Chapter 135 - 126 Sunrise of the Evil Land

"The sun... I haven’t seen you for months."

An old Mackinaw Pika, temporarily modified with black and red stripes, sped down the road.

Under the rising sun, the Wanderer’s skin began to sizzle.

"Navi kid, the tribe is in your hands. Don’t choose the wrong direction like that old bastard Hector."

With this thought in mind, the Wanderer’s head slumped lower and lower until the car crashed straight into the roadside barrier. Following the preset program, the car exploded violently.

By the time the company’s agents caught up, all that was left were ashes.

The morning sun rose, and the Evil Land began to heat up.

The Wanderer had believed in the fairy-tale future promised by Biotechnology — "chasing the sun to the world’s end" — but in the end, they couldn’t even see the light.

"But today, they lived the most heroic day of their lives. May their spirits ascend in the flames."

The Evil Land.

Navi murmured to himself.

After a night of madness, the remaining time was for farewells.

The pursuit had actually ended when Lille and his crew crossed the Haywood Bridge and reached Saint Domingo.

Technically, Lille arriving in Saint Domingo was like coming home. He could control the transportation network there with a blink of an eye.

From the enemy’s perspective, this was a sudden, unexpected incident and they didn’t have enough personnel to search the whole city.

The ensuing riots were massive, further hampering the company’s pursuit abilities due to lack of intelligence and internal strife.

Intelligence agents quickly got wind that Arasaka was likely behind the scenes, weakening the resolve to pursue further, leading to strategic adjustments.

At this point, what they could do was immediately assess the losses, execute emergency plans, discredit their opponents, and attempt to gain more from the political table.

Lille sat wearily in the driver’s seat, gripping the steering wheel, feeling a mix of emotions.

"...Was that the last one?"

In another car, Navi nodded: "Elton, like Cedric, was a legend in the tribe — though, of course, not up to your Night City standards."

Clearly, Navi was referring to Lille’s trio.

But what he didn’t know was that even Night City’s legends didn’t measure up to Lille’s trio, which were considered anomalies.

The majority of people would die in what happened tonight, and surviving was on a whole different level of difficulty than perishing together.

At this moment, the other two legends were already fast asleep — they still needed further treatment, but Lille had already provided emergency care, so sleep it off.

As for himself, the effects of the Lizard Man Potion were wearing off, and the super-speed regeneration had exhausted all the energy from the nutrient fluid.

The long-term effects on him were still under study, but for now, aside from a system continuously popping up to alleviate some aggressive symptoms, there were no other side effects.

Lille replied:

"The core of becoming a legend isn’t pulling off a big stunt, but whether you’ve lived for yourself. When your life ends, can you tell yourself with a clear conscience that it was your choice?

He’s already part of a legend. Tell me his story."

"His story took place during the Unification War. Military Science’s forces crushed the Free State, and a squad of their scouts reached his farm.

He rallied nearby farmers to take out the scouts so the war wouldn’t reach the farm —

But clearly, that wouldn’t stop the war from engulfing the farm. I don’t know what he was thinking, or maybe he didn’t say everything.

In the end, Military Science still rolled over his fields, nationalized his assets, and listed him as a wanted man."

It was an old Wanderer story, but this Elton seemed too hot-tempered, never considering whether killing those scouts would achieve his goal.

Or maybe he lost his sanity over a farm he could never return to.

Maybe he already knew the outcome before he acted and just wanted revenge — just like today.

Navi felt a bit relieved after saying all this and continued:

"If he heard you say that, his mustache would curl to the sky."

Lille chuckled: "I mean it — what would happen if he heard this?"

"He’d pull out a big case of beer from his trunk and challenge anyone nearby to try and outdrink him —

’I guarantee I’ll drink you under the table!’ — Hahaha, you should’ve seen him drunk, like a lost seal!"

After the laughter, Navi looked at the endless Evil Land and suddenly felt things weren’t so bad.

He began to understand the serene looks on Cedric, Hector, and Elton’s faces when bidding farewell to old friends.

If they didn’t die like this, but rotted in a tent, never seeing the sun, that would be too frustrating.

"Forty-four, all dead, but they died for a cause."

The old legends had passed, and new legends had risen — now they were surely legends, at the cost of forty-four lives.

"Hector said the tribe is under your command now — what do you plan to do?"

With forty-four good men dead, the Red Ocher tribe’s combat ability was significantly reduced, almost non-existent.

Besides the elderly and children, and some non-combatant women, the tribe had very few young men left with little experience.

"We’ll continue with our old business, smuggling and such, but nobody might want to hire us now."

Navi smiled wryly.

After a night of heroics, reality remained harsh.

The Red Ocher tribe, part of the Adkaduo tribe, was never known for combat. With so many good men dead, who would want to hire them?

Lille had been waiting for this moment.

"Don’t worry about that. The biggest boss in Night City is here now. Are you worried about finding work?"

No work?

His phone had been ringing off the hook the whole way.

If a boss at his level couldn’t find work, then no one else would either.

The car finally neared their destination, and from a distance, Lille could see the Red Ocher’s modified RVs and tents.

"That’s true." Navi smiled, then leaned out of the driver’s window and shouted at the tribe members, "Get some people to stand guard and watch for any company goons or cops following us!"

This shout woke up V and Jack nearby —

One had to admit that Hector had a good eye for picking people.

...

"So now we need to lay low in the Evil Land."

"Exactly."

Lille nodded, then continued, "We’ll heal up first and deal with everything else later."

V flopped back and howled toward the sky:

"Ah — why do we have to lay low now? I want to go to the Afterlife! Imagine the looks people would give us! That would be epic!"

Lille glanced at V: "That’s kid talk. Even Rogel hid in the Evil Land after blowing up Arasaka Tower. Anyone with sense knows when to lay low."

"Really?" V was suspicious.

"Really — Jack, I’ve already informed Mrs. Wales and Misty when I arrived."

Jack scratched his head: "I was just about to ask that."

V sprang up, then grimaced and doubled over from the sudden movement — internal injuries.

"Ouch... damn, this really messed me up. How much did we get from this?"

Lille grinned awkwardly: "If I say nothing, will you be mad?"

Jack and V exchanged glances and shrugged simultaneously.

Lille had mentioned at the beginning that this operation was not about money.

As for the core objective: whether Lille could regain his health, they didn’t even think it necessary to ask —

What kind of sickly person could leap at a Scorpion-tailed Lion and tear out its engine?

But Lille seemed to have fully regained human form by now.

Jack curiously asked: "What happened yesterday? You looked like a... lizard? That was intense!"

V scooted over next to Lille, examining his rear —

Eh? Where’s the tail?

V kept looking and even patted Lille’s backside.

Lille looked helpless: "Stop looking, it was an emergency. Thanks to Biotechnology’s equipment."

"So are you okay now?" V squeezed Lille’s arm, "Hmm, still the same thinness?"

"...Any experiment needs time to study and compile results."

V nodded regretfully: "Alright, but you do seem less sickly...

So, no money this time — I don’t know when I’ll be able to buy a sports car."

"Speaking of which — actually, we didn’t come away empty-handed. Remember when I had people ambush the Black Antelope Automobile Company?"

Lille smiled mysteriously.

Roar —

Outside the camp, powerful engine noises were approaching fast —

No, if you listened carefully, it wasn’t just one vehicle.

[Communication Request: Old Captain]

Old Captain: Dad, the cars are here. Come out and see the beauties!