Cyberpunk: Starting in 2071

Chapter 97 Soul Killer, Get daze!

Hanz's office is located on the third floor of the Heartfelt Club. He is the only office in the entire corridor after the elevator is opened.

It can be understood as a suite with a dedicated elevator entrance.

The black walls on both sides of the corridor contrast with the gold embossed wall panels, giving a sense of understated luxury.

There were even extremely rare potted green plants placed on both sides of the corridor—these were living plants, not virtual projections.

Mercer walked to the door, knocked, and the automatic door clicked open, revealing a huge LCD screen that almost covered the entire wall.

The central area, covered with a red carpet, features two perfectly symmetrically arranged coffee tables and sofas, with a desk and chair on one side. The area doesn't appear to be very large.

Mercer deduced in an instant that Hanz's office must have a hidden door leading to a secret space.

Perhaps that's where Hans usually stays; it could be a private suite or a secret storage room.

This was determined by the length of the corridor; his room was at least several tens of square meters smaller than the corridor. The corridor leading up to the elevator ended with a wall, suggesting there might be a hidden U-shaped secret space on the third floor.
Hmm. Mercer is a little curious.

His prosthetic eye subconsciously flashed, scanning the area. This series of observations and analyses, under his subconscious brain-computer interface overclocking and synaptic acceleration, took only a second.

Only after he finished his observation, his prosthetic eye scanning all the electronic devices and discovering a hidden door in the wall, did Mercer turn his head to look at Hanz, who was now getting up and smiling as he walked towards him.

“Mr. Hanz, I never expected to meet you in person so soon. As far as I know, Mr. Hanz is a champion of mysticism.”

Mercer took the initiative to greet him.

Hanz, however, said with a smile:

"That's because the vast majority of them don't meet the standards for meeting. If you've been in the business of being a middleman for a long time, you'll know that meeting many people and building relationships is a waste of time, because the vast majority of mercenaries don't live more than three years."

Mercer joked, "It seems that in Mr. Hans's eyes, our life expectancy is very long."

“You are a special case, please sit down and talk.” Hans smiled and waved for Mercer to sit on the sofa, then picked up a pot of hot tea and took out a teacup.

"I only have tea here, is that alright?" Hans asked.

“No problem, this is a high-end experience.” Mercer smiled, sizing up Hanz’s appearance.

This guy has a rather distinctive style; his slicked-back hair is dyed white only in the middle, while the sides are black. He's wearing a burgundy suit, and even his goatee has a streak of white dyed down the middle of his sideburns.
Hanz poured a cup of hot tea and placed it on the coffee table in front of Mercer, then sat down beside him, observing him with interest:
"Let's continue with our previous topic. To be honest, of all your teams, the one I care about the most is you."

“Really? Then I’m truly honored.” Mercer said, his eyes remaining calm, appearing unfazed by honor or disgrace, which made Hans involuntarily curl the corners of his mouth and shake his head.

“I’ve seen your picture in the Night City files. Are you really only eighteen years old this year?” Hans asked curiously.

Mercer pondered for a moment, then simply removed his mask and smiled, "Of course, don't I look like one?"

"Well, to put it another way, it's too similar." Hanz was speechless for a moment. You don't just look like an eighteen-year-old, you look like someone under eighteen.

But he did not look down on him because of Mercer's face. Instead, his attitude became more and more amiable: "There is an old saying in the East that heroes have emerged from among the young since ancient times. I wholeheartedly agree, especially when it comes to technology."

Hanz watched as Mercer picked up his teacup, or rather, his tea bowl, blew on it to warm it, and gently inhaled the aroma of the tea. He then smiled and picked up a wooden box.

“Would you like a Cuban cigar?” he said, picking one up for himself. “Even if most people meet me, they won’t see this box of cigars. This small box alone costs 99,000 euros.”

Hans took out a cigar and exclaimed, "Right now, this year's cigar would easily double in price at an auction house."

Mercer was genuinely interested—thinking that not buying it would be like losing 190,000 euros, he decisively reached out his hand.

Hanz was taken aback, then felt a pang of sympathy. To be honest, he thought Mercer didn't smoke! He was just being polite.

But on the surface, he calmly took out a cigar, cut it open, and handed it to Mercer. He then professionally took out a chopped stick and used the flame from the stick to light the cigar.

Mercer followed suit, and to be honest, he couldn't taste anything particularly good or bad, except for a slightly strange aroma.

I'll have to take it down later so Qiwei can enjoy the feeling of this nearly 200,000 yuan cigar. Sigh, why didn't Hanz just say something polite like "give me a box"?

That guy definitely won't be polite.

Mercer thought to himself, but after putting down his cigar, he simply smiled and said, "Mr. Hans probably didn't invite me here just to smoke cigars and have tea, did he?"

“I think you’ll be more patient.” Hanz exhaled a puff of smoke, took a sip of tea, and looked quite elegant.

"I talked for too long with that slippery guy from the Voodoo Gang, and my throat is dry. I don't want to do it again anytime soon."

Mercer shrugged: "Now it's just the two of us. I don't have a bad impression of Mr. Hans, and I think our cooperation has been quite pleasant, so we won't bother with any of those fancy stuff."

"Hahaha." Hanz laughed a few times, then his expression turned serious: "Then I won't say any more pleasantries. The reason I called you here today is not to ask you any favors, but to ask you a few questions."

I hope you can answer truthfully, as this could directly affect our future cooperation.

Mercer, however, still seemed quite relaxed, smiling: "Go ahead and ask. As long as it's not a difficult question to answer, let's be frank with each other today, so we can look out for each other in the future. What do you say?"

"Sure." Hans smiled, then asked, "Is the person behind you the Military Science Bureau? Kangtao? Or some other force?"

"Oh? Why would you suddenly ask that?" Mercer was interested in why he would ask such a question, but before asking in return, he gave a definite answer: "We don't work for any power, we only work for ourselves."

Hanz looked directly into Mercer's eyes, and Mercer simply met his gaze openly.

"That's a bit strange. What were you doing stealing biotechnology stuff? You turned around and sold Arasaka's exoskeleton to the military science department, then suddenly started cooperating with Hansen, possessing powerful hacking skills and even understanding equipment design."

Hanz squinted and said, "Their origins are unknown, but once they arrive in Night City, they can quickly assemble an incredibly powerful team. We also don't know where they got the cybernetic bodies."

"All by yourself?" Hans didn't quite believe it.

Mercer's team has grown at an almost visible speed, all by himself? A boy who looks like he's still wet behind the ears?
There are too many mysteries surrounding him, such as where he learned his skills? The people around him are clearly just a group of ordinary thugs according to the information, so how could they transform into top mercenaries in just two months?
"It's all thanks to the efforts of everyone on our team." Mercer paused, then said confidently, "Of course, the most important one is me. As for why we're fighting over biotechnology, it's obviously for the money."

"The second question is, what agreement did you reach with Hansen?" Hanz said with a deep look in his eyes, "Of course, you don't have to answer if it's inconvenient."

"It's very simple. I'll provide the equipment design drawings, arrange the production plan, and get his arsenal up and running."

Hansen needs his own logistical support so he can't be cut off by others; I think everyone knows that.

After Mercer finished speaking, he paused before continuing, "Secondly, he also has his eye on my network technology. For him, a hacker like me who can affect regional network security is either recruited or eliminated as soon as possible. This is not hard to understand."

Hanz exclaimed in amazement, "I never knew you knew so much about these things besides internet technology!"

"In fact, I have some knowledge in areas such as prosthetics, biomedicine and chemistry, automobile manufacturing and repair, software engineering and development, cybersecurity services, and weapons and equipment development."

Mercer's words made Hans lean back slightly—Dude, that's a bit too much.

But seeing Mercer's calm and composed demeanor, Hanz inexplicably felt that this guy wasn't joking.

"In short, my relationship with Hansen is mutually beneficial. I reckon his ultimate goal is to achieve self-sufficiency in low-end weaponry as much as possible."

Furthermore, he possesses the ability to crack and use advanced products from other companies in mid-to-high-end equipment and weapons; I suspect that's his goal.

As for whether he wants to develop any advanced equipment, I doubt he has the resources or the intention to invest that much. A warlord wouldn't waste his money on weapons development.

Mercer laughed and said, "He hired me because he really wanted to steal some of the low-end weapons and equipment I developed and designed, and also to try to win me over and see what I was capable of."

"I'm just paying protection money temporarily, and maybe I can use his resources to do something I'm interested in."

"for example?"

Hans probed, "Do you have any development directions or plans? Don't get me wrong, I mean, if you have any good ideas, I can provide you with some investment and assistance. I also know a lot of reliable and wealthy investors."

He said meaningfully, "As long as you can prove your technical skills, believe me, a capable person is in high demand everywhere. I know some old friends, and many of them are willing to protect you."

Even Hansen has many people he can't afford to mess with, and coincidentally, I know a few of those big shots.

Mercer immediately said, "I currently have ideas and only three things I plan to develop. The first is a single-soldier armor similar to Arasaka's exoskeleton armor."

The purpose of developing this type of individual armor is to significantly enhance the combat capabilities of individual soldiers in urban warfare environments lacking heavy firepower.

Hans became even more interested: "As far as I know, you used Arasaka's exoskeleton to take down the joint transport team of military science and biotechnology?"

"That's right, but to be honest, Arasaka's design concept is terrible. I've studied it, and the only valuable thing is one weapon system; the rest..."

Mercer muttered, "A pile of dog shit."

Before Hans could ask further, he continued, "The second area of ​​development is weaponry, and the third is software."

Mercer glanced at Hanz and then said, "In terms of weaponry and equipment, we are mainly focusing on the development of weapons to complement individual armor and unmanned machinery."

The software is also adapted to the aforementioned directions, and also involves intelligent vehicle driving, weapon chips, rapid hacking programs, and so on.

After giving a brief explanation, he decisively said to Hanzla Investment, "If you are willing to invest some money, and most importantly some equipment and other resources, I can consider sharing the development results to some extent."

Hans hesitated for a moment, then said, "You know I can't convince other investors with just a few words from you."

Then why are you arguing with me? You want a PPT? Well, just wait, I'll draw it up and ask you for money when I have time.

Mercer immediately regained his calm expression: "So, I also have some questions that I'm curious about. I wonder if Mr. Hans could answer them for me?"

“Ask away.” Hanz put down his teacup and looked at Mercer with a smile.

"I know there are a lot of people behind Hansen, but who exactly are his real financial backers and supporters?"

Mercer began to assess Hansen's abilities.

If you ask Hanz about himself, he might give a vague and rambling answer, but if you ask about Hansen, Hanz has nothing to hide.

Hanz said directly: "There are three forces supporting Hansen. First, the Cubans. The smuggling business comes from all over the country. Where would Hansen get so many goods and so many smuggled goods that need to be circulated in Dogtown?"
Cuban criminal groups in the New United States would circulate their criminal proceeds, whether prosthetics or weapons, through Dogtown.

Some would sell the stolen goods directly in Dogtown, while others would arrive in Dogtown and be received by Ghosthound before being resold to customers in other states.

Cubans have the greatest demand, and their trade networks span across New America, dealing in medicines, prosthetics, equipment, and even some things you wouldn't imagine.
In short, if we're talking about who Hansen's biggest supporter is right now, and who helped him turn Dogtown into a smuggling hotspot, it's definitely the Cubans.

Hans continued, "Secondly, there are the connections he built while serving in the new United States, mainly among high-ranking military officers in the military and the new United States."

The military and its high-ranking officers would sell weapons and equipment to the Hounds to continue splitting Taiping and Night City, and would also use Dogtown to transport weapons and equipment to Night City.

Although the war is now on hold, everyone knows that the battle between the Military Science Institute and Arasaka has only just ended. The Military Science Institute and New America originally regarded Hansen as a pawn to be discarded, but they never expected that he would be supported by the Cubans. So they simply decided to play along.

On one hand, they used the Gemstone in Dogtown to shake the supporters of Arasaka in Night City, and secretly infiltrated and supported the supporters of the Military Science and New America.

On the other hand, they were also trying to win over Hansen and continue their failed, or rather, discontinued, "Midnight Storm" plan in 2069, attempting to establish a new American and military science territorial base in Night City.

Hans paused, took a puff of his cigar, and finally said, "The third is that group of so-called social elites. They need a lawless place to unleash their true nature without being disturbed by the ever-present media of Night City."

There also needs to be a separate meeting place outside the Night City system to discuss business and votes, and to accommodate various celebrities and executives from other parts of New America.

Hanz chuckled twice, looked at Mercer and said, "Hansen is very generous when it comes to bribing these politicians. Do you think he could have developed Dogtown to its current state just because of his strong army and connections? Of course not. Without the support of the locals from Night City, the Hound of the Underworld would just be a larger gang. How could they have built a city within a city in Pacific State all by themselves?"

Mercer pondered for a moment, digesting the information, before posing a rather insightful question: "So, Mr. Hanz's Cuban friends, do they support you more, or Hansen more?"

Hans simply smiled faintly: "A, you should know that I was already a middleman in the Pacific before Dogtown was founded."

Mercer nodded knowingly, then changed the subject to discuss matters with the Voodoo Gang.

"When Sliding and I were chatting just now, we discussed the Voodoo Gang in the Pacific. I wonder what Mr. Hans thinks of these Haitians?"

Mercer's question made Hans' eyes flash. He looked at Mercer for a long time before suddenly laughing, "The Voodoo Gang of Taiping Prefecture? In my eyes, they are just a bunch of pests. If there were a powerful insecticide available, that would be perfect."

“Is that so?” Mercer nodded, then picked up his teacup, took a couple of sips of tea, and fell into deep thought.

After a long pause, he raised his head, looked at Hans, and smiled slightly: "I wonder if Mr. Hans has any other questions?"

"No, we were just chatting, it wasn't a hearing."

Hans chuckled, but subtly implied, "I just heard you became a director at Hansen's, and I was curious about your recent changes. It seems we're still friends, which is good."

“I have never forgotten Mr. Hans’s help to us, so there is no need to worry. We are still mercenaries, and you can still contact me anytime if there is a profitable business.”

I have quite a few people under me now, and it's important to have them get some exercise occasionally to keep them in shape.

After Mercer finished speaking, he smiled slightly and added, "If Mr. Hanz has any good friends in the Ghost Hounds, he can also introduce us to them."

"Sure, if there's a chance later, I'll give you the opportunity to meet them."

Hanz didn't try to stop him. Instead, he stood up and saw that Mercer seemed about to turn around and leave. After thinking for a moment, he suddenly said, "Although I can't convince investors to invest in your research project until you produce some results."

However, if you want any equipment or raw materials, let me tell you this: as long as you can find them, the Cubans can get them for you.

If there's anything you can't ask Hansen for, you can call me. The price will definitely not be higher than Hansen's.

He said meaningfully, "If you develop any finished products, you can talk to me about the price first. I guarantee that the price I can offer here will be higher than what you sell to Hansen."

Mercer smiled knowingly: "No problem. I guess Hansen didn't have high expectations for me either. So, no problem."

"Then I look forward to your call. As for the commission, I'll send you a look at any commissions I come up with later. If you're interested, you can accept it; if not, I'll find someone else. How about that?"

After Hans finished speaking, Mercer immediately agreed, shook hands with him, exchanged a few more polite words, and then turned and left gracefully.

Of course, I didn't forget to grab the cigar I'd only taken two puffs of as well.

After going downstairs and returning to the VIP room, the Voodoo Gang members had already left, leaving only V and a few others still drinking and having a lively time.

As Mercer passed by, he handed the cigar to Qiwei.

She paused for a moment, then took it, bit into it quite naturally, and tasted it: "Mmm, it's pretty good."

"I can't tell the difference between good and bad, but this stuff costs nearly 200,000 euros a box now. I think there are less than eight sticks in a box, which means each one is worth more than 20,000 euros."

Mercer looked at Qi Wei's slightly widened eyes and laughed, "This doesn't feel like smoking cigarettes anymore, it feels like smoking money. One puff of smoke is worth a month's salary for an average person."

V immediately stretched out his hand: "Let me try it!"

"Try it my ass, do you even know how to smoke? Don't mess around." Mercer wouldn't let Qiwei give it to him.

V pouted, then leaned back: "I just didn't have the money before! I wasn't destined to enjoy this stuff!"

But she really didn't mention taking a puff.

Qiwei savored the cigar slowly by herself, but when Mercer looked at her, she seemed to lick the cigar imperceptibly, and Mercer immediately looked away.

This woman.
Even though she didn't even look directly at Mercer, Mercer was 100% certain that she was hinting at something to him.

"What did Hanz talk to you about?" V asked curiously, completely unaware of what was going on.

Mercer looked away and said as usual, "It's nothing, just confirming my current relationship with Hansen, and also to find out more about Hansen."

“Oh.” V immediately lost interest in it.

Everyone continued drinking and playing around until eleven or twelve o'clock. Qiwei said she wanted to go back and rest first, and Lucy and Xingzi agreed to go back together.

But V was clearly not done having fun yet, and kept clamoring to party until the early hours of the morning, so Mercer simply let her, Rebecca, and Mann continue playing—Mann and Dorio started hugging and kissing each other while drinking, which was simply unbearable to watch.

Rebecca thought about it and wanted to go back with Mercer, but V wouldn't let her go and insisted on drinking to her heart's content. After a few words of bickering, the two decided to have a drinking contest until dawn.

Pila had already run off to flirt with other girls, and since everyone had their own way of doing things, they decided to call it a day and call it a day.

Mercer, Qiwei, Lucy, and Anzu returned to the base. Anzu had learned a lot and had a good time today. She wasn't sleepy at all and pulled Lucy to invite her to go see Mewtwo with her.

Lucy stared sharply at Mercer and Qiwei for a while, but in the end she didn't say anything and went back to the house with Kyoko to watch Mewtwo.

The remaining two, Mercer and Qiwei, exchanged a glance. Without saying a word, she simply stood in front of the door and gave him a gentle, charming smile.

Mercer, understanding the unspoken message, turned a corner and entered her room.

"Why are you so happy today?" Mercer asked her curiously in the bathroom.

"Because you brought me a cigar." Qiwei lazily turned her head, then slipped into the warm water of the bathtub and lay languidly on the edge of the tub.

"Just because of a cigar?" He laughed as he put his clothes outside.

"Because there were so many people, yet you only gave me one cigar. Hmm, maybe two?" She laughed, tilted her head back, reached out her hand, and beckoned to him with her finger, her smile becoming somewhat alluring.

"Ha," Mercer chuckled, then walked over without hesitation.

Tonight, he has no intention of going home to rest early like last time.

V and Rebecca were drinking, while Lucy was being pestered by Anzu to watch Mewtwo. With perfect timing, location, and people, how could they possibly waste it?

Qiwei's thoughts, however, were very simple.

Well, after all, what bad intentions could a woman who only wants to smoke cigars possibly have?

A peaceful week passed in the blink of an eye.

Lucy was chewing on an energy bar, her coffee still steaming beside her. This was the seventh day of her silent protest against Mercer.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that damn scumbag still looking like he was hopelessly engrossed in reading code.

Well, actually, it wasn't that she was silently protesting, but rather that Mercer, ever since he had dealt with his troubles, had devoted himself entirely to cracking the Soul Killer program, almost forgetting to eat and drink, and doing nothing else.

Let alone talking to Lucy, even when V, who is always bickering with him, passes by, or when Rebecca asks him to go out, he just grunts a few perfunctory words and refuses any behavior that would waste his time.

From the most basic method of using low-level AI spawned by Morning Star as bait to trigger the Soul Killer program, we have now identified the target-hunting attack code of the Soul Killer program and written targeted software to block the automatic target-hunting program.

Mercer took only a week to completely neutralize the Soul Killer program within the Relic chip.

Then, he used a low-level AI created by Morning Star to screen the Soul Killer program in the Relic chip.

With the help of AI, Mercer was able to completely replicate the infamous Soul Killer program in less than half a day by comparing it with the Relic chip, which had already had the Soul Killer program removed.

It can be said that from now on, if Mercer wants to retire, he can rely on the Soul Killer program at hand to join any company and obtain wealth that will allow him to live a life of comfort.

But for Mercer, obtaining the Soul Killer program was just the beginning.

Next, he needs to do more than just understand the program; he also needs to analyze it, try to delve into its principles, and become proficient in its use, even improving and changing it so that it can truly be used by Mercer.

Mercer's ambitions are vast. In fact, researching the Soul Killer program is only part of his goal. What he truly wants to understand and master is the uploaded consciousness data of humans.

The secret between humans and AI, or even AI's own secret, may lie in the process of humans being transformed into data, and in the consciousness data body that humans transform into.

But after Mercer extracted the Soul Killer program, he discovered another problem.

That is, the Soul Killer program he currently possesses is incomplete.

The Soul Killer program in Mercer's possession has only one function—to kill the opponent's consciousness data and copy the data in the process of killing the opponent.

In other words, if the complete Soul Killer program is what allows Ott Cunningham to completely upload himself using the Soul Killer program...

The program Mercer currently has can only make Ottkeningan commit suicide first, and then create a copy of himself.

Of course, it's more likely that Mercer hasn't fully grasped the core of the program and doesn't understand the concept of conversion.

This is quite unusual for Mercer. So far, the only program he has encountered that he cannot understand is the core intelligent code of an AI.

It has to be said that these veteran hackers are really something; even a 'superhuman' like Mercer can't directly figure out what they have.

But Mercer wasn't in a hurry. He felt that all he needed was some time to understand and comprehend the code.

Right now, it just so happens that this is the period with the best research conditions and the most time since he transmigrated.

"Hey"

The sounds around him failed to distract Mercer; he was unusually focused and immersed in his research, even losing his usual ability to multitask, his brain working at full speed.

"Hey!"

He only turned his head when the voice grew louder, and saw Lucy's furrowed brows: "I said...did you hear me?"

"What?" he asked, stunned.

“Jack and Sasha are here. Today is the day they move into the base. You didn’t even ask about the renovations upstairs. You paid V for Adcardo’s goods.”

Lucy looked at him helplessly: "You haven't been upstairs for days?"

"Oh!" Mercer quickly stopped and smiled. "Jack and Sasha are here?"

"Yes! I'm going up first, go wash your face and then come back!" Lucy gave him a reproachful look: "V is getting impatient."

Mercer then realized the seriousness of the problem and quickly stood up, saying, "Okay!"

broken!

What happened last time V made a meal and was left waiting anxiously?

Uh... Mercer's shoulder is starting to ache slightly.

(End of this chapter)