Chapter 126: Chapter 125
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North Oak Estates, a villa by the sea.
At this moment, Kerry was sitting in a mansion spanning thousands of square meters, utterly perplexed, with only the phrase "what the hell" repeating in his mind, unsure whether to express it or not.
Clearly, the sudden appearance of 'Silverhand' had given him a massive shock. To see his old brother, whom he hadn't seen for nearly fifty years, appear in such a manner was beyond belief.
It was like once hating someone for their obstinate, lone-wolf decisions, for abandoning a promising career and leaving behind their comrades with whom they fought passionately, all to pursue what he considered romantic and willful.
Yet, that man had become a legend in Night City, remembered by history; even his name had made it into the Afterlife Bar.
But what about the mess left behind?
The band was disbanded, friends had drifted apart, and the old brother had died without a trace.
Kerry hated him, hated him to death.
But paradoxically, he missed him terribly, so much so that it took him a long time to emerge from that shadow.
In fifty years, Kerry had grown from a young follower into a rock superstar, yet what he missed the most was the time he used to steal his big brother's underwear.
But that man had returned.
Somehow transformed, he had come back in a way no one could have imagined.
Truly bizarre!
Kerry didn't know how to face the 'Johnny' before him, staring at Tang Yu with a mix of emotions that surged like an ocean, culminating in a light chuckle.
"Heh..."
"I didn't expect you to change your taste, donning a corporate skin. This doesn't seem like you at all, Silverhand."
Tang Yu nodded noncommittally, seeing the somber look on Kerry's face and consoled him, "You're still as tacky as ever, with your spacious golden mansion, your pricey supercars, a yard big enough for a horse, hilarious. Besides this music corner, everything seems out of place. Did you forget what I told you before I left? Walk your own path, Kerry."
Hearing this, Kerry exploded like a provoked tiger, snapping back, "And what about you, huh? Oh, still thinking it's fifty years ago? The self-righteous legend? You had your fun, but what about everyone else? Don't try to lecture me like you used to, I'm sick of that crap!"
Kerry mocked vehemently, releasing years of pent-up emotions all at once.
Tang Yu remained silent, just watching as Kerry ranted, letting him spew whatever he needed to—after all, this was a rare chance for his former little brother to vent in front of 'Johnny.'
After finishing his tirade, Kerry gradually cooled off and sat beside Tang Yu, shaking his head helplessly as if resigned to the situation.
He turned to Tang Yu again, now with a sense of acceptance, and greeted an old friend, "So, how've you been these years?"
Tang Yu responded with self-deprecating humor, "Escaped from the battlefield, a washed-up rock star, what do you think?"
"Right, I forgot to introduce you, this is Tang from Arasaka Corporation."
Upon hearing 'Johnny' introduce someone, Kerry took another good look at Tang Yu, handsome and dressed impeccably, the very image of a noble heir. Had it not been for 'Johnny's' words, he would have had no interest in such a person.
"Huh, nice taste, Tang, right? I'll remember that. And her?"
Kerry pointed at Sasha, who stood aside curiously observing the two, her gaze filled with confusion and excitement.
'Johnny' gave a brief introduction, "Tang's bodyguard. You know, people from Arasaka Corporation like to make an impression."
Kerry nodded, now reconciled to the reality of Johnny's return; in this world, nothing was impossible.
He stood up, inviting Tang Yu upstairs for a chat.
"Come, join me upstairs for a talk. It's been so many years since we last met; surely, you didn't come empty-handed."
Tang Yu stood, returned the guitar to the wall, and followed Kerry upstairs.
"I heard you've been suffering from depression for the better part of a year, brooding over how to make a comeback?"
Kerry, barefoot on the stairs, ascended step by step, "Nowadays, people's tastes have changed—or rather, they've been brainwashed by corporations. It's hard to discern anything of quality."
Tang Yu knew that Kerry's career was on the decline and that his record company lacked the clout for significant promotional resources.
It was like the three fierce sisters from Kyoto who, with Arasaka's support, became famous.
"Kerry, you are being cynical. Didn't I start with a small record company and eventually turned those major companies upside down?"
Kerry found it amusing that even after fifty years, 'Johnny' had not lost that arrogant streak and replied,
"That was a different era. Now is a different time. The Samurai band has become an echo of the past, Johnny. We can't go back."
At that, Kerry grew melancholy, perhaps realizing that even the most enduring vows could not withstand time's indifference.
Sasha followed Tang Yu upstairs, carefully listening to their conversation.
Something felt off at first, as if Tang Yu had become a different person, his manner vastly unlike his usual self.
Although it was still Tang Yu, every gesture exuded arrogance, and it wasn't just for show.
Later, Sasha caught on that Mr. Tang was impersonating Johnny Silverhand, engaging with Kerry in Johnny's persona.
But how could Tang Yu know what kind of person Johnny Silverhand was, as Johnny had become a legend decades ago, most of those who knew him likely gone from this world.
Sasha found out that Kerry was once a member of the Samurai band, a close friend of Johnny Silverhand and intimately familiar with him.
For Tang Yu to deceive Kerry, he had to understand Johnny better than Kerry, even truly assuming Johnny's identity.
Sasha couldn't believe the bizarre reality that Kerry accepted someone dead for over fifty years 'resurrected' and facing him with an entirely unfamiliar face.
Especially Tang Yu's lecturing tone left Sasha bewildered; she was about to approach and ask if Tang Yu felt unwell.
The words flowed so naturally, as if he had truly transformed.
Following the two upstairs, Sasha entered a small drawing room with two semi-circular brown leather sofas surrounding a glass round table littered with scattered bottles and food scraps.
Opposite them hung a massive electronic screen.
Sasha politely stood behind Tang Yu, and when he sat down, she remained silent and vigilant.
Kerry collapsed onto the sofa and pulled out a bottle of whiskey with only a third remaining from behind it.
He casually filled two glasses, pushing one towards Tang Yu, keeping the other for himself.
Just as he was about to drink, he burped unintentionally, grumbling, "Damn, what's the point of drinking alone in the middle of the night?"
Tang Yu teased, "What's up? You feeling restless? Something wrong with your voice, did the company mess with you?"
Kerry snorted, his gripe with the company clear, "Those bastards say I'm tone-deaf, always off-key when I sing. No choice, they implanted an electronic larynx, now even when I talk it sounds odd. But singing got easier. Now, even voices can be faked."
Tang Yu understood why Kerry had to rely on publicity stunts for popularity. In this corporate-controlled era, people's preferences had been manipulated.
Artificially generated human voices catered to any need, and even producing a song involved AIs that easily switched between various styles and tones.
For a traditionalist like Kerry, it was about harnessing not only past fame and status but his connection with the legendary Johnny Silverhand.
Kerry's success could not be disconnected from Johnny's lasting influence.
Tang Yu began 'educating' his little brother Kerry with a detached tone, "That's what I'm saying, rock 'n' roll is a spirit that those damned electronic sounds will never be able to grasp. I didn't teach you to chase after fame and fortune like a lapdog."
He added, "If you had taken any of my advice to heart, Kerry, you wouldn't be in this sorry state, living in such a big house for what? In the end, you resort to exploiting your depression to grab attention."
The more Kerry listened, the more irritated he became, unable to articulate his discontent, so he dismissed it, "Yeah, yeah, you're right. After all, you're the most legendary figure out there, coming here in the middle of the night to educate me. Aren't you tired? I thought you really came to make amends, but I was wrong. Tell me, what do you want?"
At that moment, the video of the Samurai band's park roadshow was playing on the electronic screen. The atmosphere was enthusiastically explosive, drawing countless pedestrians to stop and join the rock surge.
Tang Yu didn't keep Kerry in suspense any longer, and said directly, "Interested in having another concert? Don't you want to make a comeback? Signing with Arasaka Corporation is enough for you to rise to fame again."
Hearing that 'Johnny' wanted to hold a concert, Kerry's spirits were immediately lifted, and he stood up from the sofa, staring at him and asked, "Fuck, are you serious? A nostalgia concert?"
Seeing Kerry's impatience, Tang Yu further clarified, "Not a nostalgia concert, but a brand-new one, that'll set you on fire—a concert that could ignite the Biotechnica building."
Igniting the Biotechnica building with a concert?
Kerry was puzzled. What did a concert have to do with Biotechnica?
Suddenly, like recalling something, he remembered the corporate plaza riot that Johnny had incited years ago. Johnny held a concert in front of the Arasaka Twin Towers, which led to a riot against the corporation, exploiting the chaos to infiltrate the company with a big play.
That was the Samurai's last concert and the last time Kerry saw Johnny.
Staring at Tang Yu in disbelief, Kerry muttered, "Can't be. You want to pull this off again, this time targeting Biotechnica? Haven't you realized, even if you could blow up the building a hundred times, they will rebuild it as many!"
Tang Yu sneered disdainfully, "Kerry, no wonder they say you've got limited ambition. OK, I'll tell you but just once, listen up."
"What I want is not about blowing up a building or destroying a company, and I never yearned to become a legend."
"It's about when faced with a shitty world where everyone only dares to remain silent, someone must raise the first cry, declare war on that damned capital, and on those damned corporations."
"It's a war. If no one sounds the horn, then I will, to show everyone that even the mightiest giant has its day to fall."
"Damn it, Kerry, you might not understand now, but sooner or later, you will."
Standing up, Tang Yu stared down Kerry, saying again, "Kerry, I'm not dwelling in the past, nor am I out to get the corporation, but at least this time, I must make people see—the Samurai band never fades away."
Kerry was silent.
He knew 'Johnny' wouldn't come back to him for nothing; it was once again a stand against the corporations, playing the old game.
With a resigned laugh, Kerry said, "Heh, I get it. Fifty years on, even Saburo Arasaka changed his ways, but you're still the same."
"It's damn ridiculous how I always fall for this. Although I don't quite grasp your arrogance, it's impressively crazy, Johnny. It has to be you."
It seemed like something clicked for Kerry, no longer as agitated as before, but seriously asked, "So what's your plan? Or you didn't have one from the start, kick off a concert and call for a boycott of Biotechnica, let me guess, they've messed with you again."
Tang Yu took out a micro-storage chip, which contained the compiled evidence of Biotechnica's experimental crimes.
"Just take a look."
Kerry picked up the chip and, without any hesitation, inserted it into his neural socket at the back of his neck, his expression darkened as he skimmed the data.
"Truly a bunch of motherfuckers."
Tang Yu added, "Now you understand, even after fifty years, the company has learned nothing from the explosion."
"Biotechnica has no intention of letting anyone off the hook—the nomads of the Badlands, the war veterans, they are all their targets."
With this, their conversation laid all cards on the table.
Quietly standing by, Sasha realized the full story, finally understanding why Tang Yu had asked if she wanted to hold a concert.
Recalling the atrocities on the Badlands and Biotechnica's countless sins, Sasha was deeply disturbed, her vision starting to blur, even Tang Yu's figure becoming hazy.
After Kerry finished reading the chip, he still had questions, "Aren't you working at Arasaka? No, that's because Tang works there, so you can't use corporate means to expose this data publicly, and that's why you came to me, right?"
Tang Yu, with an attitude of indifference, retorted, "Join or not, no one can stop what I intend to do. The Biotechnica building must burn, I said it."
"But don't get Tang involved; he's working for Arasaka, so don't drag him into it too much."
Tang Yu knew Kerry's affection for Johnny. Kerry would never betray his older brother.
And Tang Yu wasn't worried about leaks. Even if Kerry talked, as long as he denied it, who would believe such an absurd story of Johnny's ghost returning to inhabit a top executive at Arasaka?
If Kerry informed Saburo, it would actually be convenient for Tang Yu. Saburo must be eager to get his hands on the relic chip imprinted with Johnny's mark and come to him for confirmation.
Kerry hearing Johnny for the first time seemed considerate of others, poured himself another glass and chided, "Since when has Johnny Silverhand changed, starting to care about people?"
"It's ironic to think that you share a body with Arasaka. Introduce Tang, what's his standing at Arasaka, if it's tough I can make a call to Saburo, at least lend a hand."
Tang Yu candidly stated, "Doing average, just the vice director of both the Arasaka Counter-Intelligence Department and the Special Operations Division."
Kerry gulped his whiskey, choking on the revelation.
Vice director of two influential departments?
This was considered average?
Kerry said in disbelief, "Johnny, have you come back to take down Arasaka Tower from the inside? This is damn epic. Who would have thought that Arasaka's number one enemy, a super-terrorist, could be hiding inside the Arasaka Tower? This world has enough irony."
He wasn't planning to refuse Johnny's offer—it was just a concert and setting Biotechnica's building aflame.
"If Arasaka Tower is off-limits for bombing, who says I can't burn a Biotechnica building? It's not like I'm doing it myself."
"Alright, I'll trust you once more, for a concert, for setting a building on fire."
Tang Yu joked, "Kerry, you've finally come around, taking the first real step towards becoming a rock star."
Kerry couldn't help but laugh, "Damn, just thinking about it gets me excited, burning the Biotechnica building—this will be big news, only you could have thought of this."
"Tell me, when do we start?"
Tang Yu said gravely, "Follow Tang's arrangements. He'll handle everything. We'll meet again when the time comes."
Kerry wanted to say something, but Tang Yu's demeanor suddenly changed, becoming utterly different from before, his gaze now aloof and resolute.
What's happening? A seamless soul switch?
Even Sasha felt the change, her familiar Mr. Tang had returned, always calm, unflappable.
Her mind filled with question marks, Sasha started to doubt herself.
"Could it be that another soul, Johnny Silverhand, resides within Mr. Tang?"
Kerry, somewhat confused, shook his head to clear it, took another look, and indeed, Tang Yu was back to his aloof demeanor.
Cautiously seeking confirmation, he asked, "Are you Tang?"
Tang Yu stood up straight, buttoning up the top button of his suit and extended a hand for a handshake.
"Pleasure to meet you, Kerry Eurodyne."
"Allow me to introduce myself."
"Vice director of both the Counter-Intelligence Department and the Special Operations Division."
"Tang Yu."
Kerry: "..."
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