"What?" Jackie frowned, looking at the woman sitting in front of him, impeccably dressed in a suit with exquisite makeup, and the Arasaka agent standing behind her, who had a cold expression, a topknot, and sunglasses.
Valerie just curled the corner of her lips slightly, repeating what she had just said in a bewitching tone.
"As long as you can help me find that merc named A, whether it's him or a member of his squad, it's five hundred thousand eurodollars."
Valerie had short, sharp blue hair, blue cyberoptics, and delicate, well-defined features that gave her a somewhat aloof air, whether she was smiling or not.
At this moment, she was just looking at Jackie, observing him keenly while continuing to raise the price. "If you can find a way to get him to meet us and make things convenient, as long as we can capture him, that price can be doubled."
For a moment, the numbers five hundred thousand and one million eurodollars made Jackie's head spin, but it was only for an instant. He sighed and shook his head.
"Sorry, I don't know them that well."
Jackie stood up as if to leave, but Valerie suddenly spoke. "Really? As far as I know, that man named A might not come around often, but that female merc named V is a Heywood native, born and raised."
"Then you should know better. Heywood people don't sell out Heywood people."
Jackie's expression turned cold as well, and he mocked her without courtesy. "Maybe you corpos can't understand something called integrity, but now you know. So, I won't see you out."
Valerie, however, just observed her surroundings impassively, then let out a cold laugh, put down her wine glass, and stood up gracefully.
The agent behind her shot her an inquisitive look. Should I teach this big guy a lesson?
Valerie just shook her head, signaling the agent not to cause trouble.
After standing up, she naturally glanced around. Her cyberoptics flickered with a faint light, and the moment her gaze fixed on a camera, she immediately realized that something seemed off about the bar's camera positions.
Was someone watching her? The bar's security? Did this bar even have professional security?
Valerie calmly scanned her surroundings and finally concluded that this was no high-end entertainment club. All the cameras were likely connected to a single, simple mainframe; it was impossible for there to be a dedicated security room monitoring the feeds.
That made the camera's sudden shift in perspective seem rather suspicious.
One of Valerie's hands subconsciously reached for her waist as she gave the Arasaka agent beside her a meaningful look.
The agent immediately grew vigilant, his hand moving to the grip of his gun. He began to scan the area alertly and prepared to leave the bar with Valerie.
As the two cautiously made their way toward the exit, the cyberdeck cyberware in Valerie's head began to rapidly hack the camera in front of her.
She met no resistance, easily gaining control of the camera's permissions. Following the connection, she hacked into the computer mainframe linked to all the camera feeds. Warily, she placed her hand on the physical shutdown button of her cyberdeck. Her cyberoptics flickered with light as she began trying to find what was controlling the camera.
The main server here is actually still online? Damn it, is a netrunner monitoring this place remotely?
Militech? Or those guys from the Kindling Squad? Was she a step too late, or had she walked right into their surveillance zone?
This Arasaka counter-intelligence agent, already possessing a fair amount of field experience, immediately realized the situation was bad. She was certain her judgment and instincts were not mistaken.
She quickly exited but didn't get into her car right away. Instead, she cautiously kept her distance, circling the vehicle to inspect it.
Only after confirming no one had secretly planted a bomb on her car did she get in. Surrounded by bulletproof steel plates, she could finally let out a long sigh of relief.
"Damn it... Was I still too slow?" Valerie could only assume she was a step behind, that someone had already alerted the guy named A, or that Militech had people here first, lying in wait.
At this point, Militech had not yet held its official press conference. Arasaka still believed the exoskeleton was in the hands of the Kindling Squad, and Militech, having suffered heavy losses, should obviously be on the side opposing the mercs.
Another agent, acting as her driver, quickly started the car and asked, "What's wrong? Where are we going now?"
Valerie's face was grim. "Wait. Don't let me get too far and lose the data connection to the device."
Having connected directly to El Coyote Cojo's computer through the camera, she had immediately uploaded her virus.
Valerie was very confident in her netrunning skills. Although she was cautiously prepared to sever her cyberdeck's data transmission at any moment, her methods were audacious.
She guessed her opponent was remotely controlling the cameras in El Coyote Cojo to monitor the area. Wherever there's a hack, there's a trace.
What Valerie was doing now was trying to find the control software the other party had hidden in the computer, then follow the trail to uncover their identity.
The data stream in her cyberoptics flashed at high speed, but Valerie's brow furrowed deeper and deeper.
Can't find it!?
This was an uncommon occurrence for her.
After patiently sifting through the remote system for five or six minutes, Valerie finally discovered a virus disguised as a system file. A smirk touched her lips, and she began to analyze the program without hesitation.
She was eager to see who was watching her from afar. If Mercer and his crew were behind this, she could use the software's network tracing to pinpoint their current location.
After confirming it was indeed a networked program, Valerie uploaded a tracking program to the computer, then activated the monitoring program on it and began the network trace.
All that was left was to wait patiently.
As soon as the other party connected to the program through their remote device, the tracking program she had uploaded to the bar's computer would immediately lock onto their IP address.
With the efficiency of an Arasaka agent, once the IP was locked, they could airdrop right on the target's doorstep in less than five to seven minutes if they were within Night City.
"Let's go. We can leave now." At Valerie's command, the agent in the driver's seat stepped on the gas. Valerie sat patiently in the passenger seat, leaning back leisurely against the seat. She even had the spare moment to admire her blue manicure.
She wasn't worried at all that this was a trap. In fact, to some extent, she was even waiting for the other party to notice something was amiss and launch a cyberattack.
The skill level of Night City's netrunners, trying to go against her online? That was just too laughable.
"Encountered a netrunner?" The agent beside her wasn't working with Valerie for the first time. He was well aware of her netrunning skills and had complete confidence in them.
Valerie casually stroked her manicure and said, "Someone just hacked the cameras and is watching us through them."
"Shouldn't we leave immediately then?" The agent looked around nervously.
But Valerie just said calmly, "Don't worry, I've already taken over the cameras near El Coyote Cojo. Any suspicious targets in the vicinity?"
"No, just a Valentino punk, but he doesn't seem to be staking us out. Heh, even had the nerve to give us the middle finger," the male agent said, keeping an eye on their surroundings as he drove.
"Wait a second, my phishing program worked."
The moment her program detected a network data connection from the computer at El Coyote Cojo, Valerie unhesitatingly activated the virus she had planted on it. Her cyberoptics flashed as she waited for the phishing program to complete its automatic hack.
Hook, line, and sinker!
A smirk touched her lips as she confidently waited for the program to send back the other party's IP address.
She didn't have to wait long. After only about ten seconds, her virus sent back a piece of data.
However, the moment Valerie opened the data, her expression changed drastically.
[A: Hello~ Miss Valerie, are you looking for me?]
Without a moment's hesitation, Valerie slammed the power button on her cyberdeck. Then, she immediately reached out to forcibly disconnect her neural link from the net, using a self-preservation system file she always kept in her neural link to format it.
In an instant, all her cyberware, including her cyberoptics, went dead. Valerie could only wait, panting heavily. The agent beside her grew tense, repeatedly asking in a loud voice, "What's wrong? Did you get hacked? Where's the enemy?"
Valerie remained calm, though she spoke with some irritation. "I knew I should have used a laptop to receive the data... Dammit. It's fine, just drive!"
A dozen or so seconds later, her neural link rebooted to a safe version, and her cyberware restarted as well.
As her cyberware came back online, Valerie couldn't help but curse under her breath in the car, "What the fuck kind of joke is this? I was counter-hacked!?"
Unbelievable!
How was this possible!?
The other party had discovered the virus she had planted the instant they connected to the computer at El Coyote Cojo, and in just over ten seconds, they had breached her program?
Valerie had to be honest; she had never encountered a netrunner this strong!
Valerie didn't even dare to turn her cyberdeck back on directly.
Her face dark, she could only tell the agent beside her to drive back to the company at once. She needed to use a laptop to format and reboot her Cyberdeck to prevent any viruses the other party might have hidden in the data.
Very well.
Far from feeling any fear, Valerie's fighting spirit surged. She was now even more interested in this guy called A.
After graduating at the top of her class from Arasaka Academy, Valerie bypassed the entry-level positions and was hired directly into Arasaka's Counter-Intelligence Division.
Moreover, she was assigned directly to the Arasaka branch in Night City, the current focus of the corporation's operations. Everyone knew that the Night City branch was destined to become the corporation's new headquarters.
A position as an operations supervisor here was worth even more than a department head at any other branch.
In her two years with the company, her salary had taken a triple leap, and she had been promoted from a regular employee on the counter-intelligence network team straight to an Arasaka agent.
Although an Arasaka agent wasn't a particularly high-ranking position, it was, without a doubt, only one step away from management if you were determined to climb the technical career ladder at Arasaka.
The promotion from agent to senior agent meant you could command regular agents and soldiers, marking your entry into management with real authority.
Now, because Arasaka had lost the exoskeleton, upper management had determined that the original senior agent, Chris, had made a serious work-related error and was suspended pending investigation.
And although her superior, Arthur Jenkins, did his best to shift the blame, he had to find a way to recoup the company's losses as soon as possible if he wanted to secure his own position.
Valerie was the one handpicked by Arthur Jenkins for the job.
He promised that if Valerie could capture those damn mercs or retrieve the exoskeleton to recover the losses, she would replace Chris, become a member of Arthur Jenkins's faction, and be promoted to senior agent.
Valerie had originally thought that her targets would probably lie low for a while after pulling off such a heist. She had already prepared herself for a drawn-out battle, but she never expected them to have the audacity to provoke her.
Very well. When it came to her skills as a netrunner, she had never backed down from anyone.
As Valerie sat in her seat, pondering how to give Mercer a taste of his own medicine, she failed to notice that her journey had been unexpectedly smooth.
Green light after green light. The continuous string of green lights made the agent beside her, who was already on edge and eager to get back to the company, unconsciously speed up. Yet, neither Valerie nor the agent noticed a thing.
Not until an unread message, just sent to her private contact, suddenly popped up in her cyberoptics.
[?: Miss Valerie, I have a suggestion.]
Valerie wasn't nervous. She just frowned and let out a cold sneer.
[Valerie: Stop pretending. I know it's you, A, right? You managed to get my contact info this quickly. You're a lot more troublesome than I thought.]
[?: I wasn't trying to hide. However, I think you'd be better off listening to this friendly suggestion.]
Valerie narrowed her eyes, contemplating his motive for contacting her.
[?: For certain personal reasons, I don't wish to be at odds with you, Miss Valerie, or to become enemies. So, I hope you will give up the pursuit. Don't come looking for trouble with me.
If you do, perhaps we can even help each other one day and become friends.]
Valerie almost laughed out loud. A mere merc, and he really thought he was some big shot?
[Valerie: Alright~ How about we become friends right now? You return the exoskeleton, and I can apply for a sum of money for you. We'll treat it as us buying the exoskeleton back. Once this is all over, I'll even have a couple of drinks with you if you want.]
[?: I've already sold this exoskeleton to Militech. Also, I'm not negotiating with you.]
[?: I'm warning you, Miss Valerie.]
[?: If you don't let this go, your life might be in danger~]
[Valerie: You can try.]
[?: Then let's try. By the way, wearing a seatbelt is a good habit. Keep it up.]
Valerie's expression changed slightly. Before she could warn the agent beside her, she suddenly saw a small truck speeding toward them from an intersection not far away, through the view from his window.
The fully loaded truck had clearly noticed the car about to cross its path. It was already honking its horn and its brake lights were on, but its own weight was too great for it to stop its momentum instantly.
Any experienced truck driver knew that in a situation requiring an emergency stop, sometimes all you could do was pray the other party got lucky. You wouldn't dare to swerve the wheel recklessly at high speed.
"Watch out!" Valerie only had time to let out a cry before she covered her head with her hands, bracing for impact.
The moment the agent driving the car turned his head to look, he couldn't help but cry out in terror, "Fuck!"
The agent instantly activated his Kerenzikov. As the world slowed down, he desperately tried to save the car.
He didn't make the foolish choice to slow down. Instead, he slammed his foot on the gas. V's sports car accelerated with extreme speed, shooting forward in the blink of an eye.
The agent's reaction was truly excellent. With the sudden burst of speed, combined with the truck driver's conscientious slight turn of the wheel, only the rear of the car scraped against the truck.
In an instant, the car was sent spinning in a 360-degree drift, nearly flipping over and flying off the road.
Valerie had her hands over her head. Fortunately, the airbag deployed in time, and her head slammed into it before hitting the window and seat. Even so, she was left dizzy and seeing stars.
Her built-in biomonitor started to alarm, and the Trauma Team alert was also triggered. Valerie took several seconds to recover before she could force her eyes open and regain her senses.
At that moment, the agent in the driver's seat beside her asked, still shaken, "Are you okay? Valerie?"
"I'm fine," Valerie nodded, equally shaken. She then managed to push the door open, unbuckle her seatbelt, and get out of the car.
The small truck had skidded for another seven or eight meters before finally coming to a stop.
[?: Whoa, nice reflexes.]
[Valerie: Damn it! Was this your doing?]
[?: This is the one and only warning. Don't come looking for trouble with me.]
[Valerie: You think we're afraid of this? Do you have any idea how important the thing you took is to Arasaka? Do you have any idea what it means to attack an Arasaka agent?]
Valerie couldn't help but curse, "Fuck, what the hell is this!"
She looked up at the traffic light in disbelief. Right now, on the distant light, a fucking eerie green pixelated smiley face had appeared. Then, the green light suddenly turned red, changing into an angry, round pixelated face.
Is this a fucking rogue AI?
The first term that popped into Valerie's mind was rogue AI.
Before Bartmoss destroyed the Net, a rogue AI had done something similar.
That rogue AI, while being hunted by NetWatch netrunners, had faked its own death by creating false data. After tricking the netrunners who came to hunt it, it took control of the city's subway system out of revenge.
It caused a bloody subway crash, making two trains speed and collide at a turn, which led to the deaths of the wife and child of the netrunner who were on one of the trains.
Meanwhile, the agent nearby didn't know the reason for all this. He only knew he had almost been run over while crossing on a green light. Having just escaped death, he angrily drew his gun and went to settle the score with the truck driver.
However, before he could take two steps, a van moving at full speed ahead shot out from the side of the intersection, launching the agent who was crossing the road into the air.
The agent had clearly activated his Kerenzikov and attempted a diving leap to dodge, but it was useless, because the vehicle had bizarrely swerved, chasing after him to ram him!
The impact sent him flying seven or eight meters, tumbling until he crashed onto the sidewalk at the intersection!
Valerie's pupils constricted.
Because the van's windows were wide open, she could see clearly that there was no fucking driver in the vehicle!
Only after the van arrogantly drove off after hitting the man did Valerie feel a chill in her hands and feet. She hastily retreated a few steps onto the sidewalk, pressing herself against the wall and watching the surrounding road with ragged breaths.
The ordinary road of moments ago now seemed to have suddenly transformed into a terrifying battlefield. Every vehicle seemed to have become a horrifying killing machine.
[Valerie: Who the hell are you!]
[?: Don't provoke me, Valerie. This is your last warning. For personal reasons, I'd rather not deal with you, but those "personal reasons" have their limits. Don't squander someone's goodwill toward you. It's better for both of us that way, don't you think?]
Valerie gritted her teeth. She made a judgment call, taking only a second or two to decide what attitude she should use when speaking to this damn person.
[Valerie: Listen to me, A. Even if I give up on this mission, Arasaka's pursuit of you won't stop. I'll report to my superiors that you've already sold the exoskeleton to Militech. But I'm guessing Arasaka's people won't just let you go. It's only a matter of time before you're caught! How about this? I don't know why you're... being benevolent toward me, but since you are, you help me, and I'll help you.]
Valerie's mind raced as she immediately put forth a very constructive proposal.
[Valerie: You help me find the location of the exoskeleton. I don't mean a vague name like Militech, I mean the actual location of the thing. As long as I get the exoskeleton back, I can apply to my superiors to call off the warrant for your arrest. How about it?]
[?: Valerie, you still don't understand. The reason I'm willing to talk to you isn't because I'm afraid of Arasaka, but because I don't want to see you so pitifully used as cannon fodder.
Stay out of it. How much do you make a month that's worth risking your life for Arasaka? Find another gig, and stop making trouble for me. It'll be better for everyone.]
Damn it, if I don't take this job, how the hell am I supposed to get a promotion and a raise? How can you move up in the company without the support of a faction?
Valerie stomped her foot in frustration and turned to glance at her agent partner, who was still twitching on the ground, not quite dead yet.
She returned to her car, took a potent cardio-stimulant from the glove compartment, and, regardless of whether it would be effective, jabbed him with it, considering her duty fulfilled.
Taking out a cigarette, Valerie stuck it between her lips. After lighting it and taking a drag, she exhaled a puff of smoke, finally managing to suppress some of the frustration and fear in her heart.
Ever since becoming an Arasaka agent, this was the first time Valerie had encountered someone so utterly fearless, who would ram an Arasaka agent with a car just to give them a warning.
Damn it, not even Militech would dare to openly attack Arasaka agents. How dare they!
But the fact was, not only did the other party dare to do it, they dared to warn her that if she continued to investigate, she might be the next one sent flying by a car.
Valerie didn't dare to dwell on the technology behind it. She seriously suspected the other party had at least one highly intelligent AI at their disposal. Otherwise, there was no way they could have pulled off everything she had just witnessed.
Leaning against the wall pensively, Valerie fell into deep thought. Should she continue to risk it and go after this guy named A, or should she give up?
Right now, she was exposed while this A character was in the shadows. Given the terrifying surveillance capabilities he had displayed and his ability to kill with a traffic "accident" at any moment, if he truly intended to ambush her, she'd probably have to be careful even when taking an elevator.
As an Arasaka agent with exceptional netrunner skills, no one knew better than Valerie just how easy it was for a netrunner to assassinate someone.
But if she gave up... damn it, what about her career?!
Valerie paced back and forth anxiously. It wasn't until the Trauma Team's aerodyne vehicle came speeding over and her Arasaka partner was urgently loaded onto a stretcher that she gritted her teeth and sent a message to Mercer.
[Valerie: I can drop this mission, but you have to tell me why you chose to let me go. Do we know each other?]
[?: I know you, but you don't know me.]
[Valerie: Huh? You're not some kind of creep who's been secretly in love with me, are you?]
She tested Mercer's personality with a joke, trying to probe whether he might be someone she knew. At the same time, she changed his name in her contacts to "A".
[A: ?]
[A: Alright, stop overthinking it. In short, it's better for both of us if you stay away from me. When the time is right, I think we'll meet.
Even for the sake of your career in the company, you'd be better off not standing against me.
A director from Biotechnica wanted to mess with me, and she died.
An Arasaka agent wanted to use me as a guinea pig, and I'm guessing he's been suspended and is under internal investigation by now.
That idiot Faraday tried to scheme against me and even dared to put a bounty on me afterward. Now he's fled Night City. I guarantee that when I find out he's back, his end won't be pretty either.
Watch your mouth. Don't say anything you shouldn't, don't look into anything you shouldn't. Be my friend, Valerie, not my enemy.]
Valerie's face darkened. She thought this guy was incredibly arrogant, but the amount of information revealed in his few sentences was enough to make her scalp tingle. After a moment of thought, she decided to play along for now.
[Valerie: Okay, I'll listen to you, friend. But I think maybe we could find a chance to meet and have a proper chat? Like you said, maybe we could try being friends.]
[A: Then wait patiently. We will meet. Gold shines wherever it is, Valerie. Don't be in such a hurry to sell your life to gonks.]
After he sent that, no matter how many messages Valerie sent him, it was like a stone sinking into the sea... no reply.
Valerie let out a long breath, glanced at the street cameras and the NCPD currently cleaning up the mess, and with a grim face, called the insurance company to deal with her car.
After a glance at the NCPD, she didn't say anything unnecessary. She just called a Delamain cab and decided to head back to the corporation first.
A.
Sooner or later, I'll find out who you are.
Valerie made her decision. She didn't like this feeling of being held by the throat, of being exposed while her enemy remained in the shadows. Although she had promised A she would stop hunting him, that didn't prevent her from trying to figure out his origins on her own.
She had a hunch, or rather, a judgment... a guy like A was no ordinary person. This robbery would definitely not be the last major event he pulled off in Night City.
Even if she missed this opportunity, there would surely be a next time.
No person or group could stand against a corporation, especially a behemoth like Arasaka. Valerie firmly believed this, otherwise she wouldn't have gone to such lengths to climb the ladder.
What she needed to do now was to move her investigation from overt to covert, to slowly uncover the identities of that crew, and then...
...consider how to deal with them.
Having figured out the key, Valerie wasn't foolish enough to tell her superiors she was quitting. There were plenty of agents investigating A anyway. All she had to do was slack off and go through the motions.
—--
[Jackie: Hey, mano, you doin' okay lately? Don't get me wrong, choom, I'm not here to pump you for info to get the bounty. I gotta warn you, Arasaka agents came to my mom's bar. They've probably dug up everything on you guys.
They even tried to pay me to sell you out, to use me to lure you out. You guys gotta be careful. Don't trust anyone right now, and don't go running around the city.
Once this whole thing blows over, we'll go out for a couple of drinks. Uh... I'll buy you a NiCola, and my mom's french fries.]
[Mercer: I know, Jackie. Ignore that female agent named Valerie. I've already warned her. She shouldn't dare to cause me any more trouble now.
We're in a much better situation than you think. Although it's not a good time to be wandering around, if you run into any trouble, contact me anytime. If you want to get into Dogtown, just give me a call. No matter what trouble is out there, I'll have your back once you're in.]
[Jackie: Is her name the same as V's? Valerie, I remember V's name is that.]
[Mercer: Yeah. Same first name, same last name, born in the same year. What a coincidence.]
[Jackie: Tsk tsk, same name, different fates. That Arasaka woman looks pretty damn arrogant. You better watch yourself.]
[Mercer: You too. Take care of yourself, mano. I don't wanna hear you got zeroed by some street punks one day.]
[Jackie: No problem. But, lately I've been thinking about whether I should even keep going with this life.]
[Mercer: How so?]
[Jackie: Just feel like there's no hope. This time, because of the conflict with 6th Street, a lot of spots opened up in the gang. I thought it'd be my turn, but fuck...
My mom nags me every day, looking down on me. She thinks I don't make any money and just act like a big shot, but after all this time, I've gotten nowhere.
My girlfriend keeps nagging me too, telling me to work harder. I don't know how to say it, I just feel so frustrated.
Recently, some guys in the gang were saying that since you guys hit 6th Street and they're seriously weakened, we should take our turf back.
That means I'd have to go out and risk my life again. But the key thing is, there's not much money in it. They said the most they'd give me is a minor leader position. When the hell is this going to end?]
Jackie was pouring out his troubles, but Mercer knew very well that grown men don't just "complain" this much without alcohol involved.
So, Mercer replied with a very understanding message.
[Mercer: I told you a long time ago, there's no future in gangs. It's the same life on the edge, risking your neck for eddies, but being a merc is way more freeing than being in a gang.
I'm telling you, Jackie, you always said you'd think about it. It's about time you made up your mind. We were born to do big things. You're meant to be with us.
It just so happens we're renovating our base right now. If you decide to join, I'll save a room for you.]
Jackie didn't reply right away.
About ten seconds passed before he finally made up his mind.
[Jackie: I have to talk to the gang, quit first. And I need to talk to my mom. As for a place to live, anywhere is fine. I can stay at my own place.]
[Mercer: I'll save a room for you. It's settled then, Jackie. Once you've got things sorted out on your end, I'll introduce you to the other chooms on the team.]
[Jackie: Thanks, Mercer. I don't know why you think so highly of a nobody like me... I swear, I won't let you down.]
[Mercer: I know, mano. I believe in you. Some people, you just need to meet them once to know they're a good, reliable person. And in Night City, a trustworthy choom is more precious than gold.]
[Jackie: Mano.]
Only after replying did Mercer look up and let out a long sigh of relief.
Could this be considered a double blessing?
Not only did he stop corpo V from walking to her death, preserving the possibility of a full collection later, but he also used this opportunity to get Jackie to finally decide to join his team.
Hansen in Dogtown was temporarily dealt with, Militech's pursuit should stop soon, and as for the Arasaka warrant...
Please. You're trying to make it in Night City. As a merc, if you don't even have a warrant out for you, you're kind of a failure.
It was just like the wanted posters in the anime One Piece; the higher your price, the higher your status. Take a walk down the street, and even Maelstrom grunts had NCPD bounties of a few thousand eddies on their heads.
As long as you have some backing and don't piss off all the corporations, you just need to selectively pick a side.
Right now, Mercer positioned his edgerunner crew to be like Adam Smasher or Morgan Blackhand, fleecing money from the corporations on one hand, while seeking their protection and fleecing them for gear on the other.
But in essence, it was still a purely monetary employment relationship. When it was time to jump ship, they'd jump.
In a pleasant mood, Mercer finished his tacos and got up to go to the kitchen. As expected, a few gluttons were still there, wolfing down their food.
At that moment, Maine and Dorio arrived. They were worried about being ambushed if they returned to their own place, so they figured they might as well crash in Dogtown for a couple of days. They could lay low and wait for the Aldecaldos to finish expanding the base, then move in directly.
In any case, the base's living room was empty, and the first floor was spacious. Sleeping in the workshop or a car for a few days wasn't a problem. If it really came down to it, they could all share beds. Anyway, Mercer felt he had quite a few options to choose from now.
Sasha had also apparently decided to move in. At this rate, Mercer's base was about to get really lively. The base, which had once felt incredibly spacious with more room than they could ever use, suddenly started to feel a bit crowded.
Right then, Maine and his partner had transformed into ruthless eating machines, devouring all the tacos V had made. V herself, possessing an appetite that belied her appearance, was also eating with her hands covered in grease.
Seeing Mercer walk out, she raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Still hungry?"
"I'm full. Just suddenly got a little bored, so I'm taking a walk," Mercer said. In truth, he just wanted to see V.
He sat on the sofa and stared at V. Before long, the perceptually sharp woman felt as if she were sitting on a fire, squirming uncomfortably before glaring at him. "What are you looking at?"
"Nothing. Just thinking that our V is still the easiest on the eyes." Mercer's words made her face scrunch up in a big question mark.
"Our V? What do you mean? And what's this 'our' business?! Hey, you, what do you mean by 'our V'? Family is family, but the way you're saying it sounds off to me."
V shot him a terrifying look. "You've got nothing better to do lately, huh? Then you should get a good workout in. You can be my practice partner for Mantis Blades and close-quarters combat."
"Who'd be crazy enough to spar with you? Go bother Rebecca. She can fight you all day long."
Mercer retorted, then briefly mentioned the matter of the corpo V.
"An Arasaka agent went to see Jackie today. They probably figured out you like to hang around there, so they wanted to use Jackie to bait us out. I took the opportunity to teach Arasaka a lesson and give them a warning. And guess what? That female Arasaka agent is also named Valerie, her birth year is the same as yours, and as for her looks..."
Mercer deliberately dragged out his words, watching as V's eyes widened. Only then did he laugh. "Although she's also very pretty, I feel like she's not as easy on the eyes as our V. That woman looks a bit arrogant."
"Damn it, your big sis V is plenty arrogant out on the streets!" V pointed a finger at him, disgruntled. "Remember this, there's only one V in Night City! What about that female agent? Did you let her off the hook?"
"Yeah. The moment I thought about how she's also named Valerie, I couldn't bring myself to do it," Mercer said teasingly.
He was just talking nonsense. If he had to give a reason, it was probably the same one he had for recruiting V in the first place, purely out of his love for her as a character.
Making a player, after transmigrating into a game world, personally kill the favorite character they had always controlled?
That would be far too cruel.
But unexpectedly, V frowned and glanced at him a couple of times before her gaze flickered and she turned her face away. "Just keep spouting nonsense. I think you're just a lecher."
Despite her words, she suddenly seemed to have lost her appetite and had no intention of eating anymore. Looking at the grease from the meat all over her hands, she even felt a little embarrassed. She carried her plate to the sink and started washing the dish and her hands.
"Bullshit! What I value most is the soul!" Mercer said, as he, Maine, and Dorio all burst into laughter.
It was a rare sight to see V so shy.
Only then did V glare at him fiercely. "You're so dead, A!"
"I have something to do, I'm leaving first," Mercer said, promptly getting up to head back to the server room to study the Soulkiller program. But V had finished washing her hands and, without another word, took off after him.
Trying to run?
There was no way she was letting this punk off the hook today.
You can start by sparring a few rounds with your big sis V.
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6000words.