Cyberpunk: Starting in 2071

Chapter 74 Hans's Commission

Inside the base's living room, everyone stared at Mercer with incredulous expressions.

V stared blankly at the bank balance displayed in his prosthetic eye, uttering a question from the depths of his soul: "So, we're all broke again now?"

Mercer simply said nonchalantly, "Actually, I still have over 100,000 euros left. I've already set aside next month's utility bills and the trauma group's membership fees. I won't touch that money."

"Is our shop doing any business?" V felt her head was still spinning.

Pila, also somewhat nervously, wiggled her fingers: "We have distributed some of our program chips, but in order to seize the market, we supply them first and collect payment only after they are sold, so we haven't received any funds yet."

"What about firearms and equipment?" V continued to press.

“Uh, A said to do some research first, and not rush to open.” Pila turned to look at Mercer.

V collapsed, clutching his head in despair: "We only used three days, and we spent over seven million euros in just three days?"

"The money hasn't disappeared; it's just moved to a different place to be with us."

Mercer had barely finished speaking when V glared at him menacingly: "That's seven million! Seven million euros!"

Before Mercer could reply, V took a deep breath and turned to look at Pila: "How much money do you have left? How much have you spent? What have you done with it?"

Pira stared at the ceiling: "Well, aside from some equipment, materials, and tools... um, you know what, Liz has a membership promotion going on lately. VIP customers who top up 50,000 euros get 10,000 euros free."

"Rebecca?" V, too lazy to listen, interrupted him and turned to look at Rebecca.

Rebecca had just finished showering, her green hair flowing freely. She was simply running her fingers through her long hair as she looked at V, who seemed somewhat distraught, and couldn't help but chuckle inwardly. She casually replied:
"I still have tens of thousands of euros left. My sister installed the Berserk System, added an ICE to her forehead, and also installed a Krenchikov. She also bought a super cool car from the old captain."

“Lucy?” V looked at Lucy.

Lucy smiled and turned to Mercer, saying, "I've already given all my money to Mercer."

V turned to look at Mercer, who simply smiled and took a sip of his cola: "It's all spent."

This made V reach out and slap his head.

“I still have 60,000 euros left,” Qiwei said proactively. “I didn’t buy anything. It’s mainly because I spent a lot of money on A before, and I still owe him 50,000 euros as ‘redemption fee,’ which I have to pay back.”

Then, V covered his face in anguish: "So, Mercer, how much more are you lacking now?"

Mercer thought for a moment and said, "About 300,000, and if I bring another 300,000, I'll have bought everything I want."

"." V didn't say a word. She transferred all the money she had left to him first, and then stared blankly at the remaining 10,000 euros in her bank balance.

Qiwei and Rebecca did the same thing; they didn't say a word, only left a sum of money for living expenses, and transferred the rest directly to Mercer.

Mercer then sat down somewhat embarrassedly, took a sip of his iced cola, and said, "Well, consider this a loan from everyone. I'll pay you back when I have the money."

He had barely finished speaking when V angrily interrupted him: "Don't make me angry!"

Mercer blinked and remained silent.

V sullenly sat back down and said, "I reckon you've spent all your money on the base, so how could I say it's a loan? Consider this money a donation to the team."

"Hmm, that's what I think too. Oh well, if we run out of money, we can just earn more. With Mercer's abilities, we'll definitely be able to earn the next five million euros soon!"

Rebecca said confidently, grinning at V, "It's just a little money, we can just earn more when we run out, right?"

Mercer also said matter-of-factly, "I only bought necessities, I didn't waste money."

"Well said! That's exactly what I was going to ask you. You have to tell us where you spent all the money!" V glared at him angrily.

"Well, first of all, I spent over 300,000 euros to buy more than a dozen different sizes and brands of second-hand drones," Mercer said.

V glared at him: "Why did you buy so many drones?"

"You don't understand. Different companies' small, medium and large drones not only have different sizes, but many of their mechanical parts are also very special. I have to buy them, take them apart and compare them to figure out the structure."
"Once I figure it out, we'll be able to build our own drones by hand! And after I've finished researching them, I can modify them and sell them, or use them as part of the base's security. How can that be considered wasting money?"

After Mercer finished speaking, he emphasized, "You know, this is Dogtown. You never know when some idiot might suddenly try to steal from you. The security facilities definitely need to be strong enough."

In case we're not home, there are a few hackers or something left at the base. We need to leave them some security to buy them some time while we wait for rescue.

V sighed: "Fine, you're right about that. Anything else?"

"I also bought a few second-hand security robots, which cost about 200,000 euros, for the same reason as above," Mercer said.

V nodded reluctantly: "Okay, anything else?"

"Don't get excited about the gun, which cost about 300,000 euros. It's for research purposes!"

Mercer quickly shut V up and immediately explained: "From the cheapest disposable pistols that cost a hundred euros each, to sniper rifles and heavy machine guns that cost tens of thousands of euros."

I only bought one of them, and it was secondhand.

Don't be fooled by the large amount of money I spent; it's because I bought a lot too! I bought a copy of almost every representative weapon on the market. How can Pila and I research, modify, and develop weapons if we don't study them all?

"If we don't start researching how to modify weapons now, when will our shop officially open, and when will we be able to start making money?"

V clenched his fist tightly: "Okay, go on."

"The three million for the server goes without saying, right? It's a necessity!" After Mercer finished speaking, V simply nodded silently, his eyes fixed on him without blinking.

"I also ordered two high-end modified cars from the old captain, one of which was a hacker car modified from a Villefort Columbus van."

One of them was a Chevrolet Emperor 720, the same model used by the NCPD police, modified into a high-powered armored vehicle.

Mercer continued, “The hacker car is equipped with an onboard server, network signal amplifier, portable radar, high-power ICE, and other such things. The total cost of the vehicle is approximately 500,000 euros.”

We should buy one of these cars, right? With so many hackers like us, having a car like this would be a huge advantage when we're out on missions. We hacked Behemoth using this last time; you saw it, it's really useful, isn't it?

V nodded silently upon hearing this.

Mercer became increasingly assertive as he spoke: "The armored vehicle, modified from a Chevrolet Emperor 720, is used as a public vehicle for the squad to travel together."

After the modification, the trunk was emptied and the rear seats of the Chevrolet Emperor 720 were removed, making it able to accommodate at least 6-8 people.

It was also equipped with astonishingly thick armor that could withstand small howitzers, a blast-proof chassis, blast-proof tires, vehicle-mounted ICE countermeasures system, and a concealed machine gun.

Furthermore, to increase speed, the vehicle was upgraded with a high-horsepower military armored vehicle engine.

This armored vehicle, converted from a military engine, only costs 48 euros.

Is it expensive? No, it's not expensive!

In addition, there were scattered pieces of equipment, such as thick bulletproof vests, various grenades, landmines, single-shot rocket launchers, multiple-barrel howitzers, and ammunition.

After Mercer finished speaking, seeing V's unfriendly look, he immediately added, "Of course, these things need to be prepared in advance. We can't wait until we need heavy firepower and then have to go to the black market to buy them, can we? Of course, we should prepare them in advance!"
Uh, also, because there were so many things to transport, and they were all very sensitive, I spent a little money to bribe the hound soldiers guarding the gate. That idiot gave me the green light for a day for 10,000 euros.”

Mercer shrugged, "Look, all the money I spent was on necessities, wasn't it? Nothing was wasted. Why are you staring at me?"

V opened his mouth, but couldn't say anything to refute it. He could only hold his head and mutter, "That's seven million euros! That's enough for us to live a carefree life together!"

She turned her head to look at Mercer, her lips pressed tightly together: "So what are you going to buy now that you're borrowing money for?"

"Buying a small nanolithography machine costs around 300,000 euros. Once you have it, you can make chips and integrated circuit boards from scratch by hand. It has a wide range of uses and can be used to make your own hardware."

Mercer explained.

V, looking troubled, said, "Does this thing really have to be bought now? Don't we already have so many devices and machines at home?"

"We can choose not to buy them, but then we'll have to buy second-hand chips and modify them ourselves, or buy those template-based chips. If we want to make a chip or integrated circuit board that we want ourselves, we'll have to rely on luck."

Pila, however, showed a rare serious expression at this moment and said to V, "V, I think Mercer's spending of money is fine."

If he doesn't spend money to buy them, then I'll have to buy these weapons and equipment myself to study them. Think about it, where am I going to get that much money?

So, I guarantee that what he buys will not be wasted, for the next month, well, let's guarantee it for half a month first!
I'd die in the workshop, but I'd probably figure out the basic assembly structure of firearms by then.

Under Rebecca's admiring gaze, Pila continued, "And then, with the boss's abilities, earning another few million euros wouldn't take long, in my opinion."

What's more, we can resell these items when we no longer need them. Since we bought them secondhand, we can refurbish them and sell them, and who knows, we might even make a profit!

He can research drones and robots, and I'll research weaponry. These aren't things we buy; we can use them this month!

Pila smiled and reassured him, "If we don't have these things, where are we going to tinker with weapons and equipment to sell for money? The sooner we start work, the sooner we can start making money, right?"

Rebecca also spoke up for Mercer: "Besides, prosthetic research and equipment research are not separate. I've heard my brother say that many pieces of equipment have to take into account the matching prosthetics when they are designed."

However, equipment and cybernetic bodies sometimes need to be compatible and integrated with other devices, so the necessary expenses still have to be paid.

"The servers are used by everyone, and with such servers providing computing power, even a novice like me can confidently dive deep. At least I have no objection to the use of the team's nearly three million euros in funding."

The rest was all Mercer's own money; he was willing to invest his own money into the team, so I don't think we should complain.

Even Qi Wei, who usually doesn't talk much, expressed her support at this moment.

V paused, then suddenly placed his hands on the table in front of him, looking somewhat uncomfortable: "You all think so? That's seven million euros!"

Only then did she realize that she seemed to be the only one who found it hard to accept that her family had suddenly run out of money.

"What? Suddenly you feel like you're making a mountain out of a molehill?" Rebecca said with a grin.

V remained silent, unusually refraining from arguing with her, simply keeping his head down with a complex expression.

Mercer laughed and reached out to place his hand on V's hand: "What? Nobody's blaming you."

V's eyes inexplicably reddened, and she couldn't explain why. She simply turned her head away and said, "It's not that I think you did anything wrong, it's just that I feel..."

“I know.” Mercer squeezed her hand, then withdrew it, looking at her with a gentle smile. “I know what you’re thinking. Everyone actually knows.”
Imagine this: a large family suddenly wins a huge lottery prize, and before they've even had a chance to enjoy the money, someone says they've run out and need to borrow money from their siblings.
Even though everyone knows he doesn't squander money, they'll still be anxious and want to find out where his money went, since it's not a small amount.

"Stop talking, it's me."

V was about to get up when Rebecca forcefully pulled her back down, gazing at her with an unusually gentle expression.
“V, no one thinks you did anything wrong. You just feel that spending money so quickly is not in line with your understanding of money, and everyone can understand that.”

After all, none of us have ever earned this much money before, let alone hundreds of thousands or millions. If you put it a month ago, if someone offered Pira 10,000 euros, he would have been happy to sell his butt.

As a result, so much money was gone in the blink of an eye, and you even had to take out your own savings to give to your family. I can understand, really.

But you also have to think about it, how can Mercer not be anxious? Colonel Hansen in Dogtown might be secretly observing us right now!

There's still biotechnology work to be done; we'll probably have to fight those corporate dogs when that happens.

They also want to consider providing us with some long-term, stable income, and upgrade our weapons and equipment.
Not to mention, everyone can see that Mercer must have gotten into a lot of trouble and fled to Night City. Who knows what other big trouble is chasing after him.

People like you and me are content and happy as long as we have money to eat and drink, drive luxury cars, and show off on the street.

But Mercer ultimately had to consider more factors and think about things from a longer-term perspective.

Rebecca's gentle and soft-spoken manner surprised everyone except for Pila, who was used to it.

Even V lost her temper and sat there obediently listening to her speak.

"Besides, you didn't know what he did with the money at the beginning, so it's normal to rush to a meeting to confirm it, isn't it?"

"If Pila dared to knock on my door today and tell me he'd run out of money and ask to borrow some, I guarantee I'd kick him out with my iron fist."

After Rebecca finished speaking, Pila felt a little aggrieved: "Damn it, why do you always use me as an example!"

"What, did I say something wrong?" Rebecca put her hands on her hips and glared at him contemptuously: "Look at him, and then look at you. Mercer made so much money, but he couldn't even afford to drive a Stone Sword. He sold it to buy equipment for the base. And you, on the other hand, bought a membership for Liz?"
I really want Old Wei to perform surgery on you; maybe if he removes it, you'll be more reliable?

Pila pursed her lips and muttered, "Of course he doesn't need to consider it; there are so many pretty girls around him eyeing him."

"Ok?"

A chorus of voices rang out simultaneously, and several pairs of eyes cast a chilling glance at Pila.

Pila immediately and alertly reached out and made a zipping motion in front of her mouth, then turned and left immediately: "Ahem, now that things are cleared up, I have something to do, I'll be going!"

"Alright, now that everything's been explained, and Mercer has clarified where the money was used, and everyone agrees that we should continue borrowing money to buy that nanolithography stuff, why don't we go back to sleep?"

Rebecca stood up with a smile.

V pursed his lips and said, "Okay, Mercer, I will."

She couldn't think of anything to say for a moment, but Mercer just smiled and patted her shoulder: "What are you doing? You look like you've suddenly made a mistake. Just consider it my fault. Next time we need to spend money, let's have a meeting and discuss it properly!"

"Damn," she said, her face flushing slightly, but she couldn't say anything. She could only whisper, "Just know that I'm not blaming you, I just think that spending this money was too sudden."

"I know, next time we need to spend money, we can just have a meeting to discuss it beforehand." Mercer chuckled and patted her head, watching her cover her head in silence before leaving the living room with a grin.

Rebecca, looking mischievously at her, glanced left and right, and finally said regretfully, "I should have comforted you later; maybe I could have seen you shed those little pearls."

"Get lost! You'll never see me cry in your life!" V said gruffly, then awkwardly reached out and ruffled her hair. "Thanks."

"Damn it, I just washed my hair!" Rebecca glared at her, annoyed.

V finally laughed: "You look much more well-behaved with your hair all over the place."

"Ha!" Rebecca rolled her eyes, gave her the middle finger, and skipped lightly after Mercer. Since they were already here, and it was late at night, they could chat for a while before going to sleep.

Lucy walked past V, smiled at her, and said softly, "I think what you said is quite right. We should keep an eye on him. Otherwise, no matter how much money he makes, he'll treat it like paper. I support you."

"When did you give him all the money?" V suddenly felt a little ashamed.

Lucy just smiled: "The day he got his paycheck, I knew he'd run out of money, so I kept an eye on him. The moment he frowned, I knew he was short of cash."
"Don't follow my example. I'm a liability to the team now, and I can't easily equip myself with a cybernetic body. Mercer is buying all the gear, so giving me money is useless."

Looking at Lucy, V suddenly realized that she, like Rebecca, looked young, but was actually much more mature than the average street thug.

Lucy didn't say anything more, but patted her shoulder and whispered, "Haven't you noticed? He actually listens to you quite a bit, so please keep an eye on him for me, like today."

"Listen to me?" V didn't think that was the case.

"Hmm, if it were Pila yelling at him about where the money went, do you think he would drag everyone out for a meeting in the middle of the night? Surprisingly, this guy cares about your opinion quite a bit."

Lucy smiled and said, "He'll listen if you're saying it because you genuinely care about him." V nodded thoughtfully.

Qiwei simply nodded to the two of them and went back to her room, still appearing taciturn.

But Qiwei's inner self was completely different from her outward appearance—she always wore a faint smile on her face that even she herself was unaware of.

If the team can continue like this, then being penniless forever doesn't seem so bad.

Once the corridor quieted down again, and it seemed everyone had gone back to their rooms to rest, a petite figure sneaked out of her room and stood in front of Mercer's door.

When Mercer received the message and opened the door, he saw Anzu sneaking in, looking very suspicious. He found it amusing and asked with a mix of amusement and curiosity, "What's wrong? Why did you have to sneak over here to tell me?"

After hesitating for a long time, Xingzi finally took a deep breath and said, "Mercury, I also want to officially join the team!"

"Why didn't you say it in the meeting?" Mercer smiled and sat down on his bed, and Kyoko sat down at his computer desk without his consent.

Mercer's room wasn't cluttered with much equipment. Apart from a Super Dream Device lying on the table, there was only his laptop, which he took everywhere, and a small freezer filled with energy drinks, cola, and canned coffee.

"What would you like to drink?" he asked first.

Xingzi shook her head, looking down with some insecurity, and said, "I'm afraid people will think I'm useless."

There are so many hackers in the team now, but in reality, most of the work can be done by yourself, such as writing fast cracking programs. To be honest, you don't need so many people at all.

"At least Qiwei and Lucy can go on field missions with you. I...I don't know what else I can do to help you."

Anzu sighed dejectedly, "I originally thought I might be able to find a suitable job outside, but I'm worried about causing trouble for you guys."

Mercer reached out and patted her head: "Your family doesn't talk about these things. You're still young. It's okay to think about these things when you're older. Right now, we'll give you some pocket money occasionally so you don't have to worry about food and drink. Isn't that good enough?"

“Mercury, I can’t just stay here and eat and live here for free, can I?” Kyoko insisted, “Every family member should contribute to the family.”

Mercer laughed: "You and Lucy are exactly the same. You always feel that since we're both hackers, I can do anything you can do, and if you do some simple tasks, you're taking advantage of me."

"That's true. To be honest, anyone can assemble chips. As for writing fast cracking programs, the stuff we painstakingly write is less effective than what you can wholesale in an hour."

Apricot sighed.

“But V is actually quite right. People’s energy is limited, even mine is the same. Now you can practice by writing programs, and then you can take over more tedious work for me in the future.”

Mercer said, "Just think about how much I'll have to do in the future: developing programs, researching hardware, and figuring out how to equip prosthetic bodies."
"If you can just do some tedious program testing and equipment testing for me—those time-consuming tasks—you'll be a huge help."

Mercer said gently, tapping her head with his finger: "I know you feel like you can't do anything, that joining is just about getting a share of the profits for nothing."
Then you can just take less. If you think your work is worth the money, then take it; if not, give it to me. I don't mind having more money.

Take it one step at a time. Don't dwell on useless thoughts. Instead of worrying about your current inadequacy, channel that anxiety into motivation and work hard to improve.

Xingzi nodded obediently, pursing her lips, "I understand."

Perhaps she had other thoughts in mind, but Kyoko also knew that continuing the conversation would only cause trouble for Mercer.

"As for officially joining the team, if you want to have a meeting to discuss it, we can. If you don't want it to be too formal, I'll just mention it at dinner tomorrow. Everyone already considers you one of their own, so you don't need to worry."

After Mercer finished speaking, Kyoko nodded and stood up, saying, "Mm."

Seeing her still somewhat troubled expression, Mercer couldn't say much and could only let her process it on her own.

After watching Xingzi leave, Mercer went back to his room and went to sleep. He would rest for at most three hours before getting up to go to work in the computer room.

Right now, Mercer really doesn't have any extra energy to worry about everyone's mental health.

In the time that followed, he not only focused his career on the development of the ctOS system, but he also wanted to crack the Soul Killer program as soon as possible.

Only by cracking the Soul Killer program could he conduct experiments using Relic to transfer consciousness after seizing the biotechnology cloning machine.

Mercer has no intention of using the Soul Killer program to copy his personality and then transfer a backup. To him, that would be no different from living a clone. Saburo Arasaka might be able to accept being resurrected in this way, but Mercer would never want to live like that.

Therefore, what he needs is not a backup of his soul, nor simply a copy and transfer of his consciousness data, but a complete upload of his consciousness—the difference between these two is significant.

Like Ultraman, he actually uploaded his own consciousness and separated it from his body, rather than copying it. To do this, one must have a very deep understanding of the Soul Killer program.

Besides these tasks, Mercer has much more to do, such as further developing the Relic chip, taking a ton of courses he's taken from biotechnology, and developing new equipment, including prosthetics.
Mercer couldn't help but sigh as he thought about all the things piling up in front of him.

But fortunately—he never suffers from insomnia.

With his head resting on the pillow, as long as he thinks about resting, his brain is like a timed restart button; once pressed, he will enter a very deep sleep until the designated time.

It's regrettable that even though Mercer wanted to take some time to reflect, the commission never waits for anyone.

The next morning, Mercer received a request that he had to do immediately.

The person who sent the request was none other than Mr. Hans, who was suspected of secretly spying on him in Dogtown.

[Hanz: A, good morning.]

A: I guess she has a job.

[Hans: Yes, to be precise, there are several requests that require your prompt attention.]

Mercer sighed. It seemed he would have to work hard for Hans to repay the favor. But it was good, he had just spent all the money at home, and he needed to earn some money for his brothers.

[A: Send them all, I'll get them done as soon as possible.]

[Hans: I knew you were a straightforward person. Okay, I've sent all the required documents.]

Mercer opened his email on his computer and took a look.

The first task was simple. Mercer simply edited a mini-program similar to Spider-Murphy's and sent it directly to the team's chat group, letting everyone figure it out themselves.

[Hans' Dogtown Commission: The Heartbroken Club's Online Upgrade]

[Mission Objective: Hanz's club has suffered multiple hacking and cyberattacks from unknown hackers, which has greatly displeased Mr. Hanz. He hopes to replace the security system with a more robust ICE program, including system updates.]

[Reward for the task: 50,000 Euros (This is a side job; anyone willing to make the trip can do it. I can provide the new ICE program and security system; you'll get paid after a short on-site installation.)]

Mercer looked at the few lines of text that he had posted in the chat group and suddenly felt a little amused, as if he had become an NPC in a game.

Perhaps in the future we can collect all kinds of commissions and post them directly. Whoever wants to take them can just accept them through the mini-program and leave?
People quickly replied in the chat group.

[Qiwei: I can go, but I need a bodyguard; Dogville is a bit dangerous.]

[Rebecca: I'll do it! I'll do it!]

[V: Forget it, Rebecca, don't let them stop you from going into the club.]

[Rebecca: Damn it! Anyone who dares to stop me, I'll blow their head off!]

[Pira: That's Hanz's territory. Don't cause trouble for Mercer.]

[Rebecca: (Bloodthirsty emoji) Fine! Then I'm not going! Let whoever wants to go go!]

[V: I'll go! Shall we leave now?]

[Qiwei: A?]

Mercer smiled and immediately took out the security system and ICE program he had previously researched for his own server and sent them directly to Qiwei.

Both programs are still in their initial versions. Mercer will continue to update and iterate them multiple times, and may even completely rewrite them.

So it's fine to give it directly to Hanz; the effect will definitely be outstanding. Even experts from the Voodoo Gang or the Internet Police won't be able to easily crack the ICE he wrote.

Mercer glanced at the second request and simply tossed it into the chat group as well.

[Hans' Dogtown Commission: The Cleaner Overbreeding]

[Mission Location: The abandoned building not far from our house.]

Mission Objective: The chaotic Dogtown has bred a large number of scavengers that resemble cockroaches, causing great suffering to the townspeople. We need to teach them a lesson, clean up the area, and let them know that the locals are not to be trifled with.

There are approximately 15-25 cleaners at the base, but the specific security facilities are unknown.

Commissioned bonus: €15, plus all their equipment and supplies.

A's note: I won't interfere once I've dealt with guys like the Scavengers. You guys form your own teams to take care of them. You're allowed to choose your own weapons and equipment from the warehouse. Make it quick and easy, then take all the valuables from their base.

Even Pila in the chat group said she wanted to go and join in the fun, so in the end everyone decided to go together, to look out for each other and avoid any accidents.

Anyway, the Cleaners' stronghold is only one street away from their base. To be honest, it's really annoying to have such disgusting things on your doorstep. It's better to get rid of them as soon as possible, and maybe the street will be quieter.

Although the amount paid in euros was not much, these scavengers' hideouts generally contained a lot of removed prosthetic bodies, surgical equipment, and the like, which should add up to a considerable sum of money.

The last commission was the most tricky.

Mercer looked at it and finally concluded that he would probably have to solve this problem himself.

[Hanz:]
Haitians' ambitions are growing; they are trying to mobilize all Haitians to expel the NCPD and make the Pacific Canton their backyard.

On this point, they share the same stance as the Animals Gang and Dogville. However, while everyone would be happy to see the NCPD kicked out, it would be a bad thing if the Voodoo Gang's power became too strong.

Their online behavior has become increasingly arrogant lately, making the public network in the entire state of Taiping and even Dogtown extremely dangerous.

I need you to teach them a lesson online, to make them behave and stop them from recklessly attacking hackers and breaking into servers online just because they have Poseidon servers backing them up, making it difficult for everyone to access the internet.

I discussed it with the sliders in Dogtown and we decided to give them a surprise attack.

They usually start to become active around 7 or 8 p.m. I plan to have your people cooperate with the Voodoo Gang in Dogtown starting at 7 p.m. to ambush the Voodoo Gang hackers from Pacific State in cyberspace.

When you're ready, contact Slide. As long as you can keep the Voodoo Gang in Taiping a bit in line, this deal is done.

The commission is 200,000 euros.

Mercer looked at the request, thought it over, and finally sent another message to Hans.

[A: I don't need the Dogtown Voodoo Gang's involvement. Give me their share of the money, and I'll do this job myself.]

[Hanz: Are you sure? The Voodoo Gang in Taiping Prefecture is backed by the Poseidon server and never acts alone.]

[A: I'm sure, and I suggest you tell the Voodoo Gang in Dogtown not to go deep dive for the next few days. Starting today, I'll make those Haitians remember the nightmare of being driven from their homes by a natural disaster.]

If we kill them severely for a few days, I think the Voodoo Gang will learn to behave themselves.

I also wanted to say hello to them and tell them that this cyberpunk world is now my territory.

[Hanz: You're really confident, A.]

"It's settled then. The commission is 500,000 euros, and if I can confirm afterwards that a well-known high-level hacker has been killed, there will be an additional reward."

[A: I'm sending you an authentication program. If your hacker wants to go deep into the fray, remember to turn on the authentication program, otherwise it wouldn't be good if I mistakenly blocked it.]

[Hanz: If you can do that, I'm willing to pay for your certification process.]

[A: Sounds good, cyber protection money, huh?]

[Hanz: If you're really that capable, I'm willing to spend more money on cybersecurity.]

[A: It seems you're eager to get rid of those voodoo gang members.]

[Hanz: Who wants to work with a bunch of guys who treat outsiders like doormats? If you ever decide to take them over and dominate Pacific State, I'd be happy to lend a hand.]

[A: I think that day will come. I've accepted the commission. Tell your people and the Dogtown Voodoo Gang to be careful these next few days. I'm getting ready to start now.]

[Hanz: I'm really looking forward to your performance.]

Mercer hung up the call and looked up. In the server room, only Lucy was still waiting for him, clearly having something to say.

"Don't go deep-sea diving for the next few days, I have work to do."

Lucy nodded and said, "Okay, I saw the request you posted in the chat group. Hanz has accumulated quite a few jobs for us."

"I'm paid to do what I'm supposed to do, so this is a good opportunity to flex my muscles." Mercer chuckled and said, "Be careful when you go to deal with the Cleaners, and bring along any heavy weaponry you need."

"Yeah, don't worry," Lucy smiled. "I knew you'd be watching us online."

"You guessed right, so go for it. If anything unexpected happens, it won't take me long to get there from here."

After offering a word of encouragement, Mercer sat down in the hacker chair and said, "Help me plug in all the cables."

Lucy got up, walked behind him, and saw him sitting cross-legged in the hacker chair, opening the back panel of his head to reveal a large number of access points.

With practiced ease, Lucy plugged in all the cables for him and whispered, "I need to go with Rebecca to find out what the Scavengers are up to, to do some reconnaissance. I'll have Kyoko keep an eye on you, and if anything seems wrong, I'll unplug the cables."

"It's not me who needs to be disconnected. Okay, if you're not comfortable with that, then let her keep an eye on things."

Mercer said confidently, stretching his shoulders: "I'm going to crush the Voodoo Gang's arrogance online, and also test the level of their Poseidon server."

He looked at the row of servers behind him and said with a smile, "Don't you think we should give our servers an awesome name?"

"Whatever makes you happy." Lucy only emphasized, "Don't make it too weird. I don't want to hear any strange names when I go online in the future."

Mercer smirked, thought for a moment, and said, "Let's call it Orion—back in the old days of the internet, there was a hacker who used an AI called Orion to hunt down roaming AIs online."

My buddy now uses this massive server specifically to kill those reckless idiots online.

"Don't make the server's cyberpunk design too weird either," Lucy added, knowing that Mercer always had some strange ideas.

"Hmm, I'll think about it."

Mercer then remembered this—everyone was giving their servers a cyberpunk facade online, and he certainly couldn't be outdone.

What kind of server has a cool, unique, and intimidating look that's perfect for you?
Got it!

Once an image entered his mind, Mercer immediately plunged into the deep sea with great interest.

It's time to show those Voodoo brats how real online pros play!
(End of this chapter)