Chapter 958 - 11: Night City Today (Part 3)

The size of the Wanderer Camp in Evil Land is larger than Lille expected:

There are now conservatively estimated to be over one million wanderers across America. As the clan with the least apparent political leanings and religious beliefs, and the greatest inclusivity, Adkaduo has the largest numbers, but they lack organizational capability, giving the impression of weakness, which ultimately led to a large number of tribes joining other clans.

Internally, the Wanderers are also divided into tribes, and Adkaduo is one large family, initially comprising seven clans; however, one of them, the Mehta Clan, transformed into a legitimate corporate enterprise at the start of the century, occupying New Mexico City.

In the turmoil of these decades, the remaining six clans either capitulated, forming deep ties with companies, or slowly withered away in Evil Land, meeting a slow death.

The reasons are numerous: firstly, in this world, farmers cannot farm.

Take North America as an example; extreme climates and natural disasters have caused desertification in North America to spread, while habitable areas have dramatically shrunk. For instance, a 10.5 magnitude earthquake occurred in Los Angeles in 1999, directly submerging 35% of the city.

The current Typhoon Natalie raging in Europe is a new era’s natural disaster, and the storm will not pass quickly but will last for some time.

Meanwhile, large-scale, unbridled underground resource extraction has destroyed much of the land’s geology, and wars have made rural survival impossible, collapsing the market environment and halting the circulation of goods, creating a vicious cycle.

But the fundamental reason is that companies have eradicated "uncontrolled seeds."

At some unknown point, the seeds that farmers could purchase were only sterile, seedless ones like Purine-2 wheat seeds. This crop, engineered through genetic engineering, crossbreeding, and other techniques, has ensured that the market only has single-harvest crops available.

At the same time, companies monopolizing agriculture and targeting a global scale have released crop viruses that only allow company-modified seeds to possibly thrive across North America and indeed the world—

But do not forget, the land in this world is no longer suitable for agriculture.

Multiple factors have rendered small-scale farming impossible, forcing wanderers to roam, not out of love for aimless life as criminals.

Thus, this world has no farmers; companies have agricultural technicians, but according to common classification, they belong to the worker category.

Typically, this is considered a conspiracy theory, but Lille can confirm:

Biotechnology Companies are major executors of this plan, and the Illuminati have confirmed their involvement—

Antitrust laws in this world are a joke, especially since the European Union’s Central Executive Committee holds shares in these companies, what reason would they have to prevent earning more?

Cities do not require farmers; large-scale unemployment and unrest deter politicians from accepting them, causing a massive number of farmers to become homeless wanderers.

They are forced to wander, adapting proactively but helplessly, so when Adkaduo began to be accepted by Night City and settled near it, securing stable jobs and respect, other clans also started to approach Night City.

Almost all urban population growth rates worldwide are negative, yet Night City astonishingly continues to grow annually...

Though not through natural birth.

Adkaduo was on the verge of dispersion; even if not joining a corporation, most clans preferred to join the more organized Snake State, but this trend has now somewhat halted.

"...and then all of Adkaduo in America came over. Shouldn’t we say hi to Sol and Pan’an?"

Just as V finished speaking, they happened to pass by an Adkaduo Camp by the roadside, where several Adkaduo members were gathered around a campfire by a Mackinaw vehicle, appearing to be on patrol, even bringing along two children—

The children reacted the fastest, appearing only thirteen or fourteen years old, caught between innocence and entering society.

Wanderer education is rather advanced, focusing on practical application due to living circumstances.

Upon seeing the large Mackinaw, everyone’s eyes widened:

In Night City, there is only one such large armored pickup!

And what’s more magical is, every time this super pickup returns covered in medals, or rather scars, this time it returned without even a scratch, looking entirely brand new!

"Legend!"

The child’s excited voice gave V a pleasant thrill, she rolled down the window and waved to the people outside, putting on an expression as if she didn’t care, although she had tried countless responses over the past two years, now resembling a celebrity.

Lille, however, did not react: "We won’t go for now, but we can tell them you’re back, let Sol come to... uh, the usual place you talk."

"Oh, feeling shy now? Isn’t the usual place Afterlife? Have you forgotten?"

V mercilessly mocked Lille and then shouted to the people outside: "Have Sol come to Afterlife!"

"Got it! Also, welcome home!"

V contentedly reclined back in her seat: "Being a star feels really good."

"Show-off... What’s that big sign for?"

Lille pointed at the core electronic display in the Adkaduo Camp, looking like it had been salvaged from some large factory.

"A billboard, one side posts job information, the other posts relief supplies info. Ryan and Perares wanted a way to retain these people, just in case they’re needed later.

But I guess Sol persuaded them with his constant ’family’ credo, saying ’we are one family’ all the time, it probably scared them.

Huh, usually when I return, Lark would message me instantly, how come there’s nothing this time?"

"Probably because I scared her."

In fact, Lille had already responded to Lark, blocking her communication, more precisely, he had rewritten the system in V and Jack’s bodies, considering the numerous prosthetics they had replaced and modified drivers.

Hackers need knowledge of hardware, but hackers are not hardware engineers; compared to Lille and Munemasa, 99.99% of the prosthetic drivers on the market are rubbish.

So Lark already knows who’s in the car, she’s probably quite tense in her office right now, and Ryan, Perares, and Hansen likely feel the same:

Not just because Lille has returned, but because they’ve witnessed war.

V shrugged, essentially giving up thinking, whatever Lille says goes.

"Why scare her—though there truly are more people here now, there’s not that much work, nor supplies, Sol says this all the time."

"Soon, having more people won’t be an issue... How’s Saint Domingo now? Is it still under the Sergeant?"

A gigantic cargo truck brushed past Lille, the driver wide-eyed, drooling at the sight of Mackinaw.

The truck was packed with brand new Mackinaw vehicles, from pickups to armored vehicles, showing that Mackinaw General Vehicle specializes in heavy vehicles and has good sales channels, seemingly selling to Mexico, accompanied by an Adkaduo’s Team for escort.

Clearly, these vehicles are all manufactured in Saint Domingo.

There used to be a windbreak soil wall on the road to Saint Domingo, now a concrete structure has been raised on it, resembling the old Dog Town fortress, with former Netherworld Dogs now wearing City Defense Army uniforms patrolling above.

The wall also features fixed missile launch bases and other weaponry, showing that even though Night City cannot manage Military Technology’s former border positions, it has not given up establishing armed defenses around its outskirts.

Ordinary vehicles are subject to inspection and questioning, just like in the past at border walls, but Mackinaw can drive straight through.

"Yes, it’s still him, Dog Town took out his other leg on that job, the old guy is tough as nails."

As they passed the wall, a brand new Saint Domingo unfolded before their eyes.