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"Well, Jax, I'll drop you off here. I mean, do you really not want me to leave the car for you?"
Outside the Badlands, at the rendezvous point provided by Este, Jackie leaned his left hand out the car window, looking at Jax through his sunglasses.
It was Jax's car, and it was Jackie's first time driving such a nice vehicle, so he was inevitably a little excited.
Jax looked at Jackie like that and found it amusing. Looking at Jackie, he said, "If I left the car here for you to drive, how would you get back? Are you planning to walk back to the city?"
Jackie was stunned and immediately shook his head: "No, that won't do. I'll drive it away then. Jax, you can ride back with that person."
Just kidding… Jax's speed was superhuman. He himself had a Sandevistan, but a Sandevistan actually slowed down the passage of time, and it couldn't be kept on all the time.
If he really used a Sandevistan to run back to Night City, he would most likely die halfway due to overuse of his cyberware, unable to suppress the side effects.
And Jax? That guy was always activating his Sandevistan…
Plus, the person Jax was meeting later had a car, so he was truly overthinking things.
How did a simple courtesy almost get him into trouble?
He immediately stepped on the accelerator, turned the car around, and Jackie sped off in front of Jax.
Jax shook his head, turned, and walked towards the small house, both strange and familiar, that he had seen when he first got out of the car.
It was strange because Jax had never been to this area, let alone a small house in the desert. The reason it was familiar was… this small house was where the Nomad V and Jackie first met at the beginning of the game.
Walking into the house, the small, few-square-meter room was covered in dust and sand, and the smell was unpleasant, with a hint of something fishy and foul. Jax searched around and found the source of the smell.
There were dried food scraps in the room, as well as a pile of stinking garbage.
"It looks like this place has had its share of occupants before."
"What time does V arrive? It must be at least evening. So…" Jax hesitated, then rolled up his sleeves and found tools in the room that could be used for cleaning.
Water was out of the question, but by weighing things down and covering them slightly, the unpleasant smell could be reduced.
He still had to stay in this place for most of the day, and Jax didn't have a habit of staying with garbage. It wasn't that he was a clean freak, but basic cleanliness was necessary, right?
Thinking this, Jax began to act, cleaning the small house in his own way.
At the same time, on the border of Northern California, a classic car carrying goods slipped into Northern California, heading towards the City of Dreams, Night City.
In the car, a person of indiscernible gender, with beautiful features and a full forehead, was muttering softly:
"Free State… this is truly the best part. The checks aren't strict at all. If this were on the other side, customs would pat you down from head to toe and bite off a few Bones like a dog."
V was complaining to herself, which had become her recent habit.
Driving alone in the desert for a long time, one eventually feels lonely and wants to talk to people. After all, V had a family before and was actually very unaccustomed to living alone, but there was no choice… compared to loneliness, she didn't want to go to some damn Snake State and become a tool under someone else's politics.
So… she just had to endure it.
"Where was the handover point again? Is it on here… Ah, I'm really going to curse! If these people can't draw maps, then can they please stop drawing maps? Let someone who can do it, okay?"
Looking at the map spread out in front of her, V's cheeks were clenched. At the last transit station, she had showered and changed into clean new clothes. Her original short hair had also grown longer over several months and was now disheveled.
This made V look like those black-haired, fox-faced handsome guys from two-dimensional anime.
After thinking for a moment, V grabbed her hair with a rubber band and tied it up simply. Because her hair hadn't been styled, it was of uneven lengths, so the longer strands were caught and tied, but the shorter ones escaped from the rubber band.
This made V's current hairstyle look very much like a samurai topknot? Or perhaps a wolf tail.
"I should have spent some money to install a few implants back then. Coming to this place, the rules are completely different from where I came from."
V complained to herself, venting the frustration and displeasure in her heart.
Upon arriving here, V found that her old ways no longer worked. The survival knowledge learned from the Nomads was useless in these concrete jungles. It helped with minor things, like helping V avoid many small troubles, but it had no major effect at all! In short, it was completely ineffective!
After an unknown amount of time, V drove her car into a small town with a look of distress.
There was no other way; the car had some problems. Given the current situation, it was impossible for the car to reach the meeting point with the Fixer.
Late for the first time, damn it, will anyone give me work after this?
I am a very punctual person…
At the repair shop, the classic car was being repaired, and V was also accosted by someone.
By the time she drove the car out, she had completely missed the agreed-upon time with the Fixer. Thinking of this, and then remembering the old sheriff's words in the town, V felt even more speechless.
"What does he mean, I'm a Nomad among Nomads?"
"If the timing wasn't wrong, I'd punch that old face, I swear!"
Thinking this, V also paid attention to her surroundings. When she saw a signal tower, she quickly drove her car towards it.
Getting out of the car, she scaled the side in a few steps, then climbed the tower, and soon V reached the top of the signal tower.
Opening the electrical box and looking at the data cables inside, V pulled out a pager from her pocket, then snapped one of the wires in the electrical box and connected it to her pager.
First, there was a piercing sound, followed by the sound of a connection.
A low voice came from the other end: "Speak, speak."
V took a deep breath, her tense nerves relaxing considerably. Leaning her arms on the railing, she said, "It's me, McCoy. So glad to hear your voice."
"V? Unfortunately, I can't say the same."
V immediately asked, "Why not?"
The person on the other end said, "You know why, V. You've left the family."
V was silent, then she said, "I need your help, McCoy, one last time."
"Again… one last time?"
"This won't affect you. I need to find a client to unload goods, but I don't know where he is right now. You know, I don't have money to install those things. Even if the client is anxious now and sends me messages, I can't see them." V said seriously.
"Alright. Have you kept the agreed time and place?" McCoy said thoughtfully.
V coughed and said, "Ahem, I ran into some trouble. The car broke down halfway. Honestly, McCoy, it's a miracle I even made it to Night City in this car."
"He should have left me a message. Can you check for me? I don't know if he's waiting for me, or if he's already moved because I didn't arrive. I at least need to know that, and if he left a phone number, please send it to me. I don't want my first job here to turn out like this." V said in a rush.
"Alright, V, since we're old friends, but I'm only helping you this one time. This really is the last time. You can no longer use the conveniences provided by the family. So now, tell me the client's name, and I'll check for you." McCoy said.
"This task has been passed around by several people. A guy named Jackie Welles replaced the original person, but two days ago, when I first entered the motel, the Fixer called and said that someone else had taken the task. Now it's a person named… Jax, Jax has taken this task."
"Jax? Okay, I'll check." McCoy said.
Suddenly quiet, V silently felt the wind, waiting for McCoy's reply.
After about ten seconds, a voice came from the other end, urgent and tense: "Wait, V, are you sure the person you're meeting is named Jax?"
"What's wrong? Is there a problem with this task?"
"Let me check first… Jackie Welles, Jax…" McCoy ignored V and muttered to himself, seemingly deep in thought.
After a while, just as V was about to press further, McCoy said, "It's truly strange. How could a guy like that come to take on such a crappy job?"
"Wait, McCoy, clarify what you mean. You know the person I'm supposed to meet?" V raised an eyebrow and quickly asked.
"I can't say, V, I'm sorry, I can't say these things." McCoy said, continuing, "You really do have what you asked for. There's an address from them in your inbox, saying the person is waiting for you at a farm. I'll send the address to your classic car now."
"McCoy, that's not fair of you." V said, somewhat displeased.
"Don't mess with me, V. If it's really those guys, then I truly can't say. Otherwise, how will I contact the Fixers on that side in the future? You know, this is how I make a living. One less place means a huge sum of money lost." McCoy said.
As he spoke, he sped up his words, urging, "Go quickly. There's nothing fishy about this task. You're a penniless nobody who just arrived in Night City, who would target you?"
V wanted to retort, saying she was good-looking, and the scumbags who had targeted her along the way would fill a truck!
But McCoy continued, "V, don't get lost again and make people wait for you."
With that, McCoy hung up the phone.
Pulling the wire, V had many questions, but McCoy was right.
She was a penniless nobody, with nothing to her name, who would target someone like that?
Also, she really should hurry and find that Fixer named Jax. She had already wasted too much time. If this continued, even if the task could be completed, she would be docked pay… "Damn it, not that!"
After completing this job, with two to three thousand in her pocket, V planned to use that money to stay in Night City for at least three months. But in reality, V also knew that money was nowhere near enough. Therefore, for V now, one hundred Eurodollars was already a huge sum!
Quickly descending the signal tower, V got into her car. After starting it, she saw the address sent directly to her car.
This car was connected to the family network, but besides being able to listen to music and receive emails, it had no other functions; it couldn't even send emails.
This was also why V had to rely on McCoy's help.
Starting the car, V drove towards the location, very fast. Later, she even left the road and started driving off-road.
It seemed it wouldn't be surprising if V's car broke down halfway…
Inside the small wooden house, Jax glanced at the time. It was past four in the afternoon. From this farm to the Night City checkpoint, at normal speed, it would take an hour and a half.
And after passing the checkpoint and entering Night City, it would take another half an hour's drive, which is why it was no wonder that in the game, V and Jackie entered the city and it immediately turned to night.
Having been here since early morning and still not seeing anyone, not even a message, Jax was a little speechless.
"This is really too inconsiderate of time…"
Muttering softly, Jax suddenly looked up because he heard a sound.
It sounded like a tractor chugging in the distance, and Jax, with his keen senses, picked it up from far away.
Relieved, Jax got up, ready to go out and greet V.
But after thinking for a moment, Jax silently sat back down and waited for V to walk in on her own.
Three minutes later, the chugging sound of the tractor stopped, replaced by the sound of a car door being forcefully shut.
Immediately after, footsteps sounded, heading towards the wooden cabin.
Jax was bent over, hands clasped together on his knees, watching the doorway.
"Bang!"
The door was pushed open forcefully, and a slender figure, about 1.75 meters tall, walked in, silhouetted against the light.
This person was wearing a black jacket over a loose black hoodie, with black, dirt-resistant athletic pants and a pair of somewhat worn sneakers.
Their medium-length black hair was simply tied up, revealing a smooth, full forehead and bright, piercing eyes. Their nose was high, and their lips were thin, but the lips had an unhealthy pale white color, and Jax's eyesight could even see dead skin.
Excellent features, a good face shape, but the skin was a bit rough. For Jax, who had seen many artificial skins, this was truly… rare and uncommon.
Unlike the fake glow of dewy skin and plastic skin, the person walking in, though their skin was slightly rougher and not as fair, had a texture and lines that fake skin couldn't replicate. That healthy, natural movement of facial muscles as she sniffed and frowned was something artificial skin couldn't achieve.
Because artificial skin wasn't that natural. In the few seconds V took to enter, Jax had already quickly scanned V, and then Jax had a question.
No… is this a male V or a female V?
It should be a male V… because they were quite tall, about 1.7 meters, and looked quite strong.
Although they looked thin, their chest, wearing an athletic jacket, was bulging, indicating well-developed pectoral muscles.
Also, the person had short hair, and although they were exceptionally good-looking, their eyes were fierce, like a tiger's.
A tiger…
So… is it a male V?
But if it really was a male V, then this person… this person was just too pretty!
Jax thought he himself was quite good-looking. Although he was always told he was delicate, his natural face, as it was, could have made him a celebrity or internet influencer in his previous life, right?
After all, in this world, good-looking people were everywhere, since faces could be sculpted!
But what about this person in front of him?
Could her natural face be even more beautiful than a sculpted one?
No, is there any justice in this?
Jax looked at V strangely.
Then, he heard V speak.
"You're Jax?"
Low, husky, a somewhat neutral voice.
But Jax, well-traveled and experienced from the Moxes, immediately detected a hint of unnaturalness in that husky voice.
Jax looked at the other person with a strange expression:
This was clearly an intentional lowering of the voice, a clear attempt at a male voice by a female, but not done well enough.
So, it's a female V…
"You're V?"
The person in front of him, whose gender was indiscernible but who, whether male or female, could be described as extremely good-looking, nodded his head at Jax.
"Yes, I'm V."
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