Start a Core Pod

 A day in Night City always starts with a radio broadcast.

"Hello! Night City——! I am your Stanley, and our dream city has begun another long day. I love this city, just like you love your mother. I remember when she took you I threw it at the door of the orphanage, and now I meet you on the street, no matter if you want to smoke——!"

“It’s so early in the morning, it’s better to listen to some music.”

  D changed the channel directly, and then looked out the window again.

 “So, you want me to take action?”

 “Yes, D.”

"Um………"

Hearing the voice on the other side, D frowned slightly. The person who contacted her was another middleman in Night City named Regina Jones. She was originally a reporter for News Channel 56 and was considered a very thoughtful person. She has collaborated with D several times, mainly on research on cyberpsychosis - well, D can't give any advice on research. But D is very good at catching cyber psychos. After all, those cyber psychos are beyond ordinary people, and not even the NCPD can deal with them.

 But in front of D, even a cyber madman is no different from an ordinary person and can be defeated easily.

Because of this, Regina and D have reached a consensus on capturing cyber lunatics. She hopes that D can capture those cyber lunatics alive, and then she will find a way to develop a treatment for cyber psychosis and at the same time investigate these cyber psychosis. How did it come about?

This time Regina’s commission to D was also about cyber lunatics, but the commission was a bit surprising, they were a group of wanderers.

According to Regina, a wanderer family named Adecado is currently stationed in the bad land outside Night City. One of their teams lost contact while going out to search for supplies, and when the family sent another When human hands found them, they found that the group had been completely killed. Judging from the traces at the scene, the person who killed them should be a cyber madman.

The wanderers all joined the group to keep warm. One of their own family members was killed. Of course, they would not give up. So the clan leader led a group of people to the bad land again to look for the cyber madman. The two sides fought a battle, and the clan leader was seriously injured. The cybermaniac also fled.

 At the moment, the Adecado family is short of manpower, and they seem to have been targeted by that **** cybermaniac. So in the end they decided to come forward and find a middleman, asking her to find someone to help them solve this trouble.

 So D was found.

“Cyber ​​lunatics... By the way, you didn’t tell me before that there are still cyber lunatics in the Badlands.”

 “He is different from other cyber lunatics.”

Regina shook her head.

"To be honest, this guy is just a legend in the Badlands. I heard it when I was a reporter - the ghosts of the Badlands would attack those lost travelers. Of course, there were several attacks in the Badlands at that time. They say it's the work of the Badlands Ghost, that it appears with storms and kills everything, but we haven't found any evidence."

 “So the evidence was found this time?”

"That's right, so I need your help, D. Rumors of ghosts in the Badlands have existed for more than ten years. It's really hard to imagine how such a cybermaniac could survive in a place like the Badlands. So. , it’s best to capture the opponent alive.”

“The Badlands is so big, where should I find it?”

"You don't have to worry about this. I just happened to find a wanderer to help me. She was originally from Adecado, but she left her family and came to the Night City to make a living. Tracking enemies in the bad land is her specialty."

 “Okay then, where to meet?”

 “Martin Street.”

"almost there."

After that, D contacted Lucy, and then came to the place mentioned by Regina. In an abandoned parking lot, they found the homeless man who was responsible for connecting with them.

 “Are you the mercenary?”

The woman in front of him had a ponytail and was dressed like a wanderer. She had her arms folded and looked at D questioningly.

 “I want Regina to find the best.”

 “D is the best.”

Facing the woman’s doubts, D didn’t care. Instead, Lucy raised her eyebrows, stared at the woman and spoke.

"At first glance, you look like a rookie who has just arrived in Night City. You don't even know D."

 “What did you say? I paid a lot of money!”

 “The little money you have is not enough to give D a dinner! If not…”

“If you want to quarrel, you can do it on the road.”

Seeing that the client and Lucy were about to quarrel, D just snorted and spoke.

 “Are you going or not? One word?”

"………All right."

Hearing D’s question, the woman looked away, glanced at him again, then opened the car door and got in the car.

“I trust Regina this time. I hope she won’t trick me and get in the car!”

Soon, a group of people got into the car and drove out of the city.

On the way, D also heard the introduction of the woman - her name was Panan Palmer, and she was also a wanderer. In other words, she is actually one of the wanderers who came to Night City with the Adecado family, but now she has parted ways with him and plans to start a new life in Night City.

Although Panan did not say why she left the family, it was obvious that she still had feelings for the family, so after she heard her family friends talking about it, she immediately went to Regina to ask for help, and then The author introduced D to her.

Although after meeting, Panan was full of doubts about this slender weirdo who was wrapped in a cloak, but...she just believed Regina.

 From Panan, D also heard more detailed information.

 Everywhere the wanderer goes, he will go to abandoned buildings or small towns to collect and find some useful things. The Adecado family was no exception. One of the search teams went to a nearby abandoned town to conduct a search. They originally promised to return before the storm arrived, but they did not have time to return.

Of course, when the storm started, the family camp also contacted the collection team and learned that they had collected a lot of good things and were currently sheltering from the storm in a house. Once the storm is over, the search team will return to camp.

 Then there is no more.

After the storm passed, the family camp never received any contact from the team, and there was no response to the call. So they were worried and asked the clan leader to personally lead people to find it.

 Then they discovered... a horrible corpse. "Our people were chopped into pieces, and all the supplies they collected were destroyed. Of course, Saul couldn't swallow this breath. Fortunately, the other party left traces, so he continued to lead people to search, trying to find the murderer. At that time, the second wave of storm was about to come, but Saul refused to listen and forced to continue the investigation, and the result was that they were also attacked."

 “Do you know what the murderer looks like?”

"I don't know. I just know that the other party is a person, very fast, and using a mantis knife. Our people didn't even see what the other party looked like, and they were hacked to death by the **** hiding in the storm. Even Suo Suo I was also seriously injured, but fortunately he was not stupid at the time and evacuated with the others."

Panan sighed and then stepped on the brakes.

"right here."

As he spoke, Panan opened the car door and got out, while D and Lucy also got out of the car and looked around. This should be a remote farm - of course, now there is only a simple house that barely looks habitable, and blood stains and the remains of firearms can be seen around it. Lucy stepped forward, reached out and picked up the remains of the weapon that was almost buried in the sand.

 “Is this the weapon you use?”

 “That’s right.”

Panan nodded.

“What are you going to do? I don’t have any clues.”

 “Lucy?”

"let me see."

Hearing D's question, Lucy looked around, quickly scanned around, and then shook her head.

“There were no other electronic devices nearby and the generator had stopped working...nothing useful and no trace of what was left.”

 “Then let’s just wait here.”

As he spoke, D raised his head and looked at the vast Gobi desert in front of him. On the other side of the horizon, the yellow sand in the sky was heading here like angry waves and dark clouds.

“I heard from Regina that the ghosts of the Badlands will always appear along with sandstorms, so let’s see if this guy has such ability. But before that…”

As he spoke, D looked at Lucy.

 “It’s almost time for afternoon tea.”

"………afternoon tea…?"

Hearing what D said, Panan looked confused, while Lucy's eyes lit up.

 “I know! D!”

The sandstorm came much faster than people imagined. Before long, the yellow sand that blocked the sky completely covered the entire sky. Looking outside the window, it was dark, and the howling wind was mixed with stones and gravel. It hit the walls and windows and made a clicking sound. Fortunately, although the hut has long been abandoned, it still seems to be intact enough to withstand the attack of wind and sand.

Panan is no stranger to this situation. Wanderers often encounter sandstorms during their travels, and they always find some remote and abandoned places to take refuge.

 But Panan couldn't understand the situation in front of him.

 D took out a suitcase and put it on the table, then opened it - however, what was placed in the suitcase was not any weapons and equipment, but a tea set and desserts!

　　　…………???”

 Seeing this, Panan was already confused. But compared to Panan, Lucy seems to be quite used to this situation. When D took out the tea set, she already picked up the boiled water and poured it into the teapot, then poured a wisp of it. The fragrance overflowed, and the two of them held the steaming tea cups in their hands, picked up a piece of cake and put it into their mouths, then slowly slumped down on the sofa.

“Wait a minute, what are you doing here?”

Looking at the scene in front of him, Panan couldn't bear it anymore.

 We are here to chase cyber maniacs, not camping!

 “It doesn’t matter, Miss Panan, the goal hasn’t come yet anyway, so you should enjoy the moment.”

 Lucy was also sitting on the sofa at the moment, with her eyes closed and a contented look on her face. At the beginning, she also thought it was not good to do this, but...well, who said the things D brought were so delicious?

You must know that D’s desserts are all made from original organic food, and the taste is completely different from ordinary industrial products. Lucy is also a girl. If there is a delicious dessert, she will not miss it. Not to mention that D’s tea is also good...

 “I still think wine is better.”

Seeing that the two of them looked like salted fishes, Panan frowned, picked up the tea cup and took a sip, and then muttered.

 “This thing is bitter, and I don’t know where it tastes good.”

 “Drinking alcohol is bad for your health.”

While drinking tea and tasting biscuits, D spoke calmly.

“Taste delicious food, adjust your body and mind, and relax your spirit. It can also be used as bait.”

  “…bait?”

 “That’s right, look, isn’t this just a bait?”

"Why?"

Hearing D’s words, Panan was stunned for a moment. At the same time, she seemed to hear something.

 “Da da da… da da da…”

At first glance, it sounded like the sound of sand and gravel hitting the glass and walls. Normally, Panan would not have cared about it at all. But after being reminded by D, for some reason, Panan suddenly felt that something was not right about the voice. She turned her head subconsciously and looked out the window. There was still darkness outside the window, with sand and gravel flying all over the sky, shrouding everything in darkness.

However, at this moment, suddenly, a black shadow suddenly appeared in front of Panan, sticking to the glass, staring at her.

That is a twisted, weird, ugly face!