"Alright... I heard you went to the city to recruit, forming a new team?" Sol said, "Pan'an told me you were bringing friends."
"Yeah, just using this place to let the team meet and talk about the future," Mercer said.
"Be careful, city folks aren't like us Adcardans, they're cunning and money-hungry," Sol warned.
But Mercer laughed, "The folks I found are different... Anyway, if there's nothing else, I'll head out?"
"Sure, go ahead. Merry Christmas in advance; I might not be able to catch up with you tomorrow."
Sol returned to his desk, looking at various supply documents, frowning. It seemed this Christmas wouldn't be too good for the Adcardans.
But Mercer had no choice; he's limited in what he can do now, so might as well focus on ensuring a good life for his own people first.
Back in his tent, Mercer dutifully took the medicine Old Wei gave him, greeted Lucy, and went to sleep early.
Even for him, installing so many prosthetics at once made him uncomfortable.
For him, the best way to recover was to get a good night's sleep.
...
"Wow, this is the Adcardo camp? Quite a lot of people!"
Rebecca carried a green shotgun half her height, striding boldly into the Adcardo camp.
The Adcardans' way of celebrating Christmas was simple: they pieced together a Christmas tree from various materials, built a big bonfire, and set up a long table filled with all kinds of food.
Under the table were stacks of boxes of chilled beer, aside from a few small groups of Adcardans gathered, chatting and laughing.
Pira, behind her, looked around left and right, occasionally letting out a sleazy laugh, "I've got to say, these Adcardan girls have a wildness city girls lack..."
Rebecca turned her head, glaring at him, "Idiot brother, let it go before, but if you embarrass Mercer today, I'll shoot you!"
"Damn, you've only known him for a few days, why do you treat him better than your own brother?" Pira complained.
"You have the nerve to say that? Spending a day with him made more money than with you in ten years, you idiot!" Rebecca spat disdainfully.
"Money? That's what it's about? Rebecca, you disappoint me!"
Pira pretended to be hurt.
Rebecca just gave a cold laugh, "Yeah, trusting him, at least I earn; trusting you? You'd sell your gun to see Mewtwo at Liz's! Stupid!"
Pira rolled his eyes, "Come on, you still hold that against me? Since when did you become so vindictive?"
"Since I realized you're a fool," Rebecca retorted, "So, what shady stuff did you buy online yesterday?"
"Uh, well..." Pira's eyes darted around.
"Idiot brother, let me spell it out... Mercer's a good guy, kind enough to give us work and pull us into the team. I'm not saying you must risk your life for him, but at least be reliable.
If you keep screwing around, I'll seriously beat you up."
Rebecca said angrily, "I've already repaid the advance Mercer gave us, paid the team's 20% fee, and I'll just keep the rest for you, you get at most 1,000 Euros from me.
If you need money, you report to me first!"
"No, sis! I was wrong, the new toys I ordered online are cash on delivery, 1,500 Euros... We're partners in this, don't take my share!"
Pira and Rebecca's bickering was fully observed by V and Qiwei following them.
V chuckled, turning to Qiwei, "These two siblings are sporadically reliable... Sometimes Pira seems more sensible, other times Rebecca acts like his mom."
Qiwei just looked at the lively camp scene, feeling an inexplicable bitterness in her heart. She retracted her gaze from the celebrating crowd upon hearing V.
"Pira just knows better how to survive in Night City, whereas Rebecca... she's like Mercer, only kids see any beauty in Night City."
Qiwei's sharp words received V's nod of agreement, "True! This kid's more naive than Rebecca in this regard; if not for us, who knows when he'd get stupidly trapped."
Qiwei almost laughed — you?
Having lived with V for several days, she knew V well enough: V's a good person, but clearly lacking in intelligence.
Qiwei suspected those street scams offering free Mewtwo experiences could easily lead her to a Cleaner Fish hideout.
Their attire clearly differed from the Adcardans. Qiwei, with her blonde hair, covered in a trench coat, wore a cold expression.
V, in contrast, was casually dressed like a Street Kid, with a big silver chain around her neck and white hair.
Rebecca, from her prosthetic eye to her skin tone and weapon design, perfectly matched the Night City trend, a definitive city person.
And Pira... this idiot's eyes lit up at the sight of women, babbling and shouting, clearly up to no good.
So, Kyoko, in charge of greeting at the entrance, immediately recognized them as Mercer's new teammates.