Cyberpunk: Starting in 2071

Chapter 77 Action Plan
"You mean her and Pira's enemies are on the list the priest gave us?" Although V didn't know the details of Rebecca's affairs, she did know that Rebecca had an old enemy who was still alive.

"That's right."

Mercer nodded: "If I can turn down this job, the priest will find someone else to do it. If Rebecca misses the chance to kill her enemy, that's fine if she doesn't encounter him. But since she has, I don't want Rebecca to have any regrets."

V clicked his tongue in amazement and said, "How could these things be connected? I'm starting to really believe in the concept of fate now."

"Well, it just so happens that we've run into each other. This is a good opportunity to help Rebecca get her revenge. Besides, Rebecca's enemy is in charge of running a casino, so there must be a lot of cash there. Even if there isn't any cash, I'll still squeeze money out of him."

Mercer is getting a bit addicted to robbing people now.

How much money can you make from commissions? He realized that you have to work with influential people like this, and squeeze all the money out of them along the way.

After reviewing the objectives sent by the priest, he said, "Tomorrow, you, along with Lucy, Qiwei, and Pila, will be in charge of the toughest strongholds. The rest will be handled by Rebecca and me."

After Mercer finished speaking, V couldn't help but look at him: "Are you sure? How about I lend you Pira? They have Sianwistan on the other side, are you sure you can handle it?"

"Just kidding. If it were a head-on fight, I might be a little scared, but if the enemy is in the open and I'm in the shadows, then I've never been afraid of anyone."

Mercer said with a smile, "Besides, Rebecca has also been fitted with a prosthetic body, so she's not as weak as you think."

On the contrary, you not only need to be careful about yourself, but also take care of them. Pila's modifications are more geared towards becoming a technical expert, so when it comes to direct combat, everyone is counting on you.

V chuckled: "I think I'm incredibly strong now. To be honest, if I had to take care of six or seven members of the Sixth Street gang before, I'd probably be riddled with bullet holes. But now..."

She patted her arm and said confidently, "Even if a dozen fully armed members of the Sixth Street Gang stood in front of me, I wouldn't be afraid. I would chop them all up with my mantis knife before they even had a chance to blink!"

“Alright, then I’ll leave it to you.” After saying that, Mercer paused and said, “The priest wants to take revenge on the other side, and the Sixth Street Gang will definitely be on guard, so be careful of traps and don’t be too careless.”

"Don't worry, we'll do it your way, according to our team's rules—reconnoiter first, plan second, and then act."

V said.

At this moment, Jack, who had gone to another table, returned to this side and asked the priest what he wanted with Mercer and V.

Mercer didn't hide it from him; this was the bar most frequented by the Haywood people, or more accurately, the Valentino gang. It was full of Valentino gang members, inside and out.

After listening to their request, Jack hesitated for a moment and said, "How about I lend a hand? I won't take any of your money, but I'm worried there are too many people on the other side. Can you handle them?"

"That's because you don't know how strong I am right now!" V chuckled twice and slowly raised a pistol that Jack recognized very well.

Jack was taken aback, then looked down—and sure enough, the holster on his waist was empty.

V placed the pistol on the table and said, "Got it? If we didn't have the ability, we wouldn't have taken this mission."

"Holy crap!" Jack exclaimed, his mouth agape in shock. "Seanwistan? That thing isn't cheap!"

“Of course! All these things I have on me are worth close to a million euros. What do those street thugs have to compare to me?” V confidently extended her right hand.

With a snap of her arm, an exaggeratedly designed mantis knife flashing red light jumped out. V casually swung it twice, and a gust of hot air tore through the air with two whooshing sounds.

V retracted the mantis knife into her arm and raised an eyebrow at Mercer with a smug look—she hadn't remembered to show off to Mercer since she went to Old V to level up!

Now she uses Arasaka's experimental S.A.W.S ...

It can be said that V's equipment is now at the level of a high-level agent in the company. If he could take it a step further, he would truly be at the level of a legendary mercenary.

"Is it too late for me to join now?" Jack joked.

Unexpectedly, Mercer nodded decisively and said, "Of course, what our team lacks is a big guy who can charge ahead. Jack, if you come, I'll give you an interest-free loan and get you a really tough set."

“Uh, I’m still with the Valentino gang,” Jack tried to politely decline.

But V spoke up, saying, "Jack, you should still remember what you told me before, right?"

Jack was taken aback.

"For people like us, sometimes we only get one chance to change our lives."

V looked at Jack seriously and asked, "How well do you fare in the gang? You've been in the gang for quite a while now, haven't you? How many people do you have under you? Do you have your own territory? How much money have you made?"

Jack was speechless for a moment, but V pointed at Mercer and said, "I did one job with him, just one commission, do you know how much money I made?"

V turned to look at Mercer, who nodded, before turning to Jack and saying, "Over a million euros, I'm talking about my personal income, Jack. Have you ever seen that much money in your life?"

"Fuck you, Chica, are you serious?" Jack couldn't help but swear.

"Of course it's true! My sister is living with the team now, and she doesn't even have to pay rent. She has a big single room for each of them, and A provides all the weapons and equipment. We even have platinum members in the trauma group!"

At this point, V couldn't help but brag: "Do you know how much the Trauma Group charges for a Platinum membership for mercenaries? Ten thousand euros a month per person! But I don't have to pay a single penny; it's considered a team benefit!"

V took a big gulp of whiskey, then slammed the glass on the table: "A month ago, I couldn't even afford a few hundred euros in rent! But look at me now!"

Jack was speechless, his heart pounding wildly.

“Jack, I can tell that A really thinks you are reliable, which is why he recruited you. So far, it seems that he hasn’t misjudged people.”

If he thinks you're capable, then you probably really are, and have more potential than you think.

"If you miss this chance, who knows when you'll get another one, Jack."

After V finished speaking, he didn't say anything more, but looked at Jack and added one last sentence: "Ask yourself how much longer you want to waste your time in the gang."
"Now's your chance—nobody or star? You'd better think about it, Jack."

Mercer looked away, a little uneasy. Why was this V stealing his lines?
Jack almost agreed immediately—especially after V uttered that classic line at the end.

He desperately wanted to be a big shot.

But he was a mature man and knew that he should never make a hasty decision under any circumstances. So, even though he was really tempted this time, he forced himself to calm down first: "Chica, I need to think about it, think it over carefully."

"I just hope you think this through soon. Look at your brothers, how many of them went down in this Sixth Street gang's surprise attack? Jack, how long can your luck last?"

After V finished speaking, he didn't say anything more, but turned to look at Mercer: "When do we start taking action?"

Mercer pondered for a moment: "Three days, I guess. We have a lot to do in these three days, such as verifying the priest's information, preparing weapons and equipment, and formulating an action plan."

I believe the best approach to such a surprise attack is to strike that very night and get everything done in one night. Otherwise, if the enemy becomes alert and retreats, it will be much harder to handle.

V nodded: "I'll listen to you, but A, you have to come with me to Old Vina for a few surgeries."

"You just finished installing those things." Mercer's expression turned serious. Even though he firmly believed that V was a natural-born cybernetic superhero, it was still impossible to replace all the parts on his body in just one month, right?
V shook his head and said, "I have to change it. At the very least, I need to add the relevant muscle enhancements, as well as artificially synthesized internal organs."
I'm not exaggerating, but I'm really going too fast right now. I'm so fast that every time I accelerate, my muscles go weak and my heart feels like it's going to explode.

I feel that if I don't upgrade the other supporting prosthetics, my situation will actually be more dangerous.

This one deal is fine, but what if I suddenly lose power when I'm working on another big deal? Wouldn't that be even worse?

Mercer frowned and said in a deep voice, "Go back and I'll give you a proper check-up first."

"Okay, I've never doubted your hacking skills, so you shouldn't doubt my physical talent either."

After V finished speaking with a smile, he looked at Mercer very seriously and said, "I have to become stronger, do you understand what I mean?"

Mercer swallowed his words of advice, and upon reflection, realized that he himself was no different.

He pursed his lips, looked at V, and after a while said, "Let's wait until Old V and I assess your situation before we talk about it, V. I don't want to see you go crazy."

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. I feel like my body has a high tolerance and good adaptability. Now you see me speeding up, I can control it with ease, it feels as natural and easy as breathing. It's just that my body can't quite handle the extreme bursts."

V curled the corners of her lips and looked at Mercer: "There's nothing I can do. People whose physical potential has just broken through to double digits probably can't understand how I feel."

Mercer was speechless. He had the final say on intelligence, but V had more authority on physical prowess.

"As long as you have a clear idea in mind, I'll go with you to take a look."

After Mercer finished speaking, V suddenly moved closer to him in a somewhat ambiguous manner: "Oh~ are you in charge of this surgery as well?"

Mercer rolled his eyes and then said, "Aside from the limbs, if you want to add muscle enhancements to other areas, it involves strengthening the core muscles. If you want to change them, you have to change them all, otherwise you'll have problems with your body balance."

"Tsk, okay." After saying that, V belatedly realized he was a little worried: "Doesn't that mean I've been completely replaced, inside and out?"

She only now realizes just how extreme her modifications were.

Mercer wanted to say—you'd probably be fine even if you were Adam's hammer.

But seeing V's ignorant attitude, he decided to give her a proper lesson.

"There are different types of muscle enhancement. The surgeries we perform are all designed to maximize your body's potential, so your body won't become as bulky as mine."

Mercer pointed to his broad shoulders and continued, "Mine is like having all the muscles I don't have crammed in; they're all artificial muscles."

And they also had to strengthen my skeleton and ligaments, which is equivalent to replacing my own flesh and blood.

He pointed at V again and said, "Your situation is like adding a bunch of things into your original muscles. It's still your own muscles that are being strengthened, without replacing all your flesh and blood with all sorts of random stuff."

It may seem like a big change, but in essence, it's still your own muscles working.

V suddenly realized: "So that means I won't have any strange feelings?"

"Yes, you can even continue to get stronger through exercise."

Mercer nodded and said, "Only those who lack talent would need to replace their own muscles with completely synthetic ones in order to gain greater power."

You don't need to go that far. The main thing is to replace consumable parts like ligaments with durable ones, replace bones with metal ones, reinforce joints, and replace muscles prone to tearing and injury with stronger muscle bundles to provide resilience and support.
That's exactly what the animal gang did. They took drugs and trained their muscles like crazy, but replaced all their joints, bones, and ligaments with synthetic ones to prevent them from being crushed by their muscles.

"Hey, don't worry about it. You wouldn't understand anyway. I'll figure out what you need to install for you."

V rolled his eyes: "What about the Mantis Blade? Didn't it almost replace my forearm?"

"There's nothing you can do about it; it's determined by the mechanical structure. However, you can choose to use a melee weapon instead of the Mantis Knife to save your arm."

After Mercer finished speaking, he looked at her calmly: "But no matter how strong your forearm is, it can't be stronger than this kind of purely mechanical prosthetic. Don't you feel that your forearm is stronger now?"

After Mercer finished speaking, V felt relieved and muttered, "According to you, it seems that it would be stronger to replace the whole body with machinery."

"Then you'll have to find a mechanical body even stronger than Adam's hammer to do justice to your physical talent."

After Mercer finished speaking, he smiled and said, "The surgery that Old Wei and I arranged for you will definitely not be based on overworking or wasting your physical potential, so you can rest assured."

V nodded, while Jack, who had been listening quietly, asked timidly, "That must have cost a lot of money, right?"

Mercer scanned him with his prosthetic eye. He was dressed in tattered clothes, and the model of his subcutaneous armor couldn't be detected. It was obviously junk he had picked up from somewhere. No wonder any gun could shoot him in the eye.

There are no muscle-enhancing components; it's just a shock-absorbing pad on the palm.

"Anyway, it's no cheaper than replacing the whole muscle with an artificial one. The key is that it requires more manpower. Strengthening your muscles is much more troublesome than replacing them directly."

After Mercer finished speaking, Jack fell silent, only rubbing his face in distress: "I need to think about this carefully, Mano. I've never thought about leaving the gang."

"You joined a gang just to make a living, hoping to make a name for yourself and build a career?"

Mercer looked at Jack earnestly and said, "Being a mercenary or joining a gang are both risking your life. At least if you join me, the rewards for risking your life will be higher, and you'll also have the chance to become stronger quickly."

"I know, Mano, it's just that many things aren't as easy as you think. I don't know if I'm ready to embrace a new life, you know what I mean?"

Jack sighed.

Mercer smiled and said, "I'm not in a hurry. Take your time to think it over. There's still a long way to go. Just be careful not to fall into trouble too easily, that would be such a waste, brother."

Jack nodded sullenly.

Then, Mercer finished the last fry: "Let's go, back to get ready for work."

V also stood up: "Okay, I'll go back and get some sleep too. Tomorrow we'll go to Old Wei's place together to see if we still have any money in our pockets. Has Hans paid you for the commission he gave you separately?"

"It's settled. I'm keeping the money. You borrowed a lot of money to buy equipment before, so this is to pay you back."

Mercer finished speaking with a laugh, then put his hands in his pockets: "I also need to get some subcutaneous armor before the operation, otherwise if I get hit by a stray bullet, that would be a really funny way to die."

"I feel like you have built-in bulletproof vests in your chest," V remarked.

"I feel I need to talk to Lao Wei about replacing my head, arms and legs with bulletproof skulls as soon as possible to protect my brain."

After Mercer finished speaking with a smile, he greeted Jack, who was still troubled, patted him on the shoulder, and then left the Wild Wolf Bar with V.

He needed to hurry home to tell Rebecca the good news, and at the same time, arrange an action plan based on the information sent by the priest.

As soon as Mercer and V returned to the base, they called everyone to a meeting in the living room. Everyone thought that the biotechnology heist had been resolved, but Mercer's first words after everyone arrived shattered everyone's expectations.

“I’ve got a job. Father Haywood has given me a commission to carry out a bloody revenge against the Sixth Street gang that attacked them.”

As soon as Mercer finished speaking, Rebecca frowned. She looked left and right, and seeing that no one spoke, she raised her hand: "Now? But don't we still need to prepare that biotechnology order?"

“Yes, now.” Mercer smiled, his mysterious demeanor making Rebecca suppress her doubts.

Mercer paused, and seeing that no one spoke, he continued, "We need to eliminate three strongholds of the Sixth Street Gang, as well as three high-level targets. Moreover, these three targets are all high-risk units and require extra attention."

As soon as he finished speaking, a magnified 3D map of Night City suddenly appeared on everyone's retinas.

"How did they do that?" Qi Wei keenly sensed that this was no simple feat.

"After connecting to the server's network and computing power, we can remotely control the 3D drawing software on the computer to create a demonstration animation, and then use the Penguin software's video call function to synchronously display the animation to your AI eyes."

It sounds simple, but it's actually based on the fact that Mercer has already put the Penguin software on the server as well.

He has now officially turned Penguin Software into a dedicated encrypted communication software, no longer relying on the original brain-computer interface communication system, but officially using it as a communication software that runs on the network.

All chat logs and communications rely on the server's network. The advantage of this is that as long as the server does not have problems, their conversations will not be easily interrupted, and there is no need to worry about anyone stealing their secrets.

After giving a brief explanation, Mercer continued, "Can you all read the map?"

"Yes," everyone responded.

Mercer then nodded and said, "They recently invaded the Canyon District, which was originally the territory of the Valotino gang. There is no doubt that they have overreached. Therefore, their stronghold in the Canyon District is our key target."

In everyone's view, a building in the canyon area was highlighted on the map, then enlarged to reveal a 3D model that slowly rotated and was displayed.

"This residential building is their only foothold in the canyon area."

Correspondingly, the Sixth Street gang, which operates extensively in the canyon area, usually resides here. After driving out the original inhabitants, they converted this small apartment into their base. So there's no need to worry about accidental injury; everyone in this apartment building belongs to the Sixth Street gang.

There are at least twenty people inside. The building has a complex layout, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack.

Don't be careless. These guys are different from the cleaners you dealt with. The cleaners were just a bunch of bullies who preyed on innocent ordinary people.

The Sixth Street gangs in the Canyon District are professional gangs specifically tasked with competing with the Valentino gang for territory.

I plan to hand this tough nut to V. The preliminary reconnaissance tasks will also be handled by V's team.

The members of Team V are Pila, Qiwei, and Lucy.

The three of you have the skills, but not the agility. You need to utilize your strengths to assist V in his operations.

Subsequently, Mercer posted the high-risk target's resume on the building in the video conference footage.

"Stephen A, the combat team leader of the Sixth Street Gang, is a former special forces soldier with a full set of military equipment, including the Berserk System, tactical goggles, gorilla arms, full-body muscle modification, heavy subcutaneous armor, Krenchikov, and wrist grenades."
He's the leader of the Sixth Street gang in the Canyon District, and the toughest nut to crack this time. You all need to be extra careful. My suggestion is that the hacker create the opportunity, and V delivers a fatal blow, giving him no time to react.

Seeing that even V was frowning, Mercer knew that they must have realized how difficult the target was, so he didn't give any more instructions.

Instead, it went on to showcase other objectives.

"The remaining strongholds are all in the valley area: a residential house and a casino."

The map quickly highlighted the buildings in two river valley areas in red, and at the same time, the personal resumes of two people floated above these buildings.

John Will, a former New American colonel, came to Night City in 64. Now he is the second-in-command of the Sixth Street gang in the River Valley and the action leader of the River Valley. He is equipped with S.A.R.S. and spends almost every night in this two-story building.

The basement of this small building houses the pharmaceutical factory of the Sixth Street Gang. Seven or eight members of the Sixth Street Gang usually live and eat here. We need to clean up this place, both the people and the place, thoroughly.

This task will be handled by Rebecca and me.

"And the person in charge of this casino was named William James."

At first, Pira was a bit listless, thinking that after finishing this job he would have to talk to Mercer and at least give him a few days off to go to the Ritz and have some fun.

But when Mercer revealed that the target of this mission was the Sixth Street Gang, and that one of the targets was named 'William James', the expressions of the brother and sister changed instantly.

"You mean that bastard who ransacked our house?"

Rebecca's expression turned fierce, her eyes filled with hatred.

Pira appeared relatively calm, but his unconsciously pursed lips clearly revealed that he also harbored resentment towards the man who had indirectly caused their displacement and forced them to sleep on the streets.

“Yes, he’s that bastard.” Mercer zoomed in on the image of the casino.

Rebecca pressed on impatiently, holding up her shotgun: "What's the deal with James's casino?"

"The casino opens at 5 p.m. and there are about a dozen Sixth Street gang members stationed there for security and management. James usually stays in his office. Generally, the casino doesn't close until 7 a.m.

He most likely won't leave the casino until 7 PM.

After hearing Mercer's explanation, Rebecca immediately gritted her teeth and said, "You absolutely must take me with you to this goal!"

“I know.” Mercer smiled and then said, “What we need to do tomorrow is simple: take a look around the Six Streets gang strongholds in the Canyon District and the River Valley District.”

Confirm whether the garrison numbers, defensive strength, deployment, and terrain of these outposts match the intelligence and whether there are any anomalies.

Then we also need to observe whether these three people on the priest's 'wanted list' are staying obediently in the stronghold.

"We'll begin our operation no later than the night after tomorrow, splitting into two teams with V to destroy these outposts and eliminate these high-risk targets."

Mercer calmly explained the battle plan through everyone's prosthetic eyes:

"The casino is located in the River Valley area, which is also the core area of ​​the Sixth Street Gang. Although there may only be a dozen or so people in the casino, if the battle cannot be resolved quickly, the continuous stream of reinforcements will definitely become a big problem."

Therefore, our plan is for Team V to make the first move and create some commotion in the canyon area.

As the combat team leader, John Will would be the first to organize manpower to provide support should an attack occur.

Then Rebecca and I lay in ambush, waiting for Colonel John Will to come out of his two-story house to provide support. We planned to ambush him on the way and then burn down their workshop.

Once he's dealt with, the people who went to provide support will be temporarily thrown into chaos due to the sudden lack of leadership.

After taking control of the strongholds in the canyon area, V immediately withdrew.

While the Sixth Street Gang was leaving their headquarters undefended after rushing to the Canyon District for reinforcements, Rebecca and I stormed the casino, quickly ended the fight, took the money, and made our escape.

After Mercer finished speaking, he asked, "Do you think there's anything that needs to be added to the plan? If not, we'll go do some reconnaissance and modify it as needed based on what we see."

"No, I think it's pretty reliable. But A, can you handle that guy wearing S.A.S.? He doesn't sound like a pushover."

V was somewhat worried.

Mercer laughed and said, "If I can't take down a retired veteran and gang leader in an ambush after installing so many prosthetics, then I've really wasted my time."

He looked at V and said seriously, "The most dangerous place is still yours. Although apart from the leader, the rest are just ordinary thugs, there should still be a lot of defensive equipment in the building with long guns and short guns."
You are the one at greatest risk.

"It feels like this 500,000 is harder to earn than the previous millions of euros," V complained.

Mercer just smiled and said, "You know, Wakako's basic fee for me was only 300,000 yen. The rest was all extra money I earned myself."

"Making money by dealing with company dogs is still the fastest way to make money." V ​​realized the reality.

“The valuable prosthetic body can be removed. I think Pila would be happy to do it. Take it back and fix it. Wouldn’t that be an extra income of tens of thousands of euros? However, don’t be too greedy this time. Safety first. Our main goal this time is not money.”

Mercer said.

Pira hesitated, "Can Rebecca and you two manage?"

“Of course I can!” Rebecca exclaimed, her eyes wide. “I’m going to smash James’s head in with my own hands!”

Mercer smiled and said, "Don't worry, I'll take Rebecca with me and bring her back safely. The number of people I have to deal with here is less than the number you have there, and I don't even need to storm the building."

Pila nodded, then turned to look at Rebecca, who was sitting not far from her in reality. Rebecca simply pouted and said, "It's my job to bring Mercer back safely!"

Mercer simply smiled, looking at the faces in front of him, and said seriously, "This mission isn't too difficult. Apart from the three high-level targets, the rest are just some small fry."

With our team's configuration, once we've dealt with the high-risk targets, I believe everyone is confident we can handle the rest of the weaker targets.

However, even the smallest commission requires 100% focus and caution. If things become impossible or there are any special circumstances, I allow everyone to leave on their own.

I'd rather terminate the mission than see any tragedy occur, understand?

"Understood." Everyone gave an affirmative answer.

Then, Rebecca hesitated before saying, "How about we deal with that bastard after we've finished the biotechnology deal? Otherwise, what if something goes wrong and it affects our subsequent plans?"

"The Valentino gang is probably not going to be able to wait any longer. If we can't weaken the Sixth Street gang's strength as soon as possible, I think the Sixth Street gang will soon further invade their territory and take advantage of the Valentino gang's current weakened state to give them a good beating."

"If we don't do it, the Valentino gang will find someone else to deal with these Sixth Street bastards. Haven't you always wanted to get revenge yourself, Rebecca? Now's the perfect opportunity."

Mercer looked at Rebecca with a gentle expression and smiled:
"Don't worry, the big guys have become very strong now. It's a good opportunity to test the strength of the weapons and equipment we've developed and the team before dealing with biotechnology. It's a good way to test the biotechnology case in advance."

Rebecca hummed in agreement, looked at Mercer, and after a moment laughed, "Then let's go together and smash that William James's head in!"

“Okay.” Mercer smiled, then clapped his hands and said, “Tomorrow morning Rebecca and I will go for a stroll in the River Valley, and V, you take Qiwei and the others to the Canyon. I will have Morning Star connect to your network to provide you with real-time support.”

Although the ctOS system is not yet fully developed, Qimingxing can monitor our targets in real time on its own, so everyone should prioritize security and avoid being detected prematurely.

"Understood." V nodded.

"The old captain's vehicles are almost finished being modified. When we go on the operation, you can use the hacker cars and armored vehicles. Rebecca and I will drive my Mizutani Jun."

After Mercer finished speaking, V frowned: "Are you sure?"

“It’s confirmed. We’ll have Qiwei and Lucy provide support for you in the hacker car. It’ll be safer for them that way.”

Mercer persisted, and V remained silent for a while before Rebecca confidently said, "Don't worry, I will protect Mercer."

“Who will protect whom is still uncertain.” Mercer chuckled, then stood up and said, “Then it’s settled, V. After we finish our reconnaissance tomorrow morning, you and I will go to Old Vina again tomorrow afternoon.”

"Got it." V nodded, while Rebecca clicked her tongue and said, "But V, why are you going to Old V's again? Old V said last time that you need to take a break, our team is getting prosthetics too fast."

V simply said nonchalantly, "There's nothing I can do. The Sinweistein is too powerful. Without the matching components, my own original parts can't handle it."

“If you ask me,” Lucy hesitated before speaking, “if it’s because the pressure is too much, I think it shouldn’t be a problem for us to give up the biotechnology deal, right, Mercer?”

Mercer and V both looked at Lucy, then exchanged a smile.

“A told me the same thing, don’t worry, I know what I’m doing.” V patted her arm confidently: “It’s not like they’re replacing my arms and legs, just adding some composite parts to increase its strength.”

Mercer also looked at Lucy and assured her, "I'll go with her tomorrow. If both Old V and I feel it's too much of a stretch, then we won't switch. Don't worry, I'd rather miss out on this biotechnology deal than let anything happen to V."

Before V could even speak, Xingzi winked at her and said, "That's right, with Mercer around, he definitely won't let V act tough."

V rolled her eyes and snorted, "Does he even need to say that? He's the one who loves to show off the most."

Everyone chatted and laughed, and then the meeting adjourned. In order to recharge, everyone stopped their work and went to bed early.

Aside from Mercer—who is incredibly energetic and can stay fully alert with just three hours of sleep a day unless he encounters a situation that requires too much mental exertion.

He worked alone in the workshop for a long time until he managed to assemble a few more suicide drones before finalizing the manufacturing process and component matching for his suicide drones.

First, regarding the chip part, Mercer can be said to have suffered from a lack of understanding of cutting-edge technology. According to the official website, the more accurate name of this Zeta Technology miniature lithography machine should be 'integrated lithography chip manufacturing machine'.

It allows users to complete all subsequent work such as photolithography, etching, doping, and thin film deposition in one integrated machine after purchasing oxidized wafers.

Furthermore, thanks to Cyberworld's cutting-edge computer hardware technology, the entire process can be completed in as little as eight hours.

In other words, as long as the corresponding raw materials are put in, eight hours later, a complete chip or integrated circuit board with a preliminary shape can be obtained by using the purchased automatic packaging machine to package the chip.

It also supports batch continuous production. After being powered on for eight hours, the machine can be used to implement a production line cycle, allowing different chips to take turns to undergo different manufacturing processes, producing one chip every hour.

After manual soldering and adjustment, and power-on testing, it can be put into use.

However, in actual use, Mercer discovered that this lithography machine was just a pure toy.

Firstly, because chip manufacturing requires multiple chemical reactions and repeated photolithography, as well as stringent requirements for the working environment, the scrap rate is extremely high.

Secondly, because the raw materials can only be purchased from Zeta Technology, the cost of raw materials to manufacture 100 chips is an astonishing 3,000 euros, and the scrap rate is an astonishing 70%.

Taking all factors into account, each semi-finished product costs over one hundred euros on average, and the quality of the chips produced is also quite poor, requiring further manual soldering and assembly.
This type of machine is more geared towards allowing individual users to DIY a dedicated chip to verify their own chip design ideas, rather than mass-producing it.

After taking into account factors such as electricity costs during machine use, Mercer ultimately abandoned his plan to manufacture chips from scratch.

Fortunately, Zeta Technologies offers a no-questions-asked refund policy within half a month. Mercer only lost some money on materials this time. After regaining his more than 300,000 euros, he completely gave up on his current path of purely self-developed technology.

He decided to reposition the current base as an assembly plant.

After that, he simply purchased a batch of cheap chips and circuit boards from official factory channels for assembly. The direct purchase price was only three hundred euros, and he could install and use them directly after flashing the program.

The cameras we chose were old ones from a company called 'Zeiss' from ten years ago. We bought them in bulk and the price was only 150 each. Don't be fooled by the fact that Zeiss isn't a big name in Night City. In fact, its strength and status are almost on par with that of Qilu Si Optics.

For its battery, Mercer opted for a small, registered factory that specializes in recycling and refurbishing used batteries. The price was cheaper; for just seventy euros, one could get a small lithium battery with reduced capacity.

Mercer used the refund for the lithography machine to reorder a professional small metal processing machine that can directly process metal raw materials into various parts and raw materials. Its advantage over 3D printers is that it has a larger output and better quality.

By combining the two, all-metal fittings can be selected for components that require higher strength.

In less important areas, polymer parts can be printed using 3D printers, ensuring low costs while further improving product quality.

In summary, the overall cost is calculated to be 670 euros per unit. If the printer and metal processing machine operate 24 hours a day, the raw materials produced can basically meet the production of 40 drones per day.

Of course, considering that assembling drones is a manual task that requires reflashing the system and debugging, this number may only be a theoretical figure.

Mercer was still very satisfied. If he could increase sales, he could hire Adcardo's people to work for him, and they could be responsible for assembling these parts and carrying out mass production.

Considering the meager labor costs in Cyberworld, he only paid five euros for the assembly of each drone, which was considered a lucrative job for the many Adca people who couldn't find work.

After all, once you're skilled enough, assembling a drone by hand takes less than half an hour. The workload is relatively light and not heavy physical labor. Women and children can do it, and earning a little over 100 euros a day is not a problem.

Compared to the poor dockworkers who only earn a little over 800 euros a month, Mercer is truly a conscientious worker.

After finalizing the drone production process and raw material supply, Mercer returned to his room, intending to take a bath before going to sleep.

He connected to the internet to control the room's speakers, playing some soothing classical music. He was enjoying a rare moment of tranquility in the water, his eyes half-closed. But before he knew it, a message popped up in his smartwatch.

[Rebecca: Open the door.]

[Mercury: ? ?]

[Rebecca: It's urgent! Open the door quickly! Or I'll just pry it open!]

Mercer: What's going on?

He opened the door first, and then he heard Rebecca tiptoeing in.

Once the bedroom door closed, Rebecca appeared in front of the bathroom glass door: "Oh my~ you're taking a shower?"

"Nonsense. What do you want?" Mercer said irritably, with a sense of foreboding that he didn't know if it was an ominous feeling.

“Oh, that’s perfect, I haven’t taken a bath yet today.” Rebecca said from the doorway, and there was even a soft rustling sound of clothes being taken off. Mercer, through the glass, could only see a silhouette that made his heart race.

"Don't mess around, Rebecca." Mercer said this, but his body betrayed him, remaining motionless in the water.

As his brilliant imagination began to take hold, Mercer couldn't help but shake his head vigorously: "Get to the point, don't joke like that."

However, something even more unexpected happened next.

"Click." The glass door to the bathroom opened.

(End of this chapter)