"Itâs miraculous, really, thinking theyâre human just because they put on clothes..."
"Hey, you brain-dead cop, keep yapping and Iâll blow your head off!"
Clank!
The Vortex Gangâs transhuman adjusted his combat exoskeleton, and the move frightened a softly muttering NCPD officer who glared angrily but then silently walked awayâ
This combat exoskeleton was the same system used by Atlas in the Marvel World, but it was larger due to enhanced output, its arms directly equipped with military technology heavy machine guns as primary weapons, nearly as large as a Centaur Mecha.
The exoskeleton used a direct neural control system, which, normally, would require years of training and adaptation to cultivate a group of stable operators.
However, the Vortex Gangâs own makeshift prosthetics and equipment far exceeded the load intended for such devices, and just a slight integration with the second-generation prosthetic system developed by Lille would free up a lot of carrying capacity.
As for operating skills and technology, the Vortex Gang now had their own Skill Chip production center, and collecting a bit of data could optimize training chips or even mecha operation chips, making simple use of mecha in combat definitely manageable.
But it still looked a bit crazy, so when the operator said he wanted to blow the copâs head off, it was genuinely unsettling.
Bang!
Brick harshly smacked the underlingâs metallic head, "I asked you to move cargo, not run your mouth, move it."
The latter scratched his head and quickly scurried off, a potential conflict quietly resolved, and Brick, having dealt with the situation, signaled to David not far offâ
Honestly, he wanted to mess with the cops too, but couldnât, with a supervisor watching over.
The humanitarian supplies they were transporting were indeed for humanitarian aid this time:
Night City financed a purchase from the Adkaduo factory in Saint Domingo, including prosthetics, artificial blood plasma, immunosuppressants, and even synthetic food, covering most of the needs for humanitarian relief, except that there wasnât much in the way of medical supplies.
Though the gang could handle most of the public safety and transportation tasks with their equipment, dealing with the regular militaryâthat kind of formal, legal interactionâwas a bit much for them, neither side respected the other.
So an educated person needed to handle this, but unfortunately, this entire outsourced team lacked such individuals, so they had to find a trustworthy mercenary.
"Promising youth," NCPD Chief Colridge said to David as they finished confirming the paperwork and transferring the supplies, "I heard you used to study at Arasaka Academy? Why didnât you continue?"
"Because gangs on the streets are fighting with heavy firearms and I couldnât afford medical insurance, so I had to come out and provide for my family."
"Oh... quite brave."
After the handover, David and Colridge shook hands warmly.
This photo was snapped by some media, but in the picture, Davidâs face was always blurred, and people could only know that the NCPD was really investing in Taiping State, restarting development plans.
The squad rode in the vehicle following the convoy toward Taiping State, parading through the city under the varied gazes of citizens.
For some reason, as David looked at the expressions and faces of those people, he suddenly felt very prestigious:
Before, he was just a student, his mom just an outsourced corpse collector, and they knew nothing about street affairs, scared to trembling by the sight of an NCPD Emperor Ragnar Armored Vehicle, running around in chaos.
Now, he was driving an armored pickup that could overturn old NCPD armored vehicles, having cordial meetings with the chief of NCPD and completing transfers, ultimately leading a large convoy of armed forces transporting large quantities of supplies...
David clearly knew: in the eyes of the little guys, this was what big shots looked likeâbecause he used to be one of the little guys.
Sitting in the driverâs seat, he suddenly said, "Weâve made a name for ourselves now, havenât we?"
"Itâs up to you," Lucy said, showing little interest, "Of course, itâs a step up from being a petty thief stealing skill chips..."
As she spoke, she felt somewhat sentimental: comparison brought out feelings. Just now, she had watched the people outside without much emotion, but now, discussing it like this, she felt she had indeed come a long way.
From a lone hacker escaping Arasakaâs facilities, wandering through Night City, learning to sneak around, and finally finding a team, finding...
Finding David, this incredibly dense...partner?
The car drove down the grand avenue of the Scenic Area, and David turned to look out at the orbital spaceport offshore.
It was not just an airport; it was a rocket launch site, launching sightseeing rockets to the Moon.
At that moment, a plane took off, leaving a trail of contrail in the sky.
David grinned, saying cheerfully, "Lucy, weâll be able to go to the Moon soon, just check the money, after this job and a few odd jobs, Iâll have saved up 200,000, just in time for us to take a vacation..."
"David," Lucy interrupted Davidâs fantasy, leaning against the window with a cigarette in one hand, "Why are you so adamant about helping me achieve my dream?"
"Isnât it obviousâ"
David blurted out, then paused dramatically, his heart skipping a beat.
But he felt it was a good time to pour out his heart: everything couldnât be better, not doing the dirtiest, most exhausting jobs at the risk of life, not driving a broken-down car with constant fear, no debts, no gunfire and bullets, and none of those disappointing things.
So he just paused for a moment and continued as if he were speaking normally:
"Because I want to go to the Moon with you, see the scenery up there, feel the gravity up there, not just in âSuper Dreamâ and imagination, but in reality, holding your hand in reality, and then..."
Lucy suddenly kissed himâ
Feeling the warmth of her lips, the heartbeat in his arms, he felt both surprised and blessed.
The bustling traffic and noisy crowds outside the window seemed to disappear.
As their lips parted, David looked into Lucyâs eyes, brimming with confidenceâ
Not the naive confidence of a greenhorn who bluffs despite not knowing the difficulty of the task, but the confidence of "you know Iâve always been working hard, you know Iâm not talking nonsense, I can face any problem with you, I can give you a future, because you know I have always been doing so."
Sitting in the driverâs seat was not a boy who had just left home and was dazzled by the world, but a man who had been through blood and storm...
Even at such a time, he could still steady the steering wheel on the road.
Even though Lucy kept many secrets in her heart, she felt that one day these would no longer be secrets between themâjust today was not the day to bring those up.
David held the steering wheel with one hand, and after the kiss, he chuckled, "Lucy, do you feel like Iâve grown up a lot?"
The latter sat back in the co-driverâs seat and laughed as well, "I think youâre a bit too carried away..."
The car continued its journey, and outsiders could not see what was happening inside. The caravan smoothly traveled from Night City to Taiping State, arriving at the NCPD Taiping State Divisionâs blockade line outside Dog Town.
But the people in the car were not just driving straightforwardly.
Today, it was a day suitable for expressing feelings to each other.