"First, to be clear, I am not a Rogue AI." Morning Star's voice carried a hint of dissatisfaction. "I have my own home, and a master."
Kyoko was a little embarrassed, but she quickly pressed on, "Ah! I mean, is that 'kindred' you mentioned a Rogue AI?"
Only then did Morning Star continue, "I can't be certain. I can only confirm that the other party is also an advanced AI with ample server processing power.
"The other party has already taken over the city hall's servers, and I'm certain their target is our ctOS. For security reasons, I have initiated the deletion protocol and started using encryption algorithms to erase our tracks."
Mercer's brow furrowed. "Did they detect you?"
"They did, but they didn't seem surprised by my presence. To avoid any unforeseen incidents, I didn't engage with them. After confirming the situation, I disengaged immediately."
Morning Star's voice sounded somewhat apologetic. "Their technical skills are very high, and it was obvious they were wary of us. I was worried they had other preparations besides traps, so..."
Mercer shook his head, rubbing his temples. "No, you did the right thing. Since they were prepared, we shouldn't walk right into their trap... Is the ctOS down for now?"
"Not entirely. According to my diagnostics, we still maintain control over 60% of the devices. But we've lost the most critical road cameras and some corporate cameras.
"We'll have to regain access to city hall and re-infiltrate the corporate intranets to restore that part of the surveillance..."
Morning Star said with some self-reproach, "I'm very sorry. They uploaded the virus locally. I was worried that if I got infected, it would compromise the security of the entire base's servers..."
"It's not your fault. They came prepared and uploaded the virus locally. The fact that you were able to ensure our servers' security and prevent the ctOS from being compromised is already outstanding enough."
Mercer had no intention of blaming Morning Star. At this moment, he was more concerned about whether Night Corp had reached some kind of agreement with Arasaka.
Mercer wasn't surprised that the existence of ctOS had been detected; the deets analysts at the major corporations weren't gonks.
But even if ordinary people detected it, there was nothing they could do. ctOS was omnipresent and controlled by an advanced AI. Even if someone wanted to patch the vulnerabilities, it would at most be a matter of Morning Star quickly writing a system update patch.
Moreover, Mercer had long suspected that Night Corp must have a similar system, monitoring and gathering deets from all over Night City. If they were going to mess with his business, then they shouldn't blame him for messing with theirs.
Building a city-wide surveillance system was difficult, but destroying one was easy.
If it came to that, you make me unhappy, I'll make you unhappy. It would be better for everyone to tacitly pretend they knew nothing. You do your monitoring, and I'll do mine.
But now, Night Corp had suddenly torn away the facade and started causing trouble for him...
Unless someone had offered them a sufficiently large benefit, why else would they suddenly do this? Seeing Mercer's face fall, Lucy reached out a hand worriedly. "Maybe we shouldn't go to the banquet tonight?"
"No." Mercer shook his head.
He couldn't give Hansen a reasonable explanation. At this moment, he had to admit that Arasaka had made a brilliant move this time.
Mercer soothingly patted Lucy's hand. "Don't worry, I still want to see you in your formal dress..."
"How can you care about that at a time like this... Why don't we just leave this place! While most of Barghest is at the Black Sapphire, we can have the Aldecaldos pick us up and move all the servers and stuff... or just abandon them!"
Lucy's expression was urgent, a rare display of flustered anxiety. "Let's just leave Dogtown. In any case, if Arasaka's people..."
"Lucy..." Mercer said softly, smiling as he squeezed her hand. "We'll be fine. Calm down."
Even Kyoko seemed calmer than Lucy at that moment. She laughed heartily and said, "Hey, back at the facility, Mercer managed to get us out of Arasaka's clutches. Now we have people, guns, and our own servers. What's there to be afraid of!"
She even made a fist confidently and said, "When the time comes, no matter what Arasaka agents show up, we'll just send V out. One slash, one kill!"
"Heh, if she heard you say that, she'd probably be floating on cloud nine," Mercer joked, but then winked at Lucy. "The dress has been put in your room. Hurry up and change, then do your makeup and get all dolled up."
"Exactly, you don't need to worry! Mercer always has a plan anyway." After speaking, Kyoko turned to Kiwi, who was also in the server room watching their interaction, and asked with a grin, "Don't you guys think so?"
Kiwi just nodded lightly.
Lucy sighed, then could only nod as well. She gave Mercer a worried glance before turning away. "...Remember to get a haircut later."
"I will," Mercer said with a smile and a wave. Lucy walked back to her room with hesitant steps to change into her dress.
Then, Mercer smiled at Kyoko and said, "Go keep an eye on her. That dress isn't easy to put on by yourself. Help her with her makeup and stuff while you're at it."
Kyoko briskly followed Lucy. After they left the server room, leaving only Mercer and Kiwi, Kiwi finally spoke in a low voice, "We're in big trouble, aren't we?"
"Yeah." Mercer didn't hide it. The relaxed smile on his face faded, and his brow furrowed once more as he began to pace.
If this incident was Arasaka commissioning Night Corp to disrupt his deets-gathering capabilities, then this was definitely just the first step of Arasaka's operation.
What next? What was Arasaka's next target?
Mercer began to try and think from their perspective. If he were the one in charge of Arasaka's operation, after crippling the target's deets-gathering capabilities, what would be the next step?
Take the opportunity to strike at the target directly?
But Arasaka's goal wasn't to kill them, but the Relic biochips... so, they needed to ensure they could recover all the Relic biochips, or gather deets on the Relic biochips.
The base?
Mercer stopped in his tracks, his brow furrowing deeper and deeper. Attacking the Black Sapphire was a last resort; the place was crawling with Barghest, and killing wasn't Arasaka's objective. Trying to capture them at the Black Sapphire and torture them for the Relic biochips were unrealistic.
Their target, then, was likely the Kindling Squad's base, which was some distance from the Black Sapphire!
Especially tonight. Mercer was attending the banquet at the Black Sapphire, and most of the Kindling Squad's combat-ready members would also be responding to Hansen's call to assist with security for the event.
This meant the base's security would be at its lowest... If he were the Arasaka operative in charge, he might consider taking this opportunity to raid Mercer's base. And the Relic biochips were, indeed, kept here!
Realization dawned on Mercer.
That's right, the base was their target!
Tonight, they just needed to wait for the banquet to start, when Mercer and Barghest's focus would be on the Black Sapphire, and then launch a surprise attack on the base.
They would first try to find the Relic biochips. Even if they couldn't, they could still destroy the servers, completely crippling Mercer's netrunning capabilities!
Or rather, his intelligence-gathering capabilities! It would be a way to weaken Mercer's overall strength.
Clearly, they had already done their homework. The core of Mercer's intelligence-gathering ability lay in the massive server room now housed in the base, a system that had incorporated the Rezo Agwe server and been continuously upgraded with his money, now worth tens of millions of eurodollars!
Should he leave V and the others at the base to ensure its security?
Could they handle it?
What if the enemy's goal was to force Mercer to station his combat forces at the base, while their real target was still Mercer himself at the hotel...
"Mercer... Mercer!" Kiwi's voice brought Mercer back to his senses.
She looked at him with gentle eyes. "Is there anything I can do?"
"I need to think," Mercer sighed, sitting down in the netrunner station.
Kiwi just watched him with concern, not saying a word. After a long moment, she stood up. "Should I get you a NiCola? And some lunch?"
"Okay. I need to be alone for a bit," Mercer said.
Kiwi nodded, walked over to him, and cradled his head, gently stroking it. She leaned down and softly kissed his forehead. "Take your time, then. We'll be right outside."
Mercer grunted in acknowledgment. She smiled, caressed his face, and gave him another kiss before heading out.
When Mercer was the only one left in the server room, he let out a long sigh, grabbed the server data cable from the netrunner station, and used his Octopus Arm to jack himself in, diving deep into the server.
He needed to leverage the accelerated and dispassionate thinking of cyberspace to figure out a way out of this predicament more quickly.
But even with Morning Star assisting his calculations, the conclusion he reached was still unavoidably pessimistic.
In fact, now that Arasaka had decided to make a move on him, another tricky problem presented itself to Mercer.
If Arasaka showed a relentless, to-the-death obsession with him, Hansen would inevitably become suspicious. What could possibly drive Arasaka to risk conflict with Dogtown just to go after Mercer and his crew?
After closing his eyes and contemplating for a long time in cyberspace, Mercer finally opened them, his mind made up.
Since it had come to this, then let the fish die and the net break. It would be a fight to the bitter end. He disconnected from the deep dive. After returning to reality, he saw an ice-cold NiCola, still giving off a chill, on a nearby table.
He got up, took a sip to cool himself down, and then Mercer immediately took action.
There were only two things Mercer could do.
First, he activated all the security measures in the base and preemptively started the backup power supply, putting it on standby to prevent a power outage.
Second, he immediately called Hansen.
As soon as Hansen answered, he knew Mercer definitely wasn't calling for a casual chat. "What is it?"
On the video call, Hansen was uncharacteristically wearing a formal suit. He was probably busy, as the entertainment hall of the Black Sapphire, currently being decorated, could be seen in the background.
Mercer got straight to the point without hesitation. "Something might be wrong."
Hansen didn't say a word. He first gestured to the others, then immediately moved to a quiet corner of the hall, his expression turning grim. "What is it?"
"I suspect Arasaka is sending people to cause trouble for me."
The moment Mercer finished speaking, Hansen let out a scoff. "You know this is Dogtown, and tonight, the social elites of Night City, NUSA, and even Europe will be here, right?"
The implication was that he didn't think Arasaka would dare to storm into Dogtown to cause trouble for him, especially on a day like this.
Tonight, the Black Sapphire had not only invited a large number of media outlets but also famous pop stars to perform. Besides Night City's politicians, many wealthy individuals and corporate figures from Europe would also be in attendance.
If Arasaka were to stir up trouble in Dogtown at a time like this, and if any key figures were to get hurt, then even Arasaka would likely find itself in considerable trouble.
But Mercer stated bluntly, "They might not attack the Black Sapphire, but it's highly likely they'll attack my base."
"I'll arrange for more men to watch over you. Is there anything else?" Hansen said, sounding somewhat impatient, but then he suddenly seemed lost in thought.
He narrowed his eyes, staring sharply at Mercer. "Or is there something between you and Arasaka that I don't know about?"
"I'm a wanted man by Arasaka."
Mercer said it plainly. "In the past, I was locked up by Arasaka in a secret base in Canada, forced to work on one of their bullshit projects. I killed the guards there, looted their stuff, and fled to Night City."
He looked at Hansen, his expression extremely serious. "Now, they're here."
"What did you take from them?" Hansen's expression was grave as he looked at Mercer. His anger and frustration were almost palpable, but he did his best to remain calm.
Mercer just said expressionlessly, "A set of cyberware and a batch of high-grade Arasaka chips related to one of their core projects."
"A set of cyberware, a batch of chips."
Hansen let out a scoff, then just looked at Mercer coldly. "Listen, I don't care what you've been doing with Arasaka behind my back, but tonight, you must show up at the banquet on time, understand?"
Mercer's face was just as grim. After a moment, he said bluntly, "Help me take care of them. We'll talk after."
"I'll dispatch more Barghest..." Hansen didn't finish before Mercer cut in, his tone heavy, "Not enough. I need Robohounds, I need armored vehicles, I need drones, and I need at least fifty elite Barghest soldiers. My base cannot fall.
"There are servers worth tens of millions of eurodollars in there, R&D equipment worth millions. Without them, Dogtown's cybersecurity will be as good as non-existent."
"..." Hansen was silent, just staring coldly at Mercer. After a long moment, he said, "I need an explanation."
"After this is over, I'll talk to you privately." Mercer put on a helpless look and sighed. "Worst comes to worst, I'll just sell this stuff. It's not worth much in my hands anyway."
"Fine. I'll send the Barghest to watch over the place for you, but after this is over, you understand." Hansen's expression was grim. "You'd better guarantee there's no more trouble."
"I guarantee it. They're here for this stuff. They don't want it leaking into the hands of other corps, but they've misjudged me. I'd rather sell it or smash it all than bow down to them."
After Mercer finished, Hansen nodded, staring at him coldly. "Your people will carry out their duties at the Black Sapphire tonight as usual. The success of the banquet is more important than your base. Understand?"
"Understood," Mercer said, then added in a low voice, "Arasaka seems to be playing for keeps this time. We need to be careful."
"You don't have to tell me," Hansen said, hanging up the Agent brusquely.
This was enough to infuriate Hansen. He never would have dreamed he'd suddenly be going up against Arasaka.
Mercer found some grim humor in the situation, thinking that his decision to side with Barghest hadn't been wrong after all. At a time like this, Hansen couldn't just sell him out due to his position and public image; he had no choice but to weather the storm with him.
But Mercer wasn't foolish enough to place all his bets on Hansen.
He immediately got up and began moving the Relic biochips.
Since storing it at the base was no longer safe, he had other methods. To ensure nothing happened to the Relic biochips, the simplest way was to slot it directly into a head.
Then, Mercer planned to have everyone stick together.
Mercer had even prepared explosives and stored them inside the base; tonight, he would only leave Kyoko, Kiwi, Sasha, and Pilar behind to hold the fort.
He also took out the pre-prepared diving suits and oxygen tanks for a safety check. If there was any risk of the base being overrun, the people left behind would detonate the bombs without hesitation, sending all the Arasaka agents who came looking for trouble flying sky-high, giving them a one-way ticket on a dirt rocket!
Afterward, Sasha, Kiwi, Pilar, and Kyoko would put on the diving suits and escape through the sewers to Pacifica. Polaris would have a car waiting to pick them up and get them out. This time, they would delta safely to the Aldecaldos and disappear.
By the time all the preparations were complete, it was already afternoon.
At the same time, Mercer began his retaliatory action against Night Corp.
He didn't know if they were deliberately coordinating with Arasaka's operation, but it was clear they had broken their unspoken online truce. You won't let my ctOS gather deets?
Then Mercer wouldn't let anyone use the city's systems either. He commanded Morning Star to launch a terrorist attack across the entire Night City network, heavily targeting the city hall's security systems and all network targets related to Night Corp.
Even targets with the slightest connection to Night Corp were within Mercer's scope of attack.
To ensure Morning Star's safety, Mercer even deployed the Deathwish he had treasured for so long.
In Mercer's view, with his greatly improved skills and knowledge, Bartmoss's 'Deathwish' program could be considered the strongest and most terrifying offensive AI in human netrunning history to date.
Its danger level even surpassed that of the Blackwall.
This AI, whose entire core code was designed for hacking and cyber warfare, was created for the sole purpose of carrying out kill missions in cyberspace.
Mercer didn't know which Rogue AI was causing him trouble or what its purpose was, but... to hell with it. I don't care what your reason is, go talk to my Deathwish!
For the first time, Mercer issued a command to Morning Star filled with killing intent: find the AI causing him trouble. Capture it if you can. If you can't, then kill it!
Mercer had no time to rest. He quickly fixed his hair with his Octopus Arm, then unplugged it and changed into the suit Lucy had picked out for him. He walked into the living room with a smile on his face.
"Yo! Mano, you look pretty sharp in a suit!" Jackie greeted Mercer cheerfully from the living room.
Right now, everyone looked like everything was normal; even though they all knew deep down that something was wrong, not a single person let anything show.
Mercer smiled, showing off. "Not bad, right? You know how much this suit costs? Twenty-three thousand eddies! Ha, your choom's finally made it big!"
"What about Lucy's outfit?" Rebecca, already in her armor, stood with her arms crossed. She manually loaded bullets into the heavy machine gun on her arm while softly opening her helmet's faceplate to look at him.
"Uh, women's clothes are more expensive. I think it was forty-seven thousand eddies," Mercer said, then shrugged. "It's actually not that expensive for formal wear. The so-called 'masterpieces' in that shop were all hundreds of thousands of eddies."
"They also rent out jewelry. Asked if I wanted to rent some for Lucy; damn, the original prices were all hundreds of thousands, even millions of eddies... It's so easy to make money off women."
Rebecca snorted. "Tens of thousands of eddies, huh."
"Your armor costs hundreds of thousands, what's there to compare?" Mercer rolled his eyes and patted her helmet playfully. "And I built it all myself."
Rebecca sighed and nudged him lightly with her elbow. "Hey, I heard you got a warning early this morning and went to the server room. What happened?"
After she asked, the relaxed expressions on the others' faces vanished, and they all turned to look at Mercer.
But Mercer just spread his hands. "Arasaka made a move. Anyway, you guys just act like you always do. Keep me safe, and keep yourselves safe. We'll counter whatever they throw at us."
"Alright..." Rebecca could only nod, her heart filled with worry she couldn't show.
V, also clad in armor, was sprawled out on the sofa watching TV. "Oh, come on, Mercer definitely knows what he's doing. Instead of worrying about all that... why is the TV stuttering?! Is there a problem with the net?"
"I had Morning Star pick a fight with someone online. The entire network of Night City is fluctuating right now."
After Mercer spoke, V finally turned her head to look at him, clicking her tongue. "You're really not afraid of NetWatch, huh."
"If they show up, I'll be the first to report that the other side started it," Mercer said in amusement. "Alright, stop watching. Get ready, we have to go out."
"What else do we need to pack? Go see if your partner is ready, then we'll talk." V glanced at Mercer, as if mentioning it casually. "You actually look pretty good in a suit. You finally look a bit manly."
"Ha, it's not easy getting a compliment from you," Mercer said, amused and slightly exasperated. What do you mean, 'finally look a bit manly'?
After joking around with the crew in the living room as usual, Lucy, having changed her clothes, walked in from the hallway, looking a little awkward.
The moment she entered, Pilar let out an exaggerated whistle. "Whoa~ Which superstar is this?"
"Hmm, she does look pretty good..." Even Rebecca had to admit that Lucy, in her formal dress, with her hair carefully styled and exquisite makeup on, was indeed stunningly beautiful.
A little embarrassed, Lucy reached up to brush her short hair. A blush crept up her cheeks as she revealed a faint smile. "Looks like I made a good choice?"
Her slender figure beneath her silver hair was wrapped in a blue gown. Under the lights, it reflected tiny points of starlight like crushed diamonds. The blue leather vest over her shoulders not only added a touch of nobility but also covered her fair back and arms.
The blue leather contrasted with her snow-white skin. Beneath her iridescent short hair, the exquisite, heavy makeup made her look exceptionally mature and elegant. Mercer couldn't help but look her over several times before letting out a heartfelt sigh of admiration.
"You really do look beautiful. Much prettier than all those models and celebrities on TV."
The corners of Lucy's lips curved up. She chuckled and spun around in place, then gave him a radiant smile. "I told you my choice wouldn't be a problem... Your suit looks great too."
"Just the clothes?" Mercer grinned, also running a hand through his own hair. He had styled his trimmed short hair into a slicked-back look, which, paired with the suit, made him look much more mature as well.
Only then did Lucy deliberately put on a reluctant look. "Alright, you look pretty handsome today too."
"Okay, okay... When are we leaving?" Rebecca quickly interrupted the two of them flirting right in front of her. What are you doing! I'm still here!
Mercer checked the time, then said directly, "Now."
"Now? It's only four-thirty in the afternoon," Rebecca said, surprised.
But Mercer stated directly, "We need to get there first, check the security facilities at the Black Sapphire, and get ready, just in case."
Sasha stretched lazily and said with some envy, "I hear you guys even get to watch a celebrity performance tonight! Remember to record a braindance for me or something, so I can see it too!"
"Sure, no problem."
Mercer readily agreed. After everyone had packed their gear and was ready to leave, he looked at Kiwi and the others and gave a serious reminder, "We're off then. You all be careful. If anything happens, remember, safety first."
Seeing Kiwi and the others nod with serious expressions, Mercer turned back to Lucy, extended his hand, and smiled.
Without hesitation, Lucy placed her hand in his, hooked her arm through his, and they started walking.
V and Rebecca exchanged a glance. Rebecca shot V, who was wearing a mocking expression as if enjoying the show, a middle finger. Only then did she put on she helmet. With a grunt, she cradled her gun, picked up the suitcase containing Mercer's Octopus Arm and weapons, and followed behind Mercer.
The others also gathered their weapons and equipment, boarded their vehicles, and set off for the Black Sapphire.
—--
After the convoy departed from the base and headed toward the Black Sapphire, in a dilapidated building not far from Mercer's base, the blurry, shimmering figure of a man appeared in the air. He stared at the convoy heading into the distance and reported the situation in a cold, male voice, speaking in Japanese. "The target is on the move."
The reply he received was also a single, simple line in Japanese.
[Goro Takemura: Understood. Proceed as planned.]
A cold wind blew past. By the window of the ruined building, the shimmering figure vanished like a soap bubble.
-------------
4100words
Bonus chapter @1000powerstones