"Anyway... maybe become a netrunner. Hide in some dark corner, do some jobs that pay well."
Kiwi fantasized aimlessly: "Once I save up enough, maybe I can retire somewhere? I don't know, but I'm definitely going to make a lot of money. Never let anyone control my life again!"
V didn't comment. Of course, she wanted to get rich too, but more than just money, she craved becoming a true "big shot."
It was the dream every street kid grew up aspiring to... to be someone important.
To be respected, with legends about her spreading throughout the city, famous across the world!
V fell silent too, because she couldn't help but think of Mercer's proposal... a nobody, or a legend?
She seemed to have found her answer.
And...
V glanced at Kiwi: "He only asked you for fifty thousand eddies?"
"Yeah, but at first he said he didn't actually need payment, just that I had to sincerely ask him for help... But if it were you, would you think that's reliable? Would you believe it?"
Kiwi said.
V shook her head matter-of-factly: "I'd think he's an idiot... Such a simple trick probably only works on kids."
"Right... So after he saw I didn't believe him, he said, based on my values, fifty thousand eddies."
Kiwi couldn't help but laugh. Everything that happened tonight felt like a beautiful, unreal dream: "And then he just rescued me like that. That A... have you met him? What's he like?"
"Uh, he's pretty slick, but also really skilled. His netrunning abilities probably rank high across all of Night City.
His cyberware looks top-tier, doesn't seem like someone short on cash. He's generous, but his style isn't flashy... just street kid attire, though clean.
I've only seen him wearing a hockey mask. Honestly, his voice sounds kinda like a kid's, and he's not tall either..."
V thought for a moment, then made her own judgment: "But he talks pretty maturely, gives off a reliable vibe, seems like a sincere guy. Probably a short dude using a voice modulator.
Most netrunners I've seen are skinny... maybe all his nutrients went to his brain."
Kiwi nodded to herself, forming an image in her mind: a short, unattractive, but kind-hearted nerdy netrunner with a soft spot for pretty women, generous and highly capable.
Maybe because he's often overlooked by women in real life, he likes to recruit pretty ones or play the hero?
[Mercer: I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but honestly, your slander hurts, V.]
"Whoa! Don't just pop text into people's cybereyes out of nowhere, you scared the hell out of me!" V exclaimed.
Mercer's voice chuckled in her ear: "If I spoke directly, you'd probably drive this car right into a ditch."
"Dammit! I knew the program you left me had a backdoor!" V sounded a little angry.
"Not at all. I just added both you and Kiwi to the same squad comms... and then I heard you talking trash about me."
Mercer's tone made V feel a bit guilty, but she still spoke with confidence: "In Night City, not many people wear masks and act all mysterious anyway. Be honest, sis isn't the type to judge by looks. Being a bit short or ugly doesn't affect your skills."
"Fuck you, V. I'm an original handsome guy, and right now I've even got a pretty girl by my side, worried I might get into trouble in Cyberspace."
Mercer spoke emphatically: "I'm short because I haven't finished growing properly yet. All my nutrients are going to my brain right now. Just wait till my brain's fully developed... I'll easily hit six feet."
"Ha~ I think I've heard something like that before. Where was it... Let me think... Oh, Heywood's got that famous 'Shorty Wood'! He was only around five-foot-something and kept saying until he was twenty that it was because he didn't eat well and lacked nutrients, and that he'd shoot up once he got enough to eat. Ha! Then as soon as he turned twenty, he went and got a pair of leg implants. Still insisted it was natural growth, but during a shootout with 6th Street, he stumbled and caught a grenade with his face. Hahaha!"
V laughed unapologetically, realizing Mercer was actually pretty easygoing... he didn't mind jokes at his expense at all.
"Oh," Mercer drawled meaningfully, "We've got plenty of time, V."
V hesitated, "Uh, right, didn't you say NetWatch was on your tail earlier?"
"Mhmm, still being chased now... but it's on purpose." Mercer's tone was utterly calm. "The programs NetWatch develops are kinda interesting. IP tracking, blocking IP jumps, even ones that lock your signal so you can't log off. Gotta admit, they're not bad. I've been cruising all over Night City's network, and they're still right on my ass."
"Shit, then focus! I heard someone got trapped online by NetWatch for a whole week without being able to log off. By the time they tracked him down, he'd starved to death in his chair. Hurry up and have your friend unplug you!"
V was getting nervous.
"Don't worry, unplugging now would just make it worse. Those idiots could trace the logout signal straight to my place. I'm just playing with them, testing their skills." Mercer paused, then added, "And testing their programs too, seeing what tricks they've got left. I'm gonna learn 'em all."
"Don't push your luck, A," V said, still concerned.
Kiwi spoke up for the first time: "Need help? I've hacked into some private computers before... you could use them as IP jump points."
"No need."
After a brief silence, Mercer's voice returned, confident: "Looks like they're out of new moves. Give me thirty seconds. After I deal with them, I'll come back and chat... V, I'd advise you to stop talking shit about me."
He wasn't one to hold a grudge over jokes, but he certainly remembered them... and would seize any chance to tease her back a hundred times over.
Kiwi couldn't help but press her lips together.
Thirty seconds? Those NetWatch agents were deep diving with the backing of massive servers!
Meanwhile, in Cyberspace, Mercer had stopped his dog-leashing IP hopping.
"Target's stopped! Quick, David! Send the lock program!"
In Cyberspace, an icon emblazoned with the NetWatch logo shouted, his exaggeratedly large cannon aimed directly at the motionless Mercer.
Another man, similarly dressed and wearing virtual sunglasses, calmly pointed a laser gun at Mercer and pulled the trigger.
A red laser beam, shimmering with dangerous crimson code traces, shot straight toward Mercer.
However, to the NetWatch agent's surprise, the moment the laser struck Mercer, his virtual form dissolved into a dissipating cloud of blue data.
"Damn it, Zack! It's a Bait program!"
The agent called David immediately leaped away, his expression tense. A blue data stream morphed into a skateboard beneath his feet, allowing him to glide swiftly through the space as he rapidly changed his IP address to avoid being targeted by Mercer's programs.
Zack swung his cannon, firing a massive burst of blue data that, upon impact, shattered a large section of the network into fragmented pieces.
The blue data spread across the network, instantly reorganizing the fragments into a massive blue cage.
This meant his program had local area network lockdown capabilities.
With a single attack, he had temporarily isolated this section of Night City's network into an inescapable LAN, attempting to cut off any chance of Mercer's escape.
"The signal's still here! He hasn't gone far!" Zack yelled, only to suddenly feel the ground vanish beneath him.
He looked down abruptly… a black hole-like void had appeared beneath his feet. "I'm trapped! I can't move! My IP is locked!"
"Execute a quickhack! Reconnect if you have to!" David rushed over, trying to send support programs to assist him.
But a man wearing a smiling mask, a hoodie, and a black jacket suddenly materialized in front of him. "You've been chasing me for so long. Why the hurry to leave?"
The pale mask, with its black-painted smile, seemed more terrifying than a ghost in that instant, causing David's data to freeze momentarily from shock.
Goddamn ghost in the machine!
Zack's icon flickered several times but remained stuck in place, the vortex beneath him swallowing half of his form like quicksand.
He tried to brute-force his way out using server processing power, engaging in a computational battle with Mercer, only to find the program unexpectedly sophisticated.
He frantically searched for vulnerabilities in the program while attempting to counter with ICE, but the black hole behaved like a real one… without the right approach, the server's immense processing power was useless.
Mercer spoke leisurely, "Don't waste your effort. This program was inspired by both of yours… a laser gun and a cannon. Not very creative, if you ask me."
"Dammit! Do you have any idea what you're doing? Attacking NetWatch in the network… aren't you afraid of—"
Before David could finish, he suddenly drew his weapon… this time, a massive machine gun materialized in his hands.
Data-formed bullets roared forth, flooding the entire space, but Mercer's voice whispered softly behind his ear.
"Can't win fair, so you're resorting to server brute force? Trying to overwhelm me with raw processing power?"
Even in cyberspace, David felt a chill run through his entire being. He channeled all the server's computing power to fuel his ICE program, manifesting layer upon layer of heavy blue armor.
But Mercer simply tapped him lightly on the back with a black dagger: "Just stacking computing power is useless against experts. Your brain can't utilize that much processing capacity… what a waste to rely on brute force alone."
The moment the black dagger pierced his consciousness, it transformed into a terrifying shadow that began spreading rapidly through his data.
David was stunned to find his ICE as fragile as paper: "You—"
"The vulnerability is too obvious, kid. You can't even identify what you're up against… what's the point of activating ICE?
Hmm... David's personal info... Wow, man, you're making ten thousand eurodollars a month. Why risk your life like this?
Forget it, I won't mess with your servers… wouldn't want you to panic. But I've got to admit, the ICE on your servers is pretty solid. Without a major server's computing power, breaking in would be impossible unless I found a flaw.
You've probably got an AI hidden in there too, huh? Alright, I'll call it a day for now.
But let me warn you… stay away from me from now on. I have no interest in playing hide-and-seek with you online every day.
So what if I took out a bunch of scumbags? The Voodoo Boys idiots are out there killing and extorting people online every day… why haven't you raided their hideout?
Afraid of some trash servers and lousy defense systems cobbled together by a bunch of losers?
Then you should be even more afraid of me.
Just so we're clear… next time we meet, greet me properly. If you dare come at me again, I won't hold back.
In Night City, you NetWatch agents better tread lightly. Don't get yourselves killed with no one to bury you."
Mercer's figure vanished in an instant, leaving only a smiling yellow bean emoji etched into the ground, leaving the two immobilized NetWatch agents staring at each other in disbelief.
"Shit... This is bad. Since when did Night City get such a skilled player?" David's data-face was full of frustration.
Zack sighed, half of his body still trapped in the snare program, struggling with all his might to break free.
Though he couldn't find any vulnerabilities or clever solutions, he could still brute-force his way out using the server's computing power… especially since Mercer had quickly stopped supplying processing power to the program, causing the data black hole to vanish almost immediately.
"That guy is ruthless. Honestly, we're no match for him. He didn't even bother competing in computing power… he went straight for the program's vulnerabilities.
I maxed out the server's computing capacity but still couldn't crack the program's flaws. All I could do was try to counter it with raw processing power... but he never gave us the chance to compete on that level.
What do we do now?"
Zack looked at David.
After a moment of contemplation, David replied, "Report it. That guy must have a small… no, I'd say medium-sized server backing him up.
His thought processing speed is insanely fast. I doubt even with our computing enhancements we could reach half his speed. That level of mental acceleration isn't possible with just his brain's processing power.
Check the electricity usage and recent server equipment purchases… see if we can find any clues.
He must be new to Night City. That latency is too fast to be a dedicated line pulled from somewhere else.
Well, looks like our internal most-wanted list is about to get a new name."
"What do you wanna call him?"
"Smiling Prankster?" Zack glanced down at the grinning yellow emoji on the floor, almost as if it were mocking him.
"Sure." David sighed helplessly. "These new netrunners, why are they all so lawless? It's almost 2072, and they're still acting this reckless."
"Alright, let's hand off the follow-up to the usual team. You and I aren't exactly cut out for this, don't worry. Even that legendary Songbird from back in the day got taken down eventually, right?
Let them handle the on-ground investigation. What threat level are you assigning for the net?"
Zack asked.
David thought for a moment. "Highest level. Report it to headquarters. Someone like this needs to be flagged early."
"Tsk tsk, how many years has it been since we've seen a netrunner this fierce? We really drew the short straw this time. Lucky for us, they were at least decent enough not to fry our brains."
After Zack finished, David shrugged, also wearing an expression of someone who'd narrowly escaped disaster. They exchanged a look, ran a server scan to make sure no backdoors had been left in their systems, and logged off simultaneously.
Ten minutes later, a smiling icon quietly appeared on Night City's public most-wanted list.
[Wanted: Smiling Prankster]
[Gender: Presumed Male]
[Identity: Unknown]
[Age: Unknown]
[Appearance: Wears a stark white smiling mask, average adult male height, no distinctive markings. (Image Attached)]
[Criminal Record: Hacked into the servers of the 'Spring Night' dollhouse in Jig-Jig Street, used a virus to kill 23 Night City citizens, overclocked servers causing a fire and significant property damage.
Attacked NetWatch operatives, causing psychological trauma.]
[Warning: Extremely dangerous. Possesses advanced viruses capable of blocking networks and preventing disconnection. Suspected to be supported by mid-to-large-scale server processing power. If encountered in Cyberspace, immediate disconnection is advised.]
[Threat Level: EXTREME (bolded and emphasized).]