Cyberpunk - Badland Madman [Cyberpunk 2077]

For a very long time, eyes were flashing colors, and heads were dipped to read Agents. Panam and Saul were the same. It took some time, so Cypher walked to the side, grabbed a folding chair, and set it in the middle of the tent's entrance so all the people around him were in a semi-circle.

He crossed his legs, folded his arms, and relaxed.

After about twenty minutes, everyone was looking back at him. But nobody spoke; they were silent as the night. Many looked terrified, even as if ready to run away from Night City.

"I gotta say anything else to tell you how bad the idea is?" Cypher asked, not to Saul but the others.

"I don't think so," Mitch voiced from nearby. "The plan was too good to be true anyway."

Cypher nodded. "That's w—"

"What other choice do we have?" Saul Bright interrupted, his impatience slipping in words. "You want us back on the road? Smuggling? Running errands for scraps and getting killed every other run? Aldecaldos as a nation is dying, and I'm responsible for this family. There is no food, no money, and jobs are drying up fast. So tell me, how do you expect us to survive without taking this risk?"

Beep!

Cypher sent a text to Saul's Agent. The man quickly looked at it, visibly scrolling for a very long time before looking back.

"What is this?" Saul asked.

"That's how many weapon designs I got right now. Pre-DataKrash shit. Real good hardware, and soon I'm gonna be manufacturing it with my own flavor mixed in. Way better than most of the garbage out there right now.

"Problem is, production ain't the issue. I've got machines and robots cranking that out already. I can do that forever. But sales? Nah, that's where human capital comes in, and that's the one thing I'm missing. Hell, I've got so much goddamn work lined up you people would drown in it. Hook me up with the rest of the Aldecaldos if you want, I've got jobs for them too. I'm going global either way, with you folks or without you. This is your shot to climb aboard before my ship leaves port."

[Excellent work. If we intend to seize NUSA someday, we require people. Using Bright Family to contact the Aldecaldos is the most efficient way to secure large-scale manpower.]

"Ain't I a genius, Atlas? I came up with the plan myself."

[Indeed. I shall consider your pre-school education over with this.]

"Fuck you, bitch. I'm at least at middle-schooler level."

[Perhaps… but in a school of children with special needs.]

"Yeah, I do got special needs right here between my legs. No shush, Saul's about to bark again."

Cypher focused on the man again.

"You expect us to believe all this? It's just words without meaning," Saul asked back.

"I believe him." Panam interrupted, walking over to stand at Cypher's side. "I... I can't explain it, but I know Cypher. I have seen what he can do. Trust me, if it were my choice, I would hold onto him and never let go. Mitch can tell you. So can the fifty Aldecaldos working the Continental. He saved my life from the Wraiths, killed dozens recently, and he hunts Scavs."

"As we all should." Cassidy Righter blurted from the side.

"Everyone, Cypher runs a company, sure, but that does not make him one of those corps. He has never done us wrong, never betrayed the trust we put in him. He's the reason we have unlimited water now. He started from nothing, just like we did. A nomad chasing something better. And he has got the head for it, but he will not survive long on his own. We need him, that is true, but he needs us just as much. So there is no debt between us."

Actually, I don't need you all. Cypher corrected silently. He'd already told Panam that only a nuke can take him out.

But he could see her words affecting the people. True, if the nomads saw working for him as less of a debt and more of a give-and-take relationship, they would feel more proud and respectful of their work.

[An army that feels pride in itself and is not held by fear is the most efficient.]

Cypher just nodded to Atlas' evaluation. Though he couldn't see the Bright Family as any sort of an army. Just being armed didn't mean they were good at carrying out operations.

Seeing Panam finish speaking, and staring at him as if asking for his final words, he spoke.

"I ain't gonna promise you people anything, except hope. Something actually real, unlike all that Biotechnica bullshit. Sooner or later, with all the crazy stuff I'm working on, I'll crack how to grow real food again. And when that happens, I'm gonna need a whole lotta decent folks out there farming. Only problem is, no matter where you put down roots, somebody's gonna attack you eventually. That's guaranteed.

"So what I can offer is private land, heavy weapons, guns, turrets, even flying fucking drones if that's what it takes. Obviously, none of that's free. Hell, if someone offered it free, I'd tell you to run. All I want is the right to what you grow beyond what's needed for your own prosperity. I'll buy it from you, just like farmers in the old days. I'll sell it to the rest of the world afterwards. Hopefully, we'll turn back this continent to a time where cockroaches were insects and not food."

"How is that different from Biotechnica?" Saul Bright nearly shouted. "You will own what we'll grow."

"First off, I'm sick of eating garbage every damn day. Second, I don't give a fuck about farming, that's not my lane. Third, either roll with it or don't, but if you're gonna reject this, I'll make drones and machines to work the fields remote. I can pull that off. And Jesus Christ, man, if you still ain't getting what I'm saying, go toss yourself in a ditch. I'm not out here tryna run some food business, I just want things back to normal again."

"And what is your business?" Saul asked.

Cypher shrugged and began walking away, slightly annoyed that nothing was going through Saul's head. "Fixing this shitty world, I guess."

Some chuckled, some scoffed, some looked at him seriously. He sounded no different to them than Johnny Silverhand declaring he'd stop corpo terror by blowing up Arasaka. Fixing the world was not something a single man could do. That was what common sense dictated.

But again, Cypher had destroyed all common sense when he gave life to his friend Atlas.

"I got another meeting, so I'm gonna dip. Figure your shit out by next week."

Cypher moved past the crowd that parted for him. Those who already worked for him in the Continental gave him appreciative, respectful nods, while the others just looked at him.

He walked all the way back to where Panam's truck was parked.

"Cypher! Wait, I can drop you off at home."

Cypher slowed his pace and let Panam reach his side, slightly out of breath.

"I'm good, Pan," Cypher replied, pointing his Quadra Type-66 640 TS that had remotely driven itself with Atlas' guidance to there. "My ride's here."

He finally stopped at the driver's side door and looked back. "I did what I could. The rest's on Saul and your people now. Can't help folks who ain't ready to help themselves. I ain't some asshole, but I ain't running a charity eith—"

Woosh!

Cypher had to swallow his words as he felt Panam jump at him and hug him so tightly he almost fell backwards. She was on her toes, her arms around his neck, her front flat against his chest. Then he felt her lips peck his cheek.

"Thanks. Truly, thank you for doing this, Cypher. You gave us a chance, and that means a lot to me."

Cypher felt awkward as he hadn't been expecting that. He hesitantly put his hands behind her back, not too low since he knew her temper well. Sure, he wanted to take his chances with Panam, but he didn't know if now was the time.

When Panam released him, Cypher noticed a hint of awkwardness on her face as well. Her eyes didn't look up at his face.

"Well, hell, I guess that makes driving all the way out here worth it." He said with a cheeky little smirk as he slid into his car. "Catch you around, Panam."

"Try not to get yourself killed." Panam waved.

"I'll try."

Cypher first fixed his pants as the ungodly rock-like erection was painful. Then he stepped on the gas and drove away.

He drove back the way he had come, past the Sunset Motel, but instead of taking the left on the highway, he drove straight into Santo Domingo, headed for Heywood.

"Wonder what Gloria's making for dinner."

"But we both know it is her you are interested in eating," Atlas replied, seated on the passenger seat as a realistic, colored hologram visible only to him, like a ghost.

"I bet she'll taste better than anything she'll cook."

Atlas just shook his head like a disappointed grandfather. "In any case, Exo-Suit development is finished. Do you have a name prepared for it?"

"How about... Eh, I'll figure that shit out later. Hell, I might not even use it if the next itch ends up bein' something good."

"At this point, you should fear Murphy's Law, Cyph," Atlas advised.

"Murphy can suck my hard, throbbing dick. I'm gonna floor this damn car."

So, he did what he loved. Drove like a suicidal maniac.

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Advance chapters on [PATREON] are in long-form format. I have 10 long chapters of this story on P@treon. That's equal to 35-45 NovelPhoenix chapters.