When New America attempts to reclaim the Independent State once again, it inevitably escalates into a war scenario where Arasaka and the Free State and its allies are against New America and Military Science along with their allies.
Such a massive scale of war, and yet Night City is right at the eye of the storm.
Mercer doesn't want to bring the anxiety to his team, so he can only make the decisions and judgments himself.
If everything goes smoothly, he might be able to balance multiple forces, especially by bringing in network surveillance from Europe and Kangtao from the East, to save Night City from being destroyed in the Fifth Corporate War.
But if things don't go so smoothly...
Mercer sighed. He still had to consider Ye Corporation, which was suspected of being controlled by a rampant AI, and also the AIs behind the Black Wall, and even the European Space Agency, orbital aviation, and other external forces...
This damned world is on the brink of destruction.
Mercer cleared his thoughts and then said, "Anyway, you guys don't need to worry too much about Hansen's problem. It's actually not that hard to deal with him—just get a few retired New America agents over, and they can take care of him.
The key still lies in how to smoothly transition power into our own hands afterward... we need allies."
"Who are you planning to approach?" V looked at Mercer.
But Mercer just said calmly, "That depends on who offers the higher bid."
He smiled, with a playful glimmer in his eyes.
Although Hansen had warned him not to betray Netherworld Dog's interests, implying not to sell the armor to others.
But trapping a hacker in his own home, what's the difference from not trapping him at all?
Mercer didn't plan to listen to Hansen. He intended to do what he wanted, and he'd shown enough respect. If Hansen wanted more... well, then it would be time for a head-on collision.
...
"Good morning! Night City! It's your good buddy! Stan!!!
Ha-ha, I bet you don't know why I'm so energetic this morning!
Because yesterday's death lotto count was—eighty-nine people!
Ha, are you angry enough to want to smash the table? But there's nothing you can do about it. Blame it on the shocking gang fight in Taiping Prefecture yesterday!
The Voodoo Gang's Hua Tiao, hiding out in Dog Town, hired the famous Spark Team, and they wiped out the Voodoo Gang in Taiping Prefecture overnight—yes, you heard it right, the once Taiping Prefecture Voodoo Gang is now a thing of the past!
The streets are littered with bodies, burning vehicles, and tattered roads... an NCPD spokesperson publicly stated that this is the future the residents of Taiping Prefecture chose, and I bet there'll be protests there today.
You guys guess how long the Taiping Prefecture police station will last? I bet, at the latest by the end of November, the Taiping Prefecture police station will have to completely shut down!
But what's even more shocking is the clip of 'Mecha Superhero' circulating online. I bet most of you have already watched the footage, but you definitely don't know how many people they killed this time.
But now, you've got a clue.
The mercenaries of Spark Team using new single soldier armor have sparked widespread discussion on the Night City network, and so far, no company has disclosed any information.
But this inevitably raises new concerns—Will Night City usher in a new round of military upgrades? Should the appearance of single soldier armor be classified as part of heavy firepower..."
The sound of the radio in Mercer's ear was cut off, and he turned his head to look at Rebecca tinkering with the radio.
She was wearing a satisfied expression and let out a happy laugh: "Did you hear? We're famous now!"
"I heard, you've been playing those news reports around me all day..." Mercer said helplessly, then sent Rebecca a comment from an online forum, a bit mean-spiritedly.
The original comment read 'That colorful armored guy, I think he's no match for Adam's Hammer.'
Rebecca took a glance inside, then angrily glared at him: "You're doing this on purpose, aren't you!"
She now extremely disliked Adam's Hammer—how on earth did that get compared with her? That guy looks like a ghost, so what does he have on her?
Mercer made a funny face at her and then smiled as he continued to assemble the Octopus Arm.
This time, he was making it for AI use, specifically designed for assembling and processing work-natured tasks, with relatively low material requirements, only needing to use tools accurately and stably.
Rebecca huffed, sitting on the table beside him, swinging her short legs.
Mercer had to stop his hands, turn his head, and look at her face: "Well then, you've been stuck with me almost a whole day since yesterday, what's up?"
Somewhat surprisingly, Rebecca blushed a little, but after a moment of looking around, she tried to act cool and said carelessly: "Nothing, just wondering when you'll have time for us to go out together alone."
"You want to go on a date with me?" Mercer exposed her words, and Rebecca's face flushed a bit redder: "Yes! A date! Is that not allowed?"
"Why are you in such a rush..."
Mercer said with some amusement: "Alright, there's nothing wrong with that, if you want to go, I'll accompany you, where to? Leaving Dog Town isn't an option, let's show Hansen some face for now.
So he doesn't get the idea that I'm completely uncontrollable and tries something funny."
Rebecca just turned her head, and after a while, turned back to look at him with a more serious expression: "But what if I want to go out?"
"...Well, then I'll accompany you, am I really going to live according to Hansen's whims? Then what's the point of me being here."
Mercer's words made her unable to hold back her smile, and she almost jumped straight from the table into his arms, planting a strong kiss on his face without hesitation: "I knew it!"
Mercer first cautiously looked around the surroundings, ensuring no risk of a tough situation, then bent down to kiss her forehead and hugged her tightly: "So, where do you want to go?"
"...Well, I'll keep that a secret for now, but I promise you won't be disappointed."
After Rebecca finished speaking, Mercer laughed and agreed: "Alright, December it is, as long as there's nothing urgent, I'll take a day off to go out with you."
"That's settled then!" As she heard footsteps approaching from outside, she happily sat up, grabbed Mercer's face and gave him a few hard kisses before jumping off him.
Her hands in her pockets, she bounced away like a happy little penguin, and when she saw Lucy entering, she just smiled as usual and waved: "Good morning~"
"Good morning, up so early today?" Lucy seemed surprised, as Rebecca usually sleeps until noon.
Rebecca giggled, "Didn't sleep well last night, took a morning walk. If there's nothing going on, I'll go back and catch up on sleep."
"Go have some breakfast, Sasha made stew and bread this morning." Lucy said, raising the tray in her hand, and Rebecca's eyes lit up as she smelled the aroma: "Sounds good, I'm going to eat!"
Watching her scamper off, Lucy took back her gaze, walked over in a few steps, unceremoniously placed the tray on the table, crossed her arms, and looked at Mercer's face meaningfully.
Mercer calmly said: "Morning~"
"I didn't interrupt anything, did I?" Lucy said with a bit of sarcasm.
Mercer showed a puzzled expression innocently: "What interruption?"
Lucy rolled her eyes, then reached out and rubbed his face, showing him the lipstick on her fingers: "Rebecca came over all made up early in the morning to see you... So is something happening with you two?"
Her words were a bit sour, "Looks like next time I come over to where you are, I'll have to send a message first."
"Uh, not really, you know, she just gets emotional and likes hugging and kissing... Did you eat by the way?" Mercer said while wiping his face.
Lucy stared at him speechlessly for a moment, then turned around angrily: "Player!"
She stomped off in a huff.
[Venus: Uh... Aren't you going to say something nice to her? The book I read says girls like that, I can provide you with conversation templates.]
[Mercer: Never mind... So what happened?]
[Venus: Remember the detection program we planted in the Gem Cyan server?
The suspected hacker Lark's network signal... has appeared!]