Very well, that was not something Faelan had expected.
Were they talking about the same Gloria Martínez?
The one who would become David's mother and died in the car, just a block from her home, because of the incident with the Animals—and who Trauma Team didn't rescue because she wasn't a VIP?
Or was it just someone with the same name?
There were tons of people with the surname Martínez in Night City. Four or six named Gloria had to be statistically possible, right?
But… the timelines seemed to match.
He had to meet her in person—and while at it, check out the site before deciding.
And that's exactly what he did. He scheduled an appointment for that very purpose.
At first, he suggested Kiwi go with him, but she refused.
"You're the one who knows all that mystical crap and will transform the area—you'll need to see if the place meets your standards, conditions, or whatever it is you need," she said as she walked out. "I'm going to help Dorio with her move."
Yes, Dorio was temporarily moving in with Galina. Once she started saving up a bit, she'd get a cozy place of her own too.
Though the site was near the city, he still needed transportation. And since he didn't want to waste money on a Delamain, Galina offered to drive him there and act as an intermediary between the two—plus, she could greet her junior in person.
The motorcycle ride wasn't as pleasant as Faelan had hoped, especially with Galina taking so many of what she called "shortcuts."
"Looks like we're early," Galina said, glancing around to see nothing but dust, sand, thorny bushes, and half-buried human bones. "All looks normal. Classic local scenery."
Faelan examined the area carefully.
The ground was mostly flat with a slight V-shaped slope toward the center. There was only one connected road acting as both entrance and exit, and no fences to block access. But...
It's not like there was anything to steal anyway!
"So?" Galina walked up and stood beside him. "Is it what you expected?"
She didn't know if he'd ever even left the city before.
Faelan didn't answer right away. He kept scanning the surroundings.
"I'd have to run a few tests, but at first glance, it meets my requirements."
"What kind of tests? Hya~"
Faelan crouched and pressed his palm to the ground. A faint pulse spread outwards, making Galina shiver as a tickling sensation ran up her legs and over the area.
Heavy metals, radiation, leftover explosives, water pipes, underground cables...
"Yeah, it seems pretty good," Faelan said as he stood up.
The land was mostly clear—just a couple of half-buried cars and a broken bomb two kilometers from their current location. He wasn't being paranoid checking all this. In the Badlands, you had to stay alert for all sorts of abandoned junk.
"Let me know if you're going to do something like that—whatever it was!" Galina snapped, goosebumps on her legs from the unexpected tingling. She was annoyed at the embarrassing sound she'd made in surprise. "What else are you planning? Spit it out!"
He wasn't catching her off guard again!
"Just testing this," Faelan said, pulling out a wooden vial marked with his seal and uncorking it to reveal the glowing liquid inside.
Galina looked at it with a touch of unease.
"Why is it so green, fluorescent, and… pulsing?" she asked, able to see the flickering light even in broad daylight. "Also, how are you not dying of heat dressed like that? It's July!"
Yes, despite the heat, Faelan was covered head to toe as usual.
"Try this," he said, pulling out another wooden vial and handing it to her.
Galina uncorked it and peered inside. This one was a pale blue—almost white like snow. She took a sip and felt the effect instantly.
"What is this?" she asked, watching the sweat on her skin evaporate. She felt instantly refreshed.
"I call this po—, drink Southern Wind," Faelan nearly slipped and said potion. "If you drink it, the heat won't bother you, and you'll stay cool for a couple of hours."
"Are you going to sell it?" Galina asked, getting a bit anxious when Faelan shook his head. "This would be insanely profitable, even if it only lasts a few hours..."
"I don't think that would be a good idea."
"Why not?" Galina looked down at the rest of the liquid in the wooden vial. "Does it have side effects?"
Ever since the Securicine incident, she'd been far more careful about possible side effects in any product.
"It doesn't," Faelan clarified to ease her worry. "But tell me—if a netrunner took a sip before jacking in, do you think they'd need ice baths? This…" he gestured to the vial in Galina's hands, "…I developed it originally to help Kiwi. That it also works against the heat is just a fortunate side effect."
Galina stared at the wooden vial intently.
"It's very convenient. A/C prices have been going up lately..."
No—that wasn't the point!
If a netrunner-focused group like the Voodoo Boys got their hands on this...
VRROM!
The sound of another motorcycle interrupted her thoughts, and she instinctively gulped down the rest of the vial before reacting.
"Is that an ARCH Motorcycle?" Faelan asked, raising an eyebrow as he recognized the vehicle.
He knew the brand for some reason, even though he wasn't really into bikes.
"Yes, it is," Galina confirmed, smiling as the rider removed her helmet and revealed reddish-brown hair tied up in a high ponytail. "And the lady? None other than Gloria Martínez—my former junior."
Gloria stood around 1.65 meters tall, slim but well-toned. Her skin was light brown, with optics simulating dark brown eyes. Her visible cybernetics were nearly nonexistent. In fact, Faelan noticed she didn't have the small red squares on her cheeks—proof she hadn't updated her facial implants yet and only had the basic work-related ones installed.
Something in the medical field, perhaps?
She was one of those people who didn't obsess over chrome—she got what was useful and functional, but didn't crave replacing her arms if they were perfectly healthy, nor did she need the latest high-cost models.
Level-headed, but adapted to Night City.
"Boss!" Gloria rushed over and hugged Galina tightly. "Wow, you haven't changed a bit!" she said while eyeing her from head to toe, slightly jealous of how well she kept her figure.
You could tell—this wasn't cosmetic surgery. Galina had managed to avoid the ravages of age despite the passing years. Good genetics, maybe?
"Haha! You, on the other hand, look like you're about to!" she said while naturally stroking Gloria's belly. "Nervous?"
"Maybe a little," Gloria admitted. "But now?" She laughed. "I think you'll have to teach me some mom stuff this time! That's really reassuring—it feels like going back to the good old days."
While the two women exchanged jokes, Faelan seemed to be in immense pain. Thanks only to the glasses and hood, neither of them noticed.
"Damn it!" he muttered through gritted teeth as he saw this younger, more energetic version of Gloria—not the overworked mother from the series. "And of all times, puberty had to hit me now!"
Gloria didn't just look better—she was livelier, more cheerful, and carefree. Her current fashion also reflected the confidence she had in her physical attractiveness.
"Well, now I have another use for baggy clothes," he took a deep breath and tried to calm himself, suppressing his natural reactions.
Even though hormones were going to affect him no matter what, he wasn't a kid with no experience of what was happening to his body. He could exercise much more self-control than anyone else in his situation—and if needed, he could even resort to druidic magic to forcibly calm himself.
He'd already considered long ago that he'd have to go through this phase. That's why he and Kiwi had separate rooms ever since he built the underground section. Privacy would become necessary over time.
The two women seemed to have finished catching up and approached him.
"So, you're Faelan?" Gloria looked him over. "How are you not boiling in all that?" She didn't question his age.
One vial of South Wind later…
"Amazing!" Gloria looked at the vial in awe. "So, your plan is to make a farm to produce this?" she asked with stars in her eyes.
No, seriously—her optics were projecting stars in her pupils!
It was incredible how much David had changed her.
"No," Faelan shook his head. "First, I need to finish the final test to see if the land is suitable," he said while holding up the vial with green liquid.
The test itself was actually to see how long it would take to terraform. He needed to compare an area altered by his druidic magic with another affected by the potion in his hand.
Depending on the time/quality results, he'd either have to spend a lot of time manually transforming the terrain, or he could speed up the process with the potion.
"Alright, go ahead," Gloria crossed her arms and tilted her head with curiosity, unintentionally (or maybe intentionally) emphasizing her feminine features.
Faelan managed to keep his hand from shaking as he poured the green potion onto the ground.
Instantly absorbed, the potion soon began to manifest its effects on the barren land. In a ten-meter radius with the liquid at the center, grass and flowers grew at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Galina had mentally prepared herself to see something strange, but Gloria opened her mouth so wide her jaw nearly hit the floor.
"Only ten meters?" Faelan looked around at the results, slightly confused and disappointed.
The potion should have covered at least twice that area!
The grass was yellowish and stiff, the flowers didn't fully bloom, and many buds were only half-formed. He could tell that if left untouched, the vegetation would wither in less than three days.
Something wasn't right.
Was it due to a lack of nutrients, or not enough moisture in the soil? Both?
Or was the potion just functional, but not quite perfect?
Did he miscalculate the amount needed per square meter?
He needed more testing.
He pulled out two more vials and was about to use them when—
"Wait, wait!" Gloria stopped him by grabbing his wrists from behind, and Faelan felt something soft press against the back of his neck. "What. Is. This?" she stared at the vials like a husky eyeing a roasted chicken leg.
"They're 86 cm," Faelan calculated subconsciously.
Wait—how the hell did he know that?! More facets of his first trap body he still didn't fully understand…
Galina tensed up upon seeing Gloria holding Faelan so casually. Thankfully, she didn't playfully try to pull back his hood. She could have done it, and Galina didn't want to know what would happen then.
Well… maybe a little.
They respected Faelan's wish for discretion—but that only made them more curious.
It's like when someone tells you not to open the box—you immediately want to open it.
"Gloria," Galina said, trying to keep the tension out of her voice, "let him go. Now."
Dorio had been very descriptive about how Faelan knocked out Vanesa, leaving a faint human dent in the apartment wall.
Even though Faelan insisted the bomb was fake, Dorio didn't seem entirely convinced.
"Okay, maybe I got a little carried away. Sorry," Gloria apologized, sticking her tongue out. "But seriously, is this some kind of next-gen super fertilizer?"
"Huh? Oh, something like that. Just a little invention of mine," Faelan needed a second to refocus and form words. "I'm measuring the soil's reaction to the liquid. If it's good, I could speed up the terraforming process to start farming," he explained.
He'd need to use a lot of potion if it worked well, so it wasn't a problem to explain it. It really could be considered an advanced fertilizer—with a touch of life magic.
"Can I use one?" Gloria asked quickly.
Galina's eyebrows shot up, and she stepped closer, showing clear interest in the question.
Faelan looked wordlessly at the two adult women. Why did it feel like he was the only responsible one here?
"Fine," he relented, handing each of them a vial. "Step back a little and pour it directly into the ground, then we'll measure the reaction radius."
They turned and walked in opposite directions. After a few meters, each emptied their vial onto the soil.
"Fifteen meters!" Gloria shouted, enjoying the sudden sensation of stepping on real grass.
"Twelve meters," Galina reported, curiously examining the flowers that had bloomed in her patch.
Different spots using the same potion with different results…
"Looks like the problem is the potion," he realized as he examined the two grassy areas with flowers and the residue inside the vials, which had different densities—a detail he hadn't noticed before. "I probably didn't mix it properly since I did it by hand, so it's not homogeneous. The surface potion is weaker, while the deeper layers are more concentrated," he thought.
"And?" Gloria approached him.
"The place needs work, but it'll do," Faelan nodded. "I'll tell Kiwi to send you the first payment when she can."
That confirmation relieved Gloria. Even though the debt Gordon paid off had been one of her biggest headaches, she still needed a steady income source once she gave birth.
Baby stuff was expensive, no matter the era.
"Since we've got a deal, how about I help you guys get everything in order for a few weeks?" Gloria clapped her hands at the sudden idea. "The sooner this gets going, the better for everyone."
"Will you be able to do intense physical work in your condition?" Faelan asked, genuinely concerned.
He didn't want to be the reason Gloria suffered a miscarriage.
"I'm pregnant, not sick," Gloria rolled her eyes playfully. "And I'm still in the early days—it'll be a while before my belly shows. I'd rather stay active while I can."
The sooner this place was up and running, the sooner she could quiet that little anxiety in the back of her mind. Only once there was a stable business would she have stable income from rent.
"In that case, and since I've got plenty of free time, I'll come help too," Galina added. "I've been pregnant—I know which symptoms to watch for. I'll keep a constant eye on her." Galina winked at Faelan. "Besides, you're seriously going to need more hands to handle this. Even after two months, you'd still be nowhere near done."
She wasn't wrong. Treating three full hectares with just three pairs of hands was laughable.
"I recommend you hire a company to fence the area and maybe set up a couple of drone towers for surveillance. That alone would keep the more cowardly nomads away once you start things," Galina suggested, wondering if she should drag Sasha over to help.
Faelan had to bite his tongue not to reply.
Sure, that'd also be like putting up a huge sign saying: I'm new, come rob me!
And really, all anyone would need were a pair of wire cutters to sneak in and take whatever they wanted. He had to think of something more practical—and more deterrent.
"I'll draw up a plan and let you both know once I've figured out how to start."
Originally, he thought he'd still have plenty of time to figure out how to manage the land once he got it… but now that it was his, all he could do was start gathering ideas right away.