"Panam, are you done yet? We're about to leave!"
The Nomads' Camp was bustling with activity. Over a dozen people were moving back and forth, loading crates of large goods and small parts onto two transport trucks whose exteriors were spray-painted to look like "ice cream" freezer trucks.
As people moved around, dust flew up. Mitch was sweating under the sun, a cigarette dangling from his mouth. He frowned, waving his hand to give directions, simultaneously shouting toward Panam inside the tent.
"Almost! Almost! Coming right now!"
Panam's hurried reply came from inside the tent; she sounded preoccupied. Mitch looked over with a troubled gaze, taking a drag from his cigarette before holding it in his hand, mumbling inwardly.
"What's wrong with Panam today? She's dragging her feet. She wasn't like this before."
Scorpion walked past, struggling to lift a crate and set it into the truck bed for the stowers to take over.
"Maybe it has something to do with someone at The Hive?"
Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Scorpion put his hands on his hips, catching his breath as he spoke.
"The Hive?"
Mitch looked at Scorpion in confusion, not understanding what he meant.
"Isn't the guy Panam likes someone from The Hive? Since we're delivering goods there this time, maybe she's nervous about seeing her sweetheart."
"Hmm, that makes sense."
Mitch nodded, feeling that Scorpion had a point.
This was the only way to explain why the capable Panam had become so shy.
Just as the two were talking, a figure walked out of the tent with a purposeful stride. At first glance, both men's eyes widened slightly.
"Uh, well, how do I look? Am I presentable?"
The person who emerged was none other than Panam, but her appearance today was a pleasant surprise to everyone.
Her hair was meticulously styled and tied up, without a single stray strand. She wore a new yellow jacket, and like her jeans and boots, everything was clean, shining, and dust-free.
Compared to her attire, however, the wearer seemed less than confident.
Panam looked down, repeatedly examining her outfit, afraid that something might be wrinkled or untucked.
"You look great, why wouldn't you look great?"
Unlike her usual carefree self, where her clothes were often dusty, today Panam was clearly specially groomed. The air around her carried a scent, indicating she had obviously applied perfume.
It wasn't until the ash from his finished cigarette dropped that Mitch snapped out of it and quickly affirmed.
"Yeah, you look really good. Very energetic."
After surveying her, Scorpion also nodded in affirmation, giving his approval.
Panam felt that asking the two of them was a mistake. Instead of feeling confident from the praise, her heart grew even more anxious. Thinking about the person she was about to meet nearly drove her crazy; her heart hammered incessantly, more stimulating than a shot of Kangleefu.
"Uh, I'll go check how the cargo is loaded."
Feeling unsettled, Panam, in her nervousness, just wanted to find something to do to distract herself from this unfamiliar anxiety.
Watching the anxious Panam leave, Mitch spoke to Scorpion.
"I really don't get why Panam cares so much about that Asian kid. Don't we have plenty of great young men right here in the Aldecaldos?"
"Heh, the grass is always greener on the other side."
Scorpion chuckled and offered his assessment.
"Besides, he helped Panam quite a bit when she was in trouble. It's understandable that she developed feelings."
"Hmm... that makes some sense."
Mitch nodded in deep agreement.
He felt it was probably time.
Panam, that girl, had always been fiery and quick-tempered in the tribe, exploding at the slightest provocation.
She was like a man, her hair like a bird's nest, and she was always dusty and travel-worn.
But when she met someone she liked, she dressed up and started caring about her appearance.
The wild kid had finally grown into a young woman.
Mitch felt a sense of relief, like watching a junior finally grow up.
"Alright, I wish you a smooth trip. Take this stuff to The Hive, and bring back the weapons they promised."
Scorpion wasn't leaving with the convoy, so he patted Mitch on the shoulder and wished them safe travels.
But what none of them noticed was that from the raised cargo compartment opposite them, Saul, the leader of the Aldecaldo Family, watched everything... Following the previous operation to rescue Saul, the Aldecaldos and The Hive established a strategic partnership.
According to the agreement between the two parties, the Aldecaldos would cut and collect useful parts from the junkyard outside the city and provide them to The Hive.
Primarily, this included precision items from scrapped vehicles like AC compressors, gearboxes, and catalytic converters, which contained many useful pipelines, components, and rare metals.
Although they didn't know exactly what The Hive needed these items for, the Aldecaldos collected and loaded two large trucks, ensuring both quantity and quality.
For this, they even fought a battle with a group of Wraiths, as the location the Aldecaldos wanted was their territory.
However, if the hard-to-use scrap could truly be exchanged for heavy weaponry, as stated in the agreement with The Hive, it would be the most cost-effective deal for the Aldecaldo Family, which was currently rebuilding and lacked everything.
Of course, the Aldecaldos had no idea what kind of monster Berry, their partner, truly was.
Who was Berry?
Different people had different answers.
But in Berry's own eyes, she—or her System—was a massive BUG in the real world.
With eighteen points in Technical Ability, she alone was an entire industrial System.
She could even weld together a Lithography Machine using a soldering gun.
Let alone heavy weapons for the Aldecaldos.
Heavy machine guns and rocket launchers—even Guatemala could make those, let alone her, the Kami of mechanics.
Conversely, basic materials were what she needed—in other words, the "junk" the Aldecaldos were transporting for her.
Even if these items weren't enough for her to go all out and build some truly "big things," they were more than enough to upgrade The Hive's arsenal.
As for the items traded to the Aldecaldos, using some scraps and leftovers was sufficient to fool them.
The Aldecaldos would never guess that the transaction in their eyes was, in Berry's view, simply the plundering of raw materials by an industrial nation from an agricultural nation.
What is capitalism?
That is plundering raw materials and dumping industrial products.
Not only must you hand over your actual wealth, but you must also respectfully kowtow to me.
I see that Saburo Arasaka doesn't understand this point, nor does Yorinobu. So let Berry demonstrate the absolute power of technology and industry, and what capitalism truly is.
With the System, she is invincible.
Given enough time, I will send Super Soldier squads to deal with the Arasaka Corporation, Militech, Biotechnica, and all the rest, one by one.
The old geezers and young whippersnappers hiding at home shouldn't think of escaping; they must all be dragged out for Cyber Harvesting. Everyone will achieve Mechanical Ascension and become Electronic People. No one can run away.
This is the Hive. According to Berry.
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