Question: How to get V's contact info?
Answer: There's no need to.
Ha...
This knuckledhead in the Cyber World who even dares to use Black Mewtwo directly, and plugs any chip directly into their brain has no sense of keeping personal information private.
Mercer only used keyword auto-search on a few websites, and a noticeable message popped up.
[I am V, an elite mercenary in the Haywood District, expert marksman with swift actions, interested parties can contact via phone... mission commissions depend on difficulty.]
Mercer directly hacked the crappy server of the forum and entered the backend, then acquired the IP address and personal registration info of this girl when she sent the message.
From the photo in the personal information, the classic one-sided shaved haircut with an unruly face, no doubt, this V is the protagonist V in the game!
This girl V even used her street girl V's facial data, even the hair color matched his old otaku white.
Damn, this face is really something...
It's no wonder he spent a long time struggling to create the character with online data when he made his account originally.
But this idiot also just because of this, gave away her personal information for free!
Anyone could get her contact info.
Mercer even knows where she's living now, even glanced at her rent price...
How to say it, Miss V is really down and out now!
North District Apartment—that's the cheapest apartment in the game.
Strictly speaking, this is not even an apartment; it's a motel for long-term rental!
Mercer casually used some idiot watching videos online, hacked into the motel's server along the network line, and after getting the tenant info, couldn't help but sigh.
Miss V is so miserable she even dragged the motel rent for a week.
No wonder in the game, V decided to head to Atlanta a few years later, only to fail there and come back...
The current V is visibly immature.
But it's okay, going through another V's evolution in reality again, hey, that's not bad!
Mercer shook his head, dialed V's number, and after a few breaths, a somewhat annoyed female voice came through the other end of the line.
"Hello? Which jerk is calling me now, not interested in insurance or goods!"
"You are the famed V... you got a gig, interested?"
Mercer lowered his voice, holding back laughter.
The voice on the other end instantly became refined and smooth: "Oh... a client, right? I'm in! What's the gig?"
Asking about content after agreeing... anyone can tell you're truly impoverished.
No wonder a few thousand euros are enough to make you do a job with great risk... but don't worry, with a good buddy around, no one can just cheat you for a few thousand euros anymore!
Look how desperate my dear V is now?
"Tomorrow at eight thirty, Rebirth Bar, V."
After Mercer finished speaking, the breathing on the other end became heavy: "Rebirth? You mean..."
"What? Wanna go somewhere more your style, Liz Bar? Wild Wolf Bar?"
Mercer couldn't help but tease her a little—sister, pull yourself together, you're my favorite V Zhen Tian! Don't lose face!
"Ahem... alright then, Rebirth, but, um..."
V's voice suddenly faltered:
"Are you sure you're looking for me?
Uh, I mean, what exactly is the gig?
Let's be clear, sis doesn't do anything messy, only the stuff a mercenary should do!"
Mercer sighed, finally said: "Don't overthink it, we'll talk when we meet, it won't be something beyond your capability."
"...Alright, how should I address you?" V cautiously asked, looking like she's afraid this deal would fall through.
"A, very similar to your name, just mention A's people when you get there, the security will let you in."
Mercer already figured out how to fool her.
How to put it, after being wrecked by Pan'an's 'little kid' comment, he didn't plan to casually meet people with his real appearance for a while.
First impressions are very important, if the first meeting leaves an impression of a strong A, even after seeing the real person, they won't underestimate him.
But if the first look is of his current handsome young boyish look...
It's hard to change first impressions.
"Alright! A... see you tomorrow then!"
Her excited voice was obvious to anyone who listened.
Mercer hung up the phone with V, shaking his head, sigh, let's not talk about anything else, it seems I need to find her some work first, at least solve her rent problem...
Maybe the project I initially intended to give to Rogue, I should try giving it to V?
Thinking carefully, she's definitely going to be cheaper than Rogue, no middlemen making a profit... quite ideal.
Meanwhile, a few emails I sent out have received replies.
These middlemen are quite efficient, of course, it might also be because not many dare to send them messages like this.
[Kodama Wako:
I don't really like doing business with strangers, especially those who come to me proactively without any understanding—my office is just behind the Pachinko Shop in the Kabuki District.
If you're willing to send someone to meet me in person, I might try to get you some work.]
[Old Captain:
Hmm, sounds like you might have some skills, I do need a new in-car system hacking software here.
My requirements are quick unlocking, and being able to rapidly complete vehicle system authentication, preferably with some mobile hijacking capabilities.
I mean, being able to hijack someone else's in-car system while they're on the road, invite the car owner out so I can drive away directly.
If you can do it, I'll pay based on your skill level, send the stuff to my email, and I'll get a professional to inspect and estimate the value.]
[Hans: Oh? I do indeed have hacking deals here...
But I never cooperate with people I don't know, Mr. A, I'll find you, and we'll discuss the work then.]
The rest are simply ignoring Mercer's emails, probably treating it as some unknown young pup being overly confident, with enough manpower on hand that they're too lazy to bother.
The first two issues are easy to solve, once resolved, let V go meet Wako, and write a program for Old Captain, and it's all done.
But this Hans...
After all, he has backing from the Cuban crime syndicate, daring to compete with Colonel Hansen for meat.
He dares to imply threatening Mercer—sounds quite pretentious, but Mercer truly wants to see what he's capable of.
So, he promptly replied respectively.
[A: Ms. Wako, I'll send someone to meet you for a conversation soon.]
[A: Send all the vehicle systems you need hacked to me, originals will do.
Universal unlocking software without updates is 10,000 Euros, vehicle authentication is 50,000 Euros.
This part doesn't include updates, but I can guarantee that the vehicle software within your system version will be hacked quickly without triggering alarms.
Remote hijacking software is 100,000 Euros (fool-proof version) ignoring system brute force hacking.
Unless the company can patch vulnerabilities and implement countermeasure, it's effective permanently.
Once the data is sent, delivery within three days.]
[A: Hans from Cuba, honestly, if I wanted, you'd never find me in your lifetime.
No matter if you look for Hua Tiao in Dog Town or seek Cuba's experts, the result would be the same.
I never planned to leave Night City, eventually, this city will know my name.
So if you want a cooperation, save the nonsense, state a goal, I do the job, then pay, it's that simple.
If I get connected with Colonel Hansen, I think that would certainly be bad news for Mr. Hans.
By the way, I seriously considered making Dog Town my base of operations, if Mr. Hans is sincere, why not make a good start.]
After sending the messages, Mercer temporarily stopped replying—having been busy all afternoon, only managed such things using a computer, frankly, it made Mercer somewhat uncomfortable.
If there was a hacker fridge or hacker chair for deep diving, in Cyberspace, he'd manage all this within half an hour.
Using a computer or directly interfacing with the Brain-Computer Interface, it requires converting brainwaves into data for upload, then converting network data back for reception, not only is it delay-heavy, but also not intuitive.
If it's a nearby target, that's relatively easier.
But if the task spans the entire network of Night City, connecting via computer, delays would further increase, and also demands more computing power.
If deep diving, his consciousness would be both the network's data, with various models seen clearly composed of intuitive data.
No matter how odd or abstract it may seem to outsiders, in a hacker's view, everything in Cyberspace is very intuitive data structure.
Moreover, deep diving allows accelerated thinking, moving within the Cyber World, getting close to some data bodies, viewing and hacking with zero delay.
Not to mention having corresponding cooling equipment and compute power boosters, further unleashing a hacker's brain capabilities.
"Seems I need to prioritize getting a hacker pod or chair."
Mercer made a decision.
He used to enjoy surfing online with Arasaka Servers' guidance, but recently, he's felt like trying to run a marathon with heavy loads online, what a hassle.
Lacking server computing power assistance is quite irritating, this laptop's CPU seems on the verge of overheating at times.
If not the CPU, then it's his head that would be smoking, sigh, starting a business initially, it's all cumbersome indeed.