129: Place Flower Phantom and White Snow

Time: October 19, 2075, 1 PM.

Location: Not far outside the Buckle Family Camp in the Night City Badlands.

Fang Yun and his group sat on the "thunder", listening to music and humming songs, leisurely heading towards the camp.

"Ding! Congratulations, Host. <Mercenary Commission Mission: Part 1 - Cargo Transport> has been completed."

"Now issuing mission rewards: 30,000 euro, 100 System points, <Module: Slash Blade - Expansion Pack (Demon Slayer) 1.0>."

Fang Yun, sitting in the back of the "thunder" with his eyes closed, resting, couldn't help but reveal a smile upon hearing the System's prompt.

"Let me see what's in the 'Demon Slayer' expansion pack."

"Hmm... some crafting recipes for new minerals have been added, the original nichirin sword using Scarlet Ore and Scarlet Iron Sand, a simple version of the nichirin sword using only iron ingots, ..."

"Not bad, there's quite a lot of stuff."

"After returning to the camp, I'll go to the basement to get some materials and craft a nichirin sword."

"By then, I'll be someone whose basic attacks have special effects. Delicious juice.jpg"

Just as Fang Yun was thinking about which nichirin sword to craft after returning to the camp, Old Captain's call came in.

Fang Yun answered the call, and Old Captain's voice immediately came through the receiver:

"Yo, Fang Yun. The warehouse has already confirmed with me, your commission was completed beautifully, it was fast, and the cargo didn't suffer any damage."

"Oh, right, the people behind the Four-Eyed Gang wanted to cause you trouble, but I blocked them."

"That female executive from Carter Company and a certain other company hasn't made any moves yet."

Upon hearing Old Captain's words, Fang Yun opened his eyes and replied with a hint of surprise:

"It seems you really value me. I've noted you helping me out this time. For the next commission, I can give you a fifty percent discount on the reward."

Old Captain chuckled twice:

"Haha. It seems Fang Yun, you're very confident. Even if I didn't help you, you should be able to handle the people behind the Four-Eyed Gang easily, right?"

"Did I act on my own initiative this time?"

As soon as Fang Yun heard this, he quickly spoke:

"You can't say that. With your help, I'm much more relaxed."

"Better to avoid trouble than seek it. The time saved is better spent sleeping than fighting."

After listening, Old Captain laughed heartily again:

"Hahaha, it seems I didn't misjudge you."

"In short, I've blocked the people behind the Four-Eyed Gang for you. For the rest, you need to be more careful yourself."

"I'll filter through the current commissions I have and see which one is more suitable for you."

"You can take this opportunity to prepare more in advance, after all, the next commission will be a veritable 'tricky commission'."

"I hope you can still complete the high-difficulty commission outstandingly."

"Alright, talk to you later."

"Talk to you later."

After hanging up the phone, Fang Yun slightly narrowed his eyes.

"A high-difficulty commission? I hope the difficulty is high enough. Otherwise, constantly crushing weaklings is lowering my standard a bit."

Just as Fang Yun was anticipating what the next commission would be, Toke, who was driving, suddenly spoke:

"We're almost at the camp."

After speaking, Toke pressed down slightly on the accelerator, and the "thunder"'s speed immediately increased significantly.

A gust of dust and sand swirled past, and the outline of the Buckle Family Camp was already close at hand.

Before long, Toke performed a "tail whip + reverse parking" and successfully parked the "thunder" at the camp' entrance.

A Buckle Family member patrolling the camp entrance walked up and knocked on the bottom frame of the car window.

"Routine check, you know how it is, Toke."

Toke reached into his pocket, pulled out a pack of cigarettes, took one out, and handed it to that Buckle Family member.

"Gael, are you on duty today?"

Gael took the synthetic cigarette, tucked it behind his ear, and showed a smile:

"That's right, it's me."

"Did you finish the commission and come back?"

Gael said this while glancing into the car a few times.

After seeing Hua Meiying and Bai Xuerou, Gael was startled, then looked at Toke.

"These are..."

Toke shrugged:

"Halfway through the commission, we rescued two people, both are promising individuals."

"I've already told Karl about it, they'll be taken in as unofficial members."

After hearing Toke's explanation, Gael showed a look of sudden understanding:

"Oh~, they're the two people Karl mentioned."

"OK, no problem, you can go in."

"Oh, right, Karl is in his tent now. If you want to find him, just go directly to him."

Toke showed a smile and nodded to indicate he understood.

"You continue patrolling, let's go drink at the mess hall tonight."

"It's settled then, see you later."

The "thunder" restarted, and Toke drove towards Karl's tent.

...

When Fang Yun and his group got out of the car, Karl was in his tent handling family affairs.

The tent flap was half-closed. As soon as the "thunder" approached, Karl spotted Fang Yun and the others.

Hua Meiying and Bai Xuerou stood awkwardly beside Fang Yun, their eyes filled with a hint of unease and anticipation.

"This is the Buckle Family Camp."

Fang Yun turned around and smiled at the two:

"For the next period of time, and even the rest of your lives, you will live here."

"Karl has arranged your tents next to mine. In a moment, you'll come with me to the logistics department to get the materials for setting up the tents."

Hua Meiying and Bai Xuerou exchanged glances and nodded gently.

Just then, Karl walked over from the depths of the camp.

Karl's gaze lingered on Hua Meiying and Bai Xuerou for a moment, then he looked at Fang Yun, his tone calm, yet unexpectedly carrying a hint of teasing:

"It seems your commission this time brought you quite a harvest."

Fang Yun scratched his head, feeling a bit awkward:

"It's my first commission in Night City, wasn't I thinking of handling it a bit more perfectly?"

"In any case, I guarantee I won't cause trouble for the family."

Karl nodded slightly, suppressing the almost imperceptible smile on his face:

"No need to worry, I believe you wouldn't do anything detrimental to the family."

"I'm just a bit surprised that on your first commission, you just happened to run into such a special situation."

"I hope you can guide these two 'special' companions well."

Seeing that there was indeed no hint of blame in Karl's tone, Fang Yun breathed a sigh of relief.

"Accepting Hua Meiying and Bai Xuerou is settled."

Afterwards, he heard Karl continue:

"They will join the family as unofficial members, and their tents will be set up next to yours."

"You'll be responsible for taking care of them. ...Of course, you can also ask Vavinia for help."

Upon hearing this, Fang Yun's mouth twitched.

Karl saw the troubled expression on Fang Yun's face and chuckled softly in his heart.

"That's how it is. Act according to my arrangements."

After speaking, Karl no longer delayed, turned around and went back into his tent, continuing to handle family affairs.

Valentine and Toke were like invisible people throughout, standing by without saying a word.

Fang Yun watched Karl go back, then looked at Hua Meiying and Bai Xuerou.

"Vavinia hasn't replied to my message yet. I wonder if she really didn't see it, or if she hasn't figured out how to reply."

"When Vavinia comes back tonight, I must talk to her in person."

"It wasn't easy to find a girlfriend. If she gets resentful and ignores me, I'll definitely be heartbroken."

Hua Meiying and Bai Xuerou, noticing Fang Yun staring at them intently, gradually blushed.

Valentine, who had been an invisible person for a while, walked up to Fang Yun and said with an unfriendly expression:

"Fang Yun, shouldn't we go get the materials for setting up the tents now?"

Fang Yun came back to his senses, realizing he had been distracted, and quickly nodded in response to Valentine:

"Oh, right. We'll go to the logistics department to get the materials now."

He smiled politely at Hua Meiying and Bai Xuerou, trying to alleviate the awkwardness from before:

"Let's go, I'll take you to get the tent materials and you can get familiar with the camp environment at the same time."

Hua Meiying and Bai Xuerou nodded gently, followed Fang Yun, and walked towards the logistics department.

Valentine and Toke remained in place. Toke lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, exhaled a ring of smoke, and said with a smile:

"That kid Fang Yun, was he spacing out just now thinking about how to explain things to Vavinia?"

Valentine lightly snorted:

"Hmph. I hope so."

The two stood there, watching Fang Yun and his group gradually walk away.