The other side's cautious actions left Lark with a chill down her heart.
"That thing is not in my hands." Mercer spoke truthfully, "That roaming AI was snatched by someone."
"How is that possible!? The Neural Matrix Device is like a digital prison that absolutely cannot be opened from the inside... You let it go? No, Lilith clearly doesn't know someone took the roaming AI..."
Lark's words caught Mercer's attention.
Mercer asked directly, "Are you sure Lilith doesn't know? I encountered an attack by the roaming AI while exploring the base."
"If she knew, why would she still want me to go to the Little Beidou Facility? And promise that if I can get the Neural Matrix Device from the facility, she'd put me on an Orbital Aviation spaceship."
Lilith spoke in disbelief.
Mercer squinted his eyes, "Does she want the device, or the AI?"
"She means the roaming AI is inside the device, once I get the device and crack it, I can release the AI..."
Lark spoke, while Mercer fell into contemplation.
Seeing Mercer not replying for a moment, Lark also became lost in thought, her figure occasionally blurred. Mercer glanced twice and said, "You really look terrible."
"Absolutely terrible—I thought at least when I couldn't hold on anymore, I'd have some time for repair and maintenance, even if as a tool."
Lark said self-deprecatingly, "But now it seems, as long as my brain is still functioning, I'll keep working for them until I'm paralyzed in a hospital bed."
Mercer looked at her and asked, "Do you want to leave because your body can't handle it anymore, or because you truly want freedom?"
Mercer's words made Lark silent for a moment, but ultimately, she spoke honestly, "The body can still hold on for a while, at least New America's medical technology can sustain me for a long time, but this life... it's too hard, Mercer.
I really envy you, now you can make decisions for yourself, have your own territory, and can take care of the people around you.
And me? I have lost everything, no friends, no family, no lover, just left caged, used like an animal, like a machine...
I want to live freely, Mercer, we're both hackers, no one understands better than us the importance of living freely, right?"
Lark believed Mercer would understand, his background showed he was just like a Batmos II.
He worked for Arasaka, finally blew up the Arasaka Base and fled, later defected to Dog Town, even took down Hansen and rose in rank, anyone would say, he's definitely not someone to just go along with things.
Mercer merely nodded, continuing to ponder, "Here's what, tell her the AI inside is gone, see what she does."
Lark was silent, gripping her hands, "I mean... why don't we pretend the thing inside is still there? Once I get that device, I can..."
"Don't be silly, girl." Mercer shattered her fantasy, sighed, canceled IP protection, walked to her, and patted her shoulder, "Doing this will only harm yourself."
Lark lowered her head, after a while, asked, "What do you want in exchange for it?"
"You think I'm bargaining with you?" Mercer was amused, rolling his eyes, then said, "Alright, just do as I say, see Lilith's reaction, remember to tell her you found all this through your investigation alone.
As long as you keep our relationship hidden... maybe we can help each other once."
Lark was torn, she looked at Mercer, to be honest, she couldn't trust him, or rather, she just wanted to survive, because of this, it was hard to trust anyone.
Mercer just calmly looked at her, seriously said, "I might need to take advantage of Lilith, if I can use her once, to help me accomplish what I need, while providing you a safe place to stay, it's not impossible."
Lark looked at Mercer, "What do you want to use me for?"
"I want to go to the Moon, round-trip ticket, go there, and have me returned, if it's not doable... then find another way."
Mercer sighed, while Lark knitted her brows, "Though you have a warrant, if you really want to go, just need a 200,000 euro ticket to fly to the Moon..."
"You know what I'm going to do is definitely not something to be done openly, right?" Mercer didn't want to say more, simply said, "That's that, you first help me figure out what Lilith really wants."
Lark just looked at him pitifully, "But if Lilith finds out something is wrong, what should I do?"
"You're not afraid of being used by Lilith, getting played around by her with a trip to the Moon, why are you scared here?
My medical skills are actually pretty good, why don't you just come to me, I'll treat you?"
Mercer wasn't really joking, if in other fields he might not be top tier, but in the neural sector, his skills were indeed world-class.
Whether it's from the level of consciousness data, or through studying his own brain and armored body systems, understanding the Relic Chip's research and technical experience, Mercer's confidence in his neural field skills is self-assured.
In the Cyber World, other bodily problems, to be blunt, are nothing more than replacements, whether it's bionic prosthetics or mechanical prosthetics, take your pick.
Issues that Lilith can treat, New America can treat, Mercer believes he might as well treat Lark.
She's merely having neural issues due to excessive contact with the Black Wall, Mercer almost daily pushes his nerves to the limit, in such matters, he truly is authoritative.
Just by observing how his own brain gets slightly burned and self-repairs, Mercer can write dozens of different medical papers.
"Mercer..." Lark yet only said sadly, "You know New America won't let me go, finding you will only bring us both trouble."
"I know you're worried I can't protect you... listen, no matter how formidable New America is, it's just that, I'll send you to the territory of Europe's Internet Supervision, send you to Hong Kong, send you to Arasaka's territory, there's bound to be a place where you can stay safely, live hidden.
And if you're not ready to give up hacking entirely, we might have a way to help you escape and start over... altogether, for your predicament, I might have solutions, but first, you must be worthy of me doing so."
Mercer's confidence stirred Lark, but she remained cautious to confirm, "Are you serious about everything? Mercer, can you really do it?"
"First help me clarify things with Lilith, find out what exactly she wants, afterward, we'll discuss the details, okay?
I guarantee, even in the worst situation, if Lilith can't help you, I'm here, capable of sending you to a safe place."
Mercer spoke with full confidence, while Lark, though doubtful, could only agree tentatively, she had no choice, "Alright, I'll agree, I'll contact you after I return from Lilith."
"By the way, since you're here, do me a favor."
Mercer called her back just before she was about to log off.
Needing his help, Lark promptly stopped logging off, "What's the matter? You actually need my help for something?"
"Mm-hmm... I want to study this thing."
As Mercer finished speaking, their located IP began jumping, then, Lark's heart nearly stopped.
Black and red intersecting lines sealed the heavens on both sides, like a laser wall, extending to the end of the Cyber World.
"You want to study the Black Wall!?" she almost screamed—it was precisely to escape this ghostly thing that she wanted to flee, yet Mercer brought her back to this damned Black Wall's edge?
"Yes." Mercer said with a matter-of-fact tone and then slightly modified his word choice, "Actually it's not so much study... but crack."
"Crack the Black Wall? You've certainly gone mad! This thing isn't meant for humans to touch! Look at what I've become!?"
"Unfortunately, due to certain reasons, I can't touch it, to trigger the Black Wall's attack program, let me see the code characteristics and attack methods, so I need a professional hacker to guide and decode the Black Wall to attack..."
"..."
Lark held on for a while, finally, unable to resist.
"Fuck!"