The members of the Bright Family were all standing outside the camp, just as Lille had first arrived at the Red Ochre Tribe.
Leading them was Sol, a man with erect black hair and piercing eyes that seemed to scrutinize everyone constantly.
Upon seeing Cedric, he waved from a distance.
Clearly, Cedric was quite well-known, and not only to Sol; the wanderers from the Bright Family around him also greeted him.
As they approached, Sol said, "The matter of your tribe..."
Cedric waved his cane, "Enough of that, Iâm here for two tasks, the first of which... is to see the new Clan Leader of the Red OchreâNavi. Come over here."
Navi walked over and stood beside the two men.
Cedric said, "This is Navi, just turned 24, helped smuggle stuff before; you might remember him.
Navi, this is Sol, the leader of the Bright Family, an Elder of Adkaduo."
Sol clapped Naviâs shoulder, "Not bad, and who are these?"
He looked toward Lilleâs trio, and Cedric scratched his head, "Uh, thatâs the second thing... letâs go inside first; Dakota said she would come."
Sol gave Lille a meaningful glance, "Alright... letâs talk inside then."
...
"Since that day, the tribeâs activities have dwindled immensely, thereâs barely any work left on Evil Land, itâs been a long time since any assignments."
The group followed Sol and could see that the condition of the Bright Family wasnât much better, subsisting on beverage-soaked dog food.
Yet, the people here seemed generally spirited, and unlike the Red Ochre, from experienced middle-aged to the younger individuals, there was no missing generation like in Red Ochre, barring Cedric the cripple, with the most experienced being the 24-year-old Navi.
Cedric clicked his tongue, "Is it that bad? Not able to get any work?"
"What did you think?"
"Canât be, I just killed a few biotechnology folks..."
Sol suddenly stopped, looking at Cedric with a strange expression, "Killed a few? From what was publicly broadcast on TV, that Dead Manâs Lottery special, around a hundred people died that night!"
Cedric looked bewildered, and Navi quickly stepped in, "Itâs like this... he wasnât involved that night, there was a minor issue, continue please."
"No wonder, I was wondering why you were still here," Sol half realized, half puzzled.
The realization was that Cedric was still here, the puzzle was how he hadnât joined that riot.
"In any case, the incident that day was too severe, news reports claim losses of 50 billion, some say 500 billion, but all are numbers beyond our comprehension.
Military Technology has set up more patrols on the highways, specifically targeting wanderers for questioning, itâs all focused on us..."
Cedric walked beside them as if he were hearing some fairy tale.
What 50 billion, 500 billion...
Seeing his confused look, Navi took off his Separation Chip from his neck and whispered to him, "Take a look at this first."
Cedric inserted the chip and looked at the contents, his mind slowly blanking.
Sol continued, "... meanwhile, the Night Wandering Ghosts have become more active, Military Technology is even intentionally letting these guys go; the situation is bad, I think we might have to leave Night City soon.
The longer we drag this out, the more unpredictable the outcomes."
After listening, Lille noddedâ
Solâs assessment was spot on; Military Technology was likely planning something big, intending to wipe out the wanderers outside the city.
The reason companies are troubled by wanderers is that itâs quite troublesome to find someone on Evil Land.
But the farms that wanderers have relied on for generations donât exist in the wilderness, and they canât settle down.
Thus, to secure supplies, they must operate in the city; prolonged targeting and blockades would inevitably make them lose their patience.
Either move or come back to the city to work, at least theyâd have to get their food from the cityâbut whatever choice they make, it would make them easier to track.
The longer this drags on, the more advantageous it is for Military Technology, itâs only a matter of time before they eliminate the wanderers of Night City.
The group reached a shaded canopy, Sol stopped, turned to Navi and Lille.
But before he could speak, Cedric exclaimed, "Fuck!"
Sol looked at him, "You look like youâve just been dug up from the ground, what in the world happened?"
Cedric struggled to sit down on a chair nearbyâthe truth had left him a bit embarrassed.
"...I slowlyâI really just got dug up from the ground, you can think of it as just that."
Sol raised an eyebrow and stopped caring about his old friend, turning instead to Lille and Navi, "So weâre planning to leave, and itâs best if Red Ocher comes with us, I donât need to explain why.
Unless... you have any other suggestions."
The last sentence was directed at Lille, clearly, although Sol had made up his mind, he still highly valued what Lille was about to say.
Lille touched his chin and said bluntly, "You canât leave, the border checkpoint wonât let you through, theyâll hold you up for monthsâat least. Have you already submitted an application for crossing, did the permit come through?"
Sol frowned, "... indeed not."
"Thatâs what I thought, you canât leave," Lille let go of his hand, "Military Technology is no easy player, if they canât find someone to retaliate against, at the very least theyâd fabricate or find a related group to target.
Many from Red Ocher have died, but there are plenty of Wanderers outside the city, and that blood is enough.
If I were you, Iâd use all the remaining assets to buy equipment from middlemen right now."
"Weâre out of cash."
"That can be fixedâif thereâs work to do, youâre not opposed to it, right?"
Sol furrowed his brow tightly, staring at Lille, unable to make up his mind.
Truth be told, if it werenât for the horrible scenes of Red Ocher he had seen on TV, he would really consider selling Lille and his two companions...
He had already been considering cooperating with corporations, his priority being the Tribe.
But those images on TV revealed the cruel outcome of cooperating with corporations.
Moreover, Lille had actually done them a big favorâfor years, this was one of the few times the Wanderers got justice from the corporations.
Seeing him like this, Lille smiled and added, "Before you make a decision, I want to ask you a question:
Do you want Adkaduo to be trampled back and forth like a stray dog in Evil Land, and when very old, to be leashed and wait for death;
Or, even if the enemy is a thousand times, ten thousand times richer and more powerful, you still choose to walk a thorn-filled path with your head held high, declare your sovereignty to Evil Land, and tell the corporations, tell the world, they can never force you to kneel?"
A stray dog, or free to run wild?
Solâs gaze became complex, looking at the familiar yet foreign Evil Land, he lit up a cigarette for himself.
"I... need to think about it more."
"Suit yourself, Iâd like to borrow your medical equipment, is that okay?"
"Thatâs fineâthough we donât have the high-end stuff they have in Night City."
"No matter, I brought my own equipmentâthink it over, Sol."
Lille waved at V and Jack, and Navi very sensibly brought over a box of prosthetics from the car.
As he stepped into the vehicle, Jack muttered Lilleâs recently spoken words and suddenly felt a familiar sensation.
He looked at V, "V, donât you find this familiar? Itâs like... like youâve said something similar before."
It was the first time the three crossed the border together, thatâs how V duped Jack, the panicked young man.
And then in Atlanta, Lille duped V, the panicked young man, in the same way.
V shook his head, "I mightâve spoken some profound thoughts, but they were definitely my own sayings, how could it be the same as what Lille said?"
Lille, smiling yet not smiling, patted the operating table, "Right, right, profound thoughts, come lie down."
Jack sat down in a chair, pondering over the original phrasing, and V lay down on the hospital bed, shooting a glance at Lille, and chuckled secretly.
Then she whispered, "Wandererâs custom version? Not bad, itâs my turn to speak now."
"Wandererâs custom version," Lille nodded, putting on the prosthetic gloves, "Authorized for you."