Chapter 16: Family

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“Morning, old man Viktor.”

V greeted him.

While the two of them were talking, Viktor arrived at the shop to prepare for the day’s business.

He set down the clothes first, then pointed at the backrest of the cyberware operating chair behind Lin Yue. “Lie down for now. I’ll run another check on your systems. I’m old—the skill hasn’t faded, but I do keep forgetting things.”

Lin Yue obediently lay back in the chair.

V stretched, yawning repeatedly. “Viktor, this guy will pay you for the surgery. If he skips the bill, come after me. I’ve still got to get to work.”

Viktor had just plugged the diagnostic cable into Lin Yue’s neural interface when he said, “V, you need to get some rest. The company doesn’t care whether you live or die, but you should.”

V laughed it off, waved a hand, and walked straight out of the ripperdoc’s shop.

A deep look settled in Lin Yue’s eyes. In the truest sense, old Viktor was more like V’s real family.

“Arasaka is squeezing every last drop of value out of you,” Viktor grumbled with a shake of his head, then began carefully examining every one of Lin Yue’s vitals and cyberware readings.

“Um, Doctor Viktor, about this operation…”

Lin Yue scratched his head. Viktor’s voice and manner always gave people a sense of security, but he was still deeply worried about the bill.

He had not forgotten that when Viktor was young, he had been a gang member who sent people messages like “Go fuck yourself,” not to mention a boxer with a formidable reputation.

As for Viktor’s good nature, ultimately Lin Yue maintained a basic respect for this loyal old man of Night City, and that softened his tone considerably.

“V was worried you couldn’t afford it, so she fronted ten thousand for the surgery. If you’ve got the money, pay another ten thousand… Ah, forget it. I’ll count it as a discount. Give it to V, and she’ll pass it on to me.”

Lin Yue still had enough money. His eyes brightened.

“No need to worry. I trust you. I’ve transferred it already. Your work is excellent. Please have V pass it along.”

Doctor Viktor liked customers who praised his craftsmanship, but he also understood young people who could barely keep money in their pockets.

“You young people always want to take on the big jobs. You install the latest cyberware in the city, run around in packs with your useless friends, race your cars—but you have to know your limits when it comes to implants. Install too much, and you’ll become a complete lunatic.”

“That’s why I use good stuff. It’s kinder to the body, and it suits young people like you who prefer to settle things with real steel and bullets.”

“And you gave me too much money.”

Lin Yue shook his head. “I want you to change my appearance. Completely. I want a brand-new face.”

“You get yourself into trouble? All right… But changing your outward features isn’t a very good solution. Databases compatible with high-end Kiroshi systems can still identify you without difficulty.”

Lin Yue more or less understood. Viktor—even the worst ripperdoc—could give you a new face, but it would only treat the symptoms, not the cause. His true identity could be exposed at any moment.

“Dogtown has some technology that came through less-than-legal channels. Behavioral facial plates, they call them. Supposedly, they can turn you into an entirely different person from head to toe. It takes a lot of equipment: adjustable skin and muscle structures, a vocal-cord simulator, full-spectrum biometric sampling of the target…”

“To be honest…” Viktor gave an embarrassed little smile. “I’d like to see what that technology looks like myself. It ought to be of considerable research value.”

Behavioral facial plates?

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Lin Yue remembered. V had used that black-market technology in Dogtown to disguise herself as Aguilar and deliver a threat to Hansen’s men. He had not expected the process to be so complicated.

He would have to get into Dogtown first. He could search for cyberware like that later.

In the end, Lin Yue still underwent the facial reconstruction surgery.

After leaving Viktor’s shop, Lin Yue slipped out through the back door of Misty’s store and gave her a courteous nod.

Now he had to think about how to return to Dogtown.

Though Mr. Hands and the colonel in that wretched place probably wanted to grind him into dust, his performance had earned him an opportunity from V. Now he had to handle the matter himself.

Of course, V could help Lin Yue, but he could not simply open his mouth and say, “Send me into Dogtown.”

If he did, he would have almost no value left. Arasaka might as well send in a competent agent instead.

He had borrowed the company’s authority to make himself look more formidable than he was, and Lin Yue’s real aim was simply to gain temporary access to the company’s resources.

That was right. His plan was to take a share of Mr. Hands’s contracts.

That would be the first step.

Lin Yue had no intention of making Mr. Hands’s connection to the company known to everyone.

Once more powerful people learned that Hands had fallen, there would be no place for Lin Yue. The business in Pacifica and Dogtown would be carved up completely by others. Besides—

If Lin Yue suddenly demanded that Hands hand over part of his business, Hands might lash out in desperation. And the clients would never trust a middleman who had appeared out of nowhere.

The beginning of anything was always difficult. Lin Yue had never believed that starting was the troublesome part. The truly frightening thing was having no idea where to go next.

Incoming call: V

Lin Yue sat beside a food cart on Jig-Jig Street, eating the Japanese food Takemura had dismissed as garbage.

Sometimes Lin Yue felt he simply did not know good food when he saw it. Takemura had called the chicken meatballs and ramen absolute trash, but Lin Yue thought they were perfectly edible, aside from the poor texture and questionable hygiene.

As for what kind of meat it really was, he had no idea. It certainly was not genuine meat.

Synthetic protein? Or high-protein insects?

“The intel’s ready, Rin.”

V’s efficiency certainly justified the speed of her promotion. Even the way she addressed him had changed.

She had excellent follow-through.

Lin Yue nodded. “Yes, boss.”

“You’d better get to Dogtown as soon as possible. I’ve got plenty of things there that need investigating. The company keeps me busy, and I can’t exactly show my face in Dogtown all the time—”

“In that dump, Hansen can smell a company operative the moment one walks through the gate.”

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An idea took shape in Lin Yue’s mind.

“Boss, have you investigated Hansen?”

On the other end, V raised a hand to signal him to wait. After a while, she replied, “Hmm… We did. His wife is German and likes speaking French—”

“Emma. It means Emma in Old Germanic. That’s her name.”

“Hansen hired a security company to protect the two of them around the clock.”

“What’s this? Have you developed an interest in another man’s wife?”

Lin Yue took a sip of ramen. “What does his wife like to do most? Or, put another way—does she have any recreational time when the security guards aren’t hovering around to pour her tea?”

V understood his meaning instantly. “If you want to cause someone trouble, going after their family is certainly effective.”

“Every Saturday, Mrs. Hansen goes to a braindance club in Westbrook. She spends time there with a few corporate women and entertainment celebrities. The security stays outside.”

“But I advise you not to take it too far. There’s no guarantee someone from Dogtown—or Kurt Hansen himself—won’t step in.”

Lin Yue stood up, leaving the ramen unfinished.

“I won’t. We’re just going to have a little ‘peaceful’ conversation and give Mr. Hansen a few sleepless nights.”

“I’m not about to do anything to a woman.”

V hung up. Lin Yue studied his new reflection in the greasy glass rod beside the food cart. Viktor’s work really was precise.

He was even more handsome than before. Damn it.

“Boss, the ramen was delicious!”

Lin Yue offered his praise to the frantic-looking man dressed like a Japanese chef.

“Arigato gozaimasu! Esteemed customer, your approval is truly—”

At that exact moment, a green-haired Tyger Claw member nearby choked on his food.

“Damn it! Why does this taste like shit? Is this supposed to be cooking?”

“What the—? Fuck! Why is there a cockroach in my bowl?”

The owner’s chubby face filled with embarrassment. A Tyger Claw seized him by the collar as a gleaming Japanese sword appeared amid the surrounding threats, screams, and curses.

Turning his back and walking away, Lin Yue shook his head helplessly.

“There was one in my bowl too. What the hell…”