Besides...
Looking at a few corpses on the hacker chair, along with two other hackers shot dead by the automated turrets, Placid took a deep breath and clenched his fist.
These were the strongest hackers in their Voodoo Gang!
"I will find out who did this! No matter who it is! We will make them pay the price! I promise, Brigitte!"
After finishing his words, Placid waved his hand energetically, filled with murderous intent, and turned to leave: "Let's go, we'll investigate right now!"
Brigitte did not respond, she just stared blankly at everything before her, as if experiencing a sudden nightmare.
...
[Venus: Why don't you try hacking me directly into the Sea God Server to wipe them out?]
In the Cyber World at this moment, Mercer, standing on a giant dragon, patrolled the Taiping Prefecture's network like a Celestial God inspecting his domain, occasionally dropping surveillance programs and the like.
"First, if they're fast enough to unplug the server, you'd be trapped inside there, wouldn't you?"
Mercer spoke, stroking the fur of Venus cradled in his arms: "Second, completely destroying the Voodoo Gang in Taiping Prefecture is not beneficial to us at present."
[Venus: Could you elaborate on your thoughts?]
"We don't have enough manpower right now to take over the entire market and territory vacated by the Voodoo Gang. Defeating them would only benefit the Animal Gang or Hua Tiao."
Mercer explained.
[Venus: You want to maintain the current balanced situation in Taiping Prefecture?]
"That's right, power doesn't allow for a vacuum. Until we have the capability to fill that gap, it's better to maintain the current structure."
Mercer spoke to Venus as if educating a child: "The Hua Tiao in Dog Town, Animal Gang, and even Hans, all hope for the collapse of the Voodoo Gang, but their downfall doesn't benefit us.
The most direct consequence is, once the Voodoo Gang collapses in Taiping Prefecture, the Animal Gang could easily take over all of Taiping Prefecture's territory, and Hua Tiao could inherit the Voodoo Gang's remaining assets.
Hans could comfortably sit in Dog Town, balancing the forces of the Dog Town Voodoo Gang with the Animal Gang outside.
Then where is our value? We might end up clashing with the Voodoo Gang in Dog Town, and if we win, we'd become another pawn for Hans, pitted against the Animal Gang."
After Mercer finished speaking, Venus understood his intention.
[Venus: So it would be better to maintain the status quo, letting the forces in Taiping Prefecture remain in this relatively fragmented state. As a neutral force, it's easier for us to profit from it.
Once we've spread our wings, we can then break the balance and decide what position to take in Taiping Prefecture.]
"Exactly." Mercer said, stretching lazily: "In the following days, you will be responsible for using the server to monitor Taiping Prefecture's network. If anyone from the Voodoo Gang wants revenge, show them our might.
I'll also give you the 'Desire for Death' program. Your primary tasks during this time are threefold.
First, assist me in testing the 'ctOS' system.
Second, monitor Taiping Prefecture's network. If any Voodoo Gang member still seeks death, send him to his demise, and tell them I call the shots here in this domain.
Third, fully understand the core code of Desire for Death, turning its power into your own."
[Venus: Understood, I guarantee the task will be completed!]
The cat on Mercer's shoulder affectionately nuzzled against his cheek before disappearing.
Mercer then returned to his IP address, beginning to tailor the appearance of his server—or rather, crafting an impressive facade.
Since Mercer plans to have several constantly connected programs running via the server, it's likely that his server would remain in a 'visible' state in the Cyber World.
Even if he deliberately hid it, sustained network fluctuations would certainly arouse suspicion, so it's better to openly flaunt its presence, masking its true intent of being online.
As for potential Voodoo Gang retaliation?
Mercer was even less concerned.
If he were afraid of retribution from the Voodoo Gang, he shouldn't have taken the commission in the first place.
Street life is nothing but a cycle of you kill me, I kill you, and relentless revenge; such incidents are common in Night City, usually persisting until one side is annihilated.
And about other hackers attempting to hack in?
Hehe...
It didn't take Mercer long to configure the server's appearance.
He designed the server's gateway to resemble the grandiose doors of the South Heavenly Gate from Journey to the West, with the server's core concealed within a series of magnificent yet antiquated structures shrouded in an electronic haze.
From a distance, it looked like a Celestial Palace partially obscured by a massive gate, with two armored ICE programs transformed into gatekeepers standing at the entrance.
Mercer thought for a moment about placing on the South Heavenly Gate's archway and felt that the name Orion didn't quite match the architectural style, so he opted for a flame emblem instead. A large Chinese character '猎' was emblazoned on the armored guards' capes.
This looked much more pleasing now.
With everything set, Mercer chose to log off and sent a message to Hans.
[A: I burned their Sea God; I doubt they'll be online any time soon.]