When Mercer arrived at the clinic with Rebecca and the others, Victor couldn't help but joke as soon as they met, "I thought your team only recruited girls."
"Who says women are inferior to men, Old Wei? You're overthinking it. We recruit based only on skill and personality, not gender." Mercer laughed and pulled the curious Rebecca, looking left and right, to sit down.
Victor took a look at Rebecca and Lucy's small frames and couldn't help but say, "Mercer, I believe I've told you before that I generally don't install cybernetic implants on kids, right?
You already counted as an exception."
"Lucy just needs a new Network Access Vault; the Mk.2 version is a bit outdated. Just get her the same model as Qiwei.
As for Rebecca... she's almost an adult, about fifteen or sixteen. Her body won't grow much more."
After Mercer finished, Old Wei replied noncommittally, "I'll do an examination first."
"Alright, it's up to you. If you think she still has some growing to do, then we won't make too many changes."
Mercer wasn't insistent—risking his own life was one thing, but he wouldn't stand by and let others under his care do the same.
The reason he rushed to get implants himself was to shield the others from trouble, giving them ample time to grow without having to rush to get stronger.
Rebecca wanted to say something, but a glance from Mercer silenced her. She could only sit with her arms crossed, waiting unhappily for Old Wei to examine her.
But she had made up her mind—whether Mercer liked it or not, she was determined to get stronger through cybernetic enhancements.
Rebecca thought to herself that she wasn't technical or particularly smart. Besides fighting, what else could she contribute to the team?
She had seen V's overwhelming power. Even if she couldn't become like her, she at least didn't want to be helpless against such enemies.
If she couldn't even accomplish that... why remain an Edgerunner? Might as well take her dad's childhood teasing and find someone to marry early!
She didn't want to be a burden to Mercer!
"As usual, let's start by checking her physical potential." Victor motioned for Rebecca to lie down on the examination chair.
Rebecca got excited, "I've heard V's numbers are as high as 20? Old Wei... I mean, Dr. Victor, was there a mistake with the machine?
I think her intelligence rating of 6 is the only realistic one."
"Only your team would think there's something wrong with my machine." Victor said, amused, as he connected Rebecca's brain-computer interface and started scanning with the equipment.
Watching Rebecca eagerly, impatient to see her data, Mercer walked over to Old Wei's side to look at the numbers on the instrument.
As the data gradually appeared, Mercer's eyebrows rose slightly, and Old Wei couldn't help but cast a surprised glance at Mercer: "You've got quite a keen eye for talent, huh?"
"Right?" Mercer chuckled proudly, then turned to Rebecca, "The numbers are good."
"Physical potential 15, reflex potential 14, composure potential 13, intelligence potential... 7. Congratulations, you won, Rebecca."
Mercer made a gesture as if clapping.
While Rebecca looked at him with a slightly worried expression, "15... isn't that a bit low?"
"No, it's not low. It's already at the level of an outstanding Mercenary. It's like you're truly the child of the Legendary Mercenary Sunrise Dad; you're born for this line of work."
Mercer gave her a thumbs-up, saying seriously, "While you might not be on the level of a true Legendary Mercenary, compared to ordinary Mercenaries or Street Kids, you're already a genius."
Rebecca showed an excited expression, "Then could I get a Sianwistan? Or perhaps a Frenzy System?"
"Old Wei, what do you think?" Mercer turned to look at Victor.
After a brief pause in thought, Victor shook his head, "I'm not sure, but implants like the Sianwistan put too much strain on the body. I suggest... avoiding them if you can."
"Alright, let's be cautious. This time, let's stick with what she likes and install the Gorilla Arm, add a Krenzikov for enhanced reflexes, and inject some Nanomaterial Armor."
As Mercer spoke, Victor hesitated but finally just said, "I need to do some further checks to see if it might affect her growth.
Let's do a detailed skeletal examination, and test her growth hormone levels for safety.
Regarding the implants, my advice is to take it slow; not everyone is like you and V."
Rebecca then said, "Let's go with that! If I can't handle those three implants, then even if I thick-skinnedly pair with V on missions, I'd just be dragging her down!"
Seeing Rebecca's determined expression, Mercer and Victor exchanged a glance, and finally, Old Wei just silently proceeded with a detailed examination for her.
Just as Mercer suspected, Rebecca's development had basically reached its peak.
At fifteen, or rather sixteen in the '72 calendar, Rebecca's skeletal development was mostly mature, and her physique wouldn't undergo significant change anymore.
Perhaps she might grow another centimeter or two taller, but that'd be her growth limit. Under this condition, installing implants was feasible without worrying about changes due to further development.
"Then let's pick out the implant list."
Victor, seeing this, took out a tablet, letting Rebecca choose the models of implants she wanted to install.