Chapter 123: It’s For the Car!
The survivor clutched his broken arm, unable to speak. Shame and regret overwhelmed him like a tide. Deep down, he knew—he shouldn't have survived. His place was among the fallen, lying in the dirt alongside his brothers, warriors of the Red Ocher Tribe. To have lived while they perished felt like a betrayal. His continued existence was a stain on their legacy.
Arthur stared down at him, exhaling a lazy plume of smoke that curled into the survivor's face. "Tch. Trash," he muttered coldly.
He didn't spare another glance at the broken man. Instead, Arthur turned his attention to something more useful—scouting the abandoned vehicles scattered across the ruined camp. He was short on cars back at Umbrella, and these Ranger-class vehicles weren't bad. Maybe not as flashy as a Sword in the Stone, but reliable as hell.
To a wanderer, a car was more than transport—it was shelter, identity, even a weapon. And these rides? Unclaimed. Perfect for a man like Arthur who was always thinking three moves ahead.
He figured he could hand them out as year-end bonuses. The factory workers at Umbrella had been producing like madmen—pumping out inventory faster than he could sell it. Some of them worked like they had twenty arms, cranking out parts like old-world deities. Maybe if he gave out some vehicles, it'd slow them down.
Arthur rubbed his chin thoughtfully. Each of these rigs could fetch a solid 20 to 30K on the market. Give 'em a new coat of paint, maybe fix a few dents, and boom—extra profit or morale boosters.
While Arthur circled the camp, Sol remained by the survivor's side, trying to offer comfort. But Arthur had already made up his mind about the man—cowardice was a death sentence in Night City. If you let someone slap you without slapping back twice as hard, you were doomed to be chewed up and spit out.
Eventually, Arthur returned to Sol, cracking open a beer he had scrounged from the camp. He tossed another can to Sol, who caught it without a word.
"Wanderer liquor's not bad," Arthur commented after a sip. "Still drinkable, even out here."