January 1, 2072, 13:22.
A sturdy Mackinaw Larrimore van passed through the checkpoint and arrived at Sillan Town.
This is a small town with at most a hundred households.
It's about a two-hour drive from the border post, surrounded by barren wilderness, giving it an overall impoverished look.
The whole town has only one bar and inn. After Pan'an parked the car, she looked around and sighed: "It seems like this place is going downhill too."
No one got out of the car. They just chatted idly inside.
"What do you mean?" V was a bit curious. As a native Street Kid from the Haywood District of Night City, this was her first time out of the city.
"Before Dog Town showed up, any shady deals were usually discussed here in Sillan Town."
Pan'an observed her surroundings as she spoke with some nostalgia: "This place isn't under Night City's jurisdiction, so the people doing business here were varied and numerous.
People smuggling goods into Night City would meet here, or any trade looking to avoid the eyes of the city would also be concluded here—Wanderers, gangs from Night City, even corporate dogs...
Overall, it was quite bustling. The bar was packed 24/7; the upstairs inn was impossible to book without calling ahead, and that two-story building across the street was also an inn, but it's shut down now."
Pan'an paused, then continued: "Now, anyone with similar needs just goes to Dog Town. Small-scale smuggling can be done without negotiation; just load up here and head into the city.
The Night City checkpoint knows the big deals have moved to Dog Town, and with a little money, you can easily pass through, without any real risk.
In Sillan Town, you hardly see anyone around at this time of day. I'd say it won't last another few years unless Dog Town suddenly vanishes, then maybe it has a chance to survive."
V nodded, looked around cautiously, then turned to Qiwei: "What do you say, what's next?"
Qiwei's expression was calm: "According to Mercer's intel, the Biotech people only come here twice a week, usually arriving at precisely 3 PM.
The leader will first meet with someone in the bar.
Then, after the discussion, they'll organize the test subjects outside into their vehicle to administer the injections. About an hour later, the Biotech folks leave.
If we're only after the drug samples, we just need to hijack their vehicle before it reaches Sillan.
But according to Mercer, he's also interested in who's using the drugs, wanting to delve deeper into this business—basically, he thinks this is more than just drug testing.
We need to keep an eye on the Red Ocher Tribe... Pan'an, this one's on you, to see if there's any link between this and the Red Ocher Tribe."
Pan'an agreed readily: "No problem, a Wanderer can recognize another Wanderer, and besides, members of the Red Ocher Tribe are pretty distinctive. Each one carries a piece of jewelry made from red ochre, be it a necklace, earrings, or a ring."
"So next, V and Pan'an, you two need to get into the bar before the Biotech people arrive, and then... Here's a micro surveillance device."
Qiwei picked up something that seemed no bigger than a thumb and handed it to V: "This came from Military Science via Mercer. You just need to hide it in the bar and place it somewhere we can see their faces.
It has an automatic audio enhancement system, so it can amplify sound to catch conversations even from a distance.
After setting it up, just take your time inside, have a few drinks, eat something, act like normal patrons, and don't raise suspicion.
The bar closes at 2 PM, accepting no outside customers until 3 PM after Biotech's done talking with the mystery man inside, and reopens.
You can return during opening hours to retrieve the camera.
I'll be in the car, maintaining contact with you via squad comms, monitoring from a computer to make sure you don't set the camera askew."
V thought it sounded quite simple and nodded: "Alright, let's do this. When should we go?"
"...Hold on, someone's coming," Qiwei said cautiously.
Pan'an glanced at the rearview mirror and snorted dismissively: "Stay put, I'll handle this..."
"Knock knock knock."
Someone rapped on the car window.
Pan'an, looking annoyed, rolled down the window: "What do you want?"
Standing outside was a middle-aged man in a police uniform, his sharp gaze scanning the car's interior, glancing at V, and then evaluating Qiwei in the back seat.
"What brings you here?"
"What else would a Wanderer do here? Business, trade." Pan'an replied irritably: "Chief, do you have anything else?"
"Don't cause any trouble on my turf... I remember you, you weren't driving this car before." The Chief's eyes were sharp, fixed on Pan'an.
Pan'an stared him down without flinching: "Is Sillan a place where even what car you drive gets monitored now? No wonder this town's getting so deserted."
"Huh..." The Chief sneered, but said no more, merely withdrawing his gaze: "Those two friends of yours don't look easy to deal with, you better keep an eye on them."
"Then I advise you not to piss off my two difficult-to-deal-with friends... if you're looking for trouble or trying to make a quick buck, you've got the wrong people."