Night Mercenary Group!

Outside the window.

The night deepened, the moonlight hazy.

Inside the private room, all was silent.

Only the soft breathing of two people.

After a long while, as the oppressive atmosphere in the room gradually dissipated... Xu Qi sat up straight, still feeling a lingering sense of dread.

As a secretary at the human base, Xu Qi had tempered her willpower well, but facing a terrifying virus like the RT Virus still stirred some panic.

Only the damp fabric on her back reminded her that everything Lin Ye had said was true.

"Mr. Lin Ye, I lost my composure just now. Please, continue." Xu Qi looked at the man across from her and gave an apologetic smile.

"It's fine!"

"When my sister was infected with the RT Virus over a year ago, she underwent a mutation herself. Fortunately, this virus is different from the aggressive RR Virus—there are specific drugs to suppress it and slow its onset.

But the RT Virus's characteristic is that it slowly devours a person's vitality to strengthen itself. Even with the drugs, their effectiveness wanes over time... That's why I'm so desperate to completely eradicate this virus. I'm worried—"

"Mr. Lin Ye, may I interrupt?"

Hearing this, Xu Qi raised an eyebrow slightly. "Have you been giving your sister antiviral drugs this whole time?"

"Yes!" Lin Ye nodded without hesitation.

"I see. That must be quite expensive."

Lin Ye: "..."

At that moment, Xu Qi's tightly furrowed brow slowly relaxed.

She finally understood why Lin Ye haggled so fiercely over the price of monster materials.

At the same time, she recalled that the country had conducted extensive research on the RT Virus.

It had been proven that once the RT Virus erupted, its power far exceeded that of the RR Virus... An ordinary person could last at most three minutes!

Unless they had expensive life-sustaining drugs or specific antidotes, the infected would have their vitality drained in a very short time.

"Mr. Lin Ye, I understand the conditions you've proposed. But completely eradicating the RT Virus is beyond my current authority. I need to consult my superiors."

Xu Qi gave Lin Ye an apologetic smile, then stepped out of the private room to make a phone call.

Watching Secretary Xu's retreating figure, Lin Ye felt his heartbeat quicken:

"It has to work..."

Ten minutes later.

The private room door opened, and Xu Qi walked in with a smile.

"How did it go?" Lin Ye stood up.

"As promised, it worked!"

Xu Qi gave Lin Ye a thumbs-up. "Your superiors have agreed to your conditions. They've already arranged for experts and specialized drugs from Capital City. They should arrive in Mountain City within the next two days."

"Your sister's illness is no longer a problem!"

"Huff... huff..."

When Xu Qi relayed this news, Lin Ye slumped back into his chair and took a deep breath.

He closed his eyes slightly, trying to calm the turmoil in his chest.

It took a while before Lin Ye came back to his senses.

He looked at Xu Qi, his clear eyes filled with gratitude. "Secretary Xu, thank you so much!"

The virus in his sister Lin Xiyue's body had always been a heavy burden on his mind.

Now that this boulder had finally been lifted, he could breathe easier.

"Mr. Lin Ye, no need to thank me. This is just an equal exchange. You join the military and serve, and we naturally agree to your conditions."

"However, the cost of treating the RT Virus will only be revealed after you sign the contract with us. Some benefits might be used to offset the treatment fees."

Xu Qi smiled faintly, genuinely happy.

"Alright, then let's do it that way." Lin Ye nodded in agreement.

Suddenly, He frowned slightly and asked, "Secretary Xu, did you tell the higher-ups about my test results?"

"Of course I did. Otherwise, your conditions wouldn't have been accepted so easily—this is the RT Virus we're talking about..."

Xu Qi laughed immediately. "I told my superiors about your test results from the training hall this afternoon, including some of your Psychic Power test results... That's why they agreed so readily."

"I see." Lin Ye nodded, suddenly understanding.

"Don't think I was spying on you!"

"I just happened to be on duty at the martial arts hall and saw it." Xu Qi shrugged, offering a helpless smile.

"In that case, can we sign the agreement directly?"

"No rush. Before we proceed with the agreement, we need to conduct a more detailed test of your strength to determine the most suitable contract."

"The most suitable contract?"

Xu Qi: "Of course. The agreements between the military and martial artists have many tiers."

"From the lowest E-class, D-class... all the way up to the highest S-class agreement, each tailored to martial artists of different potential."

"At the same time, we'll assign each martial artist to an appropriate squad to help them grow quickly."

Hearing this, Lin Ye frowned slightly. "Assign me to a squad?"

"Yes. Is there a problem?" Xu Qi asked, puzzled.

"Can I choose not to join a squad and venture into the wilderness alone?"

At Lin Ye's words, Xu Qi raised an eyebrow, a thoughtful expression crossing her face.

After pondering for a moment, she looked at Lin Ye and nodded. "Of course you can, but the danger is too great. The military has its own considerations and generally doesn't allow Mid-tier War Generals or below to roam alone..."

"As you know, there are too many monsters in the surrounding wilderness areas now. You could be surrounded at any moment."

"Remember, every War General martial artist is the hope and future of the military—and even of humanity!!"

"Since we've settled everything, let's eat!" Xu Qi suggested, a sparkle in her eyes.

"After we've eaten and drunk our fill, get a good rest tonight. The formal test will be tomorrow morning!"

"Alright!" Lin Ye nodded cheerfully, then called the waiter to bring the food.

Night fell.

The sky was dark and overcast, as if shrouded in mist, with not a single star visible.

Though it was late, the restaurant was still bustling with people coming and going.

Lin Ye and Xu Qi walked out of the restaurant, chatting and laughing.

With his sister's matter resolved, he felt as if the dark clouds above his head had scattered, leaving him completely at ease.

Rumble, rumble, rumble!!

The low roar of engines came from nearby.

"Hm?"

Lin Ye looked up instinctively, only to see rows of pitch-black armored vehicles slowly coming to a halt.

The thick, steel-reinforced doors barely reflected the light, instead exuding a faint, cold sheen.

The doors opened, and tall figures clad in black Combat Suits stepped out—fifty or sixty of them, standing in a dense, oppressive circle.

They stood there silently. To Lin Ye's eyes, they weren't just people.

They were a pack of beasts with bared fangs, ready to strike and kill at any moment... or a group of Death Gods wielding scythes, poised to reap lives in the dark of night.

Every single one of them radiated an overwhelmingly dense killing intent!

Lin Ye could sense this with absolute clarity.

Having frequently roamed the wilderness and fought life-and-death battles with monsters, he was all too familiar with killing intent.

And the intensity of the killing intent emanating from these people surpassed his own by dozens of times. They felt like blood-soaked Asuras who had fought their way out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

It was then that Lin Ye noticed the armband insignias on these martial artists, and his heart jolted.

Every one of the dozens of people here was at least a Mid-tier War General, with many High-tier War Generals among them.

The burly black-clad man at the lead, in particular, gave Lin Ye an overwhelming sense of threat—

A War God-level powerhouse!

As Lin Ye's heart raced, he also noticed a nameplate embroidered with dark-gold patterns hanging on the chest of each black-clad martial artist's Combat Suit.

In the center of the nameplate were two characters: Dark Night. The characters were red, the same color as blood.

"Dark Night... Dark Night?"

Lin Ye quickly searched his memory for that name.

Suddenly, he frowned slightly, then a look of realization dawned on his face.

"It's the Night Mercenary Group!"

"..."

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