"Sure, I'll drop by whenever I have some spare time. I have some new ideas anyway."
Mercer said, pondering, "I've been thinking about how to enhance my survival skills. I've stirred up so much trouble that I have to be cautious of agents setting traps or shooting from the dark.
No matter how good I am at hacking, if they shut down all their receivers, I'll need to use a single molecule line or a physical data line connection to hack in."
People didn't know his skills before and wouldn't have taken extra precautions, but now that his reputation is spreading, he has to be wary of people making special modifications to counter hackers.
If I want to break in quickly, I would need a network. If they don't even have the capability to receive network signals or data transfers, then I'd be at a loss, effectively a blank slate.
Take the Animal Gang, for instance. If those brutes knew they were dealing with a hacker, they might even disable their brain-computer interfaces and rely solely on their bodies infused with the Power of Nine Dragons... Mercer wouldn't stand a chance hacking them.
Lucy didn't try to dissuade him, just crossed her arms and said, "You decide for yourself then, it's not like you care what I say anyway."
"Who says that?" He turned his head, looking at Lucy's face beneath her white hair, and laughed, "Where's this attitude coming from?"
"...I'm not mad." She said, while Mercer pondered for a moment before suddenly figuring it out: "Ah, it's still about Qiwei..."
Before he finished his sentence, Qiwei stopped at the door, glanced at Lucy, then naturally walked over and placed the steaming Mexico taco on the table next to Mercer.
"V made it, eat it while it's hot. She said you haven't eaten all day."
After Qiwei spoke, she smiled at Lucy, "Want some coffee? Should I get you a cup, or are you going to deal with it yourself in the kitchen?"
"No need, I'll go out for a drink later." Lucy said, nodding as she watched Qiwei leave gracefully without any intention of explaining further.
Suddenly, she felt a bit despondent—both Mercer and Qiwei acted as if nothing happened, making her seem petty and calculative.
Mercer chuckled lightly, then shoved the taco into his mouth.
V's cooking skills are really good, and there's obvious improvement. It was quite surprising how homely she became. She diligently managed the base's hygiene and bought and cooked groceries for everyone. You really can't judge a book by its cover.
"What's so funny?" Lucy turned her head away, showing a bit of a playful pouting face.
Mercer just looked at her and laughed, saying, "You sure get jealous easily."
"I do not." She firmly denied it.
"Really not?" He leaned over with the taco, mischievously smiling at her.
Lucy turned her head and pouted, pretending to leave, "I'm going to eat."
"...Since there's nothing going on these days, how about we find some interesting Mewtwo to watch together? Or maybe continue with Moon Mewtwo."
Mercer suggested with a laugh.
"Go play with Rebecca." She said without looking back.
"Alright, I'll find her then." Mercer said, watching her stop by the door, glaring at him for a moment, then finally raising a middle finger.
Mercer laughed heartily, while Lucy sulkily said, "Go ahead! Like I can stop you?"
With that, she stomped off down the hallway.
[Venus: I think she's just saying one thing and meaning another.]
[Mercer: Isn't that obvious?]
[Venus: So, how do you plan to handle this?]
[Mercer: I'll just knock on her door tonight. All she really wants is a bit of attention—she's been awfully quiet these past few days, caught up in work, I thought she'd calmed down.]
[Venus: Mm... Relationships really are complicated. I can't quite grasp the human sense of possessiveness.]
[Mercer: Ha~ If you actually develop a sense of possessiveness, I'd have even more headaches.]
[Venus: Um... Maybe it's just a more human-like way to show affection?]
[Mercer: Don't learn that!]
[Venus: Alright~]
After the joke, she began to report actively.
[Venus: Master, the current ctOS System is now officially operational. I think there's plenty of intel each day that you should review, so I plan to organize everything into a daily briefing for you. What do you think?]
[Mercer: Good idea. Let's compile a report every morning and evening, just in case there are unexpected insights.]
[Venus: Understood. Besides this information, there's something important I'd like to report to you.]
[Mercer: What's it about?]
[Venus: Agent Arasaka's counterintelligence division has focused on you and is currently attempting to persuade Mr. Jack at the Wild Wolf Bar to lure either you or Miss V in an entrusted manner.]
[Mercer: Cut to the scene for me.]
Without unnecessary words, Venus immediately displayed the surveillance footage in Mercer's prosthetic eye.
Now, Jack and another female agent appeared in Mercer's field of view.
In the surveillance video, the agent's face was obscured by a mosaic.
But Venus quickly employed AI technology to reconstruct the agent's face, swiftly cracking the interference program within the agent's prosthetic eye, presenting clear facial features.
Simultaneously, she zoomed in and, through lip-reading analysis, provided subtitles for Mercer.
[Venus: Sorry, the audio quality from the Wild Wolf Bar cameras is poor, even magnifying couldn't capture the sound clearly, so I could only provide subtitles through lip-reading analysis.]
[Mercer: You did great, let me see what offer this person can make to Jack.]
However, as Mercer looked at the female agent's face, studying it carefully for a while, his eyebrows suddenly raised in surprise.
Why does her face look so familiar!?
His extraordinary memory immediately triggered a matching scene.
This woman is... Corpo V!?
When Mercer compared this beautiful, cool, and sharp-eyed woman with past in-game images, he finally confirmed—no doubt!
This woman's appearance...
Is exactly the same as the female V he created when he chose Corpo V in the Cyberpunk game he played before!
Just like how today's V looks the same as his Street Kid save in the game.
At this moment, the Arasaka agent in the surveillance footage, even after AI decryption, had a distorted expression, but Mercer recognized her immediately!
No way I'm wrong... This woman is no doubt the Corpo V I personally customized!
[Mercer: Can you find out her name?]
[Venus: Valerie. Her name is the same as Miss V's, not just the name, but even her age is identical. However, from the NCPD's archives, her life path and family background are completely different from V's.
I deduce there's no social connection between her and Miss V, it's probably just a coincidence with the same name. But from your look, it seems you… know her? Did I misjudge?]
[Mercer: I know her... Of course, I know her...]
Mercer looked at Valerie in the video, who was arrogantly staring at Jack, her demeanor aggressive, triggering a flurry of thoughts.
If a Street Kid version of V exists, and a Corpo version exists, does that mean a Wanderer version also exists!?
If all three Vs do exist...
Mercer's mind filled with many thoughts.
Yet amusingly, upon seeing this Corpo V, his first reaction wasn't vigilance or concern, but...
Damn...
His collecting obsession kicked in!