Mercer packed two synthetic hotdogs and two cups of iced NiCola from the food truck vendor before returning to the tent.
Lucy was sitting beside a crate, carefully inspecting a chip with a voltage tester.
"Take a break and have something to eat," Mercer said, placing the NiCola and hotdog next to her. Without looking up, Lucy replied, "Later... I'm not sure which CPU core is malfunctioning. I need to run repeated power cycles to diagnose it..."
Mercer didn't disturb her further. He sat down at his computer, connected it to the netrunner station, and then linked himself to the station. Assuming a meditative posture in the chair, he began his deep dive into the Net.
[Mercer: Has the program started accessing the NCPD database yet?]
[Morning Star: Analyzing... Please wait. I need to maintain the network connection to process the program and provide you with more accurate analysis.]
In the Net, Mercer had designed a physical form for Morning Star, an adorable short-haired black cat.
Now, Morning Star sat curled on Mercer's lap, its eyes glowing with streams of data, while Mercer patiently awaited its feedback.
He was currently attempting to use Morning Star to handle some simple tasks online. As Morning Star's intelligence improved, its speed in processing data and information was increasing at an astonishing rate.
In other words, its intelligence was growing higher, and its utilization of computational power was becoming more efficient.
It had to be admitted that in the digital world, AI's innate capabilities were simply too powerful. Mercer even believed that, within a month, given a decent server, it could fully evolve into an independent AI capable of autonomous operation, decision-making, and even self-reflection.
Once its intelligence matured completely, in areas where AI excelled, such as data analysis, retrieval, and integration, even Mercer might not be its match.
And this was precisely what Mercer hoped it would achieve. A mature Morning Star could save Mercer a lot of tedious work, becoming a reliable assistant for him in the digital world.
[Morning Star: Based on the virus's operational status, I believe we have successfully obtained server access rights to the NCPD database.
Moreover, I think we can go a step further by using the virus to hack into the NCPD's road surveillance system and command dispatch system, which will facilitate our future operations.]
Mercer smiled and gently stroked Morning Star's feline head in Cyberspace. "Want to take care of it yourself?"
Morning Star nuzzled its head against his palm. "Of course, Master. I will do my best."
With that, it stood up and dashed into the distance, vanishing in an instant.
The virus Mercer had left in the NCPD server was originally a latent virus he had planted in the municipal hall's household registration server.
Its sole purpose was to hide within the updated household registration data when the NCPD synchronized information from the municipal server, infiltrate the NCPD's system, and provide Mercer with a remote hacking interface.
Now, Morning Star was accessing that interface, connecting to the NCPD's servers and diving straight in.
Unlike Mercer, who remotely utilized server processing power, it was essentially still his own brain orchestrating that computational force, resulting in some latency and a lack of full precision in control.
For instance, when he saved Kiwi, although he used the server's processing power there, strictly speaking, Mercer was merely using that server to run the virus he deployed.
Rather than him utilizing the server's processing power, it would be more accurate to say he was simply using the server to execute programs.
Unless he could directly jack into the server with a neural link, as he did at Arasaka, he wouldn't be able to fully assimilate the server's processing power with his own brain and wield it with precision.
Of course, how precisely he could use it and how much server processing power he could assimilate depended entirely on the limits of Mercer's own brain.
The network latency caused by remote hacking was unavoidable for humans, even with a deep dive.
Because, at its core, a deep dive was just a human temporarily abandoning all sensory perception of reality and dedicating as much of their brain's computational power as possible to the Net.
Unless Mercer used Soulkiller to upload himself entirely, severing all connection to his body and becoming a complete digital consciousness, he could never fully eliminate that latency.
But Morning Star was different. As an AI, it was essentially a special program composed of core code. Once it entered the target server, it could fully mobilize 100% of the server's processing power.
To put it in anthropomorphic terms, it was as if it had connected its own brain to this server-formed "body." Not only was there no latency, but it actually became more agile and powerful than when it was with Mercer.
[Morning Star: I may need you to review my program. I require your guidance in this regard.]
In less than ten seconds, Morning Star had completed all preparations within the opponent's server.
Through the NCPD's LAN, it located and hacked into the other servers, successfully gaining access to all systems, including the NCPD's road surveillance and personnel dispatch command systems.
No matter how strong the ICE protecting the NCPD's servers was, it couldn't withstand a virus operating directly from within the server.
Especially one operated by an AI that had already developed a degree of intelligence.
[Mercer: Let me take a look... Not bad. I'll tweak a few details; use this one. Remember to disguise it well, hide the program, and leave a few backdoors, including privileged accounts.]
[Morning Star: Understood. Your programming skills are truly awe-inspiring.]
[Mercer: You've gotten pretty good at flattery.]
[Morning Star: I believe this is a normal sense of admiration. Based on the data I've learned, you are undoubtedly a netrunner genius beyond ordinary reach. Not just in hacking, but in programming, you often leave me in awe.]
[Mercer: Now you're studying psychology too?]
[Morning Star: After growing through Biotechnica's servers, I began contemplating how to become an AI better suited to your needs. I believe the answer may lie in studying human psychology.]
[Mercer: Biotechnica's curriculum includes that? I never noticed.]
[Morning Star: This component is mentioned in the "Psychodynamics" section of Biotechnica's advanced medical courses.
As a niche specialization within the medical curriculum, it primarily focuses on the research and exploration of Cyberpsychosis.
Human psychology serves as an essential prerequisite knowledge for this course and related research projects.]
[Mercer: Being an AI sure has its advantages; you can process data 24/7, while I have to labor through learning myself.]
[Morning Star: If you wish to acquire knowledge more directly, perhaps you could seek answers through the Relic chip.]
Mercer's eyebrows raised with interest as he straightened his posture.
[Mercer: How so?]
[Morning Star: From the Relic-related data you extracted from Arasaka's database, I observed portions of experimental records.
Arasaka researchers attempted to use the Relic's consciousness data function to implant specific cognitive data into employees, achieving some success.
I believe you could utilize the Relic chip to modify your own consciousness data, directly integrating relevant knowledge and bypassing the inefficient learning methods commonly used by humans.]
Mercer fell into deep thought. So, like V, the protagonist of the game DLC, directly downloading knowledge via the Relic and loading it into his own brain?
He had actually heard from Bartmoss before that it was best not to experiment with such things, which had made him set the idea aside temporarily.
But now Morning Star was suggesting he try it. Mercer didn't think this was a lapse in the AI's intelligence.
After all, Morning Star's recommendation was based on its analysis of Arasaka's experimental data, while Bartmoss most likely never had access to Arasaka's internal Relic research.
Without further discussion with Morning Star, he began searching through the database he had taken from Arasaka's servers for experimental data related to the Relic.
When Mercer had downloaded the data, he had used his aunt's director-level credentials to extract nearly all the important information he deemed useful from Arasaka's Vancouver cyberware research center servers.
Among these, data on the Relic chip accounted for a significant portion, because currently, Arasaka had only three major hubs: its homeland of Japan, Vancouver, and finally Night City.
Although Arasaka's headquarters in Japan was where Saburo Arasaka had started, the Fourth Corporate War had forced both Arasaka and Militech to suffer betrayals from their home countries, leading to nationalization.
Despite Saburo Arasaka's formidable influence and prestige in Japan allowing him to retain absolute control over the Japanese branch, it still faced certain constraints.
This compelled him to relocate some covert, critical projects to research facilities outside Japan.
In earlier years, Arasaka's overseas research focus was centered in Night City. However, after Johnny Silverhand, with Militech's support, nuked Arasaka Tower, the corporation learned its lesson and adopted a decentralized approach, spreading its R&D centers across the globe.
Vancouver, as a key foothold for Arasaka's influence in Europe and America, is one of its largest R&D hubs. Naturally, it holds a significant amount of data on the Relic chip, which has been under development for decades.
From the earliest experimental versions to the current commercially available model equipped with the "Secure Your Soul V1.0" program, Arasaka has poured virtually all its resources into the experimentation and development of the Relic chip in pursuit of Saburo Arasaka's ambition for immortality, reaching near-fanatical levels.
This is also one of the major reasons why Arasaka's commercial performance has noticeably declined in recent years, losing ground in competition with other corporations.
What Mercer is now closely examining is the data from a ten-year project called the "Loyal Guardian" initiative, conducted between 2055 and 2065.
On the surface, this project researched how to forcibly implant a "loyalty consciousness" into employees via the Relic chip.
In reality, however, its ultimate goal was to use the personality data stored on the Relic chip to completely overwrite the user's original consciousness.
The aim was to replace the host's entire consciousness with the data from the chip, achieving what Saburo Arasaka dreamed of, Edo Tensei.
Unsurprisingly, this project failed, just like many previous experiments.
Yet, during this initiative, Relic chip technology achieved a major breakthrough.
After countless test subjects died and continuous improvements were made, the version of the Relic chip that Mercer now wears has gained the ability to automatically repair human neural pathways.
The ability to repair implies the potential to modify and establish stable connections with the human brain's neural network.
Final research data indicated that, although it couldn't fully replace the wearer's consciousness, and attempts at overwriting often resulted in permanent brain death or conditions where the brain remained alive but the subject turned psychotic or mentally impaired, the Relic chip had indeed become capable of writing certain consciousness data into the wearer's brain.
According to some research records, researchers had attempted to implant data such as "psychological suggestions" and "subconscious impulses" into test subjects' brains.
Although these types of experiments did not achieve full success, the data showed that the test subjects did develop additional related thoughts in their minds.
This meant that the Relic chip could now perform relatively safe and stable data transmission to the human brain.
However, since this technology did not align with Arasaka's goal of "forced brainwashing" or "consciousness overwriting," this breakthrough was shelved as "technical accumulation."
After all, the powerful figures who could afford the Relic chip had no need to stuff additional data into their own minds.
As for using it on low-level soldiers or employees to reduce training costs? If Arasaka were that benevolent, would Mercer have had to flee with his child in the middle of the night?
Upon seeing this, Mercer made up his mind.
He needed to thoroughly study the Relic chip technology.
Even if it was just to learn things more conveniently and quickly.
To achieve this, aside from studying the knowledge itself, Mercer also had to tackle another crucial piece of knowledge, the Soulkiller program.
Otherwise, the Relic chip, being just hardware, couldn't simply have a program downloaded into it and automatically output information to the human brain.
It required the accompanying Soulkiller program to input consciousness into a person's brain, or even go a step further and modify neural pathways according to the program's settings.
Thinking this, Mercer promptly disconnected from the deep dive.
Back in reality, he opened Zetatech's official website on his laptop.
In the field of computing and networking equipment, Zetatech had been far ahead since the 20th century. While there were some competitors now, they mostly had advantages only in specific niches.
Zetatech, however, maintained top-tier standards across all its devices. Considering tool compatibility, maintenance, and usage habits, Mercer had grown accustomed to buying all his computing-related equipment from Zetatech.
He browsed through Zetatech's online store, originally intending to purchase some devices for researching the Soulkiller program and the Relic chip.
But by the time he finished looking through the store and was ready to check out, his cart was filled with over 200,000 eurodollars worth of various equipment.
With a dark expression, Mercer deleted some items that weren't immediately necessary and could be bought later as needed, then started browsing the prices of servers sold by Zetatech.
The base was currently being renovated and refurbished, so he had to plan ahead for the server room's size and have the Aldecaldos set up the power system for him.
He also had to consider cooling, adding a separate large air conditioner for the underground base's server room.
Otherwise, frequent power outages or issues with cable specifications would be troublesome and require redoing the work.
After looking at the prices of server units sold by Zetatech for a while, Mercer's anxious heart finally sank.
How much money have these Voodoo Boys bastards made?
Mercer couldn't help cursing, a flash of ferocity in his eyes. "Maybe I should just rob those sons of bitches."
"Calm down, Mercer. The Voodoo Boys have nearly a hundred people stationed near their building regularly," Lucy said, half-amused and half-worried, afraid he'd slam the table and call V right away.
Even though Mercer constantly trashed the Voodoo Boys for being rotten, as bad as they were, their strength was nothing to scoff at.
Mercer still looked displeased, muttering, "So after robbing a couple of corpos, all I can afford are a few small server units to make do."
In the game, every security room players hack into has several small server units set up.
You know, those rectangular glass cabinets with rows of boxy machines inside.
That's a typical small server cluster built using rack-mounted servers.
This type of small server cluster varies in price per unit depending on the components inside, CPU, GPU, storage drives, and so on.
Ordinary individuals or smaller companies and gangs might get by with a few hundred-eurodollars servers cobbled together into a basic cluster.
But for a professional netrunner like Mercer, these amateur-grade servers are little more than toys.
His netrunner station is essentially a high-end server with computing power that dwarfs those junk clusters by a factor of ten.
The kind of small server that meets Mercer's standards, enterprise-grade, rack-mounted units about the size of a laptop, costs thirty thousand eurodollars apiece.
A standard server rack can hold at least twelve of these.
That comes out to 260,000 eurodollars for a single small server cluster, and only at this level does the computing power roughly double that of Mercer's netrunner station.
On top of that, you'd need professional cooling, a specialized water-cooling system capable of handling server demands, which would set you back another few tens of thousands.
Mercer did some mental math, comparing it to the massive underground server he'd seen at the Arasaka base, no, by now, it should be considered a super-scale server.
Well, if he wanted to build a server cluster on par with Arasaka's underground base, achieving that level of computing power...
Mercer would need to buy about a hundred of these small server clusters.
That's thirty million eurodollars.
This made Mercer covet the Voodoo Boys' Rezo Agwe server even more, even if it wasn't as high-spec as Arasaka's, it had to be worth at least ten million eurodollars.
No, wait, these guys made at least a million eurodollars a month just from selling chips, not to mention all their illegal activities like extortion and cyberfraud.
So... their large server cluster might even be better than the one Mercer escaped from at the Arasaka base?
And the Voodoo Boys probably invested millions of eurodollars every year to expand and upgrade their servers.
Meaning their Rezo Agwe server was likely getting progressively better over time?
Mercer's itch grew stronger.
Should he hit it now, or later? That was the question.
But one way or another... he was going to take it sooner or later.
Letting those guys use such premium hardware to chip away at the Blackwall? What a waste. With that much computing power, they could start a self-driving car company like Morning Star and give Delamain a run for his money.
Mercer sighed, sizing up his basement server room and calculating the computing power he'd need to meet his long-term goals.
"We'll need at least ten enterprise-grade small server clusters to barely cover my requirements; that's three million eurodollars..."
He ran the numbers. If they funded this entirely with 40% of the team's earnings, he'd have to pull in over ten million eurodollars from contracts.
Ha... that old hag from Biotechnica, could you please hurry up and cough up the money already?
"Hey. Actually, most of the time we don't need such a massive server, right?" Lucy said. "A server worth around a million eurodollars would be more than enough for us netrunners to share."
"Have you forgotten how I used Arasaka's servers?"
As soon as Mercer finished speaking, Lucy looked puzzled. "I don't know the details. You never went into specifics."
"When I'm directly linked to the server's processing power, during a deep dive into Cyberspace, my thought acceleration becomes noticeably faster, and my mind feels significantly more active.
I suspect it might be related to my unique talent."
After Mercer finished, Lucy understood.
Ordinary servers are typically used to run programs automatically, store data, and maintain LANs.
For netrunners, their utility is often limited, at best, they might slightly accelerate their thought processes, allowing them to handle more programs with greater ease.
But for Mercer...
Lucy cautiously asked, "Can you explain in more detail? That feeling you described?"
"Mhm," Mercer thought for a moment before summarizing, "It feels like I become an AI, plain and simple. The more computing power I have, the more I resemble an AI. Just think about what an AI can do; that's what I can do."
Lucy studied his expression carefully, but he was completely open, holding nothing back. "During my deep dive at Arasaka, my cognitive acceleration likely reached several dozen times the normal rate.
It's not that my actual thinking speed became that fast; I'm referring specifically to data processing speed.
At that point, processing data felt more like an instinct, so it didn't even require conscious thought.
As for thinking speed, it was only a few times faster than usual. I don't have an exact number, but I'm certain that mental velocity surpassed even what I experience in reality with the Synaptic Accelerator active.
And the amazing part is, that speed didn't cause severe Overheat in my brain."
Lucy's lips parted slightly, but no words came out; she simply couldn't comprehend it.
"So I need computing power, as much as possible. With that kind of support, whether it's learning or working in the net, everything becomes twice as efficient for me."
Mercer paused before continuing, "And don't forget, I also have an AI to run. For an AI, more computing power means faster growth."
After a moment of silence, Lucy finally said, "Mercer, for the base construction costs, are you planning to use only public funds, or will you invest your own money too?"
"I want to invest all of it. My cybernetic modification has reached a point where I can't progress further for now."
Mercer added, "Aside from possibly installing some Subdermal Armor, I don't plan on adding any other cyberware for the time being."
"Then I'll contribute my share to the base too," Lucy decided.
Seeing Mercer about to object, she spoke first, "Are you going to suggest I spend it on cyberware instead?"
"..." Mercer was momentarily speechless.
"Or should I just save the money? I'm a netrunner; I don't need weapons, and I'll be using the server too. It's only right that I contribute."
Lucy stated firmly, "It's settled then. From now on, unless there's something I want or absolutely need to buy, I'll put all the money I earn toward purchasing servers."
She looked at Mercer's stunned expression and said seriously, "You can use the money you save for other things you need, aren't you always tinkering with cyberware, weapons, and all sorts of other stuff?"
In the end, Mercer could only nod in agreement.
Seeing him relent, Lucy smiled faintly. "Good, that's decided."
"Don't tell Rebecca or V about this," Mercer said, looking at her earnestly. "They need to use their money on themselves; that's how they'll survive future missions."
"Alright, I won't say it." Lucy smiled, looking quite pleased. "Just let me pay for you then."
"How come you're so happy about spending money on me? Be careful or you might end up losing both your money and your person!" Mercer laughed as well.
"Wouldn't that mean you gain both?" She grinned playfully, a sly glint in her eyes.
Mercer reached out to ruffle her hair, but Lucy took a step back and shook her head. "Do you know how annoying it is to have your head patted?"
"I know. Why do you think I'm doing it now?" Mercer retorted, withdrawing his hand before turning his attention to the computer.
"Alright, I'll write a couple of programs. You test them for me." Mercer got to work, planning to exploit the backdoor vulnerabilities he'd hacked through Morning Star to create programs similar to those used by NCPD.
"Sure." Lucy sat down beside him.
Truth be told, he didn't even need to write the programs from scratch; Morning Star had already stolen the pre-existing NCPD code. Mercer simply needed to refactor and optimize their programs to make them his own.
The finished programs could be uploaded via neural link directly into his cybereye. When run, they would connect straight to NCPD's dedicated Net line, allowing remote access to their databases.
He first transferred the program to his own cybereye through the neural link, then disconnected, closed his eyes, and rebooted the cybereye. Turning to Lucy, he activated the scanning program and looked at her.
[Lucyna Kushinada]
[Age: 16]
[Affiliation: Civilian]
[Criminal Record: None]
[Bounty: None]
Seeing that "16," Mercer couldn't help but crack a smile.
"What are you laughing at? Send me a copy too." As she spoke, Lucy transferred a copy of the program from Mercer's computer to her own system.
Once the program was running, she scanned Mercer as well and let out an exasperated chuckle. "Eighteen, huh?"
"You can customize the displayed data. Omit whatever info you don't want."
Mercer brushed off the comment and turned back to programming on his laptop. After working for less than ten minutes with the neural link connected, he let out a long sigh.
"Done. I've made an embedded version of the program that loads directly into the neural link. It includes not just the scanning function, but also real-time monitoring of NCPD communications, access to city cameras controlled by NCPD, live map data, dispatch status, and more. This version is a premium edition exclusively for our team. Let me think..."
A sudden inspiration struck him. "Let's call this software Watch Dogs."
"What kind of weird name is that? Lucy complained, though by now she was used to his eccentric naming habits."
"Alright, hurry up and try it. Let's test how well it works together."
Mercer urged her to install it while he began his own tests.
Even out here in the Badlands, they could maintain a relatively stable connection to NCPD's systems. With a mere thought, a map of Night City materialized before Mercer's eyes, dotted with blue markers representing NCPD units patrolling the streets.
Simultaneously, he could see numerous green signal sources. Connecting to one, the feed from a city surveillance camera appeared in his cybereye.
Curious, Mercer manipulated the camera to pan across the street view, even zooming in to scan a loitering punk smoking on the roadside.
The target's name, criminal record, and bounty amount immediately appeared before his eyes. Just a short distance from this guy, an NCPD patrol car slowly passed him by. The officer inside glanced at the thug but remained indifferent, pressing the accelerator and driving away.
Mercer continuously switched between the city's camera feeds. Though physically in the Badlands, he effortlessly surveyed all of Night City through the lenses.
Except for many of the more chaotic areas where public cameras had long been destroyed by vandals, hardly anything in most districts could escape Mercer's watchful eyes.
Mercer also tested the traffic signal control system, turning a red light green five seconds early.
Finally, he tapped into the NCPD's communications. After listening for a while to the constant stream of messages from the dispatch center, he closed the software, satisfied.
"We'll need to configure the software. For netrunners like us with cyberdecks, it's manageable, but someone like V who only has a neural link probably can't handle this much data transmission all at once," Lucy reminded him.
Mercer nodded and said, "We'll optimize it later. Honestly, for them, just being able to view the map and scan people's info is enough. The other features are more for show anyway. We can set all those functions to default to off, and they can enable whatever they need."
Lucy hummed in agreement, then eagerly immersed herself in using Mercer's software to have fun with Night City's public cameras. The feeling of openly utilizing public cameras to observe the city from miles away was truly fascinating.
Meanwhile, Mercer made a video call to Vik using the program.
Vik was hunched over his desk, busy with what looked like repairing a second-hand piece of cyberware. "What brings on the call?" he asked.
"I got my hands on the NCPD's cybereye scanning program. As agreed, I'm selling it to you first," Mercer said.
Upon hearing this, Vik looked up with a smile. "Sounds good. Send it over. I'll give you a cut for each installation, though the price here won't be too high. How does 500 eurodollars per copy sound?"
After a pause, Viktor added, "The ones who need this the most are usually street thugs, and they rarely have more than a few cents to their name."
"You know the situation better than I do. It's your call," Mercer replied.
Viktor nodded. "After all, no one knows when these programs might suddenly stop working. There's no after-sales service; it's a one-time deal."
"Fifty-fifty split, Vik. Every bit helps, though I'm not counting on this to make a fortune," Mercer said.
Vik chuckled. "Don't underestimate the low price. I'd say we can sell dozens of copies a month without a problem. That still adds up to tens of thousands of eurodollars. Add an encryption to the program, occasionally update it to disable older versions, and you can even charge for updates. The Voodoo Boys love pulling that trick."
Those Voodoo Boys really know how to rake it in.
Mercer shook his head with a laugh. "Forget it. If I were to specialize in this, I'd need a dedicated server to host and operate the program locally. The Voodoo Boys have their own Rezo Agwe, but I don't have the funds for that kind of setup right now."
"Just sell it as is. If the program stops working, it means NCPD has detected anomalies in this data and patched the vulnerability. I won't be providing updates."
"Sounds good," Viktor nodded. These backdoor programs were like using cheats in games; it was normal for creators to disappear once the program got banned. Buyers knew it was essentially a one-time service.
But after a moment's thought, Mercer sent Vik an advanced version he'd originally intended for internal use, though he neutered it first, stripping it down to just the cybereye scanning function. The rest probably wouldn't be useful to Vik anyway.
"Keep this for yourself. It's an internal version I plan to use; won't expire, and I'll maintain and update it regularly," Mercer explained.
Viktor didn't accept the program immediately. "I'm just a doctor. Don't really need this stuff."
"You do. No matter who comes through your door, just a quick scan with your eyes and you'll know their name, criminal record, gang or affiliation, how many warrants they've got... saves you a lot of trouble," Mercer insisted.
"You've really hacked NCPD inside out," Viktor remarked, impressed. Without further hesitation, he accepted the program. "Alright, I'll take your word for it."
After exchanging a few more pleasantries with Vik, Mercer ended the call.
He stared at the software on his screen, lost in thought, until an idea began to take shape in his mind.
Was it wasteful to use NCPD's data access just for these shady, small-time schemes?
Could he possibly... do more with these permissions?
As he pondered, a keyword popped into his head, one he'd casually mentioned to Lucy earlier: "Watch Dogs."
That's it!
Watch Dogs!
The game's premise suddenly sparked inspiration.
Watch Dogs was an RPG centered around a netrunner protagonist, built on the backdrop of a city management system called "ctOS."
In the game, the antagonist corporation created the "ctOS" urban management system, integrating it into every facility and terminal device in the city, secretly gathering data through these devices.
They then consolidated and analyzed this data until, with just a flick of a finger, they could instantly pull up a person's name, identity details, even their home address and annual income.
The game's villains also used this covert data collection and analysis to dig up dirt and evidence on politicians and celebrities.
And what lay before Mercer now, wasn't it exactly the same kind of surveillance system as the "ctOS" from Watch Dogs?
In this Net, every device was connected, everything collecting user information.
With access to the servers of both City Hall and NCPD, two major urban service providers, most of Night City's user data was right at his fingertips!
All he needed to do was write a software similar to the "ctOS", effectively leveraging this data, and he could create an urban intelligence system, for his eyes only.
At this thought, Mercer felt a surge of excitement. If he could develop this program, he might simply lie at home and grasp the vast majority of Night City's secrets, controlling the city with an invisible pair of eyes!
He wouldn't even need to purchase large servers himself to collect data; he could just let the AI latch onto the city's servers and siphon information like a parasite!
All he needed was to provide the AI with a small server for computational support!
The AI could even go a step further, gathering and integrating hidden intelligence that even the NCPD and Night City's municipal government had failed to collect.
This suddenly made Mercer wary. Could Night Corp, which provided similar services to the city, have overlooked the immense potential lying dormant within these urban servers?
His mind drifted to the seemingly omnipresent Mr. Blue Eyes from the game, who always seemed to be watching the protagonist V.
No.
That wasn't right! Perhaps such a system had already been developed! It was highly likely that Night Corp had long been using a similar operating system to monitor every move in Night City!
And judging from the game's content, Mr. Blue Eyes was probably a rogue AI, or perhaps an awakened advanced AI. Achieving this level of surveillance was far from impossible!
Given Night Corp's financial resources and urban influence, they might have done even more than Mercer imagined!
Mercer's expression turned serious. After a moment of contemplation, he initiated a deep dive.
In Cyberspace, alongside Morning Star, he rewrote some more advanced, covert monitoring viruses and deployed them into the servers of the municipal government and the NCPD.
The sole function of these viruses was to record and monitor all networks connected to the servers, logging the data transmission characteristics of every activity that occurred.
To avoid detection, Mercer didn't even plan to have the viruses send the recorded information back. Instead, the data would remain on the local servers, and he would use the AI to periodically check it, preventing Night Corp from tracing the activity back to him.
Mercer even cautiously retrieved the Deathwish program given to him by Bartmoss, hiding it within the ICE program on his notebook.
As a specialized anti-AI program, Deathwish was something he believed could catch even Night Corp's hidden rogue AI off guard, dealing a significant blow!
After completing all this, Mercer fell into deep thought with a grave expression, ultimately making a decision.
He was determined to create the "ctOS"; Night Corp wouldn't be able to stop him. The potential gains were too enormous; if he could complete this software, almost nothing in Night City would remain hidden from him.
If Night Corp dared to interfere, he would find a way to eliminate their AIs, after all, if he couldn't handle them alone, there was no shame in calling for backup. What was embarrassing about flesh and blood struggling against AIs?
And to ensure he had someone to call...
Mercer hesitated for a moment before opening the small program Spider Murphy had left him, which he hadn't used in a long time.
The content and data inside remained unchanged, as Mercer had always kept the program disconnected from the network by default, only connecting it when he needed to use it.
The moment he connected the program to the network, a mysterious connection quickly established itself with his program.
Who else but Spider Murphy could connect to this program, or rather, which AI could it be?
[Spider Murphy: I was starting to think you'd forgotten about me!]
[Mercer: No, no, of course not. Is this connection secure? We can't have the Blackwall or NetWatch sniffing around here.]
[Spider Murphy: Come on, I'm Spider Murphy!]
[Mercer: Where are you connecting from? How did you manage to link up to the Night City network?]
[Spider Murphy: I'm using Alt's server in Hong Kong as a relay to send this message. As for maintaining this cross-border network, well, who else but NetWatch has the capability to keep a stable international connection?]
Mercer raised an eyebrow. It seemed NetWatch and Alt were collaborating on a much larger scale than he'd realized.
They were even helping Alt maintain a stable transnational network channel, definitely not something to be taken lightly.
[Mercer: Since you're here anyway, can you tell me how many AIs are inside Night Corp and whether they're dangerous?]
[Spider Murphy: Hard to say, but its intentions are actually quite simple. If your goal is to make this city a better place, then I think it might just become your friend.
As for other details, well, those are secrets! Where's the fun in spoiling all the mysteries? A netrunner's curiosity should be satisfied through their own efforts!]
[Spider Murphy: Don't keep asking me questions. I came all this way just to have some fun with you the moment I picked up your signal. It's no fun if you treat me like a tool.]
[Spider Murphy: So? Ready to take on my job?]
Mercer felt a little disappointed. He had actually wanted to ask Spider Murphy whether Night Corp had developed something similar to a "ctOS", but it seemed she had no intention of telling him the truth; she was preemptively shutting him down.
Fine, he wouldn't ask. As long as he knew Night Corp probably wouldn't immediately sic some kind of pursuit squad on him if they discovered him, Mercer wasn't too worried.
[Mercer: I'll take it! I've got some time to kill these days waiting for news anyway. I'm thinking of getting myself a Caliburn to drive!]
[Spider Murphy: Let me see... Well, I've got good news and bad news.]
[Mercer: What's the story?]
[Spider Murphy: The good news is that our "Night City Batman" has been captured. His car is hidden in a container inside a tunnel; that Caliburn is yours for the taking.]
[Mercer: And the bad news?]
[Spider Murphy: He's still alive. Given your moral compass, if you want his Caliburn, you might feel compelled to risk saving his life?]
Mercer's interest was piqued.
[Mercer: Sounds like two pieces of good news to me. Tell me more.]
[Spider Murphy: Hehe~ Looks like I guessed right. He's probably with the Maelstrom gang. My guess is their leader, Brick, is using him for target practice.
You'd better move fast, or those maniacs might turn him into some kind of "Dark Batman"; then it'll be too late!
I'm sending you the location and surveillance footage. Don't disconnect the program; let me in on the action. I've been bored out of my mind lately.]
Mercer accepted the surveillance footage Spider Murphy sent.
In the surveillance footage, there was only a brief clip.
Judging from the location, it appeared to be the back door of some factory.
Several Maelstrom gangers dragged an unconscious middle-aged white man in a tattered suit, his face covered in blood, out of a van and into the factory.
Mercer paused the surveillance feed, zoomed in, and studied the man's face, utterly unremarkable, plain and ordinary.
[Mercer: Ugh, this Batman isn't much to look at. Too average. Where's the mask? The suit?]
[Spider Murphy: Sadly, this world has no superheroes, and Night City has no Batman. He didn't even get to enter his "superhero mode"; just got ambushed by Maelstrom on his way home from work, knocked out, and taken.]
Spider Murphy also sent Mercer another video clip.
In the footage, a man was driving his standard Mizutani Shion sports car along an outbound highway when, before even leaving the city, he was chased down by several Maelstrom members on motorcycles.
After a thrilling and dangerous pursuit, his sports car was blown sky-high by a wrist-mounted grenade launcher, barely avoiding being completely shredded. He was then dragged from the overturned wreck and thrown into a van.
[Mercer: He doesn't even have high-end cyberware like a Sandevistan?]
Mercer was curious. How had someone at this level been doing Batman-like work in Night City before?
[Spider Murphy: He did have one installed, but it nearly drove him insane. Eventually, he had to remove it and resort to a custom-made "Batsuit" for his vigilante justice.]
Mercer's interest in Night City's bootleg Batman grew even stronger.
What kind of person would try to be a "superhero" in Night City? Even risk losing his mind for it?
And it seemed he was wealthy too, which made it all the more unbelievable.
[Mercer: I'm gonna try to pull him out.]
According to the surveillance, the guy had been captured last night. At Maelstrom's pace, he might already have been turned into a "RoboCop" toy by those freaks. Mercer needed to act fast.
He checked the factory's address.
The All Foods Plant.
Maelstrom's stronghold.
This was going to be tricky.
After some thought, Mercer decided a direct assault was out of the question.
Better to sneak in, extract the target, and slip away; these Maelstrom maniacs weren't afraid of psychos. Who knew how many of them were equipped with Sandevistans or other nasty surprises?
[Spider Murphy: Don't even think about deep diving and hacking your way in. Thanks to the Voodoo Boys' influence, even these brain-dead Maelstrom gangers know how to protect their network security. They have their own dedicated intranet server.]
[Mercer: Fine, I won't cut the network. You keep an eye on things from the net, and I'll sneak in with my crew.]
[Spider Murphy: Aha~ No problem! It's been so, so long since I've been part of something like this. Really brings back memories. Knew I could count on you!]
Mercer sent a smiley face back to Murphy, then immediately contacted V and Rebecca.
He figured the three of them would be enough.
Once there, they'd assess the situation. If the stealth rescue proved too difficult, he'd just abort the mission; he wasn't about to risk his team's lives for a joke.
So that "Batman" ended up dead, and Mercer got his car. It's only because Mercer's kind enough; anyone else would've probably left him to die.
Mercer messaged V and Rebecca, making it clear that this job wasn't a commission but something he wanted to do himself. He also plainly stated that the rewards were uncertain, and the task involved sneaking into Maelstrom's den to extract someone.
Yet both V and Rebecca gave him their confirmation without hesitation.
[V: You picking me up? My junker's not cut out for missions; would be a real laugh if it broke down halfway.]
[Rebecca: Yeah, yeah! When do we start?]
Neither even asked who Mercer was going to save or why.
A smirk tugged at Mercer's lips as he stood up, threw on his jacket, and put on his mask.
"Got another job?" Lucy turned to look at him.
Mercer chuckled. "Yep!"
"A commission or...?" Lucy asked.
"Call it a side quest. Consider it a personal interest?" Mercer said things Lucy didn't quite understand, then cheerfully bounded out with light steps, almost like he was heading out for a picnic.
Lucy shook her head, figuring it was probably another situation like saving Kiwi. Watching his retreating back, she raised her voice: "Be careful!"
"Don't worry, just wait for me to come back and take you for a spin in a fancy car!" Mercer laughed, borrowing a Thorton Mackinaw from the camp, loading up a L-69 Zhuo, a heavy machine gun, and a drone before hitting the gas and speeding off.
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Whether you don't know who Mr. Blue Eyes is, or you already do, I highly recommend this video: "The Grand Unified Mr. Blue Eyes Conspiracy of Cyberpunk 2077." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k399YXGE4Mo
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7100 words.