Fallschirmjagers as swat officer call vdv. they are closest thing a security institution in wasteland. originally they come from East Vozdushno-desantnye voyska Rossii, a military branch. focusing on air drop for rapid mobility. But after the collapse, they evolved. They became a sort of independent peacekeeping force, focusing on dealing with bandit and smuggling. since they not belong to any government. they rely on donation.

the new "manager" then invest on police funding. and introduce VDV force to the sin city. the manager recruit former police and soldier to fill the VDV rank. in one day. wanderer meet new vdv officer a Ward.. he is a bulky man with ear cyberware implant "..howdy popo"

Ward looked up at wanderer and sat back against the chair his arms now crossed over his chest” Howdy right back at ya, you’re the new guy right?

“everyone is new guy in this wasteland setting dont you think?”

Ward scoffed.” You’re not wrong. New guys make the best entertainment at least. Watching them try to navigate the chaos of this land, its pretty comical.

"Oho. A sadist in the VDV? Should I be concerned? Hehe." wanderer chuckles behind his mask

ward chuckled softly and sat forward” I’m definitely not the worst you’ll find in VDV that much I can assure you. Just have fun observing sometimes.

“yes.. actually. how is local population see this? do they just see vdv as just mindless grunt like old police system on bygone era? or just.. legal thug?”

Ward sighed.” The citizens here are… well they’re a special bunch but the common consensus about us is that we’re just mindless grunts who are just hired muscle for the wealthy and powerful. A lot of people don’t trust us.

“hmhm. i guess trust need time ..”

“Time is all we have now. “ward leaned forward in his seat, his eyes looking wanderer up and down” You’ve been in this line of work for awhile?

“,,,umm..aaa”

“Ward chuckled and shook his head” A man of few words huh? “he leaned back in the chair with his shoulders relaxed and arms crossed over his chest once again.

“yes. im the stoic dude”

“Stoic and serious. You’ll fit in well with a lot of the guys. Some of them have the personality of a lump of dirt”

“thanks”

"How old are you anyway?" Ward tilted his head. "Look pretty young?."

“older than boy. younger than dragon”

… that doesn’t answer my question at all. “ward rolled his eyes and huffed” come on, can’t you just give me a proper answer?”

“no.. age just number you know.. especially on this.. plastic environment. yesterday i see.. like 50 year old hooker in street”

Ward scoffed couldn’t help but scoff at that” I suppose that’s a fair point. People don’t really age to well around here. “he sighed and ran his hand through his hair, pushing it back a bit away from his face.”

“..so what are you before becoming a popo?”

“Oh, you know nothing about me but you want to know my life story? You’re an interesting guy I’ll give you that. “Ward chuckled softly and leaned back in the chair” I was a soldier in a few of the many wars. Then I came here and managed to worm my way into VDV. It pays well enough.”

"soldier eh? what rank? "wanderer lean in

Ward shifted in his seat a little, a light smirk forming on his face.” Well now you’re asking a lot of questions aren’t you? I’ve had quite a few ranks over the years. I was a Sergeant in my time in Myanmar. Then I was a Captain when the War broke out, then a Major for a bit when the Fourth World War started.

But most recently I was General in the War of Fire against the True Horde.

“hmhm.. good. i will keep eyes on you ..general.”

“Oh? Just going to keep your eye on me? I feel a little flattered, that’s usually more than I can expect from VDV. “Ward leaned forward in the chair, his arms now folded on the table.”

wanderer eyes sparkled “but.. what make you become a general? a classic power grab? oho?”

Ward chuckled softly” No, nothing like that at all. I just have a knack for military leadership I suppose. I’ve always been a natural born strategist. War is in my blood anyway, my ancestors were renowned military leaders. I was simply following a legacy.

Wanderer humming cleary not buying it ‘mmhm.. bullshit. thank you”

Ward raised an eyebrow at wanderer, a smirk playing on his face” Feisty aren’t you? You don’t believe me? You’re welcome to think what you want but that doesn’t change the truth.

"Nevermind. Well, I'm here not just flirting with you. I'm here to ask something. About the arms deal of gangs. Popo equipment is pale in comparison with local gangs."

Ward sighed softly. "Yeah, I'm aware of that. The gangs here have all the best equipment and arms, while we have to make do with mediocre scraps at best. It’s a pain to deal with, as you can imagine, with every gang leader packing as much heat as a small army."

"Well... only thing in my mind now is... classic raiding their armory."

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

Ward shook his head. "HAH!,, Oh? You've got a good tactical mind, don't you? Just barge right into one of the gang's strongholds, find the armory, and take everything they have?"

"Hehe... yes. I will definitely do that if we were in the desert. But we're living in the most surveilled place in the region. What will people say if popo just plunders what they want?"

Ward rolled his eyes and scoffed. "You're too concerned with what others will think. We'd be better off looting the gangs, taking all their supplies and using it to help the city. Besides, do you really think the average citizen would care about a few gang supplies going missing?"

"Mhm. You don't have a bright mind for an... ex-general. We popo are not just a tougher gang on the street, but bring a sense of security. That is the reason why we have... legitimacy to put people in the law."

Ward scoffed again. "You really think this city has a sense of security? You really think we, as popo, have any real sense of legitimacy? This whole city is corrupt to the core. Even us popos aren’t safe from being bribed and controlled by the puppet masters at the top."

"Mhm. Just keep your pessimistic mind for a while. I will think something along the way. Farewell, Ward."

Ward grumbled softly to himself as he watched Wanderer stand up and leave with his half limp movement, Ward sitting back in the chair and crossing his arms over his chest. "Good riddance, that guy is weird as hell."

Later, back in the Obsidian Gate tower, Wanderer had a lot of credit in his bank account. It was from the Series 9 council, but he knew it was almost like a bribe, especially coming from them. Then, the black pixelated cat animation appeared on Wanderer's screen.

"Wanderer then donated more money for the VDV police force." So, Black Cat, we can't rely on the population to donate money for the police force. Without a government, what is an alternate way to gather money to fund VDV without taxes?

Sure, there are a few alternative ways to fund a VDV-like organization in an Anarcho-Capitalist society. Here are a couple of options:

1. User Fees: Individuals pay a fee for the services they use, such as patrolling neighborhoods or resolving disputes.

2. Private Security Contracts: Neighborhoods or communities contract with private security firms to provide protection and security services. These firms would have a strong incentive to maintain a good reputation by providing high-quality services since their business depends entirely on voluntary payment from their clients.

"Mhmm. So, at the end, mercenaries will stick around for a while, huh? No alternative way?"

An Anarcho-Capitalist society with the Non-Aggression Principle upheld, which prohibits the initiation of force or aggression, would not have true mercenaries in the sense of soldiers for hire to engage in aggression or warfare. However, there would likely be voluntary militias or private security forces for self-defense and protection from aggression. The difference being, they would not seek to initiate violence or war; rather, they would be purely defensive.

"You see... we're richer for sure. But I feel weaker too."

It's understandable that you may feel weaker or less stable without the state. It's important to remember that in an AnCap society, strength comes from the collective cooperation and voluntary interactions of individuals and communities, rather than relying on the coercive power of government.

"Yeah, yeah. Sure. We will meet again."

Alright, sure thing! See you later! If you have any more questions, don't hesitate to ask.

Wanderer then turned off the screen. His legs were now recovering, but he was still half-limping. He looked at an implant advertisement on the BioGenesis' billboard: "Hate your bone and meat? Change it with something cooler!"

He then focused on other flying billboards hovering around. A gun advertisement.

"Mammoth," he muttered. "Those companies which arm the free world to the teeth... ironically, they're still around... but like just another mafia. They're not a monolith."

Then, he glanced at a sticky note on the wall of Wanderer's new office in Obsidian Gate.

List to do:

* Re: Arms

* Find Recruits

* Weaken Series 9 and its goons

Sin city is filled by weapon dealer. but some company is just save their best for certain people. wanderer then had side mission to secure arms deal. then its lead him in front of decayed office. with moist. his legs now are enchanted with exo pants. think about put some metal to help him walk which connected to the fabric. he then walk on the street alone and unmasked. no one aware who he is as the new manager of city.

then after passing the long hall filled by cyber thugs,they just carry their weapons to intimidate outsider. but they dont do anything to him, he just walk passing them

he reach the area with more presentable, neons, glowing wallpapers. and even a glimpse of the morning sun. There, he saw a blonde older woman in a black leather jacket.

"Ahh, the girl boss," wanderer said while enter the room

the woman was in her office, sitting at her desk. She looked up and saw the stranger. "Hey, who the fu—oh… Who are you?"

"Ahh, the girl boss," wanderer said and smiling,"Are you Popo?"

"No? I guess not?”old woman crossed her arms, looking him up and down. "And who are you exactly?"

"I'm just a wanderer."

"Wanderer? Really?" old woman sighed and put her black leather boot her desk”. And what does a wanderer want?"

"Curiosity."

"Curiosity about what?Tch." old woman scoffed and rolled her eyes. "You know I could kick your ass with no effort, right?"

"Hehe… So anyway. Who are you?"

"I already asked that question," old woman said, rolling her eyes again. "You can't be that stupid, so I'll be kind and tell you once more. I'm Yuan , and before you even ask more questions, no, you can't know my last name."

"What does Yuan do?"

"What do I do? I work a secret job, what do you even think I do?" Yuan asked sarcastically, a smirk on her face.

"So. You are Popo."

"Tch—I'm not a cop," Yuan said, rolling her eyes in annoyance.

"Gang cop?"

"No! I'm not some corpo cop! Jesus, you're either really dumb or just trolling me," Yuan said, scowling.

"Popo merc?"

Yuan groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose. "For the last time, I'm not a cop! Stop asking me if I'm the police!"

"Popo nomad?"

"No! For the love of…!" Yuan groaned again, a headache starting. "No, I'm not a nomad either!"

"So what are you?"

"I'm an agent, for Mammoth, understand?!" Yuan said, annoyed and glaring.

"Military industry, not corpo?"

"God—… That's what you're on about—" Yuan muttered. "Yes, I work for a military company called Mammoth, Jesus Christ…"

"But. I don't understand… how that company not a corpo?"

"It's not like Series 9, Jesus Christ… Mammoth is a military cooperation, not a corp!"

"I see… So Series 9 is like a big broker of anything. But you guys still have some sort of… autonomy."

Yuan sighed, relaxing a bit at the mention of Series 9. "Yeah, Series 9 is a huge corpo that makes anything that gives them money. While Mammoth is more… Well, we're more of a military cooperation, we make weapons and armor, that kind of stuff."

"So what are you doing in here? Selling your stuff to crackhead gangs?"

Yuan gave him a cold glare. "I don't sell to crackhead gangs. We work along with the police and Free world, and we sell them weapons that they use to keep the streets safe…"

"Hehe… yeah, sure."

Yuan scoffed, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow. "'Yea sure'…? What is that supposed to mean, huh?"

"We all know if gangs and crime is regulated by Popo and Corpo."

Yuan sighed and pinched her nose again. "Look, I know that you have no idea how the government works, but you don't need to act like a smartass, okay? Let me tell you something, both the Free world and Mammoth know what they are doing, alright? They don't let gangsters run around without consequences, they get arrested by the police."