"This sand really stings..."
Kyoko rushed into the old farmhouse, which seemed to have stood for many years, covering her face. Behind her, Daichi and the others were struggling to carry the precious supplies from the vehicle.
This house was probably once a farmer's home, but now it looked like the farmland had all turned into desert.
The original barn looked half-destroyed as if it had been bombed, but fortunately, the residential part of the house was relatively intact.
Inside the two-story house, there was a living room with a sofa, a kitchen, a bedroom, and a bathroom on each floor. It was clear that the original farmer lived quite well.
As the electric lights in the room emitted a buzzing noise and flickered a few times, the power was reconnected, and the room, dim because of the sandstorm, finally lit up.
"Whew..."
The old cowboy walked in holding his cowboy hat with one hand, shaking off the sand a bit, and then said:
"The water, electricity, and network here are still connected. If you girls don't like being covered in sand, you can go upstairs and take a shower, shake off the dust, everything's usable.
When leaving, if there are excess resources you can leave them behind, consider it rent for the next person."
Kyoko undid her twin ponytails and shook them out—just the few steps from the car had filled her hair with dirt.
"The water and electricity here are still available."
She exclaimed in surprise.
"Yes, this is all arranged by the nearby Wanderers.
They'll connect the circuits, fix the internet and water pipes, so in case of weather like this, if they can't make it back to the tribe in time, they can come to houses like this for a temporary rest.
We Wanderers are able to roam freely in the wild largely because we can always find a place to rest out there.
Every tribe shares similar resources, and if you go someplace else in the future, it's best to get in touch with the local families as soon as possible.
As long as you're one of us, we'll selflessly share such resting places and safe routes, to provide convenience for other passing Wanderers."
Cassidy said, smiling:
"The network here is connected to the city's local area network. Although it's not very stable, if you have a computer, you can look up some web pages and news, listen to music, whatever.
Alright, I need to rest for a bit... Anyone want some hot coffee?"
Cassidy's proposal was met with agreement by most, and he leisurely went to the kitchen to make coffee.
"I'm going to take a shower."
Lucy said, pulling at her collar—the feeling of a few pebbles in her tight black uniform wasn't nice.
"Conserve water, the water here is collected rainwater from the tank in the back; once it's used up, there's no more, and since the purifier is very old, the water quality isn't great either."
Cassidy said, and Lucy nodded, pulling Kyoko upstairs together: "Let's go together, it'll save a bit."
"If you want hot water, it's best to wait a while, the water heater here isn't as efficient as in the city."
After Cassidy finished speaking, he noticed Mercer, who had flopped directly on the sofa—he was energetic while driving earlier, but now he collapsed right away; he was indeed a promising young Wanderer.
Daichi and Leon exchanged glances, both a bit disgusted with each other, eventually simply saying: "I'll just use a wet towel to wipe down, washing my head with cold water isn't a problem."
"Go ahead, I'll keep an eye out for you."
Cassidy said.
After the coffee was ready, Cassidy approached Mercer with a cup, at which point Mercer opened his eyes.
"Kid, drink some coffee to perk up, we'll heat some canned food for dinner and then rest."
Mercer yawned, looking somewhat refreshed: "Sure, I just want to relax my mind and take a short nap."
"Want sugar?" Cassidy placed the hot coffee on the table in front of him.
Mercer stretched and nodded, sitting up: "Just a little... I still prefer milk."
"Hmm... Milk? That's quite a luxury, the last time I drank milk was over a decade ago."
Cassidy tutted, curiously looking them over, speaking as if chatting:
"Are you guys running away from home? Or did you escape from some training camp? Entering Arasaka at such a young age can't have been easy, right?"
"Training camp? More like a concentration camp...
Some of us were selected from the Arasaka orphanage, some like me were sold by foster parents, and others…
Anyway, it wasn't a good place, and many died before we escaped."
Mercer briefly explained and then asked him, smiling: "And you?"
"The Unified War drained our family's wealth, and the original family had to work for companies to make ends meet,
working isn't a big deal, but many people are still longing to return to New America, find a place to settle down...
I found it boring to stay, with nothing holding me back, so while I still could, I continued to wander around."
Cassidy said, eyeing Mercer: "Are you the one who led them out? I can tell, you're the head wolf."
"Head wolf? That's quite a compliment, I think we're just a bunch of stray pups." Mercer laughed heartily.
"Even the combat squads in the Wanderer families wouldn't handle that Chaotic Blade Association as efficiently as you guys did."
Cassidy had high praise for Mercer and these kids.
"I suppose... At least until it's safe, I'll be responsible for leading them."