"Can't be helped, this is just puberty, hormones..."
His attempt to explain nonchalantly only made Lucy laugh louder.
She leaned entirely against the petite Kyoko beside her, laughing so hard her whole body was shaking, while Kyoko blankly stared at him, "What's going on?"
"...Nothing." Lucy wiped away tears from the corner of her eyes, sat up straight, and coughed, "It just looked funny the way he foolishly laughed at Mewtwo earlier, kind of amusing."
"Come on, I do the same thing when watching Sailor Moon, it's you guys who are the weird ones!"
Kyoko defended herself.
Daichi and Leon also couldn't stop laughing, exchanging glances—no, Kyoko, you're normal, but he isn't.
Usually, Mercer appeared quite aloof... seems like he's been suppressing a lot. After all, this is Sailor Moon, not some Battle of Magical Girls vs. Goblins.
Kids in the Cyber World absorb more information than those in Mercer's previous world, often without any filter, so truly naïve ones like Kyoko are actually quite rare...
Alright, Mercer decided to do something:
"Anyway, Mewtwo is quite interesting.
If only we could extract Mewtwo directly from human memory...
It doesn't seem impossible? For us, the deep dive process is about fully digitizing consciousness, hmm..."
He pondered, now seriously considering it—if he could achieve this, could he find a way to check if there's anything unusual about his own data?
Such as... whether those AIs left anything within his data?
Moreover, if he could replicate memories and record Mewtwo, he seems to have many memories that are especially valuable in this world...
Traveling with family along clean beaches, climbing Huashan, and even many cuisines...
Selling them is one thing, but perhaps he could share those beautiful memories with close friends in the future?
Or even revisit them himself, as experiencing them through Mewtwo would be far more vivid than mere memories—at least now he can only recall the taste of those foods, but can't actually savor them.
"Hmm, theoretically, separating memories is doable."
Tetsuya Daichi chimed in thoughtfully, "Yet accurately detaching and backing up those memories is challenging. I've read of similar successful cases online.
However, transforming memory data into Mewtwo doesn't seem to have any concrete examples yet."
"Yeah, I'll look into that later," Mercer said, displaying slight fatigue, "Alright, I need a nap. The emotional stimulation from Mewtwo earlier was quite intense, and I found myself with a headache after taking off the headband."
"Hmm... alright."
Tetsuya Daichi and Leon exchanged a glance, stood up immediately, realizing that letting go wasn't so bad either.
Lucy was still laughing... does this woman love laughing that much? No, it's more like a cocky brat, what's so funny!
Mercer rolled his eyes, "I truly hope you guys never have a day where your brains get burned out..."
The mood became slightly heavy, as images of their comrades with bloodied faces and scorched-smelling heads crossed the minds of the kids.
Mercer blinked and quickly changed the subject:
"Alright, let's all go rest and think carefully about what we want to do in the future, and where we want to go.
As for me, I've already made up my mind. When I reach my dream place, the first thing I want to do is have a proper meal, uh, never mind, real meat is ridiculously expensive everywhere..."
His words sparked new ideas among the teenagers, and Tetsuya Daichi smiled, envisioning aloud:
"Hmm... as for me, I'd like to go swimming, even in unfiltered water, or play soccer. I haven't been able to freely move in years."
"I want to buy lots of games."
Leon gazed longingly at the game console in Daichi's hands. Daichi thought for a moment and offered, "You can sleep over tonight and we can finish the co-op mode."
"Awesome!" Leon immediately raised his hand in excitement.
Lucy seemed thoughtful, just keeping quiet.
"I want Mewtwo! Sailor Moon has three more seasons! Mercer, you should watch with me then! We could buy one of those Mewtwo devices that share usage!"
Kyoko looked at Mercer with eager anticipation.
Mercer's mouth twitched, as expected, everyone else halted their daydreams, turning to him with teasing glances.
"No thanks, you and Lucy watch. I've given up on Mewtwo; too much indulgence leads to ruin."
"... Pff." Lucy giggled, covering her mouth and dragged Kyoko's hand to head out, "Let's go, let him get some proper rest. He just got out of the hospital, all this noise, how is he supposed to rest?"
"Got it~" Kyoko was not willing to give up, even sending him private messages via Brain-Computer Interface.
[Kyoko: It's okay, I know they all think watching Sailor Moon is for kids. Let's secretly watch it together next time! It's a promise~]
[Mercer: Alright, when the day we gain freedom comes, we'll watch it together. But, it's a secret.]
He smiled and winked at Kyoko.
Her face immediately showed a look of anticipation and happiness, her steps light as she and Lucy walked off, ponytails bouncing.
Once the room quieted down, Mercer's face returned to calmness. He rubbed his temples and originally wanted to lay down for a bit.
However, after only a short rest, he sighed, sat up, walked to the desk, opened the drawer, and took out a Super Dream Headband.
This was a learning device provided by Arasaka for both students and employees, with beginner courses being free.
For a 'Child Soldier' like him who signed a training agreement, all advanced courses were unlocked, including engineering, medical, hacking, management, and finance.
These courses were linked globally with the Arasaka Academy, and completing any advanced course allowed application for interviews and further university-level studies.
Courses were taken online; since he was inside the facility, he could directly connect to Arasaka's intranet education server without a learning pod or chip.
It ensured the newest teachings, and as an 'Advanced Student,' Mercer could also apply for an AI instructor.
As long as the education server had enough computing power, he could have an exclusive AI teacher for online learning.
So what are you waiting for?
Wanting to bring these kids out... that previous game-like mindset absolutely won't do.
After all, here, there's no reload option.
[You have initiated Arasaka Study App V7.21...]
[You have applied for AI teaching, currently connecting to the server... Your application has been approved, please select your study project and estimate the study duration...]
[You have applied for Advanced Hacker Training, estimated study time: one hour.]
[You have applied for Basic Technical Engineering, estimated study time: one hour.]
[You have applied for Prosthetics Repair and Surgery (Basic)...]
Rubbing his slightly aching temples, Mercer resolutely started Mewtwo. With a flash of blinding white light, his entire consciousness plunged into Cyberspace.
Damn it, just go for it!