Cyberpunk: Becoming a Legend from Dogtown

"It's over."

Sasha stepped out of the bathtub filled with ice. Inside the room, the burly Maine was looking up at the sky at a 45-degree angle, completely unfazed by the scene.

Pilar wasn't there—probably tinkering with his junk in his workshop again.

Dorio draped a coat over Sasha. Everyone was waiting for Sasha's good news.

Diving into cyberspace was indeed an effective way to track down leads. Similarly, hackers also used cyberspace to provide assistance or warnings to their companions during operations.

The key was not to get caught by the opposing hacker. If caught unprepared, a corporate hacker wouldn't hesitate to fry your brain.

Rebecca, who had been singled out by Lin Yue, the "Umbra Hound idiot," seemed uninterested. She lay on the smooth bay window of Lisa's house, her hands behind her head, resting with her eyes closed.

"The network in Dogtown is as shabby as the town itself. But I've figured out the guy's name—Lin Yue.

I have to say, this guy must have some serious connections—there's a hacker protecting his information the whole time."

Sasha liked to squint when she smiled. Paired with the cybernetic cat whisker-like decorations on her cheeks, she looked like a lazy, contented kitten.

"I don't know any Lin Yue. Could it really be the Umbra Hounds who've got their eyes on us?" Rebecca shouted as she leaned in close to Sasha's face, prompting Maine to pick her up and place her on the edge of the bed like a figurine.

Rebecca crossed her arms and buried herself in the oversized collar of her coat, sulking.

Sasha shrugged and continued, "Doesn't seem like it. There's no log or record of such actions by the Umbra Hounds. What's strange is that this guy got kicked out.

Along with his squad, they were probably all dealt with by Hanson, including his gambling and drinking buddies.

As for the rest of the transport security, that was us."

It was Hanson's style to clean up the remnants of the security team afterward. But the fact that he spared this man named Lin Yue left Maine puzzled.

No matter what, this was just business. The cyberpunk squad took the job, and everything proceeded as usual.

But what Maine feared was retaliation from the venomous snake known as Colonel Hanson. Hanson wasn't the conservative type, and the fact that this Lin Yue was still alive—

Did it mean Lin Yue knew something that saved his life?

Maine looked up and noticed that everyone in the room had the same grim expression.

"Is Dogtown easy to get into?"

Maine's question was essentially his conclusion on the matter. He didn't know what Hanson was thinking, but the fact that this "former Umbra Hound" Lin Yue was still alive was a big problem.

"Find a fixer. There's a way in through the outer wall, but it'll take some time." Dorio understood Maine's plan.

Rebecca clenched her fist and slammed it into her palm. "We've got to deal with this ourselves."

Sasha agreed with the proposal. "I'm in. Ready to assist anytime."

---

Five hundred euros. A full five hundred euros!

Lin Yue's heart was bleeding. Fifty rounds of tech sniper rifle ammo had cost him this much!

He had struggled at the [Stadium Black Market], haggling with the gun shop owner to lower the price by fifty euros.

But the sniper rifle wrapped in a cloth bag on his back gave him some comfort.

Since he could visualize his abilities as a panel, did that mean he could use the skills from the skill tree?

He tried, but it seemed he couldn't. The points could only be used to enhance a few attributes—though he had one question.

According to the game's pre-transmigration setting, these points had a cap, meaning Lin Yue had to choose a specialization to strengthen his abilities—swords, hacking, rifles, pistols—all required skill points.

But to thoroughly review the game, Lin Yue had used cheat tools to experience all the specializations.

Now, however, it was pointless to think about it. The [Development Reward Panel] allocated points to fixed attributes, and Lin Yue couldn't intervene.

Name: Lin Yue

[Body]: 9

[Reflexes]: 6

[Technical Ability]: 2

[Intelligence]: 4

[Cool]: 5

Lin Yue was curious—why was there an extra point in Body?

Was it from Mr. Hands' favorability? No, that didn't seem right. It must have been—

Then he felt a pang of emptiness as he shook his head. He remembered—the bloodstained military gloves still lying in the washing machine. They were Snor's.

With no time to mourn these "friends," Lin Yue walked up the road from the Dogtown checkpoint toward the mountain peak.

The hacker Mr. Hands had mentioned, Lin Yue still hadn't been able to reach him. No idea what he was busy with.

Along the way, Lin Yue passed some unfriendly Animal Gang members and drunks, even catching a boxing match before arriving at the destination on time—a seemingly abandoned motel.

"Ding—"

A distorted doorbell rang.

The hacker Mr. Hands called "Hamster" was cautious. By the time Lin Yue reached the door, the camera's scanning beam had already locked onto him.

He looked up at the camera, and a man's hoarse voice came through the intercom.

"Yeah?"

"Mr. Hands sent me."

The door opened. The hallway was piled with garbage. Where the dining area used to be, tables were stacked together, replaced by several sentry turrets.

From the moment Lin Yue entered, the barrels of these turrets, capable of blasting a hole through him, were locked on his position.

Hamster's voice seemed to come from everywhere.

"Third door on the left, turn right, there's a manhole cover in front of you. Lift it up and climb in. Remember to close the door."

No friendly tone. It sounded like Hamster wasn't thrilled about this job.

The underground utility tunnel was lit only by emergency lights. The eerie green glow felt like a path to hell, and the deeper Lin Yue went, the hotter it became.

After jumping out of the pipe, Lin Yue stepped over the densely packed pipelines on the floor and saw the man lying in a hacking chair, still in cyberspace, surrounded by servers.

"What a shame. If I could install a hacker's [operating system] (cyberware), maybe I could enter cyberspace someday too."

Lin Yue thought to himself.

"Did Mr. Hands tell you what you're supposed to do?"

Lin Yue took off his rifle. "He told me to stop the cyberpunk squad from coming after us."

Hamster laughed. "You make it sound so easy, like you're just going to Clouds for some 'fun.'"

"..."

Honestly, with an Intelligence stat of 4, Lin Yue felt like an idiot for a moment when he was mocked.

What could he do when the cyberpunk squad was right in his face?

Lin Yue's expression was quite wonderful at this point. The squad Mr. Hands mentioned was obviously Maine's team.

Lin Yue gave himself a small warning—better not shout people's names on the street in the future. Misunderstandings could get ugly for everyone.

"That squad's hacker is sharp. She knows where to find you—I can see it clearly. But she's only interested in you. Hanson's place is guarded by former Militech hackers, so they can't touch him.

And my friend, you, the 'sacrificial pawn,' are out of luck. Mr. Hands is using you as ICE." (Note: To avoid confusion, just think of ICE as a firewall.)

Lin Yue nodded. "So, what? You're supposed to train me—like, what should I say to a cyberpunk squad trying to kill me to make them put their guns away and happily go back? Maybe grab a working lunch by the Westbrook synth-meat food truck."

Lin Yue swore he said this just to mess with Hamster.

"Hahaha, idiot."

Hamster was amused by Lin Yue. Then he said, "Alright, stop complaining. I'll have a good chat with their hacker. Mr. Hands is serious about this, so I'll handle uploading the fake data. If their assault team comes to kill you, just hold them off for a bit. The Umbra Hounds will hear the noise and come."

Lin Yue pointed at himself. Hold them off? Was he supposed to be the one?

"Just me?"

Hamster's tone was firm:

"Who else? Friend, we're playing a game of cat and mouse right now. First, don't let the cat catch you. Later, Mr. Hands will contact the ripperdoc at the Stadium, and you'll get a little face-changing surgery.

The fewer people involved, the lower the risk.

I get my money, you get your makeover. We stay out of each other's way."

...

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