through his arm despite the anesthetics.

Kostin, noticing the pain, decided to distract him with some cyberware gossip:

"Lately, the city's crawling with cyberpsychos. MaxTac, Trauma Team—flying around all day."

"Heard about this nutjob? Stormed into a building, wiped out an entire floor in ten seconds… When MaxTac arrived, every corpse had at least three bullets in the head—all through the same eye."

"NCPD didn't even respond… Something about pay freezes and talks of privatization. (Note)"

Lin Yue blinked. "Ten seconds?"

"Probably some new corpo tech. They always roll out their latest toys on soldiers first. Then somehow, that gear 'mysteriously' ends up on the market. Next thing you know, every corpo's trying to outdo each other with 'civilian-friendly' implants."

Lin Yue kept silent, not wanting to reveal too much. But in his head, gears were turning.

If his memory served him right, Sandevistan had been around since Johnny Silverhand's era.

"Sandevistan, huh? Hell of a thing," Kostin chuckled dryly.

Dogtown—this lawless wasteland—was always a goldmine for weapons and cyberware intel.

And Lin Yue's hunch was right.

Sandevistan's base models had been manufactured ages ago. Most versions on the market now were either downgraded, decommissioned military-grade tech or civilian knock-offs.

In game terms: legendary-tier gear stripped of its overpowered features and turned into rare or epic-grade items.

At best, maybe an epic version, though with hefty side effects.

As for the legendary version? Lin Yue didn't dare dream of it yet.

He wasn't even sure if his body could handle it—he didn't exactly have a visible Cyberware Capacity stat (Note).

Lin Yue had always been curious about cyberpsychosis. Was it really the implants that caused mental instability? Did military-grade chrome truly drive people insane?

Kostin, noticing Lin Yue lost in thought, smirked.

"You're packing quite the load already. Subdermal armor, titanium bones, ballistic coprocessor, pain editor from your last ripper… Now you got my best neural signal optimizer and a biomonitor. But hey—these have minimal side effects."

"But the more you stack on, the more you'll crave stronger chrome."

Kostin helped Lin Yue sit up.

"Once your ambitions grow, you'll be itching for operating systems like Sandevistan… maybe even Kerenzikov (Note). When all that's wired into you, who's to say you won't lose it?"

Kostin's gaze locked onto Lin Yue.

"So, you still want those Gorilla Arms?"

Lin Yue felt uneasy under Kostin's stare.

Seriously? Gorilla Arms can cause cyberpsychosis too?

"Wait, Gorilla Arms shouldn't…"

Kostin cut him off.

"If you stack enough chrome, anything's possible. Got a solid set here—take a look."

Lin Yue glanced over. They resembled the Gorilla Arms V used in the game—sleek design with black mechanical joints and actuators at the fingers.

Seeing Lin Yue's hesitation, Kostin sweetened the deal for his regular client.

"Tell you what—if you start forgetting things, get shaky hands, insomnia, or just wanna punch every asshole you meet, I'll take 'em off for a rental fee. Deal?"

Lin Yue hesitated, then nodded. With his Technical Ability unlocked now, cyberware upgrades were crucial.

Even if he hadn't unlocked all the perks yet.

"Alright, let's do it."

Kostin chuckled, disappearing into the backroom, returning with surgical tools.

Payment first, surgery later—Dogtown rules.

Lin Yue's wallet took a 60,000 eddies hit.

Better be worth it…

As anesthesia kicked in, Lin Yue's vision faded to black.

---

Outside the ripperdoc's clinic, the rest of Maine's crew waited by the car. Rebecca slumped over the window, looking bored, while Maine, collar turned up, silently smoked a cigarette.

Fresh stitches and bandages from their last gig were still visible on everyone's faces. All patched up while Lin Yue was under the knife.

Except Rebecca, the whole team were chain-smokers.

"Maine, what's taking this kid so long?" Pilar grumbled, thinking they shouldn't bother waiting.

"Shut it," Maine snapped without looking up.

Dorio, almost burning her fingers on her cigarette stub, knew exactly what Maine was thinking.

"He's probably hiding how much chrome he's got on him."

Maine nodded. "I mean, the nerve endings on your face are sensitive as hell, and he took several shots there like it was nothing… No wonder he never hits bars, doesn't buy nice wheels, and avoids clubs."

"What if the kid goes cyberpsycho?"

Pilar's optical implant, a glowing red line, gave no hint of his emotions.

Dorio shook her head. "As long as it's not military-grade stuff… we should be fine… I guess."

Even she didn't sound confident.

As the crew mulled over their new teammate, Maine's phone buzzed with an incoming call from an unknown contact.

---

Notes:

Kostin: Ripperdoc at the Longshore Scrap Yard in Dogtown. Also a butcher selling synthetic meat on the side.

Gorilla Arms: Limb cyberware. A classic, reliable replacement for natural limbs. Ideal for heavy physical labor. (Official Database)

NCPD Privatization: Before 2076, Night City's crime rates soared. Low police wages and reduced city budgets for public projects gradually pushed NCPD towards privatization.

Cyberware Capacity: In Cyberpunk 2077, this stat quantifies how much cyberware a person can handle. V can't see this stat, making every implant a gamble.

Kerenzikov: Neural cyberware that allows you to aim and shoot while dodging. Enables blocking, aiming, or attacking during slides or dodges with time dilation. (Basically time-slow cyberware, and a major cyberpsychosis risk—Kostin's warning isn't baseless.)

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