"You mean her and Pilar's enemy is on the list Padre gave?" V didn't know the deets about Rebecca's past, but she was aware Rebecca still had an old enemy alive.
"Exactly."
Mercer nodded: "If I don't take this job, Padre will find someone else to do it. If Rebecca misses the chance to personally settle her score... Well, if we never crossed paths, that'd be one thing. But since we have, I don't want her to live with regret."
V clicked her tongue in amazement: "This actually connects? I'm starting to believe in this whole fate thing now."
"Yeah, since we've run into it, might as well help Rebecca get her revenge. Besides, Rebecca's enemy runs the casino operation, there's bound to be loads of cash there. Even if there's no physical money, I'll squeeze every eurodollar out of him."
Mercer was getting addicted to heists now.
How much could you really earn from gigs? He'd discovered that targeting these high-profile figures and draining their accounts was where the real money was.
After reviewing the targets Padre sent, he said: "Tomorrow, you take Lucy, Kiwi, and Pilar to handle the toughest stronghold. Leave the rest to me and Rebecca."
When Mercer finished, V looked at him skeptically: "You sure? Want me to lend you Pilar? They've got Sandevistan on their side, you think you can handle that?"
"Are you kidding me? In a straight-up firefight, I might get nervous, but if they're in the light and I'm in the shadows... Heh, there's nobody I'm afraid of."
Mercer said with a laugh: "Besides, Rebecca's chromed up now too. She's not as weak as you think."
"Meanwhile, you need to watch yourself and look after the others. Pilar's modifications lean more toward tech expertise. When it comes to direct combat, everyone's counting on you alone."
V grinned: "This girl feels terrifyingly strong now. Honestly, back then if I had to take down six or seven 6th Street gangoons, I'd probably be full of bullet holes. But now..."
She patted her arm confidently: "Even a dozen fully geared-up 6th Street thugs standing in front of me wouldn't scare me. I'd chop them all up with my Mantis Blades before they could blink!"
"Alright then, it's yours." Mercer paused before adding: "Padre wants payback, so 6th Street will definitely be prepared. Watch out for traps, don't get careless."
"Don't worry, we'll follow what you said, team rules: scout first, plan second, act last."
V replied.
Just then, Jackie returned from circulating around other tables and asked what Padre wanted with Mercer and V.
Mercer didn't hide anything, this was a Heywood bar, more accurately the Valentinos' most frequent spot, filled with their own people inside and out.
After hearing about their gig, Jackie hesitated and said: "Maybe I could lend a hand? Won't take your cut, just worried there might be too many of them for you to handle."
"You just don't know how strong this girl is now!" V laughed twice, slowly raising a pistol that looked all too familiar to Jackie. Jackie froze for a moment, then looked down; his hip holster was indeed empty.
V placed the pistol on the table and said, "See? If we didn't have the skills, we wouldn't have taken this job."
"Holy shit!" Jackie's jaw dropped in shock. "Sandevistan? That thing ain't cheap!"
"You bet! All the gear on me adds up to nearly a million eddies. What can those street punks possibly have that compares?" V confidently extended her right arm.
With a sharp click, a dramatically designed, crimson-glowing Mantis Blade snapped into view. V casually swung it a couple of times, the heated blade tearing through the air with a sharp whoosh.
Retracting the blade back into her arm, V shot Mercer a smug eyebrow raise, she hadn't had the chance to show off since upgrading at Vik's place!
These days, she was equipped with an experimental Arasaka Sandevistan, custom-grade Thermal Mantis Blades, Skinweave, a Kerenzikov for mental acceleration, and even a professional ICE installed in her Frontal Cortex, originally part of Mercer's netrunner suite.
It was safe to say V's gear was now on par with a corporate elite agent's. One more step up, and she'd truly be at legendary merc level.
"...Is it too late for me to join?" Jackie joked.
To his surprise, Mercer nodded without hesitation. "Of course. Our team could use a big guy who can charge ahead. Jackie, if you join, I'll give you an interest-free loan to get yourself some serious hardware."
"Uh... I'm still with the Valentinos..." Jackie tried to politely decline.
But V cut in, "Jackie, you remember what you told me before, right?"
Jackie paused.
"For people like us, sometimes you only get one chance to change your life."
V looked at him earnestly. "What future do you really have in the gang? You've been with them for a while now, right? How many people do you have under you? Do you have your own turf? How much have you actually made?"
Jackie was left speechless. V then pointed at Mercer. "I did one job with him. Just one gig. You know how much I made?"
She glanced at Mercer, who gave a nod, then turned back to Jackie. "Over a million eddies. And that's just my cut. Jackie, have you ever seen that kind of money in your life?"
"Holy shit... chica, you serious?" Jackie couldn't help but curse.
"Dead serious! I'm living with the team now, don't even pay rent. We each have our own room. A provides all the weapons and gear. We even have Trauma Team Platinum membership!"
V couldn't resist bragging further. "You know how much Trauma Team charges mercs for Platinum? Ten thousand eddies a month, per person! And I don't pay a single eddy. It's all covered as a team benefit!"
V took a heavy swig of whiskey and slammed the glass on the table. "A month ago, I couldn't even afford a few hundred eddies in rent! And look at me now."
Jackie fell silent, his heart pounding wildly.
"Jackie, I can tell, A only asked you to join because he genuinely thinks you've got what it takes. And so far, he's never been wrong about people. If he thinks you've got what it takes, then maybe you really do, more potential than you even realize. Miss this chance, and who knows when the next one will come, Jackie."
After speaking, V didn't press further, just looked at him and added one last line: "Ask yourself, how much longer are you gonna waste in this gang? The opportunity's right here. Nobody, or legend? Think about it, Jackie."
Mercer had to look away, barely holding back a grin. Was V seriously stealing his lines?
As for Jackie, he almost agreed on the spot, especially after V dropped that classic line.
He wanted to be somebody, badly.
But he was a grown man, and he knew better than to make rash decisions. So, even though he was genuinely tempted, he forced himself to stay calm: "Chica, I need to think, really think it over."
"I just hope you figure it out soon. Look at your chooms, how many went down in that 6th Street raid? How long's your luck gonna hold, Jackie?"
V didn't say more after that, just turned to Mercer: "When are we moving?"
Mercer thought for a moment: "Three days. We've got a lot to do, verify Padre's deets, gear up, plan the op. I say we hit 'em fast, get it all done in one night. If they get spooked and go to ground, we're screwed."
V nodded: "Your call. But A, you're coming with me to Vik's. I need a few procedures."
"You just got work done." Mercer's expression turned serious. Even if he believed V was a born cyberware prodigy, she couldn't just replace every part of herself every month.
But V shook her head: "I have to. At least the Muscle Enhancement upgrades, plus the synthetic organs. I'm not exaggerating, I'm too fast now. Every time I push it, my muscles go weak, and my heart feels like it's gonna explode. If I don't upgrade the supporting cyberware, I'm actually in more danger. This job's one thing, but what if I'm on a big op and just shut down mid-fight? That'd be way worse."
Mercer frowned, his voice low: "Let me run a full scan back at the base first."
"Fine. I never doubt your skills as a netrunner, so don't doubt my body's talent."
V said it with a laugh, but her eyes were dead serious as she looked at Mercer: "I have to get stronger. You get me?"
Mercer swallowed his objections. Truth was, he wasn't any different.
He pressed his lips together, watching her, then finally said: "We'll decide after Vik and I assess you. I don't want to see you go cyberpsycho, V."
"Relax, I know my limits. My body's handling it well, adapting fast. When I accelerate now, it feels natural, easy as breathing. It's just the extreme bursts that push me too hard." V curled the corner of her mouth and glanced at Mercer. "Can't be helped. Someone whose Body just broke double digits probably can't understand how I feel."
Mercer had no retort. Intelligence was his domain, but when it came to physical prowess, V held more authority.
"Just make sure you know what you're doing. I'll tag along later to check things out."
As Mercer finished, V leaned in with a hint of playfulness. "Oh~ so you're handling this surgery too?"
Mercer rolled his eyes. "Aside from the limbs, if you want Muscle Enhancement elsewhere, it involves reinforcing the core muscle groups. You'd have to modify everything, or your balance will be thrown off."
"Tch, fine." V then belatedly grew concerned. "Wait, doesn't that mean I'm getting overhauled from the inside out?"
It finally dawned on her just how extensive her modifications were.
Mercer was tempted to say... You could probably turn out like Adam Smasher and still be fine. But seeing how clueless V looked, he decided to properly educate her.
"Muscle Enhancement varies. The procedures we're doing for you are designed to maximize your body's innate potential. So you won't end up bulked up like me." Mercer pointed to his broad shoulders. "My type? They stuffed in muscles I never had, all synthetic."
"And they had to reinforce my skeleton, ligaments, and so on. Basically replaced my own flesh and blood." He then gestured toward V. "Yours? They're adding enhancements to your existing muscles. It's still your own muscle doing the work, not a bunch of random synthetics replacing your tissue."
"Might look like a big change, but at its core, it's still your muscles functioning."
V had a sudden realization. "So I won't feel... weird?"
"Nope. You can even keep getting stronger through training." Mercer nodded. "Only those lacking natural aptitude need full synthetic muscle replacement for extra power."
"You don't need to go that far. Mainly, we're swapping wear-and-tear parts like ligaments for durable ones, bones for metal, reinforcing joints, and adding supportive muscle bundles where tears are prone."
"That's how the Animals do it. They pump drugs, train like crazy, and only replace joints, bones, and ligaments with synthetics so their muscles don't wreck them."
"Ah, whatever, you wouldn't get it anyway. Just know I've got your back on whatever you want installed."
V rolled her eyes. "What about the Mantis Blades? Didn't those basically replace my forearms?"
"Can't be helped, it's the mechanics. But you could choose melee weapons instead to keep your arms intact." Mercer looked at her calmly. "Though, no matter how strong your forearms get, they'll never match pure mechanical cyberware. Don't they feel stronger already?"
Reassured, V muttered, "Sounds like going full mechanical would still be stronger, by your logic."
"You'd need a mechanical frame stronger than Adam Smasher's to match your physical potential."
Mercer finished with a light chuckle. "The procedure Vik and I have planned for you won't squander or overdraw your body's natural gifts, you have my word on that."
V nodded quietly while Jackie, who'd been listening intently, tentatively asked, "This ain't gonna be cheap, is it?"
Mercer's cybereye scanned him head to toe, ratty clothes, subdermal armor so outdated it couldn't even register a model number, probably some scavenged junk. No wonder any stray bullet could punch right through him.
No muscle enhancements either, just some basic shock absorbers in the palms.
"Won't be cheaper than a full synthetic muscle replacement, that's for sure. Labor's the real cost, reinforcing your natural tissue is way more complicated than just swapping it out."
Jackie fell silent, rubbing his face anxiously. "Gotta think this through, mano. Never really considered leavin' the life, y'know?"
"Didn't you join up just to survive? Wanted to make a name, build somethin' for yourself?"
Mercer looked at him earnestly. "Bein' a merc's just as risky as gang life, but with me, the pay's better and you'll get stronger, fast."
"I get it, mano. It's just... not as simple as you make it sound. Don't know if I'm ready to step into a whole new life, ya feel me?"
Jackie sighed heavily.
Mercer smiled. "No rush. Take your time, just watch your back out there. Would be a damn shame if you bought it too soon, choom."
Jackie gave a sullen nod.
Mercer polished off his last fry. "Alright, headin' out. Gotta prep for the job."
V stood up too. "Yeah, I'll turn in early. Meet you at Vik's tomorrow, we checkin' how much eddies we got left? Mr. Hands pay you for that solo gig yet?"
"Paid up. Saved it for you, you fronted a lot for gear last time. Consider us even."
Mercer shoved his hands in his pockets. "I oughta get some subdermal armor too before we move. Would be a real joke if I got taken out by a stray round."
"Pretty sure your chest is already bulletproof," V quipped.
"Not my head or limbs though. Gonna talk to Vik about upgradin' to a bulletproof skull soon, gotta protect the brain."
With a final grin, Mercer clapped Jackie, still looking troubled, on the shoulder before heading out of El Coyote Cojo with V.
He needed to get home fast, share the good news with Rebecca, and start planning based on the deets Padre had sent.
—--
Back at the base, Mercer and V gathered the whole crew in the common area. Everyone assumed it was about the Biotechnica heist, but Mercer's first words shattered that expectation once they'd all arrived.
"New job. Padre in Heywood hired us for a retaliation hit, bloody payback against 6th Street for attackin' their turf."
The moment he finished, Rebecca frowned. She glanced around, and when no one else spoke, raised her hand. "Now? But what about the Biotechnica job?"
"Yes, right now." Mercer smiled mysteriously, making Rebecca swallow her doubts for the moment.
Mercer paused, and seeing that no one else spoke, continued, "We need to eliminate three Sixteenth Street Gang strongholds, along with three high-priority targets. These targets are also high-risk units and require extra caution."
As his words faded, an enlarged 3D map of Night City suddenly materialized in everyone's retinas.
"How was this done?" Kiwi keenly sensed that this move was anything but simple.
"By connecting to the server's network and computing power, I remotely controlled the 3D rendering software on the computer to create a presentation animation, then used Penguin software's video call function to synchronize the animation to your cybereyes." It sounded straightforward, but it was actually built on the foundation of Mercer having already run Penguin software on the server. He had now officially turned Penguin software into a dedicated encrypted communication tool, no longer relying on the original neural link communication system but officially operating it as a network-based communication software.
All chat records and communications relied on the server's network to run. The advantage of this approach was that as long as the server remained operational, their conversations wouldn't easily disconnect, and there was no need to worry about eavesdropping.
After briefly explaining, Mercer asked, "Can everyone see the map clearly?"
"Yes," everyone responded.
Mercer then nodded and said, "They recently invaded The Glen, which was originally Valentinos territory. Without a doubt, they've overextended their reach. So, their stronghold in The Glen is our primary target."
In everyone's field of view, a building in The Glen was highlighted in red on the map, then enlarged, presenting a slowly rotating 3D model.
"This residential building is their only foothold in The Glen. Correspondingly, a large number of Sixteenth Street Gang members active in the area usually reside here. After driving away the original residents, they converted this small apartment into their stronghold. So, no need to worry about collateral damage, everyone in this building is Sixteenth Street Gang. There are at least twenty people inside, with complex interior terrain that's easy to defend and hard to attack. Don't take it lightly; these guys are different from the Scavengers you've dealt with. The Scavengers are just bullies who prey on innocent ordinary people. The Sixteenth Street Gang in The Glen, however, are professional gangsters specifically used to seize territory from the Valentinos. This tough nut I plan to hand over to V to handle. The preliminary reconnaissance tasks will also be handled by V's team independently. Members of Team V include Pilar, Kiwi, and Lucy. The three of you have technical skills but lack physical prowess, so make full use of your specialties during the operation to assist V's actions." Subsequently, Mercer displayed the personal profile of the high-risk target over the building in the video conference screen.
"Stephen A, combat team leader of the Sixteenth Street Gang, former special forces soldier. Equipped with top-tier Militech gear: Berserk OS, tactical goggles, Gorilla Arms, full-body muscle enhancements, heavy Subdermal Armor, Kerenzikov, and a Projectile Launch System. He is the gang leader of 6th Street in The Glen, and the toughest nut to crack this time. You must be extra careful. My suggestion is: have the netrunner create an opening, and let V deliver the finishing blow in one strike. Don't give him time to react."
Seeing even V frown, Mercer knew they must have grasped how troublesome the targets were, so he didn't bother elaborating further.
Instead, he moved on to display the remaining objectives.
"The other two strongholds are in Arroyo, a residential house and a casino."
The map quickly highlighted two buildings in Arroyo in red, while the profiles of two individuals floated above them.
"John Will, former NUSA colonel, arrived in Night City in '64. Now he's the second-in-command of 6th Street in Arroyo and their field operations leader. He's equipped with a Sandevistan and spends almost every night in this two-story house. The basement serves as 6th Street's drug lab, with seven or eight of their people living and working there. We need to wipe the place clean, people and all. This target will be handled by me and Rebecca."
"And the last one, the casino, is run by a man named William James."
Pilar had initially seemed sluggish, thinking he'd need to talk Mercer into giving him a few days off after this job to unwind at Lizzie's.
But when Mercer mentioned their targets were 6th Street, and that one of them was named "William James," both siblings' expressions darkened in unison.
"You mean that bastard who cleaned out our family?" Rebecca's face twisted with fury, her eyes burning with hatred.
Pilar appeared calmer, but the way his lips pressed tightly together betrayed his own resentment toward the man who'd indirectly left them homeless, forced to sleep on the streets.
"Yeah, that's the bastard." Mercer enlarged the casino's image.
Rebecca couldn't hold back, gripping her shotgun. "What's the setup at James' casino?"
"Opens at 5 PM. About a dozen 6th Street members work there as security and management. James usually holes up in his office. The place doesn't close until 7 AM, and he rarely leaves before then."
As soon as Mercer finished, Rebecca gritted her teeth. "You're taking me on this one. No question."
"I know." Mercer smirked before continuing. "Tomorrow's simple, we scout all the 6th Street strongholds in The Glen and Arroyo. We confirm the guard numbers, defenses, layouts, and whether they match the deets we have. Look for anything unusual. We also need to verify if these three on Padre's 'hit list' are sticking to their usual spots. By tomorrow night at the latest, we move. V and I will split into two teams, take out these strongholds, and eliminate the high-priority targets."
Mercer calmly projected the operation plan onto everyone's cybereyes:
"The casino's in Arroyo, 6th Street's core turf. Even if there are only a dozen inside, if we don't wrap it up fast, endless reinforcements will become a major problem. So here's the plan: Team V strikes first, causing a distraction in The Glen. As the leader of the combat team, John Will would undoubtedly be the first to organize reinforcements in the event of an attack. Rebecca and I would then lie in wait for Colonel John Will. Once he left his two-story house to provide support, we'd ambush and eliminate him halfway, then burn down their workshop. After taking him out, the reinforcements would temporarily descend into chaos without leadership. Meanwhile, V would delta immediately after dealing with the outpost in The Glen. Rebecca and I would take advantage of 6th Street's weakened defenses while they rushed to reinforce The Glen, heading straight for the casino to swiftly finish the fight, grab the money, and delta."
After Mercer finished explaining, he asked, "Anything to add? If not, we'll scout ahead and adjust the plan based on what we see."
"Nope, sounds solid. But A, you sure you can handle that guy with the Sandevistan? Doesn't sound like an easy mark," V voiced her concern.
Mercer just chuckled. "With all the cyberware I've got installed, if I can't take down a retired veteran and small-time gang leader in an ambush, then I've wasted my upgrades."
He looked at V seriously. "The real risk is on your end. Aside from their leader, the rest are just regular thugs, but with rifles, pistols, and who knows how many defensive setups in that building... You're the one in the most danger."
"Somehow, this 500k job feels harder than the million-eddie ones," V grumbled.
Mercer smirked. "Wakako's base pay was only 300k. The rest is just bonus earnings."
"Corpo hits still pay better," V admitted.
"Valuable cyberware can be salvaged. I'm sure Pilar wouldn't mind doing the dirty work, fix it up, and that's an extra 100k right there. But don't get greedy. Safety first. Money isn't the main goal this time," Mercer reminded.
Pilar hesitated. "Just you and Rebecca... You sure you can handle it?"
"Of course we can!" Rebecca glared. "I'm gonna blow that James' head off myself!"
Mercer smiled. "Don't worry. If I'm taking Rebecca, I'll bring her back in one piece. The guys I'm dealing with are fewer than yours, and I don't even have to storm a building."
Pilar finally nodded, glancing at Rebecca, who just scoffed. "I'll be the one bringing Mercer back!"
Mercer simply smiled, scanning the faces before him. "This mission isn't too tough. Aside from three high-value targets, the rest are just small-time thugs. With our setup, once the dangerous ones are down, the rest should be easy pickings. But no matter how small the job, we give it 100% focus and caution. If things go south, or something unexpected happens, I authorize everyone to delta. I'd rather abort than see anyone get hurt. Understood?"
"Understood," came the unanimous reply.
Then, Rebecca hesitated before speaking up, "Maybe... we should deal with that bastard after we finish the Biotechnica job? Otherwise, if something goes wrong, it might affect our..."
"The Valentinos probably can't wait. If we don't weaken 6th Street soon, they'll likely push further into Valentino territory while the gang's still recovering from their losses. If we don't act, the Valentinos will just hire someone else to handle those 6th Street thugs... Haven't you always wanted to get revenge yourself, Rebecca? Now's the best chance."
Mercer looked at Rebecca with a gentle smile and said, "Don't worry. Everyone's gotten a lot stronger now. This'll also be a good test for the weapons, gear, and teamwork we've developed, a warm-up before the Biotechnica job."
Rebecca hummed in agreement, staring at Mercer before grinning. "Then let's go blow William James' head off together!"
"Sounds good." Mercer chuckled, then clapped his hands. "Tomorrow morning, Rebecca and I will scout Arroyo. V, you take Kiwi and the others to The Glen. I'll have Morning Star link up with your network for real-time support. Even though the ctOS isn't fully operational yet, Morning Star can manually monitor our targets. So play it safe, don't get spotted early."
"Got it," V nodded.
"El Capitán's almost done with the vehicles. For the op, you'll have the netrunner van and the APC. Rebecca and I will take my Mizutani Shion."
As Mercer finished, V frowned. "You sure about that?"
"Positive. Kiwi and Lucy can provide backup from the netrunner van, it's safer for them that way."
Mercer held firm, and after a brief silence, Rebecca piped up confidently, "Relax, I'll keep Mercer safe."
"Who's protecting who is still up for debate," Mercer laughed, then stood up. "That's settled then. V, after the recon tomorrow morning, you and I will swing by Vik's in the afternoon."
"Understood," V nodded, while Rebecca clicked her tongue. "But V, why you going to Vik's again? Last time, he said you needed to slow down. Our squad's been installing cyberware way too fast."
V just shrugged. "No choice. The Sandevistan's too much strain. If I don't get the supporting mods, my original parts can't handle it."
"Honestly..." Lucy spoke up hesitantly, "If the pressure's too much, maybe we should just drop the Biotechnica job... Right, Mercer?"
Mercer and V both turned to Lucy, then exchanged a knowing smile.
"A told me the same thing. Don't worry, I've got it under control," V said confidently, patting her arm. "It's not like I'm replacing my whole damn body, just adding some synthetic parts to boost durability."
Mercer also looked at Lucy and assured her, "I'll go with her tomorrow. If both Vik and I think it's too risky, we won't proceed with the swap. Don't worry, I'd rather miss out on this Biotechnica deal than let anything happen to V."
Before V could respond, Kyoko beside her winked and teased, "Exactly! With Mercer around, he'd never let V push herself too hard."
V rolled her eyes and snorted, "Like he needs to say that? He's the biggest daredevil of us all."
Amid the laughter and banter, the meeting disbanded. To conserve their energy, everyone put aside their current tasks and turned in early.
Everyone except Mercer, his stamina was boundless. Unless he'd exhausted himself mentally, three hours of sleep was enough to keep him sharp.
He worked alone in the workshop for hours, finally finalizing the production process and component configuration for his kamikaze drones after assembling a few more test units.
First was the chip component. Here, Mercer had suffered from his lack of expertise in cutting-edge tech. According to the official specs, Zetatech's so-called "nanolithography machine" was more accurately termed an "integrated lithography unit."
It allowed users to purchase pre-oxidized silicon wafers and complete all subsequent processes, lithography, etching, doping, thin-film deposition, through integrated machine operations.
Thanks to this universe's advancements in computer hardware, the entire workflow could be compressed to under eight hours.
In other words, after inputting the required raw materials, one only needed to use the accompanying automatic packaging machine eight hours later to obtain a rudimentary but functional chip or integrated circuit board.
It even supported batch production. After the initial eight-hour warm-up, the machine could cycle different chips through various manufacturing stages in an assembly line, outputting one chip per hour.
With manual soldering, tuning, and power testing, the chips would then be ready for use.
But in practice, Mercer found this lithography unit to be little more than a toy.
First, chip production required multiple chemical reactions, repeated lithography, and an ultra-sterile environment, resulting in an abysmal defect rate.
Second, since raw materials could only be purchased from Zetatech, the cost for materials to produce 100 chips was a staggering 3,000 eddies, with a defect rate of 70%.
Factoring everything in, each semi-finished chip averaged over 100 eddies, and the output quality was mediocre, still requiring manual soldering and assembly.
This machine was better suited for individual users to DIY a custom chip for testing design concepts, not mass production.
After considering electricity costs and other operational factors, Mercer abandoned his plan to manufacture chips from scratch.
Fortunately, Zetatech offered a no-questions-asked return policy within two weeks. Mercer only lost money on materials, and when the 300,000+ eddies were refunded, he completely shelved the purely independent R&D route.
He decided to firmly reposition their current base as an assembly facility.
After that, he simply purchased a batch of cheap chips and circuit boards through official factory channels for assembly. The direct purchase price was only 300 eurodollars, and after flashing the program, they could be installed and used immediately.
For the cameras, he chose an old model from a company called "Zeiss" that was a decade old. Buying them in bulk brought the price down to just 150 eurodollars per unit. Although Zeiss wasn't a big name in Night City, its strength and reputation were almost on par with Kiroshi Optics.
For the batteries, Mercer directly opted for a small, no-name factory that essentially specialized in recycling and refurbishing used batteries. The price was even cheaper, just 70 eurodollars for a small lithium battery with reduced capacity.
Mercer used the refund from the lithography machine to order a professional small-scale metal processing machine instead. This machine could directly process metal raw materials into various parts and components. Compared to a 3D printer, its advantage lay in higher output and better quality.
By combining the two, he could use all-metal parts for components requiring higher strength, while for less critical areas, polymer parts printed by the 3D printer would suffice. This ensured low costs while further improving product quality.
In summary, the total cost per drone was calculated at 670 eurodollars. With the printer and metal processing machine running 24/7, the raw materials produced could theoretically meet a daily output of 40 drones.
Of course, considering that drone assembly was manual labor and required system flashing and debugging, this number might only exist on paper.
But Mercer was still very satisfied. If sales picked up later, he could hire Aldecaldos workers to assemble the parts for him, enabling large-scale production.
Given the pitiful wages in this universe, even if he paid just 5 eurodollars per drone for assembly, it would still be a lucrative job for the unemployed Aldecaldos. After all, assembling a drone manually would take less than half an hour once proficient. The workload was relatively light, not heavy labor, so even women and children could do it, easily earning around 100 eurodollars a day.
Compared to the backbreaking work of dock laborers, who earned just over 800 eurodollars a month, Mercer could truly be considered generous.
After finalizing the drone production process and raw material supply, Mercer returned to his room, planning to take a bath and then sleep.
He connected to the internet and played some soothing classical music through the room's speakers. Closing his eyes, he soaked in the water, enjoying a rare moment of relaxation. But just as he settled in, a message suddenly popped up in his cybereye.
[Rebecca: Open the door.]
[Mercer: ??]
[Rebecca: It's urgent! Open up! Or I'll force it open!]
[Mercer: What the hell…]
He opened the door and soon heard Rebecca tiptoeing inside.
Once the door closed, Rebecca's figure appeared outside the frosted glass door of the bathroom. "Ohhh~ You're taking a bath?"
"Obviously. What do you want?" Mercer snapped, feeling an inexplicable sense of foreboding.
"Oh, perfect timing. I haven't taken my bath yet today." Rebecca's voice came from the doorway, followed by the rustling sounds of clothes being removed. Through the frosted glass, Mercer could only make out a silhouette that made his heartbeat quicken.
"Don't mess around, Rebecca," Mercer said, though his body remained frozen in the water, betraying his words.
As his vivid imagination began running wild, Mercer shook his head vigorously. "If you have something to say, say it properly. Don't joke around like this."
But what happened next caught Mercer completely off guard.
Click. The bathroom's glass door swung open.
-----------
5500 words.