[{"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-226":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},1151717,1495,"Chapter 226 - 208: Little Head, Big Question Mark","cyberpunk-cross-dimensional-science-and-engineer-chapter-226",226,"\u003Cp>Extortion is a skill.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The second-in-command, having a circle of unclear confidants, whispers the first-in-command’s rumors, finds more money than expected in the bag, and can’t help but wonder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the sergeant can’t do it himself, otherwise, he wouldn’t have had to throw the cannon over—though the knife is a bit difficult to borrow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lille had experienced it personally, easily collaborating with the gang’s second-in-command to set up a mafia-style purge.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although it’s not very honorable to dig up the past and set him up with the company...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But honor is a concern for the living.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When money can solve the problem, who would gamble on it?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But there’s still something I don’t understand.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Go on.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>V rubbed his head, filled with question marks after hearing how Lille made the money.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Why didn’t he realize it at first?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"He must have used a mobile to take the call. It’s hard to spot an issue with your ears through a mobile.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Then why did he use a mobile?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lille looked at V helplessly: large eyes filled with confusion and even a slight tilt of the head, with a kind of intense beauty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Infinite signals are sent out, then received by devices, modulated, and converted into electrical signals, which in turn are converted into text, audio, and pictures.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the Cyber Era, this signal-receiving and modulating process itself is a hackable channel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, this requires high technical skills from a hacker, but those who manage to become a gang leader—who would always consider themselves safe?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The cheapest means of protection is to have a phone ready. Hack it if you must—it’s just a crappy phone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So even by 2076, mobile phones still haven’t become obsolete.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the Cyber Era, those who dare to answer calls from unknown sources usually don’t end well—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>V is one of those who never uses a mobile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Forget mobiles, she looks like the type who would dare to pick up and wear a Super Dream headband found on the street.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...Little V, you’re different from others, don’t waste your time on these useless techniques.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Having said that, Lille prepared the stimulant for Tina and gave her an injection.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After hearing Lille’s words, V proudly lifted her head: \"Indeed, how can fiddling with gadgets compare to well-honed combat skills?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After speaking, she swung her fists in the air, making a whooshing sound, and Jack took interest as well. The two traded blows next to each other, exchanging experiences.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The pharmaceutical flowed through Tina’s arteries to her heart, then limbs, and finally her head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She opened her eyes—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Due to a visual disparity, she saw two fierce-looking people beating a corpse!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Don’t scream!\" Lille put up a finger to Tina’s lips, her bionic chin hanging by a thread, cracked open.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lille reached out to fix her chin back in place.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Are you in Biotechnology? Still employed?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tina nodded desperately: \"Number 3 Biological Farm, Biomass Chemical Operation Specialist, employee number...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Stop, stop, stop, I don’t care about your company role. Are you from Saint Domingo?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes, I got my license just the year before last, please spare me, big brother, I’m just a nobody, you can take it all!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What does taking it all mean?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Enjoying 12 hours of work by day, becoming a free slave at night.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This girl was indeed scared stupid.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I’m not here to collect protection money—but you do need someone to protect you. Know the Old Captain?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Uh...sounds like a middleman?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lille moved closer to the computer: \"Right, you talk to him yourself. What’s the access key?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"DinaF_$322548+60.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Authentication Passed]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Welcome to Biotechnology Software.Ver2056.14.1]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Subnet Connected Devices: Biomass Synthesizer, Petri Dish, Centrifugal Precipitator, Biochemical Analyzer...]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Equipment in the storeroom lit up—Tina was indeed talented.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This small workshop had everything you could want, with clone cell media against the walls. The cultured protein tissues moved along a conveyer into the next piece of processing equipment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Centrifuges, chromatography columns, liquid chromatography, electrophoresis... and other purification devices separated proteins and tissue cells of different densities, delivering them in batches to the mixing area.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then Tina would mix these raw materials with food additives, wheat flour, and other ingredients according to the optimal chicken meat flavor ratio, then carry out surface beautification and adjustments.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After synthesis, it moved to the vacuum-sealing machine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The upper level of the room had an automatic track, hanging bags filled with fresh synthetic meat, sealed in vacuum packaging, awaiting distribution.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although the process hinges on machinery, it also demands a solid knowledge base from the operator—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Firstly, this system uses a eukaryotic expression system to cultivate cells. Though the goal is chicken meat, there are no simple cell types in any creature.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Having selected proper host cells, you still need to construct the expression vector, transfect the host cells, and then comes the cultivation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If anything goes wrong in cultivation, the synthesized protein might even carry lethal toxicity. After synthesis, protein purification is required to obtain the target protein.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if the protein was correctly synthesized, figuring out how to balance real meat with auxiliaries was also a technical matter...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lille had copied a set of data into the biological laboratory—believing that Professor Connors would plunge into self-doubt again when he saw these data after getting up tomorrow morning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...Your techniques... they’re pretty good, do they teach these at the bio-farm?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lille was very emotionally stable, so when V and Jack were clearly just exchanging boxing and combat experience, Tina wasn’t so scared anymore.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She rubbed her hands together and said with embarrassment, \"I have a good relationship with my supervisor. I learned it from him.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Did you formulate the cell agents for cultivation yourself? There doesn’t seem to be any cutting equipment here?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That’s not the case. Sometimes the farm deals with some cell agents that aren’t quite up to standard—usually they’re problematic shipments that have been damaged or spoiled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the proteins I sell always go through strict verification to ensure there are no food safety issues!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tina patted her chest, looking somewhat proud.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She had the right to be proud; she had sold quite a lot of this meat and so far, no problems had been reported.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, Lille had checked Tina’s email: it seemed she had been providing synthetic meat to food stores in Saint Domingo at low prices.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These synthetic meats might not compare with big brand products, but their affordability was undeniable, and the local restaurants were quite happy with them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Who would pass up meat to eat?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The business was gradually picking up. It was a win-win situation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She’d even throw some of the less palatable off-cuts to the orphanage or street urchins. It seemed her act of accumulating good deeds got the Old Captain’s attention, and the Old Captain, in turn, could look after her a bit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"So, you’re a conscientious businesswoman, where did you get these facilities from?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tina scratched her head: \"All bought with loans, and it took pulling a lot of strings to get them. I still owe over two hundred thousand, but given the current situation, I reckon it’ll take another seven or eight years to almost clear it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seven or eight years...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>People have different senses of time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For mercenaries like Man, a year is a threshold, two and a half years another, there are obstacles everywhere—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But if you honestly work at a company, even though life might be harder, there wouldn’t be many changes in ten years.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unless the company plans to wage war again, or some legend seeks enlightenment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I took the equipment information and technical specifications as commission, you handle the store matters on your own.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lille gestured with his hand, and the trio got into the McGinnis and left—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Watching the retreating figure of the McGinnis, the Mizutani sports car, once a fallen dream’s idol, was smashed aside by the massive figure of the McGinnis drifiting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Damn, that McGinnis... really cool, huh.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The camera at the intersection flickered with red light, recording everything.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cyberspace—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was a virtual world composed of data.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A raven flew back from the area symbolizing Saint Domingo, traversing the complex Night City domains, returning to its master—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And it brought back a recording.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the video, a McGinnis appeared, along with three people.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The raven’s master wore the most traditional human form but had a mask on; the mask displayed his identity:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Network Surveillance]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Raven#0236]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He watched the scene of the McGinnis drifting and shooting bullets, especially those smart bullets, over and over again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Smart Bullet Trajectory Analysis Completed]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Miss Rate: 0%]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His eyebrows furrowed deeply.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He watched the entire process again and again, especially the scene where V and Jack started to fight...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His deeply furrowed eyebrows relaxed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After watching, he began writing his report.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[.....]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Summary Report: No signs of Cyberspace intrusion detected, Magic Doll cross-verification complete, program redundancy high but effective, logical consistency with humans high]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[.....]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Target: King (V), VIP]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Conclusion: Unlikely to be a Hacker]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[.....]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Target: Burger King]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Rogue AI Association Probability: Low]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Note: There’s a high likelihood of being an individual with extreme cognitive potential.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Suggestion: Target has extensive combat experience, consider issuing tasks for further observation]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Network access permit number uploaded.]\u003C\u002Fp>",1530,"2026-06-03T12:33:12.909Z","2026-06-03T12:33:19.802Z",1,"novelbin.me","caf8d1f2a6dfc596ededbb39efefc87ef3917f7428419adb7a6f015af0618bd6","cyberpunk-cross-dimensional-science-and-engineer-chapter-227","cyberpunk-cross-dimensional-science-and-engineer-chapter-225",1068,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fcyberpunk-cross-dimensional-science-and-engineer-cover.jpg"]