[Tetsuya Daichi: Tomorrow? But we don't have a chance to dive deep today! They say there's no plan for deep diving tomorrow either, so we...]
[Mercer: We don't need their permission, there's no time.]
Looking at Mercer calmly making tea for everyone with a box of what looked like extremely expensive tea leaves, to be honest, everyone present felt a bit... disjointed.
We're trying to escape from Arasaka! We're facing an entire team of Arasaka agents, over a dozen tech-savvy technicians, and dozens of regular security guards, plus a whole set of automated security systems!
Why are you discussing it like we're going on an outing tomorrow?
[Lucy: Why? What happened?]
[Mercer: Our dear Director wants to give me a set of laboratory-grade cybernetic implants, and I suspect there's a catch.
Even if there isn't, there's bound to be a bunch of random programs, any of which could cripple me.
And if I can't handle the cybernetic upgrade and become disabled, or need a long adaptation period, or if she simply transfers me after the installation, how will everyone escape?
So we have no choice; we run tomorrow.]
[Leon: Then why not tonight!?]
[Tetsuya Daichi: Yeah, we could be more discreet at night, plus the security personnel is fewer.]
[Mercer: Because I want those implants!
Even if there's a catch, I can slowly adjust them once I have them.
Those implants are worth at least a million, no, tens of millions in Europe!
Where can we find such treasures once we're out?
Not only the implants, but we also need to get our hands on the Relic Chip, which I remember is usually stored in the cold storage boxes near the medical room after use.]
The chat group suddenly fell silent, everyone giving him a complex look.
Turns out money is more important than life.
[Mercer: Don't worry, the one delivering the implants tomorrow is a hovercar. We'll move when the hovercar arrives.
My plan is to first use the server to take out the internal armed forces in the Arasaka underground facility.
Then, once they let the hovercar in upstairs, we'll use the automatic turrets and robots at the entrance to eliminate the guards on the hovercar.
After hacking the hovercar, we'll flee with the implants and everything else we can scavenge.
My suggestion is for everyone to seize the opportunity to scavenge some valuable items and enough food and water supplies to last at least three days.
Don't forget to rob the corpses and transfer all the money you can onto the money chips; don't stupidly deposit them into our Arasaka employee accounts.
Then, once we find public internet, we'll apply for new accounts at a European Community bank, which Arasaka can't access.
We need to take a detour along the way to confuse Arasaka's pursuit route, we can't head straight to Night City.
However, once we enter the Evil Land, things will be much better, with the vast sandstorms covering our tracks.
Various Wanderers and the Chaotic Blade Association can also provide us with supplies.
We won't enter any cities along the way; we'll move through the Evil Land, straight to Night City in one go.
After that, I'm considering hiding out in Dog Town in Taiping Prefecture of Night City for a while; it's a place with frequent military science activities, where Arasaka can't infiltrate.]
[Kyoko: There's such a place in Night City? Dog Town?]
[Mercer: After last year, in 2070, when New America's unification war ended.
Colonel Hanssen, sent by New America to Taiping Prefecture, refused the order to withdraw from Night City and became a warlord, ruling the area.
He's turning the stronghold in Taiping Prefecture into a major illegal smuggling hub, with a group of soldiers called the Netherworld Dogs under his command.
Backed by military science and the complex situation in Night City, Dog Town has become almost a lawless zone.
Night City doesn't care, New America can't manage it, Arasaka can't get in, and the military science just uses it to fence stolen goods, caring about nothing else.
So, entering Dog Town might just be our first step to freedom.]
[Lucy: It seems you already have a more detailed plan?]
[Mercer: Dealing with people inside Night City risks exposing our identities; until our strength is enough to handle possible Arasaka agents, I want to focus on operations in the Evil Land and Dog Town first.
Besides...
The waters in Dog Town are murky, allowing me to network with various people. The best way to fight a company is to find another company; I already have an idea.
The most important thing is, I suspect there might be specialized implants left from the New America war era there, behavioral feature face panels.
This thing can completely transform you into another person in terms of appearance, skin, voice, physique, hormones, and even identity information!
With it, after some tweaking, I might be able to replicate a simplified version.
By then, we can openly roam Night City, and by the way, give Arasaka some trouble. Once we're strong enough, screw Arasaka; Night City doesn't belong to it.
As for how to deal with Arasaka...
In fact, I already have a plan, so, you can act without worry. I guarantee we'll give Arasaka a big one.
I promise, one day, I'll lift the warrants on us, so we can walk freely anywhere.]