Chapter 39: Prosthetic Expansion

EBM Petrochemical Stadium.

Lin Yue and Rebecca turned their heads as the Phantom Hound’s mech slowly passed before them, the ground trembling slightly beneath its steps.

“This thing is really hard to deal with,” Rebecca muttered with a sneer.

Lin Yue wholeheartedly agreed. If it weren’t for the storage tank of Pure 2, that night might have ended with the Phantom Hound getting the better of them.

The stadium’s perimeter was the area most heavily guarded by Phantom Hound artillery units. The steps outside the stadium were lined with barricades and barbed wire constructed by the Phantom Hounds, covered everywhere with their distinctive graffiti. There was no doubt that Hansen was staking claim to ownership of this sprawling black market.

Originally, Lin Yue had planned to retrieve the data chip from Pepsitron alone today, but Mann and the others said they were heading to Santo Domingo to meet the middleman they had previously negotiated with regarding prosthetic business, leaving Rebecca behind.

Rebecca was an odd one. She seemed never to care about anything—not even the house in Night City where she had lived for years. Even if there were still belongings left inside, she didn’t feel the slightest regret.

She loved playing with guns and drinking, and among the team members, she was the most adaptable to life in Dog Town.

Lin Yue hadn’t intended to bring her to the stadium, but she complained that home was boring—no new super dreams to watch—so she wanted to come here to browse.

As for the new prosthetic supplier Mann had contacted... well, that was just unfortunate.

Having just secured a smuggling channel, and with Mann confirming the supplier was not a scavenger, Lin Yue straightforwardly briefed the matter through Rin’s voice.

The big guy was ecstatic, like he had just tasted honeyed gold.

“What exactly are we doing? Is this to get information for... Mr. Rin?” Rebecca tugged at Lin Yue’s sleeve as she eyed the Phantom Hound sentries spaced every few steps.

“It’s a big operation. Mann will explain everything when he gets back.”

“Not yet... because I’m afraid you might spill the beans if you get drunk.”

Rebecca froze for a moment, puffed up her cheeks, veins twitching on her forehead.

She really wanted to kick this grumpy bastard in the face.

She knew her drinking was good!

Lin Yue pointed to the steps in the distance. “Wait there. I’ll tell Pepsitron to give you the chip when the time comes. I have some business to handle at the stadium.”

Rebecca made a sound of acknowledgment, pulled out her phone, and sat down. Nearby, a few gamblers from Dog Town lounged on the railings.

“I’ve lost it all. I’ve got nothing left.”

“No money, no loans.”

“Come on... just one last time, please.”

Lin Yue kept his head down, fiddling with his phone.

Rebecca didn’t bother with him, smacking her lips and rubbing her stomach, feeling a bit hungry.

At this moment, Lin Yue had already arranged with the prosthetic doctor. This trip was to get the prosthetic properly installed—just in case a hacker ever tried to ambush him. He couldn’t afford that risk.

As for the rest of the team, he planned to work with this doctor a few more times to upgrade their self-ICE; it would be a significant boost for the whole squad.

---

“I’ll be quick. Two hours at most, maybe by noon. If you get hungry, go grab something to eat—”

“Don’t wait for me!”

Lin Yue disappeared immediately into the Dog Town stadium entrance. Rebecca didn’t know what he was up to and instead rested her chin in her hand, gazing at this place she had never thought to visit before.

It was old and desolate. Huge buildings still bore untaken billboards. Some seemed tall, but their upper floors were riddled with holes from artillery shells and the like.

While Rebecca was lost in thought, a message popped up.

[Sasha]: Have you all returned to Night City?

[Rebecca]: I haven’t. Only Mann and the others... too lazy to move, you know.

[Sasha]: Don’t you miss me?

Rebecca’s expression stiffened, then she seemed a bit disheartened.

[Rebecca]: Sasha... I miss you very much.

[Rebecca]: Dog Town doesn’t have many hacker jobs; you’re doing well in Night City :)

Rebecca wasn’t lying; her reply sounded more like a reluctant confession, a bit awkward.

As far as she knew, Lin Yue was already secretly tracking down hacker leads.

The team couldn’t complete these big jobs without a hacker. All the hackers had been sourced by Mr. Rin from Night City to gather intel.

[Sasha]: I understand. Take care of yourself, darling. When you need me, I’ll come, okay?

Rebecca typed for a long while but eventually gave up on adding anything else, replying simply, “Love you,” before closing the message.

...

Sitting in the surgical chair, Lin Yue was calculating prosthetic capacity. Given the current capacity, he needed to remove one prosthetic to install this new self-ICE.

Seeing Lin Yue hesitate, the prepared doctor said, “You should lie down now.”

Lin Yue looked at the prosthetic inside a soft rubber bag nearby, the company’s code tag still attached.

“I want you to remove one prosthetic for me.”

The doctor thought he misheard. “Remove one? Hmm... You have quite a few prosthetics, especially that one on your hand. But okay. If you don’t want to remove one, I can install a company’s [Neural Computing Enhancement Chip] instead. It’s safer.”

Neural Computing Enhancement Chip? What was that?

Lin Yue had never heard of that term before.

“Think of your body like a magazine, and the prosthetics are bullets. When it’s full, you can’t fit any more bullets in. At that point, you loosen the spring and squeeze one more in.”

“Some say it works, some say it doesn’t. It depends on you. It costs a thousand euros each.”

After hearing the doctor, Lin Yue took the chip. The panel quickly read its name:

[Prosthetic Capacity Expansion]...

Lin Yue couldn’t help but smile wryly. It made sense—after all, they couldn’t see the prosthetic capacity.

---

Without hesitation, Lin Yue paid. He inserted the chip into the slot behind his neck. His prosthetic capacity data fluctuated but ultimately barely met his expectations.

Being cautious, he calculated multiple times to be sure before lying back in the chair.

“By the way, where do you hang out? Never heard of you as a hacker in Dog Town.”

Lin Yue scratched his head. “Hacker? I’m not a hacker.”

“What did you say?” The prosthetic doctor hurried over, his expression sour as if he’d swallowed a fly. “You’re not a hacker? Do you know that once this prosthetic is installed, your brain will fry? This stuff is only for hackers with strong mental capacity! You’re not qualified.”

He was already trying to usher Lin Yue out.

Lin Yue couldn’t figure out why the doctor canceled the self-ICE installation just because he wasn’t a hacker.

After analyzing the doctor’s words and a long silence, he finally understood.

According to the panel, the self-ICE prosthetic required an intelligence attribute of 10. Intelligence could be maxed at 10, usually only hackers.

There was no such parameter in the game for reference, so they treated brainpower-enhancing software as prosthetic capacity expansions.

Lin Yue’s intelligence attribute had long reached 10 and wasn’t worried about this.

The self-ICE was Lin Yue’s obsession. The speed at which prosthetics broke down in front of hackers constantly sounded alarms in his mind.

Since reincarnating into this world, Lin Yue had kept installing prosthetics for that sense of security and to survive in this treacherous world.

After a moment’s thought, Lin Yue came up with a plan—to force this doctor to perform the surgery, he instantly transferred the money.

“I paid you. I’m responsible for the consequences.”

Lin Yue wore a look that said, “If you don’t do the surgery today, I’ll ruin your reputation.”

Was he looking for death?

The doctor stared at the incoming payment on his account. Lin Yue’s voice carried calmly from the distance: “Install your prosthetic. If I die, just dump me on the street. Thanks.”

The doctor’s face darkened, staring dumbfounded at the young man lying on the operating table.

After a long pause,

“I’m making this clear—I bear no responsibility.”

“Do as you please.”

Holding the prosthetic destined for the forehead cortex, he muttered under his breath:

“Damn it—”

“Another lunatic!”