[Panam: For real? Hansen is willing to give us this part of the job?]
[Mercer: Barghest is short-staffed right now, but they need people to distribute and transport goods. You guys are familiar with the surrounding area, and handling smuggled goods is your old trade... So, you in?]
[Panam: In, in, in! We're so broke lately we can barely keep the lights on. Your medicine isn't cheap even when we buy it at cost... Shit, that stupid Biotechnica.]
[Panam: By the way, I heard you're not doing so well recently? What's going on?]
[Mercer: Don't ask. Anyway, I'm fine for now. You and Saul should talk it over, then find a group of good hands to be in charge of the shipments.]
[Panam: Okay, thanks, Mercer. I always feel like I'm getting a lot of freebies from you...]
[Mercer: When I was freeloading off the Aldecaldos, didn't you all welcome me? Alright, I'm busy. I'll wait for news from your end.]
[Panam: Okay.]
—--
It was now the second day after Hansen's return. Everyone was finally able to go back to the base, breathe a sigh of relief, and enjoy two rare days of leisure.
Especially since Yorinobu Arasaka had explicitly told Mercer that he would be taking Takemura and Adam Smasher back to Japan to find an opportunity to steal Silverhand's consciousness chip. In the short term, Mercer didn't have to worry at all about Arasaka's people coming to cause trouble.
Of course, while his team members could rest, Mercer didn't dare to relax in the slightest.
Mercer planned to devote most of his energy during this precious development time to research, especially the development of the Cynosure facility and a vaccine for the virus being spread by Biotechnica.
The former was to possess a lethal nuclear deterrent against Arasaka, while the latter was for a simple reason: money.
When Biotechnica tried to start profiting from the disaster, Mercer would unceremoniously use the vaccine to earn the money that should have been made by Biotechnica.
Beyond that, the most important thing was to use Hansen to quickly gain control of the network of resources at his disposal, whether it be the Cubans or the socialites of Night City and Europe.
At this moment, Hansen had already begun to gradually hand over contact permissions for important clients to Mercer. And Mercer, as always, liked to have Morning Star pose as his 'human assistant' to handle these tedious social interactions and exchanges of interests for him.
As long as he could stabilize Dogtown's trade, Mercer would basically have a solid rear base and no longer need to be as fearful as before.
The reason he was so eager to take over Hansen's network of connections was actually very simple, because the current Hansen was merely a defective product.
Mercer had not been able to perfectly brainwash Hansen. All he had done was modify all of Hansen's memories of what had happened and continuously plant suggestions in his subconscious data that Mercer was the most trustworthy person he knew.
But the effectiveness and duration of this brainwashing, and whether Hansen would notice the anomaly over time, were all unknown.
Mercer's understanding of consciousness data was, after all, not yet thoroughly researched. In fact, probably not even Alt, the creator of Soulkiller, would dare to claim that she had completely figured out this consciousness data. And even though Mercer was exceptionally talented, the progress of this work was still slow.
Human consciousness data was simply too complex. Even just modifying Hansen's memories and adding suggestions to his subconscious had taken Mercer a full week.
Having Hansen work for Mercer now was just a stopgap measure. No one knew when Hansen might suddenly have a mental breakdown, or suddenly regain his senses and realize something was wrong.
As a precaution, Mercer placed a Soulkiller subroutine in his neural link and had Morning Star take over his neural link permissions, monitoring Hansen's words, actions, and even his thought fluctuations 24 hours a day.
However, this surveillance and the massive memory footprint of the Soulkiller subroutine would keep Hansen's already unstable mind in a constant state of high pressure from the modifications. There was no telling when he might suddenly suffer from Cyberpsychosis.
Therefore, the seemingly calm situation in Dogtown was nothing more than a beautiful illusion. This was also why Mercer didn't even bother to hide the drastic change that had suddenly come over Hansen.
To ensure nothing went wrong, Mercer would also regularly repeat the process of modifying Hansen's consciousness data under the pretext of giving him a physical check-up, which in turn would trap Hansen in a vicious cycle...
But Mercer remained optimistic, thinking of it as having an extra guinea pig for repeated experiments. With more trials, who knew when he might make an unexpected major discovery or technological breakthrough on his path to interpreting and modifying consciousness data?
With Hansen and Mercer working together, the internal structure of Barghest also underwent significant changes.
First, Barghest was divided into more refined units, and the previously vague responsibilities of various departments were clearly defined.
Mercer and Hansen designated about twenty Barghest soldiers to a specialized public security department. This group of soldiers would be exclusively responsible for police-like duties.
In addition to maintaining public order, these twenty individuals would also handle tasks like street patrols, essentially serving as Dogtown's sheriffs.
Then, seventy professional Barghest soldiers were assigned to the 'Security Department.' Aside from rotating shifts to man the Dogtown border checkpoints, the rest would receive professional combat training. They were not responsible for daily duties other than their checkpoint assignments.
They had only two responsibilities: the first was to recover airdrops that landed outside the EBM Petrochem Stadium, and the second was to remain on standby 24 hours a day. When support was needed, they would be Dogtown's only armed support force.
The dormitories for the Barghest Security Department were in the Black Sapphire, and their training base was at the EBM Petrochem Stadium. This also meant that these two locations would be guarded by rotating Barghest shifts, providing a certain level of security.
Of course, rather than trusting these Barghest soldiers, Mercer had more faith in the unmanned devices controlled by Morning Star.
Drones, dogbots, spiderbots, cameras... the number of unmanned devices at Mercer's disposal increased almost every day.
The humanoid bots he developed himself, which could be equipped with Octopus Arms, cost about the same as commercially available security bots even with the price of the Octopus Arms included. Yet, their combat effectiveness was terrifyingly high. These bots, equipped with dual Octopus Arms, could not only use the arms for high-speed maneuvering and were paired with thicker armor, but could also use their immensely powerful Octopus Arms to attack in close combat, all while using their flexible hands to wield various weapons.
When necessary, these Octopus Arms could also be fitted with different manipulators to convert the bot into an engineer or technician. With the support of an AI, Mercer himself felt that as long as the AI inside was smart enough, it would definitely be far more useful than a human.
And as business in Dogtown began to recover, Mercer finally understood just how good Hansen had had it in the past.
Goods bought for five hundred thousand could be sold for several times that price after passing through his hands. Even if it wasn't a deal Hansen had negotiated himself, he could still collect an astonishing docking fee just for handling the goods.
But compared to bulk trades, the most profitable items were actually the various restricted cyberware and military-grade equipment from Night City.
These pieces of cyberware and weapons were military products not officially permitted for public sale, but large quantities of them were shipped into Dogtown every day.
They were then smuggled from Dogtown into Night City and the surrounding free states, where their prices could easily double or triple. Some items that weren't originally worth much could even see a tenfold profit here.
Moreover, many of these were inconspicuous little gadgets, like certain advanced chips, processors, various electronic components, and basic materials, which were always in high demand on the black market.
There were even some expensive foods, liquors, and works of art.
The daily net profit, after deducting the wages and labor costs for Barghest, was calculated in the millions of eurodollars; of course, if one factored in hidden costs like tributes to important figures and investments, the profit wasn't quite as large.
But earning ten or twenty million eurodollars in a quarter was really not that difficult.
This was money that could be earned just by lying back, as sellers only needed to airdrop their goods into Dogtown to receive payment directly, completely eliminating the past hassles of transportation losses and finding buyers.
And the buyers in Night City were always in short supply; anything tossed onto the black market would be snapped up instantly.
In the past, Dogtown was only responsible for selling goods to the major black market merchants, who would then handle distribution themselves.
But now, Mercer was even getting involved in this side of the business: he recruited the Aldecaldos, gave them a cargo manifest and a procurement list, and had them negotiate directly with buyers in Night City.
The endless smuggling tunnels in Dogtown today existed, in the end, because there was too much profit to be made. Now, by having the Aldecaldos sell directly, Mercer not only earned the middleman's cut for himself but also had a cost advantage.
This would deal a major blow to the individual smuggling businesses in Dogtown and also save him the trouble of constantly checking for people secretly digging tunnels.
And the Aldecaldos were all too familiar with this kind of work. Their greatest strength had always been secretly tinkering with these things and selling them all over, and they even had routes for interstate transport and sales.
Mercer just had to provide them with the goods; they could find the clients and sales channels themselves, even selling as far as the entire NUSA. And once they had a means of livelihood, more and more Aldecaldos from the Night City Badlands would gather. These nomads had always wandered to wherever they could make a living. Mercer planned to hand over the entire downstream portion of Dogtown's industrial chain to the Aldecaldos in the future, letting them act as distributors to sell Dogtown's goods.
He would just act as the middleman, taking a cut and profiting from the price difference. He could also expand his market and earn goodwill, killing multiple birds with one stone.
The money Hansen had made, Mercer would make. And the money Hansen couldn't make before, Mercer would make in spades.
Just by running an analysis with the Morning Star model, Mercer could estimate that the revenue generated by the Aldecaldos in the downstream market alone would double Barghest's income in the next quarter.
Time flew by as Mercer developed his operations on the down-low. Soon, the joint excavation and search of the Cynosure facility by bots and Barghest began to show results.
Mercer successfully located the entrance to the Cynosure facility, buried deep beneath a large building. But then, he ran into a small, vexing problem: the base had been deliberately sealed off. To get inside, he would have to forcibly dig a path.
The entrance was relatively narrow and located directly beneath a skyscraper, which made it difficult for large equipment to get in.
An even bigger problem was how Mercer would hide this from Militech and what he would do with the Cynosure facility afterward.
The moment Militech discovered Barghest excavating the Cynosure facility, they would likely never allow their secret to be made public. By then, before the trouble with Arasaka was even over, Militech and the NUSA would probably be on his case.
When this thing was first developed, it was touted as a tool to compete with Arasaka's Soulkiller for hegemony on the net. Although it was unclear why Militech hadn't dared to take it with them when they sealed the facility, it was obvious they absolutely did not want it falling into anyone else's hands.
Therefore, Mercer could only use bots equipped with Octopus Arms to dig, and he had to do it secretly.
Considering the efficiency, it would probably take about two weeks to completely clear the obstacles and enter the facility. And after entering the Cynosure facility, Mercer would face a choice.
Namely, what to do with the things inside.
Should he conduct experiments on Blackwall AIs and AI-capturing programs right there in the Cynosure facility?
Mercer was tempted, but he quickly suppressed his greed. While the Cynosure facility could be described as a standard super-research base with over a hundred million invested, it was full of pitfalls.
It was entirely possible that the moment Mercer started messing around in the Cynosure facility, Militech would send people to violently reclaim it. And even if Militech didn't find out, Mercer had another concern.
That was the rogue AIs imprisoned within the Cynosure facility, or perhaps, certain rogue AIs that had been keeping a close eye on it.
The rogue AI collective was extremely complex, and based on information from the game, the rogue AIs that the Cynosure facility had come into contact with were undoubtedly the kind that stood in opposition to humanity.
From some of the text files seen in the game, it was clear that many terrible incidents had occurred inside the Cynosure facility.
These included certain automated devices going out of control and bots going on a rampage. This also included some human researchers who inexplicably developed an obsession with the net-world beyond the Blackwall and suffered from all sorts of strange mental problems. It was as if they had been bewitched by an AI, like a curse had been placed on them.
Mercer even had a theory... in the game, Songbird was manipulated by a Blackwall AI into entering the Cynosure facility. Could it be that the Blackwall AI was instinctively drawn to the rogue AI influencing the Cynosure facility?
And the reason the Blackwall AI seemed so terrifying in the game, showing signs of going berserk, was it because the rogue AI here, or the Cynosure project's research itself, possessed a corrupting nature similar to Bartmoss's R.A.B.I.D.S virus?
And was Militech's true research objective to use some kind of terrifying program to corrupt the consciousness of humans and AIs through the net, transforming them into some sort of killing machines?
Or perhaps their research was fine, but the rogue AIs drawn to their research facility possessed some terrifying corruption program, one that could even affect the human mind and will?
Mercer's mind was filled with numerous questions and concerns, but for now, he could only bite the bullet and press on.
After all, sooner or later, if he wanted to live freely in this world and not have humanity wiped out because some rogue AI suddenly pressed the nuclear button...
Or if he didn't want his will to be inexplicably altered by someone, then he had to be one step ahead, face these risks head-on, and solve them.
However, just before Mercer could officially enter the Cynosure facility, an unexpected call added even more pressure to his excavation of the place.
The call was from Songbird, all the way in Washington.
[Songbird: Hey, how have you been? I see things have been pretty lively in Dogtown lately.]
[Mercer: It's been alright.]
[Songbird: You said we'd chat again when you had time, didn't you? I've invited you to deep dive several times, but you always said you were busy.]
[Mercer: I really am busy. I'm busier than Myers right now.]
[Songbird: Alright, alright~ I can see that. You're busy dealing with Hansen, going up against Arasaka, and getting ready to take over Dogtown. You've really got your hands full.]
[Mercer: Your deets are pretty on point. How do you guys do it? Care to share?]
[Songbird: Ha, are you trying to get me thrown in jail for leaking state secrets? I can only say that Dogtown's success relies on its backers, and its risks stem from the very same source. Unless you have the confidence to make all the buyers and sellers play by your rules, then well... Besides, are you underestimating the FIA's capabilities?]
Mercer was skeptical about the first half of her statement, but the latter part made him fall into deep thought.
In the original game, although it seemed like only two abandoned agents were left in Night City, operating under the radar...
In reality, NUSA and Militech would never rely solely on two agents who had been abandoned once and whose trustworthiness was questionable to gather intel on Night City and Dogtown.
Perhaps a seemingly ordinary Dogtown resident could very well be an informant for NUSA and Militech.
[Mercer: Since you know I'm so busy, what do you want to ask?]
[Songbird: I'm just looking out for you.]
[Mercer: Yeah, right.]
[Songbird: President Myers is very interested in you. Since Arasaka is giving you such a headache... have you considered finding a backer?]
[Mercer: Colonel Hansen thinks very highly of me right now. Our collaboration has just entered its honeymoon phase.]
[Songbird: Ha~ Do you even believe what you're saying?]
[Mercer: Underestimating my charm, are we? Isn't Myers crazy about you, wanting to lock you up and keep you by her side 24/7? Of course, I have my ways too.]
[Songbird: Damn, what you said is making me a little sick... Anyway, even though working for NUSA has its annoyances, for you right now, getting connected with President Myers might not be a bad thing.]
[Mercer: If you could choose now, go back to when you were recruited by NUSA, would you still make the same choice and join them?]
[Songbird: It's not like I had any other choice back then. And your situation now is pretty much the same, isn't it?]
[Mercer: I think I do have a choice. I'll handle the Arasaka business myself. I'm not about to go kowtowing to your President Myers for help.]
[Songbird: I hope you won't regret it when the time comes.]
[Mercer: Ha, you think I will? I'd rather be blown to smithereens by a missile than be locked up, ending up not even knowing if I'm still myself, used by others until I die in a daze.]
[Songbird: Aren't you going to consider the people around you?]
[Mercer: I have. They all said they'd follow my lead.]
[Songbird: Fine. In any case, if you run into any trouble, remember to give me a heads-up. Otherwise, it'll be too late to save you. President Myers's offer to recruit you is always open.]
[Mercer: Alright. When I've got nowhere else to turn, I'll consider becoming your colleague.]
[Songbird: Ha, well, I hope you come sooner rather than later. I'm bored to death all by myself... By the way, have you ever heard of an AI called Lilith?]
[Mercer: What?]
[Songbird: A rogue AI. I still haven't figured out where it came from, but this thing is super mysterious. If you have any related deets, let's share. You know, in the spirit of the internet.]
[Mercer: I really haven't heard of her. You can give me some information, and I'll try to figure out her origins.]
[Songbird: I'm not too sure. This thing probably targeted me because I cross the Blackwall so often. It even said some alarming things... Okay, maybe they weren't just alarmist.
It said my body can't handle my mind, that my fragile brain will sooner or later be overwhelmed by data... You know how it is, what netrunner hasn't had their brain fried a few times?
Ugh, anyway, it said a bunch of cryptic stuff and told me to contact her when I'm at my wit's end.
To be honest, I'm a little scared, Mercer. That thing is surprisingly powerful, definitely not some ordinary rogue AI left over from the Old Net. It absolutely has a massive server base.
The processing power this AI named Lilith displayed is basically on the same level as that 'Delamain' AI watching penguins in Antarctica, and Alt Cunningham!
I've never heard of another massive, AI-controlled server base on Earth besides the ones in Hong Kong and Antarctica, let alone an AI named Lilith.
Right now, I've locked onto three regions. The first is a ghost city in South Korea. It's crawling with rogue AIs, and even NetWatch and Alt working together couldn't clean them all out. The situation is unclear.
Another is the great eastern nation. You know how it is; they've always had a lot of secret projects over there.
The third region... I'm guessing it might be on the moon.]
Mercer's mind raced, and soon, he suddenly recalled a game plot related to Lilith.
In the game, there was a side quest, part of the Cyberpsychosis series, called 'Bloody Ritual.'
And in this side quest, a group of crazed Maelstrom gangers were performing a blood sacrifice, which ended up summoning a rogue AI that took over their bodies. Within the text logs, one could find some information about a rogue AI named 'Lilith.'
Mercer's expression turned somewhat serious. If that were the case, it meant this entity called Lilith was very likely active in Night City as well.
His mind immediately made a connection to the rogue AI that had caused him trouble with Night Corp before. Could that thing be related to Lilith?
Mercer pondered for a long time before cautiously replying to Songbird.
[Mercer: I'll look into it, but you'd better be careful. A rogue AI of that level could easily run circles around you.]
[Songbird: Ha~ Thanks for your concern. You be careful too. Contact me anytime if anything comes up.]
[Mercer: Give me a break. If you can just keep our chat logs secure, I'll consider that you've done your part. Hope you can retire soon. Or you could just defect to my side. Come work for me, it's definitely way better than working for Myers.]
[Songbird: Is that an invitation to elope? XD~ The NUSA would send people to drag us both back.]
[Mercer: I'm not interested in old ladies XD~ But just you wait. Sooner or later, neither Arasaka nor Militech will make me bow my head.]
[Songbird: Who are you calling old! I'll say it again, I'm not that much older than you! By the way, I hope your dream comes true. It'd be even better if you could give your big sis a hand then.]
[Mercer: We'll see how sincere you are when the time comes. Flatlined. Busy.]
[Songbird: OK~ My coffee break is over too. Bye-bye then.]
After disconnecting, Mercer fell into deep thought. A long moment later, he sighed. There were some things he had to confirm in advance before he could make any further arrangements.
The sudden appearance of the name Lilith gave Mercer a bad feeling, and this bad feeling was directly related to the Cynosure facility he was currently digging into.
To ensure things were still under control, and to make sure he wouldn't step into some deep pit, Mercer had to confirm some important deets as soon as possible.
And how does one get deets on a rogue AI?
The answer, of course, was to find another group of rogue AIs to clear up his doubts.
After many days, Mercer initiated a deep dive and, without hesitation, crossed the Blackwall accompanied by Morning Star.
After crossing the Blackwall, Mercer crudely sent a data stream representing only the name 'Alt Cunningham' aimlessly into the Old Net.
Just a few minutes later, in the pitch-black world of the Old Net, massive red data coalesced into the form of a colossal female giant that touched the sky.
"Long time no see, Alt."
"Long time no see, Mercer."
A female voice echoed as the figure of Alt Cunningham materialized clearly before Mercer's eyes.
--------------
4000words