Mercer knew exactly who he should see first.
He arranged a meeting with Stout and the heads of Kangtao, then packed up what he found valuable in the Sea God and sent it to Bryce. After that, Mercer instructed V and Rebecca to put on their armor once more to accompany him to meet Hansen.
The underground facilities of the stadium were as usual. In Hansen's reception room, the table was already set with cola and whiskey. Behind a glass window, the device development room, the lab coats inside wore grim expressions, pretending to be busy.
Mercer had become famous, but in contrast, other research and development personnel who received salaries from Hansen like him were again subjected to Hansen's chilling gaze, making their scalps tingle.
Hansen genuinely had to concede—he spent so much money and gathered so many people, yet the progress and speed of a group of people's equipment development were still not as good as Mercer, a mere mercenary youth.
Mercer's approach of doing things just for money had long made him displeased, especially since Mercer had secretly gotten on good terms with many in the Netherworld Dog, causing alarm bells to ring in Hansen's mind.
Yet ironically, Hansen could not do without Mercer's technology, be it network technology or equipment development technology, which was incredibly crucial for the Netherworld Dog at the moment.
An uncontrollable young genius, yet knowledgeable of various secrets of the Netherworld Dog, wealthy and well-connected, and steadily gaining prestige within the Netherworld Dog...
Hansen's apprehension towards Mercer was understandable.
But when they met, both Mercer and Hansen greeted each other with a friendly smile.
"Colonel Hansen." Mercer's helmet and the octopus arm on his shoulder caught Hansen's eye, but what held his attention most were the two distinctly styled sets of armor on Rebecca and V.
"You rascal, when did you sneakily develop such formidable stuff without giving me a heads-up?" Hansen laughed; his words made it hard to distinguish whether he was joking or complaining.
Yet Mercer knew well that Hansen was undoubtedly displeased, so he merely replied with a smile: "Because these pieces of equipment are still in the testing phase, their practicality is currently minimal.
So, there was no need to inform Major Hansen; it would have been a waste of the colonel's time if it turned out to be a false alarm, wouldn't it?"
"Minimal practicality? You managed to crush Taiping Prefecture's Voodoo Gang with just these things," Hansen said with feigned dissatisfaction: "With insiders, you shouldn't keep secrets."
"That was because those punks in Taiping Prefecture were so weak," Mercer said with a chuckle. "Even if the Netherworld Dog just dispatched an elite squad along with some Minotaur Robots, they could achieve similar results, don't you think?"
"Capable of individual flight, compatible with Sianwistan and the Frenzy Operating System, immune to conventional firepower coverage, and clearly with strength amplification..."
Hansen listed like a connoisseur, showing a slightly reproachful expression: "The Netherworld Dog doesn't have such good stuff. If you just let V and Rebecca handle the Netherworld Dog with these two sets of armor, I guess it would be hard for the Netherworld Dog to organize an effective counterattack."
"Isn't that why I came to discuss it with Colonel Hansen immediately after the field tests?" Mercer chuckled as he sat opposite Hansen.
Behind Hansen, the once ferocious high-level member of the Netherworld Dog, Bennett, now showed a genial smile and nodded at Mercer.
Now, he just drooled over the armors of V and Rebecca — he truly wanted such good stuff!
Mercer didn't waste any words. The laptop held by the octopus arm was placed on the table, and he began directly showing Hansen the equipment's specifications.
"V's set of armor compatible with Sianwistan is the most expensive. If Colonel Hansen is interested, for six million euros, I can make you a similar one."
Mercer's words made it hard for Hansen to keep his composure—he knew Mercer wanted to make money, but was he treating Hansen like a fool?
But subsequently, Mercer's words stirred Hansen's heart.
"This kind of Sianwistan-compatible armor, in my vision, isn't designed for widespread equipment. It's meant to be custom-grade armor equipped only for a very select few gifted enough to be compatible with the Sianwistan system.
Made with full nanometer metal, built-in nanometer combat suits, electric drive designed by myself, and an integrated neural adaptive operating system, it minimizes the delay between mech and human reaction speed...
Mercer began eloquently detailing the armor's personal configurations, from flight speed to armor thickness, and particularly emphasized:
"The two sets you're seeing are merely the initial version. The reason I chose this close-fitting personal armor rather than an exoskeleton-like design.
It's because, in my vision, this armor can function as a mobile weapon station, adaptable to various large-scale combat equipment.
When facing armored units, it can be outfitted with anti-armor weapons, while in urban or street engagements, it can be equipped with personnel offensive equipment as a priority..."
Hansen said with feigned composure: "But where are the compatible weapons? If it's just this set of armor, a price of six million euros... it's not exactly a cheap price."
Mercer just gave a confident smile: "Is six million euros really that expensive? Can you buy a Chimera Main Battle Tank for that price? Or do you plan to compare my armor to a Demon Lizard?"
"To be honest, just with V's armor, I'm confident she could take on a Demon Lizard, even several Demon Lizards at once."