"What's he been busy with lately?"
In the dining room, V looked at the empty seat belonging to Mercer and couldn't help but ask, "Does that guy have to wait for someone to bring him his food before he even remembers to eat?"
"If you didn't bring it to him, I bet he wouldn't even remember to eat at all," Rebecca quipped, dangling her short legs.
At home, she was dressed in a simple printed white t-shirt and black shorts. Her green hair was draped over her shoulders, making her look even more like a child.
V frowned and turned to the quietly eating Lucy. "Lucy, what is he doing in the server room every day?"
"I don't know," Lucy said honestly. "A while ago, he excitedly told me some strange things like 'humans might actually have souls,' and then I have no idea what he's been tinkering with."
It wasn't that Lucy was unwilling to say more, but that she truly didn't know what Mercer was up to.
She only knew that Mercer never did anything useless, and he certainly wouldn't waste time on pointless endeavors when so much trouble was right around the corner.
V sighed, took off her apron, and looked at the food on the table. "Then let's not worry about him. We'll bring him a plate after we're done eating."
"How's Hansen?" Maine asked while eating. "Jago asked me today if the Black Sapphire gala is still on for this month. Some people are very concerned about Hansen's recent condition. Mercer has also been making few appearances lately, and many people want to know what's next for Dogtown."
"Mercer said the situation isn't ideal. It's very likely Hansen won't win his resurrection match," Rebecca said, a grin spreading across her face. "That's a pretty interesting metaphor."
"Didn't they say the probability of success was high before?" Jackie asked, a little curious.
"Mercer said it's a good thing, which probably means he's discovered some new problem... Anyway, according to Mercer, even if the experiment succeeded, it's time for Hansen to make his exit. He doesn't have the time to keep fixing Hansen's consciousness code."
Lucy gave a simple reply.
Meanwhile, Sasha, who had been eating heartily, looked up. "Doesn't that mean we'll have to deal with the Cubans ourselves? I hear they're a real pain."
V propped her cheek on her hand, watching everyone eat with gusto. Having just cooked for the whole family, she didn't have much of an appetite at the moment. "The Cubans? I think they're just so-so. They talk a big game, something about how when a cigar is lit in Havana, someone's head will roll, but their so-called ace assassin couldn't even take one punch from me."
Rebecca retorted out of habit, "He's an assassin. He does assassinations."
The two bickered for a few sentences, then suddenly heard footsteps. Everyone turned their heads in unison.
Mercer yawned, his eyes squinted as if he hadn't slept in days. He staggered out of the hallway wearing his netrunning suit.
"Well, look what the cat dragged in! You actually remembered to eat today?" V looked at his disheveled state with some dissatisfaction. Though her words were sharp, her hands moved nimbly as she got up to get him a plate and utensils.
Mercer sat down nonchalantly in his seat. "Ah, I've been busy lately... But for now, this is as far as I go. I won't have time to stay in the server room researching this data anymore."
Lucy looked at him. "So, did you figure anything out?"
"More or less. I've basically figured out the process of consciousness digitization, as well as the current limitations and problems with the Relic."
Mercer paused, then said, "Simply put, the current Relic resurrection has a fairly high failure rate, but the thing preventing the Relic from working is actually the human brain itself. Our previous idea of using a cloned body to replace the original might have been a clever shortcut. The brain of a clone grown through rapid cloning methods is a blank slate. Through repeated experiments, it's also basically certain that the human brain will gradually adapt to data being written to it and develop its own defense mechanisms. It's precisely these defense mechanisms that caused Hansen's consciousness to become abnormal and his data to get corrupted. And it's also this defense mechanism that's preventing the Relic from writing..."
"Stop, stop, stop! No work talk at the dinner table," V grumbled, interrupting him as she plopped a plate down in front of him. "Especially this technical stuff. You don't actually think we can understand it, do you?"
Mercer smiled teasingly. "Fine, fine. I'll try to stick to topics you can understand from now on."
V irritably slammed a glass of ice water in front of him. "We're out of NiCola."
"I'm pretty sure there's still..." Mercer glanced at the ice tub.
"We're out!" V said definitively, sitting down next to him and picking up her chopsticks. "Eat."
Mercer could only roll his eyes, but he picked up his chopsticks. "By the way, Hansen is dead."
"Huh?"
In that instant, almost everyone looked at Mercer.
But Mercer just continued in a casual tone, as if discussing the weather, "The consciousness code was successfully written into his brain, but his neural system had already started to collapse. If we continued the experiment, we would have had to perform a craniotomy and neural repair surgery... but I reckon he'd just be drooling even if we cured him, so I decided to just forget it. There will be plenty of opportunities to experiment with related things later."
"So what do we do now? Just send out an announcement or go through the motions?" Jackie said excitedly, drinking his beer. "Should we hold some kind of inauguration ceremony for you? We could throw a party ourselves at the Black Sapphire?"
"We still have to hold a funeral. No matter what, I'm taking the legitimate line of succession now."
Mercer thought for a moment, then said bluntly, "Why don't we just turn the sad occasion into a happy one and get both things done at once."
"That's so you, throwing a blatant party at someone's funeral, huh?" V snarked.
Mercer replied righteously, "What do you mean, party? We're going to hold a lavish funeral for Hansen, right at the Black Sapphire. We'll find a Padre to perform a ceremony for him and invite all the big shots. Let them see Hansen's body with their own eyes. At the same time, I'll give a formal speech and legitimately take over as the new boss of Dogtown. The next morning, we'll have someone take him to the cemetery. I'll even write his epitaph myself. It's not like he worked for me these past few months for nothing."
"You're so kind-hearted, huh?" V said.
Mercer snorted. "Of course."
"That's a good idea. Everyone knows what's going on anyway. Going through the motions together will formally turn a new page for Dogtown," Maine said, quite approving of Mercer's idea. "It's also a legitimate reason to invite all those clients from around the world, to formally re-establish contact. Those who don't want to come, we'll just assume they're not our supporters."
Mercer nodded, his expression turning serious. "That's exactly the idea, especially the Cubans. We need to invite the person who calls the shots behind the scenes to come and talk with me face-to-face. If we can't reach an agreement, then I'll have to consider talking to the big corporations again."
The Cubans had been very quiet these past few months, but Mercer didn't believe for a second that they hadn't been doing anything.
They definitely knew about the shady business between him and Hansen. During this time, some of them had contacted Hansen privately and must have noticed something was off with him.
But they hadn't asked anything, nor had they actively approached Mercer. Clearly, while they were observing him, they were probably also preparing for him to come to them and "pay his respects."
The Cuban crime syndicate, rather than being a typical brutish and violent gang, was actually more like the Italian Mafia.
They honored their commitments, were ruthless and unscrupulous, but they also had their own rules and pride.
In their eyes, if Mercer insisted on waiting for the Cubans to come to him, the resulting scene would certainly not be pretty.
"And then there's Militech, Kang Tao, and the other big corporations, as well as the company that was originally in charge of developing this part of Pacifica..."
Mercer got annoyed just thinking about it. He really didn't like wasting time playing nice with these people. With that time, he'd rather be in the workshop thinking about cyberware improvements or spending time with girls like Rebecca and Lucy.
But since he was in this position, there were some things he had to do, holding his temper in check. At least for now, as the "interim boss of Dogtown," he wasn't in a position to make others bend to his temper and preferences.
"What's the specific schedule for the plan?" Maine asked.
While shoveling in Spanish seafood paella, Mercer said, "Morning Star will inform Jago for me and release the news to the outside world. She'll handle the specific scheduling too. My plan is a week at the latest. Within seven days, we'll host a banquet at the Black Sapphire, send Hansen off in the name of a funeral, and then see how things go."
Even Mercer found it hard to predict what would happen next; what would the Cubans' attitude be toward his ascension? How would Militech view the change of leadership at their intended outpost? How would the other corporations want to get a piece of Dogtown?
All that would only be known when the time came.
But one thing was certain: Dogtown's business would definitely undergo significant changes.
Dogtown's power and authority actually came mostly from its backers, and the identities of these backers indirectly influenced the scope of its business and commercial activities.
Even though Mercer had made the transition of power as smooth as possible, to other investors and supporters, Hansen being alive and Hansen being dead were still two completely different concepts.
After speaking, Mercer paused and added, "Morning Star can discuss the specific security plan and event flow with you and Jago on my behalf."
"Got it," Maine said, then added, "By the way, all the servers from the Cynosure facility have been moved to the basement of the EBM Petrochem Stadium as planned, and the suites at the Black Sapphire have been repaired. Theoretically, we can move in whenever we want."
"Then let's move in after we hold Hansen's funeral and I officially take over as the shot-caller of Dogtown."
For once, Mercer looked somewhat excited. "When I first came to Night City, I only had one dream: to move into a luxury penthouse, the kind with a private pool. I guess you could say my dream has come true."
"The penthouse suite on the top floor can certainly meet your needs. It not only has a pool but also an aerodyne vehicle parking pad and a terrace garden."
Maine gave a subtle reminder, "But the top floor has limited space. Everyone will have to live on different floors. Your suite only has one master bedroom and three guest bedrooms. On the same floor, there are only two other suites of the same level, but with different orientations. Only yours is the largest; the others are all smaller."
Only then did Mercer realize the gravity of the situation. He looked at everyone and felt a real headache coming on.
He was used to everyone living together, and he was used to their living environments being more or less the same. But if they moved to the Black Sapphire, not only would the different floors and apartment layouts create some disparities...
Wouldn't it be a bit too wasteful for him to live in such a huge suite all by himself?
But if he were to live with someone else, who would he ask to be his roommate?
Maine even suggested, "And I think it's best to leave the other two suites on the top floor empty. When we have high-level VIPs over, we have to have a place for them, right? If we can only put them up in premium suites, it's a bit..."
Hearing this, Jackie immediately raised his hand without a second thought. "I don't like living in a place that's too big. I checked out the hotel before. The floor below the top has premium suites, and also three-bedroom apartments! That's big enough. I want to live there. I plan to live alone... Uh, mainly because, you know, I haven't seen Misty for a long time, and it's not easy to see my mom often. If I could have my own bigger place, I could occasionally have my family over for a couple of days..."
Sasha ate little and was now leaning back in her chair, letting her food digest. When this topic came up, she immediately raised her hand too.
"I want my own room too. It's not that I don't like living with everyone, it's just that I'm used to a reversed sleep schedule, and I like to be alone when I'm online..."
Pilar was even more direct. "Whatever works, just don't make me live with Rebecca. It'd be best if we were on different floors..."
"Huh? Then you can just live at the base. It's not like this place will be abandoned anyway. Someone has to stay here to watch the house and the servers," Rebecca said viciously. "And there's a workshop here, so you can tinker with all your junk."
Hearing this, Pilar was actually delighted. "Yeah! I'll stay at the base, you go live at the Black Sapphire! I have no objections!"
Rebecca narrowed her eyes, grinding her teeth. "If you do anything embarrassing at the base and get caught..."
"That won't happen. I always keep my door closed," Pilar said with a grin.
Maine spoke up directly, "Dorio and I plan to move to the lower levels of the Black Sapphire, to the Barghest dormitory area. That way, we can be closer to the Barghest troops, which will be convenient for management and for mobilizing in an emergency."
Mercer remained silent, listening until the end.
Kiwi spoke calmly, "I don't plan to live on the top floor. I'll just live next to Sasha. I'm also more used to being alone."
Lucy was silent for a moment, looked at V, then at Rebecca. Just as she was about to speak, Mercer cut her off.
"Then it's settled... Speaking of which, it'll feel strange. I'm so used to living with everyone..."
Mercer sighed, then smiled. "But, since everyone has their own ideas, let's go with what you all want. For group meals, we'll still all come up to the top floor."
Mercer first turned to Lucy and said, "I've seen the size of the penthouse suite at the Black Sapphire. Honestly, it's more than enough for three or four people, let alone all of us moving in together. It's not as simple as just one master bedroom and three guest bedrooms. There's also a dedicated security room, a netrunner room, a workshop, a conference room... It's too wasteful for me to live there alone, and it's not safe either. So, why don't you all come?"
He said it without batting an eye. "Having V and Rebecca move in can also solve my security problem, preventing someone from dropping in and catching me off guard. And the netrunner room would just go to waste. I usually go to the stadium anyway, so Lucy, you should move in too. It'll save us the money of having to chrome another one. And for meals and stuff, I won't have to run up and down..."
Rebecca gave him a meaningful look but didn't object. "Fine by me. I don't like living in a big house alone anyway."
"I'm moving into a luxury penthouse suite, and I still have to be your bodyguard and nanny?"
V grumbled, then looked at Mercer with a somewhat disdainful expression. "Forget it. I'll just keep working hard, lest you get ambushed and zeroed one day while you're in a deep dive in your room."
Lucy hesitated for a moment, then just nodded quietly.
After seamlessly defusing a crisis, Mercer, under the more or less teasing gazes of the others, quickly shoveled a few mouthfuls of paella to change the subject.
"Then it's settled. But, you guys don't have to think this is our last move. When we have the money, I'm going to personally buy two plots of land. One will be for building our own corporate tower, and the other... well, we'll build a dedicated employee apartment complex. On the top floor, we'll design and build a dream home for each of us, according to our own ideas..."
Watching Mercer make promises about the future that sounded like bragging, V suddenly felt a wave of emotion. "Honestly, a few years ago, I probably wouldn't have dared to dream that I could live in a place like the penthouse suite of the Black Sapphire..."
"Tell me about it! Choom, back when I was living off my parents, I wouldn't have dared to dream that I could have my own room, let alone a three-bedroom apartment!"
Jackie also said with some emotion.
Everyone was sharp; they followed the new topic and shifted the focus.
After Mercer finished eating, he didn't forget to say seriously, "Also, there's something I might as well say in advance: thank you all for your hard work during this time. After Hansen's funeral, when I officially become the boss of Dogtown, I will not be stingy with what my chooms deserve. Getting to where we are today is by no means due to my efforts alone. In fact, many times, you all have taken on greater risks than I have. Even within the team, in our daily lives, V and Maine have shouldered a lot of responsibility for me... You are not just my teammates, members of the crew, but also my family, a part of my goal and motivation. Now, we've finally made it from a bunch of street mercs and have our own foothold in Night City."
Mercer said solemnly, "This glory, I will never keep for myself."
"That's kinda sappy," V said with a smile. "Alright, then I'll call it first: now that we're not doing gigs, you'd better give me a raise. At least add in the pay for a bodyguard and a chef."
"Don't worry, I'll be giving you more than just a salary."
Mercer briefly explained his idea. "Dogtown's current income, to put it bluntly, is still the gang-warlord model. The boss eats his fill, and the people below get the scraps. But now that I'm in charge, we can't do things that way anymore. Instead of continuing with the warlord, gang model, I'm more inclined to just open a corporation. Then, all income will go through the company's books. You'll get equity and dividends. I'll work out the specific percentages, but I guarantee no one will get a raw deal, and I'll definitely make sure you all earn more than you did as mercs."
No one thought Mercer would treat his own people unfairly, so no one pressed him about how much money they would make.
The topic soon shifted back to their usual idle chatter. Amidst the laughter and conversation, lunchtime ended, and everyone returned to their respective posts.
—--
Just one day later, everyone in Dogtown received a bombshell.
Hansen was dead; through Dogtown's broadcast system, Mercer, in a voice that sounded full of grief, announced this fact to all of Dogtown's personnel.
"I have a grave announcement to make. In the early hours of yesterday morning, the founder of Dogtown, Colonel Hansen, commander of Barghest, passed away after failing to recover from old injuries sustained in an Arasaka attack months ago, which led to multiple complications. He could not be resuscitated..."
And as the news of Hansen's death spread undisguised from Dogtown, the complex undercurrents of the district transformed into a raging current visible to the naked eye.
Even the ordinary citizens of Night City saw news about Pacifica's Dogtown on television that night and vaguely sensed that something was amiss.
It seemed the winds of change were about to sweep through Night City.