The Dawn of the Badlands

"The sun... Haven't seen you in months."

An old Mackinaw pickup, hastily painted with black and red stripes, sped down the road.

Facing the rising sun, the wanderer's skin began to burn.

"Navi, kid, the tribe is in your hands now. Don't choose the wrong path like that old fool Hector."

With those thoughts in mind, the wanderer lowered his head further and further until the truck crashed straight into the roadside barrier. Following the pre-set program, the vehicle exploded violently.

By the time the company's agents caught up, all that remained was ash.

The morning sun rose, and the Badlands began to heat up.

The wanderer had once believed in the fairy tale future promised by biotechnology—"chasing the sun to the ends of the earth." In the end, they couldn't even bear to see the light.

"But today, they had the most glorious day of their lives. May their spirits transcend in the flames."

The Badlands.

Navi murmured to himself.

After a night of madness, the remaining time was for farewells.

The pursuit had actually ended when Leo and the others crossed the Haywood Bridge into Santo Domingo.

Technically, entering Santo Domingo was Leo's home turf. He could control the entire transport network there with just a glance.

From the enemy's perspective, this was a sudden incident, and they didn't have enough personnel to conduct a citywide manhunt.

The subsequent riots were enormous, and the company's pursuit ability would be further limited by lack of information and internal conflicts.

Soon, intelligence agents caught wind that Arasaka might be behind it, which further diminished their will to chase, leading them to enter a phase of strategic adjustment.

Now, all they could do was assess the damage, execute emergency plans, smear their opponents, and try to gain more at the political table.

Leo sat wearily in the driver's seat, holding the wheel, but deep down, he was full of mixed emotions.

"Was that the last one?"

In another vehicle, Navi nodded, "Elton, like Cedric, was a legend of the tribe—though, of course, not up to the standards of you guys from Night City."

Clearly, Navi was referring to Leo's trio.

What he didn't know, though, was that even the legends of Night City weren't like that; the trio was an anomaly.

Most people would have died in last night's events, and surviving wasn't even in the same league as going down with a fight.

By now, the other two legends were already sound asleep—they still needed further treatment, but Leo had done some emergency healing. Let them rest.

As for himself, the effects of the lizard serum were wearing off, and the hyper-regeneration had depleted all the energy from the nutrient solution.

The long-term effects on him were yet to be studied, but for now, it seemed that aside from the system continuously suppressing some violent symptoms, there were no other side effects.

Leo spoke up again:

"Becoming a legend isn't about making a big splash. It's about whether you've lived for yourself and if, when your life reaches its end, you can honestly tell yourself that it was your choice.

He's now part of the legend. Tell me his story."

"His story took place during the Unification War. Militech's forces rolled over the Free States, and a small squad of Militech scouts reached his farm.

To keep the war from reaching his farm, he rallied the nearby farmers and took out the scouts—

But obviously, that wouldn't stop the war from coming. I don't know what he was thinking, or maybe he didn't tell the full story.

In the end, Militech plowed over the farmland, nationalized his assets, and put him on their wanted list."

A classic wanderer story, but Elton clearly had a temper. He didn't think twice about whether killing the scouts would achieve anything.

Or maybe the farm he could never return to drove him mad.

Perhaps he knew the outcome before he even acted. He just wanted revenge, just like today.

After telling the story, Navi felt a bit relieved and continued:

"If he heard you say that, I bet his mustache would curl up to the sky."

Leo chuckled. "I mean it—what would he do if he heard this?"

"He'd pull a huge crate of beer from his trunk and challenge anyone around who dared to talk back—

'I guarantee I'll drink you till you puke!'—Haha, you should've seen him drunk! Like a seal who lost its way!"

After laughing, Navi looked out at the endless Badlands and suddenly thought things didn't seem so bad.

He started to understand the relieved expressions Cedric, Hector, and Elton's elders had when saying goodbye to old friends.

If they didn't die like this, but instead huddled in a tent, never seeing the sun again, it would've been too suffocating.

"44 of them. All dead, but they died with honor."

The old legends faded, and new ones rose. Now they were surely part of the legend, at the cost of 44 lives.

"Hector said you'll be in charge of the tribe from now on—what's your plan?"

All 44 of their best warriors were gone. Red Ochre had lost most of its fighting strength—some might even say it had none.

Aside from the elderly, children, and some women with no combat abilities, the tribe had few young men left, and they lacked experience.

"Keep doing what we always did—smuggling. But with so many gone, who's going to hire us?"

Navi forced a bitter smile.

After such a heroic night, reality remained harsh.

Red Ochre was never known for being a combative Aldecaldo tribe, and with so many of their best fighters dead, who would still give them work?

Leo had been waiting for this.

"That's nothing you need to worry about. All the top dogs of Night City are here now. You think you won't find work?"

No work? His phone had been ringing off the hook the whole way here.

If top-tier bosses like him couldn't find work, no one could.

The vehicle finally neared its destination. From a distance, Leo could already see the Red Ochre's modified RVs and tents.

"Yeah, that's true." Navi smiled and leaned out the driver's window, shouting to the tribe, "Someone, go keep watch around the area! Check for any corporate dogs or cops following us!"

That shout woke up V and Jackie, who were sleeping nearby—

It had to be said, Hector had a good eye for picking people.

"So now we're laying low in the Badlands."

"That's the plan."

Leo nodded and continued, "Let's heal up first, and then we'll deal with everything else."

V flopped backward and howled at the sky: "Aaaaah—why do we have to lay low now? I want to go to Afterlife! Imagine the way they'll look at us! So badass!"

Leo glanced at V. "Only kids think like that. Even Rogue laid low in the Badlands after blowing up Arasaka Tower. Anyone with a brain knows when to hide."

"Really?" V was skeptical.

"Really—Jackie, I already informed Mama Wells and Misty when I arrived."

Jackie scratched his head. "I was about to ask about that."

V suddenly sat up, his face contorted as he held his stomach—he moved too quickly and aggravated his internal injuries.

"Ouch. Damn, I'm really hurt bad this time. So, how much did we score?"

Leo gave a sheepish smile. "What if I said we didn't make a single cent—would you be mad?"

Jackie and V exchanged glances and shrugged.

Leo had mentioned this at the start—the mission wasn't about making money.

As for the real goal: whether Leo could recover his health wasn't even worth asking—

What kind of sickly person could leap onto a scorpion-tail tank and rip out its engine?

However, it seemed Leo had fully reverted to his human form by now.

Jackie, curious, asked, "What happened yesterday? You looked like a... lizard? That was wild!"

V scooted over to Leo's side, inspecting his tail area—

Wait, where was the tail? V even gave it a little slap.

Leo looked helpless. "Stop looking. It was an emergency situation. Thank biotech for their equipment."

"So, you're all good now?" V squeezed Leo's arm. "Nope, still scrawny."

". Any experiment takes time to study and analyze."

V nodded regretfully. "Alright then. But you don't look so sickly anymore. So, no money this time—wonder when I'll be able to buy a car."

"Speaking of that—we didn't come out empty-handed. Remember I had someone hit that Pronghorn Motors convoy?"

Leo grinned mysteriously.

Vroom—

From outside the camp came the roar of powerful engines. It sounded like several vehicles were approaching fast—

Wait, listening closely, it wasn't just one car.

[Incoming Call: El Captain]

El Captain: Chooms, the cars are here. Come out and check out these beauties!