"Superhero? Don't joke with me, Mercer, if we aren't seen as terrorists, we'll consider it a success." The way V was bickering with him inexplicably made Lark, sitting opposite, a bit envious.
She silently watched Mercer and V; finally, she couldn't help but ask a question she'd never asked before: "Why have you two reached this point?"
"Do you mean dealing with Lilith, or something else?" Mercer countered.
"Well... alright, I know your purpose isn't just Lilith. I figured it out; the weapons and supplies you're bringing this time aren't just targeting a single Moon Base... What exactly are you planning to do on the Moon?"
Lark looked at Mercer, a hint of curiosity mixed with bewilderment in her eyes: "I'm doing it for survival, but what about you? You didn't have to get tangled up in this mess; you could've even sold me to either Miles or Lilith..."
"Because I want to save the world." Mercer's words made Lark involuntarily frown, almost rolling her eyes, but seeing Mercer's calm expression and V's look of 'there he goes again,' made her uncertain.
"Are you serious?" She looked at Mercer.
Mercer simply nodded and said plainly, "Although my initial intention wasn't this, considering what I'm doing, that's the conclusion.
You want to live, want freedom, and it just so happens that's also the pursuit of those around me—look, whether it's Miles or Lilith, or Arasaka...
Which one of these bastards is willing to let us live peacefully?
I don't want to be used as a tool and discarded, nor do I want to watch this world fall apart and perish alongside it, so what I can do is, like you, desperately try to accomplish a seemingly impossible mission, right?
After this mission, you should regain your freedom, but my battle must continue."
Mercer looked at the screen, where the cosmic and lunar intersection revealed a stunning view, speaking softly: "Until this world can roughly move towards the future, and I don't have to worry about being crushed like an ant, then I can stop.
At that time, even if someone begs me on their knees, I'm going to retire, retire hard, live through medical means for two or three hundred years, and fiercely enjoy for a few decades before considering anything else."
He suddenly fantasized, imagining aloud: "What do you think about researching space travel then? We can leave Earth, on the Moon, Mars, or farther planets, and create a brand new world of our own..."
"Whatever, I'm going to sleep."
V withdrew his hand, giving him a disdainful look, though his hand subconsciously gripped a bit nervously:
"Let me tell you beforehand, I'm not going to become some alien colonist. I'm staying in Night City, living in a mansion, driving luxury cars, being the most famous big shot everywhere...
For this gig, after it's done, at least give me a million Euros for my hard work!"
"Tsk tsk, V, you've changed. You used to do this kind of job for just 10,000 Euros." Mercer showed a sentimental expression.
V rolled his eyes: "Screw you, I wouldn't have done this for 10,000 Euros even if I were dumber before."
"Really wouldn't do it?" Mercer asked.
V thought for a moment, suddenly feeling less confident: "Alright, I'm going to take a nap! This space travel is exhausting; I never want to do it again in my life."
She picked up noise-canceling earbuds, tucked them in her ears, turned sideways, and pretended to sleep.
Mercer couldn't help but chuckle but didn't tease her further. Instead, he looked thoughtfully at Lark and winked: "Don't expect any rewards, this is mutual assistance."
"Uh, of course... By the way, how much do you mercenaries make per job?" Lark began chatting idly with him.
The two lowered their voices, chatting for not too long before tacitly stopping the conversation—V was genuinely asleep, and Mercer yawned and drifted off with earbuds directly.
Only Lark, with feelings of anxiety, excitement, confusion, and nervousness, tossed and turned, before eventually dozing off half-asleep at some unknown time.
Not sure how long she napped, a hand patted her shoulder, waking her from a dream of unknown nature to tremble and curl up instinctively.
"Time to wake up, change clothes, we're almost there."
Mercer pulled out a suitcase, revealing armor inside, and raised his eyebrows at her: "Starting now, we won't have a chance to sleep again, so keep your spirits up, and make sure your performance doesn't slip."
She took a deep breath and patted her cheeks, invigorated her spirits, then turned to look at the monitor.
At this moment, the monitor showed the rocket leaving the moon's orbit, beginning preparations to accelerate towards the surface.
On the display, the increasingly clear gray land drastically different from Earth symbolized they were about to arrive in a brand new world—the Moon.