Fortunately, the restaurant upstairs has also doubled in size, and the kitchen area has expanded significantly.
"As long as you like it, that's fine. Sasha, Jack, if there's anything you like to eat or flavors you prefer, feel free to let me know. Our base's weekly menu changes often, and you never know what dish will come up."
V said with a smile, not showing the slightest hint of her earlier glare at Mercer in the kitchen, appearing gentle and gracious:
"Here, try this. It may not match Aunt Wilson's skills, but I followed the recipe, so it shouldn't be much different."
She took meticulous care of everyone at the dining table, while Mercer focused on eating and bragged with Jack Mann, Pira, and the other guys.
These men clearly didn't have any formal credentials, but when they talked, they could cover anything from gang stories to sports events, and then transition to international affairs, all speaking with authority on every topic...
The meal took over an hour to finish. After tidying up the table, Jack pulled Mercer to play billiards—the living room on the first floor had a pool table, and the guys kept score, betting beer money, with the loser buying drinks.
Mercer showcased billiards skills that could be called invincible, demolishing everyone, which left Jack frustrated, claiming he would never play billiards with him again. Pira and Mann ended up sharing his soda expenses for the month.
There was nothing they could do; for Mercer, this game of precision and angle control felt like a real-life pool video game. Once he aimed, it felt as though a guiding line showed where to shoot, so who could beat him?
After a brief discussion, the others decided to exclude Mercer from the competition, leaving him to laugh smugly and plan to head back underground to continue working.
But he was caught off guard by V, who had been waiting for him.
"So you agree, right? Okay, come with me!" She hooked him unceremoniously, leading him to the gym.
"Damn! What's going on?" Mercer's skin tingled as he recalled their first workout session—this one doesn't hold back!
"You're always lounging below ground; just look at what you've become. With your troublesome nature and front-running personality, how can you not train?"
V spoke with conviction, giving him no chance to argue, dragging him into the gym and tossing him a pair of fingerless gloves:
"Last time I taught you boxing, you said you got it after one session. Let's see if your body still remembers."
Mercer rolled his eyes: "You just want to beat me up!"
"I didn't even use full strength! If you don't train, then just sit quietly in the back during missions. Even Lucy and Qiwei come here to train daily, and even Kyoko shows up, but you act like a hermit every day. How can that work?"
V had her reasoning, putting on her gloves with a serious expression: "Strictly speaking, since you activated the Synaptic Accelerator, you can even react to bullets. If you can't imitate Sianwistan, then you have no choice but to train yourself to match your body's abilities to your mind...
You wouldn't want to watch a bullet fly toward you one day, unable to dodge a vital spot, would you?"
Mercer sighed and put on the gloves, knowing that with only the two of them in the gym, he had no fear of losing face if V hit him. He muttered:
"Why don't I just develop an OS that works for me? With my physical talents, no amount of training would be half as effective as yours, so I'd rather rely on technology..."
V knew he was just giving lip service, chuckled, adopting a boxing stance: "Combat awareness can't be developed through technology, especially instinctual reactions...
I know you've received some professional training before, but that stuff might not work against some street tricks."
Mercer resignedly assumed a boxing stance himself: "Let's get this straight, just an hour of practice. Anything more affects my energy."
"I think you're just weak!" V teased, and how could Mercer let that slide?
With a feint jab and a swift follow-up body punch, V raised an eyebrow, a bit surprised, but easily stepped back with a small shuffle, then countered with a left hook.
Mercer swiftly retracted his missed right hand to guard his face, but V abruptly halted her hand before suddenly kicking upward with her leading foot.
Mercer instinctively activated the Synaptic Accelerator, and as the world slowed down, he hurriedly reached out to block, but V's immense power kicked his guarding arm aside, aiming directly for his chin.
Mercer barely leaned back to dodge but lost his balance in the process. V swiftly retracted her leg, stepping in with a barrage of punches that hit his arms with resounding claps, numbing them to the point of losing sensation.
Then, she launched a hook from Mercer's blind spot, striking toward his abdomen.
Mercer could only tighten his abs to absorb the blow, but it agitated him, and he instinctively elbowed toward her face.
"Stay calm!" V's voice rang near his ear, and in an instant, like the wind, she ducked, wrapping around his waist and slamming him to the ground. She quickly straddled him, landing a few controlled punches, and then stood up triumphantly.
"What happened to just boxing?" Mercer protested, glaring at her as he slapped the floor and got back up.
V laughed: "Didn't I tell you? Your training won't work against street techniques. That kick just now? Normally it targets your groin; think about it, can you dodge it?"