A night passed, and the winds of the Badlands smoothed over most traces.
But for those who make a living in this wasteland year-round, even a small remnant is enough for them to follow the trail.
In the early morning, Panam Palmer hopped on her modified junk bike and set off with the main group.
Over a dozen well-armed nomads headed toward the abandoned gas station. Mitch had confirmed last night that both sides of the firefight had retreated; now was the time for the nomads to take the stage.
Mitch called them scavengers.
To survive in the Badlands, one needs to huddle for warmth on one hand, and be skilled at utilizing every available resource on the other. What others see as trash might have unexpected uses.
However, when the group reached the abandoned gas station and scanned the area, their hope quickly turned into disappointment.
Aside from bloodstains and shell casings everywhere, they couldn't find anything of value.
"We're late,"
Scorpion of the Aldecaldos said in a low voice.
He crouched down, examining the bloodstains on the ground with a solemn expression.
"Cleaned up very thoroughly. The other side was killed with almost no room to resist. Judging by the scale, there were about ten people. But one thing is strange."
Scorpion and Mitch were both veterans retired from the Second Central American War; their experience far exceeded Panam Palmer's.
"What's strange?"
Mitch and Panam Palmer walked over and asked.
"There are no traces of departure at the scene." Scorpion pointed around.
"After killing this group, how did the winning side leave? No tire tracks, no footprints, nothing."
"Maybe they flew away," Panam Palmer interjected.
"Evacuated by helicopter."
Mitch and Scorpion looked at her with strange expressions simultaneously.
"Even if they flew, a heavy-duty aircraft would leave marks."
But they weren't here to be detectives after all; if it was strange, so be it—strange things were never in short supply in the Badlands.
After climbing to the roof, Scorpion quickly discovered three modified vehicles parked in the distance.
"Militech!"
The logo on the car bodies made Scorpion's expression tighten.
This meant one side of the clash last night was Militech, and they had lost, dying so completely that not even a corpse was left.
"Could it be Arasaka?" Scorpion couldn't think of any other opponent capable of such a display besides Arasaka.
Going downstairs, he informed Mitch and Panam Palmer of the news, saying worriedly:
"We'd better head back now. There's no need to get involved in a fight between these mega-corps."
"Whoa, Scorpion, you're not scared, are you?"
Panam Palmer, on the contrary, was intrigued.
"Those are Militech armored vehicles. You should know what a pristine armored vehicle means to a nomad family. I say, we drive that car, dive into a sandstorm, and no one will find us. We're migrating soon anyway. No matter how powerful a corp is, can they chase us all over the Badlands?"
"Child, you underestimate the corps too much."
Scorpion shook his head.
Their opinions diverged, and they both looked at Mitch, who had yet to voice his stance.
"Let's ask Saul later. The cars are parked there anyway; no one else can drive them away."
Mitch chose to play both sides.
Before they could report the situation, the nomad on lookout on the roof suddenly shouted a warning: "Wraiths! The Wraiths are here!"
Everyone's expression changed instantly.
The gunfire last night hadn't just alerted them, but also the hyenas of the Badlands.
"Damn it, those sons of bitches again."
Panam Palmer cursed.
A battle was inevitable.
...
Afterlife Bar, in a four-person booth.
Last night's operation wasn't entirely without gain.
Besides the commission, the weapons and equipment of the Militech agents had also earned Maine and the others a tidy sum.
They didn't need to sell these items themselves; handing them to a Fixer would naturally result in someone helping to liquidate them.
As for whether they would be tracked down, it depended on whether the Fixer's mouth was tight enough—and the Queen of the Afterlife went without saying.
Maine still remembered the appreciative look Rogue gave them, as if saying:
"These kids have a shadow of my younger self."
This is life at the bottom; if you mess with the corpo rats, everyone thinks you're a badass, because not many people survive.
At this moment, Maine was introducing his newly met partners to his two teammates.
First was a long-limbed male wearing loose streetwear, a trucker hat, and a strange device connected to his neck.
Beside him was a petite girl with twin-tails, cyan hair, wearing a heavy jacket, with pink tattoos visible on her collarbone and neck.
Standing together, they looked a bit like Beauty and the Beast.
"Pilar, tech specialist. Rebecca, gunner."
After Maine finished the introductions, he introduced his teammates Dorio and Sascha to them.
A complete infantry squad structure was about to take shape.
However, Sascha, curled up in the booth holding her glass, had lost her usual liveliness.
Last night's events had left a weight on her heart.
It wasn't her intention to drag her teammates into a struggle between two mega-corps.
Maine insisted on protecting her, but she knew very well that her request had burdened everyone. Sascha had seen the bitterness at the corner of Maine's mouth last night clearly.
One must have self-awareness; sentiment doesn't last forever.
But it was also impossible for her to give up.
Sascha felt she might never get over her mother's death in this lifetime. Now, the hope for revenge was right before her; she had seen the Wizard's power with her own eyes.
Maybe I shouldn't stay here anymore.
Watching the newcomers Rebecca and Pilar gradually blend into the atmosphere, Sasha took a deep breath and put down her glass.
"Maine, I have something to tell you."
Maine's action of drinking stopped. He seemed to have anticipated it, only responding calmly:
"Okay."
...
The door to the divination shop was tightly closed, but a knock came at this time.
Asa looked up thoughtfully, putting away the tweezers and scalpel in his hand.
The corpses of the Militech agents collected last night weren't useless; he put them into the system space because the "Ripperdoc" skill required hands-on practice to increase proficiency.
Those agents might be dead, but they at least contributed a bit to his skill growth before they died.
The corpses still had some residual value.
He waved his hand to put the mangled and blurred corpses back into the system space, then used a Cleansing Water spell to clean up the stains before opening the door.
Outside the door, the hacker girl with a bob-cut was standing nervously, hands behind her back, her tight suit outlining her slender figure.
Especially her waist—the slender and tight curves accentuated her firm, slightly upturned buttocks.
Asa swept a quick glance over her with an attitude of pure appreciation.
Seeing Asa open the door, a small smile forced its way onto Sascha's face:
"Does what you said last night still count?"
She had already poured out all her thoughts to Maine, and then Maine announced that Sascha had left the team.
She had taken out her share from last night as compensation for her guilt.
Both for revenge and to stop burdening her partners, Sasha came straight here after leaving the Afterlife Bar.
Asa looked at the hacker girl and said seriously.
"Have you thought it through, Sascha? This help isn't for free. The price might not be something you can afford."
This was a lie.
The so-called price was just Asa way of rightfully demanding a return for his favor.
He didn't consider himself a moral paragon; when it was time to act, he would naturally act.
"Weren't you planning this from the start anyway?"
The hacker girl had already seen through everything.
She had felt it during their first meeting—Asa had a special focus on her. Thinking back, he must have set his sights on her from that time.
This feeling... wasn't bad.
Mainly, Asa appearance and mysterious power made up for it; otherwise, by the standards of his previous life, this would be ill-intentioned and he'd be thrown into jail by concerned older sisters.
Hearing this, Asa didn't feel embarrassed; he was a man of desires.
He stepped aside from the doorway and tilted his head toward the room: "Then come in first. Work for a while; the matter of revenge starts with being a general worker."
A system prompt sounded at the right time.
[Congratulations on establishing a bond with the important story female character Sasha Yakovleva: Partner (Affection). Rewards available.]
Asa claimed the lowest-level reward.
Like everyone else, the affection reward was unremarkable: a tech pistol with infinite ammo, the "Nue."
But it was a good start. Sascha's pursuit route was clear; as long as he helped her get revenge, her affection would naturally continue to rise.
He wasn't afraid of high difficulty, only of not having a progress bar.
Thus, Sascha became an employee of the divination shop.
Usually, she only needed to do some cleaning; there wasn't much heavy work otherwise.
After a day, the bob-cut girl actually found this kind of work not bad.
If one could choose, who would want to fight and kill every day?
Not long after, V called, her tone carrying excitement she couldn't hide:
"Wizard, I got a promotion and a raise!"
The Militech agents had all gone missing. The branch manager, Meredith, was furious, but in the end, they only found their abandoned armored vehicles in the Badlands, and even had a clash with the Wraiths during the process.
The mission log only recorded "Executing classified mission," and then nothing more.
This operation caused the Arasaka Intelligence Department to pop champagne from top to bottom. V also gained the appreciation of the higher-ups because of this, being promoted directly to the leader of Counter-Intelligence Group 1, jumping two ranks.
With the position came a thicker salary, and her Cyberware could also be upgraded.
All of this was just because Jackie had pulled a string and introduced her to this Wizard.
V was determined to make this friend.
The system prompt popped up again.
[Congratulations on establishing a bond with the important story character V: Friend (Affection). Rewards available.]
V, you drop coins too?
Asa was very happy; today could be considered a double blessing.
With V's straightforward personality, as long as their values didn't clash and there was no deep-seated hatred, becoming friends was easy.
"I'll treat you to dinner another day,"
V said.
Asa face darkened.
Except for the top elites of the mega-corps, most people in this world were pitiful; what could she possibly eat?
Nothing more than those synthetic meat starches, "Guangdong Elves," and the like.
Even Arasaka employees usually couldn't eat anything fresh, and the prices were high.
"Forget it, let me treat you guys to dinner,"
Asa suddenly said.
"You're treating us? You helped us so much, and you're still treating? That's too embarrassing."
V was about to refuse upon hearing this.
"I have fresh vegetables and meat."
"Okay then, you're treating."
V agreed decisively.
Hanging up the phone, Asa checked the "coins" dropped by female V. He was shocked; even the reward for just the affection level gave him a small surprise.
[One-time use item card "Now Invading": Can take an AI or an intelligent entity residing on a chip and directly take over a physical body through this item.
Note: Observe the following rules when using this item: 1. The AI must be completely loyal to the host; 2. The physical body must be unconscious; 3. Invading the body is not copying or backing up consciousness; the AI or intelligent entity can switch between the network and the body at any time.]
What was this? Finding a physical body for his AI butler?
The item's effect was indeed good, but Asa didn't have his own AI yet.
As expected of the protagonist, the reward for just the affection level was already this strong?
Then wouldn't he reach the heavens if the progress bar was filled?
And she was straightforward; the progress bar was on easy mode—just be good to her.
Looking at this item card, Asa was thinking about its use.
Speaking of which, did the rogue AIs outside the Blackwall count as intelligent non-human females?
Would his non-human charm work on these AIs?
Could he steal Johnny Silverhand's girl?
This was urgent.
Johnny Silverhand in Mikoshi: "Achoo!"
Putting away the precious "Now Invading" card, Asa considered how to host a unique party.
Having been in 2077 for two months, he usually ate the delicacies from the resident evil world he carried in his space.
Asa went with the flow, but that didn't mean he would deliberately suffer.
As everyone knows, once a person goes to seek suffering, there is endless suffering to eat.
Asa had no need to wrong himself, so most of his usual meals were made by himself.
Even with a Body attribute of over 20 points, it still couldn't stop his pursuit of gourmet food.
As for the food of this world, sorry.
To the side, Sascha was boredly playing a network game. Hearing the conversation between Asa and V, her spirits suddenly lifted.
Over the past two days, the Wizard had said the time for revenge hadn't come yet. Therefore, aside from the somewhat leisurely work, the biggest surprise was the meals.
The mysterious Wizard was full of secrets. Sascha didn't know where he found so many fresh vegetables and meat, or even many spices.
In a moment of carelessness, Asa had made her belly big.
Usually eating things like protein powder and Stupid Monkey snacks, she suddenly ate stir-fried dishes and cooked food full of color, aroma, and taste.
Just like that, Sascha also enjoyed a feast for her palate.
Every mealtime, Sascha would be fed by Asa until her belly was bulging. If this continued, she might not even be able to fit into her hacker suit, but Sascha enjoyed it.
Therefore, besides her slacking-off work every day, the rest of the time Sascha was thinking about what to eat for the next meal.
"Yeah, what to eat?"
Asa was also thinking.
The phone rang again. This time it wasn't V, but Maine.
Pushing away the bob-cut head resting on the table, Asa answered the phone.
"Wizard, no, Mr. Asa, there's a new job. It might be related to our last operation."