Chapter 601 - 364: New Mission, Protect Liu Xuan?

Chapter 601: Chapter 364: New Mission, Protect Liu Xuan?

A Tier Five Extraordinary, upon reaching this level, had the confidence to stand up to any Intercontinental Giant Corporation.

Even a top-tier Intercontinental Giant Corporation as powerful as the Intercontinental Stability Trauma Emergency Company had to treat a Tier Five Extraordinary with the utmost respect.

In this day and age, the deterrent power of a Tier Five far surpassed that of any technological weapon.

This was a top-tier, strategic-level force.

Qiao Xi composed herself, then after a moment of careful thought, began typing in the chat box.

Capitalist: "@Guang Ling, what’s your plan for the next mission? I just received an alert from the Alliance’s intelligence department. A large amount of funds has flooded the Black Market, and new missions related to the Asian Administrative Region and the Eastern Alliance are constantly being posted."

Based on Guang Ling’s usual style, and the first mission they had taken in World City, the Mercenary Corps wouldn’t create an irreconcilable conflict with the Asian Big Business Alliance or the Eastern Alliance. This time, they had even acted in the Eastern Alliance’s favor.

Capitalist was very interested in the direction Guang Ling chose for their missions.

Guang Ling responded surprisingly quickly this time. It was unclear whether they had prepared their answer in advance or had just happened to pick up a new mission for the Mercenary Corps.

Guang Ling: "As per our previous agreement, a new mission requires a unanimous vote before I will confirm it on the Black Market."

"The client from our last job has settled the payment. The total commission is 500 million Credit Points, which I will distribute to you all shortly."

"Now for the new mission. The issuer seems to be from the same faction as our last client. I believe we can take it; the difficulty isn’t too high. I have sent you the specific details via email."

Lin Qi opened his email to check Guang Ling’s message as he walked toward the Circular Experimental Field.

’A mission from the same faction?’

’Does that mean the mission is from the Asian Big Business Alliance or the Eastern Alliance again?’

When Lin Qi saw the email’s subject line, he froze. He stopped in his tracks, a look of sheer disbelief spreading across his face.

[Round Table Conference Retaliation Bounty. Target Acquired: Liu Xuan, Member of Asian Administrative Region Wizard Clan]

The subject line alone, summarizing the intel, was enough to shock Lin Qi.

Lin Qi never imagined he would one day see Liu Xuan’s name come up through the channels of a Highest-Level Mercenary Corps.

With no time to think, Lin Qi immediately opened the email’s attachment.

The attachment provided a clearer description, detailing the full story behind this mission for the Highest-Level Mercenary Corps.

’Liu Xuan’s been targeted. And by the Round Table Conference, no less.’

’A retaliatory mission? The Round Table Conference is planning to retaliate against the Asian Administrative Region and the Eastern Alliance because of MacLeod’s recent failure.’

’They want to strike a blow against the Asian Administrative Region’s Pharmacy industry. But Nanyun Potion has a special background, and the elders of the four great families are all incredibly powerful, so they’ve locked their sights on United Pharmaceutical instead.’

’Do the Europeans know about Liu Xuan’s crucial connection to the dawn of the Pharmacy 3.0 era?’

’No, that can’t be right. That’s not the main point. It’s more likely because Liu Xuan herself is a member of one of the most well-known Wizard Clans in the Asian Administrative Region.’

’Just like MacLeod coming to the S-Class Pharmacy Society Mansion today, the Europeans’ goal isn’t to kill her. At its core, this is still just a show of force!’

Combining the intel from Guang Ling with his own reasoning, Lin Qi quickly grasped the key to the situation.

First, Liu Xuan’s involvement in the dawn of the Pharmacy 3.0 era wasn’t exactly a secret. Her trip to the S-Class Pharmacy Society Mansion hadn’t been confidential, and afterward, the Eastern Intercontinental Equipment Group had delivered equipment there.

As long as the European Administrative Region’s intelligence officers weren’t fools, they could connect the dots and conclude that Liu Xuan was likely involved in the research and development of some new device.

Second, and most importantly, was the European Administrative Region’s Witch Hunt. This campaign had already caused considerable friction with the Asian Administrative Region recently.

For the Europeans, targeting Liu Xuan was like killing three birds with one stone.

It served as a strong response to the assault on MacLeod, a blow to the Asian Administrative Region’s pharmaceutical industry, and a continued demonstration of power for their Witch Hunt.

’Following this logic, it won’t just be Liu Xuan who’s targeted. It probably won’t be long before my name gets posted on the Black Market too.’

Lin Qi had long been mentally prepared for the possibility of being targeted himself.

But seeing Liu Xuan targeted had caught him completely off guard.

’Wait! Is Guang Ling trying to manipulate me?’

’Guang Ling must know that since this mission involves Liu Xuan’s safety, I’ll definitely agree to it!’

’Even if others in the Mercenary Corps have objections, I’ll still speak up for it.’

Lin Qi looked at the keywords in the attachment—phrases like "Protect Liu Xuan," "Counter-hunt other Mercenary Corps," and "Coordinate with the Eastern Alliance"—and couldn’t shake a strange feeling.

Just as Lin Qi expected, not long after the email was sent, members of the Mercenary Corps began to share their opinions.

Master Ma: "According to the attachment, our target will be leaving the S-Class Pharmacy Society Mansion for the Remote Conference Mansion in seven hours at the latest. That only gives us seven hours to prepare. It’s too rushed."

King Arthur: "The Master has a point. We just clashed with MacLeod. If we act again so soon, we’ll likely attract the attention of the Round Table Conference."

Master Ma: "The intel says the attackers will likely be one of the T0-level Mercenary Corps, but I don’t believe the Round Table Knights will just stand by and watch. A Knight is very likely to be on site."

Master Ma and King Arthur each had their reservations.

The former was seriously injured and wouldn’t have time to recover, while the latter had just obtained the Sword in the Stone and needed to be on guard against the Round Table Conference.

If he couldn’t convince Master Ma and King Arthur, the mission would very likely be shelved.

Without the cover of a Highest-Level Mercenary Corps mission, it would be extremely difficult for Lin Qi to protect Liu Xuan. He would also risk easily exposing his own Abilities and true loyalties.

Furthermore, if the Eastern Alliance’s security detail proved insufficient, the consequences could be disastrous.

Lin Qi fell silent for a moment, considering how to phrase his response.

’State my position?’

’Call in a favor?’

Lin Qi was confident he could persuade King Arthur, and he was even sure he could strike another deal with Master Ma.

But once his true loyalties were completely exposed, it wouldn’t be long until his identity was revealed as well.

’So what if my identity is exposed? So what if King Arthur, Master Ma, or even Capitalist find out who I really am? This is the Cyber World. Sentiment barely exists here. Profit is the only thing that truly holds relationships together.’

Lin Qi’s mindset shifted very quickly.

However, just as Lin Qi was about to start typing, someone beat him to it and began persuading Master Ma and King Arthur.

Capitalist: "As before, speaking from my own perspective, I hope the Mercenary Corps accepts this mission."

"But beyond that, if we consider the overall interests of our Highest-Level Mercenary Corps in World City, we need the backing of a top-tier power to secure our future operations."

"And there really aren’t that many potential backers for a Highest-Level Mercenary Corps to choose from."

Capitalist had begun her persuasion before Lin Qi even had a chance to speak.

What she said seemed to make a lot of sense.

What Lin Qi didn’t know, however, was that Capitalist’s true thoughts deviated significantly from the words she spoke.

Qiao Xi stared at the ID "Wizard" in the temporary chat window and thought to herself:

’If my judgment is correct, then what I just said will be a show of goodwill toward Wizard. It might not win me any points with him, but it could at least get him to drop some of the resentment he must feel after I tested him so many times...’

As always, Capitalist prioritized her personal interests above all else.

As for the overall interests of the Mercenary Corps?

Don’t be ridiculous!

What did that have to do with her, Qiao Xi?

That was Guang Ling’s problem!

Besides, Guang Ling was the one who had proposed this mission, which meant it was beneficial to them as well.

With these thoughts in mind, Capitalist continued to type.

Capitalist: "The risks for this mission aren’t as high as you imagine. King Arthur just seized the Sword in the Stone, and MacLeod, who caused the Round Table Conference to suffer a major loss of assets, has to report to the European Big Business Alliance. He definitely won’t have time to get involved. Even if a Round Table Knight shows up, at most it’ll be the second seat, Billson, or the eighth seat, Ludwig..."