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Panam couldn't get Kael to his destination because the road ahead was effectively a dead zone, fortified by a Raffen Shiv blockade.
"Those damn bastards!!" Panam spat, her grip white on the steering wheel. In the Badlands, the Raffen Shiv were the ultimate system error—exiles and scavengers who made a living preying on the established Nomad tribes. The level of hatred between Panam and these vultures had long since hit a rolling boil.
"Wait, what are you doing?!" Panam shouted as she watched Kael casually push open the door. Before she could process the reckless move, Kael was already striding toward the Raffen position.
Then came the "pew-pew" of a suppressed muzzle.
One by one, the Raffen guards collapsed in an orderly fashion, their central nervous systems zeroed before they could even draw. Kael returned to the passenger seat, methodically clicking a fresh magazine into his Kenshin pistol.
"What are you staring for? Keep moving," Kael reminded her.
"Damn it... if I die, I die," Panam muttered, flooring the gas. The roar of the engine tore through the desert silence, immediately drawing more heat. Headlights cut through the dark as several Raffen armored vehicles surged toward them.
Kael leaned out the window. A flash of cyan electric light—the signature of a high-spec kinetic shot—flickered past. A Raffen armored truck performed a violent mid-air flip and slammed into the sand.
"Woohoo!!" Panam cheered. The money didn't matter anymore; seeing the Raffen suffer was the ultimate payout. She'd never seen anyone achieve sniper-level precision with a handgun at these speeds.
In the Raffen camp, Nash watched the headlights with growing rage. "Who's this freak who's tired of living?"
"Looks like an Aldecaldo mod-job, Boss," a lackey reported, his cyber-eyes zooming in.
"Since when did those stray dogs dare to bite back?" Nash snarled, jumping into his lead armored vehicle. "Chase them down!"
As the pursuit intensified, Panam's confidence wavered. It was like poking a hornet's nest. Looking at her outdated Neural Link and legacy-tier chrome, it was clear why the Nomads were struggling. They were nearly an entire era behind Night City's tech. The Raffen Shiv, however, were equipped with heavy weapons that screamed Biotechnica sponsorship.
"Is that a rocket?!" Panam screamed as a trail of fire ignited in the rearview mirror.
Kael vanished from the seat. In a blur of motion, the rocket was shot down mid-flight. The explosion overturned two support vehicles. When Nash blinked, Kael was suddenly standing in front of his car. Nash's internal circulation system redlined, pumping his brain full of combat stims.
"FUCK!! Is that a military-grade Sandevistan?!" Nash roared, reaching for his gun.
Kael vanished again, reappearing with the burning-hot barrel of his pistol pressed against Nash's temple. Nash froze, his body trembling. What a fucking cyberpsycho, he thought. How is his brain not frying? He couldn't know that Kael was achieving this through raw, multiversal physical stats, not overclocked chrome.
"Stop the car," Kael said flatly.
Nash obeyed, and the convoy slowed. The remaining thugs exchanged glances, calculating if they should just let Kael kill Nash so they could take over. But Kael wasn't interested in leverage. He aimed his gun at the group.
BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG.
Cyan lightning danced through the night. In seconds, twenty Raffen Shiv were dead. Nash slumped, his strength evaporating as he stared at the carnage.
Kael ignored the survivor and initiated a hack. His Cyberdeck bypassed Nash's backward ICE, forcibly obtaining Neural Link access.
Sizzle, sizzle...
Nash's body twitched violently. Kael was "cooking" his brains to extract every byte of Biotechnica data. He didn't care about the collateral damage to Nash's mind; he just wanted the "Data Mine."
"You... you did all this?" Panam drove up, her eyes wide. She'd heard of Night City legends, but seeing one work was a different experience entirely. "Man, you are way too badass."
She was so excited she was practically vibrating.
"Standard operation," Kael waved his hand. "If you see any parts you like on these wrecks, strip them. Consider it a Nomad bonus."
Panam didn't need a second invitation. She pulled out a wrench and began scavenging engines and weapons—the hard currency of the Badlands.
Soon, Jackie Wells arrived in his battered off-road vehicle. He jumped out, his voice booming. "Oh~ my dear brother, give me a warm hug!"
Kael pressed a hand against Jackie's sweaty face, pushing him aside with a look of mild disgust. "We're both men, Jackie. Ease up on the physical affection."
A silver-haired woman stepped out from Jackie's car. Kael's gaze narrowed.
"Kael, meet my guide, Valerie," Jackie introduced.
"Valerie?" Kael sized her up. She wasn't the V who burned Arasaka Tower—not yet—but the potential was there. Her nomad wildcat energy was a sharp contrast to Lucy's cold elegance.
Valerie tensed, her sixth sense screaming "predator." She quietly moved her hand toward her holster, but Kael withdrew his gaze, allowing her to breathe. The pressure he exerted just by looking at her was enough to trigger a fight-or-flight response.
"How did you meet?" Kael asked.
"Long story—" Jackie started.
"Then don't tell it," Kael interrupted. "This is Panam, our driver. Get acquainted. We're camping here tonight."
As Jackie set up the bonfire and started "bragging" about his latest run, Kael sat back, watching the two Badlands women—Panam and V—sizing each other up in the flickering light.
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