Chapter 30: Arrival at the Camp

Mercer had a natural talent for driving—his mind moved fast. In moments of intense concentration, he even experienced a sensation akin to bullet time; even without a synaptic accelerator, speeding at breakneck velocities felt effortless for him.

Panam had initially intended to just toy with him, but she hadn’t expected the kid to actually have some real skills. The two of them grew interested, racing all the way from Santo Domingo to the wilderness on the eastern outskirts of Night City before finally calling it quits.

Cassidy and Daichi, driving behind them, nearly got lost trying to keep up. Fortunately, Mercer wasn't completely reckless; whenever he saw them falling behind, he would slow down to wait. Even so, it took them just over an hour to reach the Nomad camp in the east from the southern entrance of Night City.

Once they arrived, Panam pushed the car door open, laughed, and exclaimed, "Refreshing! I’ve gotta say, I really haven't raced in the city like that before!"

"Damn, I’m about to throw up..." Lyon groaned. Daichi, who had been driving for him, was deathly pale; his pickup truck felt like it was about to rattle apart.

After getting out of the car, Cassidy took a long moment to steady himself before shaking his head. "You guys are absolutely insane... Lucy, you should’ve talked him out of it."

Lucy’s face was still flushed with excitement. She smiled, shook her head, and took a deep breath of the wild air. "Isn't it fun?" Deep down, she possessed a streak of madness herself.

As for Mercer, he touched his pounding heart—this was far more thrilling than racing in any game! Night City... ha!

"Leave the cars here; we'll move the gear later." Panam pointed proudly at the camp ahead. "This is the Aldecaldos camp. What do you think? Not bad, right?"

It was a camp composed of trailers, tents, and various repurposed shipping containers. It looked somewhat crude, but looking in from the entrance, one could see a sense of ease and tranquility on everyone's faces.

Near the parking area, an old man sat on a crate, holding a guitar and drinking beer early in the morning, singing as he played. A man repairing a vehicle nearby would occasionally hum along. Looking further in, some of the trailers and container structures had small signs hanging outside, resembling gun shops or ripperdoc clinics.

"Is this the Aldecaldos camp?" Lucy remarked.

"Yeah. Why? Better or worse than you expected?" Mercer asked with a smile.

"Well... I heard the Aldecaldos used to be a massive clan with millions of members." Lucy was curious. "Why don't we see many people on the way? I’ve been listening to you talk about them, so I thought this place would be huge, but it looks like there are only a few hundred people at most."

"Who knows?" Mercer didn't know much about it either, but he assumed the Aldecaldos must have a main base somewhere; he just didn't know where.

"Your tents are set up in that corner over there; it’s convenient for power and water access. We got it all ready for you yesterday. There are... four tents in total. We don't have many extra rooms, so you all might have to squeeze in, or head into the city to buy a couple of new ones."

Panam pointed to a corner of the camp, guiding them and explaining the facilities after they parked.

Mercer finally had a chance to get a good look at her up close. The Panam who looked to be only eighteen or nineteen was full of heroic spirit and wild energy. Her skin looked much smoother than in the game, though she had already begun wearing the ubiquitous heavy makeup of the cyberpunk world. Her eyes and lips were rimmed with dark pigments, yet it didn't look unattractive.

"Got it," Mercer agreed, letting Panam lead the way.

Lucy glanced at him subtly. "You’ve been checking her out quite a few times. What, interested?"

"I told you, pretty girls over eighteen are within my range of interest..."

Mercer's remark prompted Anzu, who was nearby, to playfully nudge him with her elbow. "Should I ask for you later?"

"Save it. Does she look like someone interested in a brat?"

Mercer suddenly felt a pang of melancholy and shook his head with a sigh—he viewed Lucy and the others as children, but wasn't he viewed the same way by everyone else?

Panam had sharp ears; she turned her head, glanced at Mercer, and chuckled. "You kids are really something... quite precocious, aren't you?"

"I’m going to go talk to Saul first," Cassidy said. Panam gestured in a direction. "He’s over there, in the largest tent. I won't go over just yet."

Cassidy nodded, signaled to Mercer, and went to find Saul, the leader of the camp.

"Well, looks like you’ve got no chance~" Anzu teased Mercer, winking at Lucy, which made Lucy turn away uncomfortably, arms crossed over her chest. In that posture, she looked like something out of an anime.

Mercer twitched his mouth but didn't take the bait.

*Brat...*

He quickened his pace to catch up with Panam and struck up a conversation. "With so many people, how do you all make a living? Just through transport and smuggling?"

Panam looked at him. She was nearly 1.7 meters tall, and in her boots, she looked even taller than Mercer. "What else can we do? Aside from the occasional construction job or random odd jobs in the city, we do some auto repair and part modification... In short, we do whatever pays."

Panam sighed. "Last year was better. Right after the war ended, Night City needed everything, and we were too busy driving to keep up. But now... that filthy idiot... that filthy American in Night City named Hansen snatched up the most profitable parts of the smuggling business, so we’re stuck with scraps. Plus, those Animals and the Haitians have cornered most of the manual labor in the city. Mostly, we’re left with long-haul transport, private routes, and moving contraband."

"And you?" Mercer was curious, wondering if the current Panam had already crossed paths with Rogue, the "Queen of the Afterlife" in Night City.

Rogue was a legend in Night City. She and Johnny Silverhand had stormed Arasaka Tower twice; the second time, they even detonated a nuclear bomb. Although Johnny Silverhand was wiped out on the spot by another legend, Adam Smasher, and the other legend, Morgan Blackhand, vanished after the blast, Rogue survived.

She spent a few years hiding out with the Nomads, even bearing a child for a clan leader. But eventually, unable to let go of her old lover Johnny or the memories of the past, she returned to Night City to become a renowned fixer. Rumor had it she had to bow to Adam Smasher and Arasaka to return, but truth be told, if you could bomb Arasaka Tower and still return to Night City to be seen as a "living legend" by most, that spoke volumes about the weight of Rogue's name.

The Afterlife nightclub had become a legendary sanctuary that only the big shots could enter. Many even used whether or not they had a drink named after them in the Afterlife as the standard for whether they were true legends.

"Me?" Panam looked at him with amusement. "Little brother, are you actually interested in me?"

Mercer rolled his eyes speechlessly. "If you’re going to be like that, we can’t talk—come on, I’m quite a catch myself."

"Hmm~ who knows?" She teased, then continued, "I don't have much work. I do what the clan needs me to do, but lately, I’ve been thinking about finding my own way to make money. Can't help it; things are tough at home, and there are only so many ways to earn. If I take jobs from the clan, someone else loses out. Better to find my own path. Last year, we had nearly a thousand people here, but now, look, only a few hundred. If the clan doesn't start making money, more will leave."

Panam mused, "I’ve heard being a mercenary in the city pays well—those 'Edgerunners.' I think my driving is top-notch, and I’m brave enough. Who knows, maybe I’ll make a name for myself in Night City one day."

The current Panam still held high expectations for Night City. Young people... they always held bright expectations for the future.

"Edgerunners... I’ll probably start there too. It’s quick money. I’ll run a few jobs to save up some starting capital first." Mercer paused, then said, "I need someone to go to Night City with me to do some work. Interested? I’ll need a reliable driver in the city."

Panam smiled. "Sure. Let’s see what kind of money-making path you’ve got."

Mercer didn't say much yet, as he needed to survey the situation, but he noted, "It’ll likely be small jobs at first. I’m a netrunner, so I need people with quick hands to do the work outside while I provide technical support from the back."

"Deal. We’ll talk more when the time comes." Panam agreed. Although she called him a brat or a kid, she actually felt that this mysterious little guy had something going for him. Besides... she wanted to make money, so she was willing to try any path. If it turned out to be unreliable, she could just quit.

"Good. But it’ll be a few days; I need to process some things I have on hand." Mercer turned his head to point at the ripperdoc clinic in the camp. "Are your people skilled?"

"I think they’re pretty damn good, but... objectively, they can't compare to the big doctors in the city. Why? Need to install something?" Panam eyed him—his hands, his eyes, the neural interface with a net-link plugged in. It all looked like corporate hardware. Looking closer, these cybernetics even bore the Arasaka logo. *Did he rob an Arasaka convoy? Or escape from some Arasaka facility?*

"Our vehicle is loaded with high-end Arasaka gear that needs an expert to calibrate. I know a bit, but I don't have the machines or equipment right now. And I must say, this stuff is complex, high-end tech; average people can't handle it."

After Mercer finished, Panam nodded. "Then you’d better find someone in the city. We don't have the connections to handle high-end gear like that."

As they spoke, they walked deep into the camp.

"Here we are." Panam pointed to the tent. Mercer looked at it; it was about the same size as V's tent in the game, barely enough for one person. A bed, a clothing rack, a crate serving as a table and storage. The room had a light, water pipes, and a sink, but no shower or restroom.

"For showers and toilets, you have to use the public facilities. That trailer over there has showers, but it's best to go when it's not busy, otherwise, there’s no hot water. The public toilet is over there. If you're hungry or thirsty, the food truck is that way. If you're bored and want to mess around, the ripperdoc clinic sells braindances and games that you kids like. The gun shop only has cheap stuff. I see you’re all carrying Arasaka weapons; if you want to modify them, you can, like changing a burst-fire rifle to full-auto, but the stability will drop. You probably can't modify your pistols; electromagnetic guns are rare, high-end gear. For spare parts or circuit boards, check the general store. If they have them, they have them; if not, it’s just luck. Hmm... anything else?"

Panam introduced the facilities and then paused, thinking for a moment before adding, "Oh, right, if you want to do netrunning, you can run a cable. The network connects to Night City, and it’s quite stable once you plug in. Here’s my contact. Call me if you need anything. I shouldn't be heading out today, so if you need a hand, just say so."

Panam sent her contact information directly to his neural interface. Mercer nodded. "Thanks, Panam. Just call me Mercer. I owe you one for this."

"Sure. That’s settled. Tonight, I’ll throw a bonfire party and treat you all to barbecue." Panam smiled, turned, and walked away decisively.

Once she was gone, Anzu leaned in, looking mischievous. "Hey, stop looking. You have to admit, sister Panam has a really sexy ass."

"No... what have you been learning lately?" Mercer stared at her speechlessly. Anzu looked away, her eyes drifting. "Nothing much. Just... finally free, and I’ve been surfing the web when I’m bored..."

"The internet in this cyberpunk world is a dangerous thing..." Mercer knocked on her head. "I’ll squeeze in with Daichi or Lyon tonight. I’m heading to Night City soon anyway, so no need to complicate things. You guys..."

Mercer looked at the group of children behind him, deciding not to say anything for now, only adding, "Just enjoy these rare, peaceful days while you can."

Daichi Tetsuya suddenly looked like he had something difficult to say. Mercer glanced at him. "Say it. No need to hide anything from me."

"Mercer..." Daichi Tetsuya looked guilty, embarrassed to make eye contact.

Mercer just raised an eyebrow and smiled.

"Fine. Let's all have a talk." He looked around and said calmly, "Clean up first. Get everything organized, and then we’ll have a meeting."