"Simply put, you've been used as a test subject by Ye Corporation. They're developing technology that can change human cognitive processes. In other words, technology that can transform you into a completely different person without you even knowing it.
Your ideals, life aspirations, morals—everything has been pre-programmed by them, especially since they set their sights on you when you were just a child...
I'm not sure how many things they've tested on you, but I guess there's not much left that can be salvaged."
Mercer looked calmly at Bruce and said, "Your personality, moral views, worldview, you could say, were all set by Ye Corporation when they hadn't even fully formed, and now they are fully complete."
"You mean, everything about me is fake? Who am I? Am I really Bruce?"
Bruce, who never showed such an expression even when tortured by the Vortex Gang—now, he looked close to tears, a complete emotional breakdown.
"It's true, and not true. Let me put it this way... If you were an adult and were modified after reaching adulthood, maybe you could still seek your former 'real self'.
But you... you've been used to test this technology since you were a kid. There's no talk of any real self anymore. You are the Night Shadow Hero, and the Night Shadow Hero is you."
Mercer's words left Bruce even more shattered: "So, what am I, really? Was becoming the Night Shadow Hero the dream Ye Corporation gave me? What am I supposed to do now, what can I do?"
"Forget everything from the past, and start anew."
That's all Mercer could say: "At least from now on, everything you feel, every conclusion you come to, will be your own answer."
Bruce slumped to the ground, staring at a new cigar in his hand that seemed to appear out of nowhere. He spoke with a hint of despair, "How do I know if the answers I come up with later will really be mine? Why are they doing this?"
"I don't know. I don't know you. You'll need to make that judgment yourself, and also..."
After a moment of silence, Mercer said, "More importantly, you should think about what you'll live on if Ye Corporation freezes your assets."
Bruce looked up angrily, only to then lower his head in defeat: "Ha, property... it doesn't matter anymore. Do those things really belong to me?"
"At least the part you've spent belongs to you. You are indeed Bruce Will, and your parents did die from a robbery. The money you got from selling to Ye Corporation was rightfully yours.
Maybe you should consider getting a lawyer or something, see if they've hacked your money. Get back whatever you can."
Mercer finished speaking, even finding it a bit amusing himself, considering filing a lawsuit against Ye Corporation in Night City?
But funnier still, this might be the only company that an ordinary person could potentially succeed in suing.
Bruce sat there as if dead, saying nothing.
V looked shocked, "No, A, you're saying Ye Corporation can already brainwash people unknowingly?"
"Brainwash? You could say that," Mercer replied. "But for now, the technology is still not perfect. Even for someone like Bruce, who's been under their control for a long time, there's still a sense of something being off."
"What the hell do these corporate dogs want? Now they're even messing with people's consciousness and thoughts?"
V felt an unexplainable anger welling up inside her. The idea that she might unknowingly become a stranger to herself sent chills down her spine.
Rebecca was also quite shaken by what she saw today; she was even a little scared. "What's Ye Corporation's goal? Why brainwash Bruce to this extent?"
"I guess it's to retake the city, and in a sense, they want this city to improve."
Mercer spoke calmly: "I'm not saying Ye Corporation is doing this out of good intentions, but they have a greater desire to see Night City with order and peace, to build it into something like a commercial utopia. But..."
He turned the conversation and sighed: "I don't know their ultimate goal, but I'm very sure, living in a city controlled by Ye Corporation would just be another kind of life without hope, which might be worse than now."
As long as companies remain, as long as this city is dominated by a corporation, there will never be hope or a future for people.
Moreover, Night City has a very unique geographic location, right at the junction of Northern California and Southern California. It's the largest port city on the West Coast, a strategic point coveted by many.
New America won't let go of this place, and the Free State wouldn't want it to be reclaimed by New America either. Those companies hoping to take root and conduct business on the New American continent wouldn't want such a city monopolized by any powerful force.
This place is destined to become a battlefield again. The New American War of Unification, nominally concluded, just needs a catalyst to restart, and then Night City would become the front line in that war.
Mercer turned his head and looked at the Sword in the Stone in the container for a moment and sighed: "That car... I'll leave it to you. Ye Corporation said they wouldn't consider it as part of your frozen assets."