Cyberpunk: Starting in 2071

Chapter 82 Straight Hook Fishing
"How did you do that!" V said incredulously. "How did you hack into his car?"

"It's not as dramatic as you think. I only hacked it when he got nearby. I can't remotely control all the cars in the city right now unless I spend my own money to upgrade all the city's cameras to the type that can perform network hacking."

Mercer spoke casually as he watched V sit in the driver's seat, hands off the steering wheel, turning to look at him.

Since the advent of Polaris, everyone has upgraded their private vehicles with intelligent driving features. Now, everyone's car can be freely controlled by Polaris.

Moreover, since Mercer has his own server connected to the public internet, he doesn't need to create a separate AI for each car.

The reason why autonomous driving AI like Delaman needs to place an AI in each of its own cars is actually more because Delaman himself is very likely an AI that was captured from the old network and used.

The company responsible for operating it also lacks the ability to promptly fix and monitor AI, and is not confident that its servers can be directly connected to the internet without being attacked by hackers.

Therefore, a more stable approach was chosen: having Drumman create a sub-AI to drive the car, and only using the company's intranet to keep the sub-AI connected with Drumman.

"How did you know he wasn't here?" Rebecca was curious about something else. How did Mercer know that the factory owner wasn't at the factory, hack into the manager in advance, and send him a message asking him to come over?
"This is all thanks to the ctOS system. When Qiwei said she was going to set off, I had Qimingxing check the relevant information about the factory and lock down the company boss's personal information in advance. Then I used the surveillance video to confirm his location."

Mercer simply said, "If the system is fully mature, I will be able to control the whereabouts of everyone in the city."

"Tsk, do those companies use similar methods?" V's first reaction was that some companies must have already done this kind of thing.

“I suspect the Night Corporation might have similar technology,” Mercer said, then turned to look at Qiwei, not wanting to elaborate further.

At this moment, Qiwei was still looking at the factory in the distance, where thick smoke was billowing into the sky, and the red-hot sky could be seen even across the street.

She noticed Mercer's gaze, turned her head to meet his eyes, and said softly with genuine feeling, "Thank you, Mercer."

"It's a pity you couldn't see him being set on fire," Mercer said with some regret.

“That’s enough, Mercer.” Qiwei looked at him and smiled, leaning back comfortably as if she had been relieved.

Qiwei murmured, "It's like a dream. Thank you. Without you, I don't know how long it would have taken me to achieve all this on my own."

Mercer simply smiled, glanced at her, and said nothing more.

“An NCPD vehicle is coming,” V suddenly warned.

The group turned around and saw a police car following behind them.

"It's okay, just say you were passing by. The nearby surveillance cameras didn't capture us working. They probably saw us leaving the vicinity of the crime scene, so they listed us as suspects."

Mercer spoke casually, not particularly worried. The NCPD had come because he had to tell the boss that something had happened at the factory in order to get him to come over.

The owner, probably unable to contact anyone at the factory, hurriedly called the police and rushed over.

The NCPD is probably still completely baffled—the person who called the police suddenly went crazy and drove their car into a sea of ​​fire, so who are they supposed to contact to find out what happened?
So V volunteered, "Then you don't need to worry about it, I'll deal with the NCPD."

“Okay, you go ahead.” Mercer said with a smile, then sat in the back seat, waiting for the NCPD to speed up, as if he intended to give them an American-style stop.

V slowed down, looking annoyed, and pulled over. The NCPD's car then stopped in front of them.

The man who got out of the driver's seat was a burly man in his late twenties with light-skinned skin and a buzz cut. The man in the passenger seat was a thin, Asian man with graying hair combed back and who looked quite old.

"Check! Turn off the car!"

The burly man, with one hand on his holster, strode over menacingly. The middle-aged man with yellow skin in the passenger seat, however, suddenly changed his expression, nudged him, and walked to the driver's side himself.

The burly man understood and took a step back, his expression somewhat tense as he gripped his pistol with one hand.

"Don't be nervous, it's just a simple registration and investigation. You saw that the factory was on fire, so we need to keep a file on everyone around the crime scene."

The experienced officer's first words were aimed at easing the situation; he smiled and showed off the sign hanging around his neck:
“He’s a senior sheriff from the NCPD. You can call me Officer Han. That big guy is called River. Never mind him. He hasn’t been with the unit long and he’s just too nervous.”

V said with a disdainful look, "Ask me if you have something to say, I've made plans to go drinking with someone."

"Why are you here?" Officer Han glanced into the car and already knew what was going on—even if they didn't start the fire in the factory, these guys were definitely not clean.

Everyone had a gun, and there were two guys who looked like professional hackers. This didn't look like an ordinary gang; it looked more like a professional mercenary squad.

The woman driving didn't even try to hide her prosthetic body. When he scanned her with his prosthetic eye, the sheer number of prosthetic bodies he saw was enough to make his scalp tingle.

Unknown model of Sianwistan, Unknown model of Mantis Knife, Nano Armor, Krenzikov, Muscle Enhancement Components, Frontal Cortex ICE
You want to act tough with this kind of person? Are you really not afraid of cyberbullying?
The young girl in the passenger seat who looked pretty was also a scary character, and the two hackers in the back, just looking at the hacker accounts under their coats, each must have cost tens of thousands of euros. That's definitely not high-end stuff that ordinary street kids can afford!

“I was just passing by and saw a big campfire, so I took a look. Is there anything else?” V’s tone was unfriendly.

Rivers, with a determined expression, wanted to walk over and say something, but was met with a cold stare from Officer Han and had no choice but to stand still.

"That's all. I've remembered your identities. If any evidence is discovered later or if your cooperation is needed, I hope you will cooperate with the investigation."

Officer Han smiled gently, took a step back, and raised his hand to indicate that they could leave.

The V-shaped window was raised directly onto the windshield, and it sped off with a tap of the accelerator.

Rivers stared at Officer Han incredulously as they drove away: "Do you know what you're doing? There's definitely something wrong with the people in that car!"

How can we just let them go? Let's search them now; we might find some crucial evidence!

"Really? When you open the car door and ask them to pull over for a check, you'll find that you have a bunch of puppet programs in your head, or you might as well have a shotgun pointed at your forehead."

Officer Han turned to look at him with a hint of exasperation: "River, you've been in this line of work for a while now, and you still don't understand? Can't you see who they are?"

“A bunch of damn gangsters who are causing trouble,” River cursed.

Officer Han sighed speechlessly, "These guys are freaking outcasts! They're not even in the same league as the street thugs you know, you understand?"

“I don’t understand! All I know is that they ran away! Now this case is probably going to be a cold case again!” River clenched his fists in frustration.

"Fool, do you think they're afraid of you? Even if they don't kill you to your face, do you think you can arrest them? Let me tell you, these fringe travelers usually only take action because a middleman has given them a mission."

And the big shots behind those middlemen are all more frightening and more troublesome than the last!
Do you know what will happen if we arrest them? Before our car even reaches the police station, you'll get a call from above telling us to release them! If you don't obey, you'll be fired, and someone else will politely escort them out!

Officer Han also lost his temper, glared at Rivers and said, "Let's go. Report the details to the higher-ups and let them make the decision. Don't go looking for trouble."

River gritted his teeth, and after a long while, he could only nod angrily: "I don't even know what the point of our work is anymore. Is all we can do is deal with those street thugs?"

Officer Han did not respond. He had been able to work for the NCPD for over twenty years not because he was good at fighting or running, but because he was quick-witted, cautious, and never sought trouble for himself.

To be a police officer in Night City, you have to learn when to open your eyes and when to close them. A hothead like River, even if he survives, will eventually lose his job because he can't learn to close his eyes.

The higher-ups assigned River to work with him in the hope that River could learn something from him about the unspoken rules of working in the NCPD, but as things stand, that's how it is now.
This guy, bursting with a sense of justice, probably won't learn these things unless something major happens to him.

Rivers could only watch with a face full of resentment as V drove away, and he sat back in the police car, slamming his fist on the steering wheel in frustration.

Officer Han leisurely lit a cigarette and returned to the passenger seat without any haste.

"So what do we do now?" River scoffed. "The prisoners are all gone, can we go home now?"

"That won't do, it will affect attendance and my salary will be deducted—let's go for a drive, just don't take me to the Whirlpool Gang's territory again."

Officer Han's appearance infuriated River, but he could only keep a straight face and start the car to continue his 'investigation' in the vicinity.

Fairness? Justice? Ha. To hell with Night City!
V was also somewhat surprised. While switching to Polaris Autopilot, she kept turning her head to check the rearview mirror: "That's it? This is the first time I've met such an easy-going NCPD."

"Look at yourself now. If I were a policeman, facing a guy like you who's modified to the same level as the terrorist mobile unit, I wouldn't even bother stopping you, I'd just pretend I didn't see you killing someone in the street."

Mercer made a sarcastic remark, while V paused for a moment, then burst into laughter: "Looks like I really am a 'big brother' now, huh?"

"Hmm." Mercer chuckled, and the car, under Polaris's control, drove towards the afterlife.

He was sitting in the back seat when he suddenly thought of something. He turned his head to look at Qi Wei's hand and then ordered Polaris to drive the car to the front of a pharmacy.

When Mercer returned, he had several basic medical kits in his hands.

"Put one in your car, and everyone should keep one of these simple first-aid kits in their car from now on."

Mercer stuffed one of them directly into the trunk of the V car, carried the other back to the back seat, opened it, took out iodine and other disinfectant, and stretched out his hand to Qiwei beside him.

"hand."

As soon as he finished speaking, Qiwei paused for a moment, then stretched out her right hand. Sure enough, although the wound on it had stopped bleeding, it was still very noticeable.

Out of anger, she threw two punches that broke her enemy's teeth, but also left several clear scars on the back of her fair hands.

"Bear with it," Mercer said, then focused on cleaning the wound with a cotton swab, mainly to make sure there weren't any tooth fragments stuck in his hand.

Then I sprayed it with the wound spray developed by the trauma team, and then picked up a band-aid with a cartoon cat head on it and stuck it on, and that was it.

Such minor injuries can heal almost overnight with the help of wound spray.

After Mercer put down the medical kit, he looked up and realized that the people in the car were looking at him with complicated expressions.

"What are you looking at me for?"

He said it with a bit of a laugh.

V looked away and said casually, "I just didn't expect you to be so thoughtful."

Rebecca needs no introduction; she's just a bit sour.

As for Qiwei, she stared blankly at the band-aid on the back of her hand, flexed her fingers, and finally said softly, "Thank you. It seems like this is the first time someone has done something like this for me."

"Ha~" Mercer chuckled: "You'd better practice with V and the others. I've seen V and Rebecca smash skulls and their hands are fine."

V rolled her eyes: "My hands are like mantis knives, and Rebecca's arms are like gorilla arms. Even hitting a bone would hurt her. Isn't this money a waste?"

Qiwei withdrew her hand, covered the back of her hand with a bandage with one hand, and said softly, "Yes, I'll practice when I have time."

She felt that Mercer's words were not without merit—her wrists were still aching slightly from those punches, indicating that she did lack some street fighting skills.

It's time to really practice my marksmanship too.

Qiwei rubbed the back of her hand with her fingers, looked at Mo Se, and unconsciously revealed a faint, warm smile.

Rebecca glanced at the rearview mirror a few times, subtly changing the subject: "What time did we arrange to meet Mann and the others?"

"It's in the evening, we didn't set a specific time. Anyway, mercenaries like him don't have much to do at night."

As Mercer spoke, he began chatting with Rebecca about other things, and the car soon arrived at the Rebirth Bar.

When they arrived at the bar, Mercer greeted Claire but didn't sit at the bar; instead, they booked a private room.

The private rooms at the next hotel are not cheap; even the smallest room starts at 3,000 euros per night.

Rebecca and Kivi, having avenged their great grudge, each bought a bottle of good wine to celebrate. V naturally agreed wholeheartedly—what could be better than having someone to drink with?
The three of them clinked glasses and chatted. Even Qi Wei, who was usually aloof, became much more lively today, frequently showing a smile.

As for Mercer
He was still drinking his small Coke.

At first, Mercer was able to clink glasses with them a few times while drinking Coke, but she was quickly shunned by V, who was already enjoying the drinks, and she told the Coke-drinking brat to go away.

Mercer scoffed and sat down to drink his cola and watch TV in the private room. By the time the guys had finished their second bottle of whiskey, Mann and the others finally arrived at the private room late.

"What good thing happened?" Dorio asked with a smile as soon as they arrived. "You guys have had quite a bit to drink, haven't you?"

"Come on, sit down and drink with me!" V's cheeks were flushed, and he and Rebecca looked incredibly close, their arms around each other. These two superhumans should theoretically be able to drink a lot without getting drunk, but strangely, neither of them had a high alcohol tolerance.

We only bought two bottles of whiskey, and the three of us haven't even finished half of the second bottle yet, and we're already all swaying.

Dorothy, the big girl, sat down next to the two men, her large whiskey glass looking like a small goblet in her hand: "Alright! Let those two chat, let's drink to our hearts' content today!"

Sasha sat down next to Qiwei with a smile: "Me too! Me too!"

"Come on! Let's see how much you Russians can drink today!" V shouted boldly, ordering the bartenders to bring over some more glasses and other items.

Mercer shook his head, gesturing for Mann to sit down. The two of them sat on the sofa furthest inside, watching the group of guys drink and then getting down to business.

Without saying a word, Mercer pulled out a storage chip: "This is the storage chip containing the immune agent data. It's Faraday's request. Just hand it over and the mission will be completed."

Mann looked at the chip in his hand but didn't take it. Instead, he cautiously asked, "What did you say you added to it?"

“Some additional intelligence, obtained from biotechnology.”

Mercer spoke casually, giving examples such as "dirt on people" or "secret inside information."

"Could you tell me more details? I promise that even if we don't reach an agreement in the end, what you tell me will never be known to anyone else."

Mann spoke cautiously. Even though he looked like he could crush Mercer with one hand, to be honest, sitting next to Mercer always gave Mann a strange sense of unease. He had a feeling that the seemingly frail Mercer might be the most dangerous person at the table, even more so than V, who was sharp and unabashedly displaying his strength and confidence.

"To be precise, it's intelligence about a new project that biotechnology and military science intend to collaborate on."

Mercer frankly admitted part of it, saying, "Diana Kuno of biotechnology has reached a cooperation agreement with the military science department through immunotherapy, and my goal is to make Arasaka aware that this cooperation has been achieved."

Furthermore, Diana Kuno, under the guise of this immunotherapy agent, transferred a batch of advanced experimental equipment from the biotechnology headquarters, and my target was one of these pieces of equipment.

"And if Arasaka finds out about this, do you think he'll want to cause some trouble for their transportation plans?"

Mann then understood Mercer's purpose and said with some surprise and uncertainty, "Are you trying to instigate Arasaka to take action against this batch of transport equipment?"

"That's right, I will attach all the personnel and equipment to be transported, including the routes, to this chip."

Once Faraday hands over the data chip to his client, Arasaka, I believe his team will definitely try to disrupt the military science and biotechnology plans.

Mercer chuckled as he spoke, "Moreover, considering that the unification war has only just ended, there's a very high chance that Arasaka wouldn't dare to send his own agents to do such a thing."

Therefore, the best option is to continue using intermediaries to recruit a group of reliable mercenaries to try and cause them trouble.

Mann speculated, "Your goal is to create chaos through Arasaka's request, giving you an opportunity to steal the equipment?"

"Not necessarily. If necessary, we can take on Arasaka's request ourselves."

Mercer curled the corners of his mouth and said with a smile, "The current mayor is still on Arasaka's side, and the two sides are currently in a honeymoon period."

If Arasaka wants to hire mercenaries to cause trouble for the military science and biotechnology departments, he certainly doesn't expect these mercenaries to be able to take down the professional security forces of the military science and biotechnology departments on their own.

I suspect they will provide some covert assistance, such as some high-powered weapons whose origins are difficult to trace. I also think they will have Night City's NCPD and Terrorist Mobile Unit turn a blind eye to those who cause trouble for the military science community.

Therefore, what I need is not just to use Arasaka's money to hire people to cause trouble for the military science department, but more importantly, to see if I can take this opportunity to obtain some good items and increase my success rate in stealing things.

Mann breathed a sigh of relief. If that was all, he felt there was no problem keeping the chip—after all, the intelligence was true, and even if Arasaka found out later that the chip had been used by someone, he wouldn't have any objections.

Ultimately, whether or not to take action against the items jointly transported by the military and biotechnology organizations is a decision made by Arasaka himself.

"What if they don't plan to do anything?" Mann asked curiously. "Are you still planning to steal the biotechnology? What's the size of their transport fleet?"

"If we take action outside the city, we'll be facing two super soldiers equipped with war-grade centaur exoskeletons, several high-level agents, and more than forty professional military science and biotechnology soldiers."

Oh, and there's also a Demon Lizard, maybe two more specialized Behemoth armored personnel carriers, and some regular armored vehicles.

As Mercer's words fell lightly, Mann was momentarily speechless. After a long pause, he gave an awkward laugh: "I said, A, you know what this level of firepower represents, right?"

“I know,” Mercer nodded.

"If this kind of firepower were deployed in Night City, it could easily destroy an entire city. You may not realize it, but for an individual soldier like us, a single Demon Lizard is a complete game-changer."

Mann was a former special forces soldier in the new United States. He had personally stepped onto the battlefield abroad and knew very well how terrifying such heavy firepower was to ordinary soldiers.

Although the Lizard is nominally just an armored personnel carrier, this type of personnel carrier is actually an upgraded version of an infantry fighting vehicle. Previously, infantry fighting vehicles were at most equipped with a 12mm heavy machine gun.

But nowadays, the caliber of the Demon Lizard's heavy machine gun can be considered a cannon.

Unlike in games where armor can withstand the hits of a heavy machine gun, this machine gun can easily destroy even ordinary concrete buildings.

When it hits a person, a single bullet can create a huge hole in them, or even shatter them into pieces!
Furthermore, the Demon Lizard also possesses a miniature missile launcher, enabling it to intercept in the air and conduct long-range precision strikes.
Unless encountering larger and stronger armored units like the Chimera main battle tank, or similar armored infantry fighting vehicles, the Lizard is exceptionally agile on the battlefield.

With its high mobility and ability to take off and move short distances when necessary, the Demon Lizard is a nightmare for ordinary soldiers.

Mann couldn't understand where Mercer got the audacity to attack such a thing. After thinking it over, he could only think that perhaps Mercer was too young and didn't know how powerful the demon lizard really was.

“I know.” Mercer remained calm, saying only, “If we’re dealing with them outside the city, I’ll prepare long-range firepower to bombard them first, make sure their heavy firepower is out of commission, and then launch an assault.”

They wouldn't be foolish enough to rush over and test the firepower of the magic lizard.

If there aren't any good opportunities outside the city, then let them into the city. Night City doesn't allow heavy firepower to enter, at least not the Demon Lizards. At that point, we'll only need to deal with some ordinary armored vehicles and a few dozen soldiers.

At most, the military could secretly smuggle in those two soldiers equipped with centaur armor; with that kind of firepower, dealing with them wouldn't be too difficult.

To be honest, exoskeletons are too easy to clean up in urban environments.

Long-range sniping or heavy firepower attacks are both effective; these mechs, which cannot fully cover vital defensive areas, are only good for bullying lightly armed infantry or civilians.

Mercer's tone left Mann speechless for a moment, and he could only laugh and say, "So what you want us to do is fight these soldiers? I say, A, you're too bold. Are you really sure you can handle it?"

"I've been preparing for this for the past two weeks, what do you think?"

Mercer countered with a question, then calmly replied, "I won't let my men die in vain. If you decide to join, I'll tell you the full plan."

The only thing I can tell you in advance is that if I'm going to take action, I'm absolutely confident; if I'm not, I'd rather abandon this plan.

To be honest, this is a side job of mine. I'm personally very interested in certain equipment for transporting biotechnology, so the payment is also from my own pocket. Besides the money, you'll also get a favor from me.

“Us?” Mann looked at Dorio, then at Sasha, and sighed. “Are we really capable of getting involved in this?”

“I don’t know about the other two, but you can definitely do it.” Mercer was quite confident about this. He trusted Li De’s judgment—when Mann wanted to retire, Li De had hoped that Mann would join the New America’s intelligence team directly.

Although Mann died abruptly in the anime as a cyber-psychotic, Mercer felt that his mental illness might have been largely due to his poverty.

The prosthetic bodies that Mann installed were most likely second-hand. Not to mention whether these second-hand bodies were reliable or not, Mercer seriously doubted that even the system drivers for these prosthetic bodies were incompatible with each other.

The prosthetic body's drivers are incompatible, the neural load is already ridiculously high, and on top of that, there are unreliable second-hand parts. Plus, he's constantly walking on the edge of life and death. It would be a miracle if he didn't go crazy.

While Mann's modifications aren't as extreme as in the comics, this very fact means he retains the same physical attributes and combat skills he had when he was a special forces soldier.

Against ordinary soldiers, his skills were simply overwhelming.

Most importantly, he had experience dealing with these soldiers, experience fighting on the battlefield—this was even more important than his physical skills.

Ordinary mercenaries probably can't even use half of their skills when facing regular troops. The frontal battlefield and the melee between mercenaries are not the same thing.

“I need to think about it, but I can give this chip to Faraday for you.”

Mann ultimately couldn't make a decision immediately. He took the chip from Mercer and said, "If there's any news from Faraday later, I'll let you know as soon as possible."

"No problem. Remember to ask Faraday for extra money. You can ask him for at least 500,000 euros for this deal. If he doesn't agree, I'll find you another buyer."

When Mercer spoke of Faraday, he said with a hint of disdain:

"Trust me, just tell him that besides the information on the immunizing agents, there's also some dirty secrets about biotechnology, intelligence on this collaboration between biotechnology and military science, and the transportation plan, and he'll pay up without hesitation."

"Okay, I'll give it a try. If it works, you can have the lion's share. We've really gotten a great deal on this." Mann felt much better after thinking about this. No matter what happens later, at least he can make a fortune just by changing hands over this chip.

Even though he planned to give the lion's share to Mercer, the three of them should each get 20,000 to 30,000. This was practically free money, and it was the easiest deal he had ever done since he entered the business.

This made Mann feel that Mercer was truly loyal—even though he had the data and he could contact Faraday, he could have easily done the job himself, leaving Mann behind, but Mercer was still willing to share the profits with him. He was indeed a kind person.

"Finished chatting? Come on, have a drink." Dorio had actually been watching Mann and Mercer's conversation the whole time, and seeing that the two had reached a pleasant agreement, she smiled and raised her glass.

Mercer, shameless as ever, picked up a can of cola: "Come on, let's all have a drink together."

V, her face flushed, gave him a disgruntled look, but didn't criticize him in front of others. Everyone laughed and raised their glasses to drink.

Mercer was just joking. After having a drink, he stopped participating in the drinking party and started watching TV, when he suddenly saw an emergency news broadcast.

It was still News Channel 54, and the female anchor named Jordan was broadcasting with a serious expression.

"Dear viewers of Night City, we have an urgent news briefing. At 6:20 PM today, a malicious arson incident occurred at the Chris Processing Plant in Watson District."

Criminals murdered managers and employees at the processing plant and set the factory on fire.
According to the NCPD's preliminary investigation, it is highly likely that some employees at the factory, dissatisfied with their treatment after leaving, deliberately sought revenge.

Police have confirmed that the following individuals perished in the fire.
Another factory manager had his limbs broken in his dormitory and was repeatedly shown a death sentence, "Black Mewtwo," playing on a modified Mewtwo headband. He eventually died of brain death.

Jordan began announcing the names of the dead one by one. Many of the familiar faces made Mercer and the others stop what they were doing. When Qiwei looked at the guy who had been confirmed as brain dead in the dormitory building, she couldn't help but curl the corners of her mouth.

The female host said with a sorrowful expression: "This is a very heinous arson and murder case. The NCPD will pay close attention to it and strive to catch these heartless murderers as soon as possible."

Next, let's interview some of the factory's surviving employees and ask them how they view this arson attack.

The camera pans to a man in overalls who is seen breaking down in front of the camera, shouting, "How could they do this?"

If the factory burns down, where will we find work? My mother is waiting for me to pay my medical bills! Who will pay my wages now?

The man was crying and screaming in despair. Beside him, someone patted his back and said sorrowfully, "We need help. We need to find new jobs now."

Rebecca turned off the TV immediately.

Qiwei and Mercer turned to look at her at the same time, while Rebecca just pursed her lips and said, "Don't look at these annoying things, those guys are no different from company dogs."

"I don't think there's anything wrong with what they said; we did indeed take away their livelihood."

Mercer, however, appeared very calm. He simply sighed and said, "In this hopeless city, most people are just using themselves as fuel to fill the capitalists' money-making machines."

It's not that they don't want to resist, but that if they resist, they might not even qualify to be used as fuel.

If they have to rely on others for even the most basic needs like food and clothing, where can they possibly discuss fairness and justice?
To change all this, we need to do more than just smash these money-making machines that are devouring lives; we also need to give those poor people who have no other choice a job opportunity to support their families with their own hands.

Mercer's words surprised Mann and the others, who exchanged glances. They had already gleaned a great deal of information from just a few sentences.

Rebecca simply said irritably, "I also think that's wrong. Just because they like living like slaves doesn't mean others are happy to do so."

"This Night City is so big, Pila and I used to raise two kids and we could manage, how come we can't survive without this blood and tears factory?"

Mercer laughed: "Yes, you're right."

"Alright, whatever you say, you're right, right, right," V muttered. "Why talk about that? Let them live their lives however they want. As long as I'm happy, the rest is none of my business."

“You’re right too.” After Mercer finished speaking, Qiwei couldn’t help but chuckle.

Mercer shrugged: "That's how it is. The world isn't black and white. You're free to live however you want, as long as you don't regret it."

Everyone was moved by this statement.

While they were chatting and laughing, the girls got completely drunk at the bar. Even Qiwei, who is usually calm, was swaying unsteadily.

Thanks to the strong and fit Dorothy, Mercer was able to get all the women into the car.

On the way back, they were still clamoring to have another round of drinks at the base, but when the car arrived at the base, all the girls lay down on their seats and fell fast asleep.

Mercer could only helplessly call out to Pila and Lucy Anzu to come and lend a hand.

Pila grabbed Rebecca, who was still fast asleep, and dragged her back home with a look of disgust. Kyoko and Lucy helped V up, but he had already woken up as soon as he got home. He was stubborn and wobbly, but in the end, he had to be helped downstairs.

Qiwei remained quiet, while Moser carried it on his back all by himself.

He carried her into her room and put her on the bed. Mercer breathed a sigh of relief and prepared to leave, but just as he was about to get up, Qiwei suddenly reached out and grabbed his hand.

Mercer was taken aback. He turned his head and saw her bright eyes, quietly gazing at him from beneath her short hair.

"Uh"

Mercer sensed what this strange atmosphere was all about—he wasn't a naive virgin before he transmigrated.

Qiwei didn't say anything. She first grabbed his palm, then gently stroked his wrist with her fingers, then the back of his hand, and finally grabbed his wrist to draw him closer.

"Will you dislike me?" she asked softly.

"No." Mercer could give a clear answer to this question, but after a moment's hesitation, he said softly, "But you know the current situation."

"I know, that's why I drank a lot of alcohol today. I'll forget about it when I wake up tomorrow."

Qiwei smiled, stood up slightly, hugged his neck, and gently bit his ear: "It won't affect your relationship with other girls, it's just a simple friendship."
Even if you are a cautious person when it comes to relationships, I'm not talking to you about relationships.

So, I'm going to take a shower now, want to come together?

Mercer fell into deep thought.

With a straight hook and a strong pull, the bait is practically in the fish's mouth.
Qiwei simply smiled gently, like a beautiful serpent slowly crawling closer to his body, her breath carrying a faint scent of alcohol mixed with the minty aroma of her cigarette: "Or... take a shower when you're done with your work?"

(End of this chapter)