Mercer said, "On the other hand, I also can't really explain why I know about the stuff going on in her family... And I'm worried about her getting emotional.
If she ends up thinking she needs to pay a blood debt for a blood debt and goes all out against the biotech, wouldn't I be leading her to her death?"
V was silent for a moment, realizing this was indeed a tough situation.
She scratched her head irritably and finally said with frustration, "Then I don't know either, do what you think is right... Damn, how many disgusting things have these biotech people done?"
"Human experimentation, illegal human modifications, large-scale poisoning, adding illegal chemicals to food, secretly modifying dangerous animals and releasing them back into the wild to harm people..."
Mercer listed them off one by one, and V didn't say a word, stewing in silence for a while, then turned to him, "Mercer, tell me, how can we make biotech companies pay?"
Through Diana's case, she realized that just exposing some dark secrets and scandalous behaviors wouldn't really harm such companies.
Even if a group of ambitious top workers died, more people would engage in similar deeds at biotech for promotions and pay raises. V didn't know how to end this cycle.
"Aren't we working on it bit by bit?" He smiled, turned his head to V, and said softly, "Sooner or later, we'll do it, make those heartless bastards go to hell."
"...Mm." V awkwardly turned her head away, "Don't look at me like that..."
"Really? Still not used to it?" Mercer teased.
"Damn, if you were being stared at by Lucy like that, would you feel comfortable?" V asked.
"... Actually, it's not bad." Mercer truthfully said, Lucy had talked to him like that too.
"... My problem?" V fell into self-doubt.
"Your problem."
With Mercer's words, the car fell into a long silence.
...
Two days later, the Spark Team gathered again for their first 'family meeting' in the underground base.
In the living room, the TV's volume was turned down to the lowest, and Mercer sat at the head of the dining table used as a conference table, smiling as he cleared his throat, then said,
"This meeting, there's nothing else, just to split the money."
As soon as he finished, Pira let out an excited shout of "oh," clapping his big hands enthusiastically.
Rebecca, sitting next to Pira, was a bit embarrassed by his antics, but her little face couldn't hide her excitement as she looked expectantly at Mercer.
The unfunded Kyoko sat obediently beside her, clapping happily with Pira, seeming more excited than Qiwei, who sat at the far end with merely a smile.
V symbolically clapped briefly, then eagerly stared at him, "Quick, tell us, how much did we earn this time?"
"Not much, just... 7.28 million Euros." Mercer said with a smile, placing his hands in front of him.
At the moment this number was spoken, everyone was silent for a moment, as if running the number through their minds.
Then, came a series of joyful cheers.
Pira's eyes sparkled as he entered a daydream—if all that money belonged to him, he could stay in Cloud Peak forever... Damn, it's like a dream!
V gasped, slumping back into her chair, "I—damn, I'm—I'm financially free!"
"Free my ass, keep dreaming." Mercer rolled his eyes, then chuckled, "Alright, let's stop talking and do the math!"
"First, the three million euros for the information sold to Rogue is part of the follow-up payment for the previous biotech commission, to be split according to the existing percentages.
40% goes to the team, the remaining 60%, 30% each goes to V and me, the remaining four participants get 10% each."
Mercer paused briefly, not giving them time to calculate, then continued, "The remaining 4.28 million Euros came from private gigs that Rebecca, V, and I worked on.
The pawn of the Sword in the Stone to the Old Captain, and some stock market gains, so I plan to apply a 20% cut for private work."
As soon as he finished, V and Rebecca exchanged a glance, and then V opened up, "Mercer, we've thought about it, let's treat this money like a team commission."
Before Mercer could respond, V seriously said, "Everyone can see that the money spent on this base, inside and out, can't be covered by team funds alone. You must've put in a lot yourself.
Since we're a team, there's no reason for just you to cover the extra expenses.
So, whatever happens later, but now at the start of the team's formal building, money is needed everywhere, so, deduct 40%."
Hearing this, Mercer couldn't help but smile, "Are you sure? That's 20% of four million euros."
"Damn! Do you think I can't do math? Alright, it's decided, deduct 40%, Rebecca and I will split the remaining portion 20% each." V glared at him.
Rebecca grinned, "But you said, we should treat the team as a family... Mercer, the money we're getting is already a lot."
"Alright, then let's go with your calculation."
Mercer's mind quickly went through the accounts, and then he calculated the split.
Starting with the 4.28 million portion, after deducting 1.71 million Euros for team funds, the remaining 2.57 million would be split with 60% to Mercer and 20% each to the other two.