My cyberpsychosis is a task prompt

Chapter 252: The City's Wanderers

"Ahoo!"

The kestrel awoke in a state of shock.

She looked around in terror, gasping for breath, a deep, dull pain shooting through her eyes and head.

"Fuck! Where am I!?"

The industrial fan carried away the lingering smell of disinfectant in the ward.

"Are you awake?"

A bold male voice rang out beside me.

The kestrel instinctively pulled out the iron plate containing the medicine, but was firmly locked in place as it tried to smash it towards the source of the sound.

"Oh, oh, oh, that's quite energetic, little girl."

Nando exchanged a few blows with Red Falcon, beating her like a child until she had no chance to fight back, and was eventually firmly pinned back to her hospital bed.

However, this is because the use of S.A.S ...

"Think carefully, you'll have to pay for the damages."

Nando smiled, made sure they made eye contact, then released his iron-like alloy prosthetic leg, moved to the doorway, raised his hands and slowly backed away, making sure his whole body was in the other person's sight.

"If I wanted to harm you, why would I wait for you to wake up?"

The kestrels were breathing rapidly and swallowing hard.

"Where am I? And who are you?!"

“West District, City Farm, Damascus Camp Branch, I am the leader of the Wanderers, you can call me Nando.”

He wore a reassuring smile.

"How did I get here? My...eyes!"

"John brought you here, asking us to take care of you out of consideration for our old friendship, and also to get you a ticket out of town."

Nando raised a cigar as a gesture, then stood by the window and lit it himself.

"When you were brought here, you were barely alive. In order to stabilize intracranial pressure and stop the bleeding in time, we didn't discuss your preferred color and style with you, and just picked one out for you randomly."

He waved his hand to create incomplete smoke rings.

"That's another price."

After saying that, Nando placed a box containing a chip containing funds in front of the falcon.

There are clearly fewer empty spaces inside.

"...How rare! That damn old woman is actually willing to pay the balance. Ha, and that mercenary didn't kill me either. His name is John, right?"

"Yes, he's a good person."

Nando handed the items over.

Red Falcon stared at a box of chips, gave a wry smile, and absentmindedly touched the gold stripes on it.

After a long time, until the smell of the cigar became unbearable...

She frowned and looked at the man by the window.

"Does every patient need a chief caregiver? You've come to see me because you need something, right?"

After experiencing this, the kestrels have become more alert.

Nando blinked, realizing his thoughts had been guessed, but he couldn't wait to bring it up and say it outright.

"Do you have any other plans after leaving Eden City? Friends, family, or other options?"

"..."

The kestrel did not answer.

Nando gave her a knowing look and lit her with his smoking cigar from a distance.

"Work with me, Damascus will protect you! If you don't want to be heartbroken and crying in the city, I'll arrange for you to go to the wilderness, illegally modify your car, speed around, and there will be plenty of beer and bullets..."

As he spoke, he turned a chair over and sat down to chat with the falcon about life.

This long-lost atmosphere of enthusiasm made her feel somewhat suffocated.

"Fuck, can you stay away from me? Stop being so familiar. Didn't the person who brought me here warn you? I'm in big trouble!"

"Ah, this has nothing to do with you anymore."

Nando then turned on the news program in the room.

John said, "You'll understand once you read this."

The screen was displaying current events news.

The city-wide attention-grabbing incident involving the falling of the hovercar has been revealed to be not a terrorist attack caused by gang warfare, but rather a malfunction of an undisclosed experimental product stored on the Fusaki.

Haruhiko Urasaki, the current representative of the Urasaki Group in Eden City, has not yet publicly responded. However, the municipal authorities have disclosed that significant breakthroughs have been achieved in the city council regarding issues such as public facility maintenance and insurance compensation...

The city government announced a phased lifting of the martial law in the half-district...

Small-scale gang fights have broken out again on the streets, leading to a surge in the market for accidental death insurance...

Red Falcon stared at the news on the screen, struggling to understand the intricacies for a long time. In the end, Nando explained it to her.

Of course, all this information was revealed by John.

When Orlos appeared at the negotiating table with the blood-stained eyeball of a falcon, it meant that the Japanese's underhanded tactics on the hovercar had been discovered.

Although it wasn't completely exposed, it silenced the Japanese completely.

The Fusaki Group paid a price.

Jingke Heavy Industry has regained the initiative.

The Japanese paid money to avoid trouble, but ended up losing a hefty sum to the municipality.

As for Orlos?
She wouldn't be foolish enough to directly release the data on the prosthetic eye—a middleman holding crucial intelligence would naturally try to ensure his own safety and maximize his own interests.

These things have nothing to do with John and the Red Falcon anymore.

The intelligence has been transferred to those qualified to negotiate.

Who would care about the life or death of a marginalized traveler?

【Eden City - Dust Farm B75】

Elona handed John a glass of ice-cold beer, and the two of them stood on the platform at the waist of the building, gazing at the night view.

Through the movable bulletproof windows, drones could be seen flying past.

Neon lights are everywhere in the city.

The harsh, angular shapes soar into the clouds.

"The red-haired girl has woken up. Do you want to go see her?"

"forget it."

John gulped down a mouthful of ice-cold beer, feeling only the cool liquid flowing down his throat and a few wisps of air rising, but he couldn't taste anything.

Bodily functions are deteriorating.

John gave the falcon a way out, but he didn't know who would come to save him.

The two men leaned against the iron railing in silence.

Neither of them are talkative, yet the atmosphere wasn't awkward.

John's Silver Rider supercar is being repaired in the Wanderers' warehouse; the broken crystal cover and lightweight sheet metal both need to be addressed.

This is why he remained at the Radiation Farm.

Will leaving the kestrel in the city cause you trouble?

"what?"

John turned his head and saw Elona looking at him intently, her cobalt blue artificial eyes gleaming, as if she were having a voice call with someone.

she explained.

"Nando asked me to inquire; it seems the Red Falcon is going to join Damascus."

"Oh my, she's lucky. A chance to start over is a rare opportunity."

John turned around and looked at the night view outside the floor-to-ceiling window.

He kneaded the empty bottling bottles in his hands.

"no."

Elona, oblivious to the dejection in John's tone, added in a businesslike manner.

"She can only be considered as helping out. It will take some time for her to gain the family's recognition and be truly accepted. It also depends on her contributions to the camp!"

"Fine, no need to explain to me..."

“Yes, John, you don’t need to go to so much trouble. Damascus welcomes you. Businesses are expanding both inside and outside the city, and we need manpower.”

"..."

John, unsure of what to say, suddenly asked.

Do you think I'm a good person?

"of course."

"why?"

"You're a great driver. You've saved me, Joe, Nando, and Tagliari. Everyone likes you."

I don't know what she was thinking.

"The last few operations haven't gone very well, and now nobody in the camp is willing to drive me. Can you come?"

"... Never mind. Let's talk about it next time."

John felt stupid—how could he have thought of getting the answer from Elona?

Side Quest: The Middleman (Completed)

[Reward: None]