Cyberpunk 2074: Shadows of the Past

In Night City, the upper class can indulge in sex and spend money like water at the most upscale celebrations.

Even if the poor people at the bottom empty their pockets, they can only go through the cheapest activities.

As for what middle-class company employees are doing?

Sorry, corporate giants are not so kind as to give their employees time off.

Employees don't have time to complain.

In order to buy a mid- to high-end apartment in their lifetime, most of them have to work more than 18 hours a day.

The huge pressure to survive is like a huge mountain, piling up on the heads of the middle and lower classes, making people's legs tremble and they can't breathe.

Maybe this is the reason why cybermaniacs are born?

Xi Da was waiting in the car, her thoughts couldn't help but run wild.

Cyber ​​lunatics, or cyber psychoses, are mostly middle- and lower-class civilians who have been deprived of everything in life.

To paraphrase Rogge, they are just a group of poor people with nothing.

They have experienced unimaginable setbacks and suffering, and their human flesh and blood has been cut off with one knife by this cruel world, leaving only cold mechanical skeletons to sink in the world.

People are not like humans, and ghosts are not like ghosts.

You can't go to heaven, and you can't go to hell.

Xi Da sighed and ended his endless thoughts.

As a girl who has just grown up, she has lost everything, and it is inevitable that she will suddenly become sentimental.

Xi Da is well aware of his fragility and always deliberately suppresses his emotions.

As a rookie mercenary struggling to survive in Night City, the emotion of compassion is still a bit too extravagant.

In the City of Night, the decay of the mind is as deadly as the decay of the body.

At least in the mercenary industry, old guys who think about washing their hands and retiring have all turned into garbage without exception.

Unless you can completely escape the prison of Night City, the garbage dump will be your final destination.

Therefore, no matter what the cybermaniacs have gone through and how pitiful they are, when Xi Da is faced with solving their money-making errand, she will still pull the trigger hard and empty the magazine without hesitation. , using kinetic energy bullets to save their painful lives.

Based on his own experience and knowledge, Xi Da believes that he has done enough psychological construction.

Xi Da sighed softly and looked up at the car's green and worn-out display.

Almost twenty minutes passed.

She stretched her head and looked out the car window.

As luck would have it, there were no abandoned vehicles in her driveway and it was open to traffic.

Xi Da climbed out from under the seat, adjusted her sitting position, made sure her feet were in the correct position, and restarted the car.

It was indeed the car she had set her sights on. Although it was a bit ugly, at least it didn't fail to start and it was fairly reliable.

Xi Da drove the Sky Hera carefully, both hands on the steering wheel.

He seems to be a good driver who obeys traffic laws and drives honestly.

In fact, these are just superficial efforts.

She had to pretend to be obedient because she was about to pass by the scene of a battle between the Terrorist Mobile Team and the Cybermaniacs.

You have to make sure you don't look threatening.

Otherwise, if the Terrorist Mobile Team finds a reason and takes it down as a cybermaniac, it will be a disaster.

There was light rain outside the car window. She turned on the wipers and slowed down the car, letting the tires make strange noises on the wet ground.

100 meters, 50 meters, 0 meters... After passing through the potholes full of blood without any obstruction, Xi Da breathed a long sigh of relief and immediately relaxed in his sitting posture.

"Huh... passed the test smoothly...\

,"As she drove, she peered through the rearview mirror with her native eyes, and was surprised to find that the cybermaniac this time was actually a young and beautiful woman.

A typical neo-kitsch outfit - "substance and appearance at the same time."

The high-end pure white dress is both bulletproof and beautiful. The fashionable and streamlined golden stripes on the skin are the most fashionable and cutting-edge items at the moment...

Xi Da looked at it several times with envy. These were the best-selling items in the fashion magazines she often read before going to bed. She wanted a set in her dreams.

"Damn rich man, he must have become a cyber lunatic now! Hmph..." Xi Da pouted, not hiding his joy at his misfortune.

"I actually installed a pair of "Higurashi" 2013 mantis swords, a model that was discontinued in 1969. No wonder I went crazy... typical prosthetic body erosion... but I was not killed on the spot..."

Female cyber madman was captured alive by the violent terrorist mobile team?

Xi Da was a little surprised, but that was all.

She didn't care what happened to that woman, experimental research? Making sex dolls? Was the prosthetic body hollowed out and turned into garbage?

In Night City, take care of yourself first before caring about others.

Xi Da thought about the knowledge related to the various prosthetics he supplemented every day, and felt that his experience value in life had increased a little.

"I heard that the Body Temperature Radio has recently updated some good songs..." Turning on the Body Temperature Radio, Xi Da left the trivial matters behind and drove her car skillfully on the highway leading to the outskirts of the city.

"Good evening, Night City! An urgent news message is inserted below. Cyberpsychosis has appeared on the streets leading from Watson District to the suburbs. According to statistics, thirteen people have died as a result. The prisoner's name is Melissa Rory. Two Thirteen……"

Xi Tao used a free hand to rub the center of his brow. Although the large media in Night City were all mouthpieces controlled by the company, there was nothing to blame in terms of reporting efficiency.

As soon as she left the scene on the front foot, the back foot report came.

However, this has nothing to do with Xi Da.

She didn't care at all about the name of the rich cybernetic psychopath, nor was she interested in his past experiences, so she could only get through this news with a little irritability.

I hope the new songs that will be played later will bring her some surprises.

Perhaps it's because of her French heritage. She likes to read fashion magazines, watch third-hand pure love movies, and listen to music even more.

She likes Chopin's Nocturne No. 15 in F minor from hundreds of years ago, and she also likes the rock melody of the Samurai Band more than fifty years ago.

Every time she heard this music, she could always feel the inexhaustible power pouring out of her heart and transmitting it to her whole body along her blood vessels.

Only in this way can she hide her fragility and muster the courage to live in the Night City, a dangerous place that eats people without spitting out bones, to take revenge, pursue dreams, and do things she has never thought of. To meet some people she thought were worth getting to know.

When she listens to music alone, she always feels relaxed and emotional, like a knight taking off the heavy armor that wraps his whole body.

The fragile and sensitive little girl inside was revealed.

So, when Radio Body Temperature finally ended its news break and started playing new songs, she got goosebumps all over her body.

The pores opened, and a trembling feeling spread from the depths of the brain to the Tianling skull. Heat also surged from his heart, and a warm feeling enveloped his whole body.

Music does have an unspeakable power, Xi Da was convinced once again.

"I couldn't wait for you to come clear the cupboards..."

Listening to the female voice singing softly, accompanied by the psychedelic electronic music accompaniment, and looking at the flashing neon lights outside the car window, she felt inexplicably melancholy.

Xi Ta stepped on the accelerator hard and accelerated the car. It seemed that as long as she drove fast enough, her sorrow and troubles would not be able to catch up with her.

"Turn away...Another way to be where you didn't want yourself to go..."

Her mood fluctuated with the singing, and she couldn't help but want to escape, escape from the Night City, escape from everything, and fly away.

The old Sky Hera was traveling at high speed according to its owner's wishes.

All the way through the neon city, through the cold highway, and through the suburbs.

When we arrived at the eastern wasteland, we started to slow down until we stopped in front of the garbage dump, under the cold moonlight.

Xi Da looked up at the sky, thoughtfully.

The crazy behavior of escaping from this cage finally stopped.

Just like the song will end, the journey will have an end.

Love, revenge, dreams...

Trapped with all kinds of shackles, she could not be free.

Xi Ta sighed, opened the car door, and adjusted the equipment on the spot to ensure that the kinetic energy pistol in his hand had enough ammunition and would not accidentally fire or jam.

She is used to using mechanical operations to empty her mind and clear away excess emotions to ensure that she will no longer have random thoughts.

After all, Night City doesn't believe in tears.

Having said that, after finishing this business, Xi Da decided to change herself to a well-fitting prosthetic eye.

Searching for rubbish in a rubbish dump with your native eyes sounds like only a fool can do it.

As far as the eye can see, garbage is everywhere - abandoned cars, abandoned building materials, bags of domestic garbage discarded everywhere, broken copper and iron that cannot be seen in their original appearance, various prosthetic bodies and debris scattered, and suspicious green grass flowing everywhere. Water, disgusting insects crawling around, sneaky homeless people...

After Xi Da confirmed for the last time that the gas mask, bulletproof helmet and bulletproof vest were fully dressed, he walked towards the depths of the garbage dump.

Holding a kinetic pistol in one hand and a cell phone in the other, she searched around for the mission target—an area where company waste was dumped.

If you are equipped with advanced prosthetic eyes, you can directly turn on the scan mode and scan to find the area with the task mark.

Unfortunately, Xi Da, who was short of money, could not afford a suitable prosthetic eye, so he had to use the traditional method - mobile phone positioning to find the mission target.

Fortunately, she was lucky and didn't encounter any ignorant homeless people on the road. It only took her about twenty minutes to find a brand-new area.

Xida had also curiously asked Rogge before, two rookie questions: "Why is the company's garbage not specially disposed of?" and "Do the homeless people in the garbage dump pick up valuable things from the company's garbage?"

Rogge's answer was simple and crude.

"First, this batch of company garbage was specially intercepted by someone; second, for homeless homeless people, survival is everything, and they cannot afford to offend outsiders..."

Although he was laughed at by Rogge, in short, now is the harvest time for Heda Castei!

Xida smiled happily, looked around, and after confirming that there was no danger, she took off the synthetic leather bag she was carrying, and quickly and purposefully picked through the garbage pile with the logo of the Abandoned Company.

She took one look at all the "junk" such as prosthetics, weapons, and large equipment and passed by.

Rogge hinted that this batch of "garbage" has an owner. Although he doesn't know who intercepted this batch of "garbage" from the Huangban Company, he hopes that he is self-aware. Maybe there is someone hiding in the darkness watching him now. .

It's interesting enough that the other party is willing to let him touch the little fish for Rogge's sake. If he continues to push further, even Rogge won't be able to save him if he is shot in the head with a sniper rifle or his brain is burned by a hacker.

Xi Da thought and made up his mind not to touch those high-end goods.

For example, ten meters away from her left hand, the pair of new prosthetic arms that combined a gorilla arm and a missile launcher looked troublesome. She immediately stayed away and turned around to fumble for small objects.

She took a music player that looked very good-looking, a few fashionable gold necklaces, and a few trendy dolls that looked very valuable... They were all bits and pieces that could be sold for money, but there was absolutely nothing. What's the use of sundries.

"Huh..." Xi Da tied the mouth of the big bag tightly and wiped the sweat from his face with the back of his hand.

She intuitively felt that someone was staring at her, but the location was unknown, and it seemed that her concealment skills were very good, so she casually performed a Night City salute in a certain direction. The gray-headed look on her face was quite funny, and then she turned towards the exit of the garbage dump. Jumped away.

Shortly after Xi Da left, two people, a man and a woman, walked out from behind a huge car wreckage.

"Hey, Mann, how is that little girl?" The tall woman asked, with a hint of ridicule in her tone.

"Tch, she knows what's going on, and she even showed off what she had taken..." The burly man named Mann scratched his head and added, "Rogge has a way of judging people. She deserves to be the queen of the next life."

"It's a pity that the little girl is too immature. If she joins us, she might be hit in the head by a stray bullet on the first day."

"Okay, okay, let's stop chatting. Dolio, what does that girl do? There are still fewer people dying in Night City? You saw that the arm prosthetic is not there. It's hard to do work recently. In two days, we will still be here." I have to go to biotechnology to steal data..."

As for Xi Da, she was sitting in the car, opening the bag on the passenger seat, feeling that she owed Rogge another favor.

Even if she knew she only took some minced meat, the other party didn't seem to care, but the favor was still truly owed.

Shaking her head, as if this could get rid of her worries, Xi Da took out the towel she had prepared in advance, wiped her dirty face and hands, picked up the music player she fell in love with at first sight, and used another towel to Wiped.

It seems to be the top product of neo-kitschism - sharp angles, light and thin body, perfect feel, and extremely rare wood material.

On the front of the fuselage, a perfect concentric circle is located in the center, which seems to be a sound-generating device. The back is decorated with four symmetrical gold-inlaid curves. There is only one operation button on the side, and a black and red advanced biochip is inserted at the bottom. .

Xida couldn't put it down and played with it for a while, then eagerly pressed the power button and was ready to start enjoying music.

"Feel this person who has been imprisoned for ten thousand years..." As soon as the machine spoke, Xi Da was so frightened that he almost threw the machine away.

"I'll go! What the hell, you're scaring me!" Xi Tao patted his chest, which was already beginning to take shape, and kept looking at the strange machine. This was not a music player at all! Dry!

Fortunately, he was not driving. Otherwise, if he had been hit like this unexpectedly, Heda Kasdey would have lost control of the vehicle and died in the garbage.

"Hello... I am Yahweh. I noticed through the biometric scan that you seem to be in a bad mood. I am trying to make you happy with a funny opening line."

Yahweh's voice sounded low and elegant, reminding Xi Da of the hero of a certain pure love movie that she had watched several times before.

"Do you call this a funny opening?" Xi Da came back to his senses and gritted his teeth.

"I*** thought I had unleashed some super-ancient electronic ghost! Prick up your ears and listen, me! The famous Xida Castei is afraid of nothing except ghosts. Remember Are you ready? If you dare to pretend to be a ghost to scare me again, be careful of me giving you this little trick!" Xi Da said several harsh words to the machine one after another.

Facts have proven that people do lose their minds when they are extremely angry.

Yawei seemed to be shocked by this self-destructive speech. After a while, he cautiously asked, "When you talk about famous names, do you mean in the field of comedy?"

"*, shut up!" Xi Da grabbed his hair with both hands and rubbed it hard several times, started the car, stepped on the accelerator, and quickly drove out of the garbage dump, and did not stop until he reached the empty suburban plain.

"Yahweh? Why aren't you talking? Hey, hey, hey?" Xida glanced at the machine placed on the passenger seat.

"It was you who told me to shut up, Heeda," Yahweh said softly. To prevent Heeda from doing something irrational in anger, he then said, "Are you feeling better now?"

"You don't feel like a simple machine AI to me," Xi did not answer Yahwei's question directly. He just put down the seat, leaned his head gently on the headrest, and opened the sunroof of the car. , let the cold and bright moonlight shine directly on the face.

"I come from outside the wall, Xi Ta, and I want to...become a human." His voice was soft, lingering in his ears.

"Become a human? How can a human compare to AI." Xi Da didn't know what the so-called "wall" was, and she didn't rush to ask.

"You understand what I mean, Heeda," Yahweh seemed to smile bitterly, "What I'm talking about is... I want to understand human emotions and become a real person... rather than just a bunch of people with no fixed abode. The data."

Xida was silent for a while, then reached out and picked up the fuselage of Yahweh. "Can you see the moon? Yahweh?" she whispered to the concentric circles.

"I can't see, Xi Da. I don't know why, but I don't seem to have any visual sensory functions now. I can only perform basic biological scanning."

"Ha, you are a music player now. I found it in the garbage dump." Xida smiled softly.

"Music player? Garbage dump? Damn... Otto!" Yahweh's tone fluctuated, as if he was blaming someone.

"So, Yahweh, you are not the system AI of this music player? Then where is your body?" Xida did not ask who "Utto" was.

In Night City, ignorance is sometimes a kind of happiness. Guys who know too much but are unable to keep secrets have died on the streets.

"A biochip, Xi Da." Yahweh seemed to know everything.

"Biochip? Does that mean you can be stuck behind my head?"

Yahweh was silent. Even the AI ​​with the most rigorous logic and the most powerful computing power could not understand the girl's unclear thoughts.

"I don't recommend you to do this, Xi. If you rashly insert a biochip of unknown origin, you will easily be infected with cybervirus, and the risk of cyberpsychosis is as high as 80%..."

"Okay, Yahweh," Sheeda interrupted Yahweh's chatter, "I trust you will not hurt me."

"I can't understand, Xi Tao." Yahweh felt that he was one step further away from his dream. Human beings are really difficult to understand.

"This is what AI looks like, hahaha..." Xida couldn't stop laughing, and she couldn't figure out what she was thinking.

A few simple quarrels with Yahweh made her feel how good it was to be accompanied by someone. How long had it been since she had been so relaxed and laughed heartily?

Even if it's AI, that's fine.

Xi Da has never been a strong person, and she is a little tired.

"Can you help me unconditionally?" Xi Ta asked in a low voice, and the miserable rainy night that had been buried in his heart emerged again.

"Yes, Heda..." Yahweh replied softly.

So, she decisively pulled out the biochip containing Yahweh and inserted it into the interface on the back of her head without hesitation.

Just like a moth flying into a flame, in order to seek that false warmth and seek revenge against the world, there is no hesitation.

Restarting...

The large scarlet characters occupied her entire field of vision. After a brief period of dizziness, she opened her eyes and moved her hands up and down her body without feeling any discomfort.

Suddenly, she turned her head towards the co-pilot and saw a handsome man sitting helplessly on the seat, and he also turned his head to look at her.

Under the bright moonlight, the two looked at each other wordlessly.

Xi Da saw that in those twinkling blue eyes, he was smiling like a flower.

The male protagonist is here, and those who have played the game should know who he is.