"Hmm, Spark Team, got it." Claire said with a smile.
However, Claire glanced at Rebecca, who was now excitedly gulping down beer: "But, isn't the person you found a bit too young?"
"They're all reliable people. In Night City, reliable people are always reliable, and those who aren't, will always be the same."
After Mercer finished speaking, Claire suddenly fell silent for a moment. She sighed, sent a drink to Pira, and then said, "Do you think... unreliable people can never change?"
"When you asked that question, you probably already had an answer in your heart." Mercer simply replied, "If you thought he would change for the better, then you wouldn't be asking this question."
Claire shook her head, "I think he will change for the better."
"I don't think so."
Mercer gave a seemingly somewhat arbitrary answer, looked at Claire, and said with deep meaning, "Don't let past love and gratitude cloud your current judgment.
If someone is trapped in the past, they can't face the present and can't move towards the future."
Claire stared at him dumbfounded for a while: "Why does it feel like I haven't said anything, yet you seem to know everything?"
"Some things don't need to be asked so deeply. You've been rubbing your wedding ring while talking, clearly having doubts about your partner but not daring to trust your judgment, deceiving yourself that everything will get better...
If someone has to rely on self-comfort to deceive themselves, it often means things have gotten so bad they're hard to salvage."
After Mercer finished speaking, he drank up his cola, shrugged, "I'm just an outsider, the shallow shouldn't talk about depth, you think about it yourself, Claire.
But as far as I see, you're not a bad person, so the problem probably doesn't lie with you. So, don't be too hard on yourself."
V had been listening for a long time before finally understanding what the two were talking about: "Relationship issues?"
"No, we were talking business." Mercer said earnestly.
V froze, "Business? Doesn't sound like it..."
"Yeah, doesn't sound like it to me either." After Mercer finished speaking, he straightforwardly got up, "I'm going to see Rogue, take your time drinking."
V clenched his fist, staring straight at him, "How about we have a good drink when you get back?"
"Sure, I'll have some cola." Mercer waved his hand and gracefully walked to the booth to find Rogue.
V looked angrily at his departing back, then speechlessly turned to Lucy, who was quietly wearing a mask, "Why is he such a pain? Is he like that with you too?"
Lucy shook her head, "He does joke around occasionally... but generally, not in such a way to offend."
"Damn! Just targeting Sister V, huh! No way, today I'm gonna make him drink a whole bottle!"
V angrily slapped the table, "Get a bottle! I said get me a bottle of Rabbit God, I'm going all out with him today!"
Qiwei spoke up softly, "Did you forget last time you swore you'd never drink fast booze again after a bottle? Because of that, Rebecca Pira earned tens of thousands of Euros, and at night you were at home alone..."
"Don't say it!" V hurriedly interrupted her, then also some self-doubted, "Logically... with my physique, I should handle alcohol so well, right?"
"Yes, the alcohol tolerance is indeed quite strong." Rebecca finished speaking, proudly saying, "Drink fast, digest fast, get drunk also fast."
"Damn, but I sober up fast too!" V muttered, "Doesn't make sense, I'll have to ask Old Wei later."
They chatted and laughed, while on Mercer's side, he finally waited for Rogue to finish her work.
After brushing past a few unfamiliar mercenaries, Mercer loosely sat on one side of the sofa in Rogue's booth, "No wonder you're the Queen of Rebirth, it's like you always have something to do."
"If a fixer has nothing to do at seven in the evening, I'd guess she's not far from being obsolete."
Rogue was unfazed by Mercer's teasing, merely took a sip from her glass with a calm expression, "So, what's the reason you came to see me?"
"This is a data list I got from a biotech server, I've labeled each piece of data with names and brief descriptions. If you're interested, name a price, and I'll give you the data."
Mercer used the same spiel he did with Wagako, handing the list to Rogue.
Rogue only looked at it for a moment before letting out a laugh, "So, this is what Wagokoro sent you to do."
"You know?" Mercer was a bit surprised.
"Hmm, you might as well guess who hired her to do it?" Rogue said meaningfully.
Mercer instinctively wanted to answer Arasaka, but after thinking for a moment, gave a completely different answer, "Is it Military Science?!"