"Even the prosthetic eyes you're using now, I think their overall performance is slightly inferior to the high-end custom products from Qilu Company."
"I get it, Old Wei, your prices are fair. If it weren't for your dislike of things pulled off dead bodies, I'd be tempted to bring you a batch whenever I'm free..."
Mercer's words made Old Wei chuckle helplessly: "Don't get involved in that... I never deal with folks like Cleaner Fish."
"Uh-huh, coincidentally, I don't like that trash either... Rest assured, I'm not some kind of killer."
Mercer got up, feeling relaxed, and glanced at Pan'an: "Old Wei, I've got to go, head over to Misty's for a reading, buy some stuff, and I've got business tonight."
"Alright, take care on the way...
By the way, I renamed your prosthetics, wiped the logo, and if someone scans with prosthetic eyes, it'll only show a special lab model.
You can rename it in the program yourself, so from the data, it'll appear as custom goods.
I also fixed the backdoors, you can slowly go through it yourself again."
Old Wei finished speaking and noticed that he received some data from Mercer through the brain-computer interface.
"I sent you a program, the 'Free Assassin V1.0 Official Version' that I use myself.
Ninety-nine percent of prosthetics can be directly hacked to remove backdoors; you can install it on your machine.
The one you're using isn't thorough enough and affects the prosthetic's efficiency.
Consider it a meeting gift. Oh, and... Is your brain up to handling it? Should I send it to your computer?"
Mercer joked with a smile.
Old Wei shook his head and said, "Not used to putting data in my brain, just send it over, I'll download it on the computer."
"Alright."
Mercer winked:
"Corporate-level ICE, ninety-nine percent of hackers would be scratching their heads, and the rest would find it tricky.
Unless it's a badass hacker like me, or someone plugs a USB into your clinic's server computer, otherwise your clinic is absolutely safe."
"Thanks, Mercer."
Old Wei accepted without much fuss, knowing that friendships are built this way.
"I'll be off then."
Mercer waved at Pan'an, who handed him his T-shirt. Mercer glanced down at his somewhat skinny body, a bit dissatisfied.
Logically, his muscle strength shouldn't be bad, his talent isn't low... Guess he hasn't been eating well along the way.
Need to eat more!
"Go ahead, kid. Reach out any time." Old Wei said warmly, "Exercise more when you have time, it also helps with accommodating prosthetics."
"Okay, bye."
Mercer and Pan'an left together.
Once outside, Pan'an, who had been holding back for a while, finally spoke freely: "Damn, Mercer, that wire in your arm can fetch a hundred thousand!? And that worn-out mantis blade, fifteen thousand!?
Did we just casually walk in here with goods worth tens of thousands? My god..."
"Uh-huh, Arasaka hacker-special single molecule line—though it's mass-produced, the market price starts at twelve thousand, and mine is the new version, which goes for fifteen thousand.
The mantis blade is even pricier, the Therm Mantis Blade could be considered black tech. Even the Anti-Terrorism Mobile Squad doesn't have anything this good, really wanting to buy it from Arasaka would start at thirty thousand, depending on connections."
Mercer said, watching Cassidy's bank account number skyrocket, feeling utterly satisfied.
"And that Sianwistan, I plan to dump it on the black market for twenty thousand.
Thinking about it, it's such a loss... But if I had connections to find a client who wouldn't expose me, that thing would easily start at thirty or forty thousand in value..."
Mercer suddenly had a thought: "However, if it's for someone on our own team to use..."
Maybe V Zhen Tian could handle it?
But giving her something this top-notch... She might think Mercer wants to take care of her.
It's worth ten times her current life.
So let's hold onto it and see if we can hit it off with the current V.
If V is willing to work for him, sell it to her on loan, let her work it off—wouldn't that be the best of both worlds?
Even if it's just twenty thousand, it's like hiring V Zhen Tian with 20,000 Euros to work for him, with V's personality, she wouldn't run off with the money; isn't this far better than selling on the black market?
Selling on the black market could still lead to trouble.
The more Mercer thought about it, the more he felt it was worth a shot.
"Don't mess around recklessly with yourself." Pan'an rolled her eyes, accompanying him into Misty's Spirit Communication Shop, advising, "Aren't you afraid of going crazy?"
"I never said it's for me... Have you had your reading here? What were the results?"
Mercer asked as they entered Misty's Spirit Communication House, where Misty had been waiting for a long time.
The crystal ball on the table was set aside, and a stack of Tarot cards lay on the table, accompanied by two steaming cups of coffee.
"Uh..."
Pan'an's expression was somewhat complicated: "Something about a Hermit, a High Priestess, and the Wheel of Fortune..."
"It was a reversed Hermit, a reversed High Priestess, and a miraculous Wheel of Fortune." Misty displayed a gentle smile: "Please, have a seat."
"Basically, it was saying that I was initially very unlucky, lost, would leave my family, and descend into prolonged bewilderment and wastefulness.
But then suddenly, a Wheel of Fortune turned it all around,
indicating that if I start thinking wisely and making smart decisions now, I can change my original fate and embark on a different path...
That's about it."
Pan'an seemed a bit skeptical about the reading outcome. If Mercer hadn't said the readings were accurate, she would have thought Misty was about to sell her some trinkets to change her fate any moment now.
"Yeah, that's about it...
But what I must mention is, this kind of reading is quite rare.
Because a reversed High Priestess usually represents the result of deep contemplation, while a reversed Hermit card symbolizes a strong and unchangeable reality.
After these two cards, a Wheel of Fortune appeared...
I've been doing readings for so long, and this is the first time I've encountered such a scenario.
This indicates that Miss Pan'an has met someone truly fortunate, and it's this person who has changed her fate."
Misty's smile and voice were gentle, ethereal, as she gazed intently at Mercer, her eyes filled with intrigue:
"I think, perhaps you are that fortunate one... Care for a reading? I'm very interested in your fate!"
"Sure."
Mercer felt a little shocked by the accuracy of the reading—surprisingly accurate!
He watched as Misty shuffled the Tarot cards before spreading them out.
"Choose three cards," she said.
Mercer carefully picked three cards, which Misty placed in order, and then he eagerly looked at Misty.
Here we go! The moment of unveiling fate has arrived!