Rebecca glared, and finally, with a playful hop, jumped directly into V's arms: "You're not going to sleep well tonight! I must grab you and get to the bottom of this, let's go! Tonight is girls' night!"
"Damn, I was hoping for a good night's sleep, sitting on a rocket is anything but comfortable..." V was half-pulled and half-dragged away by her.
Meanwhile, Mercer turned his head and looked at Lucy, whose makeup was alluring but had a somewhat cold gaze.
"So, I'm the last one?" she whispered, her mood obviously somewhat sour.
Mercer couldn't help but laugh.
He waited for V and Rebecca to disappear before scooping Lucy up by the waist and heading to her room.
"You're the first... If I told you that the moment I saw you, I thought I needed to wait for this girl to grow up and make her my wife... would you think I'm a bit of a creep?" Mercer jokingly revealed his true feelings.
Lucy simply stared at him, and after a moment, a smile crept onto her face: "Prove it to me."
"Mewtwo..." After entering the room, Mercer looked around.
"I discarded it," Lucy said softly, her expression unwaveringly gazing at him with determination: "You already took V to the real Moon... so I don't need the fake one."
Mercer pondered silently for a moment, then fell into thoughtful contemplation: "Hmm..."
Lucy lay sideways on the bed, one hand supporting her cheek, watching his distant expression with an elegant and slightly tempting posture: "Scan my info with your Prosthetic Eye."
Mercer obeyed accordingly.
[Name: Lucy Kushinada]
[Age: 18 years old]
Mercer blinked.
"When did you change it?" Mercer curiously asked as he naturally closed the door and began filling the bathtub in the bathroom.
"When you went to the Moon." Lucy's eyes smiled, her expression slightly shy but filled with bold anticipation.
She's not impulsive; throughout the days Mercer was away, she seriously considered and reached a conclusion.
Just waiting isn't enough.
She still strongly disliked sharing Mercer with others because he's her only haven; other ships docking only made her uneasy.
No matter how much she wants to monopolize him, she must first take the initial step to have any chance of competing, right?
She didn't want to wait anymore; during Mercer's short departure, the long-lost unease and panic nearly kept her awake every night. She's had enough of the feeling of waiting behind.
"Venus didn't tell me that?" Mercer looked at her unexpectedly.
"I'm a hacker... I don't need Venus's help; I can hack into the archive system myself... Though I'm not as skilled as you, I don't need anyone's help for such a small task." Lucy smiled, her fingers playing with her short hair, staring directly at him: "So, how long do you plan to make me wait?"
"Hmm... about the length of a bath?" Mercer leaned in gently; she naturally wrapped her arms around his neck in a graceful manner, devoid of the familiar youthful innocence Mercer once knew.
She slightly lifted her cheek, kissed his lips, then leaned towards his ear and whispered: "But I don't want to wait even that little while... Mercer, I love you."
To wait would take a Saint.
Mercer blinked, and then lowered his head.
And he was no Saint.
He was worldly!
So worldly!
...
"Good! Good!"
At this moment, in the Arasaka Building, Arasaka Yoshinobu's expression could only be described as ecstatic.
He rarely loosened his collar and waved a bottle of liquor, losing his usual composure in his expression, shouting, cheering, laughing maniacally: "My father is dead... Arasaka Saburo is dead! Dead and gone! Dead and gone!"
He laughed while wildly drinking expensive whiskey, feeling the blood rush to his head.
"Silver Hand's chip? No problem! Whatever you want, no problem at all! Tomorrow, tomorrow I must meet Mercer, give him whatever he wants! Hahaha!"
Yoshinobu's face smiled, his eyes smiled, and his voice smiled, yet tears unconsciously fell.
In that instant, the complex emotions surging within almost bewildered his mind.
But this did not hinder Yoshinobu's judgment.
After Venus disguised as Mercer's assistant and spoke to Yoshinobu about Saburo's death, providing related evidence.
Yoshinobu had already made up his mind.
Time must be seized to control Arasaka.
The Dove faction led by Arasaka Michiko and the group of elders behind Arasaka Hanako had to be suppressed, or even eliminated.
Besides, he had many other tasks.
Including thoroughly verifying and eliminating all possible existence of Arasaka Saburo's consciousness data backups.
And completely eradicating any staunch loyalists still devoted to Saburo!
Yoshinobu laughed, cried, and pondered simultaneously, while giving Venus a firm reply.
"From today on, Mercer-san is my best friend, Yoshinobu! Whatever reward you ask for, don't hesitate to speak, I will never hesitate!
But please convey to Mercer that I still need his help; I need him to help me thoroughly cleanse Arasaka's filthy past, and then, we can look forward to the future as allies!"
Yoshinobu's promise was resolute, but Venus's reply was consistently gentle, undisturbed: "Thank you very much for your trust, now let me schedule a meeting for Mercer-san with you."
"What is Mercer-san busy with? Hasn't he returned already? Did he encounter any trouble because of this matter? If so, feel free to speak up; now I can mobilize Arasaka's resources to help him."
Yoshinobu spoke sincerely.
And Venus's tone remained gentle: "Thank you for your generosity, Mercer-san is simply too tired and needs a good day's rest. The specific matters will be discussed in person during the negotiation tomorrow, isn't that right?"
"Alright." Arasaka Yoshinobu no longer said anything further, only after hanging up the phone did he take deep breaths for a long time to finally calm his breathing.
After steadying his breath, he squinted his eyes and immediately began to make decisions, dialing a phone number.
"Number One is dead... prepare, I'll formally take over Arasaka, also, immediately get ready to announce the obituary and conclude Number One's death."
A shocked voice responded over the phone: "What!?"
"Did you not hear clearly?" Yoshinobu questioned.
"No! I'll prepare right away! Congratulations, sir, the hopeful future of Arasaka is finally on its way!"
The person on the phone excitedly hung up.
And after a moment of silence, Yoshinobu looked at Arasaka Hanako's number in the contact list, and soon did not call.
He turned his head, standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling window of Ganbi Building, gazing at Night City.
This city that seems to endlessly change, yet always seems unchanged, at that moment, in Yoshinobu's eyes, appeared in a different light.
"Yes, a brand new world... is coming."