Cyberpunk: Becoming a Legend from Dogtown

Tick.

The sound of a holo-call connecting echoed.

"Did you plug the device into Dogtown's network? What's the situation now?" a man's deep voice asked from the other end.

Under the night sky, a woman leaned against a car. Her sharp corporate suit was pristine, and her polished patent leather heels gleamed under the dim lights. The faint glow of her golden cybernetic hand reflected subtly in the dark.

"It's done. Looks like Maelstrom's having quite the party down there. As for Hansen… still giving his shitty speeches, spouting garbage like always."

She waved a hand, shooing away a swarm of flies hovering over a nearby corpse that had been gutted by Scavs.

Soon, her superior sent over some data from Dogtown's network.

"We've confirmed it. Someone from Night City HQ is involved in this backstabbing mess."

Her eyes flickered blue as the files appeared in her optics.

"Abernathy's been on a roll lately. That bitch has been wagging her tail in front of the higher-ups, trying to steal my spotlight—and several key client contracts are still pending. This Dogtown gig needs to be flawless. With the personnel review from Counterintelligence coming up, your name's on the promotion shortlist."

"Is that so? Good to hear." Her voice was smooth, with a slight nasal tone, unhurried and composed.

Her superior continued,"Hansen wants to cost us business. This shipment came from Europe under our export label. But you know we don't fund warlords. If Dogtown won't let us in, Hansen sure as hell isn't getting our goods."

"We've already dealt with the European exec smuggling the weapons. As for who in Night City pulled this stunt, that's on you to find out. The Frankfurt contract is critical, and I need to keep an eye on it—this is a key stage of Project Yunhai.

"I'm entrusting all Dogtown operations to you. I expect a full report when I'm back."

"Understood. What about Militech?" she asked.

"Leave them be. They're too paranoid we might ally with Hansen. Let those dogs run themselves ragged."

The call ended. She crossed her arms, gazing down at the gunfight raging below the hill.

A mole in Night City HQ was the last thing Counterintelligence wanted. These messy cover-up jobs always landed on their desk—if you were lucky, you'd only get laid off. If not, your company ID got revoked, and a squad of operatives would show up to erase you without a trace.

Right now, there was someone down in that battlefield… someone whose name just popped up in the data her superior sent.

After a moment's thought, she turned to open the car door, ready to leave. From the darkness, several Scavs crept forward, blades at the ready.

"Organ harvesters, huh? Cute."

She smiled faintly, a subtle, unreadable grin on her sharp and delicate face. Her cybernetic eyes glowed red.

Suddenly, electric arcs burst from the Scavs' heads, their bloodied butcher knives and bats clattering to the ground as their implants sparked violently.

She shut the car door as the tires screeched, leaving a cloud of smoke. A convulsing Scav bent over, desperately trying to break free from the electrical surge.

Boom!

The car's rear lights vanished into the distance as the Scav's body was sent flying.

---

The unfinished construction site was crawling with Maelstrom soldiers, locked in combat with a cyberpunk crew—and a sniper firing from nearby.

Maelstrom's encirclement had forced two opposing sides into an uneasy alliance.

Everyone was exhausted.

Lin Yue fired his last bullet, piercing the head of an unlucky soldier hiding behind a concrete barrier. His rifle clicked empty, signaling its final shot.

No time to dwell—he slung it aside and pulled out his kinetic rifle to continue fighting.

Maelstrom, a Militech-bred gang army, excelled in tactical combat, especially in urban warfare.

The only silver lining was the complex terrain—if Maelstrom's armored vehicles rolled in, the tide would turn instantly.

Lin Yue and the others had no heavy weapons.

"Watch out!"

Pilar, his arm drenched in blood, ducked to reload when a Maelstrom gun barrel appeared from the side, nearly pressed against his forehead.

Rebecca kicked her brother aside and blew the Maelstrom soldier's head to pieces.

"Maine!"

Dorio, heavily injured, crouched behind cover, her expression grim.

More and more Maelstrom reinforcements flooded in, shifting the battle's momentum. Lin Yue and Maine locked eyes.

For now, they were fighting on the same side.

"Shit!"

Lin Yue growled, seething. "I told you to retreat! Split up! Stay here, and we're dead!"

Maine, surprisingly, didn't argue. Lin Yue clearly had no intention of screwing them over.

The burly man quickly assessed the battlefield and ordered his crew to fall back to the side. "Hey, dumbass! You still gonna play lone wolf? Get over here!"

Lin Yue had no intention of sticking with them. But as the gunfire intensified, drowning out everything, a mechanical whir echoed through the area.

Maelstrom's combat mech had entered the scene.

The former Militech combat droid, now covered in Maelstrom's graffiti, bore a white-painted skull on its front, with heavy machine guns and missile launchers mounted on each arm. Its bipedal design allowed it to navigate the complex terrain with ease.

Lin Yue's eyes darted around for a solution. He couldn't die here today.

The mech advanced through the construction site, with Maelstrom soldiers hunkering down behind cover, waiting for it to clear out Lin Yue's group.

Petrochem.

Lin Yue spotted the faded logo on a rusted fuel tank nearby.

CHOOH2?

A fuel as flammable as gasoline. Lin Yue had an idea.

The mech was the focal point of Maelstrom's heavy firepower.

"Give me something with punch!"

From a distance, Rebecca, dual-wielding pistols, immediately tossed her shotgun over.

Lin Yue caught the hefty weapon—not his trusty Carnage, but good enough.

He moved swiftly towards the fuel tank, drawing the mech's attention.

Bzzz!

The mech's guns locked onto him, unleashing a hail of bullets that sparked as they tore through the ground behind him.

Lin Yue felt his soul leave his body for a moment, but he clenched his teeth and pushed forward.

"Over here, you piece of shit!"

Veins bulged on Rebecca's temple as she unloaded bullets at the mech's armor, instinctively providing cover for Lin Yue.

Provoked, the armored behemoth turned its fire on Rebecca's group, giving Lin Yue a brief window.

With Maelstrom's leader cursing the malfunctioning "idiot AI," they focused their fire on Rebecca's crew instead.

"Here!"

Lin Yue emerged from behind the Petrochem tank, the shotgun's powerful recoil blasting a spray of shrapnel into the mech's armor, leaving deep dents and sparking circuits.

As the mech turned to retaliate, Lin Yue ducked just in time.

Bullets ripped into the fuel tank behind him.

Lin Yue pushed his body to its limits, leaping high as an explosive force propelled him through the air, his back numb from the shockwave.

The mech was engulfed in flames, the deafening blast stunning everyone, Maelstrom included.

Amidst the chaos, burning debris crackled, and agonized screams filled the air.

Maine shook off dust and debris from his head, grinning wildly. "Fucking brilliant!"

Rebecca dropped her gun and rushed to help Lin Yue, who struggled to get up.

Lin Yue's ears rang, his vision blurred. Rebecca's lips moved, but he couldn't hear her words.

Clang!

A flaming metal sheet rolled toward him.

Sound returned just as he realized it was too late to dodge.

The sharp edge sliced through his cybernetic arm, severing it in a crackling burst of electricity.

Pain flooded his mind, nausea rising as blood dripped from his mouth onto Rebecca's gun.

He shoved the weapon into her hands and pushed her away.

"Take your crew… and get out."

As the burning construction site echoed with Maelstrom's groans, Dorio pulled Rebecca back, and the crew vanished into the ruins.

Lin Yue, dragging his wounded leg, forced himself up and stumbled toward the Dogtown wasteland.

The mission rewards flashed across his HUD, but he didn't care.

Lin Yue had only one thought now:

Kill the bastard who sold him out.

Nothing else mattered.

...

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