[Arasaka Yoshinobu: But I suspect my father has already sensed something unusual — so I can't give it to you directly.]
[Mercer: What do you mean?]
[Arasaka Yoshinobu: So, if you want this thing, you'll have to get it yourself.]
[Mercer: You mean we have to grab it ourselves?]
[Arasaka Yoshinobu: Takemura will be keeping a close watch on it, so if you want it, you'll have to get it yourself.]
[Mercer: What about Saburo?]
[Arasaka Yoshinobu: You'll have to figure out a way yourself.]
[Mercer: What about you?]
[Arasaka Yoshinobu: I'll be waiting for the right moment.]
[Mercer: So you're saying you won't offer any help.]
[Arasaka Yoshinobu: It's not that I won't; it's that I can't. You know my situation isn't much better than yours, bringing the Relic to Night City has already been a huge risk.]
[Mercer: When will you arrive?]
[Arasaka Yoshinobu: Just check the news yourself.]
After this conversation, when Mercer tried to message Arasaka Yoshinobu again, he received no response.
Mercer, with a sullen expression, ended the communication. Then, pacing in the base's machine room, he pondered, hesitating, unable to make a quick decision.
"Hey! Mercer, I knew you'd be hiding here, hurry up and pack your things, you're not expecting me to pack your room for you, right!"
V's voice rang out from the doorway. Mercer turned his head, noticing that V's short hair had grown much longer. She had curled the ends, and the long hair past her shoulders added a touch of feminine softness to her appearance.
Mercer nodded absentmindedly, "Got it, I'll go right away."
"Stop saying right away, right away, I mean now! Immediately!" V walked over displeased, pushing him out, "It's the same if you're busy after we move to the new house. I still need to go prepare dinner at the new place. If you keep delaying, dinner will turn into a midnight snack."
"OK! OK! I don't have much to pack. Once you guys are done, we can set off. I need to deep dive now, once I'm back from that, we'll leave." Mercer turned around, grabbing her hand to stop her.
V huffed, glaring at him, struggling to free her hand: "Why do you always have something to do right when we're moving... can you be reliable for once!"
"It came up suddenly. I'll finish quickly." Mercer said, heading to the hacker's chair.
He actually didn't have much to move to the new place. The room for him now was just a place to sleep, without much clutter to move.
They had originally planned to move into the Gem Cyan Hotel long ago, but because of Mercer's numerous demands for the new home, including upgrading the building's security facilities, it all took considerable time. As a result, he delayed until the end of the year to finally pack and move.
Even those like Jack and Mann, who could have moved long ago, deliberately waited, leaving the move together for today, all going to live in Gem Cyan.
Except for Pira — that guy really planned to stay alone at the Spark Team's base; after all, it had everything, even a professional workspace. Truly a bargain for one person.
Today wasn't just about moving; it was also a rare occasion for everyone to gather under the guise of moving. In addition to the team members, Mercer's invited Sasha's sister, Jack's mom, and his girlfriend, and even Old Wei to the dinner.
This was precisely why V was urging non-stop.
"Hey, what's going on..." V watched as he hurriedly lay on the hacker's chair, stopped urging, and mumbled, "Did something urgent come up?"
"Yeah, sort of... I have something to ask Ultraman." Mercer didn't directly say that Yoshinobu had messaged him, just sat on the hacker's chair, picking up the data line: "Help me plug it in."
V's expression was a bit unhappy as she walked behind him: "Do it quickly; I need to get there early for dinner."
"I was going to say, hire a chef from the hotel..." Mercer stopped halfway through: "Alright, you do it, you do it."
"When moving into a new home, hosting guests yourself is a tradition!" V finally plugged the Neural Connection Line into the back of Mercer's head.
"You Haywood People sure have a lot of traditions... If you're in a hurry, you can go ahead; I'll go by myself later."
Mercer said this, entering Cyberspace without waiting for V to reply.
V watched Mercer close his eyes, remaining motionless. She knew he must already be online, annoyed, she shook her fist at him, regardless of whether he saw it or not, then huffed.
Despite her impatience, she still stood honestly on the side — whenever Mercer deep-dived, she'd watch, just in case something went wrong?
Meanwhile, Mercer had crossed the Black Wall, skillfully using the code he and Ultraman had agreed upon to send a data signal online.
Ultraman was always highly efficient; no sooner had Mercer's signal gone out than a massive red data figure appeared.
"What's up."
She calmly asked.
"Yoshinobu says he got Silverhand's Relic, but his attitude is a bit ambiguous."
Mercer spoke straightforwardly.
"Are you suspecting there's a problem with him?" Ultraman's tone didn't change at the mention of Silverhand.
"Yeah... He's implying that I should snatch it myself, find a way to take the chip from him, so he can distance himself from it. But thinking deeply, as long as he brings the Relic back and then it gets stolen, he'll never be able to clear himself.
I suspect... I'm not sure what his current stance is."