diff --git a/mermaids.sh b/mermaids.sh
index 0db1129..27041a5 100644
--- a/mermaids.sh
+++ b/mermaids.sh
@@ -84,21 +84,17 @@ log "Creating Debian 12 LXC container $LXC_ID ($LXC_HOSTNAME)..."
 
 # Build NET_CONFIG safely BEFORE pct create
 if [[ -n "$LXC_IP" ]]; then
-  if [[ -z "$LXC_GATEWAY" ]]; then
-    warn "IP provided but no gateway — falling back to DHCP"
-    NET_CONFIG="dhcp=1"
-  else
-    NET_CONFIG="ip=$LXC_IP/$LXC_NETMASK,gw=$LXC_GATEWAY"
-  fi
+  NET0_ARGS="$NET0_ARGS,ip=$LXC_IP/$LXC_NETMASK"
+  [[ -n "$LXC_GATEWAY" ]] && NET0_ARGS="$NET0_ARGS,gw=$LXC_GATEWAY"
 else
-  NET_CONFIG="dhcp=1"
+  NET0_ARGS="$NET0_ARGS,dhcp=1"
 fi
 
 pct create $LXC_ID $LXC_TEMPLATE \
   -hostname "$LXC_HOSTNAME" \
   -memory "$LXC_MEMORY" \
   -cores "$LXC_CORES" \
-  -net0 name=eth0,bridge="$LXC_BRIDGE",$NET_CONFIG \
+  -net0 "$NET0_ARGS" \
   -rootfs "$LXC_DISK:2" \
   -ostype debian \
   -password "$LXC_ROOT_PASSWORD" \