After speaking, Ena Tanino led the man out. Just as they reached the door, she suddenly turned her head:
"Oh, by the way, your friend Kyoko said that before she left, she vaguely saw a special male figure AI around you. Do you have any impression of that?"
"No, I only saw Ultraman."
Mercer answered without a change in expression.
Ena Tanino smiled, "Hmm, it seems the number of AIs we need to be wary of might have increased again... Oh, almost forgot, go and remove his lie detection chip."
"Got it!" The man bowed, immediately turned to Mercer, and removed the chip, then inserted it into his own head.
His prosthetic eye glowed golden, and after a moment, he nodded towards Ena Tanino.
"That's that."
After Ena Tanino left, the room returned to calmness.
Mercer fell into contemplation.
A male figure AI?
Looks like a chat with Kyoko is needed soon.
However, Ena Tanino's sudden appearance was indeed unexpected.
She claimed to be the new project director, but there's no need to ask where the original project director went.
The company practically gives no chance for mistakes. Once you err, all competitors will find every way to make your end as thorough as possible, without the higher-ups needing to intervene.
But this made Mercer feel even more troubled — the original project director's job was just having kids like them go mining. However, the new director seems to want to change the project's content...
Mercer had a premonition, or rather a prediction, that the project likely highly involved AI.
Initially, he said he saw Otter Cunningham purely for self-preservation, but now it seems he might have overplayed his hand.
When Otter was alive, he was Arasaka's top hacker, someone they'd kidnap at any cost. Now as a Cyber World AI, he's an even more dreaded foe of Arasaka.
Mercer thought maybe he could use Otter's reputation to scare them a bit, possibly even escape the fate of diving deep into Cyberspace to be a mining card. But now it seems...
This damn bunch might not only not feel scared but even have thoughts or ambitions towards wandering AIs.
But then...
Ha, aren't these companies all the same?
Mercer sighed. For now, there's nothing to be done but to take one step at a time, prioritizing escape above all.
Going to Night City... At least there, in a neutral zone where many companies battle, he still has room for growth, still a chance to change everything.
After clearing his mind, not long after, Dr. Ota entered with a click of the automatic door.
"Mercer, according to the director's orders, you can be discharged for personal observation. Some cyber implants aren't installed yet... Let's hold off for now and wait for arrangements from the top."
Mercer opened his eyes, "My RAM compensation, bio-cycle optimization, are all uninstalled?"
"Yes, your current nerve strength can't support too many cyber implant simultaneous operations. In fact, it's remarkable you can have so many installed back. It's impressive for your neural tolerance given your condition.
Considering you still need to conduct hacking operations, my suggestion is to rely primarily on external devices."
Ota paused for a moment, then continued ambiguously:
"The new Director Tanino has a lot of connections. I believe she can arrange for better or even experimental cyber implants for potential people. Including the mk.3 Network Access Vault you're currently using, which is actually going to be discontinued this year.
The company's internal mk.4 version of the Access Vault is already prepared to hit the market.
In short, you know, experimental implants generally outperform commercial versions by quite a bit."
Thinking we're just using mining cards that are almost obsolete junk?
And yet they say we are genius young hackers... Could it be they aren't geniuses at all, but excellent consumables?
Lucy's hacking skills' prestige is plummeting.
Mercer understandingly responded, "If possible, I'll apply to the director."
"She values you very much, for reasons I think you know well yourself. Not many humans could be in contact with an AI and survive."
After Ota finished, he pointed to the door, "You can leave anytime, remember to come for a check-up every morning. The exact time will be communicated via text, that's it."
Mercer got up, his body still a bit weak, but he could move without much difficulty. He gave a slight bow to Ota, then left — Hmm, this was the basic etiquette dictated by Arasaka Company regulations.
The type written in the employee handbook saying if violated, you'd get disciplined.
After walking a couple of steps, he suddenly stopped, "Uh, where are my clothes?"
The hospital gown he wore was loose, even without underwear, irritating — for a young boy, that could easily cause problems.
"Your old clothes were disposed of; your new black customer service uniform is at your dorm. For other clothes, apply when you get back."
After Ota spoke, Mercer thanked him and hurriedly left, finding the elevator and pressing the button for the underground level one from memory.
Since there weren't many people, each of them had a private dorm, although the space was small.
Just a bed, a desk and chair with a thick laptop on it, a wall-mounted TV, and a wardrobe, plus a shower + toilet for the room, making it all packed.
No traces of humanity in the decor, metal walls, no windows, just glaring, nauseating incandescent lights and the perpetual drone of fan ventilation.
After passing biological signature and password verification, entering the room, Mercer first plunged face-first into the bed for a rest, then, with eyes sparkling, started a video call.
After a brief ringtone, Kyoko Nishimura's tender little face appeared in his retina.
"Mercer! You're out of the hospital?"
She seemed genuinely a bit happy.
"Yeah, in the room. Call Lucy... Weren't we having a meeting? I have some things to say too."
"Got it." Kyoko immediately agreed with a smile, but then hesitated.
"If there's something, say it in person, that's it." Mercer couldn't help but roll his eyes — the young girl seemed somewhat not too bright.
He didn't even need to think to know she wanted to talk about the AI.
He didn't mind the company knowing. To be precise, one couldn't stop the company from interrogating others either. He could modify the lie detection chip himself, but others couldn't.
The company would eventually know what they asked, even risking life to lie was futile. The company had means to learn the secrets employees harbored.
But that didn't mean he wanted his conversations about AI to be heard.
Kyoko Nishimura quickly responded oh-oh twice, ending the call, seemingly realizing her clumsiness.
Mercer lay back down, closed his eyes, and before long, there was a knock on the door. Using the brain-computer interface, he remotely controlled the door to open with a swipe sound.
Sure enough, as the door opened, the first he saw were Lucy and Kyoko.