Mercer stood up and stretched lazily—his entire back had become numb due to the scrapped hacker cyborg behind him, but luckily his arms and legs were still functional.
He made a round in the ward to ensure everyone's situation was relatively stable, then instructed Lucy to take them back to the base for recovery once they were rested.
Afterward, he left, got into the Netherworld Dog's car, and for the first time went solo to the stadium.
Seeing Mercer arrive alone, exhausted and seated on the sofa, Hansen didn't waste words and directly said, "Where's the thing Arasaka wants."
Mercer then pulled out a Relic Chip from his head.
The neural circuits of the chip were equally damaged by the EMP shock; to Mercer, the only value of this Relic Chip was its architecture template.
Repairing it was basically meaningless now, with circuits burnt and damaged everywhere; rather than struggling to troubleshoot, it might be easier to make a new one.
The materials used in this chip aren't easy to come by. The core components are mostly under Arasaka's monopolistic control, and Mercer believes that as long as the core parts are damaged, it can be considered scrap.
Hansen took the chip, glanced at it for a moment, and frowned deeply, "Broken?"
"Arasaka people launched an EMP attack on us, not only is the chip malfunctioning, but also many parts of my cyborg are broken."
After Mercer finished speaking, Hansen turned his head and meaningfully said, "You don't blame me, right? After all, if you didn't attend the banquet, they wouldn't have had the opportunity..."
"No, of course not." Mercer smiled slightly, "I'm just curious... how did those people bypass my surveillance, bringing in large electronic warfare devices and EMP transmitter?"
Hansen frowned tightly, "You mean there's a mole?"
"I'm just curious... considering the amount of monitoring around my place, especially with reconnaissance drones patrolling regularly, to transport so many people and equipment, on a day when I was fully prepared...
According to safety regulations, the route of our cars was also patrolled and checked by the Netherworld Dog, yet the ambush still occurred. You know what this means."
Mercer spoke frankly, "Moreover, without insiders helping Arasaka to cover up, they could never have carried this much equipment into Dog Town to attack me. I'm talking about large EMP attack devices and large electronic warfare equipment.
Colonel Hanssen, think carefully, if their objective today wasn't to capture me alive, I might have already died. This means if they decide to target you..."
Mercer's words caused Hansen's face to turn completely grim. He stared at Mercer for a moment but ultimately knew exactly where his anger should be directed.
"Go investigate." Hansen ordered, and Bennett behind him left the stadium angrily and excitedly.
This guy is a pervert, extremely fond of torture. Those who fall into his hands often endure a horrendous wave of torture before facing their inevitable fate. For Bennett, the moment filled with love and hate has undoubtedly arrived.
And then Hansen looked directly at Mercer and made arrangements, "They plan to capture you alive?"
"Of course, not only that, they also issued me a final ultimatum—to surrender with the items within ten days—or else, next time, they won't hold back."
After Mercer finished, Hansen frowned deeply, finally looked up at Mercer, "What do you plan to do?"
"First, during this period, I have to stay honestly at the base and keep a low profile." Mercer's words fell, and Hansen nodded noncommittally.
"Secondly, we need to quickly expedite the production of various weapons and equipment. I will supervise the factory operations online 24 hours a day and swiftly enhance the strength of the Netherworld Dog.
Meanwhile, I need you to arrange more Netherworld Dog personnel, especially those with solid skills, to provide me with security."
After Mercer finished speaking, he paused and said, "I will develop some anti-infiltration equipment at the base to deal with today's unique situation. I need a batch of funds and raw materials, to start work quickly, to address Arasaka's threat."
Hansen heard this, stayed silent for a moment, then suddenly smiled: "You want protection from the Netherworld Dog, need a new batch of funds and materials, to further develop new equipment, and also want to speed up the production of gear and strengthen power..."
He smiled slightly, "Then why not choose to stay directly at the Netherworld Dog to do these things?
For example, moving your residence to Gem Cyan. I can set aside a luxurious penthouse for you at Gem Cyan, you can live there with that pretty girl named Lucy, or bring along a few more, no problem.
Or move to the stadium, I'd arrange a dormitory for you here, which would definitely offer better treatment than your own underground base accommodations.
I would provide you 24-hour security and it'd be more convenient for you to use the Netherworld Dog's equipment to develop new gear. You can also accelerate the production speed of weapons and equipment."
The moment the words fell, Mercer could feel without turning back that the Netherworld Dog behind him seemed to subtly adjust their stance.
Mercer looked troubled, but finally, he only sighed and lowered his head, "But my people must stay at the base, I don't want to involve them further."