"Who the hell are you? How did you get my number?"
Rude and impulsive, those were the first impressions this voice left on Lin Miao, but given the harsh survival environment, he could understand.
"Panam Palmer... right."
"Yes, I am Panam Palmer. I’ll ask again, who gave you my number?"
"Calm down, okay? It was the bartender at the Sunset Inn, he said his name was Tangkx. I have a job for you Wanderers."
But it was apparent that Ms. Panam, besides answering Lin Miao’s call, was also arguing with other people vociferously, so much so that Lin Miao could hear it—it was as deafening as a loudspeaker.
"Damn it, Sol, I’ll say it again, you can’t trust those company idiots! Asking me to help escort? Don’t even think about it! Fuck! Let those idiots go eat shit!"
After quite a while, the chaos over there quieted down before Lin Miao heard that voice again.
"Speak, what do you want from me?"
"Is your business taken care of?"
"My business is none of your concern, speak quickly, I don’t have the patience for this beat-around-the-bush stuff."
Damn, with a temper like that, how do the people around this girl manage?
Lin Miao suddenly missed Lucy. At least she didn’t lash out this fiercely. He decided it’s best to bring her for this mission; she might be helpful.
"Alright, Panam Palmer, I have a job that might need the help of you Wanderers. Are you interested?"
"Your name, and what do you do? Don’t tell me you’re associated with a company, or we’re done here."
"Lin Miao, independent entrepreneur, at least for now not planning to get involved with any company."
Although Lin Miao had already heard from Tangkx about the Wanderers’ animosity towards companies, he didn’t expect it to be this strong... Maybe he still didn’t know enough about this world.
After the communication channel fell silent for a rare few seconds, Panam finally responded.
"I’ll give you coordinates, but only one person can come, understood."
Lin Miao wasn’t planning on bringing anyone anyway. After returning from Japan Street last night, he specifically asked around about the Wanderers. Most of the feedback was quite positive, at least better than the reputation of most gangs in Night City. Companies seemed to really dislike them, but they shouldn’t be hostile enough to kill incoming clients.
The location Panam gave wasn’t remote; Adcardo’s base was just a few kilometers behind the Sunset Inn in a mountain ravine. It was a relatively spacious flatland flanked by mountains, making it quite concealed, and there was no need to worry about the occasional sandstorms in the Evil Land.
The ravine was stationed with many military green tents and mobile homes, with heavy machine guns set on the perimeter watchtowers. Those finger-thick ammo belts could easily penetrate most vehicle armors, and there were a dozen armored cars and weaponized vehicles stopped there. Some even had multi-barrel rocket launchers.
This refreshed Lin Miao’s impression of Adcardo tremendously; they weren’t just Wanderers—they were completely armed smugglers.
His car was stopped by the guards at the entrance, and the heavy machine gun on the post directly aimed at him.
Lin Miao got out of the car and placed his hands where they were visible to show he meant no harm.
"Lin Miao, I’ve made contact with a Wanderer named Panam."
No kidding, if that heavy machine gun misfired, even if his bones were titanium alloy, a burst would still rip through him.
After waiting for a few seconds at the entrance, the man finally stepped aside and signaled to cancel the machine gun’s alert.
As Lin Miao was about to enter, the man kindly warned him.
"Go in, but a heads up, both Panam and Sol are not in a good mood now, best not to say the wrong thing."
Dang... Still arguing after all this time? Feels like I’ve come at the wrong time.
Sure enough, Lin Miao had barely taken a few steps inside when he saw a Latina woman in a jacket and jeans yelling at a bare-chested burly man in a tent in front of a mobile home, surrounded by quite a few people watching their argument.
"I just don’t get it, Sol, why abandon good smuggling business to become the lackeys of those companies!"
Faced with the aggressive Panam, Sol clearly didn’t want to argue about this topic, looking quite helpless.
"It’s not being lackeys; it’s cooperation. Panam, can’t you be mature? We have to consider the tribe’s interests."
"Ever since Kurt Hansen entered the Taiping Continent and didn’t withdraw, the Netherworld Dog has taken over seventy percent of Night City’s smuggling business. The rest is already minimal, and we still have to compete with the Night Wanderer. Life for the tribe has become tough; we must seek new paths."
Panam also knew she was being unreasonable, but she just didn’t want to bow to the companies.
"Damn! Then let’s take them on, take on those damn Night Wanderers, take on that damn Kurt Hansen! Since when did you become such a coward, Sol?"
After shouting, she threw down her things and squeezed through the crowd, heading towards Lin Miao.
This woman was even fiercer than Lin Miao had imagined. He even thought that if he handed her a grenade right now, she would unhesitatingly go blow up that Kurt Hansen with it.
And during their argument, Lin Miao was also observing the camp. It had over one hundred people, with thirty to forty combat personnel, a small bar, an armory, oil trucks, and even some kids playing a stone-throwing game. Lin Miao even thought he saw a van dedicated to surgeries.