The Nomads fell silent.
They began seriously considering what path lay ahead.
If they chose to leave, the price would be that they could no longer roam the Badlands.
The Badlands belonged to the Nomads. If they did not join a Tribe, they would become its enemies.
From that perspective, they seemed to have no choice.
If they wanted to continue living in the Badlands, they could only accept the Serpent Nation's terms.
But a moment ago, they had been fighting each other to the death. Now they were expected to join the enemy's side, and the Nomads found that difficult to accept.
Su Xiao, however, was thinking further ahead.
The Buckle Family had openly opposed the Serpent Nation. The two sides had clashed several times, with casualties on both sides.
The magnanimity the Serpent Nation was displaying now looked like a scheme no matter how he viewed it.
They had sent fifty people, yet failed to take a camp defended by only ten.
In the end, all fifty of them had been wiped out.
Although the camp had also suffered heavy casualties, hadn't McCoy said that some of those who had gone out together had managed to escape?
What if those people returned when the Serpent Nation attacked the camp again and joined forces with the defenders from within?
Therefore, in Su Xiao's view, this looked like the Serpent Nation trying to reduce its losses by tricking everyone into surrendering and splitting the Buckle Family apart.
Once they had completely swallowed and digested the Buckle Family, they would settle the score afterward.
McCoy glanced at the others and pulled Su Xiao aside. "Su, what are you planning to do?"
"I don't want to live as a Nomad anymore. I'm planning to try my luck in Night City."
"All right. I respect your choice..." McCoy leaned closer and lowered his voice. "Don't forget what I told you yesterday. You'll be able to use the supplies in that place."
"Thanks." Su Xiao hesitated. "McCoy, why don't you come with me?"
"Together? Where? Night City?"
Su Xiao nodded.
McCoy smiled and shook his head. "I'm not like you, Su. I'm old. Changing careers would be too difficult for me."
"Just go. Don't worry about me. If you become a legend, don't forget your old companion from back then."
An hour after leaving the Buckle Family camp, Su Xiao found the cave McCoy had mentioned.
The cave entrance had been blocked and concealed with all kinds of junk and scrap.
After spending some time clearing away the debris at the entrance, he did not have to go far inside before finding what McCoy had left for him.
It was an SUV.
He opened the trunk and found enough water, food, daily necessities, and supplies to last several days, along with a familiar-looking Katana.
Su Xiao froze.
Then he remembered.
Wasn't this the sword McCoy always carried?
He recalled McCoy once saying that the sword, named Muramasa, was the Buckle family's heirloom, passed down from generation to generation.
At that moment, he suddenly remembered the "little gift" McCoy had mentioned when he came to see him before the incident.
So this was what he had meant?
Su Xiao felt something indescribable in his heart.
He rubbed his eyes, took out Muramasa, and closed the trunk.
He climbed into the car, started the engine, and drove out of the cave.
Then he faced the direction of the Buckle Family camp and gave a distant salute.
"Goodbye, McCoy."
Chapter Six: Ever Since I Got Cyberpsychosis, I've Been Feeling More Spirited
The sun above the deep-blue sky radiated heat and light, distorting the air.
Old asphalt roads crisscrossed the wasteland, some of them already buried beneath the sand.
On both sides of the highway stretched endless deserts and low hills.
Piles of scrap and Joshua trees swayed together, as if welcoming people's arrival.
In the distance, through the clouds of swirling dust, one could seemingly glimpse the city's skyscrapers and holographic billboards.
That was Night City.
Under the blazing heat.
An SUV sped toward Night City.
Su Xiao let out a sigh of relief.
He was finally almost there.
During the past two days, he had barely stopped.
He had slept while driving.
At last, he had crossed the desert and gotten his first look at Night City's outline.
During that time, he had also taken on a job.
--A client wanted a Nomad's help to "transport" something into Night City.
One of the Nomads' usual jobs was "hauling cargo."
Although Su Xiao had never done it before, McCoy had explained every step of the process to him in meticulous detail.
It should be fine.
More than an hour later, Su Xiao drove into a small town outside Night City.
The town was just as desolate and lifeless as it had appeared from outside.
He arrived at the outskirts on the eastern side of town and kept looking around.
The client was supposed to get into the car here.
But now, he was the only one there.
The agreed-upon time.
The agreed-upon place.
The agreed-upon client was nowhere to be seen.
He wondered if he had been stood up.
At that moment, he noticed someone approaching.
The person did not look like a client. Instead, he looked like one of the town's residents.
The man came to the front of the car.
"Need something?" Su Xiao asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Come with me. The sheriff wants to see you."
Inside the small-town sheriff's office.
The uniformed sheriff had both legs propped up on the desk.
He was also holding a hamburger.
The door opened, and two people entered one after the other.
The townsman walking in front said with a hint of respect and ingratiation, "Your Excellency, I've brought the man to you."
"Mm. You can leave."
The sheriff lowered both legs from the desk and placed the hamburger on it as well.
He stood up, rested both hands on his belt, and slowly walked toward Su Xiao.
He did not walk quickly, but his posture deliberately created a sense of pressure for Su Xiao.
"Don't you know that you have to greet the sheriff when you come to town? Tell him what you're here for, even if you're only stopping by for a cup of coffee."
Su Xiao stood where he was and let the sheriff circle him once.
"I didn't plan to stay long. I just came to... well, find someone."
Seeing that Su Xiao did not look nervous, the sheriff was slightly disappointed. He returned to his chair and sat down again. "Who are you looking for?"
"That isn't important."
"Oh? You're telling me it isn't important?" The sheriff straightened up, a faint smile on his face. "If a stray dog showed up in your house, would you find that unimportant too?"
Even an idiot could understand what he meant.
But Su Xiao did not get angry. He merely said, "That depends on the situation."
"What do you mean?"
"For example, some people have poor eyesight and might mistake a wolf for a dog."
The sheriff's expression stiffened.
Then he deliberately changed the subject.
"My name is Andrew Jones. You may have heard of me."
"I've only heard of Indiana Jones."
"That Indiana Jones you're talking about wouldn't happen to have served in the special forces unit Silver Shotgun during the last war, would he?"
Su Xiao shook his head. "As far as I know, he was a professor of folklore and an archaeologist, not a soldier. And he was much more likable than you."
"You're not very easy to deal with, are you?" The sheriff snorted. "Listen carefully. I'm having a little trouble and need an assistant. You look like a good fit."
Su Xiao raised an eyebrow. "Did I miss something? Did I ever say I would help you?"
"You don't have a choice."
"Is that so?"
"That's right. I wasn't asking for your opinion. This isn't as bad as you think. If you agree, you'll not only receive a thousand euros, but also earn this town's gratitude."
Su Xiao fell silent.
A thousand euros was no small sum.
If the job was not too difficult, he did not mind adding another payment to his funds.
Although the attitude of the jerk in front of him made Su Xiao very unhappy,
if he could make money, Su Xiao could forgive him like a father would.
"All right, then. Tell me about it."
"A cyberpsycho often appears in the area. Although he hasn't attacked the town so far, several people who left the town have already met with a tragic end."
Su Xiao frowned.
He knew what Cyberpsychosis was.
During the nearly six months he had lived with the Buckle Family, he had studied this world's knowledge extensively.
Put simply, it was a collective term for all anxiety-related mental and personality disorders caused by hardware implanted in the body—cyberware—as well as various behavioral modules, including software.
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