"What do you mean?" Myers's gaze sharpened.
Songbird just kept her head down, her voice weak and laced with fear. "That thing called itself Lilith... She wants the... the technology I possess."
She glanced cautiously at Mercer, but Myers's expression remained unchanged as she said coldly, "How do you know this?"
"When it attacked our aircraft, I met it on the Net."
Songbird seemed to be confessing honestly. "She said that if I was willing to cooperate, she would even wait until I got to the moon and then use her technology to repair my body..."
"Oh? It seems it's been watching you for a long time." Myers's tone was flat, with a hint of coldness. "Did it come for you back in Washington?"
It sounded like a question, but Songbird just lowered her head helplessly, remaining silent.
Myers said nothing, turning to look at Mercer, her expression once again breaking into a smile. "Mr. Mercer, I think we need to cooperate."
"How so?" Mercer asked in return.
"I need you to get us out of Dogtown safely. I will immediately dispatch NUSA agents and Militech forces to assist with our delta. You just need to help us establish contact with the outside world and help us leave.
This incident will be considered a transaction between you and me, in my capacity as President of the NUSA. There will be a generous reward afterward.
And if Dogtown suffers retaliation from that rogue AI after we leave, any losses incurred will be fully, no, more than fully, compensated."
Myers looked extremely sincere. She looked at Mercer and said earnestly, "I always keep my word. In addition to financial compensation, if Dogtown suffers devastating damage, we will take full responsibility for helping you rebuild it.
And I will personally oversee economic cooperation with Dogtown..."
Mercer slowly spoke, his face impassive. "I refuse."
Myers's expression didn't change. Her tone was gentle. "Is there a problem somewhere?"
"First, if Dogtown suffers devastating damage, losing our home is a minor issue. The key is the breach of contract for a large amount of production equipment and numerous orders."
Mercer gave a figure that even Myers found somewhat unbelievable. "The loss of equipment and the penalty for breach of contract alone would amount to 580 million eurodollars.
And if you factor in the time cost of rebuilding, as well as the orders and development time we would continue to lose during that period, the total estimated loss would exceed two billion eurodollars."
Mercer then continued, "Dogtown's existence is an accident of a specific era.
Once destroyed, any attempt to rebuild it will face obstruction from Night City and many other corporations. Will they allow an extra-legal zone to be rebuilt in Night City?
Those clients and business partners need a stable den of iniquity, a stable trading post. Once Dogtown is destroyed, the intangible losses will be immeasurable.
Because what rich person would be willing to come for entertainment and leisure to a place that could be hit by a devastating attack again at any moment? Who would store their goods here again?"
Mercer then stated bluntly, "I can't trust the NUSA's promises to me. A more direct factor is the NUSA's current lack of influence in Night City.
This is a free city. If you had to say it has a master, that master's name is currently Arasaka."
Before Myers could reply, Mercer added, "The second reason is even simpler, it's because your agents infiltrated the Cynosure facility and caused this mess, leading to the rogue AI's appearance.
And now you want Dogtown to bear the losses for you? Where in the world is there such a good deal!"
Mercer looked coldly at Songbird. "I have no reason to bear the losses and risks for Militech, especially on the premise that you have already caused me substantial losses."
"Mr. Mercer, you must understand, if something happens to us here..." Myers didn't finish her sentence.
Mercer cut her off simply and directly. "Its objective is clearly only Songbird and the Blackwall tech she possesses. I've already taken control of the Cynosure facility and checked the data within. Don't think you can play me for a gonk."
Mercer's words made Myers fall silent for a moment. She narrowed her eyes. "Mr. Mercer, have you ever really thought about what Blackwall tech truly means?"
She spoke with passion and righteousness. "This is the last wall protecting the current human network!
If it falls into the hands of a rogue AI, the next one to be harmed will definitely not be just Dogtown!
It will be a global crisis like the fall of the Old Net!
When the nest is overturned, how can any egg remain intact? Mr. Mercer, I can understand your anger right now, but I promise, the NUSA will be responsible for all of Dogtown's losses!"
Myers even said sincerely, "If something happens to Dogtown that prevents you from continuing your activities in Night City, we will build a town exclusively for you in the adjacent state of Southern California, right on the border with Night City.
And through legislative action by our senators, we will maintain Dogtown's current system. We will also increase our cooperation with you..."
"A Dogtown in Night City can still be considered an ownerless buffer zone, but if it's moved to the border, it becomes a bridgehead for Militech and the NUSA."
Mercer, looking slightly impatient, punctured Myers's words and said bluntly, "Right now, the other party could crush us all into meat patties with the lunar mass driver at any moment. President Myers, even if you don't care about our lives, you have to consider your own."
He directly stated the gravity of the situation. "Them using Dogtown's unmanned devices to attack was just a warning. They pulled you from that aircraft, and they have no intention of letting you delta safely."
After speaking, Mercer said coldly, "I need to contact some friends and see if there's a way to resolve this rogue AI threat.
President Myers, you have twelve hours to confer. I will restore your communications as soon as possible. I hope you can find a solution that works for both of us.
If time runs out and we haven't found a good method... I can only choose to first agree to the demands of that thing called Lilith, send Songbird to the moon, and seek a guarantee of peace."
Myers didn't speak, but an agent behind her suddenly showed an angry expression. "You're only afraid of that skulking rogue AI, but not the NUSA?
Whether they even possess a lunar mass driver is still questionable, but the NUSA's capabilities..."
"Are you threatening me?" Mercer let out a disdainful, cold laugh. "Then bring it on. Drop a nuke on Night City. Let me see if you have the guts to start the Fifth Corporate War right now."
After speaking, Mercer raised his hand, signaling Rebecca to take Songbird. "I'll give you time to think. Right now, I have to find a way to protect my own home.
Also, as for what happened to these two... just get confirmation from them. Before this crisis is resolved, please stay here, President Myers, to avoid any accidents."
With that, he turned and walked away.
Reed and Alex, brought by V, were still unconscious. They hadn't woken up even while Mercer and Myers were talking.
Rebecca, understanding the cue, grabbed Songbird. The elevator in the penthouse suite opened, and eight advanced bots carrying weapons slowly walked into the room, spreading out to stand in various corners, nominally shouldering the heavy responsibility of protecting Myers.
Mercer left with V and Rebecca. Songbird just looked at Myers with pleading eyes, but Myers remained silent, allowing Rebecca to grab her and take her away.
Watching Mercer, Rebecca, and V take Songbird and fly off the balcony of the Black Sapphire, Myers sighed, yet she could still manage a remark. "This individual combat armor is really convenient..."
Then, she looked at the still-unconscious Reed and Alex. "Wake them up."
An agent immediately went forward to check on them. A short while later, he removed an Interrogation Chip from Reed's head. Without the chip's suppression, Reed quickly regained consciousness.
He clutched his head with a low groan. After a moment, his brain rebooted. There was no panic, only a gaze that immediately became sharp and composed.
Looking around, Reed's expression turned to shock only after he saw President Myers. "Madam President?"
"What exactly happened inside the Cynosure facility?" Myers wasted no time, getting straight to the point. "Mercer said a rogue AI escaped, causing an anomaly in Dogtown's network security."
Reed quickly sorted through his thoughts. At that moment, Alex was also woken up beside him. The instant she opened her eyes, her reaction was almost identical to Reed's, and Myers asked her the same question.
"As per FIA mission requirements, we infiltrated the Cynosure facility with Militech agents to find the rogue AI placed in the Neural Matrix device and to confirm whether Dogtown was using our AI Capture Technology.
But inside the Cynosure facility... there was a rogue AI."
After speaking, Reed immediately added, "Not an AI active within the Neural Matrix, but a rogue AI that suddenly appeared in the Cynosure facility's servers after we activated the Neural Matrix device and were examining the AI data within.
It directly activated all the servers and network equipment, using the unmanned devices inside the Cynosure facility to catch us off guard.
The Militech agent responsible for checking the AI data fell into a coma on the spot due to an attack on the Net. Alex and I were about to delta immediately, but unexpectedly, it used the signal transmitter inside the Cynosure facility to forcibly hack us.
By the time we lost consciousness and woke up again, we were already under Barghest's control. They interrogated us."
At this point, Reed's expression turned grim. "They possess very advanced interrogation technology. Their Interrogation Chip tech is a level above our FIA's."
Myers sighed, then simply confirmed, "Can you identify that unknown rogue AI? We need deets, is it possible that Barghest's people were pretending to be an AI and attacking you? Or is that rogue AI controlled by Barghest?"
"I can't confirm," Reed said truthfully. "We were taken down before we could mount any decent resistance. Faced with that rogue AI's hack, our ICE was almost completely powerless."
Reed thought for a moment, adding more deets. "But judging from the fact that the server room is still intact and the equipment is all where the files said it would be, it's highly probable that the Cynosure facility hasn't been used.
Or, the other party anticipated our actions and restored the facility beforehand."
Myers was silent, her eyes narrowed. After a long moment, she said, "Do you have the confidence to force an extraction for us?"
"No," Reed said honestly, sighing. "Dogtown has developed too quickly. Just from my short-term observation of Dogtown, the security here is even higher than our standard military bases...
Cameras and unmanned devices are everywhere. If we want to leave, we'd at least need a highly skilled netrunner to help us block Dogtown's tracking...
As you know, Dogtown is suspected of having an extremely powerful intelligence and surveillance system, and this system's monitoring range might even extend beyond Night City..."
Alex spoke in a faint tone, "The mission may have failed, but my retirement terms better not change. I'm so sick of this."
She sat up irritably and held out her hand to an agent on the side. "Gimme one."
Myers nodded expressionlessly, and another agent found a cigarette and handed it to her.
Alex took a drag, then said, "Based on my undercover observations in Dogtown, this new Director Mercer is a much tougher character to deal with than Hansen.
I don't know where he gets his tech support, or if the kid really is just a super genius, but the number of unmanned devices Dogtown has just on the surface is enough to scare anyone to death.
And from what I've gathered from the conversations of those Barghest grunts drinking at the bar, this guy is clearly a cautious person. The Dogtown forces we can see on the surface are definitely not his true strength.
In fact, he has an extremely strong grip on the entire Pacifica district, and his actual sphere of influence might even extend beyond Pacifica."
Alex sighed and said, "He maintains good relationships with several gangs in Night City. For example, the Valentinos in Heywood are his partners, and the Voodoo Boys in Pacifica are basically his registered underlings.
The Animals in the Pacifica area also listen to him. In addition, he maintains deep cooperation with the Aldecaldos nomads and has a good working relationship with Night City's city councilors..."
Alex gave some wise advice. "In Dogtown, it's best if we just behave ourselves, but... President Myers, how did you end up here?"
Myers briefly explained what had happened to her, and Reed's expression changed slightly. "He's already taken Songbird?"
Myers nodded, then said calmly, "Right now, we have two problems we must solve.
First, the Blackwall tech must not fall into outside hands, and that includes the AI Capture Technology inside the Cynosure facility.
Second, while ensuring the first point, how do we delta safely."
As soon as she said this, the room fell silent.
The objectives sounded simple and direct.
But...
How were they supposed to achieve them?