Damp, chilly, dark—those are the common traits of all tunnels and caves.
The Stone Ridge Mountain tunnel is no exception.
This was originally a tunnel prepared for a transport railway for Night City, but in the end, the tunnel was constructed and the company went bankrupt.
Due to the inability to coordinate interstate railway construction, tariffs, and crossing taxes, plus endless lawsuits that dragged this railway company down to bankruptcy.
The abandoned tunnel eventually became a perfect place for the Night Wanderers to hide their ill-gotten gains, with containers, crates, and vehicles strewn in every corner of the tunnel.
There were stolen goods, purchased items, those sent over by the Chaotic Blade Association for smuggling into Night City to be shipped to other countries, and goods smuggled from outside through Night City to the United States or Free State.
Even the Night Wanderers here likely have no clue how much stuff is stored in the tunnel or the origins, which company or power these belong to.
The variety, that’s not even mentioning: prosthetics, firearms, chemical materials, metals, food, even fur coats—they do anything that can make money.
Night City tunnel entrance direction.
The swinging incandescent light above casts shadows of the Night Wanderers who are counting today’s shipments into Night City, lengthening and shortening them along the wall with the light.
The sunlight at the mouth of the tunnel seems a bit far from here.
"Ajax assault rifles, fifty, twenty thousand rounds of ammunition."
"Twenty crates of grenades, 200 grenades."
"Standard pistols, one hundred fifty, fifteen thousand rounds of ammunition..."
"Valentino’s offered 120 grand...damn, everyone says smuggling is fast money, I don’t see it that way."
"By the end of this trip, I’ll barely rake in two to three grand, not enough to enjoy for two months."
Listening to the complaints nearby, Tom quietly said,
"Chaotic Blade Association’s goods, thirty-seventy split, seventy percent is theirs, of what comes to us, the boss takes ten percent, the team leader gets ten percent, and what’s left is ours."
"Boss? He’s dead." The Night Wanderer scoffed at his companion’s words.
"We were expecting a big score with him, ended up losing everything, got robbed and even lost his life, making a fool of himself, this boss is less than nothing."
Seeing the companion getting more and more out of hand, Tom urgently whispered a curse, "What the hell are you saying? If Winston hears it, what then? If you want to die, don’t drag me into it, find yourself a rope and hang yourself."
"Tch...who’s afraid of him..." The companion was somewhat dissatisfied but didn’t dare say anything more, honestly loading pieces of weaponry into the car one by one.
These arms will be delivered into the city tonight by a Night Wanderer officer and five or six underlings, then they’ll go to Watson District’s port to bring back a batch of contraband goods.
When all the weapons were loaded, Tom pulled the truck door, ready to notify those behind to depart, when a rustling sound came to his ears.
He looked around, everything was dim, nothing but all kinds of boxes.
"Strange...did I hear wrong? Could it be rats again?"
Rats and cockroaches...even if humanity is wiped out, they’ll continue living their cozy lives, unaffected by the loss of predators, Cyber Earth’s environmental degradation hardly affects them as much as other creatures, they proliferate everywhere.
Tom felt something was off, the sound didn’t seem like rats, and why was he alone now?
"Roy, what are you doing?"
Only his own echo in the empty tunnel.
Tom quickly pulled out his handgun, which brought him a bit of courage, backing against the truck while alertly watching every corner around.
"Damn it, Roy, don’t scare me!"
Almost instinctively, Tom immediately contacted his superior.
After a series of noises, there was finally a response; Tom saw that familiar and detestable hairy-faced fellow with a sigh of relief.
"Winston, we have trouble!"
"What are you saying? What trouble?"
Winston remained sprawled lazily on the sofa, a blonde woman beneath him working hard to serve.
This was one of the smuggled goods from last time; the couple wanted to escape Night City for breaking the law, so they sought out the Night Wanderers. Winston, finding the wife was quite to his taste, played with her in front of her husband, later butchered the husband in front of the wife.
Of course, he told the woman that as long as she pleased him, she could survive.
That’s the same promise he made to his sixth woman.
The first five went to Night City for Black Mewtwo films after he tired of them.
He’s never broken his promise; what scavengers do next to them, what does it matter to Winston?
"It seems someone came into the tunnel, they took Roy!"
Winston tugged the woman’s hair aside, hurriedly stood up and dressed.
"What about the others? The guards at the tunnel perimeter? Surveillance? Why no response?"
Though filled with questions, faced with Tom’s report, Winston dared not be negligent.
If anything happened, he couldn’t bear the responsibility, even if it was a false alarm, he’d just vent by beating a subordinate.
The channel abruptly cut off.
No doubt, Tom was dead.
"Damn it." Winston didn’t hesitate, immediately hammered the red button on the steel rack beside him.
Almost instantly, piercing alarms echoed throughout the tunnel, every Night Wanderer knew something had happened.
The once silent tunnel now resembled a disturbed hornet’s nest, dense footsteps and shouts filled every corner of the tunnel.