After the handshake, rcer glanced around and casually picked up an unopened can of Spunky Monkey drink by the counter. He took a sip and frowned deeply:
"What the hell is this taste? Sweet like fucking corn syrup. Do people actually like this stuff?"
"Oh~ Looks like the Arasaka employee cafeteria really is as bland as the rumors say."
Cassidy took it from him and took a big swig without hesitation: "Ha! Not bad. High-sugar drinks are a godsend in nomadic life."
"...What about NiCola? Not the sakura edition."
rcer searched for a while but only found a can of Cirrus Cola. He eyed it disdainfully for a mont but still cracked it open and gulped a few mouthfuls. Hmm, tasted like Pepsi; he was a staunch Coca-Cola loyalist!
"I’ll go get your supplies loaded up. Once you’re done here, drive straight out. We’ll et up on the highway over there. By the way, my advice is to take the sa road where I got caught. These Raffen Shiv gangs usually patrol one road per group, they don’t overlap."
Cassidy shook his head helplessly at rcer’s picky expression and took the Cirrus Cola he proactively handed over this ti. The can was decorated in the colors of the Arican flag, a patriotic drink for true red-blooded Aricans. He still didn’t mind it and downed the whole can in a few gulps.
"If you’re picky, I’ve got a few cans of NiCola and so Real Water in my truck. I’ll grab them for you later."
His words made rcer break into a grin: "Good man, thanks."
Even though the NiCola in this world tasted more like the xican version of Coca-Cola, slightly different from what he was used to, compared to all the other bizarre stuff in this world, NiCola had still beco his favorite drink.
"...Good man, huh?"
Cassidy glanced at rcer’s face, which looked no older than fourteen, and chuckled wryly before nodding. He headed out decisively to drive the truck and help load the supplies, also grabbing the jacket rcer had taken off for Kyoko on his way.
While the two were talking, Lucy and Leon had already tossed all the valuable items they could carry, firearms, ammunition, and miscellaneous gear, into the pickup truck.
rcer did one last sweep of the cafeteria and found seven rolls of cash, totaling about 700 eurodollars. Without hesitation, he stuffed all the money into his jacket. Then, together with Lucy and Leon, he hauled all the food and water stockpiled by the Raffen Shiv in the cafeteria into the pickup truck. These supplies would easily last the group a week.
"Ti to pull out. We’ve got wheels, supplies, and even picked up a reliable guide. Talk about luck."
Satisfied, rcer had Leon get into the pickup truck while he himself took the Shion that likely belonged to the Raffen Shiv lieutenant. Using the key he found on the corpse, he started the ignition. The bulletproof tal shimred like water, turning transparent, indistinguishable from ordinary glass. rcer couldn’t help but marvel at it.
—--
anwhile, Lucy quietly slipped into the passenger seat, wearing a relatively clean orange jacket. The jacket was two sizes too big for her, and with the zipper pulled up, it looked almost like a dress, making her resemble a little girl playing dress-up in her mother’s clothes, well, she really was just a kid now. rcer started the ignition, then had to adjust the seat, pushing it all the way forward just to fully depress the accelerator.
He almost forgot he was still a kid himself.
"Do you trust that nomad?" Lucy turned her head to look at him and asked.
"Yeah, I think he’s alright."
rcer nodded, and Lucy spoke with concern:
"I’ve heard that many nomads are bandits or sothing. Most serious criminals, the ones who commit major offenses, get exiled from their clans and end up joining the Raffen Shiv."
"Cassidy probably isn’t like that, but I don’t think your caution is misplaced. You can keep an eye on him with ."
rcer acknowledged her wariness. After all, people change. The Cassidy he knew from the ga might just be the tip of the iceberg, people are complex creatures. He felt it wasn’t wrong to maintain so level of caution.
Trust is built gradually, after all.
"...Mhm."
Lucy nodded, then leaned back in her seat, sighed deeply, and wrinkled her face as she rolled down the window.
But she was imdiately hit in the face by what seed like stronger wind, blowing sand into her eyes, and she hurriedly closed the window, her face scrunching up even more:
"This guy’s car slls really weird..."
"These maniacs are usually on drugs... You guys better never touch that stuff."
rcer said with a look of disdain:
"Even though in this world, you probably can’t overdose if you have the money, trust , once you get hooked on this crap, you’ll turn into an idiot or a lunatic real quick. If you see soone who can’t live without it, that person is definitely not soone reliable."
"I know." Lucy understood. "The most important thing for a netrunner is to stay clear-headed."
"Wise choice. By the way, do you prefer NiCola or Cirrus? Or sothing like Spunky Monkey?"
rcer’s topics jumped around a lot.
"? Hmm..." Lucy deliberately stole a few glances at him before whispering, "Cirrus?"
rcer gave her a deadpan look but couldn’t help laughing: "Smile more, kid. You’re actually pretty cute when you laugh."
"Ha, here we go again. Do you always have to add ’kid’ or ’child’ as a prefix every ti you say sothing nice?"
Lucy relaxed into a half-reclining position, slightly turning her body toward him as she watched him.
"Mhm, otherwise I’d feel like I was committing a cri, you know? Don’t want you to misunderstand."
rcer’s words left Lucy covered in question marks, and she made a slightly disgusted face before chuckling: "Huh? Are you giving a ’nice guy’ card in advance?"
"Tch, that’s exactly why I’m afraid you’d misunderstand, kid. Let put it this way: my preference is all pretty girls aged eighteen and above. Not that pretty girls under eighteen aren’t attractive, it’s just basic morals."
rcer sighed as he spoke. If he were really a fourteen-year-old boy, it might be different, but deep down, he was a twenty-seven or twenty-eight-year-old adult.
He wasn’t lying to Lucy.
He really wasn’t picky, he liked the fierce, loli-mom type like Rebecca from Edgerunners, and he was also into the wild, sexy Panam from the ga.
To be honest, he even found David’s mother quite charming and well-preserved...
As for soone like Lucy, who was heroine-tier in the ani, a cool, enchanting beauty, of course, he liked her even more. But finding soone pretty and cute was one thing; getting involved with Lucy as she was now would make him feel like a pervert.
"I do believe now that your ntal age is over twenty."
Lucy pouted, her small fra curling up in the seat. "I hate being called a kid or anything like that. Omit it next ti, or I’ll get angry."
"Got it, miss," rcer said with a laugh.
"Not ’miss’ either!" Lucy raised her voice. "Besides, my birthday is in December, I’ll be fifteen soon. Hmm... legally an adult by ’75. Ugh."
"What? In a hurry?" rcer teased.
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
Lucy grew flustered. "In a hurry for what? To fit into your preferences? I just don’t like being treated like a child by you. It’s not like there’s a big age gap between us, wait, aren’t you fourteen too? We might even be the sa age! No, maybe I’m a few months older than you?"
Seeing him avoid her gaze guiltily, she muttered, "rcer, to be honest, I think you’re a bit narcissistic."
The car ca to a stop first, Cassidy and Daichi had driven over from the hillside with Kyoko and rged onto the highway.
Then they pulled over to switch seats.
Daichi took the large pickup truck with Kyoko, positioning it in the middle of the convoy, while Cassidy and Leon led the way in the van, leaving rcer’s car at the rear.
Only after Daichi honked twice and started moving did rcer press the accelerator to follow.
With the old cowboy leading the way, rcer didn’t even need to plan the route, he just lightly pressed the gas and followed along effortlessly.
Then, he finally responded to her earlier remark: "Mhm, I do think I’m quite charming."
Lucy glanced at him sideways but couldn’t hold back a laugh at his narcissistic comnt. Chuckling helplessly, she said, "Anyway, I really don’t like it."
"I know. You feel like you can help too, that you’re not so kid who needs looking after, and you want to contribute so you don’t feel like a burden."
rcer, however, spoke his mind frankly:
"But I just feel like I should take care of you all. How do I put it... you can think of as presumptuous. Call it male chauvinism if you want. In my view, those who are capable should bear more responsibility, and I’m willing to shoulder these pressures and move forward, it makes feel more grounded.
I don’t know how to explain it... I just feel that if I ca to this world and still let you all suffer, then my coming would’ve been pointless.
The reason I’m here is to make sure everyone can live a little better, a little happier. That’s my biggest goal right now.
This "everyone" isn’t too few or too many, I want to achieve this first before considering bigger goals, like making the world a better place.
Right now, I’m just completing the first step of my life’s purpose. Compared to the guilt you might feel, perhaps I should be the one apologizing to you, because I’m genuinely acting on my own thoughts and will, influencing your life and future.
But don’t think you’re special, I’ll probably do this to many people later on. So will like it, so won’t, but I’ll do it anyway because it’s what I want to do, what I enjoy.
So..." He turned his head and grinned at Lucy. "Hang in there, you’ll be an adult in ’75, huh?"
"You’re a bit annoying."
Lucy rolled her eyes at him, then curled up in her seat, propping her chin on her hand. Her bright eyes quietly gazed at him, reflecting his radiant smile:
"Can a life spent striving for others’ happiness really be joyful?"
"Extrely joyful, because making so people happy and fulfilled inevitably ans so idiots will be miserable. And who said that’s my only purpose in life?"
rcer laughed heartily as he opened the window. The fierce wind outside swept in yellow sand, and a distant sandstorm was faintly taking shape on the horizon.
Lucy struggled to keep her eyes open against the sudden blast of gritty wind but still managed to watch him excitedly lean out, reaching his hand as if to grasp the storm.
He shouted loudly, fighting to be heard over the roaring wind:
"Life is a journey, the joy isn’t in the destination, or even whether you can reach it!"
"It’s in everything you experience along the way!"
"Look, the people beside are laughing and moving toward freedom with . That idiot Arasaka I hate is probably sulking sowhere. The hardships of the past are behind , and there’s still so much ahead in this vast world!"
"My happiness is that simple, can you feel the storm? It’s coming!
Haha! I’ve always wanted to try challenging a storm like this firsthand!
Screw houses, money, cars, and jobs!
Woo-hoo!!!
Cough, cough, pfft, pfft."
He let out a yell, drew back into the car with a mouthful of sand, spat several tis, and then closed the window again.
Turning to a sowhat stunned Lucy, he gave an embarrassed smile, wiped his lips, and spat a few more tis.
Damn, how did the wind pick up so fast?
"Pfft."
Lucy couldn’t help but laugh, and soon she was roaring with laughter just as he had. She stretched, opened the window, and leaned halfway out to feel the storm, taking a deep breath:
"Woo-hoo!!!"
She let out a shout too, then quickly pulled back in, coughing violently and even dry-heaving a couple of tis before spitting out sand repeatedly.
They looked at each other and burst into laughter again, their mirth echoing through the cabin, even drowning out the sound of sand pelting the windows.
"Shhh... shhh..."
Near the car radio, the walkie-talkie hanging by the air conditioner suddenly crackled to life.
"Hey? Kids, can you hear ? You should have a walkie-talkie in your car too, right? Respond if you copy, respond if you copy."
rcer picked up the walkie-talkie and pressed the talk button: "Copy that, old cowboy."
"Copy, copy!" Daichi’s voice ca through, with Kyoko’s excited shouts faintly audible in the background.
"Reduce speed, maintain formation, and always keep the taillights of the vehicle ahead in sight!
Don’t lose your way in the sandstorm!
If you lose visual contact, speak up imdiately! The convoy will slow down to regroup!
For now, I’ll lead you to a temporary shelter I know. It’ll take at least an hour and a half!
Don’t get yourselves lost before we get there.
Don’t get too excited too soon, the thrill is just beginning!" Attention, everyone! The haboobs are coming!
--------
Bonus Chapter @ 600 power stones.
You guys are killing with all these bonus Chapters, ngl.
Reviews
All reviews (0)