Secondly, why are you talking like my mom, stop nagging, V, you won't find any man with that attitude."
V squinted his eyes, looking vaguely at Mercer: "What?"
"I said, thank you, V." Mercer immediately changed his tune and took the Mexican hot sauce from her hands, V huffed, and didn't add it to his meal.
At the moment, everyone didn't seem to be busy with anything, surprisingly, the restaurant was left with just Mercer and V, mainly because Mercer always turned up for meals late.
"Hey, I mean..." V saw him eating ravenously, enjoying it, feeling a little uplifted, but shortly after, still said with some concern: "Can I still help you with anything recently?"
"Sure, when the vacation ends, help me sort out those Netherworld Dogs, try to make them useful. Robots are handy, but there's always a chance something could go wrong."
Once Mercer finished speaking, V shook his head: "I don't really have a solution for this, besides roughing them up a bit, I don't know much else, that's Mann and Jack's area.
One's retired from Special Forces, the other's been in gangs for a long time, they know better than I do how to handle these people."
Mercer considered: "Then just continue being my bodyguard, huh?"
"You're so strong now, you hardly need me..." V muttered, a bit disgruntled: "No way, you have to give me some new implants, I want to get stronger too!"
Mercer shook his head, and said: "There's really not much room for improvement, a human body has its limits, the Sianwistan is only so fast...
Once the quarterly settlement comes through, I'll upgrade your Sianwistan, repair and enhance your Mantis Blade, but that's pretty much it.
Armor needs new technical breakthroughs, otherwise continuing to upgrade isn't cost-effective."
After Mercer finished speaking, V sighed: "So, you're saying my abilities have reached their peak?"
"You're still not satisfied? Even Adam's Hammer might not beat you, that's pretty impressive. Go ask around the streets, who doesn't know the famous V now?" Mercer smiled.
But V no longer smiled just from a few compliments, still seemed somewhat lackluster, wondering about something.
Mercer glanced at her a few times, then suddenly understood the key point.
It's simply that V only now begins to understand Rebecca and Lucy's feelings—wanting to help but not knowing what to do.
In the past, V relied on her Combat Power, gaining Mercer's reliance.
But as Mercer equipped new implants and armor, even in terms of Combat Power, Mercer seemed to not need her help anymore.
Thus, Mercer decisively changed his approach: "Honestly, V, you need to take care of those Netherworld Dogs quickly, then get back to being my bodyguard. Without you by my side, I really feel uneasy."
"Really?" V looked at him suspiciously.
Mercer shrugged: "Of course! Even with my good gear, it's only crushed matches I've won, if faced against a master like Adam's Hammer, who knows what tricks they'll use to humiliate me.
I don't really have any close combat experience... high stats don't necessarily mean strength, right?"
V finally smirked: "That's for sure, don't let your fancy Octopus Arm fool you, if we really fight, you'll see if I don't beat you up!
Oh, and don't hack into anything, I'm using your ICE system, using hacking to bully someone isn't fair to me!"
Mercer held back his laughter: "Okay, okay."
V laughed a couple of times, then looked at Mercer, and after a while, her expression appeared gentle: "So then my job is to be your bodyguard in the future?"
"I wouldn't mind you being my personal assistant too, make sure to dress nicely..." Mercer raised his eyebrows teasingly, and V showed a disdainful expression as expected: "Go look for your Lucy, she'll definitely be up for it."
Seeing her stubbornness, Mercer simply smiled: "Not an impossibility either."
V irritably stood up: "Remember to wash the dishes after dinner!"
"OK~" Mercer watched her angrily leave the room, propping his face with one hand and shoveling food with the other, smiling to himself.
But soon, he tossed these concerns aside, fully diving into the more pressing issues at hand.
Mercer roughly understood Lilith's origins now.
But what came along with it was another headache-inducing problem.
If he, alongside Ultraman, took what Lilith wanted from the Little Beidou Facility.
Would the roaming AI Lilith... therefore set its sights on him?
Imagining a super AI potentially controlling orbital weapons prowling out in space, targeting him, Mercer couldn't help but want to sigh.
One issue settled, another arises.
When on earth will these troublesome matters come to an end?
The Arasaka nuisance, the Dog Town nuisance, the Moon nuisance, along with that biotechnological nuisance causing intermittent trouble, and Ye Corporation, Internet Supervision...
Mercer rubbed his head.
Bring on the destruction! Speed it up!