Across countless worlds: Yearning to become a giant of light.

Chapter 54 Interlude: The Past of Night City

Nobody?

Or will it be fame and fortune?

This issue is present throughout Cyberpunk 2077.

Perhaps only a certain fat, dark-skinned man managed to die like an unknown nobody, yet become famous throughout the world.

V: Yes, yes, yes! It was Dexter DeShawn who planned to assassinate Saburo Arasaka. (Trying not to laugh)

It is now 2075, a year before V is betrayed and expelled by Abernathy. Sasha, the cat hacker in Mann's team, is still alive, David Martinez is still studying at the miserable Arasaka Academy, and Lucy has just arrived in Night City to save money to go to the moon.

Oh, and there's our good brother Jack too.

He hasn't mentioned becoming a big shot yet, but what he's really thinking is anyone's guess.

"Hey~! Amigo, what are you thinking about?"

Seeing Chen Lin sitting there in a daze for a long time, Jack, who was eating, went up and nudged him on the shoulder.

"Go to the dock on the hour... Okay, I'm wondering if it's better to have more prosthetics or fewer."

Chen Lin, who had intended to make a joke, remembered that Jack didn't know about this decades-old joke, so he just made up a random one.

"Putting money aside, Lin, weren't you very opposed to prosthetics before? Old Wei tried to persuade you many times but you wouldn't listen. Why do you suddenly want to get prosthetics?"

Lin is Chen Lin's name in Night City.

Just like how V's real name is Valerie, but everyone calls her V.

"How should I put it... I feel like I'm still too weak."

Actually, Chen Lin was thinking about the Holy Heart in his clone space. It had already become a bunch of data, while he was still hesitating about whether or not to install a prosthetic body, which made him feel very unhappy.

In addition, the other clones eat real food on a daily basis, while I have been eating synthetic food in this world for some time.

I've almost forgotten what real rice tastes like! (Tears welling up)

"If you don't want to pretend, then don't. Just exercise more, right? Look at my physique, it's much better than some of those weaklings who have installed fighting prosthetics."

Upon hearing this, Chen Lin glanced at Jack's muscular physique.

That makes sense. After all, Jack, who's incredibly strong, managed to fight his way out of the Azure Tower even after being hit by machine gun fire. Most people would have been torn in two by now.

"Hey! Don't think about those things. The priest has some work to do, and he asked me to ask if you want to take it."

"What mission?"

Chen Lin perked up as soon as he heard there was work to do.

He could only forget these troublesome things when he was doing missions, and without money, he wouldn't be able to create the Holy Heart technology for himself in this world.

To reiterate, the starting point of civilizations in Stellaris is simply too high; even the level 1 [nanocomposite materials] is enough to ignite a new round of corporate wars in this world.

Not to mention agricultural technology, which can completely revitalize this planet that the company has ruined to the point of being like the end of the world!

But the prerequisite for doing all this is money, and a force that is completely loyal to you.

"I heard that a young female hacker was targeted by the madmen of the Vortex Gang, but strangely, as a hacker, she didn't dare to fight back, so she could only hide and ask for help on the local area network... It just so happens that the local area network she hacked into was the priest's territory."

A hacker girl?
Upon hearing this, Chen Lin recalled the image of the female protagonist from the movie "The Edge Walker".

Could it be Lucy?

However, Lucy shouldn't be afraid of the Whirlpool Gang, since the Tiger Claw Gang is a subordinate gang of the Araban Company.

"I feel like there's something wrong here..."

This is an intuition from the new humans.

“I think so too, but you know the priest’s character. He wouldn’t do anything to cheat people. So the priest also said that if there are any problems, we can abandon the mission and leave at any time, and we will give some compensation afterwards.”

Jack shrugged.

It's possible that Lucy lied; the ones chasing her are probably the Tiger Claw Gang.

For a company the size of Wasteland, Lucy's mining card could be easily replaced by a few more captured in the wilderness. Unless some foolish middleman thought it was profitable, as long as she didn't show her face, she didn't need to worry about being captured and taken back to 'mine'.

It can only be said that the blank space in the game's background story gives fan fiction authors a lot of room for maneuver, but it also gives the 'transmigrator' greater uncertainty. Who knows, one's unintentional action might cause the world line to shift to an unknown realm.

"Then let's accept it!"

Chen Lin ultimately decided to accept the commission.

"I'm just waiting for your words."

Jack raised his hand, and the two stood up from their seats, their right hands clasped together.

When Chen Lin and Jack arrived at the location provided by the priest, they found that the factory's perimeter was filled with cybernetically modified humans who were barely recognizable as human, with probably only a few pieces of flesh left on their bodies. "They look like the Vortex Gang, covered in signs of modification, but their glowing tattoos... damn, this is clearly the Tiger Claw Gang!"

Jack cursed under his breath.

"Lin, what are you planning to do?"

"Go around to find out who the hacker is first, and then consider whether to rescue him or not."

Chen Lin still hoped that the other party was not Lucy, so that he could leave directly.

Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned. In the deepest part of the warehouse, the two found a white-haired female hacker holding a Lexington rifle.

"It really is you..."

Chen Lin muttered something under his breath.

However, since she wasn't wearing the signature outfit from the original storyline, she probably just arrived in Night City and was spotted by someone with a somewhat absurd background... maybe?
"You are……"

Lucy's eyes lit up, as if she was about to intrude on Chen Lin and Jack's relationship.

"Oh, we're not the enemy, Miss Hacker. We're here because of the distress signal you put on the local area network."

Instead of drawing his gun, Chen Lin took two steps forward without any warning.

“Lin…”

Jack wanted to offer a word of advice.

Chen Lin: "Don't worry, leave it to me, Jack."

"..."

Chen Lin's act of trust temporarily dispelled Lucy's hostility, but suspicion still remained.

Lucy: "I don't think mercenaries like you would come because of an unknown distress signal."

"Of course, we're here on a commission. Who the hell would do this job if they didn't get paid?"

Chen Lin shrugged casually.

Lucy: "Whose request was this?"

“Father Haywood, I think you should have heard of him.”

"Um……"

Lucy nodded.

She still knew exactly whose territory she was on.

Then, she slowly lowered the gun in her hand.

But before the atmosphere inside could calm down, the Tiger Claw gang members, who were slowly making their way into the factory, also found their way here.

"Found that woman! Damn it! And two more mercenaries!"

"Kill them... uh!"

Those Tiger Claw Gang members disguised as members of the Vortex Gang were shot in the head by Chen Lin.

"Holy crap! Lin! Your marksmanship is absolutely amazing! No wonder you asked me about the prosthetic body before, so you were hiding this awesome prosthetic body from me?"

Just as Jack was about to turn around and counterattack, he was shocked by Chen Lin's current fighting power.

However, he instinctively assumed it was because Chen Lin had a new prosthetic body.

"I guess so, it's a very, very strong prosthetic body."

An invisible prosthetic body called [New Human].

Immediately, Chen Lin reached out his hand to Lucy, who was not far away.

"Come on, Miss Hacker, we're on the same team for now."

"..."

Lucy didn't answer, but she nodded in acquiescence to the temporary team formation.

The three of them quickly fought their way out, got into a hastily stolen car, and engaged in a high-speed car chase and gunfight for a while before finally shaking off the Tiger Claw Gang who were pursuing them.

And so begins Chen Lin's story, a cyberpunk tale.

I feel much better after taking the medicine. It was definitely because the temperature change from the air-conditioned room was too great and my body couldn't handle it.

I'm going to sleep now. Goodnight.

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(End of this chapter)