"Son, that guy..."
Matt squatting with his old father in the Evil Land, his face cold, while the latter was even trembling; the nighttime temperature in the Evil Land was very low, and it was winter now. Every year wanderers without supplies freeze to death in winter.
But Mattâs dad only felt that the trembling inside his heart was more unbearable than the cold weather.
Matt had no intention of talking with his old man; instead, he focused more on that giant mushroom cloud, the admiration in his heart almost overflowing from his eyes:
The big guy is still badass; he blew up the Europa Tower in Berlin in a day, killed two central executive committee members on the spot, and then turned around and bombed the New America military base next to Washington...
This has surpassed the realm of legends; itâs a fantasy you wouldnât dare even dream of.
Although Mattâs combat ability was decent, he was still a sports star with other uses, plus he still had to take care of his old dad, so they parachuted midway and ended up landing a bit farther away.
From Night City to Mexico and then to Europe, this journey indeed fulfilled Mattâs sports dream but made him always feel mentally exhausted...
But fortunately, the road home was easy to walk.
Mackinaw sprinting across the Evil Land, the dust stirred up by the explosion chasing behind, Matt thought to himself:
This is what a real man is.
Thinking about it, Matt did not forget his old dad, directly holding him under one armâ
The silent son made the middle-aged man feel anxious; the child who once chased behind him had now become someone he had to cautiously deal with...
But who can be blamed for this situation?
As he thought about it, Matt said, "You go in the trunk."
Mattâs dad turned red with embarrassment: "Okay..."
...
"Wuhu!"
V raised both hands to the sky, cheering heartily, then curiously fumbling around inside the car.
"Big Mack...can you feel me touching you? Are you really alive? What is this technology...Centaur Alpha Ground Necromancer?!
Are you an alien?!!!"
If this was said to Big Mack, it would not be an issue, though the thought process is peculiar, it was somewhat accurate.
The issue was that it was directed at Lille.
It seems... not out of place either.
Lille disassembled the deformed armored plate on Jack, cautiously prying open the maintenance portâ
"...Did your brain fry? That mysterious wanderer is still shouting in front of old Vicâs clinic?"
V shook her feet, kicking her shoes out of the car, then rested her feet on the dashboard.
Surprisingly, Big Mack actively reshaped to make space for her, although it had this function before, but it was used only once, no longer allowing for such luxury.
Bang!
Suddenly, V slammed both hands onto Lille, the hybrid metallic and biological body emitting a muffled thud.
Vâs eyes widened, staring at Lilleâs profile: "You disappeared for two years just like that, coming back like nothing happened, you... donât have anything to say?"
Click.
Another piece of armor was removed from Jack.
Lille didnât look back: "The signal was bad back then; had no choice, itâs how it is out there."
Clearly not deterring Vâs mood; instead, she continued to glare at Lilleâ
In the air, a little octopus suddenly appeared, vigorously rubbing against Lille, seemingly very fond of this new body.
[Little Octopus: Big brother, you smell...better than mom...]
V swiftly grabbed the little octopus, its tentacles still reluctantly wrapped around Lille...
Theoretically, V wouldnât be able to pull off the little octopus; her brain struggles with higher-level math problems, let alone using hacker skills to remove the little octopusâ
However, the little octopus was still tender-eyed as V pulled it off, then glared back at Lille.
At this time Lille spoke up:
"But I really missed you guys; the future days are long, you wouldnât hold onto the idea that Iâve caused you irreparable psychological trauma over these two years, right?"
V let out a hum after hearing this, lay back on the chair, and quietly wrapped her hands, inhaling slowlyâ
"Geez...how did you end up with an ironclad body after these two years..."
Now it became difficult to bully.
Although there wasnât much substantial affection, V still felt quite satisfied: Indeed, the days ahead are still long.
"Hehehe..."
Lille opened all the armored plates on Jack, the big guy kept making weird laughter, clearly, Jack missed these days too.
As if when Lille wasnât there, their lives were always caught under the shadow of forcibly putting on a brave face, although there were good things, there were sincere emotions, family, friends, dreams...
But there was always a haze lingering.
Once Lille returned, he felt all those things became real, the haze was cleared away.
After all, they were buying foolish big shots at Burger King.
"Still laughingâlaugh again and youâll really turn into a lizard head."
After prying open the armor, Lille understood why Jack had been silent all alongâ
His head was covered with green scales, and his eyes had almost turned into vertical pupils, his throat completely deviated from human structure, but it hadnât fully undergone lizardization, making his voice extremely strange, difficult to articulate human language.
And the latest physical examination report recorded in the system indicated that Jackâs cellular lifespan depletion was severe, although the length of telomeres isnât the sole factor determining lifespan, short telomeres certainly increase the likelihood of problems during cell division...
From the cell perspective, Jack seemed to have aged twenty years.
Lille shook his head: "No hope, prepare to replace the mechanical prosthetics."
Jack heard and stopped laughing, even became anxious, waving his hands frantically, making strange hissing sounds in his mouthâ
[Jack: No! Misty agreed to marry me! If I turn into a robot...uh, mano, I mean no offence to robots, I mean...I still want...]
Bang.
Lille tapped Jackâs head: "Jack, even in this state, you still miss that thing? Besides, I was talking about replacing the throat structure...
Your body, I mean, arenât you aware of its condition? Misty canât handle it either."
Jack flushed red, anxious enough to almost transform.
When Jack got anxious, Lille finally laughed: "Just kidding youâno need to replace anything, but prepare to say goodbye to your big bird."
Lizard serum does have an antidote; once used, it will completely reverse lizardization, restoring those who were initially disabled back to their disabled state.
Though Jack didnât have any limb impairments, at most muscle atrophy might occur, requiring some time for recuperation...
These recoveries are not without solutions, except after losing Lille, Night Cityâs technological and industrial level regressed as though the internet crashed, unable to perform repairs.
Jack breathed a sigh of relief, but soon felt weird: saying goodbye to his big bird felt strange, why was he relieved?
After finishing emergency repairs, Lille returned to his seatâ
Though these two donât take good care of their bodies, compared to the things theyâve been doing in the past two years, the issues werenât too severe.
Thereâs a tacit understanding among fugitives; as long as you survive, tomorrow is bright.
There was also this tacit understanding between Lille and V.
"...What are you looking at?"
Returning to his seat, Lille felt V seemed to be inspecting his body, up and down, very oddly.
"I...wasnât looking at anything." V withdrew her gaze, subtly spat.
Running through the Evil Land, Jack reminisced about their first job in the Evil Land, a time when he would fear facing Arasaka and Military Technology squads...
And V, V thought even further: she remembered meeting Lille in Atlanta, back then she even saved Lilleâs life.
Lille also remembered: "Is it even between us now? The infamous V?"
"Even my foot! Your debt has swelled to ten million! The infamous...Burger King!"
The legend of Night City has returned.
...
[Johnny: Oh damn, why donât you just go up and munch?]
[Little Octopus: Who are you? Donât speak!]
The silence in cyberspace has its reasons.