Chapter 35: The Face-Breaker (3.2K)

[Information]
[Angie]: My boss, Yaye, has shown his face in Dogtown these past few days. You need to be thorough when you make your move; after all, it involves business and personnel changes—you know how it is. It’s best to finish him off quietly.
[Angie]: A lot of people are eyeing this position. If I get dragged into this, none of us will have a good time.
[Rin]: Uh-huh. For the sake of the money, I’ll arrange it on my end.
[Angie]: I hope so :D

Lin Yue set his phone down and watched the two fighters on the open-air ring go all out in their offense and defense. He wasn’t here to watch a boxing match; he was here to stake out someone.

In truth, all three of his previous commissions during his time in Dogtown had been handed over by Hands. As a fixer, Lin Yue had been played by Biotechnica and Hands on his very first job, then trapped by Arasaka’s V. For the other two commissions, Rin’s role as a fixer had merely helped Lin Yue scrape together some extra cash; as for gathering information, he only needed to contact a Night City intel expert to get the mission details.

Simple, easy, and pleasant.

But this time was different. First, the information provided by Angie was limited—it was clear her big brother was guarding against her. Second, there was the issue of smuggling routes. Lin Yue had tried many methods, but no matter what, he couldn't bypass the Barghest.

However, if you’re going to survive in Dogtown, you have to deal with the Barghest. Angie’s commission could be considered a real test of his status as a fixer. After all, if someone was bold enough to hire a new fixer like him, he had to make sure the job was done beautifully.

And so, to ensure the smuggling routes remained unobstructed, Lin Yue—the bargain-bin fixer—had to take matters into his own hands. He came to the fight club to stake out that money-grubbing Barghest soldier, Ross Ulmer.

According to the memories of his past life, this guy was a butcher in Dogtown who combined exoskeleton rigs with cyberware, making him extremely troublesome to deal with. But Lin Yue had used some connections he’d made within the Barghest to discover a hobby of this high-ranking soldier who loved smuggling arms: he loved watching boxing matches.

Usually, these open-air matches involved bets, and Ross liked to play a few rounds. But his luck wasn't great today; the large guy from the Animals was nearly beaten to a pulp by the bald man who was half his size.

"Damn it! Throw a punch, you coward!" The two Barghest underlings beside Ross were terrified, trembling in fear. Their boss had lost money, and there was no telling how they, these little pups, would be scolded.

Lin Yue observed the situation in the ring and noticed something odd. This wasn't a standard fight; it was clear the thin guy was acting like he was on stimulants, his hands moving faster and faster. Although the guy from the Animals could protect his head to avoid being knocked down by the flurry of punches, the situation was looking grim for him.

Is it cyberware?

Lin Yue watched the match. The thinner man’s breathing was erratic—likely the side effects of overusing his cyberware. The Animals member, despite having his forehead cut open and looking disheveled, kept his eyes locked on his opponent's openings.

A straight punch landed, and the thin man stumbled backward. As the crowd cheered, the hulking man began his counterattack. The thin man shook his head, trying to use his cyberware to suppress the Animals fighter again. With a series of wide, rapid swings, the thin man, now at the end of his rope, left himself wide open.

His opponent seized the moment and landed a hook. The crisp sound of the jawbone colliding drew a chorus of boos. Ross’s expression finally improved. "That’s it! Yes!"

The Animals fighter’s footwork was precise, side-stepping into the man’s weak defensive flank. With one final, heavy straight punch from the giant... the thin man wobbled, gasping for air with unfocused eyes, until he finally collapsed to the ground, unable to hold on any longer.

For the first time, Lin Yue understood how the Animals managed to survive in this city. These muscle-heads, pumped full of hormones, were truly difficult for standard cyberware to handle.

Lin Yue crossed his arms and watched the match. Ross was already discussing with his underlings who to bet on for the next round. The next Animals fighter was even bigger than the last, the veins on his forehead bulging. He looked like a small mountain, and his boxing trunks seemed ready to burst from his leg muscles at any moment.

Ross shouted, "I like the look of this one. Put it all on him!"

***

Perhaps it was the one-sided slaughter that had made the odds so lopsided, but the organizers came up with a solution: put another member of the Animals in the ring.

Ross was clearly unhappy. His sure-fire way to make money was gone, and as a soldier who was used to acting like a tyrant in Dogtown, he wasn't going to let it slide. As the other fighter stepped into the ring, everyone began asking the organizers for their money back.

The new fighter was basically a carbon copy of the previous one; Lin Yue felt as if even their own mother couldn't have birthed two guys so identical, right down to the style of their boxing shorts.

Ross’s expression grew increasingly ugly.

*Bang!* A gunshot rang out.

The timid residents of Dogtown covered their heads and ran; the bolder ones still wanted their money back. The person in charge of the fight club was stunned; he hadn't expected a Barghest idiot to dare do such a thing... though, on second thought, few people in Dogtown dared to hold them accountable.

Ross’s wolf-like gaze swept the area, and the muzzle of his gun turned toward Lin Yue.

"You, get up there and fight. Everyone else's money is being bet on you."

Lin Yue had planned to wait for the match to disperse and follow the group to find an opportunity to talk to this guy, but he hadn't expected Ross to come looking for him first. The fighter in the ring glanced at Lin Yue and let out a sneer.

Lin Yue raised his hands. "Is that really appropriate?"

Ross didn't care about that; he needed to win his money back today. "One more word out of you and I'll put a bullet in you. Get up there!"

Lin Yue walked onto the ring slowly. Two mountain-like fighters sandwiched him, and finally, the guy who had come up last silently stepped down. The organizers decided that if this guy ever came back, they wouldn't play these rigged-match games anymore; Ross was completely unreasonable.

"You got cyberware?" The fighter opposite him spoke with a muffled, slurred voice.

Lin Yue nodded. "A little bit."

The referee stepped into the ring, casting a sympathetic look at Lin Yue. "Just go down quickly. The boss said to take the L on this one."

Lin Yue twisted his neck, making it crack. *Fine*, he thought. *Then I’ll quickly make this Ross lose his money, and he can come up here to cause trouble himself.*

The big guy opposite him was surprisingly honorable, extending his fist, presumably wanting a touch-glove. Lin Yue adopted the fighting stance of the Barghest military and tentatively tapped his fist against it.

Ross looked a bit bewildered.

"Isn't that Hansen’s style? Does the Barghest have someone like this?"

Ross was still quite afraid of Hansen. The two soldiers behind him shook their heads; it seemed he was indeed one of the Barghest.

The fists touched, and the battle was on!

The opponent’s fist, which was nearly as big as his own head, came at Lin Yue with the force of a gale. Lin Yue side-stepped, easily neutralizing the advantage of his opponent's reach.

"Whoa!"

The people who were bold enough to stay gasped in amazement. *This kid is legit!* Most people would have been scared out of their wits seeing these savages, who looked like prehistoric beasts.

The fighter hadn't expected Lin Yue to dodge so quickly. He grunted and increased his punch speed. Lin Yue learned his lesson—these big guys might be bulky, but they weren't slow at all; they were skilled boxers!

However, the Animals fighter was clearly a warmonger. The more Lin Yue dodged, the denser his punch patterns became. Eventually, one landed on Lin Yue's shoulder.

*Thud!* A muffled sound rang out.

The crowd gasped again. The scene they imagined—Lin Yue being sent flying—never happened. Lin Yue only staggered a few steps, shaking his arm as he circled around to maintain his distance.

*That actually hurt.*

Lin Yue made a plan: he wouldn't use his own body to tank the opponent's attacks, because the one punch he’d accidentally taken had left his shoulder numb and aching—the force was nearly equivalent to having an arm prosthetic.

As Lin Yue dodged, he waited for the fleeting opportunity to strike. His current advantages were his Gorilla Arms and his seasoned fighting techniques. He had no intention of following the rules of boxing.

*Here it comes.*

The big guy, impatient, had shaky footwork; he didn't take defensive measures immediately after throwing a punch. Seizing the moment, Lin Yue dropped to his knees, coiling toward the front of the Animals fighter like a rearing King Cobra!

His Gorilla Arms surged with immense power, striking the fighter’s lower body where he couldn't defend. His entire arm trembled, emitting a faint, high-pitched hum—

A heavy, powerful punch landed directly on the Animals fighter’s stomach!

This blow caused the fighter’s expression to change drastically, and his abdomen began to spasm! The big guy clutched his stomach, his knees nearly buckling. *What kind of power was that? What level of cyberware is this?*

He looked at Lin Yue in disbelief, gasping for air. "Are... are you even human?"

Lin Yue didn't waste a word. While his opponent was still reeling, he unleashed a flurry of punches. The big guy scrambled to cover his head in defense. His Gorilla Arms struck like they were hitting a sandbag, producing a series of dull thuds.

The onlookers around the ring went wild. Ross had picked the right person—the cyberware on that young man was clearly company-grade military gear!

A fight with a massive weight discrepancy was usually just a gimmick for the Animals' underground matches. Everyone had initially bet against Lin Yue, seeing as his opponent’s arms were nearly as thick as his own waist. But no one had expected his cyberware to be so potent; the situation had become one-sided!

*Tough as leather,* Lin Yue thought, admiring these guys who dared to pump so many hormones into their bodies. How could a normal person withstand his barrage? After all, Gorilla Arms were cyberware capable of punching through thin steel plates.

"Are you throwing the fight for me?" Ross never thought his luck was bad. If Hansen hadn't given orders not to harass civilians, he would have wanted to put a bullet in that kid's back. Of course, he was also afraid that the kid might be Barghest.

*No wonder he didn't run. He's a plant meant to scam me!*

Just as Ross was feeling uncertain, Lin Yue landed a heavy punch that sent the fighter sprawling backward—a unique trait of the Gorilla Arms: progressive charging.

"Haven't tried this move yet."

Lin Yue grabbed the back of the fighter’s neck with his Gorilla Arms as the man struggled to rise. He did this partly to protect the man's cervical spine and partly because he just wanted to try out a "chuunibyou" move he’d thought up.

[Piledriver]!

*No brain damage, just stay down.*

The fighter watched helplessly as he was pulled toward Lin Yue, and the other fist, already charged and ready, flew straight toward him. A chill filled his entire body—*what kind of move is this?*

*Bang!*

A muffled thud.

The big guy fell backward, knees hitting the floor as he collapsed once more, leaving Lin Yue shaking his arm, which was numb from overexertion. Amidst the gasps and boos of the crowd, Ross’s face looked worse than ever.