"Now it's your turn to answer my questions. Where are you from, and what are you doing here?"

Killer Demon chose to tell the truth.

"We are the reconnaissance force of Horizon Corporation from Night City, here to pave the way for the operation to eliminate Cuban drug traffickers. We heard there are guerrilla fighters near, so we came to check it out."

"Eliminate drug traffickers? Night City?"

The bearded man seemed to have heard a very funny joke.

"And then? You're going to make us produce drugs for your corporation?"

"We don't need drugs, just medicine that can cure diseases."

"Medicine? You should be looking for pharmaceutical companies. People here only grow tobacco and make chemical drugs."

"What we need is medicine affordable for all poor people. If the traffickers here refuse to produce it, we'll fight until they can."

Upon hearing Killer Demon's words, the bearded man's expression eased somewhat, and he waved to let the guards around disperse.

"Let your people come in, but don't wander around; there are many landmines buried in the forest."

After confirming the safety and assessing that the threat level from these guerrillas was manageable, the expert turned and followed the young soldier back to bring the rest of the team.

When Gloria took out the medicine specifically purchased for this trip, it greatly alleviated the guerrillas' hostility towards these outsiders.

They also learned that the bearded man's real name was Jose Luez.

But inside the room, Jose erupted into a quarrel with another person.

"These outsiders only bring trouble. They can't be trusted, Jose. If you ask me, only the dead can keep secrets."

"They brought medicine and food, and we even have a doctor. Do you know how much we need these things now? She saved Mary..."

"Anyway, we've already got the stuff, haven't we? Our safety is what's most important! Didn't you hear them say they're dogs of those companies!"

"That's repaying kindness with enmity..."

Their argument was loud enough that even the expert standing by the door couldn't pretend not to hear.

After arguing for a while, Jose forcefully suppressed the other man's objections, and upon opening the door, noticed the expert standing there.

His face was somewhat flushed.

"Sorry, my companion is highly vigilant and misunderstood you."

Behind Jose, the gaunt man he argued with was staring at the expert and Jose with a sinister expression, lost in thought.

Through exchanges, everyone learned the current situation of the guerrillas.

Simply put, they're not really guerrillas anymore, but anti-government armed forces. Almost everyone connected to the former government is dead.

The remaining people just couldn't survive under the rule of drug traffickers, so they joined this group.

Without deep-seated hatred, it's hard to persist in this environment.

Jose himself is just the son of a Cuban doctor, who joined the guerrillas after his father was killed for treating them, and he's not even thirty.

The others are either survivors from massacred villages or escapees from the city.

It's already a miracle for them to survive here.

Among the outsiders, what intrigued Jose the most wasn't the expert and Killer Demon, who appeared seasoned and sophisticated, nor the doctor Gloria, nor the bandit-like Olivia.

It was David.

Young, full of energy, with a look of hope missing from other Cuban youths of his age, and an undeniable will to resist.

Jose leaned against the wooden railing, pointing at the book in David's hand.

"What are you reading?"

David handed the book over.

"My teacher gave me this. It's about the story of a real GCZY warrior."

"GCZY..."

After learning the situation of the guerrillas, David felt somewhat disheartened. He thought he would meet people like those in the book, but realized there were only simple resisters here.

He didn't expect Jose to know what GCZY was.

But unexpectedly, Jose flipped through the book and handed it back to David.

"I know this... haha... my father used to tell me..."

As he said this, there was pride in Jose's eyes.

Even though he had not received formal education, and even though his understanding of it might be less than David's.

Some things are always expressed in the simplest terms that everyone in the world can understand.

"He said... GCZY is the bread of the poor, the strength for everyone to live better."

"..."

David had made numerous notes in the book, enough to fill dozens of pages, but all that paled in comparison to the impact of Jose's simple sentence.

During this trip, David witnessed many things in Cuba.

The people here are actually not much different from Night City's lower-class inhabitants; similarly miserable. Although Cuba doesn't have the direct sight of towering corporate offices like Night City, their power still looms over Cuban citizens, exploited by tobacco companies while enduring the harsh rule of dictatorial drug traffickers.

Different countries, same fate.

Seeing David lost in thought, Jose continued.

"You say you came here to defeat the drug traffickers, but what then? What are you planning to do after that? Become Cuba's next ruler?"

Jose's words were tinged with his own frustration. He didn't believe his depleted guerrilla group could do anything for Cuba; surviving was already a full effort.