Han Xiao narrowed his eyes, staring at Horlade without speaking. After a long while, he shook his head and said, "I won't help you persuade them. You keep the money."
Horlade was somewhat surprised. "Why?"
"Every profession has its rules." Han Xiao became a mercenary to make money, but since he had chosen this profession, he would abide by its rules, value his reputation, and betray his employer was the worst violation. He would not help Horlade cheat his employer.
"You became a mercenary just for the money? Fifteen people can be sold for three million Enas. Even if you only get 10%, it's still a huge sum of money that will take you a long time to earn. I'm only willing to share some of the profits with you because we're colleagues, to make up for the rewards you mercenaries didn't get for the failed rescue. And you're not even grateful?" Horlade said dismissively.
"I'm sorry, my motto is to prioritize reputation and operate with integrity."
Han Xiao remained unmoved. The sum of money was indeed considerable, but he simply did not want to comply with Horlade's wishes, or rather, to uphold his word. Moreover, he accepted the Silver Spirit People's employment not for the money, but for the Advanced Knowledge of the Compression Technology.
Regardless of whether the Silver Spirit People will compromise, if they have to pay to ransom people, what's the point of having mercenaries? They won't get their pay.
Horlade scoffed. "Suit yourself. I'll negotiate with your employer myself."
Han Xiao took out his communicator and contacted his employer. The Silver Spirit People's face appeared on the screen. The employer was surprised to see Han Xiao at a glance. After thinking for a while, he remembered that Han Xiao was also one of their mercenaries. He asked in confusion, "Why are you contacting me? Where are the people from Sky Ring? By the way, where are you now? When will you be back?"
Han Xiao shook his head. "Some unexpected things happened. We were intercepted, and our target was sent to the slave market. Our mission failed. People from Sky Ring, Blades, and Purple Gold were all captured. Now I'm in charge of this mission. I've found the manager of the slave market; he wants to negotiate with you."
"Heh heh, your kin are in my hands..." Horlade straightened his clothes and slowly reiterated his terms.
The Silver Spirit People's employer was filled with shock and anger.
"Too expensive! We can't accept this price!"
"Sorry, you have no right to bargain with me." Horlade spoke with confidence. He had the man in his hands and was certain that the Silver Spirit People wouldn't abandon their kind. Three million Enas was a lot, but the Silver Spirit People were well-off. If they were willing to pool their money and bleed a lot, they could barely come up with the amount.
"... We need to discuss this." The Silver Spirit People employer gritted his teeth, but dared not refuse outright.
"Contact me when you've made up your mind, but time is limited. Several major clients are interested in your people; you're not the only buyer," Horlade threatened, displaying a smug and confident demeanor.
Han Xiao put away his communicator, expressionless, and walked straight out the door. Horlade waved goodbye warmly, but remained seated without moving.
As he stepped out the door, a masked man was about to walk in. The two brushed past each other, and for a moment it seemed to slow down. Han Xiao's hair suddenly stood on end, and he felt a pricking sensation between his brows, as if a knife tip was hanging in front of him.
Time seemed to slow down. In the instant they brushed past each other, they subconsciously glanced at each other. Their eyes met, like two sharp blades clashing, flashing a cold light that turned the surrounding environment gray, leaving only each other in their eyes. The scene was frozen in time, silent and still.
The next second, colors and sounds shattered this moment, like an ice mirror breaking, and the two passed each other unharmed.
After taking a few steps, Han Xiao turned back for a glance, his eyes flickering slightly. His high rank also gave him keen senses, and close contact with a powerful person would trigger a wary instinct. The masked man had just given him a strong sense of danger, not just because of his strength, but also because the masked man's aura carried a murderous aura that had killed countless people. Only someone with strong enough perception could notice such a detail.
He had a gut feeling that this masked man was also here for the Silver Spirit People.
"I wonder which side they're from..."
Han Xiao shook his head, clearing his mind of distractions, and contacted his employer alone.
The Silver Spirit People employer said irritably, "We rescued someone, but they've been arrested again! This is your negligence! What are we supposed to do now? Are you really going to make us pay?!"
Han Xiao gave a few perfunctory replies, saying, "Don't rush to compromise. Now that the prisoners are safe for the time being, let me think of another way."
"... Okay, remember, their safety must be your top priority."
After hanging up the call, Han Xiao scratched his head, feeling a bit of a headache.
"This is not a good situation. The prisoners are all in Horlade's hands. I am now a member of Dragon Calm, so I can't just take them by force. Hmm... If I want Horlade to release them unconditionally, there is only one way: go through the higher-ups, persuade the head housekeeper Jenny, or even persuade Ames..." He suddenly had some ideas, his spirits lifted, and he hurriedly left to go back and think about his plan.
At the same time, the masked man who had just brushed past him was Ashes, who also approached Horlade, expressing his intention to buy Silver Spirit People.
"How much money are you willing to offer?" Horlade asked.
"Fifty thousand people."
Horlade shook his head, showing little interest.
Ashes frowned. "This price is almost half the market price, and you think it's too low?"
"A big client offered more," Horlade said.
"Seventy thousand," Ashes said in a deep voice, raising the price.
Horlade shook his head again.
"Up to one hundred thousand."
"It's still not enough."
"How much do you want?" Ashes asked patiently.
Horlade chuckled. "That big client offered two hundred thousand per person. Of course, the deal isn't finalized yet, but... if your offer exceeds two hundred thousand, well, that's hard to say..."
"Okay, I'll think about it when I get back."
Ashes nodded calmly, left the slave market, and returned to his lodgings.
"Captain, how's the negotiation going?" a member of the task force asked.
Ashes removed his mask and calmly said, "Change plans, we'll kidnap them."
It's not that DarkStar can't afford it, the question is whether it's worth it. And even if they agree to this price, that unscrupulous businessman might use the excuse of "a major client making another offer" to raise the price again, turning it into a bidding war.
What kind of force is DarkStar? We're a bunch of villains! If we just obediently become suckers, what kind of professional ethics do we have as villains?!
Far away in the Feven Star System, on the planet where the Silver Spirit People employers were staying, a fierce argument broke out.
"They've made an offer, what are we waiting for? Let's raise the money right now!"
"Wait a minute, something's fishy. Could it be that the mercenaries have teamed up with the slave owners to swindle us out of our money? The people in the Shattered Star Ring are all greedy and savage. We need to be wary of this possibility," someone speculated suspiciously.
"No matter what, safety comes first. The Sky Ring, Blades, and Purple Gold mercenary groups have all failed. How can we rely on that small mercenary group called Black Star? If they take risks to complete the mission, they'll only put the prisoners in danger. Let's just pay up!"
"What if they take the money but still don't release them?" someone worried.
After a brief argument, the captain, being the more composed one, made a decision. "Their failure last time was due to unforeseen circumstances. I'm willing to trust them again. In any case, let the Black Star Mercenary Group give it a try. If it really doesn't work, they will definitely give us a definite answer. Paying them is the final solution."
A team of players piloted an aircraft, circling and patrolling an area.
Inside the aircraft, Li Ge avoided everyone's gaze and quietly took out the Whispering Bead, examining it closely.
"What on earth is this..." Li Ge murmured, "The item description says that you can only get a reward by giving it to a special person, but it doesn't say who the special person is. Do I have to trigger it myself...?"
Li Ge extensive experience with the game, I know that for event-triggered quest items without explicit hints, you generally need to take initiative and show the item to different NPCs. If you find a character whose reaction is unusual, that's basically a "special character."
"Let's do it this way," Li Ge secretly decided.