"You..."
The waitress wanted to say something, but then she saw Mercer's hockey mask with the letter 'A' plastered in front of her face.
"Say thank you, Brother A, Sister V, Rebecca."
"Wha-what?" The waitress was taken aback.
"I said, please say thank you." Mercer deliberately repeated, "Say, thank you, Brother A, Sister V, Rebecca."
"...Th-thank you, Brother A, Sister V... Rebecca."
The waitress moved her lips and said those words.
"Very good." Mercer then calmly wiped the blood off her face, "You can always find another job, but once you lose your principles, you can't get them back.
Today you drank with the Animal Gang, tomorrow the Tiger Claw Gang will come for you.
If you entertain the Animal Gang, can you refuse the local big shot, the Tiger Claw Gang?
Your reputation has already reached V's ears, what's next, Sixth Street Gang, Valentino Gang...
Are you going to entertain them all?
And in the end? Become a sex doll?"
Mercer's words made the waitress tremble and bow her head helplessly, "Then, what can I do? I need to live... I have to pay rent... Without this job, I'll end up just like those sex dolls sooner or later!"
"Then there's nothing more to say."
Mercer calmly wiped the blood off her face, then casually took some napkins from the table to wipe his hands, and tossed the paper on the corpse of an Animal Gang member.
"That's the way the world is, you can only try to save yourself first, if you're lucky, someone will help you out; if not... how much worse can it get?
This time I helped you out, you owe me a 'thank you'. If you feel you can't hang on, and want to become a sex doll, go ahead, I recommend Liz...
The sisters over there treat their own kind well.
It saves you from going down the wrong path in this restaurant; if you like being a sex doll, why not go all the way? You'd earn more that way.
Should a good person always be held at gunpoint? You had the guts to lash out at a little girl, why didn't you stand up to those Animal Gang members just now?"
After Mercer finished, he looked at the empty restaurant where other patrons had smoothly slipped away during the firefight, and knocked on the table, "Boss, check please."
"You, you didn't even eat, so it's, it's free..." the boss called out from hiding in the kitchen, not daring to show his face.
Mercer shrugged, "Oh, you're quite a nice person then~"
"You're, you're welcome..."
The boss just hoped Mercer wouldn't start a conversation—his creepy demeanor was like he might shoot him at any moment.
Mercer smirked, turned around, and saw Rebecca staring straight at him.
"Do you know me? How do you know my name?"
She sounded a bit curious.
Mercer made no pretense, offering an excuse, "I happened to come across you guys, Rebecca, Pira, children of the legendary mercenary Sunrise Dad."
His words made everyone's faces change slightly.
"Oh! Sunrise Dad?" V immediately exclaimed, "That was Night City's legend a few years ago! I saw him when I was a kid on Haywood Street!
In a super cool convertible, killing people while driving, and three Vortex Gang cars chasing him, yet he got them all without a scratch in that open-top car!
Man, I still remember that scene! I idolized him back then."
After V spoke, he paused and looked puzzled, "But... wasn't he already dead? I remember he disappeared about ten years ago."
"Yeah, he's dead; his bank account got hacked, his property got seized by debt collectors, most fair-weather friends turned against him, leaving only these two poor kids...
Despite her small stature, this girl must be about fifteen or sixteen? I can't imagine how she and her brother survived the last decade.
Poor little girl."
Mercer said.
"You knew my dad!?" Rebecca was stunned on the spot, her breathing suddenly heavy, her expression turned complex, filled with tension, anticipation, hatred, and sorrow...
"Do you know what happened back then? How do you know about him? How did he die? Who hacked his money?"
Rebecca bombarded him with questions, even Pira, who was anxious to leave, stopped hurriedly and stared intently at Mercer.
"I don't know, some say he was involved in an accident during an Arasaka deal, others that he got backstabbed... I just came across the information by chance."
Mercer spoke lightly, but Rebecca's expression turned vicious, approaching Mercer directly, clutching a shotgun tightly:
"No way!
If it was just by chance, how could you know we're his kids? How could you recognize me at first glance?
Where do you know us from? You must know something! Tell me! Who are you really!"
"Rebecca!" Pira thought this is bad—Rebecca is a good girl, capable too, but she's overly emotional.
He knew she'd sooner or later get into big trouble because of it!
But before Pira could grab Rebecca.
V acted faster and more directly, placing a gun to her head, "A said he didn't know, so he doesn't know. What are you, a dog? Quick to change faces at such a young age?
He's acquainted with many people; if you think there's a problem, calm down now and rethink."
With a gun pointed at her head, Rebecca instinctively turned sharply, letting go of the shotgun, and reached for V's hand, attempting to disarm her.