"Hey~ I say, Mercer~ don't work today. I bought a VR game. Usually, only Kyoko plays with me, and I can't bully a kid... come play with me!"
At this moment, she finally looked her age, unlike usual when she was either cursing freely or acting like a little mom.
Mercer sighed, then simply nodded, holding her legs to let her lie comfortably, so she wouldn't choke him: "Alright, one after another... I'll play with you until you go to sleep today."
"Woohoo!" she shouted excitedly, almost choking him as she lay on him. Then she cheekily leaned over and kissed him unceremoniously on the cheek: "A little reward ahead of time."
Mercer looked around like a thief, relieved that there was no one else in the hallway. He quickly went with Rebecca to her new dormitory, then was pulled into playing VR by her.
The VR game in Cyber World combines Mewtwo technology, allowing a fully immersive game experience like Sword Art Online but without completely losing touch with reality as with Mewtwo.
Mercer thought it would be a blood-and-gore shooting game, but when he opened it—'Ultra Realistic Rural Stories.'
She happily dragged Mercer around the VR game, fishing, driving a tractor to plow the fields, teaching him which seeds have the highest yield, and together they raised a few big dogs in the save file...
This type of simulation game is superb at killing time. Mercer felt he had just gotten the hang of fishing in the game when Venus popped a 'anti-addiction break reminder' in his mind, making him reluctantly end the game.
Rebecca had a big smile on her face until she took off her headband, full of happy smiles: "Fun, right?"
"Fun." Mercer admitted honestly, this joyful gaming experience giving him a nostalgic feeling he hadn't experienced in a while.
Rebecca could tell he wasn't just saying it was fun to humor her or be considerate, so she looked even happier, smiling as she hugged him and pinned him to the bed: "Then just don't work today, go straight to rest?"
"But I need to go back to my room to rest... what are you doing?" Mercer looked at her helplessly, while secretly wondering—no, I need to discuss with Old Wei, how can any girl easily pin me down?
Right now, they only immobilize me, but who knows what they'll do in the future... seems like I need to strengthen my body quickly.
"Just rest here... look, I specifically chose a double bed..." she leaned close to Mercer, her breath carrying a hint of candy-sweetness: "I only take up a little space when I sleep~"
"Don't touch randomly!" Mercer warned her wandering hands—you're forcing me to break the rules.
Rebecca just giggled, widening her eyes: "Wow~"
Wow my foot.
Mercer nearly lost it, flipped her over and pinned her down. She didn't resist, so Mercer gave her a couple of hard pats, then sat up: "Wait and see, in a year or two, I'll show you."
Rebecca simply posed seductively on the bed with her petite body, blew him a kiss, and cheekily winked:
"Coward~ when Pira was your age, he would've dismantled a car exhaust pipe to use, I don't know what you're suppressing."
Damn, that's actually a bit perverted.
Mercer sighed and turned to leave. If he stayed any longer, the act of subduing a little devil might truly play out.
Back in his room, he tossed and turned for a while, with V and Rebecca floating in his thoughts, with Lucy occasionally popping up, until he quietly sent a message to Qiwei.
[Mercer: Are you asleep?]
Qiwei didn't say anything, just sent him a selfie wearing a slightly transparent black nightgown, lazily hugging a pillow and smiling.
So, late at night, like a thief, he snuck into her room. After more than two hours, he finally found the sage-like mindset he needed to sleep, and returned to his room peacefully.
However, whether it was V or Rebecca, they both gave him a reminder.
What people needed from him, sometimes, was not just material stability, but also some spiritual reliance.
So, for the next period, he compressed his work hours to 12 hours, and planned 4 hours every day for leisure and exercise—spending quality time with everyone.
Sometimes it'd be a jog with Lucy, watching a movie with Kyoko, or training in martial arts with V, or playing games with Rebecca.
And everyone wasn't just idle.
With Spark Team's reputation growing, commissions from major brokers poured in, to which Mercer accepted them all without exception.
As long as it was profitable and not particularly dangerous in Mercer's view, he left it to V to lead the team to handle, and now his team had V, Mann, Dolio, Jack, and Rebecca charging ahead.
In addition, Pira provided technical expertise and sniping cover, with Lucy, Qiwei, and Sasha providing hacking support.
Finally, Venus and Mercer provided remote support and mission planning, and Polaris handled vehicle driving...
One could say, the Spark Team's strength at this moment, even without Mercer, was definitely a rare top-class mercenary team in Night City.