Think about it, if Deputy Director Joanna takes the fall this time and gets kicked out, then who's the only person with a chance to compete for the Regional Director position?
Do you want to be a living, cooperative Regional Director with me, or a dead Deputy Director?
I don't think it's a difficult choice.]
"Cooperate? I don't even know who you are!" Diana irritably and anxiously picked up a bottle of red wine, gulping it down again as if each sip were her last.
[?: You will know, but not now. Think carefully, Dr. Kuno. You can prepare now, remember to have a million Euros ready on the money chip tomorrow.
The list of equipment I need will also be emailed to you shortly.
Also, if you want to completely take down Deputy Director Joanna, I have a video you might be very interested in.
A confession video from Ms. Emilia, admitting that Deputy Director Joanna planned to embezzle money under false pretenses and used the opportunity to poison Sillan Town.
Details will follow once you've handed over the million Euros, how about that?]
Diana's expression suddenly became somewhat excited: "You have a video? The kind that could nail Joanna?"
[?: Tomorrow, bring the money chip to the location I specify. Once I have the money, we'll talk about the next steps.]
"...Alright!"
Diana nodded heavily, gritting her teeth as she agreed to the mysterious person's demands.
[?: Good, just wait for me to contact you again.
Find an expert to remove the Sorcery Puppet Software yourself; I have your contact information.]
"Understood!" Diana said, and there was no response from the other side for a long time.
She waited for a while, only getting up with a gloomy face after confirming that the other side had indeed gone, heading straight for the medical department inside the Biotechnology Building.
She needed to perform a full-body check and reformat her cyber enhancements.
But as she walked, Diana's heavy mood suddenly became a little complicated, a bit excited, even a little anticipatory...
If that guy really has a video that can incriminate Joanna... it seems like she really has a chance to advance further?
....
"Whew..."
Mercer let out a long sigh, disconnecting the video call with Diana.
By then, their car had long since left the Biotechnology Building and driven into the city.
It was already close to 3 a.m., Night City's least crowded time. Mercer opened the window a little, enjoying the breeze, leaning contentedly on the car seat.
"You were chatting with that Kuno the whole time?" Rebecca asked curiously.
"Yeah, got a bit more out of her... I find this group of corporate lackeys to be really filthy rich, a supervisor can dig out tens of thousands, a regional director starts at a million, and that's with me not pushing too hard.
If I really wanted to squeeze her dry, I might just be able to get three to five million Euros."
As Mercer finished speaking, Rebecca's eyes widened, her breathing heavy: "Then why didn't you squeeze her hard?"
"Because I think this Dr. Kuno has other uses. If I push too hard, she might get cornered and desperate, and then we can't negotiate anymore."
Mercer thought that a million Euros wasn't a significant sum for Diana Kuno, she could grudgingly hand it over without holding a deep grudge.
And after that, it's better to keep her around for now.
What's the use of killing someone? Not to mention getting no money, it might piss off Biotechnology. If Wagako couldn't handle the pressure, or if Biotechnology itself tracked down the information and locked onto Spark Team...
Wouldn't that just get them another company's wanted list?
Being wanted by Arasaka is one thing since Mercer really took a hard score, but being targeted by Biotechnology for that 300,000 reward from Wagako? That wouldn't be worth it.
By comparison, keeping Diana Kuno around has more benefits, as long as she really obediently gets Mercer the Cloning Machine he wants and Mercer keeps the transcript of their conversations.
In the end, Mercer could use this secret to have leverage over her for life—she has to cover for Mercer too, because if something happens to Mercer and she's implicated, she's finished as well.
Rebecca thought for a while but still couldn't figure out what Mercer and that corporate lackey from Biotechnology could discuss, only mesmerized by the money in hand, her eyes sparkling.
Meanwhile, V was dumbly counting on her fingers, finally clearing up the accounts.
"So, it means we can make at least thirty thousand from Wagako, then close to one hundred forty thousand from these two corporate lackeys, and you say the information and data you got can be sold too?
And the instrument we snatched from Behemoth's vehicle can sell for ten thousand Euros...
Well... let's round it up to two hundred thousand, minus the forty thousand Euros for the team fund, leaving one hundred sixty thousand.
There are six people in our action this time, according to your suggestion, the more you work, the more you earn. Shouldn't a lady at least get a 40% share of the credit?
That's forty percent of one hundred sixty thousand..."
V almost saw stars before her eyes.
"Sixty, sixty-four thousand?" V exclaimed: "Even after paying off your debt, a lady can still have over twenty thousand left? Damn! We struck gold!!"
And Rebecca also calculated roughly how much she could get: "This time, my bro and I didn't help much, just drove around. Together, we should get... uh, 10%?"
She looked at Mercer, a little unsure, feeling she might not deserve so much.
Mercer held up two fingers: "V and I get thirty percent each, you four get ten percent each, just like that, you work, you get a share."