Chapter 19: Return to Dogtown

Lin Yue exerted a great deal of effort to get the woman back into the car.

He took a moment to bend down and pick up her high heels.

She struggled quite a bit, but whenever Lin Yue applied force, the lady would become more compliant.

Covering her mouth, Lin Yue watched the car approaching from not far away.

"Now, compose yourself. I suggest you pray that nothing is seen—"

"Otherwise, I cannot guarantee your safety."

Emma’s eyes filled with tears, and she nodded slightly.

After Lin Yue released her, he slipped into the driver’s seat. In the distance, several of Hands' bodyguards approached, and Lin Yue slowly lowered the rear window.

He hoped this lady wouldn't do anything foolish.

"Madam."

The security guard bowed, observing Emma, whose hair was slightly disheveled.

"I’m feeling dizzy. I had the driver bring me to the seaside for some air. Surely that doesn't need to be reported to Hands, does it?"

The guard quickly waved his hand, "We were just worried about you, Madam!"

"Drive."

Emma’s performance was impeccable, possessing the exact tone and manner of a languid noblewoman.

Lin Yue started the car. The planned route was to drive from the Arasaka Waterfront port to the Heywood Vista Del Rey district, finally reaching the Pacifica oceanfront.

"Madam, please provide the override key for the autopilot. I am changing the destination to Dogtown."

Emma bit her lip.

"Are you looking for trouble with Hands—"

"No, I am going into Dogtown to slowly make trouble for Hands."

Lin Yue turned his head and offered a harmless smile.

"Le roi est mort. Vive le roi." Emma sighed softly. "Hands was right; you really are a lion."

Lin Yue shrugged noncommittally. "There is no king, only a Night City resident who refuses to be treated like a monkey."

After a moment of hesitation, Emma transferred the autopilot key to Lin Yue.

Once the route was set, Lin Yue climbed into the back seat, sitting beside Emma, much to her alarm.

"What else do you want to do?"

Lin Yue sat next to her, his gaze calm.

It was not the look of someone intending to do what Emma had feared.

Lin Yue picked up the silver-white high heels from the exquisite floor mat. "In my hometown, there is a principle: do not target the family of your enemy. Today was a matter of necessity; I hope you don't mind, Madam."

Emma nodded, shrinking into the corner.

Lin Yue looked down, having noticed something.

To Emma’s gasp of surprise, he took her feet into his hands and used his discarded suit jacket to carefully wipe away the damp mud from her soles.

Only when her delicate feet were clean did he earnestly help her put her shoes back on.

Emma watched him in silence.

In Night City, if your husband provoked an enemy, his family was the easiest target for retaliation—be it gangs, mercenaries, or corporations.

Women, children, and the elderly were the easiest marks.

Yet, this man had lowered his head to put her shoes on, helping to soothe her fearful heart.

"Your hometown… is it in Asia?"

Lin Yue nodded. He seemed somewhat exhausted and did not want to answer further questions on the topic.

"Alright, Madam, I need to gather some information from you. I hope you will answer as best you can."

Emma agreed.

"What exactly is the relationship between Hands and Dogtown?"

Emma hesitated for a moment before speaking slowly.

"Hansen has many capable lieutenants—those officers… criminals, [Dodge], high-ranking soldiers like [Ross Ulmer]..."

"But they are all 'La machine' (machines)... The reason Hansen allows my husband to develop his business in Dogtown is that, most of the time, my husband’s methods are much more subtle and clandestine."

"As you know, I am protected by Hands' men in a luxury building in Pacifica… I don't know much else."

Lin Yue nodded to himself.

To survive in Dogtown, Colonel Hansen was someone who could not be bypassed.

To snatch a piece of Mr. Hands' meat on his turf, one had to establish a relationship with this man.

"Is their relationship good?"

Emma shook her head. "It’s not a public relationship. As far as I know, there are certain financial dealings between Hansen and Hands. I am just a woman; Hands doesn't let me know the details."

Lin Yue folded his arms and leaned back against the seat.

"Later, do you have the authority to have them let us pass directly through the Dogtown checkpoint?"

Emma nodded. "My car is usually waved through. Hands said so, though I rarely go to Dogtown—"

"I hate that dirty, dilapidated place."

That was perfect.

Lin Yue thought to himself. His original plan had been to rush the checkpoint, drive up the Dogtown hills, and then run to the [Longshore Stacks] in Dogtown.

But he wouldn't trust Emma completely; he would play it by ear.

"Well, I would like you to deliver a letter to Mr. Hands."

Lin Yue wanted Hands to know that he had gotten close to his family, keeping him on edge, but he couldn't go too far, so he would have to rely on Emma to deliver the message verbally.

Emma was silent for a moment.

"Do you have a knife?"

Lin Yue hesitated, then pulled Emma’s small knife from his pocket and handed it to her. "Be smart about this, I am—"

Before Lin Yue could finish, the woman stabbed her own palm with the knife, and blood immediately welled up.

Lin Yue was startled. Then, Emma used the knife to snap one of the shoulder straps of her dress. Fortunately, she had a good figure, keeping the dress from slipping off.

Lin Yue immediately looked away.

Emma noticed Lin Yue’s discomfort and allowed a slight smirk to play on her lips. "My body is the best letter. If it were just words, Hands would be half-skeptical—he never trusts anyone, including me."

"Now, I am wounded, and I have been handled by you."

Lin Yue was truly breaking into a cold sweat.

If he were Hands, he would explode on the spot. If a woman says nothing happened, could it really be true?

"Go back, take a bath, and say you’re tired. That will be better."

Emma let out a soft laugh.

She hadn't expected this "lion," who seemed as dull as wood, to understand such things.

Lin Yue felt that a few scratches on Emma would have been enough; by doing this, he and Hands were now enemies in the truest sense.

Emma didn't care, tossing the knife out the window.

*Rip.* Lin Yue tore off a piece of his suit and wrapped Emma’s palm with the cloth.

The atmosphere in the car was silent, strange, and even carried a hint of intimacy.

But Lin Yue didn't dwell on it. He was thinking about how to exert continuous pressure on Hands in Dogtown. He had to seize a portion of the business; that was his most direct goal in returning to Dogtown.

Emma smoothed her hair. "The child I have with him… it was an embryo that Hands and I spent a fortune cultivating at a medical facility three years ago. Hands values his bloodline very much. I will give you a warning: it is best not to target his daughter."

"His daughter?"

Emma knew what confused Lin Yue. "Mothers are great; by using the body as a natural vessel to cultivate a bloodline, parental affection is established. But are genes carefully modified by those scientists still a natural continuation?"

"Mothers are sensitive and intuitive; you cannot fool them, and that includes me."

Lin Yue did not want to comment on this statement.

The car turned from the dilapidated streets of Pacifica toward the Dogtown gate. Emma straightened her clothes, waiting quietly for the car to pull up to the entrance.

*Beep—*

An alarm sounded, and several soldiers swarmed the vehicle.

Emma’s eyes lit up; she was likely communicating with Hands.

Lin Yue kept a close watch on her every move. If anything went wrong, he would take control of the malicious program, and the car would ram through the checkpoint into Dogtown.

"Open the gate. I’m coming into Dogtown."

The windows remained rolled up the entire time.

The soldiers seemed to have received orders from someone; they didn't even scan the vehicle, and the car was allowed to pass through the gate in broad daylight.

[Luxor Spa and Wellness Center]

Another landmark building in Dogtown, a long corridor like a bridge spanning the road. It had a complex internal structure and was rumored to have once been an asset of [Biotechnica].

Lin Yue got out. He had already recalled the malicious program. Emma sat in the driver's seat, staring straight at him.

"Next time we meet, I will have my husband cast you and your partners into the abyss."

Lin Yue paused. *Partners?* It seemed Emma wasn't as foolish as he thought; she knew his tracks were exposed and that it wasn't just his own doing.

He smiled, feeling relieved.

"Good. I look forward to Mr. Hands making me get out of Dogtown."

"Confident, and strong." Emma smiled, too. Now she looked more like a corporate woman sitting in a high position. "Goodbye, Lion. I will deliver your letter to Hands."

...

[Dodge]: Appears in the *Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty* gig "Waiting for Dodger." Originally named Karl Robinson, a total criminal. Facing three life sentences from the NCPD and having provoked the second-in-command of the Tyger Claws, he fled to Dogtown and became one of Hansen's capable subordinates.

[Ross Ulmer]: A high-ranking soldier of Barghest, equipped with cyberware, involved in smuggling military equipment and stealing corporate assets. A powerful boss in a *Phantom Liberty* side quest.