Jackie Welles

[First Car Weapon Modification Completed]

[Tech Points +100]

[Current Tech Points: 1635]

"Awesome, most people mod their cars with machine guns, but you go for a smart shotgun. Are you expecting me to climb up and use it?"

It took some time to modify the car's weapon mount, and V couldn't help but mock the ridiculous appearance.

The machine gun turret had a fixed mount, but the smart shotgun didn't, so they had to temporarily tie it down with some rope.

Just as Leo suspected, the smart shotgun could connect to the smart link in the user's hand or to a physical interface, likely intended for tech experts to run diagnostics.

By linking the personal interface to the car, it could pull visual data from the car's camera system and upload its own visual data.

Through the car-weapon connection, it could indirectly achieve the effect of linking with the weapon.

The tracking software it's equipped with could now be used!

The downside, as V pointed out, was that someone still needed to climb up, pull the trigger, and reload.

Technology—it's magical, right?

"Magical? More like really half-assed," V said bluntly.

"It might come in handy later." Leo parked the car. "See that farm over there? Get ready to meet your fellow Heywood resident—remember, you're a nomad from the Bakkers family now."

"I know, I know, you talk too much—sometimes I wonder why these places are called farms when there's nothing on them."

Leo shrugged. "You'd have to ask the corporations that question, but now's not the time for a history lesson. Get going. I'll stay here and fine-tune the weapons."

The car pulled up in front of what was labeled a "farm."

Calling it a farm was generous; it was more like a broken-down shack, comparable to the tin-roofed hovel V had rented in Atlanta—except this one had holes where the wind blew through.

There was no sign of anything ever being planted around it, and it seemed abandoned for a very long time.

Leo suddenly recalled the famous speech by Johnny Silverhand, the rockerboy terrorist: What have the corporations done?

Bang.

V shut the car door and headed toward the dilapidated house.

As she entered, she saw a large man with a bun on his head sitting on the couch. Despite his gentle-looking face, his sheer size made him resemble a gorilla.

"I'm so broke I might have to start farming. You're here to see me, right?"

Jackie spoke with a smile, making V feel a bit strange—how could someone this big talk so gently?

"Are you Welles?"

"Jackie, por favor (please)."

V was even more surprised. Since when were Heywood people this polite?

"I'm V." As she introduced herself, V glanced at the boxes on the floor, confirming her suspicions—they were corporate goods.

Those cases were unmistakably the kind used for corporate shipments—she'd stolen a few just days ago.

"Don't rush. Where I come from, it's customary to get to know each other before doing business. Think of it as a tradition, or manners, you know?"

V spread her hands—yep, felt just like home already, that familiar vibe.

"Got it. People need some pride, even when everything else is taken. But you start."

"Ha, you're right, chica (girl). I'm a Night City native, and Heywood blood runs through my veins."

V raised an eyebrow. "I'm... from the Bakkers family. Don't know what Heywood is like, but in our crew, it's like a big family. I might not like everyone, but, well..."

"I get it, I get it!" Jackie said, clearly intrigued. "But, still family, right? That's Heywood."

"So, nice to meet you, Jackie. You packing heat? Everyone in the Badlands carries."

"That's a Heywood tradition too. And chica, we're going to get along just fine! The goods are right here."

Seeing the genuine, dumb-looking smile on this big guy's face, V couldn't help but laugh. "Heh, big guy, I think so too. What's in the boxes?"

"Don't know—and honestly, it's probably better that way."

V nodded in agreement. "Let's load them up, then. Oh, by the way, I've got a buddy with me, doesn't talk much. You can call him Leo."

"The more, the merrier. Let's go."

As V and Jackie walked out of the house, Leo felt a bit out of it—

Their team was now three people strong, and it fit the classic composition: two muscle and one hacker.

But why did it feel so ominous?

And, as usual, he was the hacker, making it even more ominous.

Jackie loaded the crates into the trunk, with the Yinglongs and Ba Xing Chong shotguns stashed in the hidden compartment below to avoid detection.

Hidden compartments like this had to be small; otherwise, the checkpoint would notice structural anomalies.

"Nice to meet you, choom," Jackie said, settling into the back seat with a big smile.

But Leo wasn't as relaxed—he was thinking about the game, how V and Jackie had once taken a hacker on a job, and that hacker had met a very gruesome end.

So, Leo said with a serious expression, "Normally, I'd say I'm happy to meet you, but right now, I'm thinking about life-and-death situations."

"Uh..." Jackie glanced at V.

She shrugged. "Don't mind him, he's always like that."

The car started, heading down the dusty road straight towards Night City. V laughed and said, "Finally, it's your turn to drive. Do you know how boring it was for me to drive all those days?"

Leo replied, "I actually find driving pretty interesting, especially when the road's this wide and empty."

"You didn't drive four or five days straight."

Jackie, curious, asked, "Where'd you two come from, driving for so long?"

Leo and V exchanged a look. "Atlanta."

"Whoa, big city. I heard some major stuff went down there. You know anything about it?"

"Of course." V jumped in, "Militech and Kang Tao went at each other like crazy. We got stuck right in the middle of it when we were trying to get out.

You wouldn't believe it—Militech had this cyber-monster with Mantis Blades that sliced a car in half, like a bulldozer.

The whole thing was like a machete cutting through wires—sparks flying everywhere."

"No way, that's sick!" Jackie's eyes lit up. "What happened after that?"

"Well—"

"Ahem." Leo interrupted V before she got too carried away, worried she might reveal too much. "Check the manifest, V."

"Oh, right, choom, here it is. I've been keeping it safe. Have you two ever run a route like this before?"

Jackie handed the manifest to V, who looked bewildered—wasn't Leo supposed to drive while she spun stories?

Leo shot her a glare—read it, even if you don't understand it!

Leo answered, "Not often, but we've done it a few times. No need to worry, just relax."

"I'm not worried!" Jackie's voice rose a notch, not very convincingly.

The car turned at an intersection, heading straight toward the border checkpoint, with a Militech gunship hovering overhead.

But that wasn't all; combat drones patrolled both sides of the high wall, with several Behemoth APCs parked at the checkpoint, soldiers standing by with rifles ready.

Even more intimidating was...

Beep—

A hovering tank—a Basilisk—slowly passed through the checkpoint and parked on the other side, evidently a new addition to the security detail.

That was a real war machine.

Leo's expression darkened. "They've ramped up security."

"No kidding. Probably because of the Atlanta mess. Wait—why's there smoke on the side of the road?"

Jackie looked toward the black smoke rising from what appeared to be a fuel station, where several cars, burned down to their frames, sat abandoned.

The soldiers nearby didn't seem to care.

Leo glanced over and said, "Near the checkpoint, it's normal to see some cars blown up—don't ask me why, but it could be Militech personnel looking to make a quick buck."

Thud, thud, thud—

The gunship flew overhead, and Jackie swallowed nervously. "You told me not to worry, but, okay, now I'm a little nervous."

"Now? It's a bit late for that."

The car pulled into the red lane, marked with the words: Customs Declaration.

In front of Leo and his team, a black sedan was being inspected—

Leo held out his hand to V. "Give me the manifest. I'll handle the negotiations."

"Here—what's this mean?"

Leo glanced at the black manifest, which had large white letters on it. "L.O.A. Lost on Arrival. This is a manifest specifically for smuggling."

"Jackie, where's the bribe money?"

"Oh, here it is. Sorry, forgot... just a bit nervous."

V shot the big guy a look, suddenly realizing that Jackie might not be as simple as he seemed.

But no matter—neither were they.

Leo took the money chip and pulled out a smart shotgun from under the seat.

Jackie was stunned—that thing looked expensive, easily worth tens of thousands, right?

Leo walked over to the passenger door and tapped it. V reached under her seat and pulled out an identical smart weapon.

And that wasn't all. Just as Jackie was starting to feel really shocked, V turned to him and said,

"Jackie, there are two more smart shotguns under your seat. Grab them so we can declare them together."

Huh?

Jackie was dumbfounded—were the things in his box even worth as much as these guns?

Who was the one smuggling here?