The Youth

"Big sis, your hairstyle looks so strange. Why did you shave this side of your head?"

V, who was playing the role of a cold-blooded killer, usually made people keep their distance. But out from the side of the tent came a little girl, probably only five or six years old.

She couldn't possibly explain to the child that this was the latest street style—a side shave. So, she kept her serious demeanor, hoping to scare the child away. The two pairs of big eyes, one adult and one child, stared at each other.

"But, big sis, your eyes and eyebrows are so pretty..."

This left V at a loss for words.

Fortunately, someone from the Red Ocher Tribe quickly came and took the child away.

"Savi—what are you doing here? Come on, it's time for your lesson."

A woman with glasses came over, warily pulling the girl named Savi away.

V outwardly showed no reaction but breathed a sigh of relief. It was hard to maintain a cold-blooded killer persona with children around.

If it had been some nosy idiot, she could have pulled out her gun to scare them off. But with a child, nothing seemed appropriate.

She thought to herself as she twisted her hair around her finger, "Is it really that strange? I think it looks pretty good..."

Luckily, Leo and Hector's conversation ended quickly, so V didn't have to stand around awkwardly any longer.

However, as they left, Hector's attitude had completely changed. He now seemed ready to do anything for Leo.

But he didn't say much, just grabbed the medicine Leo had given him and rushed into a tent.

V watched Hector's back, curiously asking, "Did you settle everything? What kind of charm did you put on them?"

"Where's Jackie? Let's talk outside," Leo replied.

V pointed to a large rock outside the camp, where Jackie seemed to be talking to the boy who had pointed a gun at them earlier.

If she wasn't mistaken, that boy named Navi was now holding an Ajax rifle—likely one of the ones they had taken from the Sixth Street Gang.

"Jackie, get ready to unload the goods. Keep an eye on the trucks."

"Got it."

With the medicine in hand, the tense atmosphere immediately dissipated.

Those who had been hiding under the tents now peeked out, their previously empty, hopeless eyes showing a spark of life.

Even the class that was in session halted as the teacher turned her attention toward them.

In short, the entire camp was now focused on them—not with the previous wary stares but with something closer to reverence, like they were looking at saviors.

V's curiosity only deepened. "What's going on here?"

"Their tribe was hit by a plague. Without this batch of medicine, they were probably all going to die—just look around. There probably aren't more than twenty healthy people left, most of them women and children.

It seems like the plague has spread to Santo Domingo as well. The Sixth Street Gang planned to raise prices for this batch of medicine, but I sold it to them at half price—forty thousand per vial, and I gave them an extra one for free.

Any objections?"

"No objections," V said, blowing at her hair, not really bothered by it.

Jackie, on the other hand, was grinning, "I've got even less of a problem with that."

"What were you doing over there?" V suddenly asked, "That gun came off the truck, right?"

"Yeah, I was just looking out for that kid Navi. He reminded me of myself back in the day.

Back when I first joined the Valentinos, I went on a delivery run with my boss. The Scavengers ended up killing him.

And believe it or not, before his body even hit the ground, I had my gun out and shot the Scavenger boss right in the head. I was shaking for two days straight afterward!"

V looked surprised, "I've heard that story. So it was you who killed that boss on your first delivery? You were born for this."

Jackie felt proud of it, "Back then, I thought, 'I've got to step up for these little guys behind me.' I still remember my boss's name—Diego.

He was the one who taught me how to use this gun. He said a big gun like this is made for big guys like me, and he told me, 'You protect your brothers, and they'll protect you.'"

"Then why did you leave the Valentinos?" Leo asked curiously—there wasn't much information about Jackie, his loyal brother, in the game.

But truth be told, after getting to know him in real life, you'd see he was a genuinely reliable guy—like back at Lamar's Armory, he was the one watching out to make sure Leo didn't get blown apart by the turret.

"You know, I wanted to do big things—I always felt I was destined for something great," Jackie said, then added, "When I make enough money, I'm going to double the size of the Afterlife Bar and have a free drinks night once a month!"

The real reason was that Mama Welles couldn't stand her son being in the Valentinos. She wanted him to be a respectable man.

Jackie said this with some embarrassment, but Leo detected a hint of... melancholy?

Leo quickly understood that feeling.

When he was with the Valentinos, he was just a teenager carrying a Nue, a cyberware-enhanced Desert Eagle, doing jobs on the streets with his crew. Everyone said his potential was far greater, that one day he'd become someone important.

He wanted to live up to the expectations of those little brothers who looked up to him when he was eighteen—

To pull off a big job, something that would make him a legend in Night City.

But there was a gap between dreams and reality—now in his twenties, after leaving the Valentinos, he was left scraping together gigs from the leftovers.

He thought leaving the Valentinos to go solo was the first step to becoming a legend, but instead, it only seemed to take him further from that dream.

Whether it was becoming a big shot or being a respectable man, both goals seemed far removed from his current situation.

Leo patted Jackie on the shoulder—he had to reach up to do it.

"That day will come."

Jackie smiled, then asked, "Can I buy that kid Navi a gun? Take it out of my share."

Leo shook his head, "No need. As a gift, I'll throw in three sets of tactical gear for them—guns, ammo, and body armor."

"You're being that generous?" V was genuinely surprised.

Leo glanced at V, thinking to himself, Do I really seem that heartless?

"Consider it a gesture of friendship—is that alright with you two?"

V and Jackie both shook their heads in agreement.

The three of them carried the goods to the center of the camp. Hector, visibly moved, said something to Navi.

Navi's face lit up with surprise. He glanced gratefully at the trio, then shouted loudly:

"We've got the medicine! The Sixth Street Gang planned to keep raising prices on us, but these three friends, Leo, V, and Jackie, sold it to us at half price, and even gave us an extra vial for free! The tribe is saved! Now, follow the order we set up earlier, one by one, come and get your medicine, don't push! And thank you, you will always be friends of Red Ocher!"

All eyes were now truly on the three of them. The people of the tribe bustled about, and everyone who passed by the trio bowed their heads in gratitude.

This scene deeply moved both Jackie and V.

The image of nomad tribes in the news was nothing like this.

V remarked, "In Night City, aside from being dirty, chaotic, and dangerous, most news involving nomads is about how they attacked some corporation's convoy or blew up a mining site.

Honestly, I always thought nomads were a bunch of unreasonable terrorists, but here they are... teaching kids."

Leo explained, "Before the land became uninhabitable, they were farmers. When there was work to do, they farmed, and when they weren't farming, they went to the city for work—factories, construction sites, you'd see them everywhere. That's still true today.

But when the land became barren, they had no choice but to wander between cities, looking for work—As for education, nomads take it more seriously than you might think.

There are no schools in the Badlands, so they have to teach themselves. They make sure their kids don't grow up illiterate, and they learn skills from old craftsmen.

Most importantly, they learn to be loyal to their families and tribes, to fight for their loved ones, and to stand up for their friends."

Jackie added, "Sounds a lot like Heywood."

Navi came running up to Jackie, addressing all three of them, "Thank you so much. Without you, we wouldn't have known what to do.

Here's your gun. I hope one day I can fight like you guys."

Jackie smiled and pushed the rifle back to Navi. "It's yours, kid. You're almost as good as I was at your age.

Keep at it, your people need you—and we have another gift for you, come with us."

When the three of them handed over the three sets of tactical gear to Navi, he was utterly stunned.

In fact, he even started to cry.

People often said that nomads were ruthless, hardened by living in the dust.

Tears? The dust had dried those up long ago.

But Navi was only 15. He had just started learning to contribute to his tribe, only to face this crisis, with even his older brother sick and unable to lead.

In that sense, he was in a worse position than Jackie—

He didn't have the Valentinos' name to protect him. On the contrary, he had to protect Red Ocher.

This was the first time an outsider had shown kindness to him and his tribe.

He wiped his tears and said to the trio, "Thank you, from the bottom of my heart. If you ever need Red Ocher, I will be there.

But for now, you might have other problems. This morning, the Sixth Street Gang sent us a message, telling us to keep an eye out for the robbers and to inform them if we found anything.

I bet they're going to try and ambush you on the road—if you trust us, you can take our trucks back. Otherwise, they'll definitely recognize these vehicles."

"Of course, we don't mind."

Leo shrugged, looking at V and Jackie as if to say, See, making friends pays off.

"We're already friends, aren't we? Thanks for your help, Navi.

Alright, let's get ready to head back, sell this batch of goods to Padre, and split the money."

Money?

Both V and Jackie's eyes lit up.