"... To be precise, it's intelligence on a new plan that Biotechnology and Military Science are planning to collaborate on."
Mercer frankly confessed part of it, saying, "Diana Kuno from Biotechnology negotiated the cooperation with Military Science relying on the immunizing agent, and my goal is to let Arasaka know that this cooperation has been established.
Moreover, Diana Kuno used the name of this immunizing agent to transfer a batch of advanced experimental equipment from the Biotechnology headquarters. My target is one of the pieces from this batch.
And if we can let Arasaka know about this... Guess what, don't you think Arasaka might want to stir up some trouble for their transportation plan?"
Only then did Mann understand Mercer's purpose. He spoke with some suspicion and uncertainty, "You want to provoke Arasaka into taking action against this transportation equipment?"
"Exactly, I've attached all the personnel and equipment details, including the route, onto this chip.
Once Faraday hands over the data chip to his Arasaka clients, I believe those guys from Arasaka will definitely find a way to disrupt Military Science and Biotechnology's plan."
Mercer spoke, chuckling lightly, "Considering the unification war just ended not long ago, Arasaka is highly unlikely to dare send out their agents for such things.
So the best choice is to continue, through intermediaries, hiring a batch of reliable mercenaries to try and cause some trouble."
Mann speculated, "Your aim is to use Arasaka's assignment to create chaos, giving you an opportunity to seize the equipment?"
"Not necessarily, if necessary, we can take Arasaka's assignment ourselves too."
Mercer curved his mouth into a smile, "The current mayor is standing on Arasaka's side, and the two are in a honeymoon phase.
Arasaka wants to hire mercenaries to trouble Military Science and Biotechnology, they surely wouldn't hope these mercenaries could take down the professional security forces of Military Science and Biotechnology on their own.
I suspect they will provide some covert support, like some high-powered weapons that are hard to trace, and I think they will have Night City's NCPD and Anti-Terrorism Mobile Squad turn a blind eye to those causing trouble for Military Science.
So, what I need is not just to hire people with Arasaka's money to trouble Military Science, but more importantly, to see if I can grab something good on the side to increase the success rate of my heist."
Mann breathed a sigh of relief. If it was just this, he felt there wasn't much problem in holding onto this chip—after all, the information is genuine, and once this chip reaches Faraday, even if Arasaka realizes they were used, they wouldn't have any complaints.
Whether to take action on this joint transportation of Military Science and Biotechnology, ultimately, it's still a decision made by Arasaka themselves.
"What if they don't plan to do anything?" Mann asked curiously, "Do you still plan to snatch Biotechnology's stuff? Roughly what scale and level are their transport teams?"
"If we act outside the city, we'll face two super soldiers equipped with war-grade Centaur exoskeletons, several senior agents, and over forty professional soldiers from Military Science and Biotechnology.
Oh, and a Demon Lizard, possibly two professional Behemoth armored transport vehicles, and some ordinary armored vehicles."
Mercer's casual tone left Mann at a loss for words for a moment. After a while, he awkwardly chuckled, "I mean... A, you do know what this level of firepower represents, right?"
"I know." Mercer nodded.
"This kind of firepower, if placed in Night City, could easily destroy a district... You may not be aware, but just one Demon Lizard can be completely overwhelming for individually armed personnel like us."
Mann, being a former special forces member from New America, had firsthand experience on battlefields abroad and was acutely aware of how terrifying such heavy firepower can be for ordinary soldiers.
Though the Demon Lizard is nominally just an armored transport vehicle, its positioning is truly an upgraded version of an infantry fighting vehicle; previous fighting vehicles only typically carried 12mm caliber heavy machine guns.
But now, the Demon Lizard even possesses cannons instead of just heavy machine guns.
These heavy machine guns don't work like in games, where armor can block bullets shot at you. In reality, even typical concrete buildings can be easily shot to pieces by these guns.
Getting hit by one of these bullets can blow a huge hole right through you, or even break you into pieces!
Moreover, the Demon Lizard comes with a mini missile launching unit, capable of intercepting from the air and conducting long-range precision strikes...
Unless faced with more massive and powerful armored units like the Chimera Main Battle Tank, or other similar armored infantry fighting vehicles, the Demon Lizard stands out on the battlefield, coming and going as it pleases.
With its high mobility and the ability to hover a short distance when needed, the Demon Lizard is nightmarishly fearsome for ordinary soldiers.
Mann really couldn't fathom how Mercer dared to take on such things; thinking it over, he could only assume it perhaps stemmed from Mercer being too young and ignorant of the true prowess of the Demon Lizard.
"I know." Mercer remained calm, simply stating, "If I were to deal with them outside the city, I'd prepare long-range firepower coverage, first bomb them for a round, confirm their heavy firepower is disabled, then assault.
Wouldn't foolishly rush to test the Demon Lizard's firepower.
If there's no good opportunity outside the city, then I'll let them into the city, where Night City doesn't permit heavy firepower entry; at least the Demon Lizard can't come in, then we'd only have to deal with some ordinary armored cars and dozens of soldiers.