Chapter 601 Taiping Island
In the latest email, David said that he had met a young girl and was doing some not-so-legal things with her to make money.
"Girl? Did you run into Lucy?"
Xia Yu browsed the email David sent him and murmured, "It seems that the plot is back on track. That guy has put Si'an Westin in his body."
According to the opening plot of Edgewalker, it was the car accident that caused David to lose his mother, and then he was bullied by his classmates at school the next day, which made him install the illegal prosthetic body, Sanwestin, in desperation.
This prosthesis was stolen by Gloria from a dead cyberpsychopath. Only by doing some illegal smuggling secretly can Gloria keep her small family running.
After installing the Sian Westin, David first went to the college and beat up the classmates who bullied him, and then dropped out without any regrets.
On the way home after dropping out of school, he met Lucy, who was stealing chips to make extra money. The two hit it off and decided to cooperate in stealing chips, splitting the profits 30% to 70%. He had to depend on Lucy's mood to get the 30%.
Then that same night, he joined Mann's team by chance. Just as David was gradually integrating into the team, members of the team died one after another, until even the boss Mann died.
By the end of the film, the entire team had been wiped out, leaving only Lucy and a bearded driver alive, and even David was smashed into a pile of mosaics.
But it’s only the beginning of the story, David hasn’t even joined team yet, and he has just met Lucy.
The time we encountered it was earlier than in the animation. I don’t know if it was the butterfly effect or something else.
After thinking about it, Xia Yu sent David an email, which basically said that Night City is a free place and you can do whatever you want.
After replying to David's message, Xia Yu refreshed his mailbox and found that the college had also sent him an email, mainly asking why he did not come to school.
Emails from the college, um...
Read but not replied.
After closing the interface in front of him, Xia Yu crossed his hands and rested them on the back of his head, then lay back on the bed with his body softened.
"Let me think, the Animal Gang, the Whirlpool Gang, the Tiger Claw Gang, the Scavengers, the Voodoo Gang..."
"Where is the Voodoo Gang? It seems to be in Taiping Island. Dog Town seems to be in Taiping Island."
Xia Yu suddenly remembered something. In the DLC Shadows of the Past of Cyberpunk 2077, Dog Town was right next to the stadium in Taipingzhou, and even the Taipingzhou Stadium itself was included in the scope of Dog Town.
Dogtown is the stronghold of rebel Colonel Kurt Hansen, who ignored the evacuation order after the Unification War, opened up his own private territory and black market, and became the dictator of Dogtown.
Dogtown is not a luxurious city, but a dilapidated city within a city, a former subdivision of Taiping Island.
Although most of the residents of Dogville are on the verge of poverty, they can also be said to have escaped corporate rule.
However, if the residents of Dog Town had a choice, most of them would definitely choose to go to work in a company rather than stay in this poor city within a city.
Dog Town had no appeal to Xia Yu. He just suddenly remembered that Taiping Island in Night City seemed to be a lawless area.
Not to mention the company moving in, even the NCPD is too lazy to take care of this place.
Taiping Island was originally planned as a resort for Night City to generate income. The project originated from the economic recovery in the 1960s, when some investors wanted to make money through tourism projects.
These investors invested a lot of money to transform this poor southern suburb into a thriving tourist destination.
However, the United War in 2069 caused most investors to withdraw their funds and abandon Taiping Island, so most of the buildings were left unfinished before they were completed.
After the investment was terminated, thousands of people were left with nowhere to go and were abandoned here.
Most of them are cheap labor hired by investors, mostly Haitian immigrants.
Later, in an unprecedented citizen initiative, the Voodoo Gang united local homeless people to establish a new Creole community on Taiping Island, which quickly degenerated into its current dilapidated state.
Taiping Island, which should have been a tourist destination, now has no tourists to be seen, only gangs that use violence without restraint.
The collision between ideals and reality always brings endless disappointment, and Taiping Island is just one of the microcosms of this world.
"You can try your hand in this no-man's land."
As he was thinking, Xia Yu sat up. If he could eradicate the Voodoo Gang in Taiping Island, then companies would definitely flock to this area with thousands of thanks.
Even though the West Wind Manor and the seaside area of Taiping Island have been transformed into slums by the local community, as long as these stubborn residents are gone, the restarted Taiping Island will be a benefit that no one can refuse.
After the United War ended in 2070, previous investors planned to restart the project, but they were resisted by the Voodoo Gang.
The involvement of the NCPD further exacerbated the full-scale riots that lasted for weeks. The head of the NCPD, fearing a large-scale massacre, ordered the withdrawal of police forces from the area.
In an attempt to stop the local community from resisting, the city council shut down all services in Taiping Island, hoping to force the voodoo gangs and locals to relocate, but to no avail.
It was from that time on that Taiping Island became a lawless area, and the city council, NCPD and corporate forces had no control over Taiping Island.
Xia Yu didn't intend to help the company out of kindness. He was attracted by the lawless nature of Taiping Island.
If we defeat the Voodoo Gang, then if we want to do anything in the future, we can use this as a starting point without having to worry about making things difficult for others.
"Forget it. I've already skipped classes, so these few days won't make a difference."
After deciding on the next goal, Xia Yu was too lazy to go back to the academy for classes. He had already skipped one day. If there was one, there would be two. Could he still be expelled? The tuition fee had been paid.
Before leaving, he asked Sasha for a map. This girl replied to his messages within seconds. Asking her for a map was much faster than looking for it directly on the Internet, and it was also much more accurate and detailed.
After all, he is a hacker. It is impossible to fool him with a map that can be found on the Internet.
Not long after, Sasha sent the map over without even asking.
The map sent over not only marked the scope of the gang, but also had various regional divisions, the approximate locations of all the Voodoo Gang's strongholds, etc., which are not available on the Internet.
Xia Yu: "Thanks, that's a great help!"
After taking a quick look at the map, Xia Yu replied to Sasha that this map was exactly what he wanted.
With the approximate location of the Voodoo Gang's stronghold, he no longer needed to search for them one by one. He could directly enter the stronghold and start killing people, saving a lot of time.
Sasha: "Hey, of course. When are you coming over to play? Let me tell you a secret. I have a new look."
Xia Yu: "Maybe next time. I'm a little busy recently, so I won't come for now."
Sasha: "Okay then..."
Sasha: "If you want to find the Voodoo Gang, remember to be safe. They are extremely xenophobic, and most of the members of the Voodoo Gang are top network hackers, and you are a full-body cyborg..."
Xia Yu: "Don't worry, it's okay."
Sasha: "Be safe!"
After hanging up the call with Sasha, Xia Yu opened the window , jumped, and headed straight for Taiping Island, the southernmost tip of Night City.
This time he didn't rush over. It was a bad habit to be in a hurry for everything.
It took Xia Yu quite some time to transfer through various vehicles before he finally arrived at this area which was once developed as a tourist destination.
There are no family-friendly boutiques as far as the eye can see, no pop-up makeshift prosthetic clinics, and no crowds of happy tourists sightseeing and having the time of their lives.
There is only extreme poverty, crumbling infrastructure, and rampant gang violence.
However, beneath this poverty and violence, there is unlimited potential. If a company is willing to make appropriate investments and carry out strong demolition, this place may become Night City's top holiday destination.
Of course, the prerequisite is that the nail households here agree.
"Tsk, this world is damned."
Looking at the amusement building in Taiping Island that looked luxurious at first glance but was actually shabby, Xia Yu frowned.
These buildings have long lost the purpose they were once intended for and have now become the only shelter for homeless people.
The homeless here are no different from those in Night City. They all stare at the air with lifeless eyes and live one day at a time.
They don’t know what the meaning of life is, but they don’t want to die so casually. This is the true portrayal of these homeless people.
To be honest, Xia Yu didn't think the residents here wanted to live like this.
But rather than letting companies pour in, they would rather defend their homes and not give in, because they know that if they really let companies enter Taiping Island, they would lose even this extremely poor home.
Just as Xia Yu was looking at these homeless people, those homeless people also cast unfriendly looks at Xia Yu. They did not welcome outsiders to come here.
Xia Yu was covered with the skin of the Ghost Walker at the moment, so he was not afraid of these gazes, because his true face was not revealed anyway.
"Hey, where the hell are you from, idiot? Do you know whose territory this is?"
Just as Xia Yu was thinking about where to start, two gang members suddenly walked towards him, cursing as they came.
Judging from the way they were dressed, they were undoubtedly members of the Voodoo Gang.
The Voodoo Gang is almost entirely composed of Haitians. It is a secret gang that maintains internal stability and is always wary of outsiders.
The gang was originally founded by voodoo priests and priestesses, who were immigrants from Haiti and a high caste in Creole culture.
That’s right, Haiti still maintains a very strict caste system, and the members of the Voodoo Gang are basically from high castes, which is why they can maintain gang unity.
People of the same class will spontaneously maintain unity for the sake of their own privileges.
Because the clothing and body modifications of the voodoo gangs are somewhat similar in style to voodoo, their clothing often has a "voodoo" style, such as dreadlocks, tattoos, and ornaments made of bird and rodent bones.
But even so, they themselves do not agree with the name Voodoo Gang. The name Voodoo Gang was given to them by other gangs.
Looking at the two Voodoo Gang members coming over, Xia Yu didn't waste any words. He swung his sword and killed them easily.
Seeing someone killing someone in the street, the homeless people around them changed their expressions and fled in a hurry.
Although gang fights , locals have long been accustomed to it.
But when they suddenly saw a cyborg killing people in the street, they were still a little scared. After all, this cyborg killing people in the street was very likely to have become a cyberpsychopath.
Indiscriminate cyberpsychosis is extremely murderous, and they don't want to be involved in it.
Besides, the Terrorist Squad will not come to Taiping Island to help them kill cyber psychopaths. If a cyber psychopath appears, only the Voodoo Gang can deal with it.
"Why are you running so fast? I'm not someone who kills people casually."
Xia Yu looked at the fleeing homeless people, waved the long knife in his hand and took two steps forward, but this made the homeless people run even faster.
Apparently, someone who has no idea that they appear to others to be a cyber-madman.
Watching the others running farther and farther away, Xia Yu was too lazy to explain. If he really wanted to explain to those people who were running away that he was not a person who killed people casually, he would be a complete fool.
After shaking off the blood on the knife, Xia Yu turned on the system, took out the Ghost Walker card from the card slot, and then replaced it with Raiden's card.
The purpose of coming here is to hone one's proficiency in lightning, so naturally one must use lightning to fight, although Ghost Walker will reach the maximum level if he uses it again.
But it doesn’t matter if we fight for a moment. There will be plenty of opportunities to fight in the future anyway.
After inserting Raiden's card, Xia Yu pulled out Raiden's weapon, the "High-Frequency Wave Blade", and rushed towards a stronghold on the map.
He won't kill innocent people, but he will show no mercy to gang members.
There is no good person in the gang. Killing them all might result in killing innocent people, but killing nine and letting one go will definitely result in some people slipping through the net.
Besides, the Voodoo Gang’s dressing style is very distinctive, so there is no need to worry about killing the wrong people.
Just by looking at their strange tattoos and bone accessories, you can tell at a glance that they are part of the Voodoo Gang.
As for the resistance of the Voodoo Gang members, he didn't take it seriously at all. The low-level members had little combat power, and the high-level members were all hackers.
Overall, there is no threat.
The physical combat capability of a hacker would make any gun look useless, and the prosthetics on his body have basically nothing to do with physical combat.
They are strong men on the Internet, and their fighting methods are almost all based on invading the network, such as paralyzing the enemy's prosthesis, or inserting puppet viruses into the enemy's neural network, etc.
Although Raiden is a mechanical cyborg, his transformation technology comes from the world of Metal Gear Solid, and is not the transformation technology of the Cyberpunk world at all.
Those hackers who want to paralyze Raiden's modified prosthesis must first understand this technology before they can crack the invasion. It is equivalent to inserting a virus into someone else's computer while also understanding how the other person's computer system was written.
It didn't take long for someone in the Voodoo Gang's main base to notice the intruder.
"Placid, someone is invading us. Our other bases in Taiping Island are being eliminated one by one. All the people in the bases are dead."
A voodoo gang member suddenly ran to a strong black man and reported loudly.
The burly black man is named Placide, and he is the second-in-command of the Voodoo Gang. People around him are in awe of him, and they all obey him without him lifting a finger.
