"Yes!" A sowhat fuzzy voice ca through the earpiece.
Out here in the wilderness, external network signals beca extrely unstable. In today’s Net, there was no longer a public network that could connect the entire world.
What remained were the CitiNets built by various municipalities and the various company intranets set up by corporations themselves.
On this continent, NetWatch and the New United States were trying their best to restore a new network that could cover the entire North Arican continent again, but the difficulty was unimaginable.
On one hand, everyone was still afraid of another Old Net collapse, of being killed by AIs through the network lines; on the other hand, it also involved the interests of companies like Ziggurat.
So in this godforsaken wilderness, getting online was a matter of luck. Sotis with good luck, you might connect to so public network from who-knows-where; other tis with bad luck, only basic communication signals remained.
And since it was late 2071, just one year after the end of the Unification War started by the New United States, many public communication facilities destroyed during the war still hadn’t been repaired.
rcer sowhat awkwardly controlled the aerodyne vehicle’s descent, but ultimately managed to land it very smoothly on the ground. After opening the door, he pushed the hatch open and took a deep breath, greeted by the thick scent of the wilderness.
Dust mixed with what was probably the sll of coyotes, well, this was the sll of freedom!
"Where is this?"
Kyoko asked while struggling to carry a cooler to the ground, curiously looking around.
"The middle of nowhere in Montana, near an abandoned town called ’Miles City’."
We get off here, then go into town to find the vehicle I reserved. After that, we’ll drive along the highway to Wyoming, then to Colorado.
These states are all mbers of the "Free States of North Arica" alliance, so there are no border checkpoints; we can drive straight through on the highways.
We won’t enter any cities, just get supplies from small towns along the way and Petrochem gas stations.
Then we’ll stock up on enough supplies in Colorado to cross the Badlands all the way to Utah, finally entering Nevada where we can take highways directly into Northern California.
Just follow the highways all the way, and we can drive straight into Night City."
rcer stretched lazily. The four hours of autopilot had given him decent rest, and the pain in his head had eased considerably.
The Relic seed to constantly emit so kind of miraculous bio-electric current, giving him a feeling of gentle massage in his head, quite comfortable indeed.
When it ca to these fancy gadgets, Arasaka really knew their stuff.
"You reserved a vehicle? Do... do we have money to buy one?" Kyoko asked in surprise.
"Huh? You actually have to pay for things? Haha, anyway let’s move the stuff first. I’ll explain the details later."
"Okay... Montana, is this considered New United States territory?"
Kyoko wasn’t very familiar with this, as the tal Wars, the New United States’ unification war against the Free States, took place from 2069-2070. During this ti, everyone had already been moved into the isolated underground facility of the base.
"Barely, I suppose."
rcer got out of the vehicle to help unload the cargo, casually tossing the still-unconscious secretary Inoue aside as he spoke:
"Everyone knows the main goal of the Unification War was for the New United States, backed by Militech, to try and reclaim all the independent states.
Though the Free States alliance, ford by those independent states, had Arasaka’s covert support, they ultimately lost the war.
However, from the Free States’ perspective, even after signing the ’Treaty of Unification’ with the New U.S., each state retained its autonomy.
Plus, the New U.S. eventually withdrew from Night City after being intimidated by Arasaka’s aircraft carrier, halting the war. So those politicians shalessly claid victory, insisting they’re still ’free.’
So, if you ask a New U.S. citizen if this is part of the New U.S., they’d definitely say ’of course.’
But if you ask the people in these states, they’d tell you, ’Screw the New U.S., we’re independent Montanans’."
Kyoko seed to have an epiphany upon hearing rcer’s words. "So, this is actually still Arasaka’s territory?"
"That’s not entirely wrong. Arasaka’s influence here still far surpasses Militech’s.
But since Arasaka didn’t directly intervene this ti, only providing weapons and equipnt, Militech’s presence in these independent states has grown significantly after the war ended."
rcer summarized, finally finishing moving all the luggage, then called out to Daichi for help: "Co on, lend a hand. Let’s toss this won into the cockpit."
Daichi walked over and, with a grunt, hoisted secretary Inoue onto his shoulder. rcer blinked in surprise, then simply helped by supporting Inoue’s legs as they stuffed her into the cockpit.
Leaning into the cockpit, rcer unplugged the data cable from Inoue’s hand and tossed an empty Relic cryo-container beside her.
He then connected Inoue’s data cable to the vehicle’s system, ran a few programs, changed the vehicle’s authentication to his own, and deleted all previous usage records.
Finally, after setting an autopilot program, rcer used his own cyberdeck to deliver one last harsh blow to Inoue.
Ensuring she wouldn’t wake up before the vehicle reached its destination, rcer imdiately began programming.
He linked Inoue’s biomonitor to the vehicle’s system and wrote a Synapse Burnout program into it.
If Inoue’s brainwaves showed any abnormality, aning she woke up, her direct connection to the vehicle via the data cable would cause the Synapse Burnout program to fry his brain.
rcer then wrote an auto-delete program to ensure no trace of his own information would be found if the vehicle’s system was later inspected. Only then did he relax, climbing out of the cockpit and shutting the door firmly.
"Alright. Our secretary Inoue, no, the New U.S. FIA agent, will head straight into the heart of New U.S. and Militech territory, only to die along the way in the vehicle.
By the ti soone finds the vehicle landed in the wilderness, Agent Inoue will have had her brain fried by a netrunner, and the contents inside will have vanished without a trace."
"Let them figure it out themselves. If we’re lucky, so nomads or Raffen Shiv might find the aerodyne vehicle first and strip it down. That’ll just muddy the waters even more."
rcer watched with satisfaction as the aerodyne vehicle automatically ascended, took off, and sped away at full throttle into the distance.
"And as for us? We’re just a bunch of novice netrunners who slipped away in the chaos. Sure, so might suspect us, but who’d believe a group of novices could bypass server security, take out so many agents, openly steal an aerodyne vehicle, and escape without a single leak along the way?"
After moving the last of the supplies, rcer wiped the sweat from his brow and sat down with a smile on a refrigerated case containing his cyberware. He checked the power indicator, still good for another week. After that, he’d just need to find a place to recharge it; a full charge could last half a month.
"What’s next?" Lucy asked, gripping her Kenshin pistol as she climbed to the top of the small hill, lying prone to cautiously observe the distant town.
"The first step into the wild? Get yourself a sturdy, reliable vehicle and plenty of supplies. They’re right in that town. This area is controlled by a small-ti Raffen Shiv boss. They usually hit other roads for loot, bring it all back here, then fence it in the city. I scoped it out from the aerodyne vehicle earlier; seems empty for now. But we still need to be careful, just in case."
rcer pulled out his custom pistol, practicing his aim, flicking the safety, and chambering a round. Though the mories of "rcer" included basic firearms training, this was his first ti handling a real gun. Eagerly, he pressed the charge button. A soft zap echoed as electromagnetic force launched two tungsten-tipped rounds, kicking up a cloud of dust in the distance.
"Whoa~" he murmured in awe, then chuckled. "Everyone, check your gear. I’ll scout ahead to see if there’s anyone in town. If there is, they’ve probably already noticed our aerodyne vehicle parked behind this hill for a bit."
"So..." The kids’ expressions tightened with renewed tension.
"Mhm~ Survival of the fittest, the strong preying on the weak, it’s a classic you can’t avoid out here in the wild, or anywhere!" rcer laughed, stuffing two grenades into the back of his waistband casually. "When we open fire, make it count. You all passed the training chip exams at Arasaka training facility don’t embarrass yourselves against a few bandits."
"Let’s link up our own network. If you spot enemies, mark them in your cybereyes," Kyoko suggested, raising her hand. "I brought a laptop; I’ll try to pick up the town’s network signal now."
"Good idea," rcer praised. "With here, no need to worry about enemy netrunners breaking into our subnet. I’ll blackout whole groups at once."
"What if we see people?" Leon asked nervously, lifting his rifle and mimicking Lucy by moving to the edge of the hilltop to watch the town.
"Don’t worry. Every last one of these Raffen Shiv scum deserves what’s coming." rcer’s tone was calm as he stood and walked to the edge of the slope. In the field of vision, the dilapidated town remained quiet.
After observing for a while longer, Kyoko’s voice ca through.
"I’m not picking up any network signals, just so from fixed devices. I’d say there’s an eighty percent chance no one’s here."
"Then let’s move in stealthily. Be careful, spread out. Kyoko, you stay at the high point to observe and keep an eye on my precious cyberware. Once we secure a vehicle, we’ll co back for you."
rcer made the call.
"Copy that! Be extra careful, all of you!" Kyoko said with concern.
rcer raised his pistol, carrying only one magazine, stood up straight at the hilltop, then looked down the slope, roughly forty degrees, and leaped off, breaking into a smooth, brisk run.
Lucy hurried to follow, sending him a ssage through their connected subnet.
[Lucy: What kind of stealth is this?!]
[rcer: If we take out everyone who sees us, who’s to say it isn’t stealth?]
[Leon: Shit, shit, shit! Wait for !]
Just like that, the four of them charged down the slope, heading straight for the town.
"Idiots!" Kyoko widened her eyes, straining to scan the town from above with her cybereye.
Just as rcer reached the back of the town’s buildings, Kyoko suddenly looked up, gazing into the distance.
In the distance, a cloud of dust suddenly rose, the sign of an approaching convoy!
[Kyoko: Quick! Take cover! Soone’s coming!]
[rcer: Copy that.]
[rcer: Locked and loaded! If it’s the Raffen Shiv, we’re leaving none of them alive!]
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Bonus Chapter @ 500 power stones.
The story hit 10 reviews, so, as promised, there will be another bonus Chapter later.
You can check out my other story Hxh: Dying Makes Stronger. It’s a rly good story.
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