Chapter 257: Triple Win

“Captain, why waste time talking to them? Give them a deadline. If they don’t provide what we want by then, we hand this guy over and redeem ourselves. So what if we don’t make money this time?” Upon hearing this, J immediately spoke up.

“First, we need to figure out who the target is,” Number 8 added.

The captain waved his hand and said, “No rush for now. Let’s see their identity first. Some people’s background makes it hard for us to redeem ourselves.”

Several people nodded after hearing this. Some identities are too sensitive. If you get involved with them, it’s best to stay unnoticed, or things can end very ugly.

Yang Bo didn’t fully understand the intricacies, so he decided to keep quiet and just act like a cold expert.

Yang Bo was curious about who the target was. Knowing the person was from the Grey Ash Organization, Yang Bo started scheming.

These bastards definitely want a live capture to hand him over to the Alliance.

Yang Bo took the opportunity earlier to pull a strand of the fat guy’s hair.

He thought about using the fat guy’s identity later or possibly tracking down his superiors.

The Fatty was quite strong, but unfortunately for him, he crossed paths with Yang Bo. The fight earlier was purely brute force.

Of course, it could also be that the fat guy was careless. After all, he did hire Yang Bo as a mercenary, and the space was too tight for him to gain speed.

The Fatty got slapped awake by two mercenaries. He wasn’t afraid of them; he was scared of Yang Bo.

He couldn’t believe he lost a direct confrontation. The Fatty cursed in his heart, “Everyone says mercenaries come in all kinds. I didn’t expect that for the little I paid, I’d actually hire someone stronger than me. Are there strong people who just idly travel from the Federation to the Alliance for nothing?”

The Fatty had no idea these free mercenaries were so powerful. Although the reward amount was high, traveling from the Federation took quite a while, and doing a job in a foreign place was already a big risk.

“Target One is an important figure in the military. We only want to know why your group was attacked!” After being taught a lesson by the mercenaries, the Fatty had no choice but to come clean.

“Be more specific. What important figure? What level? Which family?” asked the mercenary captain impatiently.

“A-Class. He’s a captain from a second-tier family in the Alliance,” the Fatty knew he had to be clear, or the mercenaries might get violent again.

After the Fatty explained, the mercenaries didn’t hold back and beat him up again. Yang Bo watched from the side but didn’t join in.

“An A-Class military captain? With such a status, they’re worth at least 10 billion, yet you only offer 2 billion, you dog?”

“And they’re from a second-tier family in the Alliance? A family genius like that should add at least another 10 billion.”

“You lured us here with a measly 2 billion and then tried to kill us to silence us?”

“You’ve got 30 minutes to show us you’re serious, or we’ll turn ourselves into the Alliance,” the mercenary captain said coldly.

The other mercenaries gritted their teeth in anger. If they had known this was the kind of mission, no one would’ve taken it. This was basically a suicide mission.

Even if they succeeded, they’d face a galaxy-wide bounty. Don’t be fooled by the rivalry between the three intergalactic states. Offend a rich person, and you’ll be miserable no matter where you go.

The wealthy can place bounties through many organizations. Even pirates wouldn’t take in someone who crosses the military. Pirates venture out to make money, not to pick a fight they can’t win. No one survives going head-to-head with the military.

Run at the sight of the military and cut your losses; that’s how you survive long. After all, the military won’t completely annihilate the pirates—they still need military funding, don’t they?

Do you know how much it costs to run a flagship for a day?

Yang Bo didn’t expect that the woman in his pocket was a captain? “Could she be the one I met on Green Demon Planet?” Yang Bo thought of the female officer he encountered on Green Demon Planet, but he hadn’t seen her face since she was in armor.

“Didn’t get a clear look at her face, but her body seems pretty good,” Yang Bo remained calm as the mercenaries had already fully taken control of the situation.

The mercenaries controlled the Submarine’s control room. The Fatty was on his knees on the control room floor, spilling all the details.

“We’re really out of options now. We’re at the bottom of the Grey Ash Organization, and we’ve already gone all out.” Hearing the demand for sincerity, the Fatty quickly started to complain.

“Give us some valuable intel then. Like, why not tell us some of your organization’s secrets? Once the network is back online, you can pay us to keep our mouths shut,” the mercenary captain suggested.

The Fatty looked as if he swallowed a bitter pill. He cursed the mercenaries’ ancestors in his heart. He knew well what mercenaries were like. Once you spill the info, they might turn around and sell it at a higher price anyway.

“We have some potions,” the Fatty finally gritted his teeth and said.

“What would we want with that?”

“The gene potions might have some other use! I don’t trust the stuff your organization gives out anymore.”

At that moment, one of the Fatty’s subordinates spoke up, “You can enter the Mecha Game. Mecha Game uses quantum communication technology. We can transfer money to you in there.”

“Really?” The mercenary captain was suspicious.

“But you wouldn’t be able to see if the money actually transferred though,” the subordinate replied weakly.

“Are you playing games with us?” The mercenaries immediately pointed at him and shouted.

“We’ve got a batch of energy stones,” the Fatty hurriedly added.

“You expect us to complete the mission and just take the energy stones? Won’t you just snatch them back later?” The mercenary captain was speechless.

Having done so many missions, he had seen many types. Taking something as collateral was a terrible idea because later the client would just take it back, leaving you crying with no one to complain to.

Yang Bo also wanted to make some money, but more importantly, he found these free mercenaries useful. They could handle things too messy for him to do personally by throwing money at it.

He also wanted to dig deeper into the Grey Ash Organization.

Figuring out a triple win would ensure he could make some money, build relationships with the free mercenaries, especially their captain, and collect details on who posted the mission. They likely had a connection in the Mercenary Guild.

Although these free mercenaries attacked him, Yang Bo appreciated that they were driven by money.

Owing people favors is complicated. Anything money can fix isn’t a real problem since Yang Bo had plenty of savings.

Yang Bo now understood why the mercenary captain insisted the payment go through the platform. Private offline transfers reveal your true identity.

Using a platform to receive payment was the safest option. It also boosted a mercenary’s rank and earned them points at the Mercenary Guild.

“I really can’t help it. I can only give you money personally,” the Fatty threw up his hands, acting helpless.

“Hmph!” Yang Bo snorted coldly, then his figure flashed away.

Several of the Fatty’s subordinates near the control room door didn’t expect Yang Bo to make a move suddenly.

With a charge, Yang Bo sent them flying from the door.

The mercenary captain didn’t expect Yang Bo to move so abruptly. He felt the entire Submarine shake for a moment.

“Too strong!” said J. By the time he said it, Yang Bo had disappeared from sight, and the Fatty’s subordinates were all unconscious at the control room door.

There were four in total, one flew around seven or eight meters away, and everything was in chaos. The remaining three were knocked into the Submarine’s unknown material wall, which dented inward.

All four were knocked out cold.

Just as the Fatty was jumping to his feet, he saw a flicker in front of him. Yang Bo had returned, scaring him into kneeling again.

“Take those people out and interrogate them one by one. If we don’t get the money, we’ll hold something over their heads. Just don’t kill them. If we kill them, we won’t be able to redeem ourselves with the Alliance later,” Yang Bo said calmly.

“You’re…” The Fatty tried to say something but got slapped by Yang Bo.

The Fatty fainted again. The mercenary captain thought this approach was a good idea: “That works. Also, search the place thoroughly.”

The mercenaries quickly started searching. They found a bunch of Restraint Collars, which they promptly placed on the captives.

Yang Bo had known about the collars on the Submarine but hadn’t wanted to take them himself. It would’ve been odd since he hadn’t done any searching.

The mercenaries were completely at ease now. Once the Restraint Collars were used, the captives were no longer a threat.

“Buddy, with your skills, it’s a shame to be doing this kind of job,” the mercenary captain commented, now fully relaxed.

“I’m a pretty laid-back guy!” Yang Bo didn’t know their exact mission, so he said something vague.

“Brother, stay in touch?” The mercenary captain now had plans to recruit Yang Bo.

“Leave me your contact information. I’ll reach out.” Yang Bo nodded, not declining.

The mercenary captain almost jumped up in excitement. Mercenaries were a mixed bunch. Some strong people just loved the thrill of adventure, while others wanted to do illegal jobs, even commit crimes!

Such people existed, like those who enjoyed stealing despite being rich—they just loved the process.

“Captain, what now?” Several mercenaries were envious of their captain but still asked.

“They’re unscrupulous, so don’t blame us for being ruthless. Wake the target up. If they can offer a good price, we’ll take on a different mission.”

“We’re here to make money, not throw our lives away. The bastards from the Grey Ash Organization obviously want us dead. They tricked us into taking on a high-level mission.”

“Don’t leak this for now. Get these people down and extract their information, but be careful not to kill them,” the mercenary captain ordered.

“Good plan, Captain!”

“We just want to get rich. If they offer a good price and let us go, we can easily switch tasks. Our current mission doesn’t fit anyway.”

“Truth is, we’ve already pissed off the Grey Ash Organization!”

The captain shook his head when he heard that: “So what? They don’t know our identities. We don’t even know each other’s, so how could they know?”

“Besides, I’ll report it to the Mercenary Guild. My 10% cut isn’t for just anyone.” The captain’s comment was also directed at Yang Bo—a 10% cut off several billion is no small sum.

The Grey Ash Organization was doomed. These mercenaries were ruthless, and not only had they been deceived, they had nearly been silenced.

All the intelligence was laid out. Everything was recorded—names, ranks, superiors, everything.

Yang Bo was quite curious how these free mercenaries got them to give up all this information.

Curious, he entered one of the rooms, but as soon as he did, he turned around and left. The person inside was no longer human-shaped, clearly injected with some kind of serum. His skin was bright red.

Yang Bo felt a little awkward and didn’t ask further. The other mercenaries acted as if it were no big deal.

This world had many strange potions.

Target One slowly regained consciousness and calmly sat up, asking, “What are your demands?”

The mercenary captain applauded, “As expected of an A-Class captain. Can I say we were misled into kidnapping you?”

“I believe you. Free mercenaries aren’t dumb enough to walk into death,” Target One nodded.

Yang Bo noticed the captain looked quite beautiful, giving off an air of classic beauty. Her face reminded him of the Earth celebrity Yaya, but her overall demeanor was cold and aloof.

“It’s nice dealing with a smart person. We found out we were tricked, and they even tried to kill us,” the mercenary captain continued.

Target One said, “Name your price besides ensuring your safety. How much do you want?”

“20 billion. I’m sure you understand your identity is worth that much,” the mercenary captain held up two fingers.

“30 billion. Give the Alliance everyone and everything you got from them, including all the intel and details of your actions while you handled it,” Target One demanded without even seeing the captives.

The mercenaries were visibly excited—30 billion! But they quickly looked to Yang Bo. Since he had saved them, he deserved half.

“40 billion. That’s how much these details are worth, I believe,” said the mercenary captain, barely containing his excitement. He hadn’t expected her to be so generous.

“Deal!”

“I need you to post this as a specific mission on the Mercenary Guild’s platform,” the captain insisted, not letting the money get to his head. Whatever happens later, they had to make sure they received the funds. Even if they ended up in Alliance prison for life, the money had to be secured first.”