In the dark hallway, Berry was fumbling inside the wall-mounted electrical box, trying to figure out which circuits were still functional.
V walked up from behind and stood leaning against the nearby wall with her arms crossed.
"What, too shy to face people, so you ran over here to me?"
Berry joked while she worked.
"Tch."
V's reply was short and sharp.
After silently watching Berry work for a moment, V couldn't help but ask curiously.
"This house has been abandoned for at least a decade; is the power grid really still supplying electricity here?"
"You know how chaotic Night City's power grid is. They don't even know themselves which of the solar windmills out in the Badlands are broken and which are still working."
"What's even funnier is that they even supplied power to a long-abandoned factory for five years."
Berry blew the dust off the slot, inserted the spare plug, made sure it was secure, and pulled the switch.
Electrical sparks flashed on the circuit board a few times, but it stabilized, and the lights in the room flickered on.
"There, done."
Berry stood with her hands on her hips, a look of utter pride on her face, clearly expecting praise.
"Amazing, amazing! Our Berry is practically a little genius!"
V tried to suppress a laugh at Berry's adorable appearance, but managed to resist, rubbing Berry's small head and taking a moment to use her index finger to wipe the dust off the little rascal's nose.
"Hey, are you trying to humor a child?"
Berry realized something was wrong and was annoyed by V's patronizing attitude. She shook her head to dodge V's disrespectful hand, gave her a glare, and walked out... "The Wraiths are acting very strange this time. They want to know everything: the location of the tribe, troop deployment, how many guns, how many vehicles..."
In the living room, Saul, sitting on the sofa, recounted his experience while being held captive by the Wraiths.
Unfortunately, the Aldecaldos captured with him were all killed. Only he survived because the Wraiths wanted to extract intelligence about the Aldecaldo Family from him and keep him as a bargaining chip.
But the rescued Saul did not relax.
From the questions the Wraiths asked him, he smelled a very bad omen.
"Are you suggesting they intend to launch an all-out assault on us?"
Panam Palmer listened for a while and voiced her suspicion.
"That's what I'm afraid of."
Saul nodded gravely.
It was normal for the Aldecaldos, as newcomers, to be viewed with hostility by local degenerate Nomad gangs like the Wraiths.
But this was no longer just about highway disputes and attacking stragglers. Judging by the Wraiths' tone, they intended to wipe out the Aldecaldo Family entirely.
Hearing this speculation, the mood among the Aldecaldos tribe members grew heavy.
Because they knew that the current Aldecaldos might genuinely be no match for the Wraiths.
If a full-scale war broke out, they would definitely be the losing side.
And the failure of a Nomad familythat was a serious matter.
The scorching sun and meager resources of the Great Desert could swallow the last shred of humanity.
If a family failed in total war, there would likely be no room for recovery.
Those who managed to survive would be hunted down like wild dogs until every last resistance fighter was dead.
Failure meant total annihilation.
Every Nomad understood this deeply.
"The atmosphere seems pretty heavy, everyone."
Just as the group fell silent, Berry walked over with V.
With her arms crossed, Berry sat on the table, watching them.
She had heard what the Aldecaldos had been saying.
In fact, even if her main body hadn't heard, Mitsuhide had heard everything.
"Let's not dwell on sad things. I am very grateful for your help; without you, I definitely would have died in the hands of the Wraiths."
Saul shook his head, ready to change the subject, but Berry stopped him.
"Ah, it's fine, keep talking. We're friends who have gone through hardship together. If you say what's wrong, maybe we can help."
Berry shrugged. She hadn't heard enough gossip yet.
Her nose had always been sharp, just like how she could usually tell which girl it was just by smelling her perfume.
She had smelled an opportunity in Saul's wordsa chance to pull the Aldecaldo Family onto her side.
Saul rested his chin in his hand and pondered for a moment. Although he didn't think the Mercenary in front of him could be of much help, he continued speaking.
After all, this was a reality they were forced to confront, so it wasn't exactly a secret.
"We can't win this fight on our own, we must..."
Saul hadn't finished speaking, but he was immediately interrupted by someone else.
"So we have to rely on the corporations? Is that your idea, Saul?"
"Sell us out to Biotechnica?"
Panam Palmer blurted out the words, and judging by Saul's expression, she knew she hadn't guessed wrong.
"But we are Nomads. What kind of sense does relying on corporations make?"
Watching the two leaders argue again, just like always, Scorpion and Mitch couldn't get a word in and were busy doing their own things.
One was looking up as if there was a naked beauty on the ceiling, and the other was wiping his dagger repeatedly. Once the dagger was finally clean, he started polishing his large leather boots.
It wasn't that they didn't have their own opinions, but they genuinely felt awkward saying them.
Becky
Saul wanted the family to avoid conflict, so he brought them near Night City.
Then, they sought refuge with Biotechnica, relying on running cargo and repairing generators in the Badlands for them in exchange for supplies and protection.
This sounded like a desperate measure.
But it seemed this desperate measure wasn't working either.
The corporations were still their usual rotten selves, making them work like dogs but offering no real support, and the talk about providing protection was utter nonsense.
The Wraiths continued to provoke them on the highways and were actively trying to locate their camp to wipe them out completely.
As for them, they retreated again and again, shrinking back into their home base.
It sounded humiliating, and in reality, it was humiliating.
But was following Panam Palmer's advice the right thing to do?
Even if they fought the Wraiths without restraint, they lacked superiority in numbers and equipment and couldn't win; they would just be sacrificing themselves in vain.
Thus, the argument between Panam Palmer and Saul was destined to be fruitless, just like always.
Because while the Aldecaldos currently looked like they still had a fighting chance, they actually had no choice at all.
Following the corporations meant a slow death, and they might be sold out at any time; but fighting a real war for territory meant dying even faster.
Seeing the two get more and more excited, even sitting up straight, Berry couldn't stand it. She immediately split the two tigers with one dragon, stopping their pointless argument.
"I say, you two, can you listen to me for a moment?"
Berry spread her arms, her small frame stretched out like an eagle, which finally caught their attention.
Looking at the two who had finally stopped talking and turned to her, Berry began to speak.
"Saul is right, the Aldecaldo Family alone will find it hard to establish themselves in these city outskirts. This man-eating ghost of a place, every piece of trash has an owner, and getting a meal is incredibly difficult."
"But Panam Palmer, don't rush either, I have an idea."
Berry's words had an effect. The two looked at her doubtfully, wanting to hear what this short Mercenary had to say.
"I mean, have you heard of 'The Hive'?"
Berry was very satisfied with her ability to mediate, and she lowered her hands contentedly.
Then, she mysteriously began to promote it to the two.
Friends, have you heard of The Hive?
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