Even Qiwei, who usually doesn't talk much, was expressing her support at this moment.
Only V was slightly taken aback, feeling a bit uncomfortable as she placed her hands on the table in front of her: "You all feel this way? But it's... 7 million Euros!"
She only now realized that it seemed she was the only one who found it hard to accept the fact that the family suddenly ran out of money.
"What? Suddenly feel like you're making a fuss over nothing?" Rebecca said with a cheerful smile.
But V remained silent, unusually not quarreling with her, just lowering her head with a very complicated expression.
Mercer laughed, reaching out to place his hand on the back of V's hand: "What's wrong? No one is blaming you here."
V inexplicably felt her eyes redden, unable to articulate why, she just turned her head away: "...I don't think you did anything wrong, I just feel..."
"I know." Mercer squeezed her hand gently and then withdrew his own, smiling warmly at her: "I understand what you're thinking, and everyone actually knows...
Just think about it, a big family suddenly wins a huge lottery prize, and before the money is even warm in their hands, someone says it's spent and asks their siblings for money...
Even though everyone knows he won't squander money, in their hearts, they'll inevitably feel anxious, eager to find out where it all went, because this isn't a small amount of money."
"Stop, it's me..."
V was just about to stand up when Rebecca pulled her back down with brute force, and for once, Rebecca gazed at her with a gentle expression:
"V, no one thinks you did anything wrong; you just feel uncomfortable with how quickly the money is being spent, not aligning with your understanding of money. Everyone gets it.
After all, nobody here has earned that much money before; forget about hundreds of thousands or millions. A month ago, if someone had offered Pira 10,000 Euros, he'd be happy to sell his own rump.
With all that money gone in the blink of an eye, and you even have to take out your own savings for the family...I understand, truly.
But you have to think about it: wouldn't Mercer be anxious? Colonel Hansen at Dog Town might be secretly watching us right now!
And the biotech job isn't done. When the time comes, we might have to tussle with those corporate lapdogs.
We also need to figure out a way to get a source of stable income for ourselves and consider upgrading our gear...
Plus, everyone can see that Mercer probably ran to Night City after some big trouble, possibly with other big troubles tailing him.
People like you and me, as long as we have money for good food and drink, can afford luxury cars, and show off on the street, we feel satisfied and happy.
But Mercer, in the end, has more to consider, looking further ahead to plan..."
Rebecca's gentle and soothing manner was something even Pira found extraordinary, and the others were a bit startled by it.
Even V lost her temper, sitting quietly in place, listening to her speak.
"Besides, you didn't know at first what he was doing with the money, so hurrying to confirm with everyone was normal, wasn't it?
If Pira dared to knock on my door today and say he's out of money and ask to borrow some...I promise, he'd be blown away by my Iron Gall."
After Rebecca finished, Pira felt a bit wronged: "Damn, why do you keep using me as an example!"
"What, did I say something wrong?" Rebecca stood with her hands on her hips, glaring at him in disdain: "Look at him, then look at you. Mercer earned all that money and couldn't even bring himself to drive a Sword in the Stone; he sold it to buy equipment for the base. You, on the other hand, just subscribed to Liz's premium service?"
I really want Old Wei to perform surgery on you; maybe if he cuts something off, you'd be more reliable?"
Pira pouted, just muttering: "Of course, he's got all those pretty girls around him looking at him longingly..."
"Hmm?"
A unanimous sound rang out, with several pairs of chilly eyes simultaneously casting glances at Pira.
Pira immediately raised his hands, mimicking a zipper motion on his mouth before quickly walking away: "Ahem, now the issue is clarified; I have things to do, I'll be going!"
"Alright, since everything is clear, and Mercer has explained where the money was spent, and no one has objections to him borrowing money to buy that nano-lithography thing...then we can go back to sleep, right?"
Rebecca said as she smiled and stood up.
V pressed her lips, and said: "Alright, Mercer, I..."
She couldn't find anything appropriate to say, but Mercer just smiled and patted her on the shoulder: "What's with you, looking like you suddenly made a mistake; just consider it my fault, next time when we spend money, let's have a proper meeting to discuss it!"
"Damn..." Her face grew a bit flushed, but she couldn't articulate anything more, and could only mutter softly: "Just know that I'm not blaming you, I just think you spent the money too suddenly..."
"I know, next time when spending money, we'll have a meeting to discuss it in advance." Mercer said with a smile, patting her head as he watched her cover her head without uttering a word, then he left the room with a cheerful grin.
Rebecca, on the other hand, appeared mischievous, glancing around her left and right, eventually saying with a bit of regret: "I should've comforted you a bit later, maybe I could've seen you shed a tear or two."
"Go to hell! Don't ever expect to see me cry in your lifetime!" V said grumpily, then awkwardly extended her hand, rubbing her hair: "Thanks."
"Damn, I just washed my hair!" Rebecca glared at her with dissatisfaction.