These engines were of course supposed to be handed over to Adrian in Marvel World to research.
The vultureâs turbine setup isnât bad on a person, but itâs too conspicuous.
With Thunder Company as cover, developing floating cars is just as splendid.
As Mackinaw started up again and drove on the road, V leaned boredly on the passenger window, looking like she regretted not going out for drinks.
Lille glanced at her, "Regret not going for a drink?"
"A bit. The streets feel too quiet, and there arenât any brain-dead Six Street Gang members shooting randomly."
"The Six Street Gang is probably busy right now cleaning up the mess they made with the artillery; theyâre likely lying low in their den."
V yawned, watching the quiet streets of Saint Domingo.
This place could barely be considered an urban area, and at this hour, normal people wouldnât choose to roam the streets.
"What are we doing next?"
"Whatâs the matter? Running out of goals?"
"Sort of." V leaned back in her seat, propping her feet on the dashboard, "I always wanted to buy a badass car, but now it seems Iâve got one thatâs badass enough."
"Strictly speaking, this is a company car for missions; you can still buy a badass one for yourself."
V thought about it and shook her head, "I feel... kind of donât want to drive any other car now."
"Not even considering a floating car?"
"That thing, it feels a bit far off..." V paused and then curiously added, "Right, why do I want a car, but have no feelings for floating cars?"
Lille shrugged, "Last time you said you wanted to turn Mackinaw into a floating car."
"I was just talkingâfloating cars are indeed nice, but if you think higher, like private planes, rockets... Iâve never really thought about going after those things.
Whatâs up with that? Isnât it said that people get greedier and greedier?"
"How should I know? Just tell me if you want it or not."
"I do."
Lille snickered, "I really thought you turned philosopher for a moment. If youâre that impressive, go ahead and write off my debt."
"No way!" V dismissed the idea with a flick of her hand, "You still owe me 1.69 million; donât even think about retiring from the game before you pay up!"
"A mere 1.69 million, you donât think I canât pay that back, do you..."
"Then Iâll start charging interest."
"I was joking." Lilleâs gaze fixated on the end of the street and the Wandererâs outpost, which used to be Red Shirt Mental Hospital.
It has to be said, as long as the finances are secured, the Wandererâs efficiency and standards are pretty high.
The walls have all been heightened and electrified, the gate replaced with a blast-resistant door, and outside the gate are two sentry posts built with sandbags and concrete blocks.
Next to the sentry posts were automatic machine guns, and the entire camp was equipped with 360-degree surveillance cameras; there was even a drone circling in the sky, making it look exceedingly safe.
This setup would make anyone think it was a security safe house for a company.
As the car approached, the sentry Wanderers recognized Lilleâs car from a distance and opened the gate.
Once through the gate, one could see a neatly organized parking lot filled with the Wandererâs beat-up cars, with crates piled up on the side, ready for shipment.
Seeing Mackinaw, everyone excitedly waved their hands at Lille.
"...This place really is looking legit now." V withdrew her feet, suddenly pondering a question, "Wait a minute, should we get a cut of the money they make too?
How come you never mentioned this, you didnât secretly stash it away, did you?"
"Do I look like that kind of person!" Lille retorted, aggravated, "Itâs the startup phase right now, wouldnât it be foolish to spend the money on pleasures?!"
"Seems like it." V eyed her with suspicion, "Iâm not pushing you to pay back the debt, but you better not go down the wrong path!"
Lille gave V an incredulous look and stepped out of the car.
Right after getting out, he saw the big girl Panâan waiting at the entrance with her face full of the joy of a bountiful harvest, smiling so widely she couldnât close her mouth.
The first batch of production was done, and they had also secured a buyer. After calculating the profits, they found this trade really had a huge potential!
"Hey! V, Lille, youâre here, come on in and take a seat. Youâve come at just the right time, Sol found a buyer!"
The trio quickly walked into the office; Panâan casually tossed a couple of drinks to them, opened one for herself and plunked down on the couchâ
"The buyer is a gang from Mexico City, our product is much cheaper than the average synthetic blood plasma and of higher quality. They checked the data and are eager for us to ship!"
"That far?" V was puzzled, "Why not sell directly in the city?"
"Of course we need to sell in the city," Lille explained, "but Mexico City is a very important node. If things get tough in Night City, weâll need to lie low there."
This was a plan for long-term development.
Every place has a stubborn local power hierarchy thatâs hard for natives to rise within, let alone Wanderers, who are naturally ostracized.
The firmer the pyramid, the less outsiders are welcomed.
To deal with this situation, one can only use the advantages of Wanderersâ
Vast transportation network connections, using mobility to compensate for the exclusion faced in major cities.
Blood products are always in demand wherever you go, with a massive consumption by prosthetic clinics for icy body surgeries, casualty treatment, and various blood transfusion proceduresâ
In 2076, blood contamination was a serious issue.
Peopleâs blood could be mixed with prosthetics lubricants, prosthetics electrolytes, various banned drugs, chemical immunosuppressants, and issues from breathing polluted air year-round...
Especially for those born in places like Night City, where everyoneâs blood was dirty, possibly even containing traces of radiation.
For these people, a dialysis upgrade was available, namely a blood transfusion therapy: problematic blood was drawn out, replaced with fresh blood.
In the black market, Scavengers would drain the blood of their victims, purify it, and then sell it. It goes without saying that the cost and selling price couldnât be low.
But compared to legitimately sourced blood products, the avoidance of hefty patent fees still made a profitable venture.
The method of blood extraction used by Lille had even more profit margin. As long as he lowered his prices, he was virtually without competition in this marketâ
Unless biotechnology had a change of heart and decided to ramp up production and lower prices to suppress new technologies. Even so, the impact would be minimal.
The quality of this blood was too good unless Biotechnology also planned to add other drugs into their blood products.
But well... that was hardly likely, at least not in the short term.
So, as long as you had the technology, there was no worry about selling these basic medical consumables.
All this content flashed through Lilleâs mind. He planned to pick out the key points to explain to V, but then he saw her mind had already wandered off.
"..." Lille silently turned his gaze back to Panâan, "So itâs settled, and your vehicles are too junkyâno offense.
I have a deal with Mackinaw Company. You can exchange your old cars for new ones at cost price.
It just has to be Mackinaw; no other brands."
"Mackinaw is great!" Panâanâs eyes lit up, "What model?"
"A custom model, modified from the Laramore model. It has increased horsepower, upgraded body armor, and the latest weapon link ports. You can use the turret as soon as you plug it in.
You can buy the turret from Lama Armory and get your own weapons from Cheson..."
As business was agreed and the arms needed to be stepped up, as Lille listed his connections one by one, Panâanâs admiration turned into adorationâ
Speaking of Wanderer stories, itâs a tale of hardship and tears.
Ever since Santiago disappeared, Adkaduo was like a headless fly, full of energy but with no direction or vision for the future.
Now, with Lille doing everything systematically and transparently...
When had they ever enjoyed such treatment?
The intense exchange between the two drew Vâs scattered attention back. She looked alert as she tried to interject into their conversationâ
But she didnât understand a thing about car modifications, supplies, or transportation.
Fortunately, the topic soon moved to the next stage.
Lille took a sip of his drink, "Letâs talk about something else. Any trouble lately?"
"Well, yes," Panâan leaned back in his chair, "not exactly trouble, but Cassidy keeps reminding me to tell you.
Lately the news is always talking about some homelessness clean-up plan. Heâs worried it might affect us."
The homelessness clean-up plan...
Lille stroked his chin. The term âhomelessâ and âWandererâ werenât the same, but strictly speaking, in Night City, their political status was about the same.
Many in Night City couldnât even distinguish between homeless and Wanderer, seeing them as one and the same.
And the initiator of this plan was none other than Night Cityâs current mayor, Luxius Lane.
After some thought, Lille said, "Cassidyâs reminder makes sense. Iâll find some time to look into it and try to pull in some new support."
He had political big shots waiting to meet him.
With the business expanding, it was indeed time to start paying attention to these kinds of policies.