[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-cyberpunk-cross-dimensional-science-and-engineer":3,"chapter-cyberpunk-cross-dimensional-science-and-engineer-cyberpunk-cross-dimensional-science-and-engineer-chapter-122":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Cyberpunk: Cross-dimensional Science and Engineering",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":20,"prevChapterSlug":21,"totalChapters":22,"novelImage":23},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":16,"volume":17,"translator":18,"content_hash":19},1151513,1495,"Chapter 122 - 114: Face to Face","cyberpunk-cross-dimensional-science-and-engineer-chapter-122",122,"\u003Cp>[Koch: Lama, what’s the situation?]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Koch: Lama, respond!]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Koch: Project terminated!]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Koch got no response to her message for a long time. Anxious, she paced back and forth in the room, racking her brains but without any clue as to what was happening.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She finally sent a message to terminate the project, then started to pack her things, preparing to flee—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She grabbed her bag, not even bothering to turn off the TV and other electronics in the office.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She planned to head to the Biotechnology Building first to deal with the project data on the servers. It was time to make a run for it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Click—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The automatic security door opened, and Koch froze—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Two handguns were aimed at her chest, three grim and ferocious guys stood at the door.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A sense of fear immediately rushed to her head, a chill spreading from the top of her skull to her limbs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>V and Jack pressed the barrels of their handguns to her shoulders, pushing slightly, forcing her back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lille cracked a small smile, \"Good evening, Dr. Koch.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After speaking, he followed her in through the door, which closed automatically.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The TV program was still broadcasting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"So, you caused all this trouble in the heart of Night City for this? Do you have evidence to prove that Biotechnology was behind these things?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hector remained silent—they certainly didn’t have any.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The people at Biotechnology weren’t fools; the only evidence was a signed experiment contract.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But what could a contract prove?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was they, the Wanderers, who had signed it themselves, and one of the clauses was \"Risk Notification.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To tell the truth, even before Hector was determined, he had been fooling himself into thinking it was just experimental risk, blaming his own folly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Lille told him it was not at all part of the experiment, that Biotechnology definitely messed with something else causing problems and assured they could find evidence for them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Hector silent, Zig Q pressed on, \"So... you have no evidence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Honestly, I do sympathize with what you’ve been through, but you know, everything exists in Evil Land. You might have just contracted some disease from Evil Land.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Who can guarantee you didn’t catch something else and blame it on Biotechnology?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet, you do such atrocious acts in the center of Night City for such a thing—don’t your consciences... hurt?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hector suddenly raised his head, which had been lowered, and stared intently at Zig Q with his bloodshot eyes, causing the flashy host a moment of chill.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But then he thought—before the Wanderer came on the show, they had ensured he had only an old-fashioned handgun with no bullets.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What could he do?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hector slowly said, \"I’d like to tell my story, a typical Wanderer’s story.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zig Q glanced at the audience, then said, \"Of course, you can.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hector continued, \"Night City sees us as outlaws, but before I was 24, I had never touched a gun.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What did you do then?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Farmed, drove, fixed cars, delivered goods long distances.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What happened when you were 24?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hector glanced at Zig Q, then around the audience, and pulled out a handgun from under his clothes, an old-fashioned revolver.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The year I was 24, I killed a Biotechnology person with this gun.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Funnily enough, this gun has a history. My great-grandfather was said to be a cowboy, and he too killed a sheriff with this gun.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The audience erupted into chaos once more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So, this Hector had a tradition of being an outlaw, starting from his great-grandfather’s generation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zig Q also looked surprised, but somehow for him... the gun seemed foreboding.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...So, you’re a hereditary outlaw. But your parents managed to earn the chance for you to farm properly, so why choose to be a criminal again?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That year, most of the crops we were growing died—we grew them ourselves, nothing to do with Biotechnology, and the water was also spoiled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We were out of money, and Biotechnology came knocking for debt— the patent fee for Choon-2 wheat. It had increased a lot that year, and we couldn’t pay.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Damn it, who could afford the patent fee for Choon-2 wheat? If it wasn’t for my father’s will, I wouldn’t have wanted to grow it!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But that’s still no reason to kill someone! Why would the Wanderers take in a murderer?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That’s what everyone thought.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Facing the accusations of the audience, Hector fell silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Money justifies murder?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hector felt that lack of money wasn’t a reason to kill indiscriminately; he just felt that he didn’t kill for money.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Outside the television, Dr. Koch was forced at gunpoint to sit on the sofa, and Lille sat down as well, right across from her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The television was playing that program, and Lille gave V a signal with her eyes, prompting the latter to move to the computer and insert a personal link.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A bottle of freshly opened red wine sat on the table in front of them; Lille picked it up to have a look.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Quite the taste you have, Dr. Koch. Open up system access.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Listen, no matter what you want, you won’t achieve it. Opposing the company is a death wish!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No matter who’s behind you, you can still turn back...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lille’s eyebrows furrowed, and she smashed the glass on the floor beside Koch’s foot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Crash!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The glass shattered, startling the woman into silence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Everyone dies eventually, but if you keep this attitude, I assure you that you’ll die early, like today would be a good day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You know why we’re here—the Nightingale Project. Tell me everything, including the location of the files.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>According to what you’ve said, my boss will decide what we should do.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Swallowing hard, Koch was at a loss mentally facing these lunatics.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What kind of madmen would storm the Biotechnology Building!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How did they breach so many security measures on the ground floor!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And this person’s...boss?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What exactly did they want?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everything was a mystery, and the mystery bred fear, which plunged her clever mind into chaos and obliged her to comply under the beautiful golden handgun.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The Nightingale Project... is a human enhancement experiment. The core concept is to increase the electromagnetic sensitivity of nerve cells, fundamentally providing a method of cell adaptation to increase prosthetic connection and response range.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Koch spoke, she obediently opened up the prosthetic access, and Lille moved beside her to insert a personal link.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In an instant, Koch’s memory of their faces was erased, and her Prosthetic Eye began to show large mosaics when viewing people.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Continue.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...We promised the Wanderers of the Red Sediment great benefits if they participated in the experiment, but something went wrong...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What went wrong?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...The marketing department had a batch of drugs and vaccines they were pushing, and then, well, they poisoned the Evil Land...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One of Lille’s eyebrows raised: \"γ-rabies? Santo Domingo was hit too?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"How did you know...\" Koch suddenly paused.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She had heard that the Six Street Gang had a batch of medicine stolen. Because of this, her business partner asked her about it, asking her to watch the market prices.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Were these the same thieves?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Koch suddenly realized that perhaps these robbers could be negotiated with—if they were after money.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With an idea in mind, one becomes less afraid. Koch continued, \"Right, the one who poisoned was Alex Pushkin; he was also in charge of the products.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As a result, the poisoning disrupted the normal progression of the Nightingale Project, which is why people died among the Wanderers.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The look in Lille’s eye grew stranger as she gazed at Koch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To bolster the believability of her story, this woman didn’t hesitate to lie and betray her own teammates.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Piecing together the puzzle with her understanding of the situation, Lille had a good guess at the actual truth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Alex Pushkin had persuaded Koch to collaborate, saying they should sell a batch of soon to expire medicine and split the profits. Koch happily agreed, and then the poisoning happened during the Nightingale Project.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The virus somehow infected the subjects of the Nightingale Project, causing problems with the experiment, leading to deaths among the Red Sediment populace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lille detached the personal link and, watching Hector argue on television, she slowly explained:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"To sell off a glut of medicine and vaccines, you directly poisoned both the city and the Evil Land. A classic corporate dog’s trick.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only it’s a shame that in this old corporate dog show, you’re the new clown, whose private dealings got in the way of the legitimate business.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In this case, killing you seems to have nothing to do with the company—on the contrary, Biotechnology probably wants you dead too.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Koch felt as if she had fallen into an icy cave; the rationale she had just regained started to slip away rapidly again. Lille had hit the nail on the head with the poison she accused her of planting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And indeed, Lille’s judgment was very accurate, as that was exactly the case.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lille sat across from her and said, \"But since it’s come to this, I’ll give you a way out—transfer the transgene editing-cultivation unit here from your headquarters.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Koch looked up, her eyes brimming with disbelief.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was a sense of celebration of surviving a catastrophe.\u003C\u002Fp>",1541,"2026-06-03T12:33:12.909Z","2026-06-03T12:33:19.802Z",1,"novelbin.me","b3b6479842746ac928e24aa4611fad694f41aec299f211f6fd7cf54418a41a28","cyberpunk-cross-dimensional-science-and-engineer-chapter-123","cyberpunk-cross-dimensional-science-and-engineer-chapter-121",1068,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fcyberpunk-cross-dimensional-science-and-engineer-cover.jpg"]