Rebecca secretly sent him a message.
[Rebecca: Damn, why'd you take so long? I can hardly keep it together here, these people keep asking me what's going on, how should I know?]
[Mercer: What about Lucy and the others?]
[Rebecca: They're still watching over the heavy firepower, don't worry, if needed, they can activate the Chimera Tank anytime and give these Netherworld Dogs a big surprise!]
The Chimera Tank can be operated remotely, just like Mercer's armor. It's more agile when manned, yet can also act autonomously like a robot. If controlled by advanced AI, it might even operate more efficiently than a human!
[Mercer: Thanks for the hard work, leave the rest to me.]
Rebecca watched as Mercer walked onto the stage, silently surveying the Netherworld Dogs in the hall, feeling inexplicably calm in her heart—and his gear... just looks so strong!
The crowd saw Mercer walk on stage and fell silent. As the current financial director of the Netherworld Dogs, Gago was pushed out by some of the Netherworld Dogs to ask questions.
Since joining the Netherworld Dogs, Gago had always played the role of the nice guy. Many of the Netherworld Dogs had good personal relations with him and knew his relationship with Mercer was alright too, so they simply pushed him out to ask Mercer what was going on.
"Director Mercer?" Gago had previously seen Mercer's armor being assembled in the workshop. Now, looking at the blood-stained battle suit, with Mercer helmeted and walking in with six Octopus Arms replacing his legs, Gago only felt a chill in his heart.
He knew full well the superficial comity between Mercer and Hansen; seeing Mercer walk in fully armed, he had already guessed most of the truth.
Whoa... Gago knew very well how many hidden traps Hansen had set up for Mercer in the stadium, yet Mercer solved Hansen so easily?
"Line up, important speech, I will clarify the situation."
Mercer's voice came from inside his helmet, and Gago immediately stood straight. The other Netherworld Dogs had different thoughts but remained relatively calm at this moment.
"Currently, Director Hansen has been assassinated and is critically injured, being rescued in the stadium. I've been entrusted with an emergency command, acting as the interim leader of the Netherworld Dogs, temporarily handling all affairs in Dog Town for Colonel Hansen."
Upon hearing this, the Netherworld Dogs below started murmuring, and a Netherworld Dog named Leon Lindel frowned and asked: "Impossible!"
"Nothing's impossible, the Cubans have already left, you know exactly what I mean." While Mercer's helmet visor only flashed with blue data waves, Leon felt as though Mercer was staring him down, causing an inexplicable chill in his body.
"This morning, I detected danger ahead of time and reported it to Colonel Hansen. Colonel Hansen then requested protection from the Spark Team, but unfortunately, when V arrived on scene, Colonel Hansen had already fallen victim."
Mercer said offhandedly, without waiting for anyone to question the details, and directly changed the topic: "The stadium was also attacked, over sixty Netherworld Dogs courageously perished. The only thing we can determine is that this was yet another despicable attack by Arasaka.
Now, Dog Town, the Netherworld Dogs, are at a moment of life and death.
Mercer emphasized his tone: "We must gather all our strength and resolve to overcome this difficult time."
"Where's Captain Bennett?" someone asked uneasily.
Mercer simply opened his helmet, revealing an expressionless face, and looked at that Netherworld Dog, speaking in a low voice: "He's dead—Arasaka's hacker hijacked his body, making him blast his own head with his shotgun.
Once the lockdown ends, we'll hold a simple funeral to honor this outstanding colleague... Any more questions?"
Over a hundred Netherworld Dogs looked at each other, and a high-ranking Netherworld Dog named Karl Robinson Dao Jie, simply known as Dao Jie, asked with a cold face:
"As far as I know, the attack seemed to happen shortly after V went upstairs, and then V left Gem Cyan with Colonel Hansen flying directly, Director Mercer..."
Dao Jie hadn't finished speaking when Mercer coldly interjected: "There are rumors within the Netherworld Dogs that privately you're involved in some shady drug dealings, and you even seem to have set up a mini-base with your brothers..."
Dao Jie's face changed: "Director Mercer, those words shouldn't be spoken irresponsibly!"
"I see you understand that principle, so you'd better keep your mouth shut!" Mercer said harshly.
Dao Jie opened his mouth but then angrily stared at him without saying another word, though his eyes were somewhat evasive.
"From today, all units will follow my sole command. Weapons, equipment, and supplies must receive my online approval. I will monitor anyone's communications and actions in real time.
Without waiting for others to ask questions, Mercer emphasized: "Given the increasing infiltration by external forces, I will specifically deal with some suspicious elements in accordance with the Netherworld Dogs' regulations.
From this day forward, Dog Town will be under martial law. Some key posts will be manned by my people until Colonel Hansen recovers to officially determine the final personnel changes."
Leon frowned tightly: "Director Mercer, according to regulations, during martial law, Dog Town should be completely sealed off, even commercial activities will be temporarily stopped..."
"That's exactly what I mean, complete lockdown, not allowing a single mosquito to fly out, nor a single cockroach to sneak in.
Any gang organizations like the Cleaner Fish must also adhere to the curfew. All violations or illegal activities will be severely punished, and we'll broadcast martial law regulations through Dog Town every hour."