Chapter 40: Negotiation

Rogue’s mouth twitched downward in a barely perceptible motion; she felt a surge of fury the moment she heard that woman’s name.

Back in the day, Johnny Silverhand had stormed Arasaka Tower twice entirely because of that woman, and ultimately died because of her. Many of her old friends had also perished inside Arasaka Tower during those events.

Even she had been forced to roam the Badlands for years as a result.

She still harbored lingering feelings for Johnny Silverhand... or rather, she had never truly let him go in her heart. Therefore, thinking of Alt’s name only made her anger flare up all the more.

Rogue spoke in an unkind tone, "Then that's all the more reason you shouldn't have come to me. What does whatever Alt asked you to do have to do with me?"

What a stubborn mouth this woman had.

Alex Mercer shook his head slightly, then spoke with blunt directness: "If you want me to go rescue him right now, I neither have the ability nor the time. To be honest, saving him counts at best as a side quest for me. If I actually rescue him, what personal benefit is it to me? Even though Alt is supposed to give me some kind of reward... to be completely frank, she probably doesn't care if Johnny continues to suffer in a server or some storage chip for a few more years. I'd rather wait until I have absolute certainty and sufficient safety before taking action, and I've got no problem dropping this commission if necessary."

His words caused Rogue’s brow to furrow deeply. Then, adding fuel to the fire, Mercer said, "Sure, I can do Alt a favor, but is that really good news for you? Alt gave me a few options: rescue Johnny Silverhand and grant him true freedom, simply help put him out of his misery, or... hand him over to her."

Staring straight at Rogue, Mercer asked in a calm tone, "Do you want to watch Silverhand die completely, or would you rather see him fly off into cyberspace to double-team eternity with Alt?"

"Enough!" Rogue glared at Mercer with an unfriendly expression. "You seem to know quite a bit... Alt told you this? She's still just as unlikable even after turning into an AI."

"No, no, no. I figured out your little romance and drama all on my own... purely out of personal interest. You people were all big shots in Night City back then, and a quick search digs up piles of gossip and scandal."

Mercer chuckled. "So, I was thinking: instead of letting Johnny Silverhand become an AI alongside Alt—whose feelings for him have cooled significantly—or simply killing him off... maybe you'd find a proposal to resurrect Johnny Silverhand a bit more interesting?"

"Resurrect? What kind of joke are you playing?" Rogue stared intently at Mercer.

Mercer, however, replied in a lighthearted tone, "I'm not joking at all... Queen Rogue, with connections as vast as yours, you must have heard of Arasaka's 'Secure Your Soul' project, right? The Relic chip. Johnny Silverhand's consciousness is currently stored in some Relic chip hidden inside Arasaka Tower. Of course, it's also possible Arasaka has already uploaded it to one of their servers. But either way, as long as his consciousness is transferred into a Relic chip, and then that chip is inserted into a living body... Boom, that rockerboy is back."

Mercer made a firework-exploding gesture with both hands and looked at Rogue with a smiling expression. "When that time comes, you'll be his savior, while Alt, stuck in cyberspace, won't have anything to do with a newly resurrected guy ever again. Alt's mouth is even stiffer than yours; when she commissioned me, she put on the act of a cold-blooded, ruthless AI... The two of you are really alike in that regard. Anyway, she certainly won't give Silverhand a warm reception. And when Silverhand opens his eyes after several decades, the only familiar face and person he can rely on will be you... Decades later, old lovers meeting again after experiencing life and death... Wow, how romantic."

Rogue simply stared at Mercer. After a brief silence, she said with mild irritation, "I'm starting to dislike you. You remind me of some asshole I dealt with decades ago..."

This kid's tone was genuinely punchable; it reminded her of some asshole bastard named Bartmoss.

"Hahaha!" Mercer burst into laughter before turning serious. "So, are you interested or not?"

He continued leisurely, "If you have zero interest in saving Johnny Silverhand, and couldn't care less about him suffering in a chip or a server, then I'm even less in a rush to save him. Three to five years from now? Or ten, twenty years? There's no way I'm risking my life or paying a heavy price to save someone who has nothing to do with me. The reason I sought you out is because I figured this matter might be profoundly meaningful to you, and it could also net me a pretty decent payout. If you're not willing, that's fine too. Let Johnny Silverhand lie there for now; I'll save his life when I have the time."

Mercer's words made Rogue narrow her eyes. "Feels like you're threatening me."

"I'm just stating facts. If even the woman he loved in life isn't willing to lend a hand, then an outsider like me has even less reason to rush to his rescue. Of course, even if you don't help, once I feel the timing is right, I'll still fish him out—I'd love nothing more than having one more asshole terrorist causing trouble for the corporations. Not to mention, I can accomplish some of my own goals through this."

Mercer slumped back onto the sofa, looking completely relaxed, and asked for the final time, "So, can we talk about the details of the commission now?"

Annoyed, Rogue pulled out a cigarette, lit it, took a deep drag, and exhaled a cloud of smoke.

After a long while, practically through gritted teeth, she said, "Let's talk! I'm in. We'll save that asshole together. Tell me what you want."

"Let's put the reward aside for a moment. I have two plans, and each plan only requires three steps. Very simple."

Mercer sat up straight, flashing a brilliant smile.

"Plan one: Step one, we figure out a way to make Arasaka transfer Silverhand's consciousness to Night City. Step two, find an elite mercenary crew to infiltrate Mikoshi and use the Relic chip to download Silverhand's consciousness back onto it. Step three, find a suitable body—or rather, a corpse—and plug the chip in."

Rogue shook her head decisively. "Impossible. If that thing is stored at the Japanese headquarters, it means Saburo Arasaka is definitely guarding it like a hawk. Besides, information isn't shared across different Mikoshi servers. Saburo Arasaka isn't stupid enough to give enemies a chance to wipe out Mikoshi in one fell swoop."

"Fine, plan two."

Mercer then proposed the method he considered the easiest to execute: "Alright then. Step one, Rogue, you handle Yorinobu Arasaka."

"I'll fucking handle you first!" Rogue felt her brain going numb.

Was this asshole speaking human language?

"Yorinobu Arasaka? You want me to handle him? How? Kidnap him?" Rogue was so speechless she almost told him to get lost.

Mercer nodded. "Kidnap? No, just get me his private contact info so I can talk to him. This greatest failure of Saburo Arasaka's life—born an Arasaka, yet a steadfast anti-corporation fighter—is the key to getting our hands on that chip. Even though I think he's a bit of a fool, I have to admit, if we want to find someone qualified to acquire Johnny Silverhand's consciousness and bring it to Night City, Yorinobu Arasaka is undoubtedly the best choice. Don't let his crying his eyes out at his brother's grave after the Arasaka Tower nuclear blast fool you; all of that was just to stay alive and put on a show for his old man. He has never given up on the idea of destroying the corporation, and he has always harbored a deep hatred for Saburo Arasaka. It's just that the poor bastard fears his father as much as he hates him. Heh, just a decrepit old man... if I were in Yorinobu's shoes, I would have killed that old coot a hundred times over."

Mercer's words made Rogue look at him in a new light—while everyone seemed to hate the corporations, if you asked anyone else how they viewed Saburo Arasaka, nine out of ten Afterlife mercenaries would feel sheer terror. People didn't usually boast like this.

It was hard to fake the contempt in Mercer's tone; he genuinely despised Arasaka and Saburo Arasaka from the bottom of his heart.

Contempt... Ha, could anyone actually hold that kind of attitude toward Arasaka?

After offering a few contemptuous remarks, Mercer continued, "That still doesn't change the fact that there's a very high probability he'll help us."

"You sure? Like you said, back then he obediently lowered his head and apologized just to stay alive, which is why Saburo allowed him back into Arasaka." Rogue evaluated him thoughtfully.

Mercer replied calmly, "Then we'll give him a reason he can't refuse—Saburo Arasaka's life. As long as he brings the chip containing Johnny Silverhand's consciousness, I'll help him thoroughly and completely kill Saburo Arasaka."

Rogue couldn't help leaning backward in her seat. "Are you fucking kidding me?"

She had heard more bullshit tonight than in the past entire year.

"Kidding you? Is that hard?" Mercer sneered. "A centenarian old piece of crap whose bones are already rotting? I could crush him to death with my bare hands."

"Do you have any idea how strong Arasaka's security forces are? And you haven't the slightest clue what it feels like to be hunted by Arasaka!" Rogue said seriously.

Mercer simply replied with an easygoing tone, "Is that so? But what if the person wanting to kill him isn't me, but Yorinobu Arasaka?"

Rogue stared at Mercer with a slightly horrified gaze, while Mercer gazed back at her calmly. "He's wanted to kill Saburo Arasaka for a long time; he just lacks a bit of courage and a good opportunity... As long as we can make contact with Yorinobu Arasaka, I'll handle the talking with him."

"So, simply put: Step one, establish contact with Yorinobu Arasaka. Step two, reach a cooperation agreement with Yorinobu Arasaka. Step three, Yorinobu brings the chip to Night City, I take Johnny Silverhand's consciousness chip, and then I help him completely wipe out Saburo Arasaka. That way, Arasaka's new boss will be one of our own. What do we have to fear? Who would cause trouble for us over a dead old man? Yorinobu will definitely come up with a flawless excuse; we don't need to worry about that. He certainly won't let anyone find out he killed his own biological father. In short, as long as we can reach an agreement with him, Silverhand regains his freedom, and the world gains an exceptional anti-corporation fighter—who happens to be the head of Arasaka Corporation. I get my reward, and you get your old flame back. Mission accomplished, easy and pleasant."

Mercer's words actually amused Rogue. "So, what's your purpose in finding me? To help you persuade Yorinobu Arasaka to make a move right away? You're giving me way too much credit."

"I said it before, I need someone to help me hook up with Yorinobu Arasaka." Mercer stared straight at her. "I know your network is vast. The reason you were able to return to Night City in the first place was because you reached certain agreements with Arasaka... You definitely have a way to contact Yorinobu Arasaka. I'm not asking you to negotiate; I'll do the negotiating. I'll give Yorinobu the courage to strike and give him a gentle push in the back. You just need to give me a chance to speak with him. It's that simple."

Rogue's breathing grew much heavier. She took deep drags from her cigarette until only a butt remained, stubbed it out in the ashtray, and finally began asking other questions.

"Are you sure that Relic chip can resurrect Silverhand?" Rogue looked at Mercer, probing his background. "How do you know so much? How did you meet Alt? Why did you come to Night City?"

Mercer's heart finally settled completely—it was a done deal.

If Rogue had no interest in cooperating, she wouldn't have bothered asking so many questions. The fact that she was starting to probe the details indicated precisely that Rogue was tempted by his proposal.

"First of all, very few people in this world truly understand the Relic chip. The vast majority actually think it's just a Soulkiller program or a vessel for consciousness data."

As he spoke, Mercer pulled a chip out from near his temple, flashed it at Rogue, and watched her pupils abruptly contract.

"But... as it happens, I'm someone who understands it very deeply."

Mercer plugged the chip back into his head and said in a relaxed tone, "After years of development, today's chip is essentially a miraculous device capable of modifying brain neural pathways. Once plugged into the brain, it rewires your neural pathways according to its programming. Using it for resurrection essentially means plugging this chip into a dead person's brain, and the chip will continuously modify the deceased's neural pathways until they match the consciousness entity stored inside the chip. The modified body will first reject its original consciousness, kill it off, and finally, the consciousness inside the chip replaces the original owner of the body, thus completing the resurrection. As for the one in my hand, I wiped its original programming—meaning the Soulkiller inside it—turning it into a miraculous neural repair tool. As long as I don't program it or infuse it with consciousness data, it will simply automatically repair my own brain neural pathways whenever it detects neural damage."

"Where the hell did you get that?!" Rogue stared at him in disbelief. He had actually already gotten his hands on a Relic chip?!

Mercer shrugged. "Arasaka, of course. Don't be so nervous, Rogue. It's not your first time dealing with Arasaka's most-wanted fugitives, is it?"

"Damn it..." Anxiety was visibly written all over Rogue's face, but in the end, after letting out a curse, she continued, "Keep talking."

"I was able to get this chip thanks to the idiotic machinations of Arasaka Corporation—they wanted to use the Soulkiller program to capture old-net AIs."

"However, if I want to explain all of this clearly, I first need to tell you my identity and the cause and effect behind this whole affair."

With that, Mercer slowly reached up, took off his mask, and revealed a still-youthful face that left Rogue somewhat shocked.