In the end, Lucy remained silent about Mercer's choice.
She couldn't agree with his decision, but upon reflection, she couldn't bring herself to object either, just as Mercer had said, some things were better left unknown, but once you knew, it was impossible to stay out of it.
Especially when Mercer truly had the power to solve these problems, Lucy found it even harder to tell him to give up.
If Mercer didn't do it, who would? In this world, who else had the guts to assassinate Saburo Arasaka?
Who had the guts, and the ability, to go to the moon and duel a super AI that was pulling the strings of powers like Orbital Air and the Highriders from behind the scenes?
Lucy didn't want Mercer to do any of this, but his words weren't without reason, just the thought of Night City becoming a battlefield in the Fifth Corporate War was enough.
Everything they had worked so hard to build would be washed away. They would have to start wandering and surviving again, or even be mercilessly crushed under the wheels of war.
Then there was the thought that if Night Corp or Lilith's brainwashing technology advanced further, she could be turned into a puppet without even realizing it...
Compared to these possible outcomes, Mercer's decision did seem to be the right one. He wasn't some savior; it was just that when you knew the apocalypse was coming and was hard to escape, the best way to save everyone was to stop the apocalypse from happening.
Lucy no longer tried to aggressively sway Mercer's choice. Instead, she would just look at him with a sad and helpless expression, staying by his side.
She wanted to use this method to make Mercer understand just how afraid she was of losing him. Mercer knew what was in her heart, but he no longer had any thoughts of backing down.
Boosted by the Super Server, the Skynet system was gathering key intelligence from all over the globe with astonishing speed and efficiency. After analysis and evaluation, the results were all far from optimistic.
Mercer finally understood why Bartmoss, Alt, and the others had unanimously agreed that his appearance in the world of Cyberpunk was so important, the world's situation was visibly teetering on the brink of collapse.
Mercer couldn't tolerate his own life being dragged to hell just as it was beginning, nor was he willing to let Maine, Jackie, Rebecca, Lucy, and the others whose fates he had rewritten fall back into their original tragic destinies.
So, he had to do it. Even if it was a seemingly insane plan, even if the hope was so slim.
And once Mercer made up his mind to carry out the moon mission, everyone who had thought he was just talking started to sense that the atmosphere was a little off.
Rebecca first tried pillow talk. When that didn't work, she even went to Kyoko and then Kiwi to persuade Mercer, but he wouldn't budge.
Rebecca even had a rare, serious argument with Mercer, throwing out a statement like "I'm going to stay at the base with Pilar for a few days," which was akin to "I'm going back to my parents' house." But in the end, Mercer's attitude didn't change in the slightest.
It wasn't just his attitude, Mercer began to frequently disappear from the public eye.
Sometimes for a day or two, sometimes for a whole week.
This was all to lay the groundwork for the future moon mission, to prevent Barghest from falling into chaos during his brief absence as leader, and also to set the stage for him to shed his identity later on.
After careful consideration, Mercer officially promoted Maine to the position of second-in-command. The reason it wasn't V was, on one hand, because she was going to the moon with him, and on the other, because V wasn't interested in managing Dogtown and Barghest.
Maine's military career and his role as Barghest's head instructor had earned him considerable prestige within the group. His similar background to Colonel Hansen also gave everyone an inexplicable sense of familiarity with him.
Mercer believed that if he were to unfortunately lose contact for a short time on the moon, Maine would be able to quickly stabilize the situation and ensure Dogtown continued to operate as usual.
—--
While Mercer began purchasing and manufacturing equipment and making detailed analyses and plans for the moon mission, Songbird also started fighting for her life.
Her health was deteriorating by the day. Especially when using the Blackwall, she had felt herself on the verge of being consumed by it on multiple occasions.
To survive, the first thing Songbird had to do was find a way to escape the NUSA.
But as Militech and the NUSA's "Net-nuke humanoid warhead," Songbird wasn't even allowed to leave the base in her daily life, possessing only the bare minimum of freedom.
How to escape Washington D.C. and reach Night City became the first problem Songbird had to solve.
She asked Mercer for help, but the assistance he could offer was limited. He could only provide as much help as possible on the intelligence front; the rest was up to her.
It had to be said, Songbird was one crazy woman, the first idea that popped into her head was to steal a plane and try to fly it over herself.
And to ensure she could fly away safely, she was even bold enough to discuss with Mercer the possibility of kidnapping Myers...
Yes, she was audacious enough to want to kidnap the President of the NUSA to help her escape! And this was only part of her insane plan!
Besides that, she also thought of an escape method similar to the plot of the Dogtown DLC in the game: while Myers was on her plane, she would team up with Mercer to hack the plane's flight system.
They would remotely pilot the plane toward Night City, and then, near the city, it would have an "accidental" crash landing.
Mercer's tactful reply was, "Considering our comprehensive strength and personal safety, we currently have no plans for a direct confrontation with Militech and the NUSA."
If he were to reply in a way even V could understand, the wording would probably be: "Are you a fucking idiot? Are you trying to get me killed?"
After getting through her initial phase of impatience, Songbird quickly realized she had been a bit too hasty. She then calmed down and began to look for a reliable opportunity.
However, to her delight and Mercer's chagrin, that opportunity came far sooner and was far more troublesome than Mercer had estimated.
—--
"What?"
Mercer looked at the surveillance footage projected in his cyberoptics with a somewhat helpless expression, then sighed and fell silent.
Morning Star dutifully played the surveillance footage and some key intelligence for him.
In the footage, a black man warily scanned his surroundings before entering a fast-food restaurant, his figure then disappearing inside.
The anti-surveillance program in his cyberoptics was useless against Morning Star's breach. His face was displayed in perfect detail on the camera feed, which Morning Star then enlarged, screenshotted, and attached an incredibly detailed profile to.
[Occupation: NUSA FIA Intelligence Agent]
[Age: ...]
His profile was so detailed that it even included a clear resume of his past missions. This was because, with the active assistance of the mole Songbird, many of the NUSA's and Militech's intelligence agencies had long since become transparent to the Skynet system.
However, Mercer didn't even need Morning Star's deets to recognize him.
This well-built black man was none other than Reed, the NUSA sleeper agent in Night City who had acted with extreme professionalism and loyalty in the game's DLC.
Reed's appearance, strictly speaking, was not unexpected by Mercer. In fact, besides this NUSA agent, Mercer was also secretly monitoring many agents planted in Dogtown by various corporations and factions.
This group of agents thought they were covertly gathering intelligence in Dogtown, but in reality, ever since Mercer took power, Dogtown had become a completely monitored zone that was almost entirely transparent to his eyes.
A surveillance network composed of various unmanned devices monitored every street, every building, and even the interior of every building in Dogtown, leaving virtually no blind spots.
Mercer never rashly alerted these agents and intelligence gatherers. Instead, he monitored them and selectively allowed them to obtain certain information.
After all, if Mercer made Dogtown seem completely impenetrable, some people would probably get antsy.
Secretly monitoring these agents, on the contrary, allowed Mercer to reverse-engineer their intelligence, monitor in real-time what other factions knew and thought of him, and enabled him to deal with these factions with greater ease.
The reason Morning Star was showing Mercer the surveillance footage of Reed was, of course, not as simple as having discovered an NUSA agent.
Mercer watched the surveillance footage before him with a grave expression, after Reed entered the seemingly ordinary fast-food restaurant, the camera's perspective suddenly shifted.
Next, what Morning Star showed Mercer was footage from inside the fast-food restaurant, which was disguised as a closed-down business.
This footage, captured by a micro surveillance spiderbot, clearly recorded the entire process of how Reed entered the restaurant, used a disguised old-fashioned wall-mounted telephone to open a secure elevator, and entered a secret underground base from the elevator.
And in the underground base beneath the fast-food restaurant, besides Reed, a plainly dressed middle-aged man and a woman also appeared on the surveillance screen.
Mercer watched the screen with a frown, and Morning Star immediately reported the identities of these individuals.
Without a doubt, these two were also NUSA secret agents.
The male agent wore glasses and looked somewhat frail, with a thin build and messy clothes. If seen on the street, he would look like a down-and-out homeless man.
[Name: Edward]
[Occupation: Militech Intelligence Department Senior Agent]
[Personal History: ...]
[Analysis: This agent is often dispatched for high-level intelligence gathering and analysis work...]
Mercer glanced at it, then frowned and asked, "Militech? Generally, FIA and Militech agents don't cooperate... Could it be because of..."
"Yes, it is because of the Cynosure facility. This recording details their mission objective and plan for this operation. Please review the footage and make a decision as soon as possible."
As Morning Star spoke, it fast-forwarded the footage and increased the volume, quickly moving to the key moment for Mercer to see for himself.
Mercer watched the surveillance footage. On the screen, the female agent among the three was showing some anxiety and agitation.
"Reed, do you have any idea how many cameras are in Dogtown now? And you still want us to meet up to talk... Dammit, I'm really worried we're about to get rounded up by Barghest!"
Alex, this female agent, who shared Mercer's alias, was named Alex. She appeared delicate, but in reality, she was the user of a high-end Sandevistan.
Normally, she used a Behavioral Imprint-Synced Faceplate to disguise herself as an ordinary bar owner, doing business in Dogtown's black market.
But in reality, she was a 'sleeper' agent for the NUSA, abandoned in Night City when the NUSA pulled out, just like Reed.
Despite her endless complaints, when the NUSA promised her she could retire to a life of luxury in Europe after one last job, Alex unhesitatingly answered the call and returned to her old profession.
Reed's expression was calm as he said in a steady voice, "I've checked for all possible surveillance cameras, and there's a signal jammer here. No need to worry."
Alex just sneered, "No need to worry? I think you have no idea how advanced Barghest's equipment is now!"
"We're already here, so stop arguing. Even if we're exposed, arguing now is pointless."
The Militech agent, Edward, played the peacemaker. He sat relaxed in a chair in the underground base and looked at the two of them. "Have you all received the specific mission deets?"
"Are you sure the information you gathered is correct? I haven't heard anything... related to that." Alex was so cautious she didn't even dare to mention any specific nouns, omitting them entirely.
Edward shrugged. "Choom, even if you don't trust the intel from upstairs, you have to trust my eyes. The signs of large-scale excavation can't escape my notice."
"What exactly happened there?" Alex turned to look at Reed. "You have to tell me clearly, or I'd rather abandon the mission."
Reed said expressionlessly, "It's precisely because we don't know what happened that we need to go take a look, isn't it?"
"Go in and gather intel under Barghest's surveillance?" Alex laughed in disbelief. "Great. If they haven't found that place, we might just lead them right to it. And if they have found it, then we're one hundred percent going to be exposed!"
Edward looked displeased. "Are you underestimating these guys a little too much?"
Alex sneered, then looked at Reed. "You think so too?"
"No. If I underestimated them, I wouldn't have requested from my superiors that you must be involved, Edward, Alex is right. The Dogtown of today is indeed more dangerous than when Hansen was in charge."
Reed spoke with a mix of awe and caution, "On my way here, I observed at least fifteen new hidden cameras. What's even more terrifying is that these cameras sometimes suddenly change position... I suspect we were being monitored the moment we entered Dogtown. Even here..."
Reed scanned the layout of the underground base again, but for a moment, he couldn't find Mercer's newest spy spiderbots, which were equipped with Optical Camo and Thermal Coating.
"I can't guarantee that we are one hundred percent safe and not being bugged either."
Reed said calmly, then looked at Alex. "But this is also part of the plan, even if we're discovered by them, even if our conversation is being bugged, it doesn't matter."
"That's just like you, Reed. Same old tricks. Willing to use yourself as bait just to be a good dog..." Alex's mocking words didn't cause the slightest change in Reed's expression.
Reed just said calmly, "This is just basic professionalism, isn't it?"
Alex couldn't help but mock him with a laugh, "That's right. Getting backstabbed by your own people, shot a dozen times, and then not getting a single eurodollar in pay for years. You go work as a security guard, I go work as a bartender, like rats forgotten in the sewer. And now you need us to talk about professionalism? This profession is just great, Reed. What did they promise you? A Medal of Honor? Ha!"
Edward listened with fascination. "From the sound of it, you FIA guys are even shadier than the corps. At least our pay is pretty high..."
"Enough." Reed couldn't stand it when people mocked the NUSA behind his back. His face darkened for a rare moment, not that it was very noticeable on him.
He stared at the two of them and said seriously, "You both know very well how important that place is to Militech and the NUSA. Most importantly, if the things inside fall into the hands of someone with ambition, you know what terrible things could happen. Our objective is simple: go there, check the situation, and then further verify the intelligence that needs to be verified. Once everything is clear, we can leave this place. According to the intelligence, Mercer isn't a completely violent person. Even if we're exposed, it's not impossible that we could make a deal. If necessary, talking to him directly is also an option."
Alex still didn't look pleased, just sneering, "Great. But I'm not planning on meeting him and asking him personally, 'Oh, my dear Dogtown boss, did you steal our stuff?'... Dammit, do you have any idea how many people he killed for a smooth transition? Over a hundred were purged from within Barghest, and a dozen agents from various corps throughout Dogtown were eliminated! Some were even hanged from trees!"
"That's because Arasaka attacked them before. It was a means of warning and establishing authority."
Reed, however, just continued in his steady tone, "Considering Militech's history of cooperation with him, as well as analytical testimony provided by some internal personnel, Mercer's personality isn't one to look for trouble."
Hearing this, Mercer, who was watching the surveillance recording, couldn't help but grin, if this guy knew he was about to look for trouble all the way on the moon, he wondered what kind of expression he'd have.
Mercer shook his head and started to fast-forward the recording, while asking Morning Star, "Their goal is to find out whether we've discovered the Cynosure facility?"
"To be precise, they suspect that Dogtown's explosive technological progress is because we are using the rogue AI from the Cynosure facility... the one that was already taken by Alt."
As soon as those words were out, Mercer's expression changed slightly as he immediately realized the trouble. "So... they're here looking for that rogue AI that was once thrown into the Neural Matrix?"
But that thing...
Alt had already taken it