Cyberpunk: Starting in 2071

Chapter 15 The action begins!
[Tetsuya Daichi: Tomorrow? But we don't have a chance to go deep-sea diving today! Apparently, there are no plans for deep-sea diving tomorrow either, so...]

Mercer: We don't need their permission, and we don't have time.

Watching Mercer calmly brew tea for everyone with a box of tea that looked very expensive, to be honest, everyone present could feel a bit of a disconnect.

We're trying to escape Arasaka! We're facing an entire team of Arasaka agents, a dozen technicians with hacking skills, dozens of ordinary security guards, and a whole set of automated security systems!

Why are you discussing this like you're going on a picnic tomorrow?
[Lucy: Why? What happened?]

Mercer: My dear director is sending me a lab-grade prosthetic body. I suspect there's a problem with it.

Even if there are no bugs, there will definitely be a bunch of messy programs, and one of them might just mess me up.

And what if I can't withstand the prosthetic modification and become a cripple, or need a long adaptation period, or she simply transfers me away after the installation is successful? How will everyone escape then?
So there's no choice, I'll run tomorrow.

[Lyon: Then why not tonight!?]

[Tetsuya Daichi: Yeah, it's nighttime, so we can hide our tracks better, and there are fewer security personnel at night.]

Mercer: Because I want that cybernetic body!

Although there are some pitfalls, I'll take my time to train it once I get my hands on it.

This set of prosthetics would cost at least a million, no, tens of millions of euros outside!

Where can you find such a treasure after you run away?
Not only the prosthetic body, but we also need to get our hands on the Relic chip. I remember that it's usually recycled into a cold storage box near the medical room after use.

The chat group suddenly fell silent, and everyone stared at him with complicated expressions.

It turns out they value money more than their lives.

Mercer: Don't worry, the levitation vehicle will be delivering the prosthetic body tomorrow. We'll act whenever the levitation vehicle arrives.

My plan is to first use the server to deal with the armed forces inside the Arasaka underground facility.

Then, when the floating vehicles were brought in from upstairs, we used the automatic turrets and robots that entered to take out the guards on the floating vehicles.

After hacking the hovercar, they ran away with the prosthetic body and everything we could scavenge.

My suggestion is that everyone take this opportunity to loot as many valuable items as possible, as well as enough food and water to last at least three days.

Don't forget to loot as many corpses as possible and take all the money you can. Store it in any money chips you can find, and don't be silly and put it in our Arasaka employee account.

Once we find a public network, we can apply for a new account from a European Community bank; Arasaka has no control over European Community banks.

We need to take a detour to obscure Arasaka's pursuit route; we can't go straight to Night City.

However, things will be much better once we enter the Badlands, where the vast sandstorms will obscure our tracks.

Various wanderers and rogue gangs can also provide us with supplies.

We won't stop in any cities along the way; we'll just move through the Badlands and get straight to Night City in one go.

After that, I considered going to Dogtown in the Night City of Taiping Prefecture to hide for a while. That area has frequent military technology activities, and Arasaka can't infiltrate there.

[Anzu: Night City has places like that? Dogtown?]

Mercer: Last year, after the unification war launched by the new United States in 2070 ended.

Colonel Hansen, sent by the New United States to Pacifica, refused orders to evacuate Night City, became a warlord, and ruled his own territory.

And he's building his stronghold in Taiping State into a huge illegal smuggling hub. This guy is very shrewd and has a group of soldiers known as the Ghost Dogs.

Backed by military technology and the complex situation in Night City, Dogtown has become almost a lawless zone.

Night City doesn't care, New America can't control it, Arasaka can't get in, and the military science department only uses it to sell stolen goods; they don't care about anything else.

Therefore, entering Dogtown might be our first step towards freedom.

[Lucy: It seems you have a more detailed plan now?]

Mercer: Dealing with people in Night City makes it easy to uncover their identities. Before we have enough strength to deal with any potential Arasaka agents, I want to focus our efforts on Badlands and Dogtown.

And
The waters over in Dogtown are murky, which will make it easier for me to connect with various people. The best way to fight against the company is to find another company. I already have an idea.

Most importantly, I suspect that they may still have special prosthetic bodies left over from the New America war era, with distinctive facial features.

This thing can completely transform you into another person in terms of appearance, skin, voice, physique, hormones, and even identity information!

With it, I can make some modifications and maybe even be able to create a simplified version.

Then we'll openly go to Night City and have a blast, and maybe even cause some trouble for Arasaka. Once we're strong enough, we'll screw Arasaka; Night City doesn't belong to them.

How to deal with Arasaka
In fact, I already have a plan, so you can proceed with confidence. I guarantee I'll give Arasaka a big surprise.

I promise that one day I will remove the warrants from our files, so that we can walk freely anywhere in the future.

Lucy: Okay, I believe you.

[Apricot: Me too!]

[Tetsuya Daichi: So what is our specific action plan?]

Mercer: First, I will send you the takeover program for the equipment I use. We will take turns on duty tonight to ensure that I will know as soon as the airship arrives.

Secondly, based on the information we had gathered, we should also consider whether there are any areas that could be filled in.

What are some valuable things you can take with you when you leave?

Also, pack your personal belongings that you need to bring, but not too many.

Because we also need to transport the prosthetic body, and the box it's in is quite large, we need to make sure to leave enough storage space.

Third, use cameras to mark all targets that need attention and hacking. I will personally connect to the server and burn the heads of all dangerous targets—that special agent captain needs to be a close watch!

After I burn him, remember to take his body with me. I remember the infirmary has a professional artificial body storage freezer. Later, I will personally perform a minor surgery on him from the hovercar and take all the good parts off.

He dared to glare at me today. I really don't understand, daring to stare at a hacker. Tonight I'll glare him to death.

[Apricot: Mercer is so scary. But I don't think I'll be able to sleep tonight, so I'll keep a close eye on him!]

[Leon: You're pretty petty, aren't you? So what if he glared at you today and tried to scare you in the interrogation room?]

[Mercer: Also?]

[Leon: I'll keep a close eye on all the hovercars' movements, making sure you receive the message the instant they arrive!] [Tetsuya Daichi: I'll stay in the room and use my laptop to operate the monitoring equipment, marking as many armed and dangerous targets as possible. Lucy, cutting off the alarms is your responsibility, along with Leon and Kyoko.]

[Lucy: Received.]

Mercer: Okay, that's settled then. Once the hovercar appears, I'll immediately head out to connect to the server, crack the Guardian AI, and use the server's computing power to strike at the hackers within the base.

You must all depart simultaneously and cut off the alarm signals to avoid attracting my attention while I'm forcibly cracking the server.

Mercer: Don't be afraid, even Agent Arasaka can't withstand my hacking program.

Just keep throwing out the quick hacks I gave you without thinking. As long as you can successfully hack into and send the puppet, they won't be able to withstand it.

The only one we need to be wary of is that special agent captain. You probably can't hack his ICE, even with my program; it requires a high level of computational power.

"Yes, the tea is ready. Let's all have a taste."

Mercer picked up his cup and poured tea for everyone.

[Lucy: So, does that mean we can leave here soon?]

Mercer turned his head, looked at her pale face, and smiled.

Mercer: Yeah, let's go to Night City together.

She took a deep breath, picked up the teacup, and the scalding hot tea meant she could only smell the aroma for the time being.

Even so, whether it was the aroma of the tea or Moser's smile, her slightly trembling hands finally regained their composure.

Lucy: I understand.

[Apricot: Is Lucy nervous?]

[Lyon: Anzu, why are your legs shaking so much?]

[Tetsuya Daichi: Leon, can you just shut up already?]

[Anzu: Baka! Leon is such a big idiot!]

[Mercury: Oh~ Classic anime voice lines have appeared!]

[Lucy: So you really do like anime? No wonder you like Sailor Moon so much.]

[Mercer: Is this a point that can't be let go of?]

[Leon: Hahaha, when we get to Night City, I'll find you an even more awesome Mewtwo!]

[Tetsuya Daichi: Actually, the immersive games we have now are more interesting than Mewtwo.]

As everyone chatted, the initial feeling of being so tense that their hands and feet went numb and their whole body felt icy slowly disappeared, leaving only the aroma of tea and the warm steam around them.

It wasn't until curfew that everyone returned to their dormitories and proceeded according to plan.

Mercer was alone in the room, taking deep breaths. He covered his head, squinted, and kept thinking, simulating, and speculating about everything that might happen.

After considering potential risks and confirming that there were no major flaws in the initial plan, one should immediately begin to think about backup plans.

For example, what if they fail to disable the alarm system as planned, causing the alarm to be triggered when the server is hacked; what if the airship is not successfully seized; or what if the airship is not fast enough to escape pursuit and is intercepted at the border station?
A series of backup plans flashed through his mind, making him feel a slight feverish heat throughout his body.

I can do it.

Take everyone out, without exception.

These kids are all looking forward to seeing me, so I can't let them down this time.
He repeated the plan to himself many times, as if hypnotizing himself, until Mercer could no longer come up with a new one.

Finally, he let out a long sigh, his expression resolute, and fell asleep to conserve his energy.

At four o'clock in the morning, Mercer suddenly opened his eyes when he heard the encrypted communication voice ringtone.

[Leon: The hovercraft is arriving! I heard the security team receive a message that they'll open the base gates in twenty minutes and take over the equipment inside the hovercraft!]

[Mercer: Report back!]

[Dadi: The locations of security personnel have been marked on your prosthetic eyes. There's no need to worry about surveillance. The surveillance and security equipment on basement levels 1 and 2 are still under my control! The elevators are vacant and available for use.]

[Lucy: Dr. Oda's assistant at the infirmary is still working overtime. Be careful, someone might be at the infirmary when you're on the move.]

[Xingzi: The special agent captain we are closely monitoring is currently directing security on the first floor; nothing unusual has occurred.]

Mercer: You three go and cut off the building's security alarm. After cutting off the alarm, immediately go to the infirmary's cold storage, grab Relic, and stick it into your own heads.

Take the remaining Relic chips with you, and then go and meet up with Dadi, who is in charge of monitoring in the room.

Don't forget to bring two prosthetic storage coolers. I'll go downstairs and wait for your signal to hack the server.

action!】

After giving the order, Mercer took a deep breath, immediately stood up, grabbed the laptop next to him, and started walking.

The moment the door opened, the doors of the rooms next door also opened at roughly the same time. Lucy, Leon, and Anzu all looked at Mercer, who simply gave them a thumbs up.

[Mercer: I'll leave the alarm shutdown to you guys!]

[Lucy: We're going to the control room now, Mercer, be careful.]

Mercer: Understood.

The group glanced at each other one last time before turning and walking toward either side of the corridor.

Mercer stepped into the elevator, pressed the button, and went inside when the doors opened.

He pressed the button for the second basement level and slowly closed his eyes.

When the elevator doors opened, the familiar, enormous server space was right there in front of me.

The hacker chair where everyone used to dive together still lay quietly outside the large cluster of neural connections. Mercer walked in calmly, lay down, and inserted the neural connections into the connection slots at the back of his head.

bring it on
Guardian AI.

Let's see how long you can hold out against Barthemos's death wish!

(End of this chapter)