Chapter 22: Copper Heart and Iron Guts

The conversation went smoothly.

There was no tense atmosphere of swords drawn, nor were there any devious negotiations. It was simple: Lin Yue, representing his "boss," discussed wages with the crew and mentioned that they would meet a local fixer tomorrow to iron out the details, noting that there is strength in numbers.

Lin Yue made a quick call on the spot, and Mr. Hands agreed that as long as these individuals didn't start firing guns or detonating explosives on the streets, the Barghest troops wouldn't keep hounding them. As for future access to Dogtown, those arrangements would have to be discussed with the preoccupied Mr. Hands.

How Hands negotiated with Barghest was beyond Lin Yue’s knowledge, but the trip had cost him quite a "hefty" sum. Mr. Hands wasn't one to work for free, and since they would be operating on the same turf, Lin Yue was willing to give him some face. As the saying goes, one must know when to be firm and when to be flexible; Lin Yue was very experienced in managing the pace of things. Hands was a man who prioritized his reputation, and Lin Yue didn't want to make things too ugly, so he treated the bribe as buying an insurance policy for the squad.

In reality, however, Hands had already lost the upper hand; Lin Yue was merely boiling the frog in warm water.

"Ceding five cities today, ten cities tomorrow, only to gain a night’s sleep—" Clearly, Mr. Hands of Night City, California, did not grasp the wisdom of the ancients from Lin Yue’s world.

Rebecca drank her soda with satisfaction, resting her hand on the shoulder of the seated Lin Yue. She had long since noticed that Lin Yue had altered his appearance, so she treated him like a new friend. Being slightly talkative, she spoke her mind freely, even introducing herself to him with a playful, exaggerated tone.

"I'm Rebecca, nice to meet you~"

She chattered on about everything and nothing; the oppressive atmosphere of Dogtown had nearly suffocated her. Maine and Dorio could only watch from the side as Rebecca chatted away without a care in the world.

"Is it good?"

Lin Yue found himself craving a drink too, watching her.

"Burp—it would be even better if it hadn't expired. Want a sip?"

Lin Yue looked at the glistening rim of the bottle and the expectant glow in Rebecca’s yellow-and-pink cybernetic eyes.

"You drink it. I bought it for you."

Lin Yue felt that Rebecca lived up to his perception of her: seemingly reckless and carefree, but actually quite thoughtful, and despite her brash exterior, she never faltered when it came to real action.

"Mr. Lin, so the fixer charged twenty thousand eurodollars just now?"

Dorio crossed her arms, clearly worried about the bill. Even though Lin Yue’s boss had paid it for them, that didn't mean they wouldn't have to pay it back.

Lin Yue nodded. "Contracts in Dogtown and anything that needs to stay in the shadows are pretty much up to Hands—can't be helped. We haven't really established ourselves in Pacifica yet."

"Oh, right." Lin Yue interrupted Maine, who was about to speak. "You don't need to pay the money back. This is an investment from the boss to recruit you."

Inwardly, Lin Yue was thinking: Twenty thousand! Damn it, twenty thousand! If it weren't for the fact that that old fox Hands was so obsessed with his reputation, he would have tried to welsh on the deal and thrown in a threat for good measure. But if he pushed too hard and they just packed up and left, things would be even more troublesome. Lin Yue had his own secret burdens.

One had to realize that Hands hadn't said a single word about Lin Yue threatening his wife; such a man was the most dangerous kind. Lin Yue silently warned himself to stay vigilant against a counterattack from Hands; smart people only think about how to turn the tables when they suffer a loss.

However, since his transmigration, Lin Yue finally felt he had some footing. V didn't count; the company expected results, and he couldn't guarantee that V wouldn't hold him accountable if he messed things up. For now, he could only leverage the company's resources, and the identity of "Rin" was the best gift the company had given him. After all, V was the kind of woman who dared to stand with Jenkins to take down Abernathy—her nerve was even greater.

Rebecca tossed the soda can aside. "I liked you at first sight, but your name is so weird. Your family isn't from around North America, are they?"

Everyone except Lin Yue looked a bit sheepish. Apparently, Rebecca had forgotten that she was the one who had been itching to fight Lin Yue just a moment ago.

Lin Yue was about to reply when a new notification popped up in his eyes.

[Affinity with "Rebecca," "Maine," and "Dorio" has been updated.]
[Affinity: 20, 10, 10]
[Reward: Reflexes +1, Cool +2, Body Perk unlocked, Perk Point +1]

A massive, pale-gold skill tree expanded before Lin Yue’s eyes, displaying the very skills that belonged to the legend V... Suddenly, as if just showing him a preview, the golden skill nodes began to dim. It seemed he had to allocate the points himself.

Lin Yue’s expression was vibrant.

Holy crap!

The happiness had come so suddenly that Lin Yue hadn't even grasped the current situation. Seeing Lin Yue’s eyes glowing, everyone assumed he was on a call with his boss and chose to remain silent, waiting for him to finish.

Cyber-divination? Supernatural? But wasn't this world all about cybernetic modifications?

Lin Yue had a quirk: he always had a desire to investigate the unknown. First, he realized that this perk panel likely required specific interactions with certain individuals to unlock. For instance, the update to Rebecca’s affinity.

Secondly, the first skill in the Body tree was [Steel Heart], which seemed to have an intangible connection to the heavy gun [Guts] that Rebecca would possess in the future.

Finally, this skill tree was more likely a program. Lin Yue realized that others couldn't see it, and given that many skills required specific cybernetics to activate, everything seemed to make sense... The Body perks were actually quite good. While the left side of the tree primarily influenced shotguns and machine guns, and the right side focused on the raw power of blunt weapons, the center was the most crucial part.

This column of skills affected [Health Points], [Regeneration Rate], and [Item Recovery]. Lin Yue guessed that the program quantified his physical state and displayed it as numbers. These skills, combined with his cybernetics and the hormones produced during combat, allowed his vitals to remain stable.

"Still need to install cybernetics to realize these skills," Lin Yue thought to himself.

Having figured this out, Lin Yue began to click without hesitation, but as he went, he discovered a problem. After allocating [Steel Heart] and three points into [Blood and Iron], there were no more perk points left...

So the question was: how do you get more perk points?

Based on Lin Yue’s understanding, they came from attribute points, and one received attribute points every three levels. But now, those three points were already spent. The extra point had come from accumulating character affinity, which suggested that this might very well be the way to earn them in the future.

For Lin Yue, this counted as a significant challenge. The so-called "Cultivation Reward Panel" had invisibly established a connection between him and these future legends. Lin Yue cared deeply about anything related to his own strength, so he felt no hostility toward building ties with these legends.

Watching Rebecca fiddle with her heavy gun, talking about how they would return to Watson tomorrow to eat good food—much better than the trash in Dogtown—Lin Yue was struck by a sudden, haunting thought.

If their life trajectories were like a fixed, unalterable fate, would he be forced to witness their deaths with his own eyes?

Lin Yue didn't know if the future would play out as promised. He shook his head. Life was fragile, and so were people. It was undeniable that once you established a connection with someone, the destined ending was often a terrible thing that only served to plunge a knife deeper into a scarred heart.

However, Lin Yue had always believed that human effort could change things, even if he were nothing more than a tiny speck of dust in this Night City.

Living well in the present—that is what matters most.

Isn't it?