53: Chapter 53 The Witch Hunt
The aftershocks of Konpeki Plaza were like thick asphalt, slowly settling into the cracks of their lives.
Last night's dinner was like a fragile dream; upon waking, only Lin Yi and the others were left sitting around the marble coffee table, deep in thought. In the overly spacious, currently lifeless living room of the North Oak villa, a new understanding was forming.
Lin Yi sat on the sofa, staring at the container holding the relic chip. It sat casually on the expensive coffee table, yet it felt as if it were some dangerous holy relic.
"It's time to tell you the information I've obtained so far and get you up to speed," he said, looking at V and Jackie, his voice sounding exceptionally clear in the empty room. "The relic chip inside here contains the digital imprint of Johnny Silverhand."
V's pupils constricted, while Jackie let out a low whistle.
"The Voodoo Boys—those net-crazed lunatics. You might only know that they are extremely xenophobic and have great net-running skills," Lin Yi continued, his tone cold. "They are essentially a group of fanatics who worship the net. This time, they want to use this thing to find Johnny's old flame—Alt Cunningham, who escaped to the Old Net long ago. The Voodoo Boys worship these powerful, dangerous Rogue AI entities like gods. If they succeed, the Blackwall will inevitably be riddled with holes by them and the Rogue AI they've joined forces with outside, and by then, no one will be able to escape unscathed."
"Human traitors." V's voice sounded like it had been tempered in ice. This term precisely defined the actions of the Voodoo Boys and ignited the anger in her eyes.
She could not tolerate this kind of madness that placed all of humanity at risk of potential destruction. Back in Counter-Intelligence, no matter how much the corporations fought with underhanded tactics, they would never openly stand in opposition to all of humanity.
"Exactly right." Lin Yi's fingers tapped lightly on the smooth surface of the metal case.
"That's why Netwatch has been tracking them, but they don't know what the Voodoo Boys' crazy plan is. We can't just sit around in Night City waiting for that Voodoo Boys trash to come knocking and make things disgusting. We'll take the initiative to go to Pacifica, use this 'Little Johnny' as bait, fish them out of their damp, dark holes, and then..." He didn't finish, but the gesture of slicing his throat said it all.
This was both an offensive strike and a strategic relocation, temporarily moving away from the eye of the storm at the heart of Arasaka. Although they had successfully avoided exposure to Arasaka through Lin Yi's superb technical support, and had completely liquidated everything belonging to Dexter—with that ill-gotten wealth laundered through hundreds of low-level transaction links and funneled back to the three of them—they were not yet highlighted on Arasaka's radar as high-risk targets.
The goal was clear: use the relic chip as bait to eradicate the Voodoo Boys in Pacifica in one fell swoop.
But Pacifica was an ulcer on the face of Night City, and the Voodoo Boys were the fearless digital fundamentalists entrenched within it.
Lin Yi knew well that before setting foot on that land, every "blade" in the team had to be sharpened to a razor's edge.
His first communication request was sent to Regina.
This fixer, a rare individual in Night City who still held onto a spark of idealism, could always source "hardware" of mysterious origin but extremely high quality. Furthermore, her ongoing battle against cyberpsychosis made her an undisputed expert in that field.
In the hologram, Regina carefully reviewed the long list sent by Lin Yi, her brow furrowing tighter and tighter.
"Lin, V, Jackie..." Her voice carried an unquestionable seriousness. "I can tell you're preparing to turn everything upside down. But this list... subcutaneous armor stacked with reinforced tendons, adrenaline boosters paired with a Sandevistan... you're turning yourselves into walking bombs, crazily testing the limits on the edge of cyberpsychosis. I can only hope you're gifted."
She paused, her gaze sharp. "But remember my words, and remember my contact method. Before you get completely lost in data streams and cyberware overheating alarms, come find me. This isn't a suggestion; it's a warning."
But this warning was a rare bit of care under the cruel laws of Night City; after all, most ripperdocs only cared about installing the gear and being done with it.
The deal was quickly struck. Regina not only provided the cyberware but also arranged for a trusted, discreet ripperdoc to perform the installation, ensuring the process was safe and left no traces.
In the clinic Regina trusted, cold instruments connected with neural interfaces, and new power was implanted into their bodies:
V (completing and strengthening her corporate elite foundation): In addition to her existing cyberware [Biomonitor, Subcutaneous Armor, Kiroshi Oracle], she added Self-ICE, Adrenaline Booster, Smart Link, Monowire, and Heal-on-Kill.
Jackie (pure "combat fun"): Sandevistan - Peregrine, Kerenzikov, Gorilla Arms, Blood Pump, Peripheral Inverse, Synaptic Accelerator, Subcutaneous Armor.
Lin Yi (everything to support the terrifying efficiency of "Baize"): RAM Upgrade, External Drive, Dead-Eye, Nanofibers, Pain Editor.
The basic enhancements were in place, but Lin Yi's gaze fell on V. She was still missing one core system, an engine that could perfectly combine her agility with new technology, turning her into a true phantom on the battlefield—the latest known version of the Sandevistan from Militech, the "Apogee".
He thought for a moment and decided to connect to Meredith Stout's encrypted line, with the low-frequency noise characteristic of Militech, full of a sense of efficiency, in the background.
"Stout, I need an 'Apogee'." Lin Yi didn't bother with any small talk.
"'Apogee' is strategic controlled equipment, Mr. Ghost. It's not on any price list," Stout's voice was like cold metal. "However, I happen to have an 'internal compliance audit' mission here that requires an external contractor. A former senior researcher has absconded with core corporate 'intellectual property' and is attempting to establish illegal contact with Biotechnica. Your mission is to ensure that this person and all the data they are carrying are completely 'archived,' and to use the specific container we provide to retrieve the data intact. Complete it successfully, and an 'Apogee,' along with three sets of previous-generation but still effective Optical Camouflage cyberware, will be your reward."
"Send me the mission details." Lin Yi accepted straightforwardly.
"Does the company need to arrange professional implantation services for you? To ensure optimal compatibility."
"No need." Lin Yi refused without hesitation. Handing over his body's critical neural interfaces to company doctors? He really didn't trust them.
The mission target was hiding in a black-market clinic in Watson that hung a legal sign but was actually conducting illegal cyberware trades.
This operation became an excellent testing ground for the new equipment.
Jackie, like a humanoid behemoth, smashed open the reinforced clinic door with his Gorilla Arms. His Peregrine activated instantly, and the world slowed down in his eyes. The Copperhead in his hand roared precisely in the slow-motion time stream, with every burst of fire accompanied by the fall of a guard.
V transformed into a shadow of death. The Monowire flickered in the dim corridor like an invisible noose; the pistol under the Smart Link seemed to have a life of its own, paired with her Kiroshi Oracle series optic cyberware, the bullets arced in eerie trajectories to bypass obstacles and hit targets behind cover with precision.
Lin Yi sat firmly at the command center. His upgraded configuration allowed him to paralyze the security system of the entire area, disrupt the guards' optic vision, and overload their weapons as easily as brushing his teeth and washing his face. The Pain Editor worked silently, isolating the bio-electric signals from his brain that expressed discomfort due to high-intensity computation.
The operation was clean and efficient, like a precise surgical procedure.
After finding the defector, they found his terminal seemed to be decrypting some encrypted content. In the dense stream of data, V only noticed the strange code name "Little Beidou" and didn't think much of it. She connected the encrypted storage container provided by Militech to the terminal to perform a reverse extraction. After a short while, when the progress bar was full, she removed the container, finished off the "traitor" who had been tied up on the side, packed up the body, and the three of them left by car with the mission content.
After handing over the container and the "traitor's" body to the Militech personnel for inspection, they waited for the other side to confirm that everything was complete.
The mission was completed smoothly, and they tallied their reward.
The Militech representative opened the trunk behind them. Inside a cryo-storage box, the "Apogee" spinal neural cyberware, representing the ultimate in speed, lay quietly, along with three sets of Optical Camouflage cyberware.
They were just cold objects at the moment; the true "installation" and activation would require returning to a place they could truly trust.
After moving the items into their car, the Militech personnel left.
The main characters also drove to Viktor's clinic.
The team's strength had achieved a qualitative leap.
Lin Yi looked at his companions, whose auras were already different, and felt the power surging within him.
The fragrant bait was in hand, and the killing blade had been quenched.
The next step was to take V and the others and step into the mire of Pacifica, replicating a time-limited event from the late 15th to early 18th century—[Witch Hunt].