[Mercer: What do you mean?]
[Venus: By comparing the databases of Night City Hall and the NCPD, I've discovered there's a discrepancy in the archive data for two 'Bruce Will' identities.
One is the latest data from the NCPD and City Hall servers, obtained through your prosthetic eye scan, and the other is an archive retained in the NCPD files, dating back thirteen years.
The NCPD has a separate server for storing case files of crimes they've encountered, and within this data, I discovered another record differing from the current archive of 'Bruce Will'.
I've already sent the anomalous part to your Network Access Vault; please review and make your judgement.]
Mercer didn't respond but immediately opened the file Venus had sent.
One file was the data he scanned for Bruce the first time, obtained from the scanning program in his prosthetic eye.
A Ye Corporation executive, whose parents died when he was twelve, sold his family's company to Ye Corporation after growing up and has worked there ever since after attending university...
But the other was a separate case file stored in the NCPD archive.
This case file pertains to the robbery and murder of Bruce's parents, detailing the incident and the involved individuals' dossiers.
Mercer's focus was riveted on Bruce Will's archive.
Multiple gunshot wounds to the head and body, critically injured and hospitalized, then missing?
Mercer checked the timeline of the case report; it seems the file was sealed and stored in the server after the investigation was halted five months post-incident.
So, Bruce was missing for five months following the incident?
[Venus: You should pay attention to his facial features.]
Mercer's expression shifted slightly; he scrutinized the face comparison between the two archives and found the answer within moments, like solving a 'spot the difference' puzzle.
He turned to look at Bruce, fixing his gaze on the left side of his face, then asked, "Have you had any facial surgeries? Corrective or cosmetic surgery perhaps."
Bruce maintained eye contact with Mercer, "Me? No, I've never had any surgery done on my head."
"Then why are your eyes symmetrical? The archive shows you have a relatively noticeable asymmetry..., and your nasal bone also appears straighter."
As Mercer spoke, he rapidly pieced together a bold, but perhaps true idea in his mind.
"Bruce Will... were you actually spared by the assailants back then, hiding in the shadows to escape harm? Or did you also get shot in that incident, then severely injured and hospitalized?"
Mercer's words left Bruce completely frozen on the spot: "I wasn't shot... I watched my parents die..."
"What was the situation with your parents exactly? Aside from photos, can you remember?" Mercer asked just one question, sending Bruce into a panic.
He couldn't remember.
He could only recall the moment his parents were shot and fell, and then... he should remember this vividly!
He could only recall darkness, a warm darkness...
"I can't remember..." Bruce stared blankly at Mercer.
After a moment of silence, Mercer asked, "Which hospital did you go to? What kind of treatment did you receive?"
"I'm not sure..." Bruce remained clueless, "I don't remember going to a hospital afterward..."
Suddenly, Bruce became somewhat agitated, "No, I've never been to a hospital! Stop, why are you talking to me about this?"
"Are you certain? Let me see..."
Mercer turned around, searching his safe house for a while until he finally found a portable scanner meant for checking body status.
"This scanner is yours, right? You left it here."
After Mercer finished speaking, Bruce nodded subconsciously.
Then Mercer tossed it to Bruce, "Do a scan on yourself and check if there are any surgical marks on your head."
Bruce nervously clutched the device, unsure why he felt uneasy. Nevertheless, after taking a deep breath, he committed to a thorough self-scan.
After the scan, he examined the connected microcomputer and, with disbelief and a hint of fear in his voice, said, "Impossible... I haven't undergone surgery, definitely not..."
Mercer walked over, took a glance, and said, "Your skull shows signs of repair, traces of surgery from a long time ago, using advanced bionic artificial bones.
The shadowed areas reveal that the time marks are different compared to the rest of your skull.
Multiple gunshot wounds and surgical scars are evident on your body too. Think about it, do they match the places you remember being injured?"
Bruce grew increasingly anxious and panicked, resuming his self-scans.
Meanwhile, V and Rebecca were bewildered—they couldn't comprehend the situation, what was this about blue eyes, Ye Corporation, previously injured occurrences, what was going on?
"Mercer, what's happening?" Rebecca couldn't help but ask.
"I think we've stumbled onto trouble," Mercer replied honestly.
He turned to Bruce, speaking more gravely, "Do you mind if I conduct a program check on you?"
"...Go ahead." Bruce gritted his teeth, placing the scanner aside.
Mercer didn't proceed directly; he used the micro Network Access Vault, essentially a miniature laptop, in his secret base to link with Bruce's Brain-Computer Interface.