Infinity, progressing from Arasaka

A dull, short sound, like the pounding of a heavy object.

“Leisurely times always pass too quickly. It seems the tour is over, Ms. Michiko.” Vera looked at Michiko and said, “Time to get back to work.”

“Then I should go to the groundbreaking ceremony that Wilton Horton invited me to,” Michiko replied with a smile.

Vera naturally saw him off, saying, "Sorry to keep you waiting, Mr. 'Legend Maker,' this is the prosthetic upgrade plan that Tanaka has prepared for you. Please take a look." On the way, she nodded to Hammer's video call.

drop.

[Sent]

...

------

P.S.: Yes, I fell asleep.

Seriously, go to bed early and get up early.

I kept my promise to take leave for the last time this month. Well, this time the time difference was adjusted in some unexpected way (I think).

Chapter 101 External and Internal

The sky is blue, the wild is vast.

The wind blew the sand low, revealing an explosion.

Boom——

Dozens, even hundreds, of muffled thuds followed, sending dust flying and pebbles, fragments, and steel balls raining down in all directions. When the commotion subsided, a series of soft thuds...

A group of rough men dressed in old, drab clothes emerged from a small hill on a desolate sandbar.

"Thor, everything's settled here, no problems."

"No. Just to be on the safe side, Mitchell, you and Scorpion go and check the minefield again. This is a company job, and the client is picky. If we miss anything, we'll have worked for nothing. It's not worth it."

The speaker was a burly man with a thick beard, known as Saul, whose features were distinctly Latino. He had a tattoo of a skull and horse from Adcado, one of the Seven Wanderers' Nations, on his left arm.

They are homeless people.

Clearly, this Thor is the boss.

Under his instructions, the middle-aged white man called Mitch called his hooded companion to jump off the rocks, board the various heavily modified vehicles painted on the back of the hill, and speed off towards the recently detonated minefield.

"Alright, guys, let's move on to the next area's mine clearance..."

He clapped his hands, and Thor's prosthetic eye gleamed with an orange-red light.

In Yi's eyes, only the video channel of the Wanderer Family members was connected, and the map of the northern part of Night City popped up.

The administrative division of the Arasaka Beach and the northernmost part of the adjacent old industrial area in the north of the city, as well as the new district of the Arasaka Research Center, is drawn out in the northern suburbs of Night City.

Thor zoomed in on the minefield area in the northern Badlands of Night City within the information box, explaining to his family members the minefields that needed to be cleared that day.

Wanderers value family, and loyalty to the tribe is always their top priority. They treat members as family members.

Thor methodically assigned tasks, buzzing...

The roar of the engine.

A large, muscular car with sharp lines, high suspension, and big tires roared up. Several modified Mizutani Jun 'Wild Wolf' cars followed behind.

Thor recognized the lead car, the Thunder Macintosh 'Warhorse'. Or rather, the person driving it.

His face suddenly darkened.

It wasn't a gloomy expression of hostility and readiness, but rather one tinged with helplessness, a feeling of not wanting to argue yet having to grit one's teeth and accept it—a very annoying and subtle expression.

Screech of brakes. The Mackinac 'Warhorse' spun out and came to a smooth stop.

Click. The door opened, and two homeless people, their clothes covered in sand, busied themselves carrying a companion lying on a plank. His leg bone was broken and his lower body was covered in blood as he got out of the car.

"Wal?"

Seeing that some family members were injured, Saul no longer cared about assigning tasks.

He leaped down the hill in a few large strides, calling for the team's medics to come and help, while asking urgently and sternly, "Who is it? How was Wall injured?"

"It's all because of your lousy idea!"

Bang! The door slammed shut, and the woman stepped out of the driver's seat of the Mackinac 'Warhorse' and confronted Thor head-on.

She wore simple, practical jeans and a cropped jacket, had light brown eyes, olive skin, a few freckles on her nose and cheeks, and jet-black curly hair that looked like a roll of steel wool coiled behind her head.

At first glance, it instantly evokes words like fiery and wild.

"This is the paradise you promised everyone? Fuck you! Before coming to California, you promised to change Adcardo, and this is how you change it? By becoming a dog for corporations and the government?"

"Cough, Panan, shut up..."

Some people tried to dissuade them.

"I'm going to say it!"

The brown-skinned hot girl pulled him aside.

"Minesweeping? Minesweeping my ass! Do you know why those vampires sitting in their luxurious coffins assigned this job to us? This is a minefield, a mess they left behind from the last war. They know how dangerous it is and are looking for cheap scapegoats. And you insist on going all the way from Jackson Plains to the north of the city to clear mines for them? You're just asking for trouble!"

Panan's face was filled with resentment.

The minefields in the badlands are relics of a war from long ago.

The landmines there have not been completely cleared. Six or seven years ago, another metal war broke out. Old mines were not removed and new ones were added. It is a true no-man's land in the bad soil region. Only the most experienced smugglers know how to pass through safely.

Now, due to a new land purchase agreement reached between Arasaka and the Night City government, the city's boundaries have expanded northward, and Arasaka and the city hall are carrying out mine clearance work in the northern suburbs.

Their branch of the Adcado tribe, under Thor's impetus, took on one of the outsourced projects announced to the public by the Night City Hall and Arasaka: mine clearance.

As homeless people who had only recently moved to California and had nothing but a few tents on the sand dunes, they couldn't get any big jobs from companies except for mine clearance and serving as cheap labor.

“I know you are unhappy with my views.”

Sol ignored the sarcastic tone in Panan's words and asked, "But what's important now is that you tell me how Wall got hurt."

"He was injured by a landmine. Those bastards from the Chaotic Blade Society... I'll skin them alive sooner or later."

Panan cursed under his breath, his teeth itching with hatred.

"They wanted to fight you for 'eating shit,' and a conflict broke out between us. While clearing mines, they provoked Wall, causing him to trigger an old-fashioned anti-personnel mine. Damn! The company's bastards, they make such high-quality killing machines; they're probably half a century old..."

The Chaotic Blade Society refers to the most wandering of wanderers.

They were among the worst and most despicable people, often expelled from their original families and tribes for violating tribal behavioral norms, such as murdering or raping family members, poisoning drinking water, human trafficking, and betraying the tribe...

These kinds of vagrants have a name in the underworld: the Chaotic Knife Society.

“I will settle accounts with those who broke their oaths…” Thor hesitated for a moment, then said, “But for now, let’s complete the commission first.”

"Depend on."

Panan looked utterly disappointed. "Are you an idiot or can't you understand human language? Still thinking about your damn company's commission? We should be..."

“Otherwise?” Thor stared into Panan’s eyes and said, “In this business, the most important thing is integrity. Once you take a job, you have to complete it. Are you only doing one-off deals?”

Under Parnan's suddenly somber expression, he stared straight at her and emphasized, "The important thing is that I need it to feed our family... water, food, medicine, weapons, building materials, fuel..." As he spoke, Thor pointed to the south.

Watson District, the northernmost part of Night City.

Over there, one could faintly hear the bustling activity, the clamor of voices, and the hum of heavy machinery.

Abandoned factories and unfinished buildings in the old industrial zone that were incorporated into the new district were demolished. People from all walks of life gathered under the northern wall of the Arasaka seaside area were forcibly evacuated by the NCPD and the Arasaka Sheriff. Settlements in the wilderness were razed, outer cities were demolished, and camps were driven away...

The sight of hundreds of giant bulldozers and road rollers working simultaneously is truly spectacular.

"These are things that cannot be compared to the smuggling business of the so-called patriots of the Sixth Street Gang."

Saul pointed at that and said.

"Oh, the Sixth Street Gang has already been defeated by the Netherhounds of Taiping Continent. Aragaka is also cracking down on the scattered members of the Sixth Street Gang in the Heywood Lily Scenic Area. Even I, a country bumpkin, have heard about it. Don't tell me you didn't know."

Saul was well aware that his move to break with the vagrant family's smuggling tradition and instead try to build a relationship with the company after taking power did not receive much support from the older members of the family.

But he had to do it.

Wandering the badlands, scavenging junkyards, looting oil depots, robbing company transport convoys... making a living on the highway is no easy feat. The family can't afford any more setbacks; one strategic misstep and the entire family will crumble.

The only thing that could provide the family with a large amount of funds and resources was the company's work.

Like Panan, he also disliked the company and did not want his family to become a tool under the company's control. However, it was true that the company had power, influence, and money, and his family tribe needed the company's money and resources.

As long as you don't sell yourself into slavery and become completely immersed in it, what's wrong with being a little pathetic and obsequious if you're eager to do this kind of physically demanding work?

“Panan...don’t let prejudice ruin you. You need to learn to control your temper.”

The wind and sand blew through Sol's thick, messy hair and rough, worn-out work clothes.

“We can discuss our differences later. Now, let’s complete the commission. The work with Arasaka and the city hall is honest and straightforward. We take it from the Arasaka outpost on the border, so there are no middlemen taking a cut. As long as the people from Arasaka confirm that there are no remaining minefields in this area, the money we earn will be enough to support the family for a long time…” he said earnestly.

"Fuck you."

Panan still looked furious.

"Sol, after this commission, you wait and see. Going solo is fine, I'll show you the proof of my continued smuggling. Living off the company? Hmph, you've forgotten the original purpose of Adcardo's tribe. I'm telling you this: relying on the company, the tribe is doomed..."

She left in a huff.

After asking Mitch and Scorpion for their locations, she drove away. Although she disagreed verbally, this hot-tempered girl still loved her family deep down. Despite her complaints, she was still willing to continue venturing into the minefield.

Thor sighed as he watched Panan leave.

This girl is great in every way, except she's too stubborn.