After Rebecca finished speaking, Lucy added, "The total market shipment is roughly around five million euros. I asked about the sales figures, but the other side was pretty cautious, so I didn't press for more details.
But I noticed the foot traffic at the door; over at the Kabuki District, not many people were buying. However, considering the chip prices there, even a few transactions a day could easily earn them a few thousand euros."
Mercer quickly went over it in his head and ultimately decided that he must bite into this deal and share a piece of the pie.
Even if he only secures 30% of the market share, he could sell tens of thousands of euros worth in a month at the least. This is no small change!
Even if a portion of this money has to be allocated to the shops, and some to the hackers writing the programs, the chips still need to be assembled... But pure profit, even just calculating the team's income, could at least provide the team with 100,000 euros of communal funds a month.
Moreover, the bulk of the income would fall into the hands of the hackers writing the programs, allowing them to have the funds to upgrade their equipment and improve their skills independently.
That's enough.
Mercer doesn't plan to swallow this part of the business whole himself; he'll focus on coding a few top-notch programs on the market, using them as calling cards to sell.
Even if only a few people buy such high-end products in a month, considering the price, he could start earning from 100,000 euros.
Indeed, compared to the tough, money-grabbing mercenary work, earning through technological business is much more profitable.
The Voodoo Gang is likely relying on this business to occupy a building in Taiping Prefecture and establish their well-known 'Sea God Server' in Night City, supporting a large group of Voodoo Gang hackers.
Besides, their illegal gains from extortion are probably at best on par with the profits from selling chips.
The Voodoo Gang has about a hundred people to support, and the regular expenses for running a server are likely significant. As everyone knows, servers cost more than just the initial purchase; electricity bills are the real expense for servers.
Seeing Mercer deep in thought, the others didn't disturb him.
Rebecca was still angry with V, gave her a sidelong glance, huffed, and turned her head away, annoyed that she didn't let her aggressively make a move on Mercer yesterday.
Even though after sobering up, she was still a bit out of it for a while — but after calming down and thinking it over, wouldn't it have been nice to take advantage of the drink and get it done?
This is the world of cyberpunk; there's nothing wrong with being bold when you meet someone you like. You could be dead by tomorrow! Better to enjoy now!
This V doesn't indulge, nor does she let her sisters indulge. What kind of person is she!
Mercer soon stopped pondering and said:
"Alright, let's put this aside for now. You all can start getting familiar with how to tinker with program chips. Handcrafting program chips is a real tech skill; practice starting now.
Once we're done with the biotech matters, I'll have a word with Wagako to see if we can sell our goods through the shops in the Kabuki District.
Selling goods is about monopolizing for profit. Then we'll see how to sweep out the Voodoo Gang's goods and negotiate with local shops to only sell ours, and that's where the real money is."
Mercer understood Night City's market rules well; selling programs well isn't as good as having a firm grip on the market. Previously, no one dared or had the skills enough to compete with the Voodoo Gang for the market.
But in the future, the market here would no longer have the luxury of the Voodoo Gang's monopoly.
"Have you scouted suitable spots for ambushing biotech along the way?"
Mercer turned his head to look at Qiwei, who then turned to look at Pan'an.
Pan'an nodded and said, "I've checked a few spots, let me grab a map..."
She quickly got up to fetch the map, but Mercer waved her off and pointed at the computer, "It's in there."
Pan'an walked over to his side, looked at the map Mercer pulled up, leaned over, and pointed beside him, "I think there are only two suitable places.
The first is after leaving the city, we strike when they reach the biotech's protein farm road.
This is just less than an hour's drive from Night City's checkpoint. There aren't many passing vehicles. We can hit quickly and then drive straight into Night City.
As long as we don't run into biotech's reinforcements, entering the city after preparing an escape route is easy for us to disappear.
The only downside of doing this is the uncertainty of biotech's support speed, plus it could trigger an NCPD pursuit, and we might have to fight a tough battle.
The second option is, I think, the midpoint between the checkpoint and Sillan Town after passing the checkpoint.
The surroundings are all barren desert, remote from any village or town. Once we deal with them, we can cross the checkpoint before they realize something's wrong.
The advantage is the high likelihood of avoiding reinforcements. After crossing the checkpoint, we can take a detour around the desert Evil Land."
Pan'an paused and said, "So these are probably the two spots suitable for striking."
Mercer thought for a moment and decided on the route through the checkpoint — after the checkpoint, there's too much uncertainty. Getting stuck at the checkpoint could cause a lot of trouble.
"We'll make our move at the protein farm." Mercer made his decision.
"How do you plan to deal with the Behemoth Armored Vehicle?" V raised a new question, "I've looked into it, and that thing isn't easy to stop."
"Through a hacker's means." Mercer confidently lifted his head, "I'll go with you, hack it on the road, unlock the car doors, and V, you go straight in, leaving only the female manager behind.