A seemingly rundown Columbus cargo van lay quietly concealed beside the Biotechnica Flats outside Night City.
The vehicle had been modified in an odd way, topped with a large radar-like device that seemed out of place on the battered van.
The Flats covered a vast area, necessitating its operation in the Badlands, and the adjacent road was the only route from Night City leading beyond the checkpoint.
Inside the van, Mercer sat in a modified seat, wearing his netrunning suit with just a jacket over it, fastened by a seatbelt as he operated a laptop on his knees.
The van might have looked unremarkable on the outside, but its interior was a different story, the back seats had been completely removed to create a spacious area capable of seating eight people facing each other, and it was packed with netrunner equipment like generators, small servers, and laptops.
At the moment, Mercer calmly stared at the laptop screen, observing the feed from the Militech Wyvern drone he had assembled.
The Wyvern drone circled a kilometer above, its high-magnification camera monitoring passing vehicles in real time, waiting for the arrival of the Behemoth.
V sat beside Mercer, fiddling restlessly with her Liberty pistol. Mercer had offered to lend her money for a better weapon, but she couldn't bring herself to replace this one.
As she put it, unless there was something truly exceptional, she'd rather stick with this than swap it for some common mass-produced piece.
Meanwhile, Rebecca hummed a tune, cradling a Crusher power shotgun. It was hard to figure what went through the girl's mind, petite in stature, yet her weapon preferences grew increasingly ferocious.
Pilar nervously held an Ajax, his fingers tapping anxiously against the weapon.
Only these four were in the van, tasked with dealing with the Behemoth APC and the Biotechnica soldiers and staff on board.
That didn't mean only four people were involved in the operation. In fact, just beyond the Flats, in the wilderness, lay an abandoned residential area.
Since this was the spot where Nomad V and Jackie first met in the game, hiding from Arasaka pursuers, Mercer remembered this part of the storyline vividly.
So, when planning the operation, he had already figured out the escape route.
Lucy and Kiwi were waiting in that residential area, vehicles ready for the getaway, while also monitoring the surroundings to ensure no one interfered. As for this beat-up cargo van, it would be left in a garage here.
Later, they'd have El Capitán send someone to repaint it, modify the vehicle ID verification, and, voilà, it would transform into a brand-new Columbus cargo van, ready to be sold or kept for personal use. No problem at all.
In short, the plan was straightforward: stop the vehicle, eliminate everyone, take the goods, drive a loop through the Flats, then slip into the abandoned residential area.
Swap vehicles, transfer the goods, and then casually drive back to the Badlands in the pre-hidden car.
Simple as that.
"Shit, why do I feel like my hands are shaking?" Pilar muttered to himself.
Rebecca rolled her eyes. "Too much time jerking off in the bathroom last night? Dumbass, I told you to go to bed early and not screw things up!"
"Damn! I'm just nervous," Pilar said, legs trembling as he rubbed his hands over the barrel of his gun. "Fuck, if I could just have one more go right now, I swear I'd calm down."
"Is that all you ever think about, Pilar?"
V shot him a disgusted look, then burst out laughing. "But once this job's done, you can go to Lizzie's and lose yourself in a BD. Think about that, doesn't it make you feel better already?"
"Shit, shit, shit! You're right, damn it, let's do this!" As Pilar thought about it, he actually felt his hands stop shaking and his legs steady. Instead, a surge of adrenaline pumped him up with fighting spirit.
After killing himself on this job, there was no way he was letting Rebecca take all the money. He'd have to work something out with Mercer to keep some cash for himself to go have fun.
"Hah~" Rebecca scoffed dismissively, then turned her gaze to V, who was sitting next to Mercer, her tone sharp. "V, by the way, isn't it a bit much to use your Sandevistan just to snag a seat?"
"You're just like your brother, always got sex on the brain. If I put you next to him, how's he supposed to focus on work?" V glared at Rebecca.
Rebecca rolled her eyes again. "It's not like I can't tell what's important. Huh? You're not into Mercer too, are you?"
"As if! That's hilarious, me? Into him?" V laughed loudly, pointing a finger at Mercer. "Him?"
V said disdainfully, "If you ask me, you just haven't met enough men. A player like him, even if things worked out, he'd cheat sooner or later. If he were with me, I'm afraid I'd end up breaking his jaw and snapping his arms and legs if I caught him messing around with other women. That wouldn't be good."
"Give me a break. He'd hit you with one Quickhack and you'd be writhing on the ground begging for mercy. You really think just because you've got a Sandevistan you're invincible?"
Rebecca chuckled, then added meaningfully, "But you'd better remember what you said today."
Mercer turned his head and gave V an exasperated look. "Well done, V, really grown up, talking shit about me right to my face?"
"I'm not wrong! I've had my eye on you, you and that little girl Lucy definitely have something going on. Seriously, how old is she? Rebecca looks pretty young too... Wait, you're not some creep who's into underage girls, are you?" V muttered.
"Damn it, that's enough! You're the creep!"
Mercer shot her an annoyed glance. "Stop talking nonsense. Right now, we're all just purely friends. I like pretty girls who are over eighteen."
"Right now?" V smirked. "So it's inevitable, huh? You into grooming? You can fool the girls, but don't fool yourself."
"Are you deliberately picking a fight with me today? What did I do to you?"
This time it was Mercer's turn to look displeased. V pursed her lips, turned away, and still muttered under her breath defiantly, "I just think it's inappropriate. What's a grown man like you doing hanging around with little girls all the time? Is that kid Lucy even sixteen this year? And you're still living with her, how old are you anyway?"
Something about this felt increasingly off. Mercer eyed her suspiciously: "Then who do you think would be suitable for me?"
"At least someone who's an adult, right? Aren't you an adult yourself? You even said you like grown women, so why are you always messing around with little girls? Even if you want to date someone, it should be someone around your age, at least a grown woman, right?"
V blurted out without thinking.
Rebecca immediately widened her eyes: "Oh, so that's what you're getting at? Damn it, V, I'm going to fight you!"
"Shit! I wasn't talking about myself! I meant, uh, like Kiwi?" V hurriedly retorted.
"Don't you drag her into this!" Rebecca felt she had seen right through her, this two-faced, wicked woman!
So, Rebecca glared at her fiercely: "V, I think you're being pretty unfair here. If you're not interested in him, then whatever he does, whatever anyone else does, has nothing to do with you. If you are interested, quit beating around the bush, let's compete fairly."
V fell silent. After a moment, she finally spat out: "Fine, I can't be bothered to care anyway. I was just trying to give you some good advice, but you won't listen."
"I don't need you worrying on my behalf. I know what I'm doing, and I know exactly what kind of person he is!" Rebecca still refused to back down.
Just as the two looked about to start a fight right there in the car, Mercer waved a hand: "Enough, shut up! The vehicle's here!"
The two exchanged a glance, with V being the first to look away. As the sound of weapons cocking echoed through the car, Pilar took a deep breath and climbed into the driver's seat.
"All I have to do is drive and keep pace with the Behemoth, right?" Pilar said.
Mercer grunted in affirmation, pulling out a data cable and plugging it directly into a small server nearby.
"Drive alongside it, but don't let it ram us off the road. Can you manage that?"
Pilar nodded emphatically: "Don't worry! My long arms are plenty agile. Hold on tight, I'm hitting the highway!"
Mercer, buckled in, remained completely calm, but Rebecca nearly got thrown from her seat. V instinctively grabbed her, and the two exchanged another glance, though this time neither said a word.
Squabbling in private was one thing, but when it came to work, they couldn't mess around.
Pilar drove fast, closing in on the Behemoth APC in just five minutes. He slammed the accelerator, and despite the beat-up cargo truck's appearance, its speed was no match for the heavily armored vehicle.
As Pilar pulled up alongside the Behemoth, he immediately shouted a warning: "The driver's watching me in the rearview mirror!"
"Hacking in progress!"
Mercer's eyes glowed with a blue light as the vehicle's radar instantly locked onto the Behemoth beside them.
The server hummed loudly, and Mercer shrugged off his jacket.
The heat dissipation panels on his back, resembling shark gills, slowly rose, and a mechanical hum emanated from within his body.
"Starting decryption... estimated three seconds!"
Mercer quickly assessed the decryption time.
This Behemoth was equipped with large-scale, professional military-grade ICE, but fortunately, he had a professional server and, more importantly, himself, a top-tier netrunner.
Overclock, activated!
Synaptic Accelerator, activated!
Mercer's world began to slow down as massive data streams started exchanging through his cyberdeck, giving him the same sensation as deep diving into Arasaka servers, a feeling of limitless power.
[Mercer: Morning Star, give it a try.]
He even had the leisure to let his AI take a shot.
[Morning Star: Running decryption program. Estimated time to breach: 21 seconds.]
[Mercer: What about the computing power I'm giving you?]
[Morning Star: Estimated time: 5 seconds.]
[Mercer: Still need practice. Relying rigidly on programs doesn't make a good AI.]
[Morning Star: You're right. I still have much to learn.]
The entire exchange between Mercer and Morning Star took less than 0.2 seconds, all while he was simultaneously hacking and casually chatting.
The heat sink on his back ramped up to maximum power as countless data streams flooded his vision, received and transmitted in rapid succession.
The military-grade ICE began to resist, sending a massive data surge back through the network connection toward Mercer, an automated counter-invasion aimed at destroying any connected intruder.
For most netrunners, this would be a desperate scramble to channel all mental focus into bolstering their decryption programs, engaging in a raw numbers battle against the ICE.
But Mercer was different.
In an instant, he dissected the complex data structures of the ICE's programs, analyzing their weaknesses and vulnerabilities even as automated countermeasures tried to lock him out.
Then, he targeted those flaws to breach the system.
In his mind, the cyber assault felt like an eternity, a breathless battle of wits. But in reality, only a second had passed before the massive military-grade ICE was on the verge of collapse.
The Behemoth's driver had just noticed the vehicle system intrusion alert and managed to shout a warning to the crew before instinctively swerving the vehicle sideways.
Pilar slammed on the brakes instinctively. Mercer, though strapped in, was nearly thrown from his seat, but he let momentum take his body while his mind remained fully engaged in the cyber fight.
V reached out and gripped him firmly by the arm. "Mercer!"
"Done!"
Mercer blinked rapidly. "Hacking the crew inside the vehicle system now, V. They're opening the doors. Get out and take them down! I'll gradually apply the brakes to keep the cargo from shifting due to inertia."
Three seconds?
No, the actual time taken was even less.
With a small server providing extra computing power, narrowing the hardware gap between Mercer and the military-grade ICE, and enhanced by his own neural processing, the entire intrusion took just over two seconds.
Without another word, V activated her Sandevistan.
In under half a second, she flung the door open, leaped out, landed smoothly at high speed in a way defying ordinary human capability, jogged a few steps to dissipate momentum, then turned, sprinted, and closed in rapidly on the Behemoth's rear door.
V watched as the armored vehicle's door slowly began to open.
So slow.
She even had time to mentally critique the Behemoth's sluggish door mechanism.
The moment the door cracked open just enough for one person to slip through, her hands shot out like iron pincers, seizing the ankles of two Biotechnica soldiers flanking the rear door, M251s Ajax power assault rifles in hand.
Before they could react, an immense force yanked their feet, dragging them bodily through the half-open door and hurling them toward the ground.
The Behemoth was still moving at nearly 60 km/h, no slow speed. What did it mean to be grabbed and flung from a vehicle at that velocity?
The Biotechnica soldiers had no time to think. They saw the pavement rushing up, heard the sickening crunch of bones shattering, then lost consciousness as their bodies continued tumbling uncontrollably across the asphalt.
Inside the now wide-open door, several stunned Biotechnica soldiers stared in shock. The driver's panicked voice echoed, signaling impending disaster.
"We've lost control! It's slowing down!"
To V, the sounds around her seemed distorted and sluggish, stretched by the deceleration into some grotesque, monstrous babble she found deeply unpleasant.
So she decided to board the vehicle and shut them up.
Rebecca was itching to leap into action but lacked the ability. Instead, she scrambled into the passenger seat, rolled down the window, and leaned out, aiming at the Behemoth's gaping rear compartment.
But she never got to pull the trigger.
In the time it took her to move from the back to the passenger seat and open the window, V had already ended the fight.
"Dammit! I didn't get to fire a single shot!"
Frustrated, Rebecca shot angrily at the Behemoth's hull. "Faster! Step on it! I'm gonna blow that driver away!"
Pilar was utterly dumbstruck, he could barely catch a glimpse of V. All he saw was two Biotechnica soldiers suddenly flung out, spinning into meaty pulps on the ground.
Then came a series of clattering crashes from inside the compartment, followed by four more soldiers hurled out violently. One scraped against the van's front edge, sent spinning three times mid-air by Pilar's impact before splitting clean in two.
Next, two Biotechnica researchers in white lab coats were tossed out. Still alive as they flew backward through the air, Pilar could see their flailing limbs and faces frozen in terror and confusion.
Holy shit.
What kind of monster is this?!
Pilar's hair stood on end. He had never witnessed such an overwhelmingly one-sided battle in his life.
He heard Rebecca's furious shout and instinctively slammed the accelerator, pulling up alongside the Behemoth's driver side.
"Die, you bastard!"
Rebecca aimed her shotgun at the window, roaring furiously as she pulled the trigger repeatedly. But after two blasts, she realized...
The driver was already dead, convulsing in his seat.
Worse, her shots hadn't even cracked the Behemoth's heavily reinforced bulletproof window.
"Goddammit! What kind of crap is this?!" Rebecca slammed her fist against the Behemoth's door in frustration, then ducked back into the van, scowling at Mercer. "You could've left one for me!"
"Don't be naive, this thing is built to withstand artillery fire. Even the bulletproof glass would take sustained heavy machine gun fire to shatter."
"This is a military armored vehicle, not some modified junk you see on the streets."
Mercer chuckled as he reminded them, "Hurry up, slow down. I'm bringing the Behemoth to a stop. Grab the goods, pull the person in, we're getting out of here."
Rebecca pouted, clutching her shotgun, looking disdainfully at the weapon in her hands. Militech made such a big fuss about this being the best choice for close-quarters firepower, but it wasn't even as good as the Guts she'd scavenged from the Animals!
A total waste of money!
No, after this mission, she was going to get herself some Gorilla Arms! Or maybe a Sandevistan too! She couldn't fall too far behind V!
"Copy that!" Pilar finally perked up with belated excitement.
Holy shit!
Is this the strength of our team?
So badass! So fucking badass!
Our squad is just too strong!
Pilar began rapidly decelerating and braking, while Mercer remotely controlled the Behemoth to gradually come to a halt as well.
As soon as the vehicle stopped completely, Rebecca rushed out impatiently, angrily scanning the area with her shotgun to see if there was anything left for her to scavenge.
But all Rebecca could see was V, holding a woman by the neck with one hand, now smiling brightly as she looked at her.
Inside the modified rear compartment of the Behemoth, scattered medical equipment lay on the floor, and the white-painted interior was smeared with red blood. The woman in V's grip was struggling desperately, trying to pry V's hand from her neck.
That woman was the project director Mercer had ordered to be kept alive, Emilia Morton.
"Damn it, damn it! You could've left at least one for me!"
Rebecca angrily kicked the Behemoth's tire.
"Enough, stop dawdling. Which case holds the drug samples?" V loosened her grip and tossed Emilia aside. She landed hard on the compartment floor, letting out a panicked scream: "Who... who are you? Do you have any idea who I..."
"All I know is if you keep spouting bullshit, I'll blow your fucking head off! I haven't killed anyone today yet!" Rebecca viciously pressed the shotgun right against Emilia's head.
Emilia shrieked: "I'll talk! I'll talk! The samples, the samples are here! This case right here!"
"Where's the rest of the experimental data? Where are the valuable items?" Rebecca practically shoved the shotgun into her mouth, looking as if she was itching to pull the trigger.
V clicked her tongue in amazement, this little girl looked even more brutal than her when she got fierce.
"The data... some of it's on this laptop. Valuable things... I have money! I have money! Just let me live, and I'll give you all the money in my account!"
Emilia cried out in fear.
But in her cybereye, a red text prompt appeared:
[?: I suggest you don't waste your effort. Just say what needs to be said. All your cyberware is locked down, and your distress signal can't get out. I have plenty of time to pry your mouth open.]
Emilia's sinking heart finally hit rock bottom.
Because she didn't even know how she'd been hacked. With a netrunner of that caliber, if they said her comms were locked, there was no chance she'd get a signal out.
"There's a high-end blood analyzer over there that could fetch over a hundred thousand eurodollars on the black market. Gone now. Nothing else valuable left in this vehicle!"
Emilia said with a tone of resignation.
Mercer's voice came through V's earpiece: "Load both the personnel and the cargo onto the truck. Take whatever you can grab. We're pulling out."
"Copy that," V replied curtly, holding the briefcase in one hand while eyeing the blood analyzer that stood over two meters long and one meter tall.
"Should I take it? There's no room in the vehicle." V still felt reluctant to leave it behind.
"You can take it if you can carry it."
As Mercer's words faded, V immediately summoned all her strength and hoisted the massive piece of equipment with sheer brute force.
What a beast. With only basic muscle enhancements in her arms, her raw power surpassed even that of most people equipped with Gorilla Arms.
Shit, get that woman out of here, and grab the goods too, quit standing around gawking!
V snapped impatiently at Rebecca, who was staring in stunned disbelief. Rebecca pouted but promptly seized Emilia and tossed her out of the vehicle.
Pilar hopped down to lend a hand, hauling Emilia over and shoving her into the back compartment.
As Emilia looked up, her eyes met those of a man wearing a white hockey mask, seated deep inside, watching her intently.
"You should know that a netrunner like me has plenty of ways to pry information straight from your mind. So, if you cooperate, you'll make things easier for me, and we'll all have a smoother time. If I decide you're still useful in the end, you might even get to live.
How does that sound?"
The moment Mercer finished speaking, Emilia began nodding frantically.
Meanwhile, V and Rebecca worked together to heave the machine, which had to weigh at least three or four hundred pounds, into the back compartment. They casually scooped up a couple of weapons left behind by Biotechnica personnel as trophies before climbing in and sliding the door shut.
"Go on, get inside and stay put. Don't move around."
V shoved Emilia, who had been crawling on the floor to make space for the machine, out of the way. Emilia looked up at Mercer with a pitiful expression. "I'll cooperate, I'll do whatever you want. Please, I'm just an employee."
"Emilia, a project director is hardly 'just an employee.'"
Mercer unplugged the server cables, leisurely slipped his jacket back on to cover his frame, and activated the recording function in his cybereye.
In 2077, one of the reasons most people could ditch their agents was that the combination of cybereyes and neural links had almost completely replaced every function an agent once served.
"I... I really am just someone who follows orders! You have no idea, the project team now is nothing but a tool for the two deputy directors to climb the corporate ladder!
This project, I mean... the poisoning in Yucca, that was all the deputy director's doing!
I had no choice! None at all!
They wanted to scam money from Militech, so they needed an outrageous project to pitch. This poisoning was just a demonstration!"
Emilia assumed this was what Mercer was after, what else could it be?
Beneath his mask, Mercer's eyes showed no emotion.
"No need to rush to defend yourself. Start from the beginning: the whole story, everyone involved, details about the drugs. Talk."
Emilia felt despair wash over her, on the verge of tears, but she forced a strained smile. "Alright, I'll talk.
In short, to put it simply, this was orchestrated by Deputy Director Joanne Koch, with technical support provided by Dr. Diana Cuno.
She wanted to collaborate with Militech... I mean, actually, it was my idea. I suggested we come up with some long, convoluted project, sell them on a grand vision, secure funding from Militech, and then skim profits from it.
But then... then Joanne came up with the idea of poisoning the entire town of Yucca!
She dosed the residents with a chronic virus under the guise of drug trials, using it as a pretext to develop an antidote."
"This chronic virus isn't lethal! It's just a project demonstration, you understand? We selected several viruses we were most confident in controlling.
As long as we use this virus to prove our capabilities to Militech, we plan to launch a larger project based on this.
The current idea is that we can claim to develop a biological agent that, once injected, makes soldiers permanently immune to most toxins, turning them into Super-Soldiers impervious to viral weapons!
Our current drug is actually quite effective already. Look, hasn't no one in Yucca Town been harmed? Those folks don't even know they've been repeatedly poisoned multiple times!
Sometimes we administer the antidote, sometimes the virus, just repeatedly testing whether several easily manageable viruses can take effect in people injected with the 'Super-Soldier' agent.
But I swear, the project is going smoothly now. Although Dr. Diana Cuno is also a deputy director, she's a true hands-on expert. These drugs won't harm anyone."
Before Mercer could speak, Rebecca angrily raised her shotgun: "But you told the townspeople you were testing cold medicine!
Damn it! You corpos deserve to die!"
"I... we were just trying to save money... I was wrong. After I go back, I'll withdraw from the project. I'll compensate the people of Yucca Town, and I'm willing to testify for you! I'll help you accuse Deputy Director Joanna and Dr. Cuno!"
Emilia hurriedly explained.
Mercer simply wore a cold expression: "What about the Red Ocher tribe? Was that also for virus testing?"
"Red Ocher? No, no, that's different. We poisoned their water source to reclaim the land, those bastards took advantage of the war to occupy a piece of land and claimed it as their own.
We asked them to hand it back, but they insisted it was land they'd been farming for years, saying they'd paid rent for it... That contract isn't valid!
They were scammed! That money never reached us! They said they paid the city council, but our company has the land deed issued by Night City!
There were too many of them, and the company didn't want a major incident like forced evictions or a shootout, so we targeted their water source instead...
Once their crops die and the water is poisoned, the Red Ocher tribe will naturally pack up and leave. Then we can offer them... I mean, find them other jobs. They surely won't refuse."
After Emilia finished, Mercer sneered.
"Jobs? I bet it's test subject jobs, right?" Mercer said.
Emilia swallowed hard: "It's standard company procedure... I mean, releasing a genetically engineered virus into water or soil, then buying back the land cheaply once the original owners can't take it anymore.
Or demanding they grow crops immune to the toxin, while we charge seed fees...
These are all common tactics for corporations. A skilled netrunner like you must have seen countless similar cases online.
I'm just an employee. If I don't play by the rules, I'm dead anyway. I can't fight back unless I'm willing to be thrown out on the streets!"
Emilia pleaded desperately, "I've told you everything I know, please, just let me go."
Mercer pondered for a moment, but V's temper had long since reached its limit. "Mercer, just finish her off. This piece of trash fucking deserves it!"
"Don't interfere! Don't you know what kind of person Mercer is?" Rebecca retorted, but surprisingly, she didn't seem anxious anymore, she knew Mercer would make this woman pay.
Even she could tell the woman was spewing nothing but lies, how could Mercer not see through it?
V sat back down, fuming, disgusted by everything she had heard.
Just for money, poisoning an entire town.
Over a land dispute, planning to taint a nomad family's water source, poison all their crops, destroy all their hopes, and then force them to become corporate lab rats.
This Biotechnica company was utterly vile.
And the thought that companies like Biotechnica were everywhere in Night City made V feel suffocated.
For the first time, she genuinely felt Mercer's madness made perfect sense, these fucking corporate scumbags deserved to be wiped out!
Mercer spoke calmly, "I won't press further on these matters for now. I have a general idea. Let me ask something else."
"Okay, okay," Emilia replied, finding the two women far more intimidating. The man with the frightening mask, Mercer, actually seemed gentler in his speech. Maybe there was room for negotiation?
"Biotechnica... I mean the Biotechnica branch here in Night City, aside from your worthless plans, are there any valuable experimental projects, equipment, or things? You know what I mean."
After Mercer finished, Emilia froze. "You're planning to... to rob the company directly? No, that's impossible! You can't do it!
It's not that I underestimate you, but even at night, the company has two full squads of elite agents stationed, over a dozen robots, and dozens of Biotechnica soldiers on rotating shifts.
Every critical resource is under 24/7 surveillance and patrol, and we can call for backup. There are also three combat teams resting in nearby barracks, ready to respond to any threat within ten minutes!"
Mercer frowned beneath his mask, tilting his head slightly. "I ask, you answer."
"Alright, fine! Let me think..."
Emilia gritted her teeth, deep in thought. "The data stored in our local database isn't much. Most of the equipment at the company is large-scale, not something you can just take. Smaller equipment...
An advanced blood purifier? A nanobot fabricator? But these are hard to acquire. We control the raw materials tightly. Even if you take the machines, without the special raw materials they need, they're useless.
Let me think... Uh, the servers hold a lot of experimental data, blueprints for some machines? Maybe that's what you're looking for?"
Mercer sighed.
It seemed there was nothing here worth his extra effort.
Perhaps he'd have to hack into the servers himself and sift through the data to see if there were any treasures he needed.
Well, selling a major scoop and a heap of Biotechnica data should still make this trip worthwhile.
Hearing Mercer sigh, Emilia's hair stood on end. "I really don't know anything else, I swear. Please..." Sparks suddenly crackled from her head. Before Mercer's back-mounted cooling system could even activate, her mind had already been hacked.
Mercer pulled out the data cable from his palm and plugged it directly into her neck, scanning everything in her neural system. He copied all that needed copying, then yanked the personal chip from her neck, transferring all the funds out before opening his notebook.
Using Emilia's unconscious personal information, Mercer quickly matched her to a bank. Then, he shook her awake again.
"What's your bank password?"
After Mercer asked, Emilia stared at him blankly, taking a moment to regain her senses.
Realizing she was doomed, her expression twisted into something fierce and terrifying: "You want to kill me and take my money? Dream on! If you want money, let me go. As long as I see a way out, any amount will do, but right now, you won't get a single credit!"
Mercer pondered for a moment, then had a sudden brainstorm. He directly uploaded a lie-detection program into her head.
"How many digits is your online banking password? Six to eight?"
"You'll never find out!" Emilia clutched her head, cursing in agony.
"Seven digits? Looks like that's it. First digit: 123456... so it's 6. Second digit: 12345... hmm, 5."
Soon, Mercer no longer needed Emilia to answer; he simply kept judging based on the neural fluctuations detected by the lie-detection program.
Even if a few digits weren't perfectly accurate, Mercer only needed a general idea.
Emilia writhed in pain, desperate for release. At this point, she'd rather die than let Mercer take her money for free.
But after just a few simple attempts, Mercer accessed her bank account. Using Emilia's embedded personal authentication, he effortlessly transferred all the funds into the CredChip in her personal chip.
"Wow~ 370,000 eurodollars! Only you could stash this much, a mere supervisor? Shit, wait, you must have more hidden away. At your level and with your ruthlessness, it doesn't make sense for you to have less than a million saved up."
Mercer was overjoyed.
Damn, these corpos are so rich!?
Why didn't I have this experience back then?
If I'd known all this when I took out that old hag from Arasaka, wouldn't I be rolling in riches by now?
"Ahhh! You'll burn in hell! You bastard! Fuck!" Emilia let out a shrill, despairing scream when she saw he'd actually transferred the money.
V and Rebecca, who had long since had enough of her, didn't hesitate after getting a nod from Mercer. They each took a swing at Emilia, V with her fist, Rebecca with her rifle butt, hammering her from both sides until she was nearly dead.
"Good thing I blocked her Biomonitor, or Trauma Team would probably be on their way by now."
Mercer shot them a glare: "I meant knock her out first!"
"I know, it's her fault; she hit way too hard with the rifle butt," V immediately deflected.
"Hah? How can you, a brute like you, say that? I hit her with the butt and it wasn't even as hard as your punch!" Rebecca started arguing with her again.
A faint smile in his eyes, Mercer tossed Emilia's personal chip in his hand. After checking it for any dangerous programs on his computer, he plugged it into his own head. Transferring all the funds from the CredChip into his own newly acquired, previously empty CredChip, Mercer let out a long, relieved sigh.
Corporates really are full of generous folks!
If a single manager is this rich, how loaded must a director be?
Pilar's voice came from the driver's seat: "We're about to exit the farm. We'll need to get out in a few minutes. What about the woman?"
"Bring her along. We'll kill her halfway and dump her at the scrapyard, trash belongs where trash goes."
Mercer shot a cold glance at Emilia.
Meanwhile, Rebecca was visibly exhilarated, giggling with glee. "Well said, Mercer! Trash should be dumped where it belongs!"
She pointed at V and declared, "And you better not try to steal this one from me! I'm going to blow this piece of garbage away myself!"
"Whatever, I've had my fill today." V chuckled smugly, stroking her arm with satisfaction.
She felt like an absolute superhuman earlier!
If this Sandevistan is already this powerful, just imagine what she could do once she upgrades everything else. Who in Night City could possibly stand against her then?
Rebecca stared at her for a moment before turning to Mercer. "After this job, I want to get some cyberware too! Mercer, come with me! Help me figure out what to get! I want to be even stronger than her!"
"Sure. Even if you hadn't asked, I was planning to take you, Pilar, and V for upgrades. You're all on the front lines, facing the highest risks, so you need cyberware modifications the most.
Initial resources will be slightly prioritized for you, but let's be clear: high-strain cyberware like the Sandevistan requires careful consideration. Not everyone is suited for that kind of hardware.
It could easily lead to Cyberpsychosis."
After a pause, Mercer added, "And that stuff is expensive. Cheap models are useless, and the good ones start at hundreds of thousands. My advice is to take it step by step.
First, let's get you checked out, and we'll discuss options then. Stop comparing yourself to V; her innate talent is exceptional, far beyond what most people can achieve."
Looking at the broader history of cyberwares and considering the various game endings, V is likely the only one who has accomplished feats like "snatching someone right from under Max-Tac's nose," "storming Arasaka Tower solo and defeating Adam Smasher,"
or "sending Songbird to the moon under the nose of the NUSA's heavy military presence," and "single-handedly wiping out every Cyberpsycho in Night City."
Rebecca still seemed unconvinced, but since it was Mercer saying it, she could only glare resentfully at V. "Do you really think that highly of her? I've got talent too, you know!"
"I know, but the gap between one genius and another can sometimes be wider than you think." Mercer's calm assessment was meant to help Rebecca understand her own limits.
Otherwise, if she got carried away and tried to mod herself as aggressively as V, she might end up with Cyberpsychosis.
Even with all the diagnostic data, it's still just a reference; nobody can truly know their exact cyberware capacity.
"For instance, you could say Kiwi is a genius, but Lucy is probably even more of one. Yet if you were to compare Lucy to me... what do you think?"
After Mercer gave this example, Rebecca suddenly grew somber. She pursed her lips and, after a long silence, asked quietly, "Is the gap really that big?"
"I don't know, and I'm not sure about your potential either. But I do know what's more important than strength is having a strong heart.
Rebecca, in this city, most people's kindness gets killed the first time they truly see what this place is. But yours didn't. That's what makes you precious, and what I believe is your greatest talent."
Mercer spoke in a gentle tone.
Rebecca then lifted her head, meeting his eyes, still as warm and steadfast as when they first met.
Damn.
From that moment, Rebecca knew one thing for certain, she had to have this man.
Seeing her renewed determination, Mercer smiled beneath his mask, thinking his encouragement had been effective.
V thought so too. Instead of arguing or boasting, she reached out gently and ruffled Rebecca's hair. "I agree with Mercer on this. Maybe in that regard, you're far stronger than I am."
Rebecca shook her head, her twin tails whipping against her arms as she pulled away. "Stop patting my head... Anyway, don't worry, I'm not that fragile.
I just feel frustrated, like I'm not helping at all."
Pilar had remained silent, occasionally glancing into the rearview mirror.
His expression was a mix of relief and inexplicable guilt. Thinking about it, as her brother, he had never supported Rebecca as firmly as Mercer did.
Sighing inwardly, Pilar felt an indescribable sense of belonging to this team for the first time.
He knew he was unreliable, always offbeat; that was just who he was. But it didn't change the fact that he genuinely wanted Rebecca to live well and happily.
It was something their father had repeatedly made him promise to do, no matter what.
He hadn't done well before, but if he was in this team... maybe someone could fulfill that for him.
"Alright, there'll be plenty of fights ahead. No matter how strong V is, she's just one person. Don't expect her to do all the work alone."
Mercer laughed and reached out to ruffle her hair too. Rebecca didn't dodge this time, just hummed in acknowledgment, reverting to her usual brash self as she changed the subject:
"Pilar, how much longer?"
"We're here. Just up this dirt road."
Pilar responded as the car began to jolt.
In less than three minutes, an open garage came into view. Lucy and Kiwi were waiting by the garage, next to a modified Thorton Mackinaw MTL1 four-seater pickup borrowed from the Aldecaldos.
Nearby, Mercer's Shion Coyote was also parked.
Mercer and the others quickly got out and started unloading, placing the stolen blood analyzer in the back of the pickup before dismantling the valuable items like laptops and small servers from the car to load onto the truck.
"V... never mind. Rebecca, come with me to dump this woman. V, you take the others and drive the pickup straight back to the Aldecaldos with the goods."
Mercer instructed, hesitating for a moment before handing the case of medication to V. Meanwhile, Rebecca eagerly grabbed hold of Emilia. Rebecca let out a cheer before giving her another hard smack on the forehead, then stuffed her into the trunk of Mercer's car.
Meanwhile, V and Pilar grabbed the tarp from the back of the pickup truck, covered the cargo in the truck bed, and secured it tightly with ropes. Finally, Pilar took the driver's seat of the pickup.
"See you at the camp?"
V looked at Mercer.
Mercer nodded. "See you at the camp."
He stepped on the accelerator, and with Rebecca's delighted laughter, the Shion "Coyote" shot forward like an arrow.
Everything went smoothly. On the way back, Mercer even spotted NCPD vehicles leaving Night City, likely responding to a reported incident on the highway.
But it was precisely because he saw the NCPD first that Mercer felt completely at ease; this meant his information lockdown had been a success. None of the people in the entire vehicle had managed to trigger a distress alarm.
Biotechnica probably still had no idea their car had been hijacked, let alone figured out who was behind it.
As expected, Mercer detoured around Night City and headed toward the scrapyard in the eastern suburbs. The road was clear all the way, making the drive feel almost like a leisurely joyride.
When they reached the vicinity of the scrapyard, Mercer stopped the car, and Rebecca eagerly jumped out, clutching her shotgun.
"Leave it to me, leave it to me! I'll blast this piece of trash in half with my shotgun!"
Rebecca, radiating murderous intent, opened Mercer's trunk. Inside, Emilia, who had been jostled the entire way, was covered in bumps on her head and still unconscious.
Even if she wanted to wake up, she couldn't; her mind remained under Mercer's control. The moment her brainwaves showed any sign of awakening, Mercer would forcefully knock her out again with a brutal data attack.
Rebecca roughly dragged her out of the car. Because of her short stature, as she pulled Emilia by the arm, most of Emilia's body scraped along the ground.
Mercer thought for a moment, then followed.
The scrapyard he had chosen was the same place where the protagonist V had been dumped after being shot by the fat guy in the game. It was here, after being revived by the Relic chip, that V was forced to confront Arasaka in order to survive.
Now, the piles of trash here didn't look as massive or exaggerated as they would later, but the place was already taking shape.
Emilia still hadn't woken up by the time she was dragged deep into the scrapyard. Rebecca gave her a couple of rough kicks, then turned to look at Mercer. "Is she already dead?"
"Let me check."
Mercer sent a data pulse into her head. Emilia jolted, slowly opened her eyes, and murmured in confusion, "Wh-where am I?"
"Perfect!" Rebecca snorted coldly, chambered a round in her shotgun, and aimed it at the woman's head.
"No! Don't kill me! Don't..." Emilia's plea was cut short.
"Go say that to the people you poisoned!"
Without hesitation, Rebecca pulled the trigger.
She just wanted this woman to watch herself die; this shot was for all those who had been poisoned by Biotechnica without ever knowing.
Emilia's head exploded into pieces instantly. Still unsatisfied, Rebecca fired two more shots into her before finally holstering her gun with a sense of lingering bloodlust. She took a deep breath, only to be hit by the stench of the scrapyard, wrinkling her face in disgust.
She turned to Mercer and smiled. "Thanks. I feel much better now."
"Let's go. Soon her cyberware will lose power, and that'll trigger the employee biomonitor alarm."
After Mercer spoke, Rebecca giggled and walked over to him, leaning against his arm. "So, where are we headed next?"
"Let's head back first, switch cars, then stake out near the Biotechnica facility, as long as they don't go into emergency lockdown, we'll infiltrate at 2 AM tonight."
After a pause, Mercer added, "Once we secure the data and hand it over to Wakako, this job is done. Then we can lay low for a few days, lay off the heat, and head to Dogtown to touch base with Mr. Hands. Once we're inside Dogtown, it won't matter if Biotechnica gets our personal info; that place doesn't give a damn about Biotechnica's influence."
"Are we just letting this slide?" Rebecca naturally pulled one of his arms into her embrace, tilting her head up to look at him sideways.
Mercer tried to tug his arm back, but it didn't budge. It wasn't that he was exaggerating; Rebecca's strength might seem insignificant to V, but to him, it felt unnaturally strong.
"What are you suggesting?" Mercer turned to look at Rebecca.
Rebecca met his gaze: "Expose them, of course! How can we let Biotechnica get away with something this disgusting? They've been secretly poisoning an entire town! They even contaminated the water source of the Red Ocher tribe. This has to be exposed; everyone needs to see Biotechnica's true colors!"
Mercer fell silent for a moment. Deep down, he felt that so-called exposure and news meant little to the people living in this city. Media outlets tied to Biotechnica's interests would never report the truth, while those opposed to them were already publishing exposes daily. People only cared about the "facts" they preferred or believed in; you could never wake someone who was content living in a beautiful lie.
But doing something would still have an impact, even if it was just causing their stock to dip and inconveniencing some people at Biotechnica. Besides... he had already planned a use for Emilia's testimony. Otherwise, he wouldn't have activated his cybereye's recording function in advance to capture everything she said.
Mercer smiled and said, "Of course we'll expose them. But we can't just hand over this hard-won intel to the news networks for free; they'd just profit off the clicks. I think companies like Kang Tao, Trauma Team, and Petrochem wouldn't mind stepping on Biotechnica's toes while they're down. These giants won't let a scoop like this slip by; they'll definitely use it to short Biotechnica's stock and make them hurt for a while. Too bad I don't know much about finance... but some people do. Maybe I can brush up on it quickly. We could trade this info for some investment advice and ride the wave to make a little extra cash."
In this cyberpunk world, corporations were powerful, but they couldn't escape the vulnerabilities of being publicly traded, namely, their stock prices. Stock exchanges spanned the globe, and a company's recent fortunes could often be read in its market trends.
"Yeah... I don't really get all that, but as long as they get exposed, it's fine by me," Rebecca said with a giggle.
Mercer turned to her with a slightly pained expression: "Why are you talking to me in that cutesy voice?"
"Am I? Huh? I didn't even notice!" She clung tighter to his arm, laughing even more gleefully.
Mercer looked at her speechlessly. "Just act natural, Rebecca. Even I'm feeling a bit creeped out."
"Damn it, I really wasn't..." Rebecca couldn't help cursing under her breath, shooting him a look mixed with grievance and irritation. "Can't I just talk to you like this? Do I have to speak to you the same way I do with Pilar and V for you to be comfortable?"
After saying this, she suddenly grinned mischievously. "By the way, you still haven't answered my question from Christmas!"
"...There's something I think I should make clear to you first." Mercer decided it was better to be straightforward with her.
He looked at Rebecca seriously. "I genuinely think we should wait a couple more years before talking about romance. It's not that I rigidly believe everyone has to be adults before exploring relationships. But realistically speaking, we've got more than one or two things on our plate right now, and I honestly don't have time for romance in the near future. Even though I'd love to just let loose... let's wait another two years."
Rebecca made a face that clearly said "are you kidding me?", her small features scrunched up in displeasure as she stared at him for a moment. Eventually, she just clicked her tongue in frustration, releasing her grip as if sulking, puffing her cheeks without another word.
She didn't believe Mercer was telling the truth.
When they returned to the car, Rebecca sat down and after closing the door, she stared directly at Mercer's profile. First she glared at him irritably for a long moment, then asked with utmost seriousness:
"Is it that you don't like me? That you have no feelings for me? If that's the case, I don't care; even if I have to cling to you relentlessly, you won't be able to push me away."
Her attitude was resolute, her eyes completely serious without a hint of jest. "This isn't some impulsive whim; I've thought it through properly! Before, it might have been because I was drunk, or simply because I felt I'd rarely meet someone who matches my values, personality, and looks so perfectly that I wanted to try something with you. But now I'm certain I've made up my mind; I think I've really fallen for you. Call it love at first sight or emotional recklessness if you want, but that's how it is! I don't think I'll meet another person as good as you in Night City... When my old man was alive, he used to say that in this life, especially in Night City, you might only meet that right person once. Miss them, and there'll never be another. I'm not giving up just because you brush me off a few times! I'll keep my eyes only on you!"
Mercer turned to look at her, but she unceremoniously reached out and removed his mask.
Since she'd already seen his face before, Mercer didn't avoid it. Rebecca met his gaze directly, seriously studying his face and observing his expression for the first time.
"This feels less like a confession and more like you're ready to fight me... Your constant staring is kind of intimidating," Mercer responded half-jokingly.
"I am prepared to fight anyone over this! Anyway, I've made up my mind. Unless you find me annoying, I'll keep watching you, always!"
Rebecca snorted, showing not the slightest intention of backing down.
Mercer could only nod. "Alright, I understand."
"What do you mean, you understand?" Rebecca asked discontentedly, shaking her leg impatiently.
She felt she had been straightforward enough.
"That means you can stare if you want. I'm not making excuses to reject or brush you off; I'd say the same to anyone."
Mercer started the car and drove toward the Badlands.
Only then did Rebecca show a satisfied smile: "So even if we're not dating, I don't need to deliberately keep my distance from you, right?"
"Not necessary either. Just don't be too forward, especially in front of everyone. I really wouldn't know how to react in that situation." As Mercer spoke, he tried to put his mask back on, but she reached out and pressed her hand over his.
"Just the two of us here. Let me look at you a bit longer, what's the rush?" she said casually, grinning as she watched him. Seeing him glance at her helplessly but not refuse, she felt even happier.
Unlike Lucy, who now seemed visibly more youthful compared to her anime counterpart, Rebecca looked exactly the same as she did in the anime.
This type of girl would probably stay like this even into her thirties or forties.
So Mercer found it hard to treat her the same way he treated Lucy. He always felt she was already in her "final form," making it difficult to refuse when she flirted with him.
Especially when he remembered her straightforward personality in the anime; it made it even harder to say no. Who could refuse a girl who, just for you, would willingly become "Rebecca-chan," even if it meant being a backup option?
He couldn't refuse at all.
If he had any backbone, V wouldn't already be suspecting he was a pervert, damn it. What's wrong with liking pretty, cute girls?
"By the way, what's going on between you and Lucy?" Rebecca suddenly asked.
Mercer avoided her gaze as he replied: "About the same as my relationship with you?"
"Damn it! I knew it!" Rebecca immediately flared up. "Are you living with her now?"
"I mostly sleep on the netrunner station."
After Mercer said this, Rebecca glared at him fiercely. Even without thinking, Mercer could guess that if he didn't give a proper explanation, Rebecca would probably move in starting today.
"Once we move to a new place, of course we'll live separately."
Hearing this, Rebecca pouted but finally accepted it: "What about V? She's pretty, has a good figure, and she's not exactly young... What do you think about that older woman?"
"She's not bad either, just a bit dumb and daring enough to call me a pervert. She better watch out."
Mercer said irritably: "Someday I'll make her eat her words!"
"Just don't let her eat anything else of yours!" Rebecca rolled her eyes. "That woman doesn't seem like a good person... What I mean is, I feel her feelings for you aren't pure either.
Damn, but what's going on with you? Do you just like every pretty girl you see?
And yet all those pretty girls seem to have some interest in you too...
Feels like even if someone really dated you, they'd have to be on edge all the time."
Mercer seemed rather proud of this: "Maybe my charm stat is also maxed out at 20."
"Hmph, not impossible." Rebecca changed the subject, smiling at him: "Well~ since we're done with work, the stakeout can wait a bit. There's no one around here now..."
"What are you trying to do?" Mercer's eyes widened slightly.
Rebecca looked at him for a moment before suddenly bursting into laughter. "Fine, we don't have to date, but at least let your girl have a little fun, alright? I'm already this old, and this is the first time I've even held a man's hand."
"You're insane, aren't you?" Mercer was stunned.
"What the hell? How is that insane?" Rebecca retorted defiantly. "Go ask any girl on the street; how many of them my age already have kids? I'm usually too embarrassed to even talk about this stuff with anyone. Damn it, I've lived this long and haven't even kissed a guy!"
"Or are you one of those 'traditional nice guys' who won't even touch a woman's hand unless you're in a relationship?"
Rebecca's intense gaze looked like she was ready to devour him.
Mercer thought for a moment but, under her burning stare, couldn't bring himself to claim he was indeed that kind of traditional nice guy.
"Just… don't go too far," he said, lacking conviction but still emphasizing, "We'll see when the mood feels right."
"Hehe, deal~" Rebecca drawled playfully, then immediately launched herself from the passenger seat, wrapping her arms around his neck and planting a bold kiss on his cheek.
Mercer nearly swerved the car into an S-shaped curve. "Are you fucking crazy?!"
"Whew," Rebecca exhaled deeply, settling back into her seat with satisfaction. "Hahaha~ Why are you acting like a shy little girl?"
"Screw you! Anyone would be shocked if you pulled something like that!" Mercer was momentarily dazed, but once he regained his composure, he could only glare at her. "Take it easy."
"Don't worry, don't worry~" Rebecca giggled like a little girl who'd just gotten her favorite toy. "I won't make things awkward for you around other girls. But just so we're clear; if I catch anyone trying to sneak ahead, or if I find out you're just playing hard to get with me, I won't hold back anymore."
You're the one sneaking ahead the most, Mercer thought to himself.
He rolled his eyes and this time directly put on his mask. "I should've just rejected you outright and made you cry."
"Then why didn't you?" She smiled teasingly at him, and when he stayed silent, she already had the answer she wanted.
Rebecca rolled down the window, a brilliantly radiant smile spreading across her face. Excitedly, she raised her shotgun and let out a gleeful, wild shout toward the outside. "Hahaha! I knew you couldn't resist me!"
She scared a nearby passing driver so badly that he nearly slammed on the brakes and veered off the road onto the dirt shoulder; he thought the crazy woman was trying to rob him with a shotgun!
Rebecca laughed heartily at the driver's panicked expression, flashing a peace sign before pulling herself back into the car. Under Mercer's exasperated gaze, she happily hummed a tune.
It wasn't until they returned to the camp that she reined in her excitement and began focusing on Mercer's plan for their next move.
Once the operation was laid out, Mercer and V immediately drove off again, heading toward the vicinity of the Biotechnica building.
Unlike the smooth carjacking earlier, after circling the building a few times, Mercer's expression gradually grew serious.
"Looks like this might take a bit more effort."
"What do you mean?" V was taken aback.
"Biotechnica has tightened security. Seems like the death of that tech lead made them suspect someone might be targeting their 'poisoning plan.'"
"I bet plenty of folks will be pulling overtime tonight, scrambling to deal with potential scandals or frantically revising their plans," Mercer stated succinctly.
V scratched his head, unsure how Mercer could tell. "So what do we do? Maybe just call it off? We already squeezed a decent amount of cash out of that woman. Plus, if we sell that machine to Vik or on the black market, we could get another 100k eddies. Add Wakako's 150k fee on top, and I'd say we're pretty much set. Damn, I never thought we'd make this much on a single job! Split this, and the whole crew could live large for a year!"
Mercer didn't reply, just thoughtfully scanned their surroundings.
V had a point; sneaking into Biotechnica Tower under heightened security just for Wakako's 150k eddies wasn't exactly a brilliant idea. But his real goal was to poke around the servers, see if there was anything he wanted or other valuable data up for grabs. So, if there was a chance, they had to go for it. As for V's idea of "living large for a year," he dismissed it as nonsense. Look at her ambition; thinking a diet of synth-meat, a few beers at the bar, and a new flop to crash in counted as living large.
Mercer's fingers tapped lightly on the steering wheel as he thought it over. "We'll try again tonight. According to Wakako's intel, we've got at least three possible ways to slip in. As long as one route is viable, we'll give it a shot. If the security layout has changed or reinforcements have been added, we bail. If not, we stick to the plan. This time, we don't need to hit the server room directly; just get to the executive offices on the 17th floor and hack into a computer connected to the LAN server. With your skills and mine, sneaking in just shifts the difficulty from 'very easy' to 'moderately challenging.' I'll prep a safe exit strategy; if things go south, we can retreat directly from the rooftop."
V was taken aback. "Retreat from the rooftop? With what?"
A faint smile touched Mercer's lips as his gaze settled on a large dumpster. At that moment, a yellow, drone-like machine resembling a large UAV clamped its mechanical arm around the dumpster and began lifting it slowly into the air. This was the "Canopy," a specialized worker drone produced by Zetatech to compete with the Soviet Union Kaukaz's Aras drones. Equipped with four crab-like thrusters and a metal clamp designed for dumpsters, its daily task was to collect full dumpsters across Night City, carry them to suburban landfills, and dispose of them, fully automated, no human intervention required. Even malfunctions triggered automatic alerts for safe landings or returns to the drone depot for recycling companies. Cheap, ubiquitous, and operating 24/7, these drones were activated whenever networked dumpsters detected they were full, signaling the recycling company for automated collection.
Mercer's cybereye glowed, and in the next moment, the soaring Canopy drone abruptly halted mid-air for a brief instant before continuing along its predetermined route.
"I hacked this drone and that trash bin; anytime we need to, I can first fake a signal that the bin requires cleaning, making this 'Canopy' fly over without triggering any alarms.
And then, using the program I pre-installed, we can immediately hijack this drone and get to experience a makeshift aerodyne vehicle."
"Whoa, is that really possible?" V looked a bit nervous. "This thing won't get shot to pieces, will it? If we fall from this height, we're dead for sure!"
"Don't worry, this thing is built solid. Its maximum load capacity is 800kg. Aside from short battery life, it has no other flaws; it can fly for a full hour without issues.
At its max speed of 100 km/h, plus its ability to hover over any terrain in the city, it's more than enough to get us out of Night City."
After saying this, Mercer paused for a moment before continuing, "Besides, we probably won't even need to use it. If we're careful enough and move fast, with your skills and mine, the chances of us getting detected are very low.
The plan is simple; I'll handle disabling all the troublesome cameras, robots, automatic turrets, and door locks.
You take care of any living obstacles in our way.
Doesn't that basically mean there's no one in this Biotechnica facility?
We can wrap this up in ten minutes, silently steal all the data, and get out."
"So, 'no people' means just eliminating everyone, and 'no witnesses' means no one's left to talk. Got it. A, you seem calm, but you're actually way crazier than I am! V complained a bit, looked at her own hands, and clenched her fists: "I haven't done much stealth work before. If something goes wrong, don't blame me!"
"To be honest, I haven't done much proper stealth either," Mercer admitted frankly. "But the last time I did something like this, it went pretty well."
That operation at the Arasaka base; Mercer felt it could serve as his own personal "stealth reference guide."
Sure, his methods were straightforward and brutal, but the result spoke for itself: he was still a free man, wasn't he?
"Really?" V eyed him skeptically.
Mercer nodded with full confidence. "Really! Just wait until tonight; you'll see!"
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10500 words.
Bonus chapter @1800 power stones.