Chapter 968 Can't Hide From Him!
Further behind the children, there was a lean man that had patches of white hair on his head. He seemed to be around 60 years old. He looked around the port with a sense of longing. Then, he retracted his gaze and hurried forward nervously. He seemed afraid that he would lose the children in front.
Right at the back, there was a couple. The couple looked at each other lovingly and smiled. The man held the woman's hand as they walked down the cruise ship together.
This bunch of people was Ling Lan's group. Because of a series of coincidence, the unknown faction had a shootout with the government after many of their men died. This battle caused many casualties, causing the number of people dying to escalate sharply. Even the prime minister of Planet Muyang and the people that were in charge of watching over the Wang and Liu family supposedly got killed in battle.
Ling Lan's group took this opportunity to change their names and left Planet Muyang. Little Four even wiped away all traces of Liu Furong's family and Wang Qi and Luo Yi. They were able to 'die' in the battle.
Of course, no matter how perfect the cover-up was, there would still be people suspecting them. If their enemy didn't believe this and send people over to investigate, they might not be able to find any pieces of evidence too. It all depends on the luck of the investigator.
The moment Ling Lan came down the cruise ship, she suddenly stopped in her tracks. Her force of presence turned cold. "Since you're here, why are you still hiding?"
'Do they think I'm blind? The corner of your shirt can be seen over there. That pair of legs under the dustbin is so obvious. Can a fake tourist who is pretending to read the newspaper act more naturally? Most importantly, your newspaper is upside-down. Additionally, those two people buying drinks at the small shop can stop looking around suspiciously.'
Ling Lan was furious. She glanced at Liu Furong who had come beside her now. Liu Furong's heart pounded loudly when he saw the cold stare. 'Did regiment commander realize what I did?'
"I said that we won't be able to hide from him. Why do you all still want to hide?" Luo Lang walked out from the corner. The shirt that was seen belonged to him.
Unhappiness could be seen on his face clearly. It seemed like he didn't want to do such a stupid act, but no one agreed with him. Hence, he had no choice but to follow the majority rule.
"I know that we can't fool him but he left us alone and went to play all by himself. So, we must give him a surprise." Qi Long walked over from the dustbin. The pair of legs under the dustbin belonged to him.
Han Jijyun followed behind Qi Long and looked at Ling Lan worriedly. It seemed like he didn't agree with everyone's idiotic behaviour too. However, just like Luo Lang, he wasn't able to win against the majority rule.
The fake tourist that was pretending to read the newspaper was him. When he knew that his boss was coming out, he was so nervous he didn't notice that his newspaper was upside-down. When he saw everyone coming out from their hiding place, he hurriedly threw down his newspaper and rushed over. He touched his head as he greeted his boss. "Boss."
The two people with their drinks smiled at each other when they saw everyone appearing. They walked over too. They were Li Lanfeng and Zhao Jun.
"Well, well, everyone is here. Where is Li Shiyu and Lin Zhong-qing then?" Ling Lan smiled coldly. She didn't believe that those two didn't come.
"They're waiting for you at the mercenary's hall." Xie Yi winked as he said, "Our two sisters-in-law are there too."
Ling Lan felt speechless. She forgot that she had these two debts to clear.
"Why are you here? Are you not going to take care of 250 Ace Mecha Clan?" Ling Lan pushed down her guilt and asked them.
"Leader Yang and Leader Gu are still at our base. Oh, Li Yingjie is there too. It'll be fine," Qi Long answered irresponsibly. He didn't feel guilty that seven out of the ten team leaders left the base.
Li Yingjie, who was at 250 Ace Mecha Clan, saw the messages everyone left for him and shouted in anger, "How can these bunch of people run away without me? Damn it. I want to have a holiday too." Fortunately, Li Yingjie didn't know that they went to look for Ling Lan. If not, he would have broken ties with all these ungrateful and heartless bastards.
"250 Ace Mecha Clan is a piece of fat meat now. Everyone wants to have a bite of it. The military is having a war over the position of our regiment commander." Han Jijyun finally told Ling Lan why they had left. "We don't want to be called by the military for questioning all the time. They kept asking us if we want to leave 250 Ace Mecha Clan. We don't want to beat around the bush with them so we took leave. We'll go back once everything has settled down." Han Jijyun seemed worried. He was afraid that the position of their regiment commander would be taken away by someone else. If that was the case, he would leave 250 Ace Mecha Clan.
He remembered what his father told him a few days ago. He shook his head slightly and pushed the thought away. As long as the regiment commander of 250 Ace Mecha Clan was their boss, he would stay here.
"It's not so easy to take advantage of 250 Ace Mecha Clan." Li Lanfeng's calm voice floated over. "Huge sacrifices have to be made in order to get the position of the regiment commander of 250 Ace Mecha Clan." It all depended on General Ling Xiao now. If he wanted to let Ling Lan remain as the regiment commander of 250 Ace Mecha Clan, he would have his ways.
"There's no rush. It'll take a few months before everything will be settled. Let's just wait and see," Ling Lan replied indifferently. She didn't care about the position of a regiment commander. She just wanted her father and her to retreat from this crisis safely.
"Why aren't you surprised to see us?" Zhao Jun sighed. He thought that his Boss would have a different expression when he saw them. Yet, he remained as calm as always.
"Don't forget that I'm a hacker." Ling Lan gave Liu Furong a knowing smile.
Liu Furong knew that his regiment commander had realized what he was doing the moment he sent out a message after they left Planet Muyang. Liu Furong didn't know that if Ling Lan didn't want to see her comrades, she could have deleted the message. This meant that Ling Lan agreed to let Liu Furong send out the message.
At this moment, Luo Lang received a message on his communicator. He lowered his head and said to Ling Lan, "Boss, Luo Chao said that it's almost their turn to register a mercenary team. You can hurry over
now."
There were three requirements to form a mercenary team. First, the leader must be at Qi-Jin. Second, there must be at least six members including the leader on the team. Third, the most important requirement, one of the six members must have participated in a mercenary mission that was B grade and above.
These requirements prevented new mercenaries from accepting missions that were above their limit due to the lack of experience, to prevent unnecessary deaths.
Chapter 969 Registration!
"It looks like you all know what I want to do." Ling Lan looked at everyone with an ambiguous smile. After everyone had their little session of snickering, she led them into the hall.
They saw Li Shiyu, Lin Zhong-qing, and Chang Xinyuan sitting together when they entered the hall. They were discussing something among themselves while Luo Chao and Han Xuya sat on one side, waiting eagerly for them.
"Boss!" Han Xuya saw them first. Ling Lan was wearing a mask but she still recognized her. She waved at them happily.
Luo Chao smiled as she looked at Ling Lan silently. Ling Lan was touched by the warmth and support in her gaze.
Ling Lan nodded at them before walking over.
"Boss, how is your body?" Although Li Shiyu said that their Boss's injuries were under control and wouldn't get worse, Han Xuya and Luo Chao were unable to feel at ease unless they asked Ling Lan personally.
"I'm fine." Ling Lan didn't tell them the difficulty she was facing. She didn't say that her body's immune system was almost destroyed. She was able to stabilize her condition only with the help of the second generation Nuwa agent but if she wanted to heal completely, she needed more Nuwa agents. That was why she was covered in bandages. Her hideous wounds were hidden under the bandages, as normal people might feel disgusted if they see it.
Han Xuya and Luo Chao were easy to comfort. Once Ling Lan said that she was fine, they relaxed and started smiling. Well, you couldn't blame them. In their hearts, Ling Lan was someone who always meant what she said and never lied. Thus, if Ling Lan said that she was fine, she was fine.
Li Shiyu stood up too when he saw Ling Lan. He came over and held Ling Lan's wrist to check her pulse.
"Not bad." Her pulse rate was better than a month ago. Li Shiyu felt at ease too. He was afraid that Ling Lan's brittle body would get worse when she came out to travel alone.
"021? 021?" One of the staff members was shouting a number.
Han Xuya raised her hand in a hurry. "Coming!" It was their turn.
Ling Lan walked towards the staff member. The staff member looked at her curiously. Most of the leaders were old so Ling Lan seemed a little too young for the position. The staff member suspected her ability.
"Come, scan your communicator over here." The information on the communicator would determine whether this young man was eligible or not. The staff member held his opinion back and continued with the registration process.
Beep! Ling Lan scanned her communicator. Her information was displayed on the staff member's screen.
"Jiang Hui, 27 years old. B level mercenary (freelance). Physical skills: Late-stage of Qi-Jin. Competed mission: SSS:0 SS:0 S:0 A:1 B:3 C:21 D:37 E:23."
This was the data of the real Jiang Hui. Ling Lan didn't make any changes.
The staff member dismissed his suspicion after seeing Ling Lan's completed missions. He was young but he had already completed so many missions. He even completed an A level mission. A level missions were dangerous and risky. Normal mercenaries wouldn't dare to accept an A level mission.
Since the leader of the team met the requirements, the staff member continued, "Where are the other five members?" A team needed to have at least five members excluding one leader.
"Me!" "Me." "Me." People started shouting in front of the staff member. He saw a line of young men and women rushing to become the second person to register.
The staff member, who was used to handling disgruntled people, was stunned by the enthusiasm of these young people. He actually didn't know what to do.
"Cough!" Ling Lan made a coughing sound. The people that were shoving and pushing each other froze. "Thank you." Li Lanfeng slid out of the crowd and moved to the front. He scanned his communicator successfully.
"Beep. Li Lanfeng: 25 years old. A level mercenary (freelance). Physical skills: Optimal peak of Qi-Jin. Competed mission: SSS:0 SS:0 S:1 A:13 B:29 C:21 D:23
E:2."
The staff member gasped when he saw Li Lanfeng's information. He thought that the leader would be the most powerful person among the team but the first member was stronger than him. He even completed an S level mission. S Level missions were extremely dangerous. Anyone below the domain stage would have a hard time completing it.
Qi Long and the others glared at Li Lanfeng. They wanted to beat this sly fox up. Zhao Jun took this chance to scan his communicator and became the third member to register.
"Beep. Zhao Jun: 25 years old. A level mercenary (freelance). Physical skills: Optimal peak of Qi-Jin. Competed mission: SSS:0 SS:0 S:1 A:22 B:31 C:37 D:23 E:2."
Most of the time, Zhao Jun acted with Li Lanfeng so the number of missions they had completed was around the same. However, Li Lanfeng wasn't interested in some mission while Zhao Jun liked to take missions to pass his time. Hence, he completed a few more missions than Li Lanfeng.
The staff member saw Li Lanfeng's results but he didn't appear as shocked as when he saw Zhao Jun's data. However, deep down inside, he was dumbfounded.
Qi Long immediately scanned his communicator when he saw that the first two positions as a member were taken. His frightening force of presence stopped everyone from snatching the third position from him.
"Beep. Qi Long: 22 years old. A level mercenary (freelance). Physical skills: Optimal peak of Qi-Jin. Competed mission: SSS:0 SS:0 S:0 A:4 B:21 C:29 D:39 E:9."
Once you have completed a certain level of mission three times, your mercenary level would follow that mission's level. Qi Long had completed A level missions four times so he was an A level mercenary. His level was the same as Zhao Jun and Li Lanfeng.
After him, Luo Lang, Xie Yi, Han Jijyun, and Lin Zhong-qing scanned their communicator and registered. Most of them acted along with Qi Long so their data was similar to him.
The staff member was flabbergasted when he saw multiple A level mercenary registering. Hence, when he saw that Chang Xinyuan was an E level mercenary and didn't complete much mission, he finally felt that things were going back to normal. This was the data a new mercenary team should have. Those level A mercenary before him must be hired with a high salary.
However, this thought was broken after he saw Liu Furong's data.
"Beep. Liu Furong: 43 years old. S level mercenary (freelance). Physical skills: Optimal peak of Qi-Jin. Competed mission: SSS:0 SS:0 S:5 A:43 B:129 C:134 D:63 E:42."<se
'S level mercenary! Oh my god, where did this new team come from? Where did all these high-level mercenaries come from?'
Chapter 970 Little Four's Mercenary Team!
Luo Yi's mercenary level was not low too. He was an A level mercenary. Soon, everyone finished registering. The staff member asked in a daze, "What is the name of the mercenary team?"
"Lingtian!" In Ling Lan's mindscape, Little Four raised his hands and shouted happily. Lingtian Battle Clan, Lingtian Base, they should have a Lingtian Mercenary Tam now.
Ling Lan looked at the excited Little Four and smiled. "Little Four Mercenary Team."
"Sorry?" The staff member was waiting for a formidable-sounding and pleasant name. Hence, when he heard Little Four Mercenary Team, he was stunned.
"Little Four Mercenary Team." Ling Lan answered carefully. The danger that Little Four went through a while ago made her realize how important he was to her. Although she didn't have the power to let him appear in front of her friends, she could let him appear in their world in another way.
"Boss…" Little Four understood Ling Lan's intention. His eyes turned red.
Ling Lan rubbed his head with a firm gaze. One day, she would let Little Four appear in front of everyone personally so that he could become one of them.
Everyone was surprised by the name of their mercenary team, but no one had any objections. Even if their name was the Cat Mercenary Team or the Dog Mercenary Team, as long as their Boss chose it, they would accept it.
Hence, the name of the mercenary team that would become widely famous in the future was given with a single sentence from Ling Lan.
Before they left, Ling Lan reached out and tapped the staff member's forehead with her finger. She smiled, "Thank you."
"Erm, you're welcome." The staff member felt a warm presence in front of him. However, his forehead felt cold.
The staff member was in a stupor as he watched as Ling Lan's team leave the hall. After a while, he slapped his forehead and muttered to himself, "Why am I in a daze?" He lowered his head and shouted, "022."
"Oh right, the Little Four Mercenary Team seemed to have quite a few people." The staff recalled the mercenary team that had just registered. Then, he realized that he couldn't remember any of the details of the team members anymore. But, this was normal for him, as he had to handle a few hundred mercenary teams every day. Unless the mercenary team was very special or powerful, it wouldn't give him any lasting impression.
After the people with the number 022 came up to him, the staff member forgot about Little Four Mercenary Team entirely. He didn't know that the Little Four Mercenary Team's details were now locked by Little Four.
That meant that people could only see the level of Little Four Mercenary Team. They were unable to see the details of the members of this team anymore. Ling Lan had to nod her head before anyone could see the members' details.
"This feels good. We can finally go on a mission with Boss." Qi Long came to the mission corner of the hall. He couldn't contain his excitement anymore so he raised his hands and shouted.
Before this, Ling Lan never took part in any missions with them. She wanted her friends to become independent, so usually they would follow other mercenary teams to complete their missions. But now, they had their own mercenary team.
Ling Lan smiled. "You only have one month."
The maximum duration of a soldier's holiday was one month. A month later, they had to go back to the military and they wouldn't be able to take part in normal missions anymore.
The excited group of people got dejected suddenly. They lowered their heads in sadness. Their identity as a soldier took over their freedom.
Only Luo Chao and Han Xuya were not affected. They looked at the mission on the screen together and talked among themselves. They had already decided that they would follow their boss wherever she went.
As female soldiers, they had more freedom than male soldiers. The military didn't place much importance in female soldiers so they could change their positions easily. They were not like Qi Long whose capabilities had caught the attention of the higher authorities. If Ling Lan got removed from 250 Ace Mecha Clan, it wouldn't be easy for them to continue following her.
Ling Lan knew that this was possible so she registered this mercenary team. She knew that relationships required time to nurture. If everyone got scattered, the precious relationship they had from growing up together would dissipate slowly as time went by. Even if they were able to gather together again in the future, it wouldn't be the same anymore.
"Boss, Boss, mission 7821, mission 7821…" Han Xuya and Luo Chao, who were discussing silently among themselves, started shouting at Ling Lan excitedly.
Everyone got energetic again and their sad emotions disappeared.
Since they knew their mission number, Ling Lan led them to an optical supercomputer at the side of the hall. She searched the details of mission 7821. Soon, the information appeared on the screen.
Mission number: 7821
Mission level: B
Mission requirements: Adventurer team. Level requirement: None.
Mission details: The employer wants to hire a few adventurer teams to escort a huge merchant fleet to and fro the Chaotic Lands. Starting point: Planet Shanghai from the Huaxia Federation (8 am, 23rd of May). Checkpoints: Chaotic Lands (One week). Final destination: Planet Shanghai from the Huaxia Federation (Estimated date of arrival is the 17th of June).
Ling Lan looked at the estimated date for the end of the mission. A few days after that would the end of their one month leave. Most importantly, they just formed an adventurer team and their lowest level mercenary was a level E mercenary. Normally, they would only get D and E level missions. After accumulating some points, their adventurer team's level would increase and they would be able to apply for higher level missions.
There were no requirements for the adventurer team's level for this mission. It seemed like the merchant needed to leave immediately. If not, it meant that the rewards for this mission were too little, so the powerful adventurer teams didn't want to waste their time and take this mission.
Ling Lan scrolled to the end of the mission and saw the 4 pathetic zeros behind the number '3'. This proved that the rewards for this mission were not just a little, it was extremely little. This amount of money wasn't even enough to pay the monthly salary of the mercenaries. It was reasonable that the powerful mercenary teams didn't want to take this mission. From the looks of it, only teams that had just registered and wanted to improve their grades would disregard the reward and take the mission. Mercenary teams that were low in funds might also take it to get some money.
Ling Lan's team was filled with people from wealthy families in the military so they didn't care about the reward. When they saw that they could visit the Chaotic Lands, they got excited. They had only heard about it from rumours. They rubbed their hands in excitement and prepared themselves to gain new experiences there.
Of course, there were still people who cared about the money. Wang Qi and Liu Aihua's eyes lit up when they saw the 30,000 Federation credits. 'Omg, this is close to 600,000 Muyang credits. It is enough for us to spend for the rest of our life.'
The difference in response was due to each individual's outlook and experience. It had nothing to do with the character of a person.
Chapter 971 Mercenary Team!
It was midnight at the port of Planet Shanghai. A merchant group was about to leave the port so they were busy loading their goods.
In one of the warehouses on the ships, a small mercenary team consisting of seven people gathered in a corner and chatted among themselves. The equipment on them was old, and the badly bruised old mecha models beside them proved that their journey here wasn't easy.
The leader of this team was a skinny middle-aged man around 50 years old. His face showed many signs of old age. He drank the low-grade alcohol that the merchants gave them and looked at the team members around him. He sighed sadly. "I'm sorry, everyone. I'm too incapable. For the past ten years, our situation kept getting worse. Now, we even need to take missions that require so much time and effort, but don't have good rewards so we can fill up our stomachs."
"Grandpa Leader, what are you talking about. If it wasn't for you, I would have died from hunger when I was six years old." One of the young men who looked around 14 years old smiled. He didn't mind the harsh times they were facing.
"Little Tao, it's a waste of your talent if you remain in Shadow Cat." The leader looked at Little Tao and shook his head in pity. He was someone who didn't have much ability and the Shadow Cat Mercenary Team would probably remain in this bad state. There was no future for them. With Little Tao's ability and talent, he could go to a better mercenary team. He might even be able to enter an elite mercenary team too. However, this little fellow stubbornly remained here, so that he could repay the kindness of that one bowl of rice when he was young.
"I think that this life is pretty good." Little Tao smiled brightly. "We can take missions and earn money to feed ourselves. The grandfathers in the team take good care of me and treat me like their own grandson. If I go outside, I won't be able to enjoy such treatment. I will probably be bullied by the older members. Plus, if that happens, your heart will ache."
"Little Tao is getting better at talking." The other old members of Shadow Cat smiled happily.
They were all ordinary people. They didn't have many abilities so they were only low-level mercenaries. They just wanted to earn some money to keep themselves and their families alive. Mercenaries like them were like extras among all the huge mercenary teams. They were able to survive until now because their leader was a careful person, as he never took missions that exceeded their limits. However, this also meant that the level of their mercenary team would never increase. At the same time, their standard of living got worse. A low standard of living wouldn't attract powerful mercenaries. A mercenary team that wasn't powerful enough wouldn't be able to accept the harder missions which had more rewards. Hence, as the cycle continued, the Shadow Cat Mercenary Team's situation got worse over time. They couldn't even feed themselves properly now.
This was why the leader of Shadow Cat decided to take this mission. They didn't have any rice left back at home. He knew that this mission might be dangerous and the result was uncertain, but he could only take the risk.
While they were chatting, the door of the warehouse suddenly opened. The person-in-charge of this merchant team walked in with a few other people. There was a muscular man around 50 years old, a cultured young man around 30 years old, a smart-looking middle-aged man and an arrogant and wealthy young man.
The person-in-charge pointed at the leader of Shadow Cat and said, "This is the leader of the Shadow Cat Mercenary Team, Yuan Mulin. Leader Yuan is the first to arrive."
The person-in-charge pointed at the muscular man and introduced, "This is the leader of the Grey Bat Mercenary Team, Dibi Luya." Dibi Luya greeted everyone friendly.
"The leader of Red Maple Mercenary Team, Ye Shao." The cultured young man smiled and nodded at everyone.
"The leader of Poison Teeth Mercenary Team, Jiang Bizhi." The smart-looking middle-aged man nodded coldly. He didn't look like a friendly person.
"The leader of Mighty Sky, Ma Yizhe." The wealthy man seemed to look down on these poor leaders so he just raised his head arrogantly and scoffed. He didn't greet anyone.
The three leaders' expressions changed when they saw Ma Yizhe's attitude. Among all the three leaders, Ye Shao and Dibi Luya were more shrewd, so they immediately started smiling again. Jiang Bizhi, on the other hand, continued wearing his cold expression. He just glared at Ma Yizhe with a vicious gaze like the eyes of a poisonous snake.
"This will be your accommodation for the time being. I hope that everyone can work together for this mission and come back alive." The person-in-charge ignored the tension that was going on between the leaders. They only invited these mercenary teams to protect their merchant team, As for the relationship of the mercenary teams, it was not their concern.
The person-in-charge wanted to leave. Ye Shao suddenly thought of something and shouted, "President Tu, is everyone here?"
President Tu replied, "The Little Four Mercenary Team is still on their way."
"Haha, Little Four Mercenary Team? Who came up with such a weak name?" Ma Yizhe laughed loudly when he heard this.
President Tu didn't say anything. He just smiled. Names were given by the leaders based on their own preferences. It had nothing to do with ability. Plus, he didn't think that the name 'Mighty Sky' was any good too.
Suddenly, his communicator vibrated. He looked down and smiled. "Speak of the devil, they're here." He walked out of the warehouse. Around 10 minutes later, he came in with someone wearing a mask. This young person had a gentle aura. It was Ling Lan.
"This is the leader of Little Four Mercenary Team, Jiang Hui." President Tu's smile was more sincere this time. For some reason, he had a good impression of Jiang Hui. President Tu thought that this must be because of fate.
After that, he introduced the other leaders to Jiang Hui. Jiang Hui's presence was gentle so even Ma Yizhe, who laughed at the name of Ling Lan's team, didn't give her attitude. He didn't appear as arrogant and irritating as before.
The warehouse was segregated into six different sections naturally. Every section belonged to a respective mercenary team. Very soon, the five new teams moved their pieces of equipment and mechas into the warehouse.
Ling Lan's team was situated between Shadow Cat and Poison Teeth. Soon, the 14 brand new mechas that belonged to them got transported into the warehouse.
Ling Lan was late because she was preparing the equipment for her team. Fortunately, Ling Lan had loads of money and Little Four knew many ways of getting things. Little Four found a secret black market and managed to get 14 modified mechas within two short days. Of course, a lot of money was spent on it. They even got some equipment for the mechas and spare parts. The other leaders might have looked down on this young mercenary team but the moment their mechas entered the warehouse, they became serious. They decided that they wouldn't provoke this mercenary team until they knew more about their background.
Chapter 972 Accident!
The 14 mechas and the pieces of equipment caused the other five mercenary teams to become vigilant of the Little Four Mercenary Team. However, when the members of this team came down from the cockpit of their mechas, this vigilance died down.
The members of the Little Four Mercenary Team were mostly young men around 20 years old. There were even three women, a teenager that was still underage, and two young children. Obviously, this was a team made up of ambitious young people. Their family background must be good too since they were able to get such good mechas and pieces of equipment. The only two middle-aged men must be their bodyguards.
Plus, they might be doing it for fun, all of them wore a metal mask that covered half their faces just like their leader.
Soon, it was 8 am. The merchant team finally finished their preparations. They were ready to leave.
It had to be said that the merchant team was really stingy, as the three meals they provided were very simple.
Besides Shadow Cat, the other mercenary teams didn't lack money. They took out their own food and started eating. Ling Lan and her team members didn't like to torture themselves too. Lin Zhong-qing had thought about this possibility so he had prepared a lot of good food while they were getting ready all their equipment for the mission. After some time, all the team members from the Little Four Mercenary Team had oily lips from their delicious meal. This just further confirmed to everyone that this was a bunch of young masters having fun.
The members of Shadow Cat swallowed their saliva as they watched the members of Little Four eating their hearty meal happily while they had already finished their simple meal. They rolled themselves up to hide the sound from their growling stomach. Little Tao was still growing so the simple meal provided by the merchant team couldn't satisfy him.
However, he still controlled his hunger and didn't reveal any signs of it. He knew that the old men in his team needed more nutrients because their bodies were exhausted from the continuous fighting. If they knew that he was still hungry, they would definitely give him some of their food and he didn't want them to do that.
Little Tao thought that he hid his hunger well but a few people managed to hear it. Ma Yizhe looked at him with disdain. If they had a hard time filling up their stomachs, it meant that the Shadow Cat Mercenary Team was useless.
The other leaders didn't portray their thoughts so directly but they also looked down on Shadow Cat. No one wanted to work with useless people.
As for the Little Four Mercenary Team, besides the old man, the two children, and Aunt Liu, everyone heard it.
But, Ling Lan didn't look down on Shadow Cat because of this. Although Shadow Cat's situation was bad, Little Tao's actions showed that the relationship between the team members was strong. Plus, she saw Little Tao rejecting the food from his comrades when they offered it to him.
Compared to strength, Ling Lan felt that true friendship was more important. Without a doubt, Shadow Cat was much better than the other mercenary teams in this area.
Ling Lan had a good impression of Shadow Cat but she wasn't planning to help them. From the start, she didn't plan to have any interactions with the other mercenary teams.
However, sometimes accidents happen.
For instance, Liu Aihua.
The two children didn't hear the growl from the stomach, but the two children referred to Wang Qi and Liu Aijun. Liu Aihua, on the other hand, had her innate talent awakened so she heard the growl. She gave him a look of pity, as she was familiar with this sound. She used to have similar experiences too. She knew that the feeling of hunger wasn't good.
Liu Aihua was an obedient child but she was too kind sometimes. She knew that Little Tao was hungry and she had good food in her hands too. Hence, she ran over without much thinking and passed the drumstick in her hand to Little Tao. "Big brother, this is for you."
Little Tao was stunned. He didn't expect a little girl who was a stranger to him to give him her drumstick. He was touched but he shook his head. "Thank you, little sister. I'm not hungry." He was very hungry but he didn't wish to owe people favors. Plus, she was just a small little girl, she needed the food more than him.
Ma Yizhe laughed when he heard Little Tao's reply. "Little brat, stop pretending. Since someone is offering you food, eat it. If not, your stomach will continue growling. It's not good if you disturb our rest."
The leader of Shadow Cat and the other members instantly understood what was happening. At first, they were puzzled at Little Aihua's actions. "Little Tao, since you're still hungry, why didn't you tell us? Old people like us can't finish all those food anyway."
It looks like he was really old. He should have noticed that Little Tao was still hungry. Even old men like them weren't full after the meal. How could Little Tao be full?
"Speaking of which, your team is really terrible. You can't even feed your team members properly. I wonder how a useless mercenary team like yours manage to survive till now. Tsk tsk tsk…" Ma Yizhe shook his head and sighed. He appeared to be pitying them but his words were sarcastic.
Yuan Mulin was furious and his face turned red in anger. A lot of people had laughed at them before but they all did it behind their backs. This was the first time someone mocked them directly. Yet, he had to bear with it. Among the six mercenary teams, they had the fewest number of people and most of his team members were old and weak. If they really had a conflict with another mercenary team, they would be at a disadvantage.
Yuan Mulin was able to control his emotions but Little Tao couldn't, as he was young and hot-blooded. He replied coldly, "What does that have to do with you? Why are you being such a busybody?"
A muscular man sitting beside Ma Yizhe suddenly jumped up and rushed towards Little Tao. Little Tao's words had angered him. Liu Aihua was in his way so he reached out and wanted to throw Liu Aihua aside.
Aunt Liu and Wang Qi shouted in astonishment when they saw this.
The gazes of the members of the Little Four mercenary team turned cold. Liu Furong was prepared to get up but Little Tao acted before him. He hugged Liu Aihua and rolled to the side, managing to evade the attack.
Everyone from Little Four mercenary team relaxed a little. Liu Furong calmed down and sat down. He decided to observe the situation first.
Chapter 973 Worth it!
Little Tao pulled Liu Aihua up. He was furious. "What are you trying to do?" 1
The muscular man didn't reply to him. He just smiled and continued attacking Little Tao furiously.
Luckily, Little Tao was agile. Although he had Liu Aihua beside him, he still managed to dodge all the attacks.
The muscular man's eyes turned vicious when he couldn't hit Little Tao. He suddenly changed his target and started attacking Liu Aihua. Little Tao was afraid that Liu Aihua would be hurt so he couldn't dodge as freely as before, making his movements seem restricted. As for Liu Aihua, she didn't panic at all, she just stared at the man's fist intently.
This wasn't the normal reaction for a ten-year-old who was in danger. Ma Yizhe furrowed his brows as he watched at the side. Then, he turned to look at the Little Four Mercenary Team, they seemed oblivious to the fact that one of their team members was in danger.
Ma Yizhe was arrogant and he looked down on everyone, but he didn't want to cause too much unnecessary trouble.
However, the reaction of the members of the Little Four Mercenary Team stunned him greatly. Besides the teenager and the lady who seemed to be the little girl's mother, everyone else was calmly eating their food. Only the two of them looked at the fight with a frightened expression. Some of them even laughed and chatted among themselves.
The two beautiful young ladies didn't look worried too. The lady who seemed more extrovert was pointing at the fight and seemed to be explaining something to the other lady.
'What is happening? Are they not worried about the little girl? Or are they confident that she wouldn't get hurt?' 1
If it was the first possibility, it wasn't much of a problem. If it was the second… Ma Yizhe turned serious. No matter what the reason was, their calmness proved that they were not easy to deal with.
Ma Yizhe wanted to let his subordinate teach Little Tao a lesson but now, he shouted, "Zhang Mo, come back."
Zhang Mo, who was the muscular man, instantly came back to Ma Yizhe's side.
Ma Yizhe turned to look at Ling Lan and gave an ambiguous smile. "Leader Jiang, please watch over your members if you want to prevent unnecessary troubles."
Ma Yizhe decided to be careful. He asked Ling Lan to bring Liu Aihua away so that he wouldn't offend the Little Four Mercenary Team too much.
All the members of Little Four Mercenary Team looked at Ling Lan as they waited for her reply.
As for Little Tao, he took this opportunity to push Liu Aihua away. He was the one who offended them. He shouldn't implicate this little girl who kindly came to give him some food.
Ling Lan raised her head and glanced at Ma Yizhe. She calmly twirled the knife in her hand and cut off a small piece of steak in front of her. She placed it inside her mouth and chew it slowly. She only replied after she finished eating the piece of steak. "What's the matter?"
The members of the Little Four Mercenary Team smiled. It looks like their Boss wanted to interfere with this matter.
Her nonchalant attitude infuriated Ma Yizhe. His gaze turned cold as he said angrily, "I've reminded you already. Since you don't mind, don't blame us if anything bad happens."
Little Tao got agitated when he heard that the Little Four Mercenary Team wasn't going to care about Liu Aihua anymore. He shouted, "Leader Jiang, this has nothing to do with her. Please forgive her for acting rashly." He heard that many mercenary teams would give up on a member that was disobedient. Little Tao was still young so he thought that Liu Aihua had angered Ling Lan because she gave her food away on her own accord.
'What a simple and naive fellow.' Liu Furong took a sip of wine and thought. However, he approved of his kindness in helping Liu Aihua.
Luo Yi smiled brightly. He lowered his voice and said, "Little Liu, you can groom this kid."
"Why?" Liu Furong was surprised.
Luo Yi continued smiling. "You need to find a son-in-law, right? Compared to letting her be fooled by some random young man, why not groom a few talented people now so you won't have to worry in the future."
Liu Furong's expression turned dark. "What are you talking about? Old Luo, my daughter is still young." He suddenly understood the worry of being a father. He now had to be conscious about protecting his daughter from being fooled by some stupid brat.
Liu Furong had some admiration for Little Tao but now, it was all gone. 2
Ling Lan looked at the agitated Little Tao. She touched her chin and smiled as she asked, "What if I don't want to?"
'I have changed my aura into a gentle person now. Why does he still think that I am so heartless that I would abandon my own members?'
Little Tao's expression changed drastically. He looked at Ma Yizhe and his men who were getting restless. He instantly made a decision. He said calmly, "Although I don't have much capabilities, I can still help with small matters. If you are willing to continue protecting her, I'll owe you my life. Anytime you need it, you can come and take it."
"Little Tao!" Yuan Mulin shouted angrily. 'Why is this kid so stupid? How can he owe his life to a little girl he just met?;
Plus, it was obvious that those people would help the little girl no matter what. The little girl might not be important to them, but no one in the right mind would take a step back.
"Little Aihua, you used one drumstick to get a life. It's well worth it," Ling Lan said calmly. 1
'A drumstick for a life? Worth it? What is Brother Jiang Hui saying?' Little Aihua looked at the drumstick that was still in her hand while looking puzzled.
"I'm sorry, this young man belongs to me now. Leader Ma, please forgive him for my sake." Ling Lan really wanted to have a relaxing trip. She also hoped that their journey would be quiet and peaceful.
Ma Yizhe narrowed his eyes. He said coldly, "Leader Jiang, are you standing up for him?" Ma Yizhe felt that Ling Lan was purposely trying to suppress him.
Ling Lan cut another piece of steak and placed it in her mouth. She said indifferently, "Are you not planning to solve this peacefully?"
The members of the Little Four Mercenary Team put down whatever they were doing and looked at Ma Yizhe and his team. The atmosphere in the warehouse turned tense suddenly. A huge battle seemed imminent. 2
The leader of Poison Teeth, Jiang Bizhi, had decided to sit on the fence. Ye Shao and Dibi Luya exchanged glances with one another. In the next second, Ye Shao stood up and smiled. "Leader Ma, the child just made a mistake. If you get angry at him, you will be stooping to their level. Come, let's have a chat with all the leaders." He turned and looked at Ling Lan, "Leader Jiang, what do you think?"
Ling Lan smiled gently. "I'm okay. I just wonder if Leader Ma is willing to do it." Ling Lan didn't want to create trouble, especially unnecessary trouble.
Ma Yizhe snorted. Ye Shao comforted him for a while before he decided to sit down for a chat.
Chapter 974 Living Harmoniously In Peace
However, Ye Shao and Dibi Luya purposely disregarded Yuan Mulin. They didn't invite him over. This was even worse than humiliating him verbally. Yuan Mulin's face turned red in shame.
Ling Lan didn't move from her seat. She gave a half-smile and looked at Ye Shao. "Are you not planning to invite Leader Yuan?"
Yuan Mulin looked at Ling Lan gratefully. Ling Lan was helping him. If Ling Lan didn't mention anything, he would have to bear with the humiliation. His mercenary team would be trampled upon by the other mercenary teams if he said anything to gain the last bit of dignity he had left.
Yuan Mulin was not the only one that was grateful to Ling Lan. The members of Shadow Cat were grateful that she helped them keep their pride. Because of this, Little Tao also decided that owing his life to Ling Lan was worth it.
Ye Shao's expression froze. After a moment, he slapped his forehead and pretended to be sorry. "Leader Yuan, look at me. Sorry about this. Please come and have a chat together."
Yuan Mulin looked at Ling Lan unconsciously. Unknowingly, he started following Ling Lan.
Ling Lan smiled and stood up. She walked towards the area where Ye Shao, Dibi Luya, Jiang Bizhi, and Ma Yizhe were at.
Ye Shao, Dibi Luya, and Jiang Bizhi narrowed their eyes when they saw this. They got more vigilant of Ling Lan.
Luo Yi lowered his voice and said to Liu Furong, "Your regiment commander is not simple."
"If he is simple, he wouldn't be able to become a regiment commander of a mecha clan at the age of 21," Liu Furong replied with a proud expression.
"Look at how proud you are." Luo Yi drank some wine. His gaze turned unfocused. "At first, I thought that he achieved all these with the help of his father." Ling Xiao was one of the ten great generals so he definitely had the ability to let his son become a regiment commander.
"When he became out regiment commander that year, no one knew he was Ling Xiao's son." Liu Furong smiled. He remembered how everyone looked down on Ling Lan when they first knew that a young man was going to be their regiment commander. They thought that he would fail too. Furthermore, a lot of people had tried to help them from their dark place before, but none of them succeeded except for a 21-year-old man.
No one knew that this gentle-looking person was actually cold-blooded and ruthless. Their regiment commander was someone who would kill you if he felt that you had no hope. Liu Furong remembered Ling Lan's brutal methods in the past and felt cold sweat all over his body. The time when he advanced to the domain stage, he really felt that his regiment commander didn't plan to let him stay alive.
"Oh right. You haven't told me how you enter General Ling Xiao's 250 Ace Mecha Clan." He couldn't understand why that powerful person in the 3rd Division let him off.
Liu Furong sneered. He slowly told Luo Yi what had happened to him over the years. At first, he was still under the control of that person after he went into 250 Ace Mecha Clan. His opportunity to escape from his grasp came when Ling Lan appeared.
While Liu Furong was talking to Luo Yi, Ling Lan was met with many questions. The other leaders tried to dig out more information from her, but she just smiled most of the time and didn't reply to them. Hence, the other leaders couldn't do anything but stare at her. As for Yuan Mulin, they just ignored him all the way. Yuan Mulin didn't make his presence known too. He just remained quiet until the end.
Ling Lan returned to her mercenary team and sat with her team members.
Han Jijyun whispered, "Boss, what are the backgrounds of all those mercenary teams?"
"Grey Bat and Red Maple are strong teams. Their leaders are strong too. Ma Yizhe seemed rash but every step he took is precise. Jiang Bizhi has a tight mouth too. Besides Shadow Cat, the other mercenary teams have their own motive for accepting this mission." Ling Lan said calmly, "There must be something going on."
"Isn't Ma Yizhe's mercenary team a new mercenary team?" Luo Lang was surprised. Ma Yizhe gave him the impression that he was rash and wealthy. He thought that Ma Yizhe created his mercenary team because he was bored and wanted to have some excitement in his life.
"Of course not." Xie Yi explained hurriedly, "His team members knew what to do the moment Ma Yizhe looked at them. How could this be a team that just got created? Well, unless they knew each other since they were young just like us."
Luo Lang remembered how fast the members of Mighty Sky reacted when they almost had a fight just now. Their cooperation and cohesiveness were not awkward nor faked at all. He nodded.
"Your regiment commander is a monster," Luo Yi exclaimed. Ling Lan just had a short chat with the leaders but he managed to understand each mercenary team well. He felt that if more time was given to Ling Lan, he would be able to surpass Regiment Commander Wang. He might even become the second Ling Xiao.
"They always say that a Ling Xiao only appears every thousand years. If that is the case, our regiment commander is someone who appears every ten thousand years." Liu Furong felt that Ling Lan would become even stronger than Ling Xiao, as he was even more brutal and vicious than Ling Xiao.
Mighty Sky, Shadow Cat, and Little Four Mercenary Team had some conflict on the first day but the entire trip was relatively peaceful. Everyone lived harmoniously. They all lived in the same warehouse so they saw each other every day. After some time, they got familiar with each other too.
As for Little Tao, whose full name was Tao Ying, he would come to the Little Four Mercenary Team whenever he was free. He was 13 years old so he became good friends with Wang Qi who was 16 years old and Liu Aihua, who was 10 years old. The little burden, Liu Aijun, would always follow behind the three of them. The four youths always stayed beside Chang Xinyuan and Luo Yi. They would observe them as they did maintenance for the mechas.
Because of Tao Ying, the Little Four Mercenary Team and the Shadow Cat Mercenary Team had a good relationship with each other. Lin Zhong-qing took pity on the old mercenaries so he would occasionally give them some leftover parts. The old mercenaries from Shadow Cat were thankful.
The team members from Red Maple and Grey Bat always had meals and played games together. Soon, they became brother teams and formed an alliance among themselves. The people from Mighty Sky and Poison Teeth would sometimes join them for their meals and games. All in all, the six mercenary teams had a harmonious time, at least on the surface.
Finally, the merchant fleet arrived at the Chaotic Lands.
The people from Shadow Cat heaved a sigh of relief. They were afraid that the fully loaded merchant ships would meet intergalactic pirates along the way. If that was the case, they might not be able to go back home alive.
On the other hand, the other mercenary teams were more nervous when they landed.
Ye Shao and Dibi Luya, who always had smiles on their faces, turned serious too.
President Tu appeared at the entrance of the warehouse. He cupped his hands and bowed at them. "We'll have to trouble you for the coming week."
As expected, the merchant team didn't hire them to protect the ships during the journey to and fro the Chaotic Lands. They hired them to protect them when they were in Chaotic Lands.
Chapter 975 Black Market!
The members of Little Four Mercenary Team took a tour around the biggest city in Chaotic Lands and came back with various information about this place.
Just like its name suggests, Chaotic Lands was a place where reasoning was useless. The fist was the most important thing here. There was no government so the order of the place was messy. Acts of violence could happen anytime. Yet, this place was the most prosperous and free market in the entire Federation. Many merchants and wealthy people filled the roads of the city. Thus, as long as you have money, you could buy anything here.
Crimes happened in the Chaotic Lands all the time. If people who didn't have the ability to protect themselves came to this place accidentally, they would be killed almost instantly.
The Chaotic Lands and the Lawless Lands were the two places where evil congregated. However, they were very different even though their principles seemed similar.
The Lawless Lands was really messy. It was filled with criminals from various nations, merciless killers, and brutal murderers. Every day, innumerable people died. Huge fights occurred all the time. Compared to the Lawless Lands, the Chaotic Lands was much more orderly. Besides the fact that average people were not suitable to live here, everything else was fine.
The reason no one dared to create a huge mess here was because the Chaotic Lands was actually controlled by three underground kings. They were Frost Monarch, Hades, and Ninja. It was rumored that all three of them were imperial level domain experts. However, that was just a rumor. There was no evidence to prove it.
Out of the three uncrowned kings, Ling Lan was most interested in Frost Monarch. From his name, she could tell that he was an ice element domain realm masters. Fighting with a formidable warrior who had the same element as her would be of great help.
Ling Lan was a half step into the imperial level. She had tried her best to extend the various techniques in her domain and practiced using them with the various states, but she still couldn't manage to find her breakthrough opportunity. She was stuck at the entrance of imperial level.
Of course, this was just Ling Lan's thoughts. She wouldn't offend Frost Monarch purposely so that she could have a battle with him. If she came here alone, she might do it. But, her comrades were with her. Ling Lan wouldn't put her comrades at risk, especially when they were in someone else's territory.
The six mercenary teams split into two groups. One group would stay with the fleet and protect the ships while the other was in charge of protecting the person-in-charge of the merchant team when he went to discuss business deals with other merchants. Three days later, the two teams would swap. To ensure that the results were fair, the leader of Grey Bat, Dibi Luya, suggested that they draw lots.
Yuan Mulin agreed with the suggestion. Jiang Bizhi and Ma Yizhe thought for a while and decided to go with it. Since the majority agreed, Ling Lan and Yuan Mulin's opinion didn't matter.
This drawing lots were not the low-level kind where everyone would close their eyes and choose a piece of paper. First, they would appoint someone to throw the balls of paper in the air. Everyone would use their ability to get the order they wanted.
Ling Lan didn't really care at the start but when she saw Dibi Luya and Ye Shao choosing to stay with the fleet first, she had a change of mind. She snatched the last piece of paper with the same sequence as Dibi Luya and Ye Shao before Jiang Bizhi caught it.
In the end, Little Four, Grey Bat, and Red Maple were in one team. They would stay with the fleet first and then go out. Jiang Bizhi and Ma Yizhe sighed when they realized the results of the lots. It seemed like they wanted to be the second batch that would leave the fleet too.
'Why do they want to stay on the fleet first?' Ling Lan was puzzled. It was a coincidence that she chose to come to the Chaotic Lands, so she was unfamiliar with this area. Little Four tried to find more information but there was not a single mainframe in this place. Even the communicators here were deactivated so Little Four's progress of obtaining information was slow.
For the first three days, everything was peaceful. The two groups swapped their positions. It was time for Ling Lan's team to go out. For the first two days of her shift, she protected the person-in-charge of the merchant team as he ran around the market to buy or exchange goods. On the third day, when Ling Lan arrived at the destination with the person-in-charge, she finally understood why the leaders wanted to be in the second batch that would come out.
It was because there was a secret event on the third day. It was known as the black market. The Chaotic Lands was already a place where people could trade freely but a black market still existed, so there must be some interesting things inside.
There was a special way to enter the black market, which only the president of the merchant team, President Tu, knew.
Every year, the method of entering the black market would change. Hence, President Tu wasn't afraid that this secret would be leaked out.
The black market was also an extremely dangerous place. Some people didn't mind to kill to gain whatever they want so President Tu brought the three mercenary teams with him to boost his confidence and security.
Plus, if the people he brought to the black market was able to gain the liking of the person-in-charge of the black market and get an invitation the following year, he would be able to get heavy commissions too. He had nothing to lose from this so President Tu allowed them to follow him without any worry.
The moment they entered the black market, they saw all the representatives from all the various huge merchant clans as well as the wealthy and powerful people from the various nations. Those that got the invitation but couldn't come personally would send their confidants over to take part in this distinguished gathering.
The black market was split into three districts. The outer ring was the normal district. Of course, the normal district was filled with weapons banned from moving out of the various nations. There were also precious minerals and mines, savage beast forbidden to be sold, rare artifacts and national treasures, as well as books teaching special techniques. There were even some secret scriptures. However, these were only the lowest tier of goods. Even mechas from the various countries could be found here. The highest level of mecha available in the normal district was actually the special-class mecha. Everyone knew that mechas from a country were banned from being sold outside the country.
The inner ring was the special district. Ace mechas from different nations could be found here. Of course, they were not the latest model. If the latest model of ace mechas were available, the various nations would have made noises by now. They would organize their troops and collaborate with one another to destroy the Chaotic Lands. Besides mechas, there were other interesting items too. For instance, new supplies, ores, plants. Some products that could only be found on Planet Juhao were seen here too.
The center of the ring was the private collection district. Military starships were sold here. Ling Lan even saw the Divine Dragon starship in the list of items sold. This starship was just retired from the military and was considered the highest grade starship of the Federation. Ling Lan was astounded. In order to get this starship here without alerting anyone, someone from the higher authorities must be part of this. However, this was not the only thing that shocked Ling Lan. After the starship, humans started appearing on the list.
There were men, women, children, as well as the elderly. They were locked up in cages. The virtual screen beside the cage contained information about the innate talents of these people. It also showed their current level and their potential.
Most of them were children like Liu Aihua. These children had amazing potentials and were prodigies that managed to awaken their innate talent at a young age. They should have grown to become elites, but they were now being sold as goods. They would become their buyer's tools or slaves.
Ling Lan frowned. She could accept the other items found here. Even if they were adults being sold, she wouldn't be so bothered about it. Yet, this bunch of children who had fear and hope in their eyes made her feel uncomfortable.
975 Black Market!
The members of Little Four Mercenary Team took a tour around the biggest city in Chaotic Lands and came back with various information about this place.
Just like its name suggests, Chaotic Lands was a place where reasoning was useless. The fist was the most important thing here. There was no government so the order of the place was messy. Acts of violence could happen anytime. Yet, this place was the most prosperous and free market in the entire Federation. Many merchants and wealthy people filled the roads of the city. Thus, as long as you have money, you could buy anything here.
Crimes happened in the Chaotic Lands all the time. If people who didn't have the ability to protect themselves came to this place accidentally, they would be killed almost instantly.
The Chaotic Lands and the Lawless Lands were the two places where evil congregated. However, they were very different even though their principles seemed similar.
The Lawless Lands was really messy. It was filled with criminals from various nations, merciless killers, and brutal murderers. Every day, innumerable people died. Huge fights occurred all the time. Compared to the Lawless Lands, the Chaotic Lands was much more orderly. Besides the fact that average people were not suitable to live here, everything else was fine.
The reason no one dared to create a huge mess here was because the Chaotic Lands was actually controlled by three underground kings. They were Frost Monarch, Hades, and Ninja. It was rumored that all three of them were imperial level domain experts. However, that was just a rumor. There was no evidence to prove it.
Out of the three uncrowned kings, Ling Lan was most interested in Frost Monarch. From his name, she could tell that he was an ice element domain realm masters. Fighting with a formidable warrior who had the same element as her would be of great help.
Ling Lan was a half step into the imperial level. She had tried her best to extend the various techniques in her domain and practiced using them with the various states, but she still couldn't manage to find her breakthrough opportunity. She was stuck at the entrance of imperial level.
Of course, this was just Ling Lan's thoughts. She wouldn't offend Frost Monarch purposely so that she could have a battle with him. If she came here alone, she might do it. But, her comrades were with her. Ling Lan wouldn't put her comrades at risk, especially when they were in someone else's territory.
The six mercenary teams split into two groups. One group would stay with the fleet and protect the ships while the other was in charge of protecting the person-in-charge of the merchant team when he went to discuss business deals with other merchants. Three days later, the two teams would swap. To ensure that the results were fair, the leader of Grey Bat, Dibi Luya, suggested that they draw lots.
Yuan Mulin agreed with the suggestion. Jiang Bizhi and Ma Yizhe thought for a while and decided to go with it. Since the majority agreed, Ling Lan and Yuan Mulin's opinion didn't matter.
This drawing lots were not the low-level kind where everyone would close their eyes and choose a piece of paper. First, they would appoint someone to throw the balls of paper in the air. Everyone would use their ability to get the order they wanted.
Ling Lan didn't really care at the start but when she saw Dibi Luya and Ye Shao choosing to stay with the fleet first, she had a change of mind. She snatched the last piece of paper with the same sequence as Dibi Luya and Ye Shao before Jiang Bizhi caught it.
In the end, Little Four, Grey Bat, and Red Maple were in one team. They would stay with the fleet first and then go out. Jiang Bizhi and Ma Yizhe sighed when they realized the results of the lots. It seemed like they wanted to be the second batch that would leave the fleet too.
'Why do they want to stay on the fleet first?' Ling Lan was puzzled. It was a coincidence that she chose to come to the Chaotic Lands, so she was unfamiliar with this area. Little Four tried to find more information but there was not a single mainframe in this place. Even the communicators here were deactivated so Little Four's progress of obtaining information was slow.
For the first three days, everything was peaceful. The two groups swapped their positions. It was time for Ling Lan's team to go out. For the first two days of her shift, she protected the person-in-charge of the merchant team as he ran around the market to buy or exchange goods. On the third day, when Ling Lan arrived at the destination with the person-in-charge, she finally understood why the leaders wanted to be in the second batch that would come out.
It was because there was a secret event on the third day. It was known as the black market. The Chaotic Lands was already a place where people could trade freely but a black market still existed, so there must be some interesting things inside.
There was a special way to enter the black market, which only the president of the merchant team, President Tu, knew.
Every year, the method of entering the black market would change. Hence, President Tu wasn't afraid that this secret would be leaked out.
The black market was also an extremely dangerous place. Some people didn't mind to kill to gain whatever they want so President Tu brought the three mercenary teams with him to boost his confidence and security.
Plus, if the people he brought to the black market was able to gain the liking of the person-in-charge of the black market and get an invitation the following year, he would be able to get heavy commissions too. He had nothing to lose from this so President Tu allowed them to follow him without any worry.
The moment they entered the black market, they saw all the representatives from all the various huge merchant clans as well as the wealthy and powerful people from the various nations. Those that got the invitation but couldn't come personally would send their confidants over to take part in this distinguished gathering.
The black market was split into three districts. The outer ring was the normal district. Of course, the normal district was filled with weapons banned from moving out of the various nations. There were also precious minerals and mines, savage beast forbidden to be sold, rare artifacts and national treasures, as well as books teaching special techniques. There were even some secret scriptures. However, these were only the lowest tier of goods. Even mechas from the various countries could be found here. The highest level of mecha available in the normal district was actually the special-class mecha. Everyone knew that mechas from a country were banned from being sold outside the country.
The inner ring was the special district. Ace mechas from different nations could be found here. Of course, they were not the latest model. If the latest model of ace mechas were available, the various nations would have made noises by now. They would organize their troops and collaborate with one another to destroy the Chaotic Lands. Besides mechas, there were other interesting items too. For instance, new supplies, ores, plants. Some products that could only be found on Planet Juhao were seen here too.
The center of the ring was the private collection district. Military starships were sold here. Ling Lan even saw the Divine Dragon starship in the list of items sold. This starship was just retired from the military and was considered the highest grade starship of the Federation. Ling Lan was astounded. In order to get this starship here without alerting anyone, someone from the higher authorities must be part of this. However, this was not the only thing that shocked Ling Lan. After the starship, humans started appearing on the list.
There were men, women, children, as well as the elderly. They were locked up in cages. The virtual screen beside the cage contained information about the innate talents of these people. It also showed their current level and their potential.
Most of them were children like Liu Aihua. These children had amazing potentials and were prodigies that managed to awaken their innate talent at a young age. They should have grown to become elites, but they were now being sold as goods. They would become their buyer's tools or slaves.
Ling Lan frowned. She could accept the other items found here. Even if they were adults being sold, she wouldn't be so bothered about it. Yet, this bunch of children who had fear and hope in their eyes made her feel uncomfortable.
Chapter 976 Missing!
President Tu thought that Ling Lan was interested in the children when he saw her looking at them intently. He said, "The children here are all quite average. If you want to groom a good subordinate, you can wait for the auction at night. There will be better candidates then."
Speaking about this, President Tu sighed. "It's their luck to land in your hands. Leader Jiang, if you are interested, buy one. Save one while you can."
If his merchant team had the budget, he wanted to buy one of the children too. He wasn't planning to raise the child as his slave. He just wanted to accumulate some virtue for himself.
"They should be expensive." Ling Lan was in deep thought.
"Yes. But, it's worth it. The black market has the ability to make these people listen to you for life. They'll not betray you. That's why their business is so good. They have a good reputation," President Tu explained to her softly.
Ling Lan nodded. That cadet that died in her hands had the ability to hypnotize people. Hence, they might be someone with similar abilities in the black market. That was how they could brainwash the people and let them serve their master faithfully.
Ling Lan was attracted by the items in the black market, but Ye Shao and Dibi Luya were not interested in them. They seemed to pay more attention to the people that came to the black market. From this point, they appeared more professional than Ling Lan. They didn't forget to remain vigilant of their surroundings after entering the black market.
President Tu was satisfied with their performance. However, since Ling Lan was the youngest among them, he felt that it was understandable. Thus, he didn't blame Ling Lan for her unprofessionalism.
While Ling Lan and the other two leaders accompanied President Tu to the black market to get what he wanted, the people who remained at the warehouse were having lunch. Most of the time, the merchant team would send them their food on time. But, this time, there was no sign of anyone from the merchant team.
The other two mercenary teams had their own food so they just calmly opened their food supply and started eating. However, Shadow Cat didn't have their own food supply. The Little Four Mercenary Team that always gave them some food was out for their mission so they could only wait patiently for the merchant team to provide them their meals.
A moment later, an unfamiliar muscular man wearing the uniform of the merchant clan they were guarding walked over and shouted, "The logisticians informed us that they are busy with the loading of the goods so they don't have the time to send food over. Please send someone from your team to get your food."
Tao Ying jumped up immediately. "I'll go"
The muscular man looked at the other two teams. "Who is going from your team?"
Ma Yizhe scoffed and said, "Forget it. We won't die from hunger if we don't eat one meal. We don't want the food anymore."
Jiang Bizhi agreed and said coldly, "Do you really think that we need to rely on you for food? Hmph!"
The man's expression froze. He said to Tao Ying awkwardly, "Follow me."
Yuan Mulin wanted to reject arrogantly like the other two leaders but he looked at the hungry old people in his team and said, "Hurry up and go."
"I understand." Tao Ying nodded. He was thinking that since the other two teams didn't want their food, maybe he could get more servings for his members?
Tao Ying left with the muscular man. After a long time, he still hadn't come back. Yuan Mulin got worried. Finally, after waiting for an hour, he couldn't control his agitation and went to look for Tao Ying in the cafeteria.
When he reached the cafeteria, he was notified that the worker who was supposed to send the food over had left long ago. Yuan Mulin felt that something was amiss. He immediately searched through the place with the people from the merchant team. A while later, they told him that they found the corpse of the worker that went to send their food. It was predicted that he had died for more than two hours.
Yuan Mulin was shocked and furious. He knew that he got tricked. The muscular man that came to their warehouse wasn't from the merchant team. However, he didn't know why the person would sneak into the merchant's base and bring Little Tao away. There were no other casualties found and no goods were stolen. The person's target wasn't the product of the merchant. It seemed to be Little Tao.
However, they stayed beside their employer obediently all the time and never offended anyone. Yuan Mulin squatted on the ground and started crying furiously. He knew that the merchant wouldn't send people to look for Little Tao. Yet, with the six of them, they wouldn't have any chance of finding him in this chaotic region without any clues.
"My condolences. People who went missing in the Chaotic Lands were never found," Ma Yizhe pretended to console him.
Jiang Bizhi sneered and said, "This is the result of overestimating yourself. Don't come to this area again. It's not suitable for you."
"Leader, we can't leave without Little Tao. We watch him grow up," the old mercenary from Shadow Cat said in agony. If it wasn't for them, Little Tao could have joined a better mercenary team. He wouldn't have to come to this place and everything wouldn't have happened.
"I will. Even if I die, I will bring him back." Yuan Mulin's eyes were bloodshot but his gaze was firm. He wouldn't return to the Federation unless he found Little Tao.
Yuan Mulin calmed down after crying. He made friends with Luo Yi from the Little Four mercenary team as their age was similar. They exchanged their numbers too so he immediately contacted Luo Yi and told him that Little Tao was missing.
Yuan Mulin didn't know what to do so he could only plead the Little Four Mercenary Team to help him. Yuan Mulin decided that no matter what the results were, as long as the Little Four Mercenary Team were willing to help them, he was willing to do the toughest and most dangerous job for them. This was the only way he could think of repaying them.
Luo Yi was guarding the goods outside. He hung up the call with a serious face.
"What happened?" Liu Furong was startled. Ever since they left Planet Muyang, this was the first time he saw such a serious expression on Luo Yi's face.
"The leader of Shadow Cat called just now and told me that Tao Ying is missing," Luo Yi replied.
"Isn't Tao Ying always in the warehouse? How did he disappear?" Liu Furong was shocked.
Luo Yi briefly told him how Tao Ying disappeared. Liu Furong frowned. "It seemed like the person's target was Tao Ying from the start. But, why do they have to sneak in to take him away?"
Yuan Mulin had too little information on his hand. The two people thought for a long time but no conclusion was reached.
"We need to find our regiment commander." Liu Furong was helpless so he could only look for the most powerful person he knew.
Chapter 977 Heavily Injured!
Liu Furong contacted Ling Lan but she told him that it was inconvenient for her to talk now and asked him to leave a message. Hence, Liu Furong texted what happened to Tao Ying to her and waited for her reply patiently.
In the black market, Ling Lan raised her arm to look at her communicator. Ye Shao noticed Ling Lan's actions and smiled. "There are interference systems in place so our communicators can't be used. Even if we are just standing in front of each other, we can't communicate through our communicators."
Ling Lan smiled in reply. "No wonder there is no reaction. I asked my team members to report their situation to me every hour."
Ling Lan settled Ye Shao and read through the message Liu Furong sent her in her mind. She started pondering over it.
Little Tao was a normal person but he had a strong point. The first time she saw him, she discovered that he had awakened his innate talent at a young age too. She remembered all the children she saw in the black market and arrived at a conclusion.
Those human traffickers must have noticed Little Tao's strength accidentally. They also knew that he was from a weak mercenary team so there would be no consequences involved if they kidnapped him. Since there was nothing to lose, they had no reason to give up on this piece of meat.
Ling Lan told Liu Furong her guess. Liu Furong was enlightened. No wonder Little Tao was taken away. He told Luo Yi what Ling Lan told him. As he was speaking, he suddenly remembered that his precious daughter had awakened her innate talent too. He got frightened. He told Luo Yi, "Luo Yi, stay here. I'll go and find my daughter."
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Then, he disappeared.
Damn it, his Little Aihua followed Wang Qi, Han Xuya, and some other people to the market. He hoped that nothing happened to them.
Wang Qi and Liu Aihua liked to walk around freely so they cooperated and managed to leave their little burden, Liu Aijun, behind. Without Liu Aijun following them, Aunt Liu wouldn't nag at them. However, since they were just kids, Han Xuya was worried about letting them walked around alone so she split up with Luo Chao. She would follow Wang Qi and Liu Aihua while Luo Chao would follow Aunt Liu and Liu Aijun.
Besides the two of them, Luo Lang and Qi Long came to protect them too. Luo Lang followed his sister so Qi Long followed Han Xuya. Just like how Han Xuya was worried about Wang Qi and Liu Aihua, Qi Long was worried about Han Xuya too.
The Chaotic Lands were dangerous and unsafe but the items sold here were good. The price was much cheaper than their own planet too. Some were shockingly cheap. Wang Qi and Liu Aihua managed to buy some knick-knacks after a while.
As Wang Qi and Liu Aihua stood in front of a stall and looked through the pile of goods, Han Xuya had some free time to take a look at the wide array of goods beside her too. A spherical ball with mist coming out of it caught her attention. She walked over and held the ball. A cold feeling flowed up her hand. This was a frost pearl.
"Miss, this is the frost pearl special to Planet Aoliduo. It's very precious." The stall owner smiled happily when he saw a customer.
"The frost river produced millions of frost pearls every year. It isn't as precious as you say, "Han Xuya replied calmly. She liked the frost pearl because she felt that it was compatible with her Boss. She wasn't a stupid person who didn't know how to bargain. She wouldn't be fooled by a few words.
The stall owner's lie got exposed so he laughed awkwardly and said, "You are a knowledgeable person. I can't fool you. How about this, if you like it, you can take it at this price." The stall owner knew that he couldn't get more money from this beautiful lady so he gave up this thought decisively and named his price.
Han Xuya looked at the frost pearl carefully. Then, she offered half the price the stall owner gave her.
The stall owner gave a forced smile. "Miss, I came all the way here to set up my stall. Let me earn some money. I really can't earn much at this price. I can't sell it to you."
Han Xuya put down the frost pearl indifferently. "Forget it. I hope that you can get a better buyer." She looked as though she wanted to stand up.
The stall owner saw her action and shouted, "Wait, miss, do you want to buy more things? If you buy more, I'll sell it to you at your
price."
"This frost pearl can only be used as an accessory. There is no use for it. The price I'm offering you is high enough. You'll not be able to find a better buyer. Plus, there is only one pearl. I can't even make a bracelet with it." Han Xuya pretended to be nonchalant. "If you are willing to sell it, I can buy it for fun. If not, I don't have to get it too."
The owner thought for a moment and asked, "You want more frost pearls?"
Han Xuya raised one of her eyebrows. "You have more?"
"How many do you need? If you buy more, I'll offer it to you at the price." That which is rare is dear. The stall owner didn't bring out all his stock first.
"How many do you have?" Han Xuya didn't answer him.
The stall owner show '10' with his fingers.
"I want all of them. However, I want them at this price." Han Xuya signaled another price with her fingers. The stall owner's expression seemed even more forced. "Miss, this is not how you should bargain."
"You should know that once there is a huge supply of something, the price will become cheaper." Han Xuya smiled like a sly little fox.
"You're impressive." The stall owner couldn't do anything. He agreed with the price. It was a third of his original price but at least he managed to sell all his frost pearls. He had gotten back most of his cost for this trip.
Han Xuya happily took the camphor wood box containing the ten frost pearls. As she was getting up, she saw Wang Qi and Liu Aihua running into the crowd. She got up hurriedly and chased after them. Two big-sized men suddenly blocked her path.
Han Xuya tilted her body and wanted to evade them. Suddenly, a hand appeared in front of her chest. One of the men was trying to molest
her.
"What are you trying to do?" Qi Long appeared instantly and grabbed the hand. He was furious.
Han Xuya looked at Qi Long.
Qi Long nodded to show that he would take care of this matter. Han Xuya moved to the side and left. She wanted to catch up with the two children among the crowd. She still remembered that she needed to take care of them.
She took a few steps when suddenly, she couldn't move anymore. Wang Qi, who was in front of her, was gone.
Han Xuya vomited a mouthful of blood.
The force that was gripping her body disappeared. The heavily injured Han Xuya leaned back and fell towards the ground. A warm and strong arm caught her tightly. "Xuya!" Qi Long shouted anxiously.
'This is the first time you called me Xuya!' Han Xuya wanted to tell him this but she couldn't speak. Blood kept flowing out of her mouth, staining her clothes.
Chapter 978 Saving People!
Liu Furong arrived at this moment. He quickly felt an unfamiliar domain energy taking Little Aihua away at a very fast speed. He hurried over but he stopped halfway.
"Damn it, I'm a step too late." Liu Furong couldn't find any traces of the domain realm master. He was worried about Han Xuya so he went back.
Luo Chao was already giving Han Xuya some emergency agents. However, this agent was only able to keep her alive. Han Xuya got injured by a domain realm master. If Qi Long didn't save her in time, she might have died on the spot.
Liu Furong immediately reported their situation to Ling Lan. At first, Ling Lan didn't like the selling of humans in the black market but she didn't want to interfere in anything troublesome. But now, the actions of these people had infuriated her.
'How dare they touch her comrades! They must go to hell!'
Killing intent appeared in Ling Lan's eyes. She ordered Little Four to find the base of these human traffickers no matter what it takes.
At this moment, the domain realm master who caught Little Aihua had arrived at his secret base. He threw the unconscious Little Aihua into a cage that was prepared beforehand. His face was filled with anger.
"Damn it. Why didn't you all tell me that there are domain realm masters protecting this little girl?" If he didn't run away fast enough, he would have been caught by the domain realm master chasing him. He wasn't afraid but in order to have domain realm masters protecting her, this little girl's identity must be special. He didn't want to create any huge trouble for his organization.
The business they did was illegal but they wouldn't choose people with a background. Yet, the little girl he just caught was obviously from a powerful background.
"Based on what our scouts told us, the other party was rich but they aren't powerful." His subordinate heard him and hurriedly replied.
"Not powerful? Where did the domain realm master come from then? There is not one, but two domain realm masters." The person who broke through his domain must be a domain realm master too. When his force of presence was broken, he felt something amiss so he ran away immediately with his prey. This allowed him to escape that domain realm master who was chasing him just in time.
"Maybe they made a mistake." His subordinate wiped the cold sweat off his forehead as he explained. Then, he pointed at Little Aihua and asked, "What do we do with her?"
"What do we do? Since we took her, we can't make a loss, right?" The domain realm master frowned. "We must act quickly. Make arrangements to have this troublesome girl sold at the auction tonight. Also, tell the people below to hide for this period of time. Don't go out and source for prey. If they get caught, the organization will not save them."
Two domain realm masters couldn't create a fuss in the Chaotic Lands, and the organization behind them would be able to subdue them easily if they really found their base. However, their organization was afraid of trouble. If there was a background behind the two domain realm masters, a background like a powerful elite family, their organization would quickly abandon them.
"But that would mean that we don't have the time to assess her." Normally, they had to do a thorough assessment of all their goods so that they could provide clear information to their buyers to make them feel at ease.
"Write special type. Some people like to try their luck, right?" The domain realm master answered nonchalantly. No matter how bad the goods was, once it entered the auction, it would be able to fetch a high price. He was not worried that he would make a loss.
"I understand." The subordinate had been doing this kind of business for a long time so he knew the minds of the buyers too.
Inside a house they rented temporary, ten people sat quietly in the living room.
Li Lanfeng touched Little White's back slowly. Little White felt comfortable but the tense atmosphere in the living room caused him to keep quiet.
The door suddenly opened. Li Shiyu and Luo Chao walked out fully dressed in their medics uniform.
Li Shiyu took off his mask and said calmly, "She's out of danger."
This was the first time he experienced the power of domain. Han Xuya's body kept being hurt by the residual domain energy. If Ling Lan didn't leave a bottle of Nuwa agent for emergency purposes, Han Xuya situation might have gone for the worse.
This made Li Shiyu understand that he needed to source the main ingredient for his Nuwa agent immediately. If not, he wouldn't be able to save his comrades for the next time they get in trouble.
Everyone relaxed a little when they heard this.
Qi Long remembered Han Xuya's weak appearance when she laid in his arms just now. His heart ached. He slammed his hand on the handle beside him and breaking it in the process.
"I want to kill that fellow!" Qi Long's eyes were bloodshot. Malicious intent could be seen inside them. He looked like a devil from hell.
Liu Furong's expression relaxed when he heard that Han Xuya was alright. However, when he thought about his missing daughter, his face turned dark again.
Beep beep beep! His communicator started vibrating. He instantly turned on his communicator and a map appeared on the virtual screen.
It had to be said that when Little Four decided to be serious, he was extremely efficient. Within two hours from the time Liu Furong reported their situation to Ling Lan, Little Four managed to find the base of the human traffickers.
"There are three suspicious locations. They are…" Ling Lan's voice was heard along with the appearance of the map. "All of you will split into four groups. One group will stay at our base while each of the other three groups will go to one of the locations. Please remember that our aim is to save our people and not to take revenge."
Ling Lan was afraid that her comrades would be controlled by their emotions and forget the purpose of their mission. Before Little Aihua was saved, she didn't want anyone to discover her comrades. She was afraid that the other party would kill Little Aihua to cover up their traces.
"I understand." Liu Furong felt touched. If Ling Lan didn't say this, Qi Long might be overwhelmed by his anger and want to take revenge. If that happened, he couldn't stop him.
The killing intent in Qi Long's eyes subsided after he heard what Ling Lan said. He resumed his composure and the people around him heaved a sigh of relief.
They acted quickly and split themselves into four teams.
Qi Long was tasked to remain behind to protect the people who weren't participating in this mission. A portion of the people was worried that he would act rashly because of his emotions, but the main reason he would stay behind was that he was one of the most powerful people among them. Those that stayed back were mostly weak and injured people. Hence, Qi Long was given the important task of protecting them.
Liu Furong and Zhao Jun were in one team, Luo Lang and Xie Yi were in one team, and Li Lanfeng and Little White were in the last team.
Out of the three teams, the team with Liu Furong and Zhao Jun was the weakest. Zhao Jun wasn't a domain realm master yet but he was just half a step away from it. He just needed an opportunity to breakthrough. He was more powerful than all the other Qi-Jin masters and even if he met a domain realm master, he could fight evenly with them for a while.
As for Little White, everyone knew what it actually was. In 250 Ace Mecha Clan, it was the most powerful 'person' after their Boss. Hence, Li Lanfeng and Little White would go to the most dangerous location Ling Lan mentioned.