After Mercer finished talking, Cassidy asked curiously, "Are you all planning to go to Night City?"
"I definitely want to go. It's practically the only free place in all of North America right now.
It's a bit chaotic, but there are plenty of opportunities, and the corporations don't have much control."
Mercer spoke, listening to the sound of Daichi and Leon laughing in the bathroom downstairs, and smiled:
"These kids don't know yet. They have their own dreams. When they figure things out, they can decide for themselves whether to stay or leave."
"You really are quite mature."
Cassidy praised him, "Interested in being a Wanderer? I think no matter which family you join, you can make those around you live well. You have the ability."
"Such a quick evaluation?"
Mercer chuckled, "But thanks anyway.
Being a Wanderer is not for me. I'm a hacker. Only in the city can I bring out my skills."
"Alright, makes sense."
Cassidy chatted with Mercer for a bit and got a rough understanding of him, a mature guy who doesn't seem like a kid at all.
"Are we heading straight to Night City then?"
Cassidy confirmed, "Or should we take a detour to shake off potential pursuers?"
"Just a slight detour, but not too far."
Mercer said, "This is my original plan route... forgot you don't have a Prosthetic Eye and can only make phone calls. Honestly, you should really get one."
Cassidy laughed as he took out his phone, "Just send it to me directly... So fast, did you hack in directly to send it? You hackers are amazing."
"Not that amazing, really. Like, if you aren't connected to our subnet, then there's just your brainwaves forming a local subnet through your Brain-Computer Interface.
To hack in, you'd first need a Prosthetic Eye or another device to scan and locate your network signal.
Then, using my network, hack into the captured subnet.
Finally, depending on the gap between our 'Intelligence' attributes and the software I use, determine my hacking speed.
But for someone like you with no hacking background, the 'Intelligence' attribute, meaning your brainpower, is pretty meaningless.
Because you don't even know how to resist my hacking.
So if you really want to completely avoid hackers, just turn off your Brain-Computer Interface.
However, I still suggest you at least get a simple ICE program into the limited memory that comes with your interface.
If your Brain-Computer Interface has enough memory, I'll send you a simple ICE later.
Your hardware is inadequate, and without a Network Access Vault, you can't use very powerful ICE programs.
But even so, the programs I write are certainly much stronger than those built into new Brain-Computer Interfaces on the market.
At that point, your 'Intelligence' attribute will matter, deciding the running speed of the program I wrote and significantly delaying the time a hacker needs to break in."
Mercer continued, "Your phone's software is too crappy, basically defenseless. As long as the network signal is on, once the Prosthetic Eye captures the signal within my sight, I can hack in without needing any software at all."
"Impressive indeed." Cassidy could tell Mercer wasn't boasting. It's not like he hadn't met hackers before, but he'd never encountered one at Mercer's level.
Cassidy examined the route map Mercer sent to his phone, nodding in the end:
"No problem. I'll call some acquaintances later and ensure we reach Night City in no more than two weeks."
"That fast?"
Usually, Mercer would take a month to arrive! Because to avoid major city routes and keep a low profile, his planned route was all through desolate lands.
"That's a conservative estimate. If I ask around and find a safe route, we can go even faster.
If not for the Unified War, which bombed many roads and planted a lot of mines, this would take less than a week.
The main issue is you guys want to avoid the border checkpoints of each state, so there's a lot of detouring involved, with many routes needing to pass through wilderness instead of highways.
If you can secure a safe identity in advance, we can take the highways and still cover hundreds of kilometers a day, taking at most four or five days."
After Cassidy finished speaking, he saw Mercer shaking his head:
"I plan to forge a perfect fake identity directly in Night City.
This way we can best avoid Arasaka. If they want to investigate us, they'll definitely start from the surroundings."
"Your call. You're the boss for this trip."
After Cassidy spoke, his ears suddenly twitched.
Mercer also fell silent, squinting his eyes to listen carefully, and then the two exchanged a glance.
"I hear car engines."
Cassidy immediately drew his revolver and leaned against the door, looking out the window:
"Good thing we parked the cars behind the house. They shouldn't see them, so we can try to set up an ambush... Get your friends to get ready!"
Mercer had already sent a message to Lucy and Daichi via his Brain-Computer Interface even before Cassidy spoke.
Downstairs, Daichi and Leon were the quickest, arriving with wet hair and rifles in hand.
"What's going on?"
"Be vigilant, there might be enemies."
Mercer said few words, while Cassidy got straight to the point: "Did you bring the light machine gun from the truck you hijacked inside?"
"Daichi! You and Leon go out the back door and get ready. We need the light machine gun on your truck for heavy fire support!
If they are indeed enemies, Cassidy and I will engage them from the front. You drive out from the side for suppressive fire on their flank and rear!"
Mercer immediately ordered, crouching by the window to look outside. The sandstorm was raging, visibility was almost down to ten meters.
The sound of engines from afar was approaching, and the headlights of several cars pierced through the sand, clearly visible.
At the same time, in Mercer's Prosthetic Eye, a message from Lucy popped up.
[Lucy: Kyoko and I are positioned at a window on the second floor for a vantage point. Kyoko will scan the enemies, and I'll provide cover fire.]
[Mercer: Got it. Be safe. Focus on taking out the enemies that are hard for us on the first floor to target.]
[Lucy: Roger that!]
The car sounds grew nearer. Mercer grabbed his Kenshin Pistol, and his Prosthetic Eye glowed brightly.
His Prosthetic Eye had already zoomed in to distinguish the silhouettes of those people nearby,
"It's the Chaotic Blade Association! Cassidy, I'm linking you to the network. Don't turn off the network."
Mercer softly informed Cassidy, while at the same time using communication software to send messages to his hacker squad.
For convenience, he connected everyone, including Cassidy, to the subnet with him as the host.
That way, even if the opponent had hackers, Mercer could lend a hand.
[Kyoko: Four cars! At least eight people... I've highlighted clear targets in my Prosthetic Eye!
They also have an armed truck with a machine gun; it's best we wait for them to get out of the car.]
[Mercer: Great, old cowboy, can you see them?]
[Cassidy: I can't, but I can hear you guys talking. Incredible.]
[Mercer: Visibility is too low. Let them get closer before acting.]
[Cassidy: Give me one of your grenades. Once they get to the door, we throw them directly.]
[Mercer: Good idea.]
Mercer pulled out an Arasaka Fragmentation Grenade he had on him and tossed one to Cassidy.
[Cassidy: We're against the wind. Remember to throw it harder than you think.]
[Mercer: Understood... They stopped? They're not coming directly... Damn, we forgot to turn off the lights!
[Cassidy: ...My bad, I forgot to remind you guys.]
Mercer frowned slightly, realizing he lacked some combat experience. Forgetting to turn off the lights in his room was something he hadn't considered beforehand.
"Who's out there? Say something? If you don't talk, buddy, I'll give you something big to chew on!"
The Chaotic Blade Association member shouted from afar.
[Mercer: Lucy, can you take them out? Clear the enemy's machine gun position.]
[Lucy: I'm aiming... 80% chance.]
[Mercer: You fire, I'll throw the grenade. Daichi and Leon, start the engine when you hear us!]
[Lucy: Five-second countdown.]
"Hey! Hey?! Not talking, huh? Watch me give you a piece of my mind..." The Chaotic Blade member's rant was cut short.
"Ratatatat!"
Lucy opened fire prematurely with her authentic assault rifle, interrupting his words.
At the same time, Mercer and the old cowboy put all their might into throwing two grenades at the vague figures in the distant sandstorm.
"Open fire!!" Mercer roared, multitasking as he raised the Kenshin in his hand, his eyes flashing with golden light—beginning to hack!