I'll send you the location and surveillance footage. Don't disconnect the program from the net, let me join in. I'm bored to death every day.]
Mercer accepted the surveillance footage sent by Spider Murphy.
In the surveillance footage, there was only a short scene.
Judging by the location, it was probably the backdoor of some factory.
A few guys from the Vortex Gang dragged a disheveled, bloodied, and seemingly unconscious middle-aged white man, wearing a tattered suit, out of a van and into the factory.
Mercer paused the footage, zoomed in, and looked at the man's face—it was completely nondescript, ordinary and unremarkable.
[Mercer: Uh, this Batman doesn't look so good, too ordinary. Where's the hood, the suit?]
[Spider Murphy: Unfortunately, there's no such thing as superheroes, not even in Night City. He didn't even have a chance to enter his 'superhero mode'; he was ambushed, knocked out, and taken away by the Vortex Gang on his way home from work.]
Spider Murphy sent Mercer another video.
In the footage, a man was driving his standard version Jun Mizutani sports car on a highway out of the city, only to be chased down by a few Vortex Gang members on motorcycles.
After a thrilling chase, his sports car was blasted into the air by a wrist grenade launcher, narrowly avoided getting blown to pieces, and then he was dragged out of his flipped car by the Vortex Gang and tossed into a van.
[Mercer: He doesn't even have high-end augmentations like Sianwistan?]
Mercer was curious. How on earth did this guy manage to pull off superhero stunts in Night City before?
[Spider Murphy: He did, but almost drove himself insane. Eventually, he had to remove them and make do with a custom-made 'Bat Armor' to fulfill his vigilante antics.]
Mercer's interest in this bootleg Batman of Night City grew even more.
What kind of person would try to be a 'superhero' in Night City? Even going as far as nearly driving themselves insane?
And he seemed wealthy, which made it even more incredible.
[Mercer: I'll see if I can get him out.]
Judging by the surveillance, this guy was captured last night. With the Vortex Gang's speed, he could already be turned into a 'RoboCop' plaything by those guys. Mercer needed to act fast.
He looked at the factory address.
All Foods factory.
Home turf of the Vortex Gang...
This could be a bit of a headache.
Mercer mulled it over and decided against a frontal assault.
It'd be best to slip in, grab the guy, and get the hell out—these Vortex nutcases aren't afraid of going crazy, who knows how many of them are loaded with Sianwistan or some other weird gizmos?
[Spider Murphy: Don't even think about diving in online afterward, even this brain-dead Vortex Gang has learned cybersecurity from the Voodoo Gang. They've got their own dedicated intranet server.]
[Mercer: Alright, I won't disconnect from the net. You keep an eye on things for me online while my good buddies and I sneak in for a go.]
[Spider Murphy: Aha~ No problem! It's been ages since I had anything like this, truly nostalgic. I knew I could count on you!]
Mercer sent a smiley back to Murphy, then immediately got in touch with V and Rebecca.
He planned to head out with just the three of them.
He'd assess the situation upon arrival, and if the rescue mission seemed too difficult, he'd abandon it—he wasn't going to risk the lives of his own people.
In any case, even if this 'Batman' croaked, Mercer would still get his car... It's just that Mercer was kind enough; anyone else would probably leave him to die.
Mercer messaged V and Rebecca, making it clear that this mission wasn't a contract but something he wanted to do himself, and he wasn't sure of the potential rewards. Plus, it involved sneaking into the Vortex Gang's den to save someone.
Yet both V and Rebecca were quick to give him a positive response.
[V: You coming to pick me up? I don't want to drive my junker for a mission, it'd be hilarious if it broke down halfway.]
[Rebecca: Sure, sure! When do we go?]
Neither of them even bothered asking who Mercer was going to save, or why.
With a smirk, Mercer stood up, put on his jacket, and donned his mask.
"You got a job again?" Lucy turned to look at him.
Mercer chuckled twice, "Yep!"
"Is it a contract or?" Lucy questioned him.
"Uh... Let's call it a side quest, I suppose, just for my personal interest?" Mercer said with words Lucy didn't quite comprehend, then left in high spirits, as if he were going on an excursion.
Lucy shook her head, guessing it was probably another mission like when he saved Qiwei, and called out to his back, raising her voice, "Stay safe!"
"Don't worry, once I'm back, we'll take a spin in a fancy ride!" Mercer laughed heartily, borrowed a bulletproof Mykino van from the camp, loaded it with a Zhuo-style shotgun, heavy machine gun, drones, and then floored the gas pedal, driving off.