Cyberpunk: Starting in 2071

Chapter 131 Hidden worries
[Arasaka Yorinobu: But I suspect my father has already guessed something is amiss—so I can't just give it to you directly.]

[Mercer: What do you mean?]

[Arasaka Yorinobu: So, if you want this, you'll have to come and get it yourself.]

[Mercer: You mean we should go and steal it ourselves?]

[Arasaka Yorinobu: Takemura will be keeping a close eye on it, so if you want it, come and take it yourself.]

[Mose: Where's Saburo?]

[Arasaka Yorinobu: You'll have to figure something out yourself.]

Mercer: And what about you?

[Yorinobu Arasaka: I will wait for the right opportunity.]

Mercer: So you mean you won't offer any help?

[Arasaka Yorinobu: It's not that I can't, it's that I can't. You know my situation isn't much better than yours. Bringing Relic to Night City for you was already a huge risk.]

Mercer: When will you arrive?

[Yorinobu Arasaka: Look at the news yourself.]

After that sentence, when Mercer sent messages to Arasaka Yorihiro again, he received no response.

Mercer hung up the call with a somber expression. He then paced back and forth in the base's server room, deep in thought, unable to make a decision immediately.

"Hey! Mercer, I knew you'd be hiding here. Hurry up and pack your things. You're not expecting me to clean your room for you, are you?"

V's voice came from the doorway. Mercer turned her head to look. V's short hair had grown quite a bit, and she had even curled the ends. Her long hair, which reached past her shoulders, made her look more feminine and gentle.

Mercer nodded absentmindedly and said, "I know, I'll go right away."

"Don't give me 'right now,' 'immediately!' 'Now!' V walked over impatiently and pushed him towards the door: 'Even if you're busy after we move to the new house, it'll be the same. I still have to go to the new house to prepare dinner. If you keep dawdling, dinner will turn into a midnight snack.'"

"OK! OK! I don't have anything to pack. We'll leave once you're all packed. I need to go on a deep dive now, and we'll leave when I get back." Mercer turned around, grabbed her hand, and stopped her.

V glared at him angrily, struggling to free her hand: "Why did you have to do this now and then? You always cause trouble as soon as we move. Can't you be a little more reliable?!"

"It happened suddenly. I'll be there soon after I'm done." Mercer simply turned and sat down in the hacker chair.

He actually didn't have anything to move to the new house. The room was just a place for him to sleep, and there was nothing else to move.

They had originally planned to move to the Gemstone Blue Hotel, but because Mercer had many requirements for the new home, including upgrading the building's security facilities, it took a lot of time, causing him to delay until the end of the year before he was finally able to pack his things and move.

Even Jack, Mann, and the others, who could have moved there much earlier, deliberately waited until today to move out of the base together and move into the Gemstone Green.

Aside from Pila—that guy really intends to stay alone at the Fireseed Squad's base. Anyway, it has everything, including a professional workspace, so he's getting a great deal by himself.

Today's event wasn't just about moving; it was also a rare occasion for everyone to get together under the guise of moving. Besides the team members, people like Sasha's sister, Jack's mother and his girlfriend, and even Old Vi were invited by Mercer to the dinner party.

This is precisely why V keeps urging him.

"Hey, what's going on?" V watched him hurriedly lie down on the hacker chair, and didn't urge him anymore, just muttering, "What urgent matter has happened?"

"Well, sort of. I have some things I need to ask Otto." Mercer didn't say directly that Lai Xuan had sent him the message, but instead sat down in the hacker chair and picked up the data cable: "Plug it in for me."

V could only walk up behind him with a somewhat unhappy expression: "Then hurry up, I need to go and cook ahead of time."

“If you ask me, we should find a chef from a big hotel.” Mercer stopped mid-sentence: “Alright, you come, you come.”

"It's customary to prepare your own meals for guests when you move to a new house!" V then inserted the neural connection into the back of Mercer's head.

“You Heywood people have so many rules. If you’re in a hurry, you can go ahead first. I’ll go by myself in a bit.”

Mercer said, and before V could reply, he dived into cyberspace.

V saw Mercer close his eyes and remain motionless, and knew that the guy must have already gone online. He angrily raised his fist at Mercer, not caring whether Mercer could see it or not, and then snorted.

Despite her impatience, she still stood obediently to the side—she had to keep an eye on things while Mercer was diving, just in case something unexpected happened.

Meanwhile, Mercer had already crossed the black wall and skillfully used the pre-arranged code with Otto to send data signals over the internet.

Ultraman is always extremely efficient. Not long after Mercer sent out his signal, a huge red data figure appeared.

"what's up."

She asked calmly.

“Lai Xuan said he got his hands on Relic from Silver Hand, but his attitude was somewhat ambiguous.”

Mercer spoke his mind.

"Are you suspecting he has a problem?" Otto's tone didn't seem to change much when he heard about Silver Hand's news.

"His idea was for me to snatch it myself and find a way to take the chip away from him so that he could clear his name. But thinking about it carefully, once he takes Relic and then Relic is stolen, he can't clear his name no matter what."

I doubt it. I'm not entirely sure what his stance is right now.

Mercer frowned, his voice heavy: "If Saburo controlled him when he stole Relic and is now just waiting for him to come to him, I'm worried we'll end up walking right into Arasaka's trap."

“If you want to give up, I have no objection. I can find a better opportunity myself.” Otto remained calm. “What is your purpose in coming to me?”

"I don't know." Mercer sighed and spoke frankly to Otto: "Dogtown is thriving, and everything is slowly getting better for us, but if we make a move against Saburo Arasaka now..."
If we fail, we'll have nothing left.

Even worse is…

Mercer hesitated, "We've finally managed to have a good life."

"If you're looking for someone to persuade you, you've probably come to the wrong person. I won't give you any advice, which will effectively prevent any unforeseen circumstances from affecting our relationship."

Ott said calmly, "But if you're here looking for help, you can tell me what you're thinking."

“I want to confirm Saburo Arasaka’s situation.” Mercer said bluntly, “I’m not entirely confident in killing Saburo Arasaka on my own, so, Otto, bring out all your skills. We need to try to decide the outcome with one blow.”

“Saburo Arasaka knows my situation. He’s always been wary of us. There’s not much we can do to help you.”

Ultraman spoke frankly and repeated, "My goal is not Arasaka Saburo. For me, as long as I get the Relic of the Silver Hand and finally deal with the Divine Carriage, that will be enough."

"Why are you so obsessed with the Divine Carriage? I can understand the Silver Hand's consciousness, but what use is the Divine Carriage to you?" Mercer countered.

"The consciousness data within the divine palanquin are all victims of the soul-killing program, and I want to save them."

After Ott finished speaking, Mercer said bluntly, "I don't believe that's the only reason."

"Then what do you think I'm doing this for?" This time it was Ultraman's turn to ask.

Mercer simply looked at her, and after a long while, said in a heavy tone, "I studied the consciousness data."

"So?" Ultraman continued to ask.

"I discovered the core code for consciousness data. And..."

Mercer remained silent for a moment, but finally spoke directly: "It has similarities to the core source code of Death Wish AI that Bartmouth gave me."

This time it was Otto's turn to be silent. She stared at Mercer and finally said, "It seems that you are indeed very talented, but I must remind you that although the two are similar, they are still different. However, are you still sticking to your own opinion now?"

"What's your opinion? Your preferred terms like 'humans,' 'new humans,' and 'future humans'?" Mercer asked.

"Yes, once you understand that human consciousness, or the essence of the soul, is actually just a piece of core source code, what are your thoughts?" Ultraman asked.

After a moment of silence, Mercer changed the subject and asked, "Why do you need those consciousness data entities?"

“This has nothing to do with you—our cooperation has always been simple, direct and clear. You helped me get the Relic consciousness data of the Silver Hand, as well as the Divine Carriage. I owe you a favor. It’s mutual help, it’s that simple.”

Ultraman did not give a clear answer. Mercer stared straight at Ultraman and said, word by word, "Do the consciousness data entities that you previously contained in the Hong Kong server still exist?"

"Are you suspecting that I'm absorbing those consciousness data entities?" Ultraman wasn't angry. He simply replied calmly, "Of course they exist, but due to the current network environment, they can't move freely on the network."

Otto reiterated, "I am indeed saving them, there is no doubt about that. If you are interested, you can come and play on my server anytime."

Mercer stared at Otto and skipped the topic: "If it concerns Saburo, and you have nothing to help me with, then I need a super-large server, and a dedicated network line that can penetrate the entire globe."

"A super-large server?" Otto asked doubtfully. "You now own the Little Big Dipper server, the Voodoo Gang's Poseidon server, plus the server cluster you purchased yourself. What are you planning to do?"

"Don't worry, I'm not planning to create a cyber nuclear bomb. I just want to use the internet to find traces of Sanlang and devise a perfect assassination plan."

After Mercer finished speaking, Otto, unusually, showed great interest: "I know, it's your intelligence gathering system. It seems that the program you created is far more powerful than I imagined."

"So, can you handle the server?" Mercer didn't answer, but continued to ask, "It's just a temporary loan. After you've settled things with Sanlang, you'll return it to its rightful owner."

Ultraman readily agreed: "Of course."

"I will not hand over the program to you, nor will I give you the server permissions and interfaces. I will use Qimingxing to operate it."

After Mercer finished speaking, Otto had no objections, but said with interest, "It seems you have a lot of confidence in your program?"

“Of course,” Mercer said confidently. “Even the Night Corporation’s AI team couldn’t possibly create a program more powerful than my system.”

In fact, the ctOS system has never stopped being updated and iterated. Through continuous optimization using big data by Qimingxing and Moser, the current ctOS system is even more terrifying than the ctOS system in the game Watch Dogs that Moser knows.

Otto seemed very interested in Mercer's ctOS system, but she knew very well that Mercer wouldn't share it with her, just as she wouldn't share the Soul Killer program or the Black Wall with Mercer.

“I agree. Until you settle things with Kamikori, Relic of Silver Hand, and Saburo Arasaka, I can provide you with a server and a dedicated global internet connection.”

After agreeing, Otto continued, "Is there anything else I can help you with?"

“Silver Hand’s DNA—if you want him to be resurrected in his original form, I need his DNA to clone his body.”

After Mercer finished speaking, Otto shook his head and said, "I don't have Silver Hand's DNA data, nor do I care how he was resurrected. In fact, you can even give me his consciousness data directly."

"This guy can still be of some use—when he disgusts me enough, I'll hand him over to you to lock him up in the dark room."

After Mercer finished speaking, Otto stopped pressing the matter and simply said, "The key lies in the Divine Carriage. Before you make your move, contact me, and I will provide you with any assistance I can."

"By the way, what have those guys at Bartmore been up to lately?" Mercer suddenly asked, a mixture of curiosity and concern.

Ott said calmly, "Bartlemos is still obsessed with things related to your origins. As for Spider Murphy, she's always been a playboy; who knows where she's having fun? If you want to see them, I can pass on a message for you."

"Tell Bartmores that if he has time, he should come and meet me. I have something I want to talk to him about. As for Murphy, if she wants to play along, perhaps she can get involved in what we're about to do."

After Mercer finished speaking, Otto nodded: "Is there anything else?"

“That’s all for now.” After Mercer finished speaking, Ultraman’s figure began to fade. “I wish you all the best.”

After Ultraman disappeared, Mercer stood there in silence for a long time, pondering, and finally sighed softly.

He was certain that Ultra hadn't told him the truth—at least not regarding the consciousness data, including her purpose in wanting to liberate the sacred vehicle; Ultra had definitely concealed some very important things from him.

Mercer strongly suspects that the ultimate goal of Ultraman's Liberation Shrine is to collect and devour the massive amount of human consciousness data inside.

Otto said she only put that consciousness data into the server. But in fact, didn't she herself live in that server? Whether that consciousness data was inside her or beside her are two completely different concepts!
Mercer's suspicion stemmed from the core code of consciousness he unexpectedly discovered while manipulating Hansen's consciousness data.

Just as AI can enhance its computing power by consuming other AI, Mercer keenly observed that human consciousness data also possesses similar characteristics.

This is actually quite amazing—an AI can devour another AI and somehow increase its own computing power out of thin air without enhancing the server's computing power.

Or rather, what's actually being increased isn't computing power, but intelligence.

This inevitably made Mercer think of many terrible things—could AI enhance its own intelligence by devouring consciousness data bodies in the same way it devoured AI?

If so, wouldn't humans potentially become the "ginseng fruit" that enhances the power of AI? Once other AIs discover this secret, what will become of humanity's future?

If humans were to discover that digitizing consciousness could increase one's intelligence by consuming human consciousness data, or by consuming AI, would that lead to an even more terrifying crisis?

Has Ultraman actually devoured those consciousness data entities? And what is her ultimate goal?
Mercer's headache grew as he thought about it, and he even considered giving up. In any case, he was now well-fed and clothed in Dogtown, and his overall strength was steadily improving. If he didn't cause trouble for Saburo, the other party probably wouldn't be determined to fight him to the death.

If Mercer can demonstrate a strength that makes Saburo wary, he might not have to worry about anyone threatening his and his companions' lives for the next ten, twenty, or even thirty years.
Mercer sighed and exited the deep dive, where he saw V standing beside him, still waiting for him.

"Are you done with your work? Why do you look so worried?" V originally wanted to urge him to hurry up and prepare to move, but when he came out of the deep dive, he subconsciously showed the same worried look he had when he was in the deep dive, so he swallowed his words of urging.

Mercer shook his head: "Let's go, let's get on with the moving first."

"Wait a minute! What's the rush! Tell me first, what are you worried about!" V was no longer in a hurry. He blocked Mercer's way, as if he wouldn't let him pass until he told him.

Mercer looked at her and finally confessed, "Lai Xuan said he's going to get the Relic chip from Silver Hand."

"Isn't this a good thing? Take care of Silver Hand's Relic chip, then kill Saburo. Isn't this what you've wanted to do for a long time?"

V countered, "After preparing for so long, it's finally going to be a result, so what's there to worry about now?"

“I don’t know.” Mercer looked at her, a rare look of bewilderment on his face. “The more I learn, the less I know what the consequences of what we’re doing will be.”
Even if we deal with Sanlang, we may only face even greater crises and risks.

But if we take a step back now, perhaps we can pretend we know nothing and live a carefree and peaceful life for decades.”

V frowned, walked up to him, and reached out to touch his head: "I told you you'd burn your brain out sooner or later."

"Damn it, don't touch my head." Mercer moved his head away in displeasure.

V chuckled and said, "Come on, stop worrying yourself. Knowing you as I do, all you'll end up doing is gritting your teeth and pushing forward. So what's there to be so conflicted about?"
Knowing your personality, if you were to back down like this even once, you wouldn't be able to sleep for the rest of your life. Are you scared? Do you think you're no match for Saburo?

"You're even trying to provoke me?" Mercer looked at her, feigning displeasure.

V just smiled and tapped his head: "Then tell me if it works or not?"

"Damn," Mercer was speechless. It really worked. He wasn't worried about his own safety, but about dragging his friends, who had finally gotten a good life, down with him.

He stood up and looked at V: "This time, people might really die."

"Who was it that persuaded me to join this gang, saying things like 'You're risking your life for wealth and status'?"

V glared at him angrily: "If you're a coward, don't drag me into this. Whether it's Arasaka Saburo or Goro Juro, I'll shoot a hole in his head! We can always run away together afterward!"
"You wouldn't happen to be living in a mansion and becoming a big boss, and now you're reluctant to give up your good life, would you?"

V squinted at him: "Hmm?"

Mercer rolled his eyes: "Good days? I'm busy as an animal all day long, this is no good day at all."

"That's settled then. Oh, don't think so much. Anyway, it's not like we have to start in the next few days. I'll make you braised pork tonight."

V smiled and reached out, hooking his arm around his neck. They walked out like buddies: "Don't even think about slacking off in the back today. We're dealing with a whole bunch of guests, so you have to lend a hand!"

"Okay, okay!" Mercer said, his mood improving considerably with just a few words from her. He briefly put his worries aside—indeed, no matter how much he thought or how much troubled he was, could he really back down now?
Although he discovered more and more problems, he no longer had the simple idea that "solving Saburo would allow him to live a good life," but the problems remained nonetheless.

He didn't want to wait for fate to deliver its verdict, so he could only fight back before fate arrived.

As for the ending
Do your best and leave the rest to fate.

And
As Mercer walked, he suddenly thought of something crucial.

"Is Rebecca's birthday coming up soon?"

"Oh, you still remember?"

V said meaningfully, "It's her eighteenth birthday, after all. What gift are you planning to give her?"

Mercer blinked.

Would it be okay if I gave it to myself?
(End of this chapter)