V let out a sharp cry. The moment her Sandevistan accelerated, she had already leaped from the driver's seat. Flames erupted from the thrusters on her armor, but just as she took off, a spray of blood blossomed from her shoulder.
Nearly half her shoulder was blown apart, and she was sent flying backward. If she hadn't spotted the bullet's trajectory mid-air and dodged in time, that single shot would have ended her life!
This electromagnetic sniper rifle, designed for anti-materiel use, could almost be called an electromagnetic cannon. If not for her armor, nano armor, and nanoweave combat suit absorbing most of the impact, half of her upper body would have been reduced to bloody mist!
She didn't cry out in pain or hesitate. Her Mantis Blades shot out from her arms, and the moment she landed, she slashed fiercely at the empty space beside her.
A flash of blood appeared in the air, followed by an Arasaka agent with a stunned expression, cleanly bisected by her blade. The Optical Camo distorted in the air, outlining the split corpse.
"Eleven o'clock, sniper, seventh floor!"
The voice of V's armor AI, Gyrfalcon, echoed through the squad comms.
"Where are our recon drones? The cameras? Why didn't anyone detect the ambush?"
"It's Optical Camo! Many of them are equipped with Optical Camo! Damn it, our comms are jammed too!"
Several Barghest soldiers shouted, quickly assessing the situation.
But Mercer inside the vehicle had no time for that, a rocket from the sky was heading straight for the car he was in.
The APC was struck squarely on the side by the rocket; or more accurately, it hit Rebecca.
Her speed was equally impressive. Boosted by her Berserk OS and armor, she moved so fast that she overtook the rocket, flung open the door, and positioned herself in front of it, taking the missile head-on to protect Mercer's vehicle!
Simultaneously, the micro-missile launchers on her back activated, half firing toward the sniper's position and half toward the source of the RPG.
"Rebecca!" Mercer's head rang from the shockwave, but he still urgently called out to check on her.
Rebecca was slammed into the APC by the blast, the impact nearly flipping the vehicle over. Yet she simply lowered her arm and gave a thumbs-up. "I'm fine!"
Only then did Mercer quickly reach out, helping Lucy from the passenger seat climb into the back.
Rebecca, propelled by her back thrusters, raised her arm and shouted, spraying gunfire toward the flashes of muzzle fire around them.
Mercer's expression was grim. "Watch out for senior agents!"
"Sandevistan!" Maine in the front seat had already issued a warning.
But faster than his alert was V, charging forward like a phantom, Mantis Blades swinging.
Three senior agents, their Sandevistan activated, flickered in and out of visibility as they rushed toward Mercer's car.
Yet Jackie and Maine were not defenseless. The Berserk OS was slower, but that didn't mean those agents could push their Sandevistan to the limit like V.
Gunfire erupted instantly. Mercer instinctively activated his cyberdeck, only to feel as if struck by lightning, a dull groan escaped his lips as chaotic signal waves flooded his mind like a thousand birds screeching inside his skull.
Lucy suffered the same fate. Suppressing a cry of pain, she immediately grabbed the case Rebecca had casually tossed into the vehicle, the one containing Mercer's Octopus Arm and firearms.
"It's a large-scale ECM device!" Lucy warned.
But Mercer had no time to hesitate. He ripped off his suit jacket, tore open his dress shirt to expose the heat sinks on his back, and a low hum reverberated through the air as data streams flickered across his vision. He was fully immersed in electronic warfare.
"Don't worry, I can handle this!" Mercer declared, rapidly counter-hacking the ECM device with startling efficiency.
As always, if he could withstand the assault and maintain the squad's local network security, he'd proceed to hack the enemies. V and Rebecca just needed to buy time until his hack was complete, then they could mop up the battlefield.
But before he could neutralize the distant ECM device, a massive EMP blast detonated without warning.
This attack was indiscriminate. Even Arasaka's own senior agents collapsed to one knee, convulsing and immobilized. Sparks erupted from everyone's cyberware, while Mercer's netrunner implants buzzed violently before emitting thick black smoke.
Nothing was more devastating than taking a full-power EMP mid-combat! He felt as if his cyberdeck had been fried, let alone his delicate netrunner cyberware.
Damn it.
This was a trap specifically designed for him.
Struggling to move, Mercer shielded Lucy, whose brain was still crackling with electrical sparks, beneath him. She'd lost all motor function, barely able to keep her eyes open as she stared motionlessly at him.
He then glanced at the L-69 Zhuo shotgun inside the case.
Fortunately, his briefcase was a high-end storage unit capable of blocking multiple electromagnetic signals. Combined with the vehicle's cabin acting as a makeshift Faraday cage, the pulse had been partially attenuated.
This had protected the contents from damage.
Without hesitation, Mercer forced himself upright. Outside the vehicle, Rebecca unexpectedly became the first to regain mobility.
Her heavy armor wasn't just for show; when designing her mech, Mercer had accounted for electromagnetic and EMP defenses. After a brief system short-circuit, the shielded internal components quickly restored operational capacity.
Though error alerts flooded her systems, most functions remained intact.
But Arasaka's real killing blow was yet to come.
A dark shadow emerged in the sky.
Rebecca looked up to see a colossal armored figure. Her pupils contracted slightly before she unleashed a fearless roar. "Adam Smasher! You fucking asshole!"
The insult instantly confirmed Adam Smasher's primary target. Without a word, he plummeted from the sky like a meteor, accelerating toward the ground.
Rebecca stood her ground without dodging, raising both hands. The machine gun mounted on her right arm spat fire while her left arm lifted, using the small shield on her forearm to absorb the impact.
"Dodge!" Mercer instinctively shouted.
In that instant, a scene from an anime he'd seen before crossing over flashed through his mind, Rebecca firing wildly into the sky before being crushed into pulp by a descending hammer.
His heart nearly stopped for a moment. But as Adam Smasher crashed down, Rebecca only dropped to one knee from the impact before roaring and punching Adam Smasher away with her right fist. Only then did Mercer's anxious heart settle slightly.
"Don't you fucking touch my people!" Rebecca roared, her back engines roaring as she charged at Adam Smasher at full speed.
Adam Smasher, who had been punched away, merely showed an intrigued expression. "Seems you've actually developed some interesting things... But do you really think something like you can go head-to-head with me?"
Adam Smasher looked contemptuously at Rebecca charging at extreme speed. Her straight-line speed was indeed impressive, but equipped with Sandevistan, he wasn't afraid of this kind of reckless rhino-type opponent at all.
What Adam Smasher did was simply leave an afterimage in the air before coldly raising his left arm, aiming at Rebecca's head. The weapon on his left arm was a super shotgun modified by Arasaka using Kang Tao's L-69 Zhuo template as the base.
It was loaded with full-weight micro smart missiles. At such close range, even he couldn't withstand a direct hit to the head, let alone Rebecca who only had a helmet protecting her fleshy body.
Even if it didn't kill her outright, it would definitely leave her dazed and unable to resist.
Watching Rebecca maintaining her charging posture while he had already appeared at her side, calmly raising his shotgun, waiting only for the moment they passed each other to pull the trigger, a flash of boredom appeared in Adam Smasher's eyes.
It seemed he had picked the wrong opponent.
But then, Rebecca's suddenly extended left arm shot out like a rapidly swinging iron rod, striking directly at Smasher's knee during the moment they crossed paths, Rebecca wasn't tall enough to reach his head, so she simply lowered her body to attack his knees instead.
Smasher was caught almost completely off guard, sent spinning 180 degrees in the air. Though the small shield on Rebecca's left arm had become pitted from blocking his earlier impact, its edge remained razor-sharp.
This chop nearly severed half his knee. If Smasher hadn't reacted extremely quickly, using the momentum to let her send him spinning through the air and dissipate the impact force, this single chop might have directly severed his entire leg!
Smasher's cyberoptics flashed with bloodthirsty light. Instead of becoming angry or serious, he actually grew more excited. "Interesting."
"V's way faster than you, dumbass!" Rebecca laughed wildly, suddenly flying upward, intending to deliver a spinning aerodyne strike to the immobilized Smasher in midair.
But Smasher simply pushed off the ground with one hand effortlessly, then executed a graceful cartwheel before landing in a kneeling position. His raised left arm fired without needing to aim.
His left arm's Ba Xing Chong shotgun fired a blast that left Rebecca with no room to dodge, taking the full impact. Though she quickly raised her left arm to shield her head and retaliated with the heavy machine gun mounted on her right arm.
Adam Smasher merely covered his face with one hand, the shots ringing harmlessly against his armor like faint clinks. Instead of pressing the attack, he turned and headed straight for the central APC.
He knew exactly what his objective was: retrieve the target first, then have his fun with them. Even though the higher-ups insisted on keeping some alive, he couldn't care less.
For him, the thrill of combat was the only meaning life held.
Through the window, Mercer barely caught sight of Adam Smasher's speed. At that moment, he was struggling to attach a still-functional Octopus Arm from its storage case onto his shoulder.
Just as he couldn't secure it no matter how hard he tried, a pale hand pressed against his back, forcefully driving the Octopus Arm into the socket until it clicked into place and powered on.
Lucy offered him a strained smile. "See what happens when you're too lazy normally? Can't even find the socket when it counts."
"Can't you see the smoke coming off my back? I can't even feel my own hands right now," Mercer replied with a wry smile of his own. In the brief moment they exchanged words, a large hand tore the vehicle door clean off.
Adam Smasher's half-human, half-machine face, more mask than flesh, stared indifferently at Mercer and Lucy, who seemed to be embracing in the vehicle. "Bad timing, I suppose?"
"If you know you're interrupting, why not piss off?" Mercer retorted. In the same breath, the Octopus Arm on his shoulder sprang forward like a released coil, slamming hard toward Adam Smasher's face.
Smasher barely had time to turn his head and shift his body, taking the blow on his shoulder. The force sent him flying backward.
The unexpected speed and strength left his systems reeling. Where did this guy get such a bizarre contraption?! How could this strange arm outpace even his Sandevistan's activation time?!
Before he could regain his bearings, a white phantom appeared beneath him as he hurtled through the air. A katana pierced upward through his chest.
Smasher glanced down to see the blade still driving upward, attempting to split him in two.
Expressionless, he gripped the blade with one hand and forced it aside. At the same time, the shoulder cannon on his back rotated 180 degrees and fired.
V had no choice but to release the katana and leap aside to avoid the blast.
"You should've gone for the head," Adam Smasher remarked coldly.
V smirked in response. "Then why don't you guess why I didn't?"
Above, Rebecca descended like a meteor in her brightly colored armor, having retrieved the Peacemaker Mercer had given her. She took aim squarely at Adam Smasher's head.
As she pulled the trigger again and again, she screamed, "He's mine! V, I'm going to kill him myself!"
For the first time, genuine irritation crossed Adam Smasher's face. You're taking turns now?
The sheer audacity radiating from Rebecca... She was truly asking for death.
Truth be told, V had no intention of letting anyone else take the kill. The only reason she didn't decapitate him was that her thrusters were damaged; facing the launched Smasher, even if she leaped, she wouldn't reach his head in time.
The more compact and intricate something is, the more vulnerable it becomes. While V's armor was heavily optimized for lightweight design with robust EMP and impact resistance, those compression thrusters only had a thin isolation coating.
Against a super-EMP that had nearly wiped out an entire convoy, the fact that she could still move at all was a testament to Mercer's skill.
Rebecca's Peacemaker spat incendiary rounds, forcing Smasher to shield his head with both arms, as each bullet ignited fires on impact.
These flames not only compelled Smasher to protect his head but also subjected him to visual impairment from the blaze.
V wanted to assist, but the sudden appearance of two Arasaka agents equipped with Sandevistans forced her to swiftly redirect her targets.
By now, gunfire echoed all around the battlefield. The Barghest soldiers, along with Jackie, Maine, and the others, were far from idle. Over twenty elite Arasaka agents had emerged from the surrounding derelict buildings, among them high-tier operatives outfitted with advanced cyberware like the Berserk OS.
Just dealing with these elite agents after the EMP blast had left them stretched thin, with Barghest soldiers falling every few seconds.
Yet Mercer remained in the vehicle, fighting the urge to rush out and help immediately.
Where was Takemura?
That was the only question on Mercer's mind.
His cyberoptics had also suffered some damage from the EMP, rendering his vision blurry. In fact, the enemy's electronic countermeasures were still active.
Electromagnetic interference scrambled the signals, cutting Mercer off completely from Morning Star's support.
At that moment, Mercer's mind raced, his eyes darting rapidly as he scanned the battlefield, searching for any sign of where Takemura might appear.
If he were Takemura, where would he emerge and strike from...
After three seconds of surveying the battlefield and two seconds of analysis, by the sixth second, Mercer raised his L-69 Zhuo shotgun, using his Octopus Arm to drag himself out of the vehicle.
Exposing only half his body, he abruptly aimed the shotgun toward the right rear of his car, facing the seemingly empty street and buildings, and pulled the trigger.
All smart bullets linked up, with Mercer evenly planning their automated flight paths. A rain of pellets shot into the distance, flying toward nothing but air.
After three consecutive shots, several sparks flickered in the void.
Goro Takemura's figure distorted into view from thin air, his expression tinged with surprise, though it didn't stop him from cleaving the incoming pellets with just a katana.
The remaining bullets struck non-vital areas on his body, merely clinking off harmlessly.
Without a word, Takemura and Smasher were polar opposites in temperament, Takemura held his katana in one hand and raised a pistol with the other, firing several rounds directly at Mercer's position.
Mercer didn't dodge or evade. With his cyberdeck disabled and even his Synaptic Accelerator short-circuited from taking an EMP hit during the electronic countermeasures, he had no means to react in time.
But as he focused intently on his enemy, his rapidly processing mind, accelerated only by the neural link's Overclock, faintly discerned the trajectory of the bullets.
The Octopus Arm snapped out, deflecting several bullets headed for his head, and then Mercer raised the L-69 Zhuo shotgun and pulled the trigger, aiming directly at Takemura's skull.
Takemura's figure vanished like an afterimage, but the smart bullets chased his silhouette relentlessly. Yet Takemura remained completely unfazed, merely executing two zigzag movements that left the smart bullets slicing through empty air.
Smart bullets have limited tracking angles in mid-air.
Then, without hesitation, Takemura charged at Mercer, pistol in one hand and blade in the other.
If the Takemura in the game was merely a master of flesh and blood after being stripped of his cyberware privileges, then the Takemura now was a cold, ruthless high-tech killer with cyberware pushed to its absolute limits.
An EMP blast suddenly erupted from his body. Though not as powerful as the one that had earlier assaulted the convoy, the close-range EMP was still deadly to the enemy's cyberware.
Mercer's Octopus Arm twitched spasmodically, and even his neural link sparked with electricity. Seizing the opportunity without hesitation, Takemura activated his Sandevistan and rushed at Mercer.
For Takemura, capturing Mercer meant the battle was as good as won.
He reached out, grabbing for Mercer, half of whose body was outside the vehicle, now nearly falling to the ground due to his out-of-control Octopus Arm.
But what greeted him was a thin black-red line.
Takemura halted immediately. The abrupt shift from such high speed to a complete stop made his expression twist with strain, but he managed to stop in time. The whipping line grazed past his face, just skimming the tip of his nose.
A slight pain instantly registered on his nose. Takemura narrowed his eyes. Monowire!
Yet as Mercer, after swinging the monowire, collapsed powerless onto the ground, a victorious smirk curled Takemura's lips. It's over.
Without a second thought, he strode forward, grabbed Mercer, and immediately began to delta backward.
"Mercer!"
In the distance, V had already dealt with two enemies equipped with Sandevistans, but turning her head, she caught sight of Takemura clutching Mercer and let out a sharp cry.
Rebecca, similarly distracted, was sent flying by a punch from Adam Smasher, after which the Ba Xing Chong cannon on Adam Smasher's left arm began firing repeatedly.
V was instantly torn, but instinct drove her to charge at Adam Smasher first; no matter how thick the armor, the impact was real. If Adam Smasher kept firing at such close range, Rebecca could easily die inside her own armor.
Adam Smasher grinned, his entire form blurring into a phantom as he collided with V.
Takemura had only taken a few steps with Mercer in tow when he instinctively glanced back. His gaze swept into the vehicle, where Lucy was struggling to prop herself up, aiming a Kenshin pistol at his head.
"Good taste," he remarked, admiring his opponent's choice of the Arasaka-made Kenshin. Unfortunately, without charged bullets, the pistol's power was pitifully weak, posing no threat to him in his current state.
Lucy pulled the trigger several times but failed to hit her target, while Takemura remained expressionless as he attempted to drag Mercer away at full speed. He had no interest in killing; completing the mission was his sole objective.
But just as he dragged the unconscious Mercer away, Takemura's expression abruptly changed.
For in his cyberoptics, a line of crimson text suddenly appeared.
[Intrusion Detected]
And at the very moment these words appeared, his ICE was running at full capacity. Yet even with his top-tier personal ICE, it could only hold out for three seconds against this unknown breach program.
It was a Quickhack carried by his monowire! Damn it, even a script-level Quickhack could breach his ICE?
In those brief three seconds, countless thoughts flashed through Takemura's mind, even the impulse to simply kill Mercer. But then, the mission's objective, to capture the target alive and retrieve the Relic chip, made him suppress the urge.
"Delta!" Takemura immediately made the decision. Within those precious three seconds, he used his Sandevistan to retreat several meters.
An Arasaka agent grabbed his arm and promptly rebooted his system.
Once his mobility was restored, Takemura shot a cold glance at Mercer and declared loudly, "You have three days to voluntarily surrender the Relic chip and turn yourself in. Given your capabilities, I might let your past slide.
But if you continue to be stubborn... next time, I won't hesitate to consider casualties. Mercer-kun, for the sake of those around you, surrender sooner rather than later."
Then, he glanced regretfully at Rebecca, who had rushed to Mercer's side and taken a protective stance, before turning and leaving without looking back.
All Arasaka agents responded to Takemura's decision like bots; those who could disengage did so immediately, while those who couldn't willingly sacrificed themselves to buy time.
The once chaotic battlefield was now empty in the blink of an eye, leaving only Adam Smasher still battling V with fervor.
The two engaged in a high-speed duel, their movements exceeding human reaction times, the clashing sounds ringing incessantly.
It wasn't until Adam Smasher realized he couldn't take V down quickly that he clicked his tongue in annoyance. Seeing Rebecca reignite her engines and charge toward him, and Jackie, covered in blood but still hauling a machine gun in his direction, Adam Smasher left behind a threatening remark. "We'll meet again."
Then, after a final clash with V, he turned and fled.
V wanted to give chase, but Adam Smasher nonchalantly fired his Ba Xing Chong toward Mercer's location.
The moment the micro-missiles launched, V had no choice but to become a blur, slicing the projectiles apart to cover Mercer.
Rebecca also swerved, positioning herself in front of Mercer once more, and by the time the missiles exploded and the smoke cleared, Adam Smasher had already become a distant speck, crashing at full speed into a derelict building.
After smashing a gaping hole through the wall of the small structure, he vanished without a trace.
"Shit!" V cursed angrily and was about to pursue, but Mercer's voice cut in. "Don't chase."
Reluctantly, V halted.
"Go shut down the ECM device in that building," Mercer said, propping himself up and wiping his face. He wasn't sure where he'd been hit, but blood covered his features.
V shot him a concerned look, but seeing Rebecca already heading over, she said nothing more and went to deactivate the ECM device inside the building, lifting the ongoing network signal jamming.
Rebecca rushed over frantically, circling around him with anxious glances. "You okay?"
"I'm fine. What about you?" Mercer eyed her battered armor and reached out to press her helmet. Sure enough, Rebecca's face inside was already smeared with blood.
Honestly, taking a direct rocket hit plus several micro-missiles and still remaining standing was already somewhat miraculous. While the armor could withstand explosions, fragile human organs might not endure such intense impacts. Even with the armor's impact-dampening structures, the shock Rebecca had absorbed remained terrifyingly severe.
Only now did Rebecca grimace in pain. "Hurts a bit..."
"It's alright. We'll head to the hospital soon..." Mercer turned to glance at Lucy still slumped in the backseat, clutching her dizzy head, then surveyed Jackie and Maine waving from a distance to indicate they were fine.
Everyone had injuries, but fortunately, none were life-threatening. Maine suffered the worst, just a blown-off arm and leg, which in this cyber-era hardly counted as fatal wounds.
Dorio was anxiously injecting coagulants into Maine while applying emergency bandages, yet Maine calmly produced a slightly crumpled cigar, appearing utterly unruffled.
Jackie's clothes were shredded by bullet holes, blood still seeping from multiple wounds, but he just flashed a grin and gave Mercer a thumbs-up. Leaning against the wrecked APC, he injected a stimulant before sitting down to catch his breath, steadily calming his breathing.
This survivability came from everyone wearing heavy subcutaneous armor and operating Berserk OS systems. Against conventional firepower, even if they couldn't withstand direct hits, they could react swiftly to avoid vital areas.
The Barghest squad providing cover had performed remarkably; though less equipped than Kindling Squad, they'd held their ground without retreating, delivering crucial fire support. Their concentrated counter-fire suppressed the Arasaka special forces, buying Mercer's team precious time until Takemura's withdrawal.
Now Barghest reinforcements were rapidly arriving. Though the engagement seemed complex, the actual combat duration barely exceeded three minutes.
As numerous Barghest soldiers began cursing while searching nearby buildings, V switched off her electronic countermeasures and approached clutching her shoulder. A Tech Sniper Rifle round had struck her; had an incoming RPG not provided warning, the hypersonic electromagnetic projectile would have pierced her heart directly. Even she could only barely dodge vital organs against such terrifying weaponry. One could imagine the outcome had that shot come without warning...
Mercer shot her several concerned glances, but V just nodded casually to signal she was fine before snarling, "Those bastards just ran off like that?"
"The explosion was so loud, even if he blocked communications, reinforcements would arrive in at most three to four minutes. He really didn't want a direct confrontation with Barghest; he wasn't here to kill."
Mercer spoke, coughing twice, feeling as though his lungs were on fire and his head smelled slightly burnt.
This wasn't just a figure of speech, his netrunner cyberware had been emitting black smoke for a while, and the internal circuits had already short-circuited. The fact that it hadn't caught fire was proof enough that the design was relatively reliable.
His neural link had also malfunctioned, likely due to some circuits being damaged by the EMP. Mercer now felt weak all over, his arms and legs uncontrollable, and his cyberdeck had been completely fried by the EMP during the electronic countermeasures.
It could be said that if Rebecca and V hadn't held off Adam Smasher and the others equipped with Sandevistan, and if Mercer's monowire hadn't luckily remained functional, he would've been in serious trouble this time.
"Director Mercer, I'll take you to the doctor right now..." A Barghest soldier hurried over to check on him. Mercer hesitated for a moment but eventually nodded.
He didn't fully trust the doctors in Dogtown, but having Trauma Team extract them for treatment might not be safe either.
Takemura and the others might very well attack him again at the hospital. Rather than taking that risk, it was better to get basic treatment in Dogtown first.
What Mercer needed now was to remove all the cyberware damaged by the EMP, especially repairing his neural link. Once he regained some mobility, he could perform surgery on the squad members himself.
Due to the signal interference from the electronic countermeasures, it was only now that they had sent an emergency medical request to Trauma Team. Mercer simply chose to cancel the service outright, not wanting Trauma Team to make a wasted trip.
The Barghest soldiers quickly arranged a vehicle to take Mercer and the others to a Barghest ripperdoc. They first stopped the bleeding for Maine, who was the most severely injured; otherwise, his severed limbs would have caused him to bleed out in no time.
The first thing Mercer did afterward was have the ripperdoc perform a full-body scan on Rebecca. As expected, while she seemed fine on the surface, her internal organs showed multiple instances of internal bleeding, and the intracranial hemorrhage was particularly severe.
Mercer immediately had the doctor replace his neural link, barely restoring his mobility. After injecting several doses of stabilizer, he took over the surgical procedures himself.
Mercer personally performed major surgery on Rebecca; first a craniotomy, then a thoracotomy, stopping the bleeding before proceeding with repairs. Even for him, it took a full hour and a half to bring Rebecca back from the brink of danger.
This just showed how incompetent that ripperdoc was; when Rebecca said she felt a bit dizzy, he had simply assumed it was a minor injury.
Fortunately, Mercer knew the real situation, which prevented any mishaps.
Only after Rebecca was wheeled into the ICU while still unconscious did Mercer lie down on the operating table himself. While fully awake, he had the ripperdoc perform emergency repairs on him, mainly fixing the neural circuits in his netrunner cyberware.
Otherwise, his hands would tremble too badly for the stabilizer to take effect.
After performing a simple repair surgery on himself, Mercer unceremoniously kicked the mediocre ripperdoc out of the operating room. He proceeded to operate on Maine, Jackie, V, and Dorio one after another, working alone.
He spent six consecutive hours in the operating room, only emerging as dawn approached. Stepping outside, Mercer took a few deep breaths of fresh air.
Staring at his blood-stained hands that still trembled slightly, he slumped exhausted into a chair and gazed blankly at the ceiling.
This was undoubtedly the most dangerous situation the Kindling Squad had faced since its formation.
In fact, had their opponents not prioritized capture over complete annihilation, the Kindling Squad would likely have been wiped out.
Arasaka's capabilities were clearly formidable. Moreover, from Takemura's words, it was evident they hadn't even deployed their full strength this time.
This had been a probing capture operation, a warning.
"Mercer?"
Lucy's voice reached him just as she pressed an ice-cold NiCola can against his cheek, startling him with its chill.
"Yikes..." Mercer jerked his neck back before reaching out to take the drink. "Haven't gone to rest yet?"
"I went to check on Rebecca. Her vital signs have stabilized, but she hasn't woken up yet." Lucy spoke softly as she sat beside him, her blue evening gown now wrinkled and lacking last night's radiance.
She studied Mercer's profile with concern. "Are you... alright?"
"Me? Of course I'm fine. Don't worry about Rebecca either; her intracranial bleeding was quite severe, so she'll need more time to regain consciousness." Mercer smiled.
"Not your body," Lucy shook her head and sighed. "What about now? Still thinking about fighting Arasaka to the end?"
In Lucy's view, this outcome could already be considered fortunate; at least no one had died.
Mercer didn't respond immediately, taking a sip of NiCola first before finally smiling. "Getting scared?"
"The gap in capabilities is obvious now, isn't it?" Lucy countered. "If they hadn't intended this as both capture and warning, we'd all be dead by now. But Arasaka won't show mercy every time."
Mercer remained silent, staring at the bloodstains on his hands before finally speaking. "I know."
He turned to Lucy with a resigned smile. "But some things must continue, right? Or would you rather return to Arasaka with me and live like we did back at the Canadian base?"
Lucy pressed her lips together before responding, "But haven't we already escaped? We could keep running; you always find a way. Even when we were wandering the Badlands, we managed to get by, didn't we?"
She lowered her head, her expression troubled. "Surely that's better than this? Can our team really withstand another attack from Arasaka? Aren't you worried about V, Rebecca, me, or even yourself..."
Mercer didn't answer, simply reaching out to hold her in his arms.
Lucy's voice trailed off abruptly. After a long pause, she helplessly reached out, held him tightly, and let out soft sobs. "I thought I was going to lose you."
"I know," Mercer soothed gently, reaching out to stroke her short hair.
"When Takemura captured you, I couldn't do anything... I was so scared..." Her trembling, choked voice quivered like a drenched puppy shivering in his embrace.
"I know," Mercer simply repeated, gently nuzzling her temple with his cheek.
"I... I was really scared... If Arasaka had taken you... I wouldn't know how to rescue you, I..."
She spoke somewhat incoherently while Mercer kept stroking her short hair, comforting her with simple words, holding her tight until her sobs rendered her speechless, and gradually subsided into calm.
Only when she had completely calmed down did Mercer pat her back. "I won't die, and I won't be captured. You won't die either, I promise."
"..." Lucy didn't know what to say. Emotionally, she wanted to believe everything Mercer said, but the cold hard truth remained; could Mercer really guarantee everyone would survive an Arasaka assault?
Mercer just smiled calmly and said, "Hasn't this incident already exposed many of our problems?"
"For example, there are many security vulnerabilities in Dogtown that need fixing. For example, we lack resistance and counterattack capabilities when facing EMP attacks. For example, we lack a complete counterattack system when facing sudden assaults."
"After winning so many battles, it's given us some illusions; that fighting corporations doesn't require bleeding, that only those corpos will bleed..."
"But now that fantasy has been shattered. What remains is simply facing the difficulties head-on and fighting to the end, right?"
He smiled and reached out to adjust Lucy's dress, straightening it to make it look more proper. "Takemura also revealed many of his cards this time. Perhaps he wanted to demonstrate his power to me, hoping to subdue the enemy without fighting."
"But he underestimated my courage. He might have missed his best chance in this lifetime; he should have cut off my head with his blade when attacking me, but he didn't."
"And I absolutely won't give him a second chance."
Mercer looked like he had regained his usual confidence, smiling as he said, "He'll regret it. Regret not wiping us out completely this time. And I won't feel grateful for his mercy. If he thinks he can make me bow and surrender, he's got the wrong person."
Seeing Mercer like this, Lucy gazed at his face. After a long moment, all she could do was bury her face in his chest again. After another pause, she whispered, "I understand. But you have to promise me; you can't get hurt. None of us can get hurt."
"Mm, I promise," Mercer said seriously. Lucy could only force herself to believe him, believe everything he said.
Forcing herself to perk up, Lucy raised her head, gently kissed his cheek, then stood up. "You should get some rest too. I suspect Hansen will come looking for you soon. I'll go check on V and the others. If there are any issues with their vital signs, I'll contact you."
Mercer nodded. After Lucy left in a hurry, he sat back down on the chair and zoned out.
Just as Lucy had said, after resting for less than half an hour, Hansen's message came through.
[Hansen: A pyrrhic victory?]
[Mercer: I'd call it a disastrous defeat.]
[Hansen: Heh, if you still have the nerve, come to EBM Petrochem Stadium now. We need to talk.]
Mercer had already prepared for the worst.
This was the Kindling Squad's most vulnerable moment. If he were in Hansen's position, he would never let such a golden opportunity slip away.
But after a moment of contemplation, he resolutely sent his reply.
[Mercer: Fine.]
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