185: Home

The tires left two streaks of jet-black skid marks on the road paved with high-grade synthetic asphalt.

The engine of the “thunder” hummed powerfully, weaving through the streets.

“Vehicle AI, switch to the song ‘Intubation’ for me.”

“Beep, song—‘Intubation’ starting playback.”

With a mechanical prompt, a rock song that seemed to shatter eardrums suddenly burst from the “thunder”’s car speakers.

“This is real music.”

Valentine and Toke looked curious:

“This song, why do I feel like I’ve heard it somewhere before?”

Valentine stroked his chin, muttering to himself.

Toke scratched his hair, then his eyes suddenly lit up:

“Hey? Isn’t this song sung by Johnny Silverhand, who blew up the Arasaka Tower with a nuclear bomb over 50 years ago?”

“That’s right, it was sung by that sharp-tongued rock kid.”

Fang Yun snapped his fingers, indicating that Toke’s guess was correct.

“I heard there’s a rock music idol group in Night City called ‘US CRACKS’, and they seem to really admire Johnny Silverhand.” (Toke)

“Right. And not just admire, they’ve also sung some songs to pay tribute to Johnny Silverhand. For example, ‘Bobo Chicken’, one of their highly popular works, sounds very brainwashing.”

“Beep—! Beep—!”

Fang Yun honked the horn twice, scaring away the junkie who wanted to run a red light at the intersection, then turned back to Valentine and Toke:

“I’ve also heard Bobo Chicken, it’s really brainwashing, especially when driving or fighting… during training, listening to the song and swaying to the music, that feeling, it’s incredibly exhilarating.”

“There’s also a song called Night City that’s pretty good.” (Toke)

“I’ve heard that one too.” (Valentine)

“There’s an ethereal feeling, or rather, when you’re idle, driving aimlessly on the main roads and observing the city, an indescribable feeling naturally emerges in your heart.”

“……”

Fang Yun and the two others shared their music listening experiences in the car, while the “thunder”’s vehicle AI silently recorded, saved, and analyzed their conversation.

Within ten seconds, several high-quality classic song channels quietly appeared in the vehicle music radio’s channel list.

……

After a wild ride.

Fang Yun and the two others successfully passed through the checkpoint set up on the outskirts of Night City, once again stepping onto the “free” Badlands.

(PS: The outpost here is not the city outpost for entering and exiting Night City, but an outpost between the city area and the Badlands area.)

The sky of the Badlands was a sickly orange-red.

Beyond the distant horizon, the faint outline of a deserted Badlands town could be vaguely seen.

As Fang Yun drove closer, the interior of the town gradually became visible.

Abandoned power plants and collapsed billboards stood like tombstones.

The dry wind, carrying dust, made a wailing sound on the rusted tin roofs.

“Badlands, as welcoming as ever. Deserted towns everywhere, you can go wherever you want.” (Valentine)

“Because every year, a lot of people disappear from this land of the Badlands.” (Toke)

“...So the rotten corporations need to be overthrown.” (Fang Yun)

“……”

“Whoosh—! Whoosh—! Whoosh—!”

“We’re about to enter a sandstorm, brace for bumps.” (Fang Yun)

The intermittent sandstorm charged in with an勢 that threatened to overturn the “thunder”.

Fang Yun, driving the “thunder”, showed no fear and plunged straight into the sandstorm.

After a few slight bumps, the “thunder”’s built-in counterweight module quickly took effect.

Once the vehicle stabilized, it no longer shook and traveled through the sandstorm at a constant speed.

Countless gusts of wind and sand lashed against the “thunder”’s windows, making a crackling sound.

“Beep, external air quality detected to be degraded, internal circulation mode automatically switched.”

Valentine adjusted his sitting posture and looked out the window through the bulletproof glass:

“Almost every day there’s a big wave of dust, when will those damn corporations put money into maintaining the environment and climate of the Badlands?”

“Instead of hoping that man-eating corporations will suddenly have a change of heart and help us, it’s better to fantasize about getting rich and then taking action to improve the Badlands’ environment.” (Toke)

“If I got rich, why would I stay in the Badlands?” (Valentine, in a teasing tone)

“So, now you know why no one cares about the Badlands.” (Toke, shrugging his shoulders)

Fang Yun also saw the dust-filled scene outside the car window and pondered inwardly:

“If I get the chance in the future, I’ll improve the environment of the Badlands. I don’t want to go on dates with Vavinia every day in such bad weather.”

“But Valentine is right, instead of painstakingly managing the Badlands, it’s better to move to a place with a more beautiful environment.”

“...At the very least, the wedding venue definitely won’t allow such bad weather.”

“Once the ‘Earth Blockification’ work is completed, this problem will no longer exist.”

“Sigh, it’s a long and arduous journey.”

“When will I be rewarded with a ‘place and break blocks’ type of module?”

“Author: Ahem, there will be bread, and there will be milk. Before you need to undertake large-scale construction, I will definitely arrange construction assistance modules.”

“Fang Yun: You mean, the ‘Mantle Tower’ and ‘Initial Base’ I’ve been digging underground for a year don’t count as large-scale projects?”

“Author: …”

After traveling through the sandstorm for three to five minutes, the “thunder” broke through its tail and continued driving towards the Buckle Family Camp.

“How much longer until the camp?” (Valentine)

“Soon.” (Fang Yun)

“...‘Soon’, how soon? You’re not going to make it three hours, are you?” (Valentine, a bit speechless)

“Beep, 15 minutes remaining to the Buckle Family Camp.”

“See, this vehicle AI is even better than you.” (Valentine, in a teasing tone)

“Heh, no matter how strong it is, it’s still my AI.” (Fang Yun)

“Beep, I will always be loyal to my master.” (deliberately mimicking a fawning voice)

“See?” (Fang Yun, a slight smile on his lips)

“Nice.” (Valentine)

“……”

After more than ten minutes of chatting and bickering, the outline of the Buckle Family Camp finally became clear.

“Home.” (Toke)

“Where there are family members, that’s home. Now, this is my home too.” (Fang Yun, speaking softly)

“……” (Valentine, nodding gently and smiling)

The outline of the camp became clearer and clearer until Fang Yun and his companions entered the camp’s警戒圈.

“Beep, remote identity verification system connected. Sending identification code, ..., performing identity verification, ..., identity verification passed.”

Identity verification was completed within 0.5 seconds, and then Karl’s prerecorded message played from the car speakers.

“My tribesmen, welcome home.