Dragon Clan: Lu Mingfei Doesn’t Want to Become a Night City Legend

Chapter 97 Undercurrent
Do you know the contrast?
The so-called contrast refers to the "abnormality" that a character exhibits that is different from his usual state.

There are two uses of contrast. One is the contrast used to shape the character's image, and the other is the 'contrasting behavior' used to shape the character's ability.

The latter has spawned a "fantasy culture" that emphasizes the characters doing "actions that the characters would never do," and such actions often violate the character's own image or style.

Specifically - Minato goes home, Gilgamesh goes all out, Makima goes everywhere, Gojo Satoru teleports non-stop, and other phantom gods.

So what is Lu Mingfei's 'Phantom God Mode'?

That must be 'Decisive Lu Mingfei'.

Lu Mingfei's personality label is to go with the flow, be soft and sticky, and be the spiritual successor of Ah Q - however, there is no one in the world who will not change. The experience of Night City and Kassel may not have changed the core of the boy, but it has profoundly changed his behavior pattern.

When necessary, against the necessary people, Lu Mingfei would take action at lightning speed!
Those who hesitated for no apparent reason had been killed by him.

That's why he pressed Lucy to explain the conflict between her and David. Seeing that Lu Mingfei had guessed this, Lucy had no way to hide it.

Finally, she told everything.

[The incident really stems from Lu Mingfei's investigation into the kidnapping of Tanaka by David's former team.]

Tanaka is the head of Arasaka's military technology department. He is a dangerous person in his own right. Trying to get information from him is a very dangerous task for any mercenary.

Thanks to David Swanstein's activeness and the cooperation of his partners, the mission was barely proceeding smoothly. However, at a critical moment, his former boss Mann's cyberpsychosis showed signs of being triggered, which made the mission difficult.

[Lucy joined the mission at this time. She initially didn't want to get involved, but was forced to join for David.]

Lucy does have top-notch hacking skills, especially against Arasaka. According to Lucy, she used to work as a technician at Arasaka, so she is particularly good at bypassing their backdoors.

The hack was successful, and everything seemed to be approaching victory—at this moment, a strange and fantastical aura descended upon this promising mercenary unit.

Lucy saw the message "David Martinez" in Tanaka's mind.

"A military weapon designed by Arasaka and developed based on military technology."

"I didn't look at the blueprints closely, but even a cursory glance tells me it's a crude fantasy of massive firepower. Their strategic goal is to overwhelm military technology—of course, because that weapon isn't meant for humans. Only a monster could wield that prosthetic."

"[Cyborg. Kongo], Arasaka began to search for 'test subjects' in large numbers for this cyborg."

Below the residential building where Lucy David lived, Lu Mingfei and Lucy were talking face to face in the alley.

Lucy, who had quit smoking for a long time, couldn't help but feel irritated at this moment. She pinched a slender ladies' cigarette between her fingers. The floating white smoke mixed with the industrial waste gas that was spread throughout the slums of Night City, entangled and blurred with each other.

"Boss is one of them. The reason is that he exposed his 'military-grade Sian Westin' at Arasaka Academy."

No matter how stupid Lu Mingfei was, he figured out the answer.

Some people may think - it's just Swanwestin, so what if it is installed?
But David, at a young age, used crude surgery and no inhibitors to activate military-grade Sianwestin several times - and this Sianwestin seemed to have driven a professionally trained military lieutenant colonel crazy before being used by David.

No matter how hard you try, it's impossible not to be noticed.

Lucy was afraid that David would be targeted by them, so she chose to kill Tanaka at that time - and this also triggered a series of tragedies that followed.

The chain reaction caused by killing Tanaka activated the trauma team.

Remember that night with the Vortex Gang? The Trauma Squad had one of the best armed forces in Night City, and that armed force shattered the then-powerful Mann Squad. It was said that the Terrorist Squad even showed up later.

The terrorist mobile team makes it impossible for people to have the slightest desire to resist.

No matter how hard David tried, he couldn't save his companions.

——【It’s to atone for sins.】

Lu Mingfei remembered what Lucy and David had said to him.

It was at that time that they 'abandoned' their companions and chose to survive.

After that, David was completely unable to 'slow down'. Too many people placed their hopes on him, so he was absolutely not allowed to stop and just kept adding prosthetics.

Perhaps somewhere in his heart, he was certain of his own death, certain that he would be swallowed up by this city and end up like Mann.

He just wanted to do something before he died.

Like taking his girl to the moon.

Lucy, on the other hand, chose to hide things about herself from David in the midst of long-lasting guilt, and secretly dealt with the Arasaka hackers who knew the "experimental candidate list" in order to protect David.

Lu Mingfei finished listening to the story.

I have only one feeling.

"Is this some kind of gift from the Magi?"

David thinks about Lucy and Lucy thinks about David. Although they say this, it is actually not as warm as the original story. Instead, they impose their own thoughts on each other.

Although it was an undeniable heat, but—

You two really only think about yourselves.

"Depend on!"

Lu Mingfei suddenly shouted.

"I'm asking this from the perspective of 'helping a friend,' not to be your matchmaker! Having a character act as a matchmaker is the worst plot point these days! Readers won't accept such selfless behavior! If you want to show off your affection, find a place to do it! Quack!"

When will my CP come?!

"I want a woman! I need a woman, ahhhh!"

"What's wrong with you?"

Lucy Hongwen kicked Lu Mingfei on the butt and roared angrily.
-
【.】

【ding dong】

Familiar elevator, familiar electronic screen.

Valerie, no, v walked into the floor where the counterintelligence organization was located.

Everyone she met along the way was either humble or too busy to even look at her. After all, this was Arasaka Tower. Although there were no thugs randomly respawning at any time like in the Badlands and street gangs, a corresponding unspoken pressure was magnified to the extreme.

Within the company, the so-called company dogs are just "resources" that are exploited, and their appearance will not change just because they wear a slightly better-looking suit.

No matter how good your abilities are, this reality will not change.

[Buzz—buzz—buzz]

Just at this moment, a communication request signal appeared in V's visual panel.

vLooking at the name of the person who came, a hint of relaxation appeared on his originally stern face.

"Hey, Jack, how come you have time to call me?"

That's right, the familiar name displayed in the upper left corner of the woman's perspective signal is the man who was rescued by Lu Mingfei and David's team some time ago -

Jack Wilson: [Hey! V! I'm here to check on a friend. How's it like working in a snake den?]

"Haha, don't tease me. I have to attend an organizational meeting soon. All the team leaders will be there. Jenkins has promoted me many times, and this time I need to show up in front of the team leaders to make an impression."

[Wow! You've become a big shot! I knew you could do it, huh. But I still don't agree with you continuing there.]

"We've discussed this many times."

Yes. Many times.

Both sides were somewhat silent. As good friends, they did not want to discuss issues involving their stances too deeply, as they would only end up arguing.

「Hey, let me tell you something interesting! Speaking of which, did you know that recently he has been──」

"Alright, alright." V's expression softened at first, but then he quickly fell silent after confirming the content. "You've told me this a thousand times, and every time you emphasize that mercenary L. I remember you recently went to the market and got a tattoo on your forearm for him, right?"

[Haha! I'll show you my "Fu" character when the time comes!]

Jack in the call channel was even a little complacent, and V couldn't help but tease him.
"If I didn't know you, I would feel sorry for Misty."

"It's just a Uzumaki gang. If you had asked me for help, there wouldn't be so much trouble."

[Hey! Don't brag! The company has its own rules, and the underworld has its own rules.]

Jack's eyebrows danced, but V just didn't refute.

Deep down, having been involved in too many company affairs, she thought Jack's words were ridiculous.

The relationship between the company and the underworld is not equal at all.

As long as the company is willing, these gangs will not even have a place to survive.

Of course, she wouldn't say it out loud.

Both she and Jack have been stubborn for a long time. Jack knows that V wants to reach the top of the city, and V knows that Jack wants to become a legend.

legend
"Haha, your title as a legendary mercenary is a bit exaggerated."

V chuckled. "Didn't you say that all the legends of Night City are in graves? Even Arasaka Tower hasn't been blown up. How can that be considered a legend?"

[Ouch! I forbid you to say that!]

Jack's face was obviously red, just like a fan of an unpopular singer who was asked by people around him, "Who are these?"

[Man! Man is still growing! Believe me! He will one day reach the top of this city!]

"Wow, such high expectations~"

This time, the smile was genuine.

The pinnacle of the city. Isn't that her goal as well?
Doesn't that mean that this l is your "opponent"?
A mercenary?

Haha.

V, who still felt that the company was above everything else, didn't take this seriously after all.

However, V glanced at a corner of his visual window, which was the [Photo] that Jack sent him.

Inside was a photo of Jack and a boy who looked very young and a little handsome.

That boy is L.

V remembered this face for the time being, thinking that if he met it again in the future, he could give it a pass.

"Well Jack, it was nice talking to you, see you next time."

[Okay, see you at Lizzie's Bar.]

As the call was hung up, V, feeling relaxed, finally arrived at the destination of this trip.

【Authentication passed, please enter】

After a complicated iris scan, V walked into the conference room at the end of the corridor.

The fragmented light from the azure ring-shaped light tube was reflected by Ronggui's fine plush, and the entire conference room was immersed in darkness. Instead, the red eye prostheses of several colleagues were brighter.

At the center of the round table sits Jenkins, who had previously communicated with V.

When v came in, he greeted the woman without hiding anything and motioned for her to find a place to sit down.

V's position in the counterintelligence organization at this time is considered to be high. Although she has not been given a position like deputy minister, anyone with a discerning eye can see that Jenkins, the minister of the counterintelligence organization, is very optimistic about V, so her position is a bit similar to that of the minister's secretary?

None of the ministers dared to offend her, and some even came to curry favor with V.

"Are you the famous V?"

Look, it’s coming soon.

v turned around and saw a woman with a hairdo that looked like a pile of shit and an ice cream machine that couldn't keep steady and tilted down. She was wearing red goggles, and next to her was a middle-aged man with the same red-framed glasses.

One of the team leaders of the counterintelligence organization department, seems to be from the hacker processing team.

v couldn't quite remember the other person's name, so he just nodded pretendingly.

"Hello."

At this point, the meeting participants were basically gathered.

Everyone was conducting routine organizational reports, with each team leader reporting their current situation to Minister Jenkins, and then being praised or scolded.

V is the one who is praised. She had a very high task completion rate some time ago, and her evaluation within the organization has also risen.

The evidence is the red-eyed sister who came to fawn over her after she sat down.

In a normal meeting, if you say something bad, you will be criticized to death by the minister, but in the cyber age, everyone uses the Internet to connect and others cannot tell.

[I'm Liz from the hacker handling team. Nice to meet you.]

【Me too. 】

v thought he had nothing to do, so he just replied in a lazy tone.

[So, what do you want to talk to me about?] [Just chatting, after all, our job positions are different.]

It's different.

V is mainly responsible for catching infidelity within the company, or working as a special agent in the field, while Liz is obviously in the external department, specifically responsible for cleaning up the company's mess.

Liz: [And we might have a chance to work together soon.]

v: [Roar~]

Liz: [I'm only talking to you two here because there have been a lot of hacker attacks within the company recently, and they're all related to the Tanaka case that caused a bit of a stir a while ago.]

Tanaka?

vOf course I know.

Although any random person inside the company would be like a scourge to the untouchables, the internal structure of Arasaka Corporation is actually a very 'normal' company.

For example, the counterintelligence organization that V belongs to is actually a subordinate organization of the [Special Operations Department], and to put it bluntly, the Special Operations Department is Arasaka's security organization.

Even if Company V really gets Jenkins' support, it can only get into the middle level of the company.

Tanaka is comparatively speaking a bit more "higher in position".

To the person in charge of the 'Military Technology Department Experimental Project' and the director of Arasaka Academy, he is considered a 'senior executive' of the company.

And it is funny no matter how you think about it that such a person is suddenly kidnapped and killed by a group of mercenaries. It has been a source of amusement for the company dogs for quite a long time.

Related to Tanaka.
[What? The mercenary who killed him was found? ]

【Not really. After all, it doesn't matter who killed Tanaka.】

Yes, there is no such thing as righteousness in the company.

If you die, it's your own problem. Don't expect the company to help you - unless your name is Saburo Arasaka.

Even if you really killed Saburo Arasaka, the consequences would not be as serious as you imagined. I guess only his fanatical followers would attack you.

The company is such a cold and heartless organization.

v: [So, the incident after Tanaka's death is related to the experimental project he was in charge of.]

Liz: [Bingo! V, you are as smart as the legend says.]

The woman's mouth curled up into an uncomfortable arc.

【Do you want to try to guess again? 】

Test?
V: [Tanaka was in charge of an experimental project involving military technology. I don't know the specifics, but I'm guessing it was an arms race. While Tanaka's sudden death was definitely the work of a mercenary, the middleman who issued the mission may have had contact with the company.]

Although he is a company dog, V unexpectedly understands the structure of the underground world of Night City.

[Since this is military technology, we can't act rashly—unless they take action first.]

V, a big shot in the intelligence organization, tried to recall the hot gossip in the company during this period and raised his eyebrows.

The email box icon suddenly appeared in my mind, and then the icon shrank and the content expanded. My eyes quickly scanned the text and highlighted some of the names in red.

This, this. I see.

A large number of hackers employed by Arasaka have died, and before their deaths, they were in charge of Tanaka's experimental projects. In other words, someone is trying to get rid of any traces of Tanaka's experiments?

Liz's expression finally changed.

The corners of my grinning mouth suddenly felt a cold temperature, which was the sweat dripping from my forehead.

He approached this woman with a mentality that was three parts tentative and three parts curious, but it turned out that this big shot in the counterintelligence organization suddenly figured out the content of their work.

You have to know that the counterintelligence department is not united internally, and it is normal for them to be hostile to each other. If too much intelligence is obtained from them, it might become a handle against them.

But until now, Liz could only speak calmly and bravely.

Liz: [That's right, as expected of you. We suspect it's some kind of 'important information only Tanaka has', and military technology is trying to prevent us from recovering this information.]

v: [That sounds reasonable.]

As a puzzle game during the meeting, it is pretty good, and V became interested in it.

[But here lies the problem. Although Tanaka's excessive data integration has made the task of restoring the experimental project itself extremely difficult, even so, military technology has no motivation to go to such great lengths to carry out such a massacre.]

It seems like we've reached a dead end here.

The middleman is known to be involved in military technology.

It is known that there are hackers with network technology superior to Arasaka hackers, and they are constantly eliminating people related to the project.

So, what to do next?
The answer is simple -

[Just sit back and wait. Since the other party is going to attack the Arasaka hackers, all we need to do is prepare hackers with the same network methods and wait for them to come and assassinate and then kidnap them.]

[However, the company also needs its own white gloves. If the other party is truly someone from the military technology industry, it might be more convenient to disguise themselves as a middleman. You would probably choose to directly turn the middleman from the military technology development industry.]

Liz:.
【It seems I was right.】

v shrug.

[As always, the 'counterintelligence organization' methods are very efficient. The middlemen are essentially just beasts seeking profit. Their rebellion is inevitable.]

【but--】

vSuddenly thought of something.

[It's unlikely, but if this incident also involves the team of walkers who 'killed Tanaka' that we haven't found yet, then we have to consider issues within the mercenaries.]

Liz: [For example?]

v: [For example, 'deleting the information in Tanaka's mind' is entirely personal. In this 'non-company involved' situation, the subject's behavior pattern becomes difficult to speculate.]

Liz: [Not a company? Are you saying there's someone among the Edgewalkers who can hack into the minds of Arasaka hackers?]

v: [This possibility cannot be ruled out, and if this happens, you must pay attention——]

v thought of Jack, and the 'legendary mercenary' that Jack had mentioned.

[The Edgewalkers are lunatics whose brains are on the verge of collapse, so there are even people among them who would sacrifice their lives and burn everything for 'non-profitable' goals. For example, for their companions~]

Liz: [I'll remember that.]

Liz stopped talking.

She had gained a lot from this conversation.

She roughly understood the character and abilities of V, a prominent figure in the counterintelligence organization. Now she was sure that she would never want to mess with this woman in her life.

As for what she said about mercenaries, burning themselves?
If the probability of mercenaries being able to hack into Arasaka's hacker defense system is less than one percent, then what kind of bond can mercenaries have - that's less than one in ten thousand.

What bonds are we discussing in this Night City?
Ridiculous.
-
【BOOM————】

The ceiling of the bar was shaking slightly, which was the resonance caused by the passing of the tram, and the sound radiating outward from the speakers had a natural reverberation.

The music playing now is a song by the Samurai band. Qiwei still remembers that Lu Mingfei likes this band.

The short-haired woman leaned against the bar counter and asked the bartender for drink after drink.

It is not so easy to get drunk in the cyber age. After all, there are many people whose livers have been replaced by machines. Qi Wei is one of them. As the most mysterious person in David's team, no one knows where she learned her hacking skills or her past.

But both Lucy and Lu Mingfei are her students, so they are also seniors.

just
She is drinking here with a dim look in her eyes?

She didn't even choose the famous Laisheng Bar, but a random shop on the corner. The noisy environment, distorted music, and the smell of cigarettes and paint made her feel at ease.

Just half an hour ago, a familiar middleman called her.

This is a personal mission for her, the goal of which is to catch a cyber hacker who has challenged Arasaka Corporation.

Because this hacker was related to the Tanaka case, Qiwei, who was also a party involved at the time, was chosen.

Qiwei had no reason to refuse.

The middleman's name was Faraday, and he was the best middleman in the area.

Generally speaking, except for super soldiers like Lu Mingfei who have excellent driving skills and like to run around to take on missions, functional mercenaries like Qi Wei will choose to stay in one area for a long time and cooperate with a specific middleman.

She and Faraday were old acquaintances. Their relationship wasn't very good, but they understood each other very well.

A ruthless, power-hungry, self-righteous man who seeks to prove himself - this is Qiwei's evaluation of Faraday.

Despite the subtle comments, Qiwei still maintained a long-term cooperative relationship with him.

Just because he has the ability.

Qi Wei considered herself a cold-blooded person. She would only objectively evaluate the value of others, then go up to negotiate and see if she could use it for her own benefit. And all of this was just to finally be able to blend into the middle class, the middle class of this era and this city.

Become a so-called company dog.

She doesn't care about the company's exploitation of its employees, she just wants to be able to work in a stable environment... No one knows why she thinks so and why she has such a pursuit.

Everyone has their own secrets and pursues their own sense of security. Qiwei is just one of them.

The task Faraday gave her this time was just such a big case.

[As long as you catch that Netrunner, I will recommend you to work in Arasaka.]

Qiwei was instantly engulfed by the passion that was born from the depths of her soul.

Work in a company?
The dream she had longed for most of her life seemed to be coming true.

But soon she fell into an uneasy mood.

She didn't know why, or perhaps she didn't want to think about the reason. Anyway, this was a solo mission, so she simply ran out to drink alone.

Half of her face was resting on the table, recalling what had happened recently.

It is said to be recently, but in fact it is only a few months. However, for mercenaries, a few months of life is as exciting as other people's entire lives.

Join Mann's team. It's a good place. Although Mann is a big guy, he is surprisingly thoughtful, united and has leadership skills.

In fact, Qiwei even thought about staying there for a longer time.

But Night City is Night City, no matter what happens, it's not surprising.

Mann died, and David, the younger brother in the team, took over the organization. Although he was very talented as a fighter, he was obviously inferior to Mann as a leader.

The mission was too reckless and his actions were too radical. Coupled with the loss of talent, Qiwei was actually not optimistic about his future.

Until Lu Mingfei joined.

Although it was Qi Wei herself who invited her, she did not expect that Lu Mingfei had such a terrifying hacking talent and was one of the most eccentric people in Night City.

He - has too high a moral standard.

In fact, David is already a rare good man in Night City, but a good man will only be deceived by bad people. At this moment, Night City happens to have two of them.

The originally reckless David is gradually being suppressed by the rising star Lu Mingfei. If he can avoid repeating Mann's mistakes, perhaps...
"ah!!--."

Qi Wei sighed again and rubbed her head on the wine table.

This noise would not cause any trouble in the bar, but suddenly, Qiwei heard the voices behind her suddenly become noisy.

"Hey, that guy is—"

"If I remember correctly, it should be the legendary one."

Qi Wei: “Hmm?”

The woman slowly raised her head, and just as she turned around, a silly face came into her sight.

"Lu Mingfei?"

The person who came was Lu Mingfei.

With a messy mess of hair and a fairly delicate cherry blossom boy style, it might be hard to find a more "aesthetically nostalgic" handsome man than Lu Mingfei in this Night City.

"Oh, teacher, what a coincidence." Lu Mingfei looked surprised. "I followed the address Falco gave me and found you!"

"This is pure stalking, not a coincidence at all." Qi Wei's mouth twitched as she complained subconsciously.

"so what."

"looking for me?"

(End of this chapter)