Cyberpunk: Becoming a Legend from Dogtown

"Hello? Are you… uh, Maine?"

A woman's voice on the other end sounded nervous.

It seemed like her first time dealing with cyberpunks—she even forgot to state her purpose.

Maine frowned. "If you're selling chrome cannons or some crap, don't even bother—"

"Wait! I'm not some ad salesperson!"

The woman sounded anxious.

"Then spit it out already," Maine snapped. He wasn't exactly the friendly type, and random calls like this were usually a waste of time for cyberpunks.

Legit folks would send a message first, not just blurt out someone's name like a rookie.

Rude.

"Do I need to pay you to talk?"

Maine gritted his cigarette, already in a sour mood.

"Hey, listen… I contacted a fixer in Santo Domingo… They said you've been making waves, and suggested I talk to you about a business deal."

"Are you in Night City right now? The fixer said you haven't been around for a while."

Maine didn't reveal his location. "I move around. Wherever there's eddies, that's where I go—pretty standard. So, what's the deal, lady?"

"I… joined a private clinic's rescue team in Santo Domingo. I… uh, well…"

"Yeah, cyberware. I've got some decent chrome and weapons. You interested?"

The woman's voice was low, almost like she was afraid to speak too loudly.

Maine usually hated indecisive partners, but… she mentioned cyberware.

Chrome, weapons, and black-market data? That's serious eddie-making stuff in Night City.

"Tell me about your chrome."

In a small laundromat, Gloria Martinez sighed in relief. She'd been rejected by so many people, but Maine… at least he listened.

"The chrome's all pulled from bodies. Components. Whatever you need, I can… strip it for you."

Maine raised an eyebrow. "Lady, you didn't say you were a scav."

"No, no! I'm not a scavenger—you know, a lot of people die in this city, whether it's from cops or cyberpsychos. Sometimes, our work gets outsourced to MaxTac or Trauma Team. Especially… expired clients."

"Please… think about it… I'm begging you."

Her voice trembled as she forced out those last words.

Maine hesitated. "Lady, you gotta show me your workspace. I don't deal with ripper scav trash. If I find out you're—"

Gloria quickly interrupted, "Don't worry! I'll send you proof when I have a job. I swear I'm not a scav. But the quality of the chrome… well, you'll need a buyer who isn't too picky."

Come on, this is Dogtown. Finding buyers here is the least of the problems.

Maine grinned.

No one's ever turned down more eddies.

Dorio, noticing Maine's sleazy grin—the kind he got when watching braindances—punched him in the gut.

Maine winced, sucking in air. "Got a good gig."

Pilar, arms behind his head, smirked. "Damn, makin' bank in both Dogtown and Night City. Keep this up, we'll be rolling in eddies by Christmas!"

Dorio perked up. "What's the job?"

Maine nodded. "Some lady from Santo Domingo. Selling cyberware and weapons. Doesn't sound like a scav. Let's wait for her call."

Dorio jerked her chin towards the clinic.

"Gonna run this by Mr. Lin?"

Maine nodded. "We're in this together. If this dealer's legit, no harm making some extra cash."

By the time the wait ended, the sky over Dogtown was glowing gold and red.

Exposed under the gaping ozone holes, Night City's sky rarely looked this good. Hovercars zipped past the burning clouds as Dogtown's speakers broadcasted Hansen's latest speech.

A rare moment of peace.

Night was approaching.

Lin Yue looked at his hand, the Gorilla Arms data integrating into his neural system. To his surprise, his interface now displayed cyberware quality levels!

In his mind, Lin Yue realized this HUD was similar to the game's power scaling system from his past life. The world didn't categorize gear as rigidly as in the game, but the interface gave him clear metrics—a massive help for making informed choices.

[Gorilla Arms – Epic]

Purple?

Lin Yue's heart sank. No wonder the ripperdoc had stared at him like that.

Most mercs only had blue-tier chrome at best…

The ripperdoc handed him a few vials. "People call these inhibitors. Around here, we just call 'em blockers—same thing. Take 'em daily. If your head's still clear when they run out, you can stop. If not, come back for more meds."

"Or we take the chrome off."

Lin Yue asked, "Is this pulled from a corpo soldier?"

Kostin blinked, surprised by Lin Yue's sharpness. "Yeah. Dogtown soldier—a former Militech sapper. Corporate gear."

"Don't worry. Cleaned all the blood out. Flushed the veins, too."

Still groggy from the surgery, Lin Yue took a moment to plan his next steps.

When it came to prices in this world? One word: insane.

Back when Lin Yue played the game, most gigs paid only a few thousand eddies. Legendary cyberware was just tens of thousands, available all over. Affordable, too.

Reality? Military-grade chrome was scarce and rarely from legit sources.

Their Dogtown gigs paid decently—averaging around 10k per job despite the danger. Enough to cover upgrades, barely.

Mostly thanks to the eddies he pulled in as "Lin," his fixer persona.

A regular merc would have to grind forever for decent blue-tier offensive chrome—each piece ran 7-8k.

Most merc gigs paid just 1-2k, sometimes even a few hundred.

So, having two or three blue-tier offensive implants? Already impressive.

Only corpo agents, top-tier mercs, and gang leaders could afford stacks of purple-tier chrome.

That's why this arm and some patchwork repairs cost him 60k eddies. Repairs alone were over 10k.

Dogtown had cheaper cyberware channels. In Night City proper? This arm alone would've cost 50k easy.

"Wanna test it out?"

Kostin pointed at some sandbags in the corner. "Move a couple for me. Feel the power."

Lin Yue stood up, grabbed one—over 200 kilos of wet sand—but in his grip, it felt like a grocery bag.

"Nanomuscle fibers store kinetic energy gradually. Find a rusty container outside and have fun. Don't let the door hit you on the way out."

Lin Yue, carrying the sandbag like an idiot, obediently walked out of the clinic.

Watching him leave, Kostin chuckled, half-expectant, half-resigned, and turned back to his computer.

Outside, Rebecca spotted Lin Yue and waved excitedly.

Lin Yue glanced at a nearby shipping container and signaled them to wait. He clenched his fist and punched the metal.

His arm whirred, gears clicking. A rush of adrenaline surged through him as the container's side caved in with a loud crack.

Another punch. Then a third.

The final blow hit like a cannon, blowing a hole through the steel as if hit by an anti-tank round.

Lin Yue stared at his hand in disbelief. The team exchanged looks.

"Maine, what the hell kind of chrome is that?" Maine wasn't sure if he could take Lin Yue in a fistfight anymore.

No human could punch like that.

Pilar squinted, scanning with his optics. "That crazy bastard… Must've slapped a Militech sapper's Gorilla Arms on himself. Shit, ballsy move!"

As Lin Yue strolled back, Maine observed him carefully—no signs of discomfort.

"All good?"

Lin Yue nodded, flexing his biceps with a harmless smile.

His HUD blinked—[Transaction Received: 2,000 eddies from Maine].

"Don't blow all your eddies, kid. Chrome's expensive. We won't always be lucky enough to have gigs when we're broke."

"Guess I need to up my game too, huh?" Maine chuckled.

Lin Yue blinked, then smiled.

This big lug's just looking out for the new guy.

"I guess… Afterlife?" Rebecca teased.

Lin Yue was about to decline when she pouted, "Come on~ I'll cover your drinks!"

In the end, they all piled into their beat-up, graffiti-covered van, tires screeching as they sped towards Dogtown's busiest club.