Cyberpunk: Becoming a Legend from Dogtown

Rebecca moved slowly, the weight of the machine gun in her hands preventing her from running quickly. On both sides, Pilar, Dorio, and Maine shared the turret's fire.

"Go to hell, bastard!"

Rebecca gritted her teeth and growled, unfazed as the scorching shell casings brushed against her face.

A streak of blue light flashed across her face.

Maine, standing beside her, felt a powerful gust of wind rush past him.

Bang!

Rebecca's eyes widened, her expression instantly frozen, as if she had suddenly stepped into an icy river while walking on thin ice.

No one can escape the premonition of death, and these blood-soaked cyberpunks are even more sensitive to it.

"Shit! Rebecca!"

Maine's instinctive reaction was still a step too late.

The heavy machine gun in Rebecca's hands was instantly dismantled, its parts scattering with small explosions, debris splattering all over the ground.

The next second, Maine lifted her up entirely as Dorio continued to suppress the Zeta Tech turrets with her gunfire. She swiftly dodged behind a pickup truck, a maneuver that didn't even need verbal communication after years of teamwork.

They all understood—there was a sniper targeting them.

Quickly, they crouched and ran towards an unfinished building on one side. Pilar twisted his gun and unleashed a burst of bullets toward Lin Yue's direction.

Lin Yue kept his head down, waiting for the bullets to stop. He shook off the concrete fragments on his head and swiftly rolled onto a slightly lower platform next to the rooftop.

"Machine gun neutralized, Hamster."

Hamster chuckled darkly, "Fucking brilliant!"

Lin Yue knelt on one knee, holding the Nekomata sniper rifle like the scythe of the Grim Reaper, tightly locking onto Dorio, who was running towards the back of the unfinished building.

Without hesitation, Lin Yue fired a second shot. The bullet hit Dorio's gun, shattering it into pieces that cut into her hand, staining it red with blood.

"He's toying with us!" Pilar shouted.

"Twenty minutes…"

Lin Yue muttered under his breath. A simple defensive task—just hold the line with his sniper rifle to disrupt the squad's attack rhythm until the Maelstrom hounds arrived to drive them off.

That would be mission accomplished.

Lin Yue wasn't reckless; he valued his life. But the tempting reward on his HUD panel and memories from his past life made him hesitate.

He didn't see any problem with holding back for now. His position was relatively safe, and he just needed to ensure Hamster's underground net studio held out a little longer.

The sniper scope shifted. Maine, seemingly trying to get a better view from a window, had the concrete wall above his head shattered by Lin Yue's shot, just a centimeter off target.

Perfect. Just stall them. Once Maelstrom arrives, they'll all have to scram.

Lin Yue thought to himself.

Rebecca, tightly held by Dorio, struggled fiercely. If left unchecked, she would've already dashed toward the building where Lin Yue was hiding to tear that mocking sniper apart.

"Dorio!"

"Find another entry point! I'm going after the sniper!"

Maine wasn't giving up. He gently patted Dorio's shoulder and jumped off the platform on one side of the building.

Lin Yue's sniper scope was a second too slow to catch up. An experienced cyberpunk in a gunfight knew exactly how to deal with a lone sniper like him.

"Damn it!"

Cursing under his breath, Lin Yue slung his sniper rifle over his back, pulled out his handgun from his waist, and chambered a round.

He needed to create some distance for a proper encounter—to let them know what was really happening in Dogtown. If they kept stalling until the Maelstrom troops arrived, the squad's escape would be nearly impossible.

"Fucking lunatics!"

Lin Yue cursed silently. Any sane person would retreat after seeing such dense Zeta turrets and a sniper. But these street-punk squads were determined to push forward—adventurous, if not insane.

Is the key to becoming a legend to never leave yourself an escape route?

Lin Yue jumped down the building's metal fire escape, holding his pistol with a slight bend in his elbow in a standard military stance, scanning slowly ahead.

He needed to stay close to Hamster. If not for this consideration, he would have relocated for more sniping opportunities.

In the dark alleys, Maine advanced cautiously with his Arasaka Kenshin pistol from their last gig, ready to fire.

Advertisements for All Foods and Big Gun flickered everywhere in the alley, accompanied by the crackling sound of junkies inhaling, occasional curses, and the distant sounds of his teammates still battling the hacker's defenses.

The good news: the sniper had stopped firing. The bad news: the sniper probably knew Maine was coming for him.

"Fucking Maelstrom bastards are hard to deal with."

Maine muttered, slipping out from the alley, only to have the barrels of two guns collide face-to-face.

Lin Yue's hair stood on end. Maine was even more massive than he had imagined. At 178 cm tall with cybernetic implants and artificial muscles, Lin Yue still felt like a skinny pup compared to Maine.

Lin Yue kicked Maine's shin. Expecting no effect, he instinctively grabbed Maine's gun barrel with his other hand.

A shot rang out, and the neon sign behind Lin Yue flickered out instantly.

Maine's leg throbbed in pain, surprised by Lin Yue's unexpected strength.

How is this guy so strong? he thought, struggling against Lin Yue's grip, which felt like a vice clamp.

With a burst of force, Maine flung Lin Yue against a nearby wall. Lin Yue felt his insides churn violently.

"Shit, he's strong."

"You're not Maelstrom?"

"Wait—"

"You're that idiot… Lin Yue?"

Lin Yue kneed Maine in the stomach. Maine retaliated instantly, throwing Lin Yue aside. Lin Yue scrambled up, aiming his pistol, trying to slip into a nearby alley.

Bang!

Blood mist exploded from Maine's shoulder.

"Fucking bastard… not bad. Who the hell are you? How do you know about us?"

Maine's voice echoed from afar.

Lin Yue had no intention of revealing that he knew all their names—his greatest secret and advantage.

"Go back where you came from. Got it? Once Maelstrom arrives, neither of us is getting out alive," Lin Yue said, his temple throbbing, mixing bluff with truth.

Hanz had said it: Maelstrom might be a game to Lin Yue, but not to them.

Luckily, his cybernetic arm and pain editor softened Maine's impact, though his back was still numb.

This fight between Lin Yue and Maine was meaningless.

The cyberpunk squad feared being sold out, and Lin Yue feared they'd stir up trouble with Colonel Hansen. Mr. Hanz didn't want outside forces meddling in Dogtown.

If only Maine would listen…

"Believe it or not, Maelstrom patrols will be here soon. If Dogtown gets fully mobilized, do you really think you can outrun them?"

If not for the reward, I would've put a bullet in your head already, Lin Yue thought. This guy's as stubborn as they come.

"Head back now. We're all just trying to make a living. Hansen will go after whoever hired you or the corporation."

Maine laughed mockingly, his eyes behind his sunglasses filled with disdain.

"Maelstrom sure knows how to sweet-talk."

"Someone might mistake you for Hansen himself."

"But I'm here to take you down, idiot. No matter what you know, you think I don't see that Hansen is protecting you?"

Leaning against the wall, Lin Yue realized that talking was useless. The cyberpunk squad had limited information; they simply took out any threats.

No reasoning with that.

"Lin Yue! Get over here now! Their hacker is breaking through the turret defenses!" Hamster's voice crackled urgently in Lin Yue's earpiece.

Since when was their hacker this good? Lin Yue thought, something feeling off.

As he searched for a route to disengage from Maine and reposition for sniping, Hamster suddenly screamed in pain.

"It's not the cyberpunk squad! It's a fucking Militech hacker! Shit! Lin Yue!"

Static and screams. Then silence.

At the same time—

"Maine, retreat! Arasaka's on us!" Sasha's weak voice came through.

"Arasaka? Sasha?!" Maine shouted.

While Lin Yue and Maine were locked in their standoff, Maelstrom forces had rapidly closed in.

Lin Yue reacted instantly.

All that 'we're just making a living' bullshit? This is a damn bait-and-switch!

So this is the fucking surprise?!

Before he could process it all, a loud explosion erupted from the distant motel where gunfire hadn't ceased. Above, Maelstrom drones zipped toward the chaos.

One drone spotted Lin Yue below, its odd warbling beep locking onto him as a target.

"Are you serious?!"

Maine also sensed something was off. Both of them were forced into a nearby alley under a hail of bullets.

...

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