Cyberpunk: Starting in 2071

Chapter 56 Big Shopping Spree (1.46 Million Views, Seeking Monthly Tickets)
"V, can't you be a little more reliable?"

Mercer stared speechlessly at the dejected V on the video call.

V responded weakly, "Huh? I can do it, I guarantee I can. Ugh."

Qi Wei's helpless voice rang out. In the video, she was standing behind V, patting her back.

"A, she came back yesterday and was so excited that she drank a whole bottle of whiskey by herself and then threw up and felt terrible."

If you ask me, you should let her sleep a little longer.

Mercer rolled his eyes: "Is this all you can drink? That's really lacking. If you're this bad, you shouldn't drink anymore."

"Damn, that stuff has a really high alcohol content, okay?" V's soft voice sounded surprisingly gentle and pleasant.

Unfortunately, we don't usually hear V speak in this tone.

"Alright, stop being so stubborn. I'll assign the work to Rebecca. You go and sober up."

After Mercer finished speaking, V became anxious.

She immediately straightened up: "No! Brother A, it's really nothing. I'll just vomit a few more times and drink some water and I'll feel better!"

"I told you yesterday that I had a mission this morning, and you still dared to drink too much. I'll teach you a lesson; you're out of work today." Mercer said bluntly, not giving her a chance.

V knew he was in the wrong, so he could only put on a bitter face, wanting to say something, but then he was overcome by a hangover and couldn't help but gag.

"Bye."

Mercer hung up the phone immediately, but then sent a message to Qiwei.

[Mercer: Please take care of her, it's been hard work.]

[Qiwei: It's nothing. I'm eating and staying here for free, this little bit of work is nothing.]

[Mercer: I paid her, so she's not freeloading. You can order her around as you please, but I haven't found any suitable work for you lately, so you'll have to wait a bit longer.]

[Qiwei: I'm not in a hurry. I still need to study those teaching materials you sent me for a few more days.]

[Mercur: I compiled all of this myself. Some parts might be quite complex. If you don't understand something, just ask me.]

[Qiwei: Okay. I feel like every time I talk to you, I end up having to thank you.]

[Mercer: This is a good thing. If it were you in the past, you probably would have only suspected that I had ulterior motives.]

[Qiwei: You're a really good person, Mercer, almost unrealistically good.]

Mercer: The reality is that you can always trust me, and I can trust you in the same way, right?

[Qiwei: I think if it were you, it should be possible.]

Mercer: Ha~ I'm honored.

[Qiwei: I'm very lucky.]

[Mercur: XD~]

Mercer replied with a smiling emoji, and then made a video call to Rebecca without any hesitation.

"Good morning~" Rebecca's shrill voice was invigorating—the kind that gives you goosebumps.

Early in the morning, her outfit in the video was quite revealing, which made Mercer unconsciously look away a little.

But the video feed was projected onto his eyes, so there was nothing he could do.
Mercer could only reluctantly glance at her petite yet well-endowed figure.

"Where did you learn that weird, mischievous way of speaking? Have I ever heard you talk like that before?" Mercer said speechlessly.

"Oh, you only told me this much, and you called me so early in the morning, did you miss me?"

Rebecca giggled and even winked at him in the video.

Mercer simply scoffed, "I have a simple job for you. Take it or leave it."

"I'll take it! What job? How much?" Rebecca immediately snapped back to normal, raising her voice excitedly.

"Yesterday, I wrote a program for the old captain of the Santo Domingo. He tested it himself and felt it worked very well, so he plans to take advantage of the fact that those car companies haven't updated their systems and 'acquire' a large number of used cars to make money."

He immediately wanted to give me the job as a favor, since it was a rare and lucrative opportunity.

Considering that I would need some vehicles for team operations later, I agreed to the deal even though I didn't think the amount of money was much, because he also included a discount coupon for the car purchase.

The old captain will pay you 60% of the used car's value, based on its market price, for the stolen car. So, you understand, when you get there, choose a good spot to steal.

After Mercer finished speaking, Rebecca let out a happy shout: "I'll do it! Mercer, you can leave this to me and Pila!"

Mercer smiled and said, "I sent you and Pila a Penguin software; it's an encrypted communication system that I developed myself."

If you have any questions, just open your messaging app and send me a message. I will immediately check on your situation through the app.

Also, I've optimized and updated this software so that I can temporarily connect to your prosthetic eye signal and share the screen. Your brain-computer interface will then pop up an authorization agreement; just click "accept."

"Remember, be careful in your actions. You're representing my Fireseed Squad this time, don't let me lose face in front of the old captain, Rebecca."

Upon hearing this, Rebecca patted her chest confidently and said, "You can leave it to me with confidence!"

Mercer looked at you with an appreciative eye for a while, then nodded: "I know you're leaving now for Santo Domingo. The old captain will contact you when you arrive so you can get the device that can hack the car's infotainment system from him."

He also has the list of car thieves. You guys choose the most expensive ones to steal. I won't take a cut of the money we make this time, but 20% of it will go into the team's common funds.

Because of this trip, you guys essentially took advantage of the reputation of my team to get freelance work.

This money will be used for team expenses, such as paying rent for the base, purchasing vehicles for the team, and buying equipment, etc.

"Oh! I believe you. Whatever you say goes. Twenty percent is twenty percent, no problem." Rebecca said with a grin, then turned around and kicked Pila, who was probably lying on the sofa.

"Pila! Time to get something done! Get up and prepare it for me right now!"

Rebecca kicked him while saying with exasperation, "You damn bro, I don't know when you'll ever be reliable."

Mercer watched this scene and unconsciously curled the corners of his mouth, but then said, "Go on, remember to stop by the gun shop on the way and buy some weapons and equipment to make yourself look more professional."

I'll give you 10,000 euros upfront, and the advance payment will be deducted from your payment later.

My advice is to go find the old captain as soon as possible. He also knows other mercenaries. If you go too late, the good cars you can steal might have already been taken by other mercenaries.

"Damn it, Mercer!"

Rebecca was speechless, and could only give Mercer a thumbs up, her eyes practically shooting stars: "Mercury! I love you!"

"Okay, go ahead, I'll hang up now, contact me if you need anything."

Mercer hung up the phone and took off his mask.

In the short term, he decided to maintain a bit of mystery—he would take it off and give them a little surprise once everyone was more familiar with him.

At that moment, Lucy, who was standing to the side, waited until he finished his call before looking at him with a hint of resentment: "So, my information really can't be changed?"

"No, what if someone discovers the repeated data modification? The virus program I left there is still useful; it can't be discovered."

Mercer looked at her with a grin.

"So you'll just openly change your age on your identity record to eighteen? Look at your face, Mercer, where do you look like you're eighteen?"

Lucy said indignantly.

"Didn't you also set your age to sixteen in your Night City file? Let's not argue about it! You said you'd fill it in yourself, so there's no going back on your word!"

Mercer laughed heartily, while Lucy sulked.

Yes, starting today, Mercer is a legal eighteen-year-old citizen of Night City.

Born in Santo Domingo, orphaned at a young age, with no educational background and no tax records—this is a typical resume of a Santo Domingo orphan.

Mercer's information wasn't just randomly written; it included his birth address and parents' identities, all of which he carefully selected to ensure they were difficult to verify.

The parents were immigrants and were confirmed dead by the NCPD ten years ago. They also did have a biological son.

However, the eight-year-old child was quickly declared 'missing' after his parents died.

If nothing unexpected happens, that child is probably already dead. Disappearing in Night City means you didn't even keep the body; he's likely turned into a pile of parts.

What Mercer did was replace the household registration file of the missing child whose father was from Texas and whose mother was from East Asia with his own new name.

The files for Lucy and the others also selected similar elements, which only shows that there are far too many missing orphans in Night City.

just
Although Lucy had the idea of ​​'getting older', she only dared to secretly set herself to sixteen years old.

Mercer, on the other hand, was much bolder.

He said he was eighteen years old, so he must be eighteen.

This is precisely why Lucy is upset—she thought she could openly call herself Mercer's 'older sister' from now on.

As a result, she's now definitely the younger sister.

Moreover, if she had known she could do this, she would have set herself to be eighteen years old, so that Mercer wouldn't be able to fool her by saying she was still a minor.

Mercer hummed a tune, picked up his car keys, and said, "Let's go. I need to go to the EC bank to apply for a new account, and then I can open a virtual wallet for myself. From now on, we can save and spend money openly."

The European Community doesn't buy into Arasaka's rhetoric. Even if we bomb Arasaka, they won't touch a single penny in our bank accounts.

Lucy was still sulking, but she just said, "Why don't you just do it online? Why do you have to come all the way here in person?"

"You don't want to move to our new house?"

Mercer smiled and turned to look at her.

Lucy perked up: "You've found a house you like?"

"No, but I think renting a house is a piece of cake for Mr. Hans from Taiping State."

After Mercer finished speaking, Lucy looked worried: "You mean you want him to find one for us? Don't you think he's unreliable?"

"It is very dangerous, but dangerous and unreliable are two different concepts."

Mercer paused for a moment, then said, "But there's nothing we can do. Dogtown is only so big. No matter where we rent a house, we can't escape the eyes of those who have something up their sleeves."

We're not looking for a dilapidated hut where we can only sleep; we're looking for a well-hidden and secure base for our small team.

We had to go in and out of the checkpoints controlled by the hounds, and it was difficult for the equipment transport vehicles we purchased to escape everyone's notice.

Not to mention we also want to develop that place into a production base to do some profitable business.
With such a commotion, there's no way you could hide it from someone who wants to investigate you.

So, in Dogtown, we have to choose sides.

"Either it's Colonel Hansen, the boss of Dogtown, or it's Mr. Hanz, our ambitious middleman who wants to establish a foothold in Dogtown."

Lucy asked curiously, "Why not choose Hansen? He's in control of Dogtown all by himself now. If we really have to choose a backer, shouldn't we choose the stronger one?"

"Because he was too greedy."

Mercer looked disgusted: "His ambition is too great, but his ability is not enough. He thinks that because he has the backing of the military and has colluded with many people from big companies, he can really establish himself as king."

Don't be fooled by how successful he is in Dogtown now. These days, major companies, even those from Europe and the East, are using Dogtown for large-scale smuggling and trading.

The politicians of Night City were all pleased by him.
But this is simply because everyone needs a thriving Dogtown, not an ambitious Hansen.

Mercer patiently explained the key point to Lucy: "If one day Hansen feels that he has enough wings and intends to really consider himself the boss of Dogtown, trying to gain more power and participate in higher-level games."
Death awaited him.

Nobody needs a dogtown that's being led by a strong hand and trying to be completely independent; everyone just needs a free place where everyone can open up and do business.

It's somewhat similar to Night City's initial definition: all companies there are there to make money without being constrained, who wants to be managed by some damn Hansen? And follow your rules?

The reason New America kept him around was because the military and New America still needed a bridgehead to infiltrate Night City. In case the war resumed one day, Dogtown would be the starting point for their attack on Night City.

Dogtown and he were just a thorn in the side of New America and the Military Science Institute in Night City.

That idiot Hansen really thinks he's tough enough that even New America wouldn't dare touch him, and that the military science department is just appeasing him.

After Mercer finished speaking, he said seriously, "Therefore, we must never work for Hansen, because once he discovers my true abilities..."
My fate is to become the lark of the new America.

You may have heard of her? A hacker who was a big name in New America in the 1950s, but was later targeted by the internet police and recruited by New America's agents.

She has now become a dog in the hands of the new US president, forced to serve him, and even transformed into a cyber nuclear bomb.
"My abilities far surpass those of a lark. If that idiot Hansen really discovers how awesome I am, he might try something funny with me. I don't want to be his dog, much less a cyber nuclear weapon controlled by someone else."

After Mercer finished speaking, Lucy nodded in understanding, gaining a deeper understanding of the situation in Dogtown.

Seeing that she understood, Mercer smiled and said:
"Therefore, we should choose Hanz. Don't be fooled by his current lack of influence in Dogtown. In fact, with the backing of a Cuban criminal organization, he is someone Hansen would never want to mess with easily."

With him as guarantor, no foolish ghost hounds will come to cause trouble for us in Dogtown.

In return, we can help Hanz with some small tasks, thereby gaining a backer to establish ourselves in Dogtown.

When we no longer need to hide in Dogtown and develop in a low-key manner, we can go out openly, pick a good spot in Night City, and build our own mansion.

Then Hanz can just go somewhere cool and get lost.

After Mercer finished speaking, he patted Lucy's head, looked at her dissatisfied gaze, and smiled: "Trust my judgment, Lucy."

“I didn’t say I didn’t believe you.” Lucy turned her head away and said, “Go ahead. I can’t help you with anything anyway.”

"Yes, Lucy, you have work to do."

Mercer gave a mysterious smile.

Lucy, however, visibly perked up: "What is it?"

“Raise my child for me,” Mercer said casually.

".ha?"

Lucy stood there, frozen in place.

After transferring the Morning Star AI to Lucy and instructing her to strictly monitor whether Morning Star was learning online strictly according to Mercer's settings, Mercer set off lightly.

First, he went to a bank in the European Community, opened an account for himself, and purchased a personal storage chip.

This personal storage chip is like a specially encrypted USB flash drive, with only simple data storage function. It can be used to store digital currency, diaries, call logs, and other small items.

Originally, these things were installed together with a brain-computer interface, which is an essential part of the daily life of ordinary people. However, because Mercer had a network access module installed and a Relic chip inserted in his head, this chip was never installed.

Generally speaking, there are two data interfaces at the back of a person's neck, which are used to insert chips.

With the Relic chip in place, one slot is occupied, and with the storage chip, another one is taken up, leaving no space for Mercer.

But Mercer still decided to put it in.

It's still too painful to kill someone, look at the corpse, and not get a single penny.

With storage chips now available, it's possible to directly transfer money from the virtual wallet stored on the other party's chip.

These digital currencies are all uniquely certified and encrypted. As long as you have a chip with a virtual wallet activated, you can freely transfer funds through data transmission, which is very convenient.

Moreover, virtual currencies only store data locally and do not go directly to bank accounts, making them very convenient for private transactions. If you want to deposit them into a bank, you only need to transfer the data from the network to the bank.

Moreover, this thing is equivalent to giving Mercer's brain an extra storage hard drive, which can save a lot of the data files he has piled up in the network access module and brain-computer interface, making it easier for him to free up more program decomposition space in the access module.

What happens when all the brain chip slots are occupied?
The hermit of Mount Moser had his own ingenious plan.

Without saying a word, he made the call.

The call was answered after a short wait.

Old Wei's robust figure was busy with something with his head down.

"Mercury, what's the matter?"

"I'll bring someone to see you this afternoon. Is that Sianwistan device fixed? I'd like to install it on her."

After Mercer finished speaking, Old Wei looked up from the video call: "I'm fixing it now. But it should be fixed by the afternoon."

How have you been feeling lately? Have you been feeling unwell?

"To be honest, I barely used any medicine. I only took an anti-inflammatory drug once before going to bed on the first night, just in case."

Mercer was in the car when he called Old Vie, and there were no outsiders around, so he wasn't wearing a mask. Old Vie could tell that he looked healthy and energetic, which was good if he wasn't on drugs.

"It seems your body's tolerance is much better than I expected. Not bad, Mercer. It seems you do have a chance to carry more."

What about mentally? Have you experienced any sensitivity or irritability?

Especially if symptoms such as mental confusion, memory loss, vivid dreams, sudden excitement, or frequent absent-mindedness occur, it's time to be aware that you might be developing cyberpsychosis.

Old Wei continued asking.

"Don't worry, everything is OK."

Mercer gave a thumbs up: "The first thing I do every morning when I wake up is to do a simple cognitive test on myself, and then save the data for comparison."

“That’s really great. How did you come up with this idea?” Victor became interested and said with a hint of delight, “I should recommend your method to all my guests.”

Mercer smiled and said, "Just in case, Old Wei, you know there's been a rumor circulating online that companies can influence human thinking."

I'm afraid of falling into a trap without leaving a trace, so I check every day to make sure my thinking hasn't been manipulated without my knowledge.

"You don't think that's a rumor?" Victor frowned slightly.

"As far as I know, some companies are already using similar technologies in real-world applications." Mercer's words were surprisingly informative.

Viktor was silent for a moment, then sighed: "There were similar ideas decades ago, but it still came to this. I guess I should learn from you?"

"It's always better to be prepared. Regularly take a cognitive test for yourself and also do a psychological assessment. If the result of the cognitive test is not good, take a break."

Mercer laughed and said, "Don't worry too much, that thing can't be used on a large scale yet."

But Mercer remained wary of the technology—in the game, the Night Corporation possessed such technology and had secretly hacked the city councilor's brain, turning him into a completely different person without his knowledge.

It can be said that in terms of how to manipulate human consciousness, the Yoru Corporation is even ahead of Arasaka.

"That's bad news. Thanks, I guess this is another secret that can't be told casually. I mean, Mercer, you should really be a little wary of me too."

Victor offered advice to the young man who was inexplicably honest with him.

“Old Wei, I won’t tell anyone the real secret. However, I’m not very wary of you. It’s not because I’m stupid, but because I know I can’t really guard against you.”

Mercer said sincerely, "Think about it, you are my prosthetic doctor, how can I hide the unusual parts of my body from the doctor?"
My prosthetic body, once displayed, will be easily recognizable to any competent doctor as something extraordinary.

I wouldn't dare let a doctor who can't even tell what my prosthetic body is do operate on me or modify my prosthetic body.

Moreover, data such as my physical condition and my tolerance to prosthetics, which are insignificant to ordinary people, are a big problem for me.

Every company wants to find a durable 'test subject', and look, no matter how you look at my physical data, I'm a natural 'test subject'.

If biotechnology knew my physical data, it would probably want to dissect and clone me dozens of times.

So whether I believe you or not, you'll find out a lot about my unusual nature sooner or later—so rather than hoping your medical ethics will keep it a secret, I'd rather we become true friends.

I don't think you're the kind of person who would betray a friend.

In my opinion, when I chose to find you, there were only two possibilities between us. One was that we would become true friends, the kind who could confide in each other, and I would be lying on the operating table, entrusting my life to you.

Another scenario is that if you betray me, then it's meaningless for me to say anything or not to you, because someone who wants to betray you will always find a way to stab you in the back.

After all, I can't just find a doctor to perform surgery on me and then kill him, or try to erase his memory, can I?

Old Wei listened patiently, and finally sighed, shook his head, but then revealed a gentle smile: "It seems you are more mature than I imagined."

I understand, A, we are friends.

Although it feels a little strange to be friends with you because of your face.
But it feels good to be trusted.

Perhaps this is why I chose to open my own clinic instead of working for a company.

In short, you're right, A. I will keep my patients' information confidential. Anyone who wants to know about you will have to pry my brain out with a knife first.

Mercer smiled and said, "I know, Old Vieira. It's because I know you're that kind of person that I never intended to be polite with you from the very beginning."

Even from my own perspective, I have to treat you well, haha. Luckily, you suit my taste perfectly, so I don't need to pretend to be friendly.

"Alright, since you're bringing a friend this afternoon, I need to get your S.A.S. Stereo fixed quickly. How's your friend's physical condition? Can he handle it?"

Victor said with concern, "This Sianweistein is very strong, much stronger than the average commercially available model. I tested the program myself, and under extreme overclocking conditions, it can reduce power consumption by 68%."

With such high power, and the fact that we have to crack the built-in protection program before we can use it, it puts a great strain on people's nerves and requires a high level of physical fitness.

Ordinary people would even need a synaptic accelerometer to keep up with the speed of a S.A.S.S. at this level.

"Don't worry, if I'm an intellectual genius, she's a born superhuman, physically gifted genius who can surpass Adam's hammer level."

Mercer was bragging about V.

Victor clicked his tongue in amazement, raising his eyebrows: "Really? Okay, I'll test it this afternoon and we'll know."

“No problem.” Mercer smiled and agreed on a time with him, then headed straight for the company square.

Before, without legal status, he had to be accompanied by Panan when he went shopping, but now he can shop openly and legitimately on his own.

This time, Mercer wanted to purchase drones, so he stepped into the military science store without hesitation.

Welcome to Military Technology!

The shop assistants inside didn't find anything unusual about Mercer wearing a mask—in this era where plating your entire face with silver is considered trendy, wearing a mask is no big deal.

“I need a drone.”

Mercer succinctly stated: "The reason I don't come from the internet is because the drones sold online are all civilian models. I'm sorry, but according to Night City law, we are only allowed to sell legal home defense drones and household nanny drones."

The sales clerk, dressed in a suit and tie, said with a regretful expression.

"I know, but what I want to ask is, I heard you sell some accessories that aren't sold directly online?"

Mercer responded meaningfully: "Like a larger battery option or something?"

The salesperson smiled broadly: "Yes, we have a better new type of lithium battery that can support a 40KG drone to fly continuously for eight hours without charging."

Even with a load of 80KG, it can guarantee three hours of full-efficiency operation.

In addition, we also sell some other accessories, but you'll have to choose those yourself.

Mercer nodded: "Okay, I need two home-use drones, and I also need two new batteries, a load-bearing module, and a high-magnification camera with built-in thermal scanning and anti-interference capabilities."

In addition, two high-altitude flight components, a stealth coating, and oh, a silent module were added.

"I heard you sell some large-caliber drone guns that fire rubber bullets?"

Seeing that Mercer was listing a whole bunch of things as if they were his own treasures, the shop assistant knew exactly what he was talking about and said, "Yes, we have everything you've mentioned."

It seems you are very familiar with our products, so I would also recommend that you add an upgraded AI automatic fire control chip.

It can automatically scan and authenticate your family members, and launch a powerful crackdown on any criminals who infringe upon your family's rights.

"No need, but if you don't have a chip with built-in programs, I'd be interested in replacing it with a more efficient one."

After Mercer finished speaking, the employee bowed slightly.
"Of course, it seems you have your own understanding of home defense."
So, while we don't sell live ammunition for drone guns, we happen to have a machine gun called the Home Defender, which is modeled after the Type 31 heavy machine gun and uses a more common type of ammunition.

Of course, it is definitely not the Type 31 heavy machine gun; it's just a similar model. If you remove the limiting components inside the weapon yourself, then we will void the warranty.

Of course, the bullets will not have any limiting components.

However, you must have purchased the Home Defender machine gun and have a purchase record in order to legally purchase the matching ammunition.

The machine gun isn't expensive; it's on sale for Christmas now, only 23,000 euros.

The machine gun can be fitted with various mounts. We have an advanced mount that can load a program chip, the same model as the drone.

Equipped with a built-in scanning camera, it can be linked with various military-grade devices and can be placed in a vehicle or installed in a home where defense is needed.

This mounting bracket is a retractable, concealed design and supports on-site installation.

Mercer sighed, "You military scientists really know a lot about self-defense."

The employees also expressed their admiration: "Who can argue with that? In this world, where is there a company that understands how to protect your family better than Junke?"

"I'll take it, but the bracket installation will take a while; I need to find a suitable vehicle."

After Mercer finished speaking, the employee's eyes lit up, but Mercer quickly waved his hand: "Military Science's cars are too expensive, I'm not interested."

"Okay. But I still have to tell you that our new Chevrolet Emperor 620 Ragnar Home Defense Edition is equipped with high-grade armor made of the same material as the NCPD, and it's very easy to install a mounting frame."
However, it seems you don't need it.

The employee noticed that Mercer wasn't very interested, so he simply gave up and pointed to other items: "Look, we also have fixed defensive artillery emplacements, cameras, and a lot of excellent individual protective equipment. Would you like to pick out some more?"

He looked Mercer up and down, then offered a very tempting proposal: "We now have a 'Family Christmas Extravaganza' package."

Since you're already planning to buy a drone, why not consider bulletproof clothing that offers better protection for your family members?
Our family Christmas celebration package can be customized to support up to eight family members based on their size and size.

The package includes an optional military-grade carbon fiber bulletproof jacket, weighing an astonishing two kilograms, yet capable of stopping a three-round burst from Arasaka's Masamune rifle at a distance of ten meters.

In addition, we will equip each member of your family with the latest M10-AF Lexington kinetic energy pistol. This pistol is robust, reliable, and battle-tested, making it an excellent value for money and a valuable asset.

Mercer shook his head: "I don't need any random weapons, but I'm very interested in body armor. Can you give me a more cost-effective solution?"

"Yes, of course. If you are very particular about the items you choose, I recommend that you purchase the 'Christmas Gift Set' package. You can choose five different items, and we will pack them for you in a Christmas gift box."

And enjoy an exclusive 8% discount on Christmas gift boxes.

After the employee finished speaking, Mercer nodded decisively.

He realized he might not be suited to shopping at all—what to do when he wanted to buy everything?

Finally, Mercer generously purchased two Christmas gift sets and added some miscellaneous items before reluctantly heading to the checkout.

The two drones are nominally home defense drones, but are actually military-grade Pterodactyl drones, including their built-in drone guns and modifications.

A heavy machine gun, including a mounting bracket that can be fitted with intelligent AI fire control.

The body armor, ammunition, grenades, and additional bulletproof plates were purchased based on the current team size.

The price is very attractive.

During the Christmas promotion, it's only 68,000 euros.

Among them, the drones are discounted to only 8,000 euros each, and with the built-in machine gun and other modifications, they are only 12,000 euros each, which is almost the same price as buying a combat pterodactyl directly.

Even with a 20% discount, the heavy machine gun, along with its mounting bracket and five 100-round ammunition boxes, still costs a hefty 30,000 euros.

The other body armor, grenades, and extra bullets, pieced together, brought the remaining 24,000 euros.

Mercer did the math and finally realized that the bullets for the heavy machine gun were the most expensive. Although the wholesale price per bullet was not expensive, who would buy machine gun bullets by the bullet?

Regular bullets have to be bought by the case, which costs 3,000 euros per case, and there are no discounts.

This box contains only a thousand rounds of ammunition.

The average price per shot is about 3 euros – but the firepower of a heavy machine gun is basically around 500 rounds per minute, which means that if you pull the trigger, 3,000 euros will be gone in two minutes.

However, these bullets come in two versions: civilian and military.

Military armor-piercing rounds have soared in price to eight euros per shot, and a box costs eight thousand euros. A full ammunition belt box that can hold a hundred rounds is equivalent to a magazine costing eight hundred euros.

Mercer didn't even consider a military armor-piercing incendiary round that cost thirteen euros.

In the end, he gritted his teeth and bought two boxes of armor-piercing rounds and two boxes of ordinary full-power rounds.

It's expensive! Really expensive!

But Mercer had no choice but to spend the money because he wasn't fighting unarmed civilians, but rather ruthless street gangsters or well-trained soldiers from the company.

Even without armor-piercing rounds, it's estimated that they wouldn't be able to penetrate their subcutaneous armor and bulletproof vests.

After leaving the delivery address at Adcardo's camp, Mercer turned around and went to visit Camtau again.

He wanted to get himself an even more ruthless weapon.

The Kenshin, a technical pistol that can't unleash its full power without charging, is really not up to the task in the face of the crisis Mercer needs to confront.

In the event of a dangerous situation, there is no time for anyone to recharge.
Therefore, Comto became Mercer's preferred weapon upgrade option.

Although smart weapons require a lock-on time, this lock-on time is related to the smart lock-on program inside the firearm.

Most importantly, if you're a hacker, you can use a smart link prosthetic body installed in your hand, enhanced by brain computing power, to reduce the lock-on time of smart weapons.

In the game, after unlocking advanced hacking skills, players can make smart weapons into artifacts that can automatically aim without locking time in a brain-computer interface overclocking state.

In reality, Mercer is very confident—he uses intelligent weapons, and he probably doesn't need to overclock his brain to ensure that the intelligent weapon is in his hands and there is absolutely no such thing as a time lock.

Pick it up and shoot; the bullets automatically track their targets, each shot hitting the enemy's head with a graceful trajectory, and it can lock onto multiple enemies simultaneously.

This is the type of weapon Mercer has always dreamed of.

Mercer wandered around, but unfortunately, he couldn't find any high-end custom weapons like the 'Yinglong' submachine gun that he really liked in the game.

But what they saw was an advanced smart shotgun that Kangtao employees touted as 'epoch-making'.

L69-type 'Zhuoshi' intelligent shotgun.

This is a shotgun with virtually no competitors.

Its unique magazine design allows it to fire eight independently ignited projectiles in an instant, and these projectiles can even hit eight different enemies under the lock of the intelligent system.

Not only does it possess formidable firepower at close range, but it is also one of the very few shotguns capable of accurately locking onto targets at medium range.

Each magazine provides the user with four firing opportunities. While the rate of fire of 0.8 seconds per shot is not fast, it is certainly not slow for a shotgun.

Reloading is also very convenient; just remove a large magazine and replace it with a new one.

The only drawback is that the bullet-shaped design is slightly weaker in armor penetration, but its smart lock-on feature allows it to concentrate firepower and hit vital points.
"Bought."

Without saying a word, Mercer placed the order.

Contau's weapon prices are among the highest in the smart weapon field, offering excellent value for money. For just 8,000 euros, you can buy an official, genuine Zoller shotgun.
Like heavy machine guns, smart weapons are expensive because of their bullets.

Mercer bought five magazines. Each magazine cost only fifty euros, but the bullets for all five magazines cost 3200 euros.

Mercer opted to purchase the more advanced 'Smart Incendiary Bullets,' which generate high temperatures upon impact, melting the enemy's skin and igniting his prosthetic body.

On average, each bullet costs 20 euros.

Mercer bought another 500 rounds of spare ammunition, without any discount, and another 10,000 euros were gone.

I walked around the company square, and almost 80,000 euros were gone.

Mercer then took a detour to Mallorian, a high-end weapons manufacturer specializing in custom-made weapons. After inquiring about the price of customized weapons, Mercer's worries completely vanished.

A custom-made firearm starts at 100,000 euros.

The old captain made a total of 180,000 euros from his business dealings—and that was only because the old captain thought his programming skills were solid and even sent him a hardware design diagram as a gesture of goodwill.

Wakako asked him to steal biotechnology; if there were no unexpected surprises, he would only make 300,000 euros from this deal.

Sigh, I'm still poor!

After stopping his aimless wandering, Mercer had a simple lunch and then called V.

"V, are you sober yet?"

He said it in an annoyed tone.

V, who was having lunch with Qiwei, looked at him through the video call with shining eyes: "He's awake! He's awake! You can ask Qiwei if you don't believe me!"

"I'll take you to the prosthetic doctor this afternoon and tell Qiwei that she has to come too."

After Mercer finished speaking, V was taken aback at first, then exclaimed with great delight, "You mean..."

“Your tattered clothes make everything difficult. To do anything well, you must first have the right tools. I need to upgrade your tattered clothes.”

After Mercer finished speaking, he paused and said, "Qiwei also needs to change her network receiver, along with the matching deep-sea submersible and black customer service. What kind of hacker is a hacker if he doesn't even have these?"

Don't worry, the items will be considered as part of my loan for you, and the cost will be deducted from your salaries later.

V didn't even want to eat anymore, excitedly slamming his instant Mexican burrito on the table: "Shall we go now?"

"Doesn't a doctor need to have lunch and rest too? An hour later, in Little Chinatown, at Misty's Psychic Center, the doctor we're looking for is in the alley behind the Psychic Center."

When you get there, just say you're looking for Dr. Victor. Misty will give you directions; she's my friend.

I'll go over there first and talk to Lao Wei about something else. You can estimate when you'll arrive.

After Mercer finished speaking, he watched V excitedly and expectantly guessing on the video call: "What are you planning to get me? Subcutaneous armor, muscle enhancement components? A prosthetic eye? Or something else?"

“I want to replace everything for you, but this time, let’s focus on the key project first – Sianwistan.”

After Mercer finished speaking, V burst into laughter and suddenly gave him a thumbs up: "Bro! A, you're my real brother! Choosing to follow you is the most fucking awesome decision I've ever made in my life!"

"Good deed. See you then."

Mercer hung up the phone and then called Rebecca to ask about the situation.

Rebecca smiled broadly on the video call and waved at him with the large shotgun painted green: "How about it, isn't this gun that you found looking pretty good after some repairs?"
I call it Iron Gallbladder! Pretty imposing, right?

"How's the mission going?" Mercer couldn't comment on her colorful hobby; he felt that the animal gang's shotgun had been painted like a toy gun.

I just don't know if this 'Iron Gallbladder' is the same one Rebecca used in the anime after she got a gorilla arm.

"Successfully! We got everything we needed, and we even picked out a nice car from that old captain as our target—a sports car for a corporate dog, a Goodra 66."

We're on our way to the company's underground parking lot now. The old captain said he could sell a car in this condition for at least 110,000 euros. If we close this deal, we're going to be rich!

Rebecca laughed excitedly, "Mercer, I never thought making money could be so easy! That's 110,000 euros! 110,000! We can split it... Pira!"

What would the old captain's purchase price be if it were 60%?

Pila, equally excited, exclaimed, "Over sixty thousand euros!"

"Haha, even if we deduct the 20% team share you mentioned, we'll still get... over 40,000 euros!"

Rebecca was so happy that she even blew Mercer a kiss: "A, if you were next to me, I would really kiss you!"

"Alright, don't get too excited. Forty thousand euros is just a lot in appearance. If you really want to do something, it's not enough for anything. A decent set of high-grade leather armor will cost tens of thousands of euros, and you two will have to split it."

After Mercer finished speaking, Rebecca finally calmed down a bit, but she still couldn't hide her joy: "Once I get the money, I'll buy some parts to upgrade my Ironclad, and then I can buy some clothes and have a nice meal!"
Ha, I need to upgrade my cybernetic body. At least give me some muscle-enhancing components, otherwise I won't be able to use my Iron Gallbladder! I just fired a shot into thin air, and I almost got sent flying.

"Okay, as long as you're satisfied. Tomorrow I'll introduce you to a reliable doctor, and you and Pila should both get promoted. After that, we'll get to the real big business."

Mercer's words made Rebecca smile, revealing her pearly white teeth: "Mercury, I'll treat you to dinner after work tonight!"

"Focus on doing your current tasks well first, and don't get too carried away," Mercer cautioned.

Rebecca winked at him: "Oh, I already told you, don't worry. I don't want to disappoint you either. Just wait for my good news. I'm almost there, I need to focus."

"Okay." Mercer hung up the phone.

With nothing else to do, Mercer decided to go to Little Chinatown first, find a small restaurant, eat a bowl of fried rice, and then go directly to find Old Wei.

After greeting Misty, Mercer walked through the alley and arrived at Old V's underground clinic. He pushed open the door and saw Old V busy repairing Sianwistan.

"Shall I lend a hand?" Mercer was itching to get his hands dirty—he had learned a lot about prosthetic repair, modification, and production in the Arasaka course, but hadn't had a chance to try it out yet.

"No need, I'm used to doing it by myself. You can sit and watch TV for a while."

As Victor spoke, he turned to look at Mercer and said, "By the way, the mask is quite unique."

"Haha, that's fine then. The main thing is that you're young and your face doesn't hold up well without a mask." Mercer was also quite helpless; he didn't really like this feeling of hiding things.

He didn't actually watch TV; instead, he stood to the side and watched Lao Wei work. After a while, he went to tinker with his equipment.

Mercer was very interested in everything in Old Vie's clinic.

Are ZetaTech's 3D printers any good?

"It works well. Although the quality of the printed products is definitely not as good as the original, it is sufficient for repairing ordinary prosthetic bodies."

"A nano-cell repair machine based on biotechnology?"

"Hmm, you have a good eye. Not many people recognize this. It's generally used for neurological treatments and is very expensive. Don't let its small size fool you; one costs over 300,000 euros, and you also need to regularly spend money to replenish the nanorobots and repair fluid inside."

"Arasaka's blood purification device. This thing is a bit rubbish, Old Wei. I checked the database, and there's data falsification in this Arasaka model."

"It's a second-hand item, bought because it was cheap. If you're going to make it yourself, remember to buy Biotechnology or Zeta."

Mercer practically toured Old Vie’s clinic, but Old Vie didn’t find it annoying at all. Few people were as knowledgeable as Mercer, able to recognize many of the seemingly unassuming but high-quality items in his shop.

"You really have a conscience, Lao Wei. You didn't use any of those low-end tech gadgets from small factories," Mercer exclaimed in amazement.

“Those small factories’ machines are a gamble with lives. I don’t like to joke with patients’ lives.” Old Wei breathed a sigh of relief and finally put down the prosthetic nano-repair machine in his hand.

"Alright, come and take a look, it shouldn't be bad."

Before Victor could finish speaking, Mercer had already come over with great interest.

"Is the program working? If not, I'll handle it. I'm very interested in S.A.W.S. software."

After Mercer finished speaking, Victor laughed and said, "I haven't done it yet. I'm waiting for you, you hacker genius."

With that, Victor stepped aside.

Mercer sat down without any hesitation. He picked up the prosthetic software machine on Old Wei's table, plugged it in to connect to Sianwistan, and then connected his own data cable to the machine.

This machine is also from Zeta Technology. It can be understood as a small computer specifically designed to modify prosthetic programs, similar to the portable network access pods used by hackers in the past that do not require insertion into the brain.

Mercer, somewhat clumsily, tapped a few times on the keyboard of the game console-sized device, and within ten seconds, he figured out the code program inside the machine.

Old Wei stared in disbelief as Mercer plugged in the cable. He barely moved his hands, and a series of complex codes flashed across the machine's screen. He clicked his tongue in amazement: "Hackers are really amazing. Did you bypass the machine's operating system directly?"

"Yes, I prefer to get things done directly with data and code."

Blue lights flickered in Mercer's psychic eyes, and both the machine and his head began to heat up simultaneously.

In about thirty seconds, Mercer said, multitasking, "It's done. The restriction program inside is almost the same as Arasaka's other prosthetic bodies. I can handle it with the 'Free Killer' I created before."

However, I feel I can optimize the code. I'll give it a try; if I can manage it, the power output might even be improved further.

Old Wei felt dizzy just looking at the code scrolling rapidly on the screen, almost leaving afterimages. He shook his head with a sigh: "I don't really understand your hacker techniques. I usually have to follow the operating system."

"Most hackers don't have my skills; just figuring out the machine's code would take them a lot of hair."

Mercer spoke calmly as he continued tinkering with the programs inside the Sinweistein, optimizing the internal program code while also learning and memorizing the Sinweistein's driver software.

After a few minutes of fiddling around, Mercer's mind gradually began to cool down, and he had some free time to continue speaking:

"It's all set. My optimized operating system is at least 10% better than before. Although the power increase may be limited, the reduction in neural load is definitely significant."

Old Wei, who also enjoys tinkering with technology, couldn't resist joining in: "Let me try running it."

After Mercer disconnected the cable, he let Old Wei try it out himself. Old Wei then connected the S.A.S. Steinstein to a dedicated test computer and ran it through.

"Impressive. The burden on the nerves has been reduced by at least 6%, and the power has increased by 3% due to optimization! Your skills are truly remarkable."

Victor wasn't like those ignorant people—he knew very well that operating system software for prosthetic bodies like this required dozens of programmers working all night for months, or even a year or two, to develop and optimize.

They must have already tried to optimize the areas that could be improved.

While Arasaka's S'anwestein is inferior to Mercer's hacker prosthetic, it is also technologically behind similar prosthetics like the Military Science and Thousand-Change.

But since it is a laboratory-level product, there are certainly no procedural restrictions or limitations.

This means that Mercer, all by himself, accomplished in a few minutes what dozens of Arakawa's programmers might not have been able to do in several months.

Victor considered himself a genius in the field of prosthetic medicine, but compared to Mercer's talent in the field of computers...
"There are always people better than you, and there's always something beyond your understanding. Mercer, you've taught me a lesson."

Victor sighed, "I still underestimated you."

Mercer laughed and said, "I also upgraded the security measures inside!"
If hacked and an abnormal signal is triggered, this prosthetic body will automatically enter protection mode to prevent itself from being twisted into a pretzel by prosthetic overload or prosthetic malfunction.

That's how I killed its previous owner.

Old Wei put down the Sianwistan he was holding, stretched his shoulders, and then turned to look at Mercer: "What are you planning to do for your friend this time?"

"First, there's Sianwistan. Second, we need to replace her brain-computer interface with the latest one, and her prosthetic eye also needs to be replaced. I'm thinking of adding subcutaneous armor as well."

After Mercer finished speaking, he saw Old Vie's disapproving look.

"Alright, Lao Wei, this isn't much."

Do you think everyone is a genius with superhuman endurance like you?

Victor shook his head and said, "The subcutaneous armor, Sianwistan, and the new brain-computer interface are all fine. As for the prosthetic eye, I'll get the data and then make a judgment."

"Let's equip her with my share of the leather military-grade ICE too. I'm not too afraid of anyone engaging in electronic warfare with me, but she's an idiot, so we have to be careful."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Mercer heard hurried footsteps approaching the door. Old Wei's only prosthetic body, his prosthetic eyes, flashed:
"A beautiful girl with white hair, and a tall girl with short hair, are they both your friends?"

"Yes, the one with white hair is called V, and the other one is called Qiwei."

Mercer nodded, and Old Vie then turned on the automatic door switch.

The automatic door opened with a whoosh, and V excitedly poked his head out. Seeing Mercer and Dr. Victor, he immediately greeted them warmly: "Hey! Mercer, Dr. Victor, I'm here!"

Qiwei slowly walked in from behind her, simply nodding to Moser, and looking at the prosthetic hospital, she revealed a somewhat complicated expression.

Seeing this, Victor chuckled twice: "Your friend and you are just like two peas in a pod."

Mercer looked completely bewildered: "Me? With her?"

V also heard this and looked rather uncomfortable: "Huh? Dr. Victor, how do I resemble him?"

“Yeah, look at her, she looks like she has an IQ of at most an 8, don’t mess with her, Old Wei.”

After Mercer finished speaking, V immediately revealed a confident expression: "IQ 8? Impossible! Absolutely impossible! I've been smart since I was a child!"

"Why don't we just take a test and find out?"

Victor smiled and pointed to the operating chair: "Who wants to go first?"

Qiwei wasn't enthusiastic about getting a prosthetic body installed, but in the end, V stubbornly insisted, "Of course it's me!"

Without hesitation, she sat down in the chair, leaned back, and said casually, "When I had my prosthetic body installed, which doctor didn't say I was a gifted individual?"

It's just that they don't have a dedicated program for measuring numbers.

"Now I'll show you my stats!"

Old V was also very interested in the 'Body of the Ox and Horse' that Mercer mentioned could match Adam's hammer. Without much talk, he enthusiastically connected V and started scanning with the instrument.

When the scan results came out, Lao Wei couldn't help but widen his eyes slightly.

I go
You two.
Are they all serious?
(End of this chapter)