Loli!

In other words, once the goods crossed the border, they would be "lost."

Some of the goods were still there, but they were gone;

Some of the goods were gone, but they were still there.

That was more or less the idea.

But if he wanted the goods to be lost, this piece of paper alone wouldn't be enough.

He needed something else—something everyone liked.

"What about the chip with the money?"

"Here."

Su Xiao slipped the credit chip inside the customs declaration.

When the border guard told him to go in for questioning, he told Jack to stay in the car.

He left the engine running. If anything went wrong, they could make a quick getaway.

After getting out of the car, he entered the border checkpoint building.

First, he deposited his weapons at the service desk.

Then, following the staff member's instructions, he headed to Room Two.

The room wasn't large.

A table and two chairs already took up most of the space.

A border guard was sitting inside. When he saw Su Xiao enter, he pointed to the chair opposite him. "Have a seat."

The light fell from above, illuminating only the tabletop and the border guard sitting behind it.

The atmosphere was heavy and tense.

"Documents."

Once Su Xiao sat down, the border guard spoke coldly.

Su Xiao said nothing.

He took out the customs declaration Jack had given him, first confirming that the credit chip was tucked inside it. Only then did he place it on the table and slowly push it over.

The border guard was an old hand at this. One glance was enough for him to understand.

He pulled out a sheet from beneath the documents weighing down the ashtray and used it to cover the credit chip hidden inside the customs declaration.

Only then did he pick up the customs declaration.

He scanned it casually.

In truth, he barely looked at it.

He had been in this line of work for many years and knew it inside out.

Some things could be checked. Some things couldn't.

Otherwise, if they really uncovered something, it would be bad for everyone.

"There's nothing wrong with the declaration. Welcome to Night City."

The border guard's tone was noticeably different from before. Not only had it softened considerably, but his cybernetically modified face also showed a friendly smile.

"Thank you. Have a pleasant day, sir."

Su Xiao rose to leave, but the border guard suddenly asked for no apparent reason, "Oh, right... Which Nomad family are you running for?"

What did that question have to do with the situation at hand?

Su Xiao frowned.

He had originally intended to answer that he no longer worked for any family.

But when he saw the guard's face beneath the brim of his hat, hidden from the light, he abruptly fell silent.

He instinctively grew alert.

"Do I have to answer that? It isn't part of the standard procedure, is it?"

"That's right, it isn't. This is just..." The guard lightly tapped his fingers against the tabletop. "A little personal curiosity. Of course, if you'd rather not say, I can understand."

Su Xiao answered without hesitation. "There's nothing to hide. I'm with the Serpent Nation."

The border guard froze. "What did you say?"

"The Serpent Nation. This car, this cargo, this job—they all belong to the Serpent Nation."

As he spoke, Su Xiao placed the Serpent Nation emblem he had torn from the clothing of a dead Serpent Nation warrior onto the table.

"The Serpent Nation, is it?" The border guard lit a cigarette.

Other people might not know much about them.

But people like them, who dealt with Nomads regularly, knew the Nomads inside and out.

Although Su Xiao had produced the Serpent Nation emblem, a clear look of disbelief still appeared on the guard's face.

"The Serpent Nation is one of the seven great Nomad nations. Why would they entrust such important cargo to a greenhorn like you, a kid who can't even grow a beard and clearly can't handle serious business?"

Anything marked L.O.A. on a customs declaration was no ordinary cargo.

At the very least, it represented assets worth tens of thousands of euros.

There was a telephone right beside him.

If he confirmed that this Nomad was alone, he could immediately call the company and have them intercept the shipment.

Su Xiao suddenly smiled.

He planted both hands on the table and looked down at the guard from above.

"Do you know? In Kang Tao's homeland, there's a saying that goes:"

"—You can't judge a person by their appearance, any more than you can measure the sea with a pint pot."

"I may not have a beard, but how do you know I can't handle serious business?"

The dim room fell silent.

Only the cigarette in the guard's hand continued to trail smoke.

After a long while, the border guard leaned back against his chair.

"You're an interesting one. Fine, you can go. Your assistant is waiting for you in the car. Don't forget to take your personal belongings."

Su Xiao said nothing more. He picked up the customs declaration and the Serpent Nation emblem, then walked out.

The border guard's expression shifted several times.

He picked up the telephone on the table, repeatedly considering whether to call Military Technology.

In the end, he silently set the phone back down.

Although he could be certain that Su Xiao and the others were smuggling something valuable,

if he reported it to Military Technology, he would certainly receive a handsome commission.

The problem was that he couldn't confirm whether the Serpent Nation truly stood behind Su Xiao.

If Su Xiao was a lone wolf among the Nomads, or if he belonged to some weak family, it would be one thing.

But the Serpent Nation was a behemoth even among the Nomads.

Of course, no behemoth could stand against a corporation.

But while the Serpent Nation couldn't deal with a corporation, crushing a tiny ant like him would be effortless.

To put it bluntly, even if his life were genuinely in danger, Military Technology wouldn't send people to protect him around the clock.

He was only a lowly border guard. In the company's eyes, he was nothing more than a dispensable number

in the grand scheme of things.

In the end, the border guard didn't pick up the phone.

Compared to his life, this bit of extra money wasn't worth it.

When Su Xiao came out of Room Two, the employees at the service desk outside were chatting among themselves.

"Those little punks still think Night City is paradise."

"What can you do? Young people are just naïve."

Every chair was occupied.

There was nowhere left to sit, and some people could only stand.

They had all come from elsewhere, hoping to enter Night City, make a name for themselves, and strike it rich.

Su Xiao picked up the weapons he had deposited at the service desk.

He walked out of the border checkpoint building.

Jack was leaning against his car.

The instant he saw Su Xiao come out, he asked impatiently, "So, what happened in there?"

P.S. There's another chapter coming later.

Chapter Eleven: Loli!

Su Xiao opened the car door. "I'll tell you in a bit. Let's get out of here first."

"Yeah, definitely."

Jack wholeheartedly agreed.

The two of them got into the car and drove out of the border checkpoint.

The road behind the checkpoint was blocked off on both sides by barriers and couldn't be used.

They could only keep driving along the main road.

After driving for a while, they saw the checkpoint growing farther and farther behind them.

Jack couldn't help asking again, "What exactly happened in there? Tell me about it."

"It was more or less a routine inspection, but the guard asked a question he normally shouldn't have."

"What question?"

"He asked which Nomad family I belonged to."

Jack was a native of Heywood. He barely even did jobs involving "moving cargo," and he knew absolutely nothing about Nomad affairs.

"So how did you answer?"

"I said the Serpent Nation."

"Are you with the Serpent Nation?"

"No."

Jack's expression became almost impossible to describe.

"Nothing's going to happen, right?"

Su Xiao took out his weapons and checked them one by one. After confirming that everything was in order, he placed them somewhere he could use them at a moment's notice.

"Drive, Jack. Just keep driving."