A somewhat shabby Columbus cargo van quietly lay dormant beside the biotech protein farm outside of Night City.
The van had been modified in a weird way—a large radar-like device on its roof, mismatched with the decrepit van's overall aesthetic.
The protein farm occupied a vast area and had to be operated in the Evil Land, and the road nearby was the only one leading from Night City to the checkpoint beyond.
Inside the van, Mercer wore his Black Customer Service outfit, just a jacket over it, sitting in the modified seat, strapped in, and operating a laptop on his knees.
The van appeared unimpressive, but inside was a whole different story, with the rear seats completely gutted to create a spacious area for eight, along with hacker equipment like generators, mini servers, and laptops.
Mercer stared calmly at the laptop screen, observing the footage of his Winged Dragon drone displayed on the screen.
At this moment, the Winged Dragon drone hovered a thousand meters above, and its high-magnification camera was monitoring all passing vehicles in real-time, waiting for the Behemoth's arrival.
V sat next to Mercer, fiddling the Freedom in her hand—Mercer had offered her money for a better tool, but V was too attached to swap her gun.
Her stance was unless there was some super awesome gadget, she'd rather stick with this than replace it with some generic stuff.
Rebecca hummed a tune, holding a 'Crusher' kinetic burst shotgun; who knows what goes on in this girl's mind, being so small yet favoring such fierce weapons.
Pira, on the other hand, nervously clutched an 'Ajax' kinetic rifle, tapping his fingers against the gun's body.
There were only four of them in the van, tasked with dealing with the Behemoth Armored Vehicle and the biotech mercenaries and employees onboard.
It didn't mean there were only four people involved in this operation; indeed, beyond the protein farm, in the wilderness, lied an abandoned residential area.
Given that this protein farm was where Wanderer V and Jack first met in the game, pursued by Arasaka, using a temporary hideout to evade them, Mercer vividly recalled this scenario.
Therefore, when planning, he figured out the getaway route.
Lucy and Qiwei were waiting in that residential area, readying the getaway vehicles, simultaneously monitoring the surroundings to ensure no disruptions. As for this dilapidated cargo van, it'll be disposed of in the garage over there.
Later, when the Old Captain sends someone to repaint it and modify the vehicle's certification, it can transform and be resold or kept for personal use, no problem.
Simply put, the whole process was: stop the vehicle, eliminate everyone, take the stuff, drive around the protein farm, then sneak into the abandoned residential area.
Swap vehicles, relocate goods, then boldly drive the hidden vehicle back to the Evil Land.
That simple.
"Damn, why do I feel like my hands are shaking?" Pira muttered to himself.
Rebecca rolled her eyes: "You probably strained yourself in the toilet last night, you idiot brother, I told you to rest early to avoid mishaps!"
"Damn! It's just my nerves..." Pira shook his leg, rubbing his hands along the gun barrel: "Damn, if we could do it again now, I'd surely calm down."
"Is this all that's left in your head, Pira?"
V looked at him disdainfully, then laughed: "But once this job's done, you can go to Liz's and enjoy Mewtwo, thinking about that, feeling better now?"
"Damn, damn, damn, speaking of... hell, let's do this!" Pira thought it over and actually began to feel less shaky, his legs steadied, blood pumping in his veins, fueling his determination.
After throwing everything into this endeavor, no way was Rebecca taking all the money, he needed to negotiate with Mercer for some play money.
"Ha~" Rebecca scoffed, but then gazed unfriendly at V beside Mercer: "V, don't you think using Sianwistan to grab a seat is a bit much?"
"You and your brother are just alike, always fixated on mindless stuff, put you next to him, you think he can concentrate on work?" V glared at Rebecca.
Rebecca rolled her eyes: "I can distinguish priorities... what? You're not saying you like Mercer, are you?"
"How likely is that? You're kidding, I like him?" V laughed out loud, pointing at Mercer: "Him?"
V said disdainfully: "Listen, you've probably met too few men, someone like him would inevitably cheat on me if he becomes my partner.
If I was dating him, I fear I'd go all out when I catch him flirting with others, you know, break his jaw, smash his arms and legs! That'd be bad."
"Come on, he could crack your system quickly you'd be begging on the ground, really think having a Sianwistan makes you invincible?"
Rebecca chuckled, then spoke meaningfully: "But you'd better remember what you said today."
Mercer turned speechlessly to glance at V: "Well done, V, talking trash about me right in front of me?"
"I wasn't wrong! I could tell ages ago you definitely had something going on with that girl named Lucy... you really did, how young is she?