Kapitel 221: Chapter 223
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In the train car, Saul lay on the car flooring, sore from the torture inflicted by the Maelstrom gang, a beating that nearly cost him half his life. Upon seeing his pained expression, Panam laughed and asked, "Have you finally learned your lesson? I told you not to deal with corporations, yet you went off to meet with Maelstrom. Have you forgotten how much blood our clan has spilled because of them?"
Saul, eyes tightly shut, remained silent, only speaking once his headache eased slightly, "Biotechnologies aren't like other corporations. The problem is with Maelstrom this time. I should have known better and taken a tougher approach from the start."
Panam couldn't contain her frustration upon hearing Saul's stubborn opinion. "Just be thankful you're alive. What if something had happened to you? What would become of the tribe? Should we exhaust our resources fighting against Maelstrom?"
Saul ignored Panam's words and continued, "They wanted to extract information about our tribe's locations, layouts, and migratory movements. Do you think I was unaware of their intentions?"
"Panam, it's not like I haven't warned you. This stealth mission was risky. You've returned to the clan. If something had happened to me, you should've led the tribe far away from those Maelstrom maniacs and found a safer place to develop," he added.
Panam turned her head away, tired of listening to Saul. "You always have an answer. I might as well have heard nothing."
Arguing with Panam was always the same, and Saul had grown accustomed to it. They fundamentally disagreed on how the tribe should survive and thrive.
Saul believed the tribe should diversify its diplomacy and exploit all available powers and resources, including corporations, and even considered negotiating with Maelstrom. Due to Saul's persistence, the Aldecaldo tribe rarely attacked corporate convoys anymore, to leave room for cooperation.
His strategy was soon rewarding as several companies started outsourcing their dirty work in the Badlands to them, compensating with money and certain special materials. Saul's recent venture involved discussions with bio-technology firms regarding reverse-osmosis crops and microbial nanite services.
The bio-tech's armed defense mainly relied on Kang Tao's smart weapons, and they had established large farms in the wasteland. Leaving tasks to Maelstrom was risky, presenting the Aldecaldo family a perfect opportunity.
Panam's opinion was the opposite; she believed the tribe's development should be independent, striking at corporations when necessary instead of cooperating and begging from them. Militech transfer lines carried plenty of weapons, biotech transfer lines held loads of crop seeds, and even Arasaka's lines had plenty of equipment—whatever they lacked, they could get from the corporations.
These companies wouldn't seek revenge for lost goods but instead invest money into Maelstrom to fight other tribes. Maelstrom, naturally rebellious, might rob the same corporate convoys they were hired to protect after getting paid.
Saul saw the recent company plaza disaster as an opportunity for a stable collaboration with the corporations, reducing the unpredictability of tribal growth, but Panam saw this as weakness and incompetence.
With Maelstrom posing external threats and internal challenges in resource development, Saul, as the tribe leader, needed to find solutions.
Their conversation ended in discord. Saul blinked hard, and when his vision cleared, he noticed a charred corpse lying next to him, completely unrecognizable.
"Never thought you'd bring him along on a stealth mission, Panam...," Saul began.
Panam immediately raised her hand, cutting him off, "Enough, I know what you're going to say. Let's drop it; I don't want to hear it."
Saul, about to speak, was interrupted again. He brushed some debris off Tang Yu, sighing, "Old buddy, you're indeed fortunate to have Panam care for you even in this state. If you had any conscience, you'd wake up soon to save her the worry."
Scorpion, seated at the driver's position, tensed up at Saul's careless words. The "old bro" Saul referred to had single-handedly destroyed an entire Maelstrom-operated cement factory. Scorpion had watched him effortlessly glide in and out of action.
That night, Scorpion's worldview had crumbled completely, speechless despite Mitch's anxious inquiries. Any accidental provocation of this charred figure could mean none of them would make it back tonight.
Growing increasingly nervous, Scorpion tried to hide his fear beneath his hoodie, leaving only a narrow slit for his eyes. As he cautiously glanced toward the rear-view mirror to warn Saul about something, he saw the blackened corpse suddenly open an eye and fiercely glare at him.
The bloodshot white, the blackened iris, the cold gaze, all crashed unreservedly against Scorpion.
Scorpion's scalp tingled, his soul shattered, like being struck by lightning, he withdrew his gaze and clamped his mouth shut.
Clutching the steering wheel, his hands felt weak, almost slipping as a chill ran down his spine.
He silently vowed, what he saw tonight, he would never speak of, and from now on, he would stay as far away as possible...
Saul noticed Scorpion sitting silently in the driver's seat and asked curiously, "Scorpion, was it just you and Panam in action together?"
Scorpion smirked inwardly.
'I dare say, would you believe it?'
Seeing Scorpion still the same, head down and taciturn, Saul admonished him with the tone of someone who had been there, "Scorpion, you need to learn to communicate more and open up in front of us. That's how we can understand each other, you know? Otherwise, who knows what you're thinking."
This was meant for Panam, but Saul used Scorpion as the pretext.
Panam just told Saul to dial it down and rest instead of talking nonsense. The rest of the journey was silent.
The van soon arrived at the Aldecaldos camp. As soon as the van stopped, Mitch greeted them with a smile, delighted to see Saul back safe: "Good to have you back. Everyone in the tribe has rested, let's all head to bed early." But his attention was all on Scorpion, and seeing him head straight for his tent with his head down after getting out of the van, Mitch bid Saul farewell and followed Scorpion. "What's the deal, not a single word since you got back, what did you see?" Scorpion didn't respond and walked straight into his tent, drawing the curtain behind him, leaving Mitch hanging outside.
Mitch looked back at Saul and Panam to find them normal, still unsure of what Scorpion had encountered to become even more reticent. Saul, watching Panam carry a body toward the tent, decided not to mention it; bringing it up would surely upset Panam and drive her away.
He sighed; regardless, this time it was Panam who took the risk to save him from the chaos of a skirmish. Back in the tent, Panam changed into a freshly laundered mat and laid Tang Yu's body out with care. After arranging Tang Yu, Panam laid down beside him, staring at his profile for a long time. Suddenly, Panam spoke, her tone unusually gentle, "Was that power outage your doing earlier? You must have woken up, right?"
After waiting a while and seeing no response from Tang Yu, Panam chuckled without reason. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone your identity." "How you want to handle things with Rogue is up to you. She's called me several times, trying to find out about you." "That old lady doesn't seem to have good intentions; I just told her I'd buried you already. But Rogue probably won't believe that; she's quite sharp." "Forget it. Since you haven't fully recovered, we'll talk whenever you're ready." "Good night." Panam shifted her body to find a comfortable sleeping position and quietly closed her eyes. Before she could fall asleep, her phone suddenly notified her of a message. She pulled it out and saw two words displayed on the screen: "Good night."
...
Abandoned cement factory.
A numerous convoy arrived at the factory gates, their headlights bright. Several modified SUVs with powerful engines roared like wild beasts. The rough-looking group disembarked and approached the main entrance of the factory. Despite being used to violent scenes, the bloody spectacle before them made them frown.
Broken body parts and fresh blood flowed like a river across the floor. A few stepped forward to scout inside, returning soon with a report.
"Boss, not a single survivor, everyone's dead..."
The man in the seat hesitated before stepping out. He wore a stitched mask that only revealed his features, making his face indistinct. The mask, made of uneven leather patches sewn together coarsely, dangled from his neck, showing more patched interfaces. His breathing was heavy as he walked into the factory surrounded by his men. Under the light, the inside was chaotic with bodies riddled with countless bullets strewn everywhere, suggesting a mass mutual kill, perhaps a cyberpsychosis outbreak. The man in the leather mask turned back to inspect the footprints which were still fresh.
Then.
Several men rushed to report, "Boss, all data in the surveillance room has been destroyed. There's nothing left." Someone added, "This place previously held Saul from the Aldecaldos." "The person's gone; must have escaped," volunteered another who had checked the basement. "Aldecaldos..." The man in the mask murmured. "I want their hides." Hearing this, his men, pumped up, started shouting wildly. "Yeah, peel their skins!" "We've wanted to go after them for a while; Aldecaldos women are fiercer, more fun!" "Boss, Aldecaldos have been well hidden; we've never snagged their info." He stood up and headed outside, speaking in an indifferent tone. "Cut off their water, food, and transport." "If they don't come out, keep killing until someone spills." "Three days. I want results."
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein