Mercer shrugged. "Just the two of us now. I have no problem with Mr. Hans, and I consider the cooperation quite pleasant, so I'm not going to put on any pretentious airs."
"Hahaha." Hans laughed a few times before his face turned serious. "Then I'll skip the pleasantries. The reason I called you in today isn't for any commission, but to ask you a few questions.
I hope you can answer truthfully, as it might directly affect our future working relationship."
Mercer still appeared quite relaxed. He smiled and said, "Go ahead, ask. As long as they're not difficult questions, we can clear the air today for easier cooperation moving forward, don't you think?"
"Straightforward," Hans chuckled, then continued, "Who's backing you? Military Science? Kangtao? Or some other force?"
"Oh? Why suddenly ask that?" Mercer was interested in why he would ask such a question, but gave a definite answer before asking back, "We're not working for any force. We're only in it for ourselves."
Hans stared into Mercer's eyes, which were met with a candid gaze.
"That's a bit strange... So why did you steal biotechnology then? Turning around and selling Arasaka's exoskeleton to Military Science, then suddenly collaborating with Hansen, possessing powerful hacking abilities, and even understanding equipment design..."
Hans squinted and said, "Unknown origins, but quickly assembled a team with amazing combat abilities upon arriving in Night City. No idea where those implants came from either..."
"You alone?" Hans was skeptical about this.
The Mercer team's growth was almost visible to the naked eye, just by him alone? A boy who looked barely mature?
Too many mysteries surrounded him, like where did he learn his skills from? The people around him, according to records, were just common thugs, yet in two short months transformed into top-level mercenaries?
"We're relying on the efforts of all our team members," Mercer paused before confidently stating, "Of course, the main reason is me. As for why steal biotechnology, it's obviously for money."
"...Second question, what kind of agreement have you reached with Hansen?" Hans said, his gaze melancholic, "Of course, if it's inconvenient, you can choose not to answer."
"It's quite simple. I supply equipment design drawings, arrange production plans to get his arms factory running.
Hansen needs his own logistics... that can't be choked by anyone. I want everyone to know that."
After Mercer finished speaking, he paused and then continued, "Secondly, he also valued my network technology. For him, someone like me who can impact regional network security is either recruited, or dealt with quickly. It's not hard to understand."
Hans sighed, "Didn't expect you knew all this besides network technology?"
"Actually, in the fields of prosthetics, biomedical and chemistry, automotive manufacture and repair, software engineering development, network security services, weapons equipment and development, I know a bit about them all."
Mercer's words made Hans involuntarily lean back slightly—Dude, this is too far-fetched.
But looking at Mercer's composed demeanor, Hans inexplicably felt as though this guy wasn't joking.
"Overall, my relationship with Hansen is mutually beneficial. I estimate his ultimate goal is to achieve as much self-supply and sale of low-end weaponry as possible.
Moreover, with mid-to-high-end equipment, he aims to possess the ability to crack and use other companies' advanced products. I guess that's what he's after.
If he really desires high-end equipment, I suspect he neither has the confidence nor the intent to invest that much; a warlord wouldn't waste money on weapon development."
Mercer laughed, "He hired me basically to brazenly snatch a few of my low-end weapon designs and try to woo me, to see my capabilities.
As for me, I'm temporarily paying protection fees and seeing if I can do some things I'm interested in with his resources."
"Like what?"
Hans probed, "Do you have any development direction or plan? Don't get me wrong, I mean, if you have any good ideas, I can offer you some investment and help. I know a lot of reliable, wealthy investors."
He said with an implied meaning, "As long as you can prove your technical skills, trust me, talented individuals are always in demand wherever you go. The old friends I know would be willing to ensure your safety.
Even Hansen has many people he'd rather not provoke, and coincidentally, I happen to know a few big shots."
Mercer quickly replied, "Currently, I have three things in mind to develop. First is single soldier armor, akin to Arasaka's exoskeleton armor.
The development objective of this single soldier armor is to significantly enhance individual combat ability in close-quarter battle environments without heavy firepower."
Hans became more interested, "From what I know, you used Arasaka's exoskeleton to take down Military Science and biotechnology's joint convoy?"
"That's right. But truth be told, Arasaka's design concept is pretty lousy. I did some research, and the only thing valuable is a weapon system, the rest is..."
Mercer complained, "A pile of crap."
Before Hans could ask further, Mercer continued, "The second development direction is weapons equipment, and the third is software."