"Oh~ I don't believe it." Mercer confidently raised his chin, "I've got two hearts in my chest now, buddy. You might affect one, but the other can house a steady girl, so not much impact."
Sasha really had nothing to say this time, admitting defeat: "Hmm... let's just check out the drone feed Lucy shared..."
But Mercer had actually been multitasking, watching the outside situation all along. At the moment, he said easily, "No need to look, Rebecca just blasted that Voodoo Gang car with a shotgun herself.
Reinforcements haven't arrived yet... but Venus said the other side is organizing and starting to gather. Looks like they're planning to amass their forces and then try to take us all down in one go."
Sasha frowned slightly, "V and Rebecca might be fine, but Jack Mann and the others..."
"Don't worry, V and Rebecca won't give them a chance for close combat. When those guys approach the street, V and Rebecca will definitely take the initiative."
Mercer watched the drone feed with interest, while also taking over control of the robotic dog next to him.
He moved the robotic dog flexibly a few times, then let it dash straight out.
"Your helmet can directly connect to unmanned devices?" Sasha's eyes lit up.
"Uh-huh, just a basic function, you want one?" Mercer said with a smile.
Sasha immediately flashed a cute smile, winking at him, "I want a pretty cat helmet. I can sketch a design for you!"
"Get in line, after I finish mine, it's Lucy's turn, then Qiwei's, and finally yours."
Mercer finished, and Sasha looked pitiful, her big eyes staring sadly at him, "How long will that take~ I know I joined late, but I've been working hard on every team assignment!
I've been the one doing most of the dangerous infiltration and hacking work~"
"Well, it depends on how much V and Rebecca can earn from this show of force. Once the money comes in, I'll make more functional Octopus Arms first.
Then the production speed of the gear can significantly increase. Maybe in two or three months, we can get everyone fitted with new equipment."
Mercer said, admiring her cute face, but showed no intention of letting her cut in line.
Sasha puffed her cheeks, but then just smiled, "Alright~ just a few months. As you say, good things come to those who wait."
The Octopus Arm on Mercer's shoulder supported itself like a step on the ground, holding Mercer's foot steady and making him more comfortable while sitting on the high platform:
"But you can send me your cat helmet design in advance, I need to check the shape and consider the functional layout."
"Okay!" Sasha agreed immediately, afraid he might change his mind, laughing, "When you make it, I'll treat you to a meal!"
Mercer lightly hummed in response, but his attention was focused on the robotic dog.
...
Outside on the street, those homeless people and early risers had already sensed something wrong and fled— in Night City, if you want to grow up alive, you have to have some perceptiveness.
V's group, fierce and fully armed, acted as sentinels by the door, and a car burning fiercely on the street now was almost reduced to its skeleton.
In the distance, there was a faint but steady engine noise, rumbling nearer.
[Mercer: Enemy vehicles approximately 12 cars, 8 motorcycles, a total of 62 personnel, led by the Voodoo Gang's second-in-command, oh, now should say leader, Placid.
He's only equipped with the Frenzy Operating System, in a heavy body mod, nothing much, but one henchman is equipped with Sianwistan, sitting on a car with a fluorescent blue skull on the hood.
Four heavy machine guns, eight light machine guns, the rest are basically conventional firepower, but I see someone loading a large electronic warfare device onto a car, so remember to maintain team network connections.
I'll use the connection to the Sea God Server to give them a surprise.]
[Jack: I've climbed to the roof of the building next to the church. I'll suppress them hard with the heavy machine gun in a bit.]
[Mercer: Be careful, Mano, don't get targeted.]
[Mann: I've handed over the armored vehicle's mounted machine gun to Dolio. I'm setting an ambush with a rocket launcher at the church's ten o'clock direction. Once they show up, I'll hit their lead vehicle, see if we can disable their convoy and force them to be attacked on both sides of the street.]
[V: Rebecca, I want to see how powerful those micro-missiles Mercer installed for you are.]
[Rebecca: Ha, I also want to see if your shoulder cannon packs a punch!]
[Lucy: Qiwei and I are using unmanned explosive robots, waiting near the ambush zone. Fire at the convoy, and we'll follow up.]
[Pira: Shooting angle is perfect, can see the entire street. Should I just take out that Placid fellow?]
[Mercer: Don't let that idiot die an easy death. I really don't like him.]
[V: Got a personal grudge?]
[Mercer: I guess I just didn't like him in a past life—anyway, I just don't like the sight of him.]
When playing the game, the first time Mercer chose to cooperate with the Voodoo Gang, he got screwed over by that bastard. The nerve of that guy to threaten him through in-game messages! So pissed off, he loaded a saved game and chose to partner with Internet Supervision, taking out that whole brainless bunch.