Cyberpunk: Starting in 2071

Chapter 105 Baby Version of Adam's Hammer

“'Soul Killer'?” Bridget's expression changed slightly, then a hint of fear appeared on her face: “Are you kidding me? Is Arasaka behind you? Or…”

She suddenly realized a possibility, and her expression became agitated: "Or is it Ultraman?! You know Ultraman?!"

"I do know her, but I stole this thing from Arasaka myself. You might be lucky enough to become its first official target."

Mercer leisurely plugged the hacker chair cable into the connection port at the back of Bridget's head:
"Coincidentally, although I've done experiments with a few cleaners, I've never tried to excavate and modify that part of the consciousness. What kind of person would you like to become?"

"No! No!" Bridget's breathing became rapid. "Don't toy with my soul! You demon! Let me go! Let me go now!"

"I have no interest in toying with you, I'm only interested in your memories, and I'll just do some scientific experiments on your consciousness as a side effect. You're sacrificing yourself for a better future for all mankind."

Mercer couldn't help but laugh at himself as he said this: "Do you like this set of the company's usual nonsense?"

"No! Please! Kill me, don't upload me!"

Bridget said in horror, while Mercer asked curiously, "Isn't your dream to surrender to AI? Turning you into a consciousness, isn't that exactly what you want?"

Bridget shouted at an almost broken voice, "Don't think I don't know how Soul Slayers work! Once you upload my consciousness, you can do whatever you want with my data body and turn my clones into your slaves!"
You will enslave my soul forever!

"You know quite a lot, but you're working so hard to undermine the firewall, aren't you just trying to become slaves to AI?"

His words caused Bridget to show a somewhat ferocious expression, and she said in an almost insane tone, "You don't understand anything at all!"

Sooner or later, those roaming AIs will destroy the human world like an unstoppable storm, tsunami, or earthquake! We are merely foreseeing this future!

You're a great hacker, don't you know how terrifying those roving AIs really are? When they arrive, humanity will only have two choices: submit or die. We're just trying to embrace this future ahead of time!

Accept reality! Even you are no exception! You've dealt with Ultraman? Then you should understand even more how terrifying those roaming AIs are! They are the future rulers of this world! The dominant ones!

Mercer simply crossed his arms and said noncommittally, "You're as stupid as a primitive man kneeling before his shadow. It's hard to imagine that you're among the best hackers in Night City."

"So, are you planning to save me some time by telling me everything I want to know, or do you want me to go through the trouble of digging it out of your consciousness data?" Mercer had no interest in discussing the future with these voodoo gang lunatics.

She was so afraid of the wandering AI, but in the end, wasn't it people who took her life? Typhoons and tsunamis destroyed the homes of Haitians, but didn't many Haitians also take boats to the 'New World'?
Even natural disasters leave a glimmer of hope, let alone AI created by humans by chance?
“I’ll talk!” Bridget gritted her teeth, unwilling to give up. “But you must promise me you won’t use the Soul Killer to desecrate my soul again!”

“No problem, your consciousness data isn’t that valuable to me.” Mercer repeated his previous question in a relaxed tone: “Did you know that a wandering AI has been visiting your Poseidon server?”

“I don’t know! If I did, why would we be working so hard to dig up the Black Wall right now!” Bridget looked somewhat disillusioned. “You must be mistaken. We’ve never encountered any highly intelligent, roaming AI!”

Mercer simply nodded noncommittally: "It seems even the roving AIs look down on you. Next question, how much money do you have left?"

Bridget remained silent, but finally could only say bitterly, "Right now, I only have 1.3 million euros in the accounts I'm in charge of."

“Great, transfer it here.” Mercer sent her an account number.

Bridget hesitated—she was genuinely afraid of the Soul Killer, but at that moment she couldn't help but wonder, did he really have a Soul Killer?

What if she was scammed? If she had a choice, she would truly have the courage to take the money and all the secrets to hell.

After much deliberation, Bridget still couldn't imagine the possibility of being killed by the Soul Killer program, and could only dejectedly transfer money to Mercer.

So Mercer asked one last question: "What other valuable intelligence, data, or equipment do you have? Tell me honestly and give me everything, and I'll give you a quick death."

Bridget was silent for a moment, but in the end, she could only say in despair, "The valuable data is all on the Poseidon server. Go and see for yourself."

As for other secrets and high-value content, we have a special storage chip, which is stored in the storage chip inside my coat pocket.

Mercer reached into her coat and rummaged through it without any hesitation, finding a storage chip: "Anything else?"

“It’s gone,” Bridget said dejectedly.

After thinking it over carefully, there was nothing else she needed to do, so Mercer simply nodded and said, "Then you're no longer of any use. Goodbye, rag."

This rebuke made Bridget's face turn ashen, and she hesitated to speak.

Mercer even deliberately used the Haitian word for "foot wiper," clearly intending to humiliate her by using their favorite insult to outsiders.

Rebecca raised her hand and looked at Mercer.

As Mercer reached out and removed the shielding chip from Bridget's head, and nodded to Rebecca, Rebecca pulled the pistol from V's thigh, aimed it at Bridget, and pulled the trigger.

After the gunshot and the death, Rebecca handed the pistol back to V, who rolled her eyes—she didn't like others using her gun.

V watched as Bridget slumped limply in the hacker chair, then looked around and asked, "What's next? What do we do?"

"Have the people from the slider move the server back to Dogtown, then wipe them out." Mercer said casually, "This time there's no need for assassination. We'll drive over, go to their base, and kill them all."

And just after he finished speaking, the morning star appeared in Yi's eyes as a warning.

[Morning Star: Voodoo gangs elsewhere appear to have received the message and are currently organizing fighters to approach your church. The nearest group will arrive at your location in just three minutes.]

[Mercer: Oh. I guess someone from the Dogtown voodoo gang leaked the information?]

[Morning Star: I think this is the most likely possibility, but we can't rule out the possibility that there were other informants around the church who reported the situation to the Voodoo Gang.]

Mercer: This makes things even easier.

He turned to V Rebecca and shrugged: "The Voodoo Gang's reinforcements have arrived."

"So... we're going to take action right here in the street?" V looked at him with some surprise.

Mercer nodded and said casually, "It's a good opportunity to show our allies our strength. Afterwards, we'll take your combat footage and exchange it for some money with Hanz and Hansen."

"Ha! Don't even think about taking it from me this time!" Rebecca said without saying another word and hurriedly ran outside.

V, however, was too lazy to argue with her. She simply turned to Mercer and confirmed, "Then the commotion we make will be quite significant. When those companies see your invention, you might get targeted by those corporate dogs again."

"Aren't I already being watched by a lot of people? Sometimes, the higher your value is demonstrated, the safer you are."

Mercer seemed to have a pretty clear understanding of this.

Like the hacker brother and sister in the game's DLC, who were both very famous international hackers, but were directly executed by Agent Li De for two false identities that made it easier for them to infiltrate.

But the lark, who was involved in the assassination of the new US president and orchestrated the entire Dogtown incident, survived because of his extraordinary hacking skills in using the Blackwall.

Even though she would probably only be a dying tool after being captured by the new America, at least she was still alive, wasn't she?
The new US president was even willing to risk violating the ceasefire agreement by directly attacking an airport for rail aviation, which shows just how sought-after truly valuable talent is.

The more valuable those companies felt Mercer was, the less likely they were to kill him. They would rather kidnap him and brainwash him into becoming a tool than let him die easily.

To put it bluntly, if Mercer were to reveal all his abilities at this moment, some factions would probably rather Night City be blown up than let him die.

The internet police's friendly attitude, the military's forgiveness of him and the fact that they never bothered him again, and even Hansen from Dogtown had to treat him with respect—wasn't all of this because he had demonstrated sufficient value?

Mercer has now set his sights on Arasaka Yoriyuki, which is actually very risky. If his target is exposed, especially if Arasaka Saburo discovers what he is planning, it could be very dangerous.

Given Saburo Arasaka's personality, it wouldn't be impossible for him to drop a nuclear bomb on him. After all, Arasaka's nuclear-powered aircraft carrier is still patrolling the waters near Night City regularly!

Mercer now had to start thinking about finding a new job. If things didn't go well, he would have to find someone to bail him out and protect the people around him, so they wouldn't suffer any mishaps.

Big companies don't care about ethics when they do things.

When V heard Mercer's words, she seemed to have vaguely guessed something. After looking Mercer up and down for a while, she didn't say anything, but just stretched her hands: "Fine, you decide. Anyway, if things get out of hand, I'll just run away with you."

"Don't talk nonsense. I've come to Night City and I have no intention of moving!" Mercer laughed, then put his hands in his pockets and walked out with a flourish.

V pursed her lips and quickened her pace to walk up to him: "You just stay in the church quietly for a while, we'll take care of everything outside."

“Sure.” Mercer said nonchalantly. He really didn’t plan to go outside and fight alongside them this time—the Voodoo Gang’s support would probably number at least fifty or sixty people, and they would definitely have heavy firepower.

If he runs out and gets blown away by a sniper rifle or grenade launcher, he'll become a complete comedian.

Jack was a little nervous: "Damn, are we going to start a war with the Voodoo Gang right here? On their turf, are we just going to wait for them to come and attack?"

“That’s what you call besieging a point to lure reinforcements,” Mercer said. Sasha couldn’t help but laugh. “Does besieging a point to lure reinforcements mean letting the enemy surround you?”

“It’s all the same,” Mercer said, and they returned to the church in a relaxed and cheerful manner.

At this moment, Mann and the others were ready for a defensive battle.

The hacker car had already taken Mann, Lucy, and Qiwei far away; they were going to a high vantage point on the rooftop of a distant building to prepare for sniping.

The armored vehicle was placed across the entrance, serving as a defensive trench.

The automatic turrets on the armored vehicle had been activated, and several drones were hovering high in the sky—Mercer had brought them along, and they were now serving as aerial reconnaissance forces, waiting for the Voodoo Gang members to come to them.

[Mercer: Slide, how long will it take for your men to arrive?]

[Slide: Fifteen minutes! You're going to take down the Voodoo Gang, why didn't you give me a heads-up?]

[Mercer: I just had someone inform you, and the Voodoo Gang in Taiping Prefecture already got the news, didn't they? Let me tell you in advance, the Poseidon server has probably been moved.]

[Slide: You mean my people leaked the information?]

Mercer: I guess so, what do you think?

[Slider:]

[Slide bar: We'll be there in ten minutes!]

Slider's words made Mercer chuckle twice. It seemed this guy was really afraid of him getting revenge later—but coincidentally, Mercer would definitely do just that.

He had plenty of ways to prepare the slider well, and he also had ways to ensure that the Taiping State Voodoo Gang wouldn't find out, but he still chose to take action first before letting Lucy send a message to the slider.

He did it on purpose.

Even if it wasn't someone from the sliding panel who leaked the information, he would still firmly pin the blame on him. Otherwise, how could he make him reimburse the cost of ammunition and equipment wear and tear?
"You and Sasha, whatever you do, don't open the door. We'll send you a message after we're done fighting outside. If things get bad, I'll come and get you to evacuate."

V warned again, while also telling Mercer and the other man not to move towards the center of the area directly opposite the church entrance: "You two would actually be better off staying in the underground passage."

"Alright, alright! Hurry up and go. I reckon the fastest Voodoo Gang members have probably already driven to the street corner." Mercer said to her with a look of disdain, and V pointed at him with a pout.

But in the end, she just snorted, turned around, pushed open the door, and went out to join Mannjack and the others in preparing to meet the enemy.

Sasha chuckled twice: "V really cares about you, huh? I'm right next to you, and she doesn't even care about me. That girl is really something."

"She's becoming more and more like a mother hen," Mercer grumbled. "If I married her, I reckon she'd want to control even what underwear I wear. I don't know where this girl gets such a strong protective instinct towards me."

"Or is it a desire for control?" Sasha hit the nail on the head. She casually moved a bench over and, following V's suggestion, sat against the wall to avoid any stray bullets coming in through the door. She looked at Mercer and teased, "Don't tell me you can't tell she just has a little crush on you, but doesn't want to admit it, so she's turned that possessiveness into this nagging, controlling behavior."

To put it bluntly, she's just trying to show she cares about you and hopes you'll listen to her as an emotional response—she probably doesn't even understand why she's doing this herself.

This little kitten knows quite a lot.

Mercer glanced at her beautiful eyes, then shrugged: "Maybe this is the price of being handsome, sigh~"

"Uh," Sasha feigned discomfort, then chuckled, "Anyway, I can tell you're nagging, but you're actually enjoying it."
"You're always surrounded by girls showering you with attention and concern; I bet you're secretly thrilled."

Mercer sat casually on the table on the pulpit in the middle of the church, swinging his legs: "It's alright, but in this messed-up world, who wouldn't be happy to have someone genuinely care about you every day?"

A smile appeared on his face beneath his helmet, and his voice was light: "Sigh, if only everyone could be a little more open-minded. With the atmosphere in Night City, why can't V be more magnanimous?"

"Shouldn't you ask yourself first? If V turned around and started flirting with other people all the time, how would you feel?"

After Sasha finished speaking, Mercer immediately said seriously, "I am a conservative and introverted person, and I can't stand seeing team members and outsiders getting along so ambiguously."

For the sake of team stability, I will immediately eliminate that idiot's ambiguous relationship. We're all still young; we should focus on our careers.

Sasha spat out her chewing gum speechlessly: "Ha, I never realized you were such a jerk in this regard."

“Alas, you don’t understand. I just long to give these poor girls a warm home.” Mercer shook his head and sighed, “Rather than let these girls lose their beloved good men and be heartbroken, I’d rather bear the blame alone.”

Sasha made a face at him, looking disgusted: "Stop, stop. I don't know why these nice girls chose you."

"If you knew, wouldn't I have even more trouble?" Mercer laughed, but at that moment, gunshots rang out outside.

Sasha knew that Mercer was probably joking with those narcissistic remarks, so she didn't take it to heart. Instead, she smiled and crossed her legs, lying back in her chair: "I'm not like Rebecca, V, or Lucy. If I set my sights on you, you're finished~"

She chuckled confidently, "I'll make you love me to the point of obsession, and then I'll toy with your feelings ruthlessly, keeping your heart on a rollercoaster ride every day until you beg for mercy!"

"Oh~ I don't believe it." Mercer confidently raised his chin: "I have two hearts in my chest now. You'll only affect one at most. The other one can be occupied by an emotionally stable girl, so it won't have much of an impact."

Sasha was truly speechless this time and could only concede: "Well, let's take a look at Lucy's shared drone view instead."

Mercer, who had been multitasking and watching the situation outside, simply said casually, "No need to watch anymore. Rebecca single-handedly blew up that Voodoo Gang thugs' car with a shotgun."

The reinforcements haven't arrived yet. However, Morning Star said that the enemy has already begun to organize and gather forces, seemingly planning to try and take us all in one fell swoop.

Sasha frowned slightly: "V and Rebecca might be alright, but what about Jackman and the others?"

"Don't worry, V and Rebecca won't give them a chance to engage in close combat. When that group gets close to the street, V and Rebecca will definitely take the initiative to attack."

Mercer watched the drone footage with great interest, and incidentally took over the operation of the robot dog beside him.

He controlled the robot dog to move nimbly a few times, and then let the robot dog run away.

"Your helmet can connect directly to unmanned equipment?" Sasha's eyes lit up.

"Hmm, it's just the most basic function. Want it?" Mercer said with a smile.

Sasha immediately flashed a cute smile and winked at him: "I want a pretty cat-head helmet, I can draw a design for you myself!"

"Get in line. After I'm done, it'll be Lucy's turn, then Qiwei's, and finally yours."

After Mercer finished speaking, Sasha looked pitiful, staring straight at him with her big, watery eyes: "How long will it take? I know I joined late, but I always try my best for the team's missions!"
I do most of the dangerous infiltration and hacking work!

"Then let's see how much money V and Rebecca can get after they demonstrate their strength. As long as the money is right, I'll make a few more functional octopus arms."

"Then the production speed of the equipment can be greatly accelerated. Perhaps in just two or three months, everyone can be equipped with the new gear."

After Mercer finished speaking, he simply admired her lovely face, but he didn't offer her any help in cutting in line.

Sasha puffed out her cheeks, then just laughed: "Alright~ It's only a few months. As you say, good things come to those who wait."

The octopus-like arms on Mercer's shoulders rested on the ground, acting like steps to support his feet and make him more comfortable sitting on the high platform.
"However, you can send me your cat head in advance. I need to see its appearance and consider the functional layout beforehand."

"Okay!" Sasha agreed immediately, afraid he might change his mind, and chuckled, "I'll treat you to dinner once you've made it for me!"

Mercer gave a soft "hmm," but his attention was focused on the mechanical dog.

Outside on the street, the homeless and early risers had already sensed something was wrong and fled—in Night City, to survive and grow up, you need to be quite perceptive.

V and his group, looking fierce and fully armed, stood guard at the entrance. A car burning fiercely on the side of the street had been almost completely burned down to its skeleton.

In the distance, the faint sound of continuous engines could be heard, rumbling closer and closer.

[Mercer: The enemy has about 12 cars and 8 motorcycles, and a total of 62 people. The leader is the second-in-command of the Voodoo Gang, oh, now I should say the leader, Placid.]

He was only equipped with the Berserk Operating System and a full set of heavy cybernetic armor, nothing much to say about him, but one of his henchmen was equipped with S.A.S ...

There are four heavy machine guns, eight light machine guns, and the rest are mostly conventional firepower. But I saw someone load a large electronic warfare device onto the vehicle, so remember to keep the squad connected to the network.

I'll use the Poseidon server, which is still connected, to give them a surprise.

[Jack: I've climbed onto the roof of the building next to the church. I'll give you guys a good thrashing with my heavy machine gun in a bit.]

[Mercer: Watch out, Mano, don't get called out.]

[Mann: I gave the armored vehicle's machine gun to Dorio. I'm holding a rocket launcher and ambushing them at the ten o'clock position near the church. I'll bombard the lead vehicle on the other side and see if I can cripple the convoy and force them to be attacked from both sides.]

[V: Rebecca, let me see how powerful the miniature missiles Mercer installed on you are in a bit.]

[Rebecca: Haha, I also want to see if your little shoulder-mounted cannon's caliber is powerful enough!]

[Lucy: Qiwei and I are using unmanned self-destruct robots, waiting near the ambush zone. You guys open fire on the convoy, then we'll follow.]

[Pira: Excellent shooting angle, a clear view of the entire street. Should we just take out that Placid guy in a bit?]

[Mercer: Don't give this idiot a quick death, I really don't like him.]

[V: You and he have a past conflict?]

Mercer: I guess I disliked him in my past life—basically, I just can't stand the sight of him.

While playing the game, Mercer chose to cooperate with the Voodoo Gang for the first time, but the bastards not only betrayed him, but also dared to send him threatening text messages in the game. Enraged, Mercer immediately reloaded his save and chose to team up with the Internet Police to kill all those idiots.

If Bridget at least knew to keep her thoughts to herself and could still act like a decent person on the surface, then Placid was the type who couldn't distinguish between the big and small, and whose pretentiousness led to his death.

[Rebecca: Then let's keep him alive, and Mercer can see if he can squeeze some more money out of him later. He should have quite a bit of money on him.]

[V: Good idea, but be careful not to blow him up.]

[Pira: Then I'll break one of his legs first, and then I can launch a real siege and ambush!]

[Morning Star: Please note that the enemy convoy is expected to enter the area in 30 seconds. The lead vehicle will be within attack range in 1 minute and 20 seconds. The vehicle carrying the target, Placid, has been marked. Best of luck.]

The squad's voice chat suddenly went silent—everyone was focused on observing the end of the street.

Soon, lights that illuminated almost the entire street came from afar, and the first few voodoo gang members on motorcycles, with fierce expressions, twisted the throttle and shouted as they charged forward.

Then came a whole row of cars, from vans to pickup trucks, to sedans and even modified armored vehicles, all of different types, with a variety of graffiti on them.

Most of them are painted with special fluorescent paint, and in the darkness of the night, these bright and eerie graffiti look quite intimidating.

[Morning Star: Thirty seconds before engagement, Mr. Mann can aim at the lead pickup truck; Placid is not among them.]

[Mann: Received.]

[Morning Star: Miss Rebecca, please grant your AI access to the battlesuit. I have planned the optimal launch route and target for the micro-missiles. Please temporarily grant your AI control over the missile launch.]

[Rebecca: Then I won't feel like I'm firing anymore! But... okay, aim carefully, let me see the big fireworks!]

[Morning Star: Yes, as for Ms. V, you can save ammunition on your shoulder cannon. You can wait until the suppressive fire ends and then engage in close-quarters combat.]

[V: No way! I haven't even tried how powerful this thing is yet!]

[Morning Star: Okay, I've highlighted a red target for you. The vehicle has a heavy machine gun. You can try to take it out with the shoulder gun.]

All targets have been highlighted via the camera. Your target and fire suppression rhythm have been planned for you in the AI. Please cooperate.

Mercer watched in amazement as everyone methodically constructed the defensive line under the command of the Morning Star. In a very short time, they even meticulously planned the order of fire suppression and the targets each person was responsible for.

This guy has really grown a lot recently.

[Morning Star: As for you, Master, if you want to test the robot dog, I have a good idea. Why not wait until we capture Placid alive, then have him fight your robot dog alone? This will be a more accurate way to test its combat capabilities.]

Mercer: Great idea!

Mercer readily agreed and immediately cancelled the plan to have his robot dog participate in the melee—this thing wasn't cheap either, costing over a hundred thousand euros; it wasn't one of those cheap, cannon fodder robot dogs.

At this moment, the voodoo gang had no idea what they were about to encounter.

All they knew was that Bridget from the church was now out of contact, and that Slide from Dogtown was gathering men and would probably be coming here soon.

Placid made what he believed to be the best decision he could make—to deal with the group that attacked the church first, and then gather his forces, using the church as cover, as well as the complex terrain and defensive facilities of the underground passages, to fight the slide to the death.

In his view, even if the group of audacious attackers hadn't left yet, they must still be waiting for the slide support in the church. Therefore, he never expected that the group would voluntarily leave their cover and abandon their defensive advantage to launch an ambush on the wide road.

Placid had considered the possibility of encountering landmines, bombs, or rocket launchers, but he never expected...
When the first rocket suddenly exploded from the corner of the street, it hit the lead pickup truck directly and blasted it to pieces.

What followed was a barrage of miniature missiles, filling the sky and trailing white smoke, raining down on the convoy of vehicles that were frantically trying to avoid the wrecked cars in front.

The continuous explosions made his ears ring, but he still reacted quickly and shouted, "Counterattack!"

The Voodoo Gang fighters did not disappoint him; soon, the vehicle-mounted machine guns began suppressing the fire from the positions from which the micro-missiles and rockets were launched.

But the area where the rockets were launched was deserted.

The location where the miniature missiles are launched.
A voodoo gang member let out a terrified scream:

"What the hell is that?!"

"How the hell is this a baby version of Adam's Hammer?!"

(End of this chapter)