Starting from Night City

A muscular man in a leather jacket, wearing a large gold bracelet and with his hair in a bun, leaned against a tattered sofa.

In his hand, he also tightly gripped a handgun.

"I'm so poor I might as well start farming, you must be here for me, right?"

"Are you the client named Wells?"

"No need to be so formal, just call me Jack, por favor."

"Then you can call me Su." Su Xiao's gaze swept to the ground, landing on the box Jack was standing on. "Is this the item you need transported?"

To Su Xiao's surprise, Jack didn't get straight to the point.

"Where I come from, we get to know each other before talking business. It's a custom... or perhaps politeness, you know?"

"Can you get to know someone in just a few words? Honestly, I don't really understand."

Su Xiao couldn't help but think of Charui.

Nomads always said, "Everything for the family."

They could be considered the closest people.

But who would have thought that this leader, who always preached "Family interests are paramount," would abandon the Buckle Family and leave alone at the last moment.

"It's okay if you don't understand, I'm a good judge of character."

"Really? Alright then, if you insist."

Su Xiao made an inviting gesture. "Since you brought it up, why don't you start?"

"No problem." Jack adjusted his posture. "Jack Wells, a Night City native, with the blood of Heywood running through me."

"Sorry, I don't understand what that means, I haven't been to Night City."

"Then imagine a place where everyone is like brothers and sisters, or at least distant cousins."

Jack shrugged. "That's Heywood for you. Also, everyone carries a weapon."

"Sounds like you live in a gang-controlled neighborhood."

"That's right, the Valentino Gang. Alright, your turn, amigo."

"Su Xiao, you can call me Su. I lived with the Buckle Family for a while before."

"You're a Nomad? But I heard Nomads don't usually interact much with city folk."

"I joined them later, and the Buckle Family is gone now. People have to find a way to make a living, don't you think?"

"Makes sense." Jack removed his foot from the box and pushed it forward.

"The cargo is here, take a look."

It was called a box, but it wasn't an ordinary wooden crate.

This box looked high-tech, with several small display screens on the front.

"This box looks unusual, have you opened it?"

"No."

"You don't know what you're transporting?"

"If I didn't know, I could sleep soundly. So I don't want to know, it's a good thing."

"Since you say so... alright, let's get the cargo loaded onto the car quickly, the sooner we finish, the better."

"A huevo."

Jack picked up the box, and Su Xiao walked ahead. They came outside, and Su Xiao opened the trunk.

"This box is really heavy."

Jack put the box into the trunk, and the car sagged noticeably.

He casually closed the trunk lid. "I almost thought you stood me up."

"I should be the one saying that. Didn't we agree to meet in the small town outside the city? I went there and didn't see you, so I had to search for quite a while."

Jack chuckled and rubbed the back of his head.

"It's about being low-key. That stupid Sheriff, always talking about corporations and order, clearly a busybody."

"Indeed."

Su Xiao agreed.

The SUV sped down the highway, Joshua trees blurring past on either side.

CHOOH2 on the roadside billboards emitted a soft white glow.

Wisps of black smoke rose from the burning tires.

Following what McCoy had taught him, Su Xiao glanced at Jack in the passenger seat.

"Are the customs declaration forms ready?"

Jack said as a matter of course, "Of course, didn't the fixer ever send you any jobs?"

Su Xiao's heart skipped a beat.

He knew what a fixer was.

But he hadn't been to Night City before, so naturally, no fixer had sent him any jobs.

However, Su Xiao maintained a nonchalant facade.

"Of course they have, I was just confirming."

Seeing Su Xiao like this, Jack asked with some concern.

"Listen, friend, we're professionals, right?"

Su Xiao nodded.

He didn't speak.

The atmosphere inside the car suddenly became silent.

After a short while, Jack broke the silence. "Hey, have you... run any smuggling routes like this before?"

"What, are you nervous?"

"Me? Ja, por favor."

Now it was Su Xiao's turn to see through Jack.

Feeling uncomfortable under Su Xiao's subtle gaze, Jack confessed, "Okay, maybe a little."

Good grief, I thought I was the only rookie. Turns out everyone in this car is.

Well, then, it's the pot calling the kettle black.

Silence fell again in the car.

As they neared Night City, vehicles began to appear on the road.

All of them were heading into Night City.

"Hey, we're about to cross the border, what do we do now?"

Su Xiao could tell.

Jack was probably doing delivery work for the first time.

The thought of this newbie testing him earlier made him chuckle.

"Don't worry, just follow the normal procedure."

"Normal procedure is..."

"Scan the vehicle, check documents, you know."

Jack gave a thumbs-up. "Claro."

Su Xiao looked at him and said, "Don't worry, I'll handle the negotiations."

With Jack's bulky build, wearing a thick gold chain and covered in tattoos, in Su Xiao's previous life, he would have already attracted the attention of concerned citizens.

PS: The "Edgerunners" anime takes place one year before the game. Here, the author is shifting the anime's timeline slightly later. Don't worry, the plot of "Edgerunners" will still be covered, all characters will appear, those who should be saved will be saved, and those who should be killed will be killed.

And some people might die more than once.

Chapter 10: People Cannot Be Judged by Appearance; A Stomach That Seems to Hold Only One Bowl Can Actually Hold Two.

In the customs declaration lane.

As the vehicle in front passed inspection and it was their turn.

The voice of a border guard sounded from the loudspeaker.

"Please drive your vehicle to the inspection area."

The heavily armed border guards had their guns pointed at their sentry turrets...

Such strict and powerful measures were enough to deter anyone from attempting to force their way through.

Su Xiao followed the instructions and parked the car, waiting for the scan.

Jack, on the other hand, seemed very uneasy.

The border guards were one thing.

What truly made him break out in a cold sweat were the two sentry turrets, positioned on the left and right.

If anything went wrong, they would be riddled with bullets in a matter of seconds.

At best, this car could only serve as a coffin for them.

This made him feel like he was being roasted over a fire.

And he really didn't like that feeling.

He couldn't help but mutter.

"Why do I feel like I'm about to kick the bucket?"

Su Xiao: "..."

Although it was the first time, nervousness was unavoidable.

He was actually nervous too.

But you can't just put up a flag randomly.

Su Xiao quickly pulled down the flag.

"Don't worry, these are just routine checks. Didn't you see the car in front of us? It's the same."

Jack was stunned.

Come to think of it, it really was like that.

This made him a little less nervous.

"Right, where's the customs declaration?"

Jack handed over a black piece of paper.

Su Xiao glanced at it.

He saw that it clearly stated L.O.A.

The rest of the information wasn't really necessary to look at; as long as these three letters were there, it was enough.

If he remembered correctly, McCoy had once told him that L.O.A meant Lost On Arrival.