"Uh, is this virus really that bad?" V asked curiously.
"I've seen videos sent to me by the Red Ochre people—when the illness hits the severe stage, the body temperature fluctuates wildly, there's coughing up blood, coma, even parts of the body begin to ulcerate, blindness, hearing issues, difficulty breathing..."
Pan'an shivered, "The whole person looks like a piece of rotting flesh, I'm not exaggerating; they really start bleeding and rotting all over..."
Everyone shuddered involuntarily.
"What the... Where did this come from?" V said in disbelief, "Wasn't it just on TV that biotechnology solved the poisoning problem?"
"I saw them test the water near the Red Ocher Tribe, and the levels started returning to normal..."
"Damn biotechnology, sure, the water toxins decreased, but the viruses they threw in are mutating in people!
Mercer said this mutation has changed the original virus structure, so a new vaccine must be researched."
Pan'an sighed heavily.
Meanwhile, V thought for a moment, then smiled optimistically, "Don't worry, Mercer's really brilliant! If he decides to make something, there's nothing he can't do!
At first, he said he wanted to get me a cool Arasaka exoskeleton armor. I thought he was just boasting, but in a few months, I had a beautiful Maoshun Armor.
Your antidote will be the same, if he says he can develop it, then it's just a matter of time."
But V still felt a bit worried—currently, the threat from Arasaka was close, Hansen's increasing wariness of Mercer was growing daily, does he really have the time and energy to handle all this while still developing an antidote?
Pan'an murmured affirmatively, then finally got up, went to the side of the kitchen, and helped V tidy up the ingredients.
V coughed, "Did you clean up well?"
"Don't worry, I smell like disinfectant all over now, Venus is watching over me... You guys are really something, that AI is just like those legendary roaming online AIs, frighteningly smart."
Pan'an smiled, but then fell silent, and after a while couldn't hold back, softly asking, "I mean... hasn't Mercer changed a bit lately?"
V was taken aback, confused, and turned to look at her, "Why do you say that?"
Pan'an hesitated but decided to voice her concerns, "Do you know what Mercer just said? He said, to develop the antidote faster and cut costs, he wants to poison Dog Town directly.
He said this could also conveniently take out a batch of Hansen's loyalists and boost his own reputation... I can hardly believe he would say such a thing..."
V was silent for a moment after hearing this but eventually just chuckled, "An enemy is an enemy, whether you kill them with bullets or a virus, there's no difference...
Mercer's just been under a lot of pressure lately, but trust me, he hasn't changed; he's just got too much going on and is a bit anxious."
She first defended Mercer, then tried to justify his actions, and finally, V smiled and said, "Oh, I guess he was just speaking off the cuff."
Pan'an could only nod and sighed, "Night City... I finally understand why the elders of the Adcardo hate coming to the city so much; it's just a big stain, even the best people here get tainted...
I still remember when he first came, he was just like a kid then..."
They chatted idly, but V's thoughts drifted away during the conversation.
Mercer saying he'd poison Dog Town?
Not only Pan'an, but even V was a bit taken aback by this.
Because it really didn't sound like something Mercer would say.
What's happening to him?