Night City, December 29, 2071, 10:54 PM, near City Hall.
V sat excitedly in her car, occasionally checking the chip in her coat pocket. If Mercer hadn't repeatedly forbidden her from plugging it in carelessly, she would've already inserted it into her head to store it.
By now, most of the lights in Night City Hall had dimmed, with only a few windows still lit. Occasionally, she could see an NCPD patrol car driving by.
She licked her lips nervously for the umpteenth time, recalling the route and precautions Mercer had arranged for her.
[Mercer: Can you hear me?]
"Yes!" V replied softly.
[Mercer: Prepare to move, as planned, reach the back door entrance in five minutes.]
"Got it!" V took a deep breath, pushed open the car door, and strode towards the City Hall building.
The security is extremely tight at the front entrance of City Hall, but from the back of the building, there's an auto-recognizing metal door that leads to the maintenance workers' workshop.
Unlocking the door in the workshop will allow direct access to the building's interior.
As V approached the door, it slid open with a swish before she could quietly notify Mercer.
Without a word, she slipped inside, and the metal door automatically closed behind her.
[Mercer: Don't rush, wait ten seconds, let the security personnel move further away, giving you plenty of time... Turn left when you exit, don't worry about the cameras, I've got them all under control.
Turn right at the second corridor corner, and the first elevator you see is your target.
You'll only pass one occupied office, keep quiet, you know, people working overtime at eleven are generally sensitive.]
V counted down ten seconds, then decisively headed out. Despite never having done anything like this, her naturally calm demeanor allowed her to perform remarkably under pressure.
She lightened her steps and looked up. Every corner of the City Hall corridors was packed with surveillance cameras, and even at night, there was still warm lighting inside.
V didn't dare to breathe loudly, but her steps became more agile, especially when passing the occupied office Mercer mentioned; she almost silently darted past.
Her excellent body control allowed her to almost make no sound, even on her first attempt at stealth.
[Mercer: You've arrived, relax, everything is going as planned... Your heart rate is up to 120.]
V held her breath, not daring to speak until she reached the elevator, which suddenly opened, almost scaring her into drawing her gun. Luckily, it was empty inside.
[Mercer: Haha... Ever thought about joining a quick draw competition? I almost thought you were going to fight with the elevator.]
"Shut up, A..." Only after entering the elevator did V finally let out a sigh of relief, unable to resist retorting.
[Mercer: Then I won't speak, just don't get scared.]
"Forget it, you better keep talking..." V thought for a moment and decided to ask him not to stay silent.
The elevator quickly reached the third basement level. V nervously looked around before finally stepping out through the door.
The elevator room leads directly to different large server areas divided by glass doors.
"Wow, it's so big, which one do I need to handle?"
V was momentarily unsure, and Mercer quickly responded.
[Mercer: On the right, look for signs on the glass door, as long as the server marked with an N series, you can use it; didn't memorize the whole action plan, huh?]
V muttered, "I just suddenly can't recall if it was N or S..."
As she spoke, she walked into the server room only to find out the glass door required a password to enter: "Mercer! Unexpected incident?"
[Mercer: I was afraid of startling you again, didn't want to open the door directly.]
As he finished speaking, the glass door clicked open.
She hurried to the server stack, took a while before finding the port, and inserted the virus-storing chip from her pocket into the server.
"Damn, did it work?"
V asked softly.
[Mercer: Hold on a moment...]
V anxiously waited for a while.
[Mercer: Done, access acquired, their local network is now open to me, remove the chip and withdraw.]
V immediately pulled out the chip, turned, and headed out, muttering, "Is it that simple? Just plug in a chip, and the server is yours?"
[Mercer: To be precise, the chip helped me bypass the ICE, allowing me to directly modify its data from inside. You wouldn't understand the details, so—yes, this server is mine now.
Use the elevator, you have two minutes and thirty seconds of safe time, still be cautious of people in the offices, retreat towards the elevator in case of an emergency, and wait for the next safe time.]
"I don't need to understand to make a living from that thing..."
V suddenly realized that chatting with Mercer had entirely removed her tension.
[Mercer: If you want to learn, it might be challenging, I bet your intelligence isn't above eight.]
"Nonsense, people always said I was smart since I was a kid." V refused to accept this.
[Mercer: Hmm, I guess I'll find out later.]
V pursed her lips, lightly stepping onto the elevator, retracing her way back, carefully quickening her pace.
Until she exited the building from the maintenance room's back door and walked another several dozen meters outside, she finally stopped and looked back.
"Is that it... How could this City Hall be so easily slipped past?"
V said incredulously.