After Mercer finished speaking, Leon stared directly at him, boldly asking, "What if Colonel Hansen never regains his health..."
"Before the incident with Colonel Hansen, I had discussed several internal issues of the Netherworld Dog with him, like the treatment of soldiers and officers, and the problem of personnel quality being uneven, with countless traitors emerging..."
Mercer said straightforwardly, "So, we will most likely sign a new labor contract that will increase the salary by 10% from before, and provide new standard weapons and equipment for the Netherworld Dog soldiers.
As for officers in the Netherworld Dog, they will also receive a set of advanced single soldier armor and prosthetic transformations for free, enhancing the overall strength of the Netherworld Dog.
And if Colonel Hansen hasn't recovered in a week, martial law will also be lifted, and Dog Town will resume normalcy. Do you have any other questions?"
Upon hearing this, many in the Netherworld Dog began to calculate their odds.
It seems... Mercer doesn't just appear to intend for 'temporary command' at this moment...
Leon persistently asked, "According to regulations, if the Netherworld Dog experiences a situation where the commander loses contact, leadership should be established gradually based on military rank, and during critical personnel changes, temporary commanders should conduct voting decisions..."
"I'll repeat it one last time, Colonel Hansen has entrusted me to be the temporary commander, and he is neither dead nor disconnected, the special clause does not apply to the current situation, do you understand?"
Leon looked at Mercer, asking with a bad tone, "Director Mercer, we all know you're an excellent researcher, but the brothers of the Netherworld Dog..."
Mercer coldly stared at him, speaking word by word: "Are you planning to defy Colonel Hansen's orders?"
"Of course not, just Colonel Hansen..." Leon didn't finish his sentence, and Mercer impatiently walked down the steps, directly approaching Leon in the ranks.
Leon looked at Mercer in armor, unable to react before Mercer's Octopus Arm came snapping like a whip. He instinctively tried to activate his Sianwistan, only to be horrified that it was too late.
Activating Sianwistan takes time — and before the system fired up, Mercer's Octopus Arm had already snapped his legs.
Mercer expressionlessly took a standard rifle from the Netherworld Dog beside him with the Octopus Arm, aiming it at his head: "Are you saying I am falsely transmitting Colonel Hansen's orders?"
Leon's breath hitched, then he hurriedly managed to force a smile: "No no no! How could that be, I was worried that someone might get ideas... I'm just concerned."
The icy Octopus Arm swayed in front of his face, clicking and clacking its three claws, as if it could crush Leon's head with a casual motion, Leon had no courage to continue talking nonsense now.
The level of force Mercer displayed had already exceeded his imagination -- damn it, his attention was all on V.
The other Netherworld Dog members were also taken aback, what sort of power is this?
Isn't Mercer a hacker? How does he have speed like Sianwistan!?
Is it the result of this armor? Incredible... what kind of equipment is this!?
"Disrupting military morale, Captain Stephen, take him away and interrogate him thoroughly, see if among the people colluding with Arasaka to harm Colonel Hansen, killing dozens of Netherworld Dog brothers, if he is one."
As soon as Mercer finished speaking, Leon tried to say something, but before he finished, the Octopus Arm knocked him out unceremoniously.
Stephen, newly appointed as squad leader, walked over without a word and dragged the unconscious Leon away — the Netherworld Dogs beside Leon were hesitant to speak.
Yet faced with an array of bright gun barrels, and Mercer's cold gaze, they dared not utter a single word.
Surveying the vicinity, Mercer took just two steps with the Octopus Arm to return to the stairs on the first floor of the hotel, looking down at the Netherworld Dogs in front of him: "At this moment, it is exactly when we need to cast aside previous grudges, work together, and overcome challenges.
Any soldier hindering unity or disobeying orders will be subject to internal investigation and reprimand by the Netherworld Dog. I hope all of you take this as a lesson and do not mislead yourselves."
Mercer then turned to Gago, saying: "Considering the martial law situation, I will appoint V as the overall commander of operations during the martial law, all armed forces will be managed by her, Gago, you will serve as her assistant."
Gago sighed inwardly but showed a kind, obedient smile: "Understood!"
"Next, I will announce some temporary personnel changes.
Dog Town's security department will be temporarily headed by Mann, due to Action Team Leader Bennett and his deputy's unfortunate deaths in Arasaka's attack.
The current Action Team Leader will be concurrently held by V, with Rebecca as deputy, the network security and surveillance department will be personally overseen by me, the checkpoint responsibility will be held by Jack Wilson.
The original squad leaders will retain their titles and military ranks, and arrangements will be made after martial law is lifted."
Mercer said meaningfully: "If soldiers perform well during martial law, once it ends, I will personally report merits to Colonel Hansen and grant military rank rewards."
Internally to the Netherworld Dog, gaining rank means increased base salary and benefits.
"Conversely, if severe work errors occur during martial law, or there is suspicion of treachery, inciting disorder, or confusion, strict maximal punishment will be enforced."
Mercer finished speaking and paused momentarily, then continued: "Everyone stay alert, the enemy can't just leave off harming Colonel Hansen without taking more action, Colonel Hansen will overcome this, if luck is on our side, he might recover in three to five days.