Cyberpunk: Starting in 2071

Chapter 109 Internet Surveillance Mischief, First Encounter with Lai Xuan

"Judy~"

In the backstage room of Ritz Bar, Evelyn was pestering a pretty girl with short green and pink hair, wearing a sleeveless tank top, pleading with pitiful eyes.

Judy Alvarez, Liz's go-to genius Mewtwo editor, sat in her chair with a helpless and irritable expression, raising her voice again as she advised, "Listen to me, Evelyn, those Sparky Squad members are really not to be trifled with!"

“I know! That’s why I had to find you. Besides you, who else can guarantee that we won’t be discovered while recording Mewtwo, and that we can maintain the recording quality of Mewtwo while using the Puppet Chip?”

Evelyn reached out affectionately and shook her arm. She knew very well that Judy was a girl who was very easily moved to tears.

She put on a pitiful look and pleaded, "It's not just about the money, it's also about safety—who knows what they'll do with me? I have to find a way out!"

"So you're planning to cooperate with the internet police and sabotage things behind the scenes?"

Judy sighed and said seriously, "Those guys in the Fireseed Squad won't be afraid of the Mox Gang. If you're found to be acting strangely, believe me, no one can protect you!"

Even the internet censors won't stop them! They dare to offend even Arasaka and the Military Science Bureau; they wouldn't be afraid of the internet censors!

Evelyn, however, looked confident: "Listen to me, the internet police have promised that as long as I can record Mewtwo, they will provide me with witness protection! Not only will they pay me, they will also send me to Europe!"

A new identity, sunny beaches, a new home, and even a new job.
"And if everything goes smoothly, how would those members of the Spark team know we're secretly recording Mewtwo?"

Evelyn innocently said, "The recording of Mewtwo is just a matter of starting the recording through the brain-computer interface program, and it will be stored in my personal chip. And you are the best Mewtwo technology expert, plus the disguise program provided by the Internet Police, so there won't be any accidents!"

“You should know that A is a super hacker, right?” Judy still looked resistant.

But Evelyn calmly replied, "Yes, I know he's a hacker even better than the Voodoo Gang's hackers, but please, our employer this time is the internet monitor! Whose hacking skills can compare to those of the internet monitor?"

Judy hesitated, then after a moment of silence, nodded: "I know I can't persuade you otherwise. Even if I refuse, you'll just go find someone else."
But I must tell you, if you sense anything is wrong, you must immediately contact the internet police and leave Night City.

“I know thank you, Judy,” Evelyn said with a grateful look.

Judy sighed and sat back down at the computer: "Plug in the brain-computer interface. I need to send the recording program to your brain-computer interface."

"Okay!" Evelyn sat down excitedly in the chair and plugged in the recording program.

After Judy transferred the covert recording program, she cautioned, "You'd better pray that the internet surveillance's disguise and blocking program is effective enough. Otherwise, if they install a detection program in the chip and find out the data is abnormal, you're finished."

Evelyn nodded emphatically and said, "Don't worry, I know."

“I don’t think you know anything,” Judy complained, watching Evelyn sit up, and asked worriedly, “When are you going to see that important person?”

"They said it would be in the evening, around six o'clock, when they would send someone to find me, give me the sex doll chip, and then I wouldn't be allowed to remove it until around seven o'clock, when Mark, the big broker in the city, would come to pick me up."

Evelyn's eyes gleamed: "If everything goes smoothly, the 500,000 euros that the internet regulators promised me, plus the 300,000 euros they gave me, Judy, that's a huge sum of money!"

"You have to be alive to spend the money, even if you're alive to earn it," Judy sighed.

Evelyn, however, had complete faith in the internet police's capabilities, simply repeating, "Don't worry, they're the internet police! No matter how skilled the hackers in Night City are, they're just a bunch of amateurs!"

With the collapse of the old network by Bartmouth, the level of hacking has actually been declining year by year, because the network is no longer globally connected, and most hackers can only exchange knowledge on local networks.

Hackers can no longer freely learn hacking knowledge from well-meaning people on the global network as they used to, nor can they experiment with their hacking skills without restraint on the global network. It is only natural that their skills have declined.

As a global network monitoring organization, the Internet Supervision Bureau has the most comprehensive and in-depth network knowledge teaching materials in the world, and those recruited into the Internet Supervision Bureau are all top-notch hackers.

It can be said that Evelyn's common sense judgment was correct.

There is indeed a technical chasm between ordinary hackers and internet regulators.

But what Evelyn didn't know was that some geniuses, like Mercer, cannot be judged by common sense.

Six o'clock in the evening, in a private room at the Ritz Bar.

Evelyn looked at David, whose face was frighteningly youthful, with a surprised expression: "A asked you to come and deliver the chip to me?"

“You can call me David, David Martinez!” Although David tried his best to appear serious at the moment, in Evelyn’s eyes he was still too naive. The innocence in his eyes could not be hidden no matter what he did, and his stupidity could be seen at a glance.

David, however, was completely oblivious—he deliberately acted indifferently, behaving as the big brother he 'imagined,' showing off the pistol grip at his waist and pretending to be a seasoned veteran.

He lowered his voice and said, "Wear the chip, then wait for someone to pick you up and take you there. Don't ask anything, don't worry about anything. Once you and the target are alone together, activate the program on the sex chip."

After that, we will remotely take over your body and start talking to the target. Once the conversation is over, your business will be finished, and the other party will most likely send someone to send you back.

We'll take back the chips and pay the remaining balance then, and the deal will be done.

As soon as David finished speaking, Evelyn nodded immediately. Even though he was clearly dealing with a nobody, she remained obedient and compliant: "I understand. Who is this important person?"

"You'll find out when the time comes," David said expressionlessly, inserting the sex doll chip into her head.

But inside, he was practically screaming—Don't shake! My hand!

But he seemed born to do great things. Although he was so nervous his heart was about to jump out of his chest, he still managed to insert the chip into Evelyn quickly, accurately, and steadily.
Okay, actually it's not that difficult.

Today, Evelyn is dressed in a gorgeous fur coat, looking as beautiful as a star.

Objectively speaking, despite the help of the prosthetic doctor, this girl is indeed quite beautiful and has a great figure. Underneath the gorgeous blue fur coat, the tight-fitting dress makes her look tall and elegant, no wonder Lai Xuan would be attracted to her.

David had never been so close to such a beautiful girl before.

But he tried his best to remain calm: "Do you have any other questions?"

“That’s all. I doubt you’d know the answer if I asked you anything else. So, shall we just wait here?” Evelyn calmly took out a pack of women’s cigarettes, lit one, and looked at David with interest.

David nodded and sat down on the sofa, with only a glass of ice water in front of him.

“Alright. Shall we chat?” Evelyn smiled, her tone mature and her demeanor elegant. “Or would you rather just sit here quietly with me?”

Looking at David's handsome yet youthful face, she felt a strange sense of goodwill towards him. Unexpectedly, she decided to tease the young man in front of her for free, winking seductively, "We have plenty of time anyway. I can have a couple of drinks with you, okay?"

David sat upright with a cold expression: "You just need to complete your task."

Seeing David's lack of romantic understanding, she simply smiled. If she weren't a little afraid of the ruthless members of the Fire Seed Squad, she would have definitely teased this young man today.

Not wanting to cause any trouble, Evelyn shrugged: "Okay~ then I'll just sit here quietly."

David breathed a sigh of relief and quickly sent a message to Mercer.

[David: Boss A, I've installed the chip, what's next?]

[A: Just stay put and wait for her to arrive. Watch her get on the bus and warn her not to remove the microchip the entire time. I can see her status now.]

David: Uh, so what? Can't I just leave?

[A: Yes, you're just here to run errands. Don't be so nervous, David, it's an easy part-time job.]

David: Okay, I got it. I'm just a little incredulous that you guys would choose me to help you with this, I mean, you're the Firestarter!

[A: This errand-running job isn't difficult, but the person who takes it on must seem unrelated to us and be trustworthy—you're a decent kid, and if it's just running errands, you're trustworthy.]

David: Uh, thank you for your trust?

[A: You're welcome~ If you're nervous and don't know what to do, you can try out Liz's Mewtwo, it's on me.]

David: Thanks, but never mind.

[A: Hahahaha!]

David chatted with Mercer for a few minutes and finally felt a little relieved. He waited anxiously in the private room for a while before finally receiving Mercer's message.

[A: She's here. You don't need to see her out; just watch her get into the car.]

David quickly sat up straight: "Someone's here, you can leave now."

Evelyn finished the last sip of red wine in front of her, stretched, and stood up, saying, "I know~ Who's here to pick me up?"

"I don't know," David said honestly, while Evelyn could only shake her head and sway as she walked away.

As they approached the entrance to Ritz, a floating vehicle from Arasaka broke through the night and landed at the entrance.

The ordinary guests and Mox's thugs instinctively moved a few steps away, while Evelyn stood tall and proud, even looking somewhat arrogant.

“Aveline Parker.” As the floating car door opened, a man in a suit with a typical Japanese face and speaking English with a Japanese accent looked Eveline up and down, then nodded and looked behind her.

He was dressed like a typical Arasaka agent, and his tone of voice was somewhat cold and arrogant.

"Where is your manager?" Arakasaka's agent demanded.

Evelyn Parker simply smiled and said, "Do you still need your agent to come with me? I can contact him now."

"Who is that kid?" the agent asked, looking at David, who was standing at the door, clearly nervous.

Evelyn chuckled twice: "These are henchmen sent by the agent, afraid I'll delay the deal."

After scanning David's basic information with his prosthetic eye, the agent looked away—a child with no outstanding resume, no criminal record, and who looked as young as a chick.

He seems to be just a lowly henchman responsible for keeping an eye on girls; not worth putting much effort into.

The agent said coldly, "Get in the car."

After selecting Evelyn, they investigated her basic information, both about herself and her agent Mark, and found nothing wrong.

Mercer and Evelyn had only met once, and the process of contacting an agent to promote her was entirely handled by Morning Star using money to pave the way online; the people from Arasaka were unaware of the details.

The agent, Mark, had no idea he'd been scammed. To promote Evelyn, he obviously couldn't say he didn't know the girl well—that was a huge sum of money and a lot of fame!

For an agent, if they can sell a sex doll to Arasaka Yorinobu's bed, it would be a significant milestone and a golden brand for attracting other business.

Evelyn turned to David, smiled and waved, then calmly boarded the hovercar—to be honest, this woman was surprisingly bold and had an exceptionally strong mentality.

After watching the Arasaka airship take off, David quickly walked to an ordinary black sedan, opened the door, and got in.

He fastened his seatbelt, started the car, and the infotainment system lit up.

"Mr. David seems a little nervous. Shall I play some music for you?"

The voice from the car's infotainment system relieved David, who had been on edge: "No need."

“Alright, then I’ll just take you home. Or is there anywhere else you’d like to go?” Polaris asked.

David quickly shook his head: "I'm not going anywhere, I'll just go home."

"Okay." After Polaris's voice disappeared, the car automatically drove towards his home.

Even now, David was still somewhat amazed and couldn't help but say, "Did you really develop this all by Boss A alone? That's incredible!"

"Of course! Master is a true genius! And incredibly generous!"

Polaris's voice became more lively, and she boasted, "I can do more than just drive vehicles. Now, I also know how to modify and build cars! I assembled and modified the infotainment system in this car myself!"

"Wow, impressive." David wasn't sure about the technology behind it, but to him, being able to converse with such an intelligent AI was already quite incredible.

Polaris dropped him off at his doorstep, and David opened the car door and got out.

"Your pistol!"

Polaris reminded him, and David belatedly put his pistol into the glove compartment, looking somewhat reluctant: "Oh, oh!"

“It’s not that the master is unwilling to give you a pistol, but he thinks it’s better for your daily life to be far away from these things—well, I think so too.”

Polaris's words made David, who was about to leave, stop in his tracks. He was silent for a moment, then sat back down in his seat and closed the car door: "Why? Why do you and Boss A both think I'm not cut out for this?"

David felt a little wronged. He genuinely disliked studying and truly longed to become a dashing mercenary, yearning for that kind of exciting life.

Can reading really change your life and give you a better life? Is working for a company really a bright future?
But if that's the case, then why would someone as remarkable as A choose to become a mercenary?

“Because you have a happy and fulfilling family, staying away from danger is the best choice to protect this happiness, isn’t it?” Polaris said.

At the same time, it also provided some data that David found hard to believe: "As far as I know, the mortality rate of all mercenaries in Night City, including legendary mercenaries, is as high as 48% in their first year of their careers."

Furthermore, of the remaining 52%, nearly 20% became unemployed or retired due to injuries or illnesses after suffering serious disabilities.

8% of those arrested were arrested by the NCPD for failing to evacuate in time during missions.

Of the remaining people, a significant number died from subsequent retaliation, street clashes, or drug abuse.

Only 18% of mercenaries qualify to survive their first year and become a professional mercenary.

However, among these professional mercenaries, the mortality rate in the second year of their careers is as high as 72%, and the mortality rate remains above 50% every year thereafter.

According to Night City's statistics, in the past seventy years, only 1% of professional mercenaries have been active for more than 10 years, and these 1% of mercenaries are generally referred to as legends.

But even legendary mercenaries ultimately meet only one fate: death or disappearance—yes, Night City has no living legends.

David was incredulous: "That looks like Adam's Hammer! Isn't he a legendary mercenary?"

However, Morning Star gave him a rather shocking statement: "Well, although judging from the news, Adam Hammer is indeed still very active, based on data analysis and rumors, he is very likely no longer the original Adam Hammer."

Can you imagine how easy it would be to replace the body of someone who has been modified to have only a brain? Or how difficult it would be to clone a brain?

Arasaka's memory transfer and cloning technology is, to some extent, quite advanced. Memory cloning and transfer differs from consciousness data transfer; it only requires cloning a brain and then implanting the brain's memories to create a clone.

David swallowed hard: "You mean to say that the current Adam Hammer is very likely not the original Adam Hammer, but some unknown clone of Adam Hammer?"

"Of course, the above statement has not yet been verified and is only my personal speculation. However, the master also agrees with my idea to a certain extent, because although the heavy hammer is powerful, it is still beyond his actual combat power to live for decades without dying."

If Adam Hammer were truly alive today as the original version—then he might truly be a legendary mercenary.

Polaris smiled and said, "Even so, let's just pretend he's still alive. Mr. David, do you believe you can be lucky enough to become the second Adam Hammer?"

David gave an awkward laugh: "Uh, probably not."

"So, you have a happy family, a loving mother, and a relatively stable learning environment, why choose the path of a mercenary?"

After Polaris finished speaking, the car door opened automatically: "Considering that your mother will be home from get off work soon, in order to avoid causing family disputes, I suggest you go home as soon as possible."

"Oh! Okay!" David quickly got out of the car and watched it drive away on its own until it disappeared down the street. Only then did he sigh and return home.

Is it a happy home?
To be honest, he didn't think he was particularly happy—but that's what people always said.

Okay, to compare the situation, it might be a little better than some homeless people on the street, but the improvement is only slight.

Although his mother never let him go hungry, she also didn't spend much time with him, and his food and clothing were very meager. To be honest, he looked no different from any of the other neighbors living in the H5 skyscraper.

David took the elevator home and drifted off into thought for a moment when his brain-computer interface beeped with a message notification. [A: The payment has been sent. This job is done. Now, just go about your business and forget about today. If anyone asks later, just say you met someone on the street who gave you money to deliver something.]

David: Oh! Okay! Thank you!

[A: I should be the one saying this. Thank you for running errands for me, bye~]

David stared at his bank balance, which had suddenly surged by three thousand euros, and his heart began to pound—damn, so much money!?

Just running an errand or delivering something, and this amount of money is more than my mom's monthly salary!

It's worth noting that David's mother's current job only pays a base salary of 1000 euros a month. She and her son rely entirely on overtime pay and various occasional attendance subsidies from the company to make ends meet.

But even if you add it all up, it probably wouldn't be more than three thousand euros a month, right?

David was a little dazed. He had only run an errand after class and earned his mother's monthly salary.
Oh my god
The washing machine in the room suddenly started beeping.

He quickly got up, went over to take a look, and sighed – the washing machine was overdue on payment again.

But then he immediately opened the renewal panel with great enthusiasm and topped up the monthly fee for the washing machine. Only then did the washing machine start running again.

A sense of satisfaction suddenly welled up in David's heart.

The door clicked open, and the mother, looking somewhat tired, returned carrying processed meat and canned vegetables: "David?"

“I’m here!” David came out of the bathroom.

"It's good that you're home. I thought you'd run off somewhere again. Night City hasn't been very peaceful lately, especially in Taiping Prefecture, there's been a lot of trouble. Don't go out and wander around after school, just stay home."

David's mother, Gloria Martinez, kept nagging.

David interrupted her impatiently, then said excitedly, "I know, you don't need to tell me. Mom, I've already renewed the washing machine fee."

"Where did you get the money?" Gloria wasn't surprised; instead, she immediately put down her things and looked at him with a mixture of nervousness and worry.

"My own saved allowance."

After David finished speaking, he turned around and went straight back to his room—he knew he wasn't good at lying, so running away was the best option.

Gloria watched his retreating figure with suspicion, then after a while said with relief, "Then Mom will transfer the money to you again later. You don't need to save money for Mom; you can go and eat something nice."

David gave a simple reply and closed the door.

Gloria sighed—boys are so hard to handle when they go through puberty.
But after a tiring day at work, she was clearly exhausted and had no energy left, so she simply washed her face with water and went to cook for David.

David lay on his bed, staring blankly out the window.

I really want to officially become a mercenary.
He tossed and turned, lost in his fantasies—the chip he had sent out, the beautiful sex doll he had met, and the floating car in Arasaka.
I'm really curious, what will happen next?

"You're going to ask David to do this? What if something goes wrong? Wouldn't that harm the child?"

Rebecca looked at Mercer, who was sitting in the hacker chair, resting his chin on his hand, and checking the operating data of the sex chip on his laptop, with an unfriendly expression.

Inside the server room, the entire Fire Seed team was gathered, waiting for the historic moment when Mercer and Lai Xuan would meet.

Mercer simply said, "He messages me every few days, or he messages you, subtly asking if we have any errands for him to run."

“But we can’t just put a kid in such an important matter, can we?” Rebecca still disagreed. She sighed and said, “What if he gets dragged into this?”

Mercer simply turned to look at her calmly: "Everyone has their own destiny. I do need someone who seems unrelated to us but is trustworthy to deliver the chip, and he is more than willing to do the errand."

I was satisfied, he was happy, and we even made money.

It's a win-win situation, what's wrong with that? As for the danger, if the negotiations go smoothly, there's no danger; and if they fail, they know who the real party is, so why would they bother a mere errand boy?

Rebecca sighed, "I feel like we shouldn't have left him our contact information in the first place."

Mercer gave her a disdainful look: "Come on, if you didn't brag to him less, he definitely wouldn't be so excited now, and he doesn't even want to study anymore."

Rebecca felt a little guilty—she did occasionally brag to David. And it wasn't just David; there were actually quite a few old friends as well. Anyway, everyone she knew on the street knew that she was doing very well now.

Please, what street thug doesn't like to show off when they're living a good life? It's so boring staying at the base, so she entertains herself by bragging to people online. David is one of her favorite listeners when she brags.

They constantly praise her, saying things like "Awesome," "Amazing," and "I'm so envious."
She was just saying she wanted to have some fun.

Isn't V the same?
And she went even further. Rebecca only liked to show off online, while V preferred to go directly to bars to experience the atmosphere—the Heartfelt Club in Dogtown and the Wild Wolf Bar in Heywood District, she was practically a legendary NPC who would spawn at fixed locations.

Many of her fans often go there to wait for her!
Mercer saw Rebecca chuckling and, feeling guilty, didn't bring up the matter again. He pursed his lips and continued looking at the data of the sex pair chip.

After a long pause, he suddenly let out a cold laugh.

"That stupid woman really dares to do that."

Lucy, who was also focused on the data in the sex doll chip while her arms were crossed, frowned upon hearing this. She leaned down and looked at the data in the chip: "Is there a problem with the brain-computer interface data?"

"Stop looking, it's fake data—there's a fake program spoofing the interface data; all the data coming from the brain-computer interface is randomly compiled fake data."
"If it weren't for my in-depth research into brain-computer interface consciousness data during the development of the mecha's consciousness transfer system, and my innate sensitivity to all data, I really would have fooled him."

Mercer said with a cold expression.

V, who had been watching and waiting to see Mercer and Arasaka Yorinobu's conversation, frowned upon hearing this, his eyes filled with murderous intent: "She's going to ruin our plans?"

"I guess she doesn't have the guts to openly sabotage our plans, and besides, this program isn't something an ordinary person could write."

Mercer's fingers flew across the keyboard as he said coldly, "This program hijacks the output of the brain-computer interface, but it shouldn't affect the input. In other words, it won't interfere with our use of the sex pair chip."
I suspect it's used to mask certain abnormal data fluctuations in brain-computer interfaces.

There aren't many experts in Night City who possess the technical skills to create such a realistic-looking shielding program.

First, we need to rule out the possibility that Evelyn contacted the person herself. Morning Star has been watching her closely, and there has been no unusual contact.

That means someone must have been monitoring our movements and discovered in advance that we wanted to use her to do something. They also need to have the technology to bypass Qimingxing's monitoring and secretly contact her online.
Who has the ability to monitor us? Who knows we're planning to use Evelyn to meet Lai Xuan? Who has the hacking skills to contact Evelyn online without our permission?

By posing these three questions, the direction becomes quite clear.

Sasha immediately exclaimed in surprise: "Internet surveillance?"

“Most likely.” Mercer nodded emphatically. “As it stands, Roger won’t sell us out. The only one who knows our plans is most likely the internet surveillance team that has been closely monitoring us for some time now.”

Mercer sighed inwardly, but his expression remained calm: "They also wanted to contact Lai Xuan, but they couldn't find a good opportunity. After learning that we also planned to meet with Lai Xuan, they probably decided to hitch a ride with us."

"It's all Otto's fault—that guy probably had some follow-up communication with the internet police and leaked some of my information. I wonder what she's been secretly colluding with them about."

“Ott Cunningham,” Sasha exclaimed, “I never imagined I would one day have such a legendary AI’s connection with me.”

"Heh, if you ask me, it's better not to get too involved with them. I'm increasingly feeling that our goals might be fundamentally different from those of these AIs, even though they were once human."

Mercer complained, but then suddenly stopped.

"What? The crack failed?" Lucy looked at him with some surprise as he stopped what he was doing.

Mercer frowned, and after a long while, he muttered under his breath, "No, it's just that I suddenly realized that if the people from Arasaka received it, they will definitely monitor Evelyn's network data. If I hack in now, and it gets discovered, it might cause the meeting to fail."

"We can only wait for Evelyn to send a signal, activate the sex chip, and then take a look." Mercer said with a grim face, stopping what he was doing.

Hopefully, the internet regulators won't do anything stupid and ruin his plans, or they'll just have to wait for his revenge!

No, even if he hadn't ruined things for him, Mercer would still remember this—trying to play dirty tricks on him? Well, just wait and see!
As for that stupid woman, Evelyn.

Mercer gave a cold laugh.

He wouldn't let her off easily either—in the underworld, what are the consequences of being two-faced and treacherous? That's what she'll face!
"What if it's some kind of virus program? Once you transfer your consciousness using the sex doll chip, the virus will take effect."

Lucy said worriedly, "If you want to control someone with a sex doll chip, you have to go deep into the ocean first, then use the sex doll chip to take over her body. At that time, you will be locked by the virus program, and you will also lose the protection of ICE and the server."

Mercer said coldly, "Since I know there's a trap, I certainly won't jump in myself. Morning Star, mimic my consciousness data and create an AI decoy to check if the situation is safe for me."

The voice of Qimingxing came from the computer: "Understood."

The atmosphere in the room suddenly became somewhat oppressive until half an hour later, when the sex pair chip transmitted a signal.

This was Evelyn's way of sending a 'safety' signal, indicating that she was currently alone with Lai Xuan.

"Venus."

As soon as Mercer finished speaking, Morning Star immediately began remotely sending an AI over, and ten seconds later, she gave an affirmative reply:
"No virus program was detected. There was only a hidden, disguised shielding program in the brain-computer interface, which I have already dealt with."

"Then I'll send it." Mercer opened the cover on the back of his head without hesitation.

Before anyone could worry or try to stop him, he used his octopus-like arms to clamp the data cable and connect it to the back of his head.

Even if there are traps, he's not afraid.

"Data transmission in progress"

The sound of the morning star gradually faded away, replaced by a strange sensation as if one were jumping from one body to another.

Mercer knew—his consciousness was about to connect with Evelyn.

Arasaka Yoriyuki cautiously knocked on the bathroom door—the other person said they would come in to quickly wash up and be right back, but then he heard a thud coming from inside, which made him suspicious.

"Evelyn? What's going on?"

He knocked on the door, but there was no sound from inside. After frowning and waiting for a moment, Arasaka Yoriyuki took a few steps back warily. He was about to call for his bodyguards, but then he suddenly remembered something and restrained himself.

Instead, he went back to his room and picked up his pistol.

"Evelyn!" Lai Xuan called out again as he returned to the bathroom, and finally received a response.

"I'm here, please wait a moment." The voice from inside did not ease Lai Xuan's tension; on the contrary, he immediately sensed something was amiss.

Lai Xuan stood by the door, raising his gun with a cold expression: "Did you just fall in the bathroom?"

"Don't worry, you didn't break your face," came Evelyn's teasing voice from inside, while Arasaka Yorinobu simply chuckled, "What about your head?"

"That's a bit hard to say. Mr. Lai Xuan, please wait a moment while I get dressed. Tsk, this woman's dress is really hard to put on."

Upon hearing 'Evelyn's' words, Arasaka Yorinobu's face showed both anger and surprising calmness. He even lowered his pistol: "So, who are you?"

"Stop guessing. I've been trying to contact you in Night City. As for my identity, you'll find out soon enough. Alright, I'm going out now. Remember to put your gun away."

Evelyn's voice was calm.

But Arasaka Yorinobu smiled coldly: "Which gun are you talking about?"

"Uh, let me make this clear first, although I know you rich people are all pretty perverted, I'm not interested in men at all."

Mercer's words made Arasaka Yoriyuki chuckle twice. Then, he put away his weapon, sat on the sofa, poured himself a glass of red wine, and sighed inwardly.

It still came.
At that moment, he felt a mix of excitement and anticipation, but even more so, trepidation, unease, and an inexplicable, inexplicable fear.

Saburo Arasaka's shadow lingered in his mind, and even now, he himself was unsure how to face the mysterious person wearing a woman's skin who was about to be seen.

Evelyn pushed open the bathroom door, wearing a bathrobe and barefoot, and walked out.

She no longer looked as charming and alluring as before. Instead, she walked with a lazy and unsteady gait, her steps wide and sweeping, the kind of walk a man would normally take on with a somewhat carefree attitude.

Evelyn sat on the other side of the chair and casually picked up a cigar from the table: "Hey buddy, can I borrow a light?"

“Fine.” Arasaka Yoriyuki chuckled, tilted his head, and tossed him a lighter: “Using a sex doll to meet me? You’re something else. Thank goodness it wasn’t in bed.”

"You don't find it disgusting? Well, I do," Evelyn rolled her eyes, then lit a cigar and took a puff.

"Damn, this sex chip isn't very sensitive. It can't detect any fragrance. I'd like to see what kind of good stuff rich people like you usually smoke."

Evelyn regretfully put down her cigar, while Arasaka Yoriyuki said meaningfully, "Then when we officially meet again next time, I'll bring one with me. Okay, now tell me, what is your identity and purpose?"

“I’m A from the Fire Seed Squad. I guess you’ve heard of me.” Mercer’s self-introduction surprised Arasaka Yorinobu.

He asked instinctively, "What is your relationship with internet surveillance?"

"You thought it was the internet police who wanted to see you? Well, they did want to meet with you, but I beat them to it."

Mercer sat with her legs crossed, stretched her body, and felt a little uncomfortable—becoming a woman wasn't a very pleasant experience.

"What do you, a mercenary, want from me? To sell something?" Arasaka Yorinobu's enthusiasm seemed to have subsided somewhat, and his expression became much calmer, making it impossible to discern his true thoughts.

He raised his glass, looking as if he had suddenly lost his patience.

Mercer simply stated directly: "Let's make a deal. You get Johnny Silverhand's Relic chip for me. It would be even better if you could get the technical data on the Relic chip. In return, we'll help you assassinate Saburo Arasaka."

"puff!!!"

Arasaka Yoriyuki spat the wine in his mouth all over the floor.

"Cough, haha, cough cough! Hahahaha!" He coughed, wiped his mouth, and then laughed so hard he could hardly breathe, making one worry that he might not be able to catch his breath.

"Wait a minute, ha, you mean I'm helping you steal from my own family so you can assassinate my father? Here, I'll give you thirty more seconds. If you can't tell me your real purpose, you can get lost."

I'll have someone find you and ask you personally where you got this brain-dead idea.

Arasaka Yorinobu said with a mocking expression.

Mercer, on the other hand, simply and leisurely wiped the wine that had been sprayed on him—hey, you know what, this feels pretty good, this prosthetic doctor is quite skilled!

“I already said, you get me Johnny Silver Hand’s Relic. This is the condition I negotiated with Ultraman. After that, we will take over the Kamikoshi, and Ultraman will take what she wants.”

We will work together to clean up all remaining consciousness data on the server, ensuring that the backup of Saburo Arasaka's consciousness in the shrine is completely destroyed.

In addition, on behalf of the Fire Seed Squad, I am willing to help you take down Saburo Arasaka.

Mercer added a few details and repeated what he had just said.

Arasaka Yoriyuki's face darkened. He pressed the brain-computer interface and dialed a number: "Adam, come here. There's a madman here who needs your help."

Mercer sat motionless, a half-smile playing on his lips.

Arasaka Yorinobu, too, remained seated with a sullen face, not moving an inch.

Ten seconds passed, then thirty seconds passed, and suddenly the door was pushed open.

Adam, with his massive, imposing frame, slowly approached.

"I am coming."

(End of this chapter)