Cyberpunk: Starting in 2071

Chapter 25 Crisis in the Storm
"This sand really hurts when it hits you."

Xingzi covered her face and rushed into the old house that looked like it had been there for many years. Behind her, Daichi and the others were struggling to move the precious supplies from the car.

This house was probably originally the home of a farmer, but now it seems that the land that was once a farm has been completely abandoned and turned into the Gobi Desert.

The original warehouse looked like it had been bombed and was half destroyed, but fortunately the houses used for living were still intact.

The two-story cottage has a living room with a sofa, a kitchen, a bedroom, and two bathrooms, one on the first floor and one on the second. It's clear that the original farmer lived a good life.

As the room lights hummed and flickered a few times, the power was restored, and the room, which had been very dark due to the sandstorm, finally lit up.

"call"

The old cowboy, clutching his cowboy hat with one hand, pushed open the door and walked in, somewhat disheveled, shaking off the sand before saying:

"The water, electricity, and internet are still connected here. If you girls feel uncomfortable being covered in sand, you can go upstairs to take a shower, shake off the sand, and then everything will still be usable."

If you have any extra resources when you leave, consider it rent paid for the next tenant.

Xingzi took off her pigtails and shook them—she felt that her hair was full of dirt just from walking a few steps after getting out of the car.

"Wow, the water and electricity are still here."

she exclaimed.

"Yes, these were all done by the homeless people in the neighborhood."

They would reconnect the electrical circuits, repair the network cables and water pipes, and when they encountered weather like this and couldn't make it back to the tribe in time, they would come to a house like this to make temporary repairs.

The reason we wanderers can roam freely in the wilderness is largely because we can always find a place to rest in the wild.

Each tribe shares similar resources, so if you go to another place in the future, it's best to contact the local tribe as soon as possible.

As long as they are one of our own, we will selflessly share these rest areas and safe routes to provide convenience for other homeless people passing by.

Cassidy said with a smile:
"The network here is connected to the city's local area network. Although the network is not very stable, if you bring your computers, you can still check some web news, listen to music, and so on."

Okay, I need to rest for a bit. Anyone want some hot coffee?

Cassidy's suggestion was agreed upon by most people, so he leisurely went to the kitchen to prepare coffee.

"I'm going to take a shower."

As Lucy spoke, she tugged at her collar—it didn't feel good to have a few pebbles stuck in her tight black clothes.

"We need to conserve water. The water here is all rainwater collected in the tank at the back. Once it's used up, it's gone. Also, because the water purifier is old, the water quality isn't very good."

As Cassidy spoke, Lucy nodded and pulled Anzu upstairs with her: "Then let's go together, it'll save us some money."

"If you want hot water, it's best to wait a while, as the water heaters here are not as efficient as those in the city."

After Cassidy finished speaking, he saw Mercer lying dead on the sofa. He was full of energy when he was driving, but now he was dizzy as soon as he touched the sofa. It can only be said that this young man is really a good candidate to be a homeless person.

Dadi and Lyon exchanged a glance, both looking somewhat disgusted with each other. Finally, they simply said, "I'll go get a wet towel to wipe myself down. Washing my hair with cold water won't be a big problem."

"Go ahead, I'll keep an eye on things for you."

Cassidy said.

As soon as Cassidy brought the coffee close to Mercer after it was brewed, Mercer opened his eyes.

"Kid, have some coffee to perk yourself up. We'll heat up some canned food, have dinner, and then you can go to sleep."

Mercer yawned, looking fairly energetic: "Okay, I just wanted to relax my mind and take a nap."

"Would you like some sugar?" Cassidy placed the hot coffee on the coffee table in front of him.

Mercer stretched, nodded, and sat up: "Just a little bit. I still prefer it with milk."

"Hmm, milk? What a luxurious hobby. The last time I drank milk was more than ten years ago."

Cassidy clicked his tongue in amazement, sizing them up as he spoke casually:

"Did you run away from home? Or did you escape from some training camp? It's not easy to get into Arasaka at such a young age, is it?"

"Training camp? More like a concentration camp."
Some of us were selected from the Arasaka Orphanage, some, like me, were sold by our adoptive parents, and others...
In short, it wasn't a good place; many people died before they could escape.

Mercer gave a brief explanation, then smiled and asked him, "And you?"

"The war for unification wiped out our family fortune, forcing our original clan to work for companies to make a living."

Working isn't really a big deal, but many people keep saying they want to return to the new America and find a place to settle down and build a career.
I felt bored staying put, and since I had no ties to anyone, I decided to continue my wanderings while I could still walk.

Cassidy said, looking Mercer up and down: "Did you bring them out? I can tell you're a wolf."

"Alpha wolf? That's quite a high compliment. I think we're at best a bunch of stray puppies." Mercer laughed heartily.

"Even the combat squads of the Wanderer Family wouldn't be as quick as you in dealing with that Raiders' Gang."

Cassidy spoke highly of Mercer and the children.

"I guess so. At least until it's safe, I'll be responsible for taking care of them."

After Mercer finished speaking, Cassidy asked curiously, "Are you all planning to go to Night City?"

“I’m definitely going. It’s basically the only free place left in all of North America right now.”

It's a bit chaotic, but there are plenty of opportunities, and the company's control isn't very strong.

As Mercer spoke, a smile crept onto his face as he listened to the laughter coming from the first-floor bathroom from Dadi and Lyon.

"These kids don't know. They have their own dreams. Once they figure it out, it's up to them whether they stay or leave."

"You're really mature."

Cassidy praised, "Interested in becoming a wanderer? I think you can make sure the people around you live well no matter which family you join. You have that ability."

"You've already made that assessment?"

Mercer smiled and said, "Thanks anyway."

"Forget about being a homeless person. I'm a hacker; I can only truly shine in the city."

"Okay, that's true."

Cassidy and Mercer exchanged a few words, and Cassidy got a general understanding of him: a mature guy who was nothing like a child.

"Then we'll head straight for Night City?"

Cassidy confirmed, "Or should we take a detour and try to shake off any potential pursuers?"

"Take a slightly roundabout route, but not too far."

Mercer said, "This was my original plan. I forgot you don't have a prosthetic eye; you can only make and receive phone calls. To be honest, you really should get one."

Cassidy laughed and pulled out his phone: "You sent it directly to my phone. That was fast. Did you hack in and send it directly? You hackers are really amazing."

"It's not that magical. For example, if you're not connected to our subnet, you only have your own brainwaves connected to the local subnet via the brain-computer interface."

To hack in, you first need to use a prosthetic eye or other device to scan and capture your network signal.

Then, through my network, I hacked into the subnet that was captured and located.

Finally, the speed at which I can hack you is determined by the difference in our 'intelligence' attributes and the software and equipment I use. However, for someone like you who lacks hacking skills, the 'intelligence' attribute, that is, your brainpower, is basically meaningless.

Because you have no idea how to resist my hacking.

So if you really want to completely avoid hackers, just turn off the brain-computer interface.

However, I still suggest that you at least create a simple ICE program and store it in the limited memory provided by the interface.

If your brain-computer interface has enough memory, I'll send you a simple ICE file afterward.

Your hardware isn't good enough, and you don't have a network access module, so you can't use very powerful ICE programs.

Even so, the program I wrote is definitely much stronger than the anti-intrusion programs that come with the new brain-computer interfaces on the market.

"Then your 'intelligence' attribute will come in handy, determining the running speed of my programs and significantly delaying the time needed for hackers to break in."

Mercer continued, "Your phone's software is terrible. It's practically defenseless. As long as I turn on the internet and my prosthetic eye detects the signal within my field of vision, I can hack it without even using any software."

"That's impressive." Cassidy could tell that Mercer wasn't bragging. He'd seen hackers before, but he'd never seen one of Mercer's caliber.

Cassidy studied the route map Mercer had sent him on his phone, and finally nodded:

"No problem. I'll call my friends later and I guarantee I'll be able to get to Night City within two weeks at most."

"So fast?"

Mercer originally planned to travel for a month! Because he wanted to avoid major city routes and keep his whereabouts as secret as possible, the route he planned was all in the wilderness.

"This is a conservative estimate. If I ask my friends and they can find a safe route for us, we can go even faster."

If it weren't for the fact that many roads were bombed and many mines were laid during the previous unification war, this little bit of road would have taken a week to cover.

The main reason is that you want to bypass the border checkpoints in each state, so you have to take a lot of detours, and many routes have to go through wilderness instead of highways.

If you can obtain secure identification beforehand, and we travel by road, even if we only drive a few hundred kilometers a day, it will only take us four or five days at most.

After Cassidy finished speaking, Mercer shook his head:
"My plan is to go directly to Night City and forge a perfect fake identity."

This way, we can avoid Arasaka as much as possible. If the people from Arasaka want to investigate us, they will definitely start by investigating the surrounding area.

"I'll listen to you. You're the leader on this trip."

After Cassidy finished speaking, his ears suddenly twitched slightly.

Mercer also fell silent. He squinted and listened carefully. Then, the two looked at each other.

"There's a car sound."

Cassidy immediately drew his revolver, leaned against the door, and looked out the window:
"Luckily, we parked all the cars behind the house, so they shouldn't be able to see them. We can try to set up an ambush and tell your friends to get ready!"

Mercer had already sent messages to Lucy and Daichi simultaneously via the brain-computer interface long before he spoke.

Dadi and Lyon from the first floor were the fastest, arriving beside him with their rifles while their hair was still wet.

"what's the situation?"

"Be on guard, there may be enemies."

Mercer didn't say much, and Cassidy went even further, asking, "Did you bring in the light machine gun from the pickup truck you stole?"

"Earth! You and Leon go out the back door and get ready. We need the light machine gun on your pickup truck for heavy firepower support!"

"If it's the enemy, Cassidy and I will engage them head-on, while you drive out from the flanks and provide suppressive fire from their sides and rear!"

Mercer immediately gave the order, crouching by the window to look out. Yellow sand was flying everywhere, and visibility was only about ten meters.

The sound of engines approaching from afar was growing louder, and the headlights of several cars pierced through the sand and dust, becoming clearly visible.

At the same time, Lucy's information also appeared in Mercer's psychic eyes.

[Lucy: Kyoko and I are positioned at the second-floor window, taking up a high vantage point. Kyoko will scan for enemies, and I'll provide suppressive fire for you.]

[Mercer: Okay, be careful. Lock onto the enemies on the first floor that are difficult to aim at and open fire immediately.]

[Lucy: Received!]

As the car approached, Mercer picked up his pistol, his prosthetic eye gleaming brightly.

His prosthetic eye had magnified and scanned the general outline of the group of people not far away.

"It's the Chaotic Blade Society! Cassidy, I'm connecting you to the network, don't turn it off."

Mercer whispered to Cassidy, while simultaneously sending a message to his hacker team via messaging software.

To facilitate communication, the old method was used: everyone, including Cassidy, was connected to the subnet where he served as the host.

In this way, even if the other side has hackers targeting his own people, he can still help.

[Apricot: Four cars! At least eight people. I can see them clearly with my prosthetic eye!]
They also have an armed pickup truck with a machine gun; we'd better wait for them to get out.

[Mercer: Very good, old cowboy, can you see that?]

Cassidy: I ​​can't see, but I can hear you talking. That's amazing.

[Mercer: Visibility is too low, let's put them all in before we start firing.]

Cassidy: Give me one of your grenades. We'll throw it when they get to the door.

Mercer: Good idea.

Mercer took out the Arasaka fragmentation grenade he always carried and tossed one to Cassidy.

Cassidy: We're upwind, so when you throw it, remember to use a little more force than you think.

[Mercer: Did you realize they parked? They didn't just pull over directly; we forgot to turn off the lights!]

Cassidy: My bad, I forgot to remind you.

Mercer frowned slightly. He still lacked some practical experience. For example, he couldn't even remember that the light in his room was still on.

"Who are you? Say something! If you don't, I'm going to give you a piece of my mind!"

Members of the Chaotic Blade Society in the distance were already shouting and yelling.

[Mercer: Lucy, can you hit them? Clear out their machine gun positions.]

Lucy: I'm aiming for an 80% chance of success.

[Mercer: You fire, I throw a grenade, Earth and Leon start the car as soon as they hear the sound!]

[Lucy: Five-second countdown.]

"Hey! Hey?! You're not going to talk? Watch me give you a head!" The member of the Chaotic Blade Society hadn't even finished cursing when he started.

"Da da da!"

Lucy fired her genuine assault rifle ahead of time, interrupting his nonsense.

At the same time, Mercer and the old cowboy used all their strength to throw two grenades at the figures vaguely visible in the dust in the distance.

"Fire!!" Mercer roared, raising the letter in his hand while his eyes flashed with golden light—he was beginning the hacking!
(End of this chapter)