Mercer spoke softly.
Lucy turned her face back, frowning, "Then I really might go."
"Going for a while might be good, give yourself a break—I sometimes miss that place too, miss the days of driving freely, miss the bonfires, the beer, everyone playing guitar and singing together..."
Mercer said, paused, and turned to look at her, "But you're sure to come back, right?"
"Who knows? Maybe if I really go, I'll get used to it like Daichi, Leon, and stay in Adcardo and not come back."
Lucy spoke in a light tone, "Anyway, right now all of Arasaka's attention is on you, someone as insignificant as me probably doesn't even matter."
"That's not true, at least your dad and mom are quite eager about you—they passed me a message not long ago..."
Mercer thought for a moment and decided not to hide it, speaking the truth: "Your parents have been looking for you, of course, hoping you could return to Arasaka."
Lucy fell silent for a moment, lowering her face, appearing a bit dim, and laughed self-deprecatingly, "I guessed as much; Arasaka's agents probably aren't as diligent as they are... Especially for that man, I'm already the only blemish on his Arasaka record.
Not being in a hurry to find me would be strange... so in that case, if I go to Adcardo, there might really be considerable risk."
"No, it wouldn't be that bad. Look at Leon and Daichi; aren't they doing fine over there? As long as you don't wander off alone, the Adcardans are quite reliable, mainly because the terrain there is open, everyone knows each other, espionage doesn't work well, and they often change locations."
After speaking, Mercer gently said, "If you want to go, I can talk to Pan'an and Cassidy, equip you with some gear, or you can take V along. She's bored to death in Dog Town, practically turning into a housekeeper."
Lucy raised her eyes slightly to look at him, "Take V along too? So you can have a world of your own with Rebecca? Fine, if you wish, then tomorrow I'll..."
Her words were interrupted by Mercer's action—he moved closer and held her tightly, ignoring her weak resistance, "You know that's not what I mean."
"Who knows what you mean," she said softly, but her expression was somewhat sorrowful as she leaned on his shoulder.
Mercer gently lowered his head, but she turned her face away, pushing him away, "I haven't decided yet."
"Then decide first," Mercer no longer tried to approach, just quietly watched Earth with her, but only for a while before suddenly saying, "I've been planning to officially start the consciousness upload test once the program development is done."
"...Sigh," Lucy couldn't help but sigh, turning to look at him, "Are you sure?"
"Yes, I'll first use Cleaner Fish for program testing to ensure the consciousness can return after uploading. I hope you'll join this project, understand the process, and at that time... you'll be the one to upload my consciousness and then recover it."
Mercer optimistically thought, "If everything goes smoothly, there will be no risks in this endeavor. Once we confirm uploading and recovering consciousness is fine, I want to study my own consciousness data."
Lucy didn't speak, only watched him.
But Mercer just smiled and said, "Ultraman once said something to me that... well, it always stays with me."
"She said, before you make any decisions, you have to know exactly what you are... and I think there's some truth to it.
Moreover, if we want to use consciousness transfer, combined with fast cloning technology, to secure ourselves, we must first understand our consciousness data.
What's to come carries great risk; we need insurance, so at the very least, if the worst happens, we still have a chance."
Mercer seriously looked into Lucy's eyes, "I need your help."
"Qiwei, Sasha could both do it, why me?" she asked knowingly.
"Are you serious?" Mercer pierced through her question, leaning closer, "This concerns my life's safety. I need a technically skilled hacker whom I can entrust my life to... so, of course, it should be you, does there need to be a reason?"
"Everyone is trustworthy," she insisted on a clear answer.
But Mercer just pressed his face against hers and softly said, "Because I like you, if I had to entrust my life, it would be to someone I like, isn't it?"
"...You're quite the player, just getting out of Rebecca's bed and saying such things to me." Despite her words, her expression visibly lit up, her eyes sparkling.
Mercer laughed, "Dog Town doesn't have laws against bigamy... even if it did, I'd change it tomorrow."
"Bigamy... you've thought far ahead." Despite her words, she no longer avoided him, looking at him with concern, "Are you sure I can do this alone... or, maybe you should consider other options? More insurance?"
"I just need someone to ensure I'm not disconnected physically. If during consciousness transfer, someone unplugs me..."
Mercer shrugged, "Then the outcome becomes unpredictable."
"Can't we just avoid the problem of consciousness data upload? Is the situation really that risky?" Lucy couldn't resist, reaching out to hold his hand, "Didn't you say before, if it doesn't work, we'd give up on Arasaka Saburo's plans..."
"We must first make all the efforts, and then, if it doesn't work, we talk about giving up. If we haven't even tried preparing and already think it's impossible, well, then we wouldn't have gotten this far, would we?"
Mercer showed his resolute side, "We've not reached a point where giving up is inevitable... Lucy, look at me; I won't let anything happen."
Lucy met his gaze, finally unable to resist, giving up and hugging him tightly. In Mewtwo, his body no longer felt cold and mechanical but became a warm simulation of a human body.
"Do as you please..." she resigned herself, "If something happens because of the consciousness upload, I can't bring you back. You know, from Arasaka onwards, I'm just a follower who only has the right to live by staying by your side."
"Even without me, you made it out alive, Lucy, have a little confidence." Mercer smiled reassuringly at her.
But Lucy just lowered her head, "I can't."
"I don't want you to feel this way; I believe you can, which means you can."
Mercer's words made her let out a laugh, "Why are you so domineering? Why should it be what you believe?"
"Because I know you're a capable girl..." Mercer chuckled, leaning in to rub his face with hers, softly kissing her cheek, until she raised her head, unavoidably wrapping her arms around his neck.
This time, he didn't say anything to spoil the mood.
Under the gaze of Earth, the two held each other tightly on the Moon.
After a while, Lucy suddenly spoke, "You know, this new Mewtwo has an upgraded feature... it can simulate deeper human sensations..."
"What do you mean by deeper human sensations?" Mercer was startled.
Lucy didn't say anything, just reached out her hand, gently pushed him down onto the lunar sand dunes, her face pure yet alluring, revealing a light smile, "Can you feel it?"
Mercer lowered his head.
Wow!
It really works!?
"So, in Mewtwo with you..."
She lowered her head, speaking self-deceptively, "It's like dreaming; it doesn't count, right?"
Mercer looked at her radiant face beneath her short hair, her eyes filled with complex emotions.
This time, he didn't evade but held her in his arms, seriously observing her face, and softly said, "What if I say it does count..."
She turned her face away, and the Mewtwo could even simulate her blushing perfectly.
"Who cares about you, I... Anyway, I just opened a Mewtwo session."
She closed her eyes, feeling a bit dizzy from the Moon's light gravity.
"Mewtwo counts too."
Mercer's voice in her ear made her Mewtwo emit a safety alert, 'Detected mental data has reached the threshold, Do you want to emergency exit?'
"...Say what you want."
She threw the problem at him, settling herself by closing her eyes, everything like a dream, yet before her consciousness fully blurred, she didn't forget to open the Mewtwo settings.
[Turn off mental data threshold detection.]
[Turn off Mewtwo neural stimulus threshold protection.]
[Turn off Mewtwo time reminder.]
[Turn off...]