"Alright, don't get too excited. Over forty thousand euros is just for show. When it comes to doing something, it's never enough. A decent set of high-end subdermal armor will cost several tens of thousands of euros, and you two have to split it."
After Mercer finished speaking, Rebecca finally calmed down a bit, but still couldn't hide her happiness: "When I get the money, I'll buy some components, upgrade my Iron Gall properly, and then buy some clothes and have a good meal!
Haha, I also need to upgrade my prosthetic, at least get some muscle enhancement modules, otherwise I can't even use my Iron Gall! Earlier, I fired a shot into the air and almost got blown away."
"Alright, as long as you're satisfied. Tomorrow I'll introduce you to a reliable doctor. You and Pira both should get an upgrade. What we're going to do afterwards is the real big deal."
Mercer's words made Rebecca grin, showing a mouthful of small white teeth: "Mercer, once we're done for the day, dinner's on me!"
"Finish what you're doing first, before getting too carried away," Mercer advised.
Rebecca winked at him: "Oh~ I've got it, don't worry. I don't want to let you down – just wait for my good news... No more talking, we're almost here. I need to focus."
"Alright." Mercer hung up the phone.
With nothing else to do, Mercer simply headed to Little Chinatown ahead of time, found a small restaurant, had a bowl of fried rice, and then went straight to see Old Wei.
After greeting Misty, he passed through the alley and arrived at Old Wei's underground clinic, where Mercer pushed the door open and saw Old Wei busy repairing Sianwistan.
"Need a hand?" Mercer felt a bit itchy – he learned a lot about prosthetic repair, modification, and production in Arasaka's courses but hadn't had the chance to experiment yet.
"No need, I prefer working alone... You can sit and watch TV for a bit."
Victor glanced at Mercer: "By the way, that mask is quite unique."
"Haha, it's okay. Mainly I look too young, without the mask I can't command any respect." Mercer was a bit helpless; he didn't really like the feeling of covering up.
Instead of watching TV, he stood by and watched Old Wei work for a while, then started fiddling with his equipment.
Mercer was very interested in the stuff inside Old Wei Clinic.
"Is Zeta Technology's 3D printer any good?"
"Very good. While the printed items might not match the quality of originals, they're sufficient for routine prosthetic repairs."
"Biotechnology's... nanocell repair device?"
"Mm-hmm, you've got a keen eye. Not many recognize this. It's generally used for neurological treatments, quite pricey. Don't be fooled by its size, one costs over three hundred thousand euros, and needs regular expenses for replenishing the nano robots and repair fluid inside."
"Arasaka's blood purifier... It's a bit crappy, Old Wei. I've checked the database, and this model from Arasaka has falsified data."
"It's second-hand, bought because it was cheap. If you get your own, make sure to buy from Biotechnology or Zeta."
Mercer almost toured Old Wei's clinic thoroughly, and Old Wei wasn't annoyed. Few people understood as much as Mercer did, recognizing many low-profile yet quality items in his store.
"You really have integrity, Old Wei. Not selling any small company's black-market tech supplies." Mercer clicked his tongue in amazement.
"Those small company machines gamble with lives; I don't like playing with patients' lives." Old Wei sighed in relief, finally putting down the prosthetic's nano repair device.
"It's done, take a look. Should be fine."
Before Victor could finish, Mercer eagerly came over.
"Got the program sorted? If not, leave it to me. I'm quite interested in Sianwistan's software."
After Mercer spoke, Victor laughed and said, "Not yet, was waiting for you, the hacker genius."
With that, Victor stepped aside.
Mercer took a seat without hesitation. He picked up the prosthetic software device on Old Wei's desk, connected wires to Sianwistan, and then linked his own data line to the device.
This device is also from Zeta Technology. It can be understood as a small computer specialized in modifying prosthetic programs, similar to the portable network access vaults hackers once used without needing brain insertion.
With a slightly unskilled touch, Mercer tapped a few keystrokes on the game-console-sized device's keyboard, and within seconds, he figured out the code structure inside the device.
Old Wei stared dumbfounded as Mercer, after connecting wires, hardly moved a finger while a complex stream of code flashed across the device's screen. Clicking his tongue in amazement, he said, "Hackers are really something. You bypassed the machine's operating system just now?"
"Yeah, I prefer directly using data and code to get the job done."
The blue light in Mercer's prosthetic eye flickered as both the device and his head began to heat up.
It only took about thirty seconds. Multi-tasking, Mercer said, "Done, the restriction program inside is almost identical to other Arasaka prosthetics. My previously created 'Free Assassin' resolved it.
But... I feel like I can optimize the code inside. I'll try it. If it works, maybe I can boost the power a bit."
Old Wei just watched the screen with fast-moving, almost shadow-like code, feeling dizzy and shaking his head in admiration: "Don't quite understand you hackers' techniques... I usually stick to the operating system."
"Most hackers don't have my skills; just understanding this machine's code would make one lose quite a bit of hair."
Mercer spoke calmly, continuing to tweak Sianwistan's programs, both optimizing internal code and learning as he memorized the driver software of Sianwistan.