Chapter 7: The Cat and Mouse Game

[Page 1/3]

“It’s over.”

Sasha climbed out of the bathtub packed with ice. Inside the room, the rough-hewn Mann gazed up at the ceiling at a forty-five-degree angle, wearing an expression that suggested he had seen it all before.

Pilar was nowhere to be seen. She was probably tinkering with those pieces of junk in her workshop again.

Dorio draped a coat over Sasha’s shoulders. Everyone was waiting for her good news.

Entering cyberspace really was an effective way to track down clues. Likewise, hackers could use cyberspace to assist their comrades in the field—or warn them of danger.

That was, of course, assuming they did not get caught by the opposing hacker. With no defenses in place, a corporate hacker would roast your brain without hesitation.

Rebecca, whom Lin Yue—the “Hellhound moron”—had singled out by name, was utterly uninterested. She lay on the smooth bay window ledge in Lisa’s home, hands tucked behind her head, eyes closed as she rested.

“The network in Dogtown is just as ramshackle as the place itself. But I know what that guy’s name is now: Lin Yue.

“I have to admit, that man has quite the backing. A hacker has been protecting his information the entire time.”

Whenever Sasha smiled, she liked to narrow her eyes. Along with the cybernetic decorations on her cheeks that resembled cat whiskers, it made her look like a lazy, contented kitten.

“I don’t know any Lin Yue. Are we sure the Hellhounds haven’t really set their sights on us?” Rebecca shouted as she crowded up to Sasha’s face. Mann grabbed her whole body and lifted her away, setting her down beside the bed like a figurine.

Rebecca folded her arms and sulked alone inside the oversized collar of her coat.

Sasha shrugged and continued.

“Doesn’t seem like it. There are no records of the Hellhounds having anything to do with him, neither in their logs nor their activity reports. But the strange thing is, that guy got kicked out.

“The squad he was attached to should have been dealt with by Hansen as well, including those gambler friends of his who drank with him.

“As for the rest of the transport security detail, we were the ones who took them out.”

Hansen cleaning up the survivors of the security team afterward was entirely in character. What Mann could not figure out was why he had spared this man named Lin Yue.

Whatever the case, this was business. When a cyberpunk crew took a job, everything proceeded according to plan.

What worried Mann was the possibility that the venomous snake known as Colonel Hansen would retaliate. Hansen was no conservative when it came to his methods. And now this man named Lin Yue was still alive—

Did that mean Lin Yue knew something? Was that why he had managed to return with his life?

Mann looked up and saw that everyone in the room wore the same grim expression.

“How hard is it to get into Dogtown?”

With those words, Mann effectively brought the matter to a conclusion. He did not know what Hansen was thinking. He only knew that this former Hellhound named Lin Yue still being alive was a major problem.

“Find a fixer. There may be a chance to get in over the outer wall, but it’ll take some time.” Dorio understood what Mann intended.

Rebecca clenched her fist and slammed it into her palm. “We have to deal with this problem ourselves.”

Sasha clearly approved of the proposal. “I’m in. I can cooperate whenever you need me.”

-----------------

Five hundred euros. Five whole hundred euros!

Lin Yue’s heart was bleeding. Fifty rounds of ammunition for a tech sniper rifle had cost him that much!

[Page 1/3]

[Page 2/3]

He had gone to great lengths at the Stadium Black Market to haggle the gun-shop owner down by fifty euros before finally getting them.

Still, the sniper rifle wrapped in a cloth bag on his back offered him some comfort.

Since he could turn his own abilities into a visible status panel, did that mean he could use the abilities listed on the skill trees as well?

He gave it a try. Apparently not. The points could only be used to increase a few attributes—but there was one thing he wondered about.

According to the game’s design before he crossed over, those points had a limit. That meant Lin Yue had to choose a particular path to strengthen his abilities: blades, hacking, rifles, pistols. All of them required skill points.

Still, in order to conduct an in-depth evaluation of the game, Lin Yue himself had once activated a cheat trainer, simply to experience every possible build.

But now, no matter how he thought about it, it was pointless. The points granted by the Development Reward Panel were already fixed to specific attributes, and Lin Yue had no way to interfere.

Name: Lin Yue

[Body]: 9
[Reflexes]: 6
[Technical Ability]: 2
[Intelligence]: 4
[Cool]: 5

What puzzled Lin Yue was why his Body attribute had increased by one.

Had it been granted by Mr. Hansen’s favorability rating? No, that could not be right. It should have been—

He suddenly felt hollow and shook his head. He remembered. Those bloodstained military gloves were still lying in the washing machine. Seno had given them to him.

Lin Yue had no time to mourn these “friends.” He followed the road from the Dogtown checkpoint toward the mountaintop.

He still had not managed to get through to the hacker Mr. Hands had mentioned. He had no idea what the man was busy with.

Along the way, Lin Yue passed several Animal gang members and drunks wearing hostile expressions. He even stopped to watch a boxing match. Then, according to the agreed time, he reached his destination: what appeared to be an abandoned roadside motel.

“Beep—”

The doorbell emitted a distorted, staticky chime.

The hacker Hands called “Hamster” was extremely cautious. By the time Lin Yue reached the door, the scanning beam of the camera had already locked onto him.

He looked up at the camera. A hoarse male voice sounded through the doorbell.

“Yeah?”

“Mr. Hands sent me.”

The door opened. Garbage was piled throughout the corridor. The tables in what had once been a restaurant had been stacked together, replaced by several sentry turrets.

From the moment Lin Yue entered, the gun barrels—capable of blasting a hole straight through his body—remained trained on him.

Hamster’s voice seemed to come from everywhere.

“Third door on the left. Turn right. There’s a manhole cover to the underground utility lines in front of you. Lift it and climb inside. Remember to close the door.”

[Page 2/3]

[Page 3/3]

There was no warmth in his voice. Hamster sounded as though he was doing this job against his will.

The underground utility passage was lit only by emergency lamps. Their eerie green glow seemed to lead straight to hell. The farther Lin Yue went, the hotter it became.

After jumping out of the pipe, Lin Yue stepped over the densely packed cables and pipes covering the floor. Between the rows of servers, he saw a man sprawled in a hacker chair, still immersed in cyberspace.

“What a shame. If I could install a hacker’s operating system cyberware, maybe one day I could enter cyberspace myself.”

Lin Yue kept the thought to himself.

“Did Hands tell you what you’re supposed to do?”

Lin Yue took the rifle from his back. “Stop the cyberpunk crew coming for us.”

Hamster burst out laughing. “You make it sound so easy. Like going to the Cloudtop Club to ‘play a game.’”

“…”

To be honest, with only four points in Intelligence, Lin Yue briefly felt like a complete idiot after being mocked.

What was he supposed to do when the cyberpunk crew came straight to his doorstep?

In fact, Lin Yue’s expression had been remarkably精彩 ever since. Anyone with half a brain could tell that the crew Hands had mentioned was Mann’s team.

Lin Yue gave himself a small warning: from now on, he should stop shouting other people’s names in the middle of the street. Misunderstandings made everyone look bad.

“The hacker on that crew is very smart. She knows where to find you—I saw everything clearly. But it doesn’t matter. She’s only interested in you.

“Hansen’s nest is being watched by hackers from the former military corporations. They can’t do anything to Hansen.

“And my friend, you’re the unlucky sacrificial pawn Hands has pushed out to serve as ICE.”

Lin Yue nodded. “So you should train me a little. For example, if a cyberpunk crew comes to kill me, what can I say to make them lower their guns and go home happy? Maybe stop for a working lunch beside a synth-meat food truck in Westbrook.”

Lin Yue swore he had only said it to needle Hamster.

“Hahaha. What an idiot.”

Hamster laughed himself silly, then continued. “All right, stop complaining. I’ll have a proper conversation with the hacker on the other side. Hands is taking this seriously. I’ll upload the forged data. If their assault team comes to butcher you, just hold out for a while. The Hellhounds will come when they hear the commotion.”

Lin Yue pointed at himself. Hold out for a while? Was that person supposed to be him?

“Really? It’s just me?”

Hamster’s tone was utterly certain.

“Who else would it be? My friend, we’re playing a game of cat and mouse. First, don’t let the cat catch you. After that, Hands will contact a ripperdoc at the Stadium, and you can get a little surgery to change your face.

“One extra person means one extra risk.

“I’ll use my money, you’ll get your face altered, and we’ll each mind our own business.”