Invincible through Touching Corpses-Chapter 102 - 101: Planning the Extortion

The moment they broke through the horde of corpses, the members of the Giant Shield Mercenary Corps erupted in a wave of cheers. The feeling of surviving such a disaster exhilarated them all.

But after the exhilaration passed, they had to face a pressing issue: the payment for their rescue.

This was a matter that concerned the personal interests of every mercenary. After all, if the rewards were substantial, each person would receive a larger bonus, and the Mercenary Corps could resupply with better equipment, undoubtedly making their next mission safer.

On the other hand, if they paid such a hefty sum, not only would they have made no profit from this mission, they might not even have enough to cover the repair costs for their Mecha and Armored Vehicle.

Thus, when it came to discussing whether to pay the fee, the Mercenaries of the Giant Shield Mercenary Corps couldn’t help but start arguing amongst themselves again.

Both sides presented rather compelling arguments. The group against paying was, of course, motivated by money.

Those who supported paying did so because of the terrifying power Lin Xinghai had displayed. Furthermore, the Hunter corpses on the multi-purpose off-road vehicle served as an unspoken deterrent.

Listening to his subordinates quarrel, Ren Hong’s expression turned grim.

On one hand, it was because he didn’t want to face this problem either. On the other hand, it was because these Mercenaries under his command were being far too disrespectful to him as their Mercenary Corps Leader. They hadn’t even asked for his opinion before they started fighting.

Most Mercenary Corps Leaders, he knew, could settle matters with a single word. Their subordinates were completely obedient; a situation like his would never occur.

There were two reasons why his Mercenary Corps was like this. First, the corps hadn’t been established for long, so its members hadn’t yet developed a strong sense of belonging.

The second and most important reason was that he wasn’t strong enough.

If his Genetic Optimization Level could break through 90%, things would be completely different.

Although that would only be an increase of 7 points in his Genetic Optimization Level and wouldn’t represent a major breakthrough in his own strength, breaking the third Genetic Lock would cause his Perception Power to soar once again.

Then, he would be able to fully unleash the power of his Mecha, and the role he could play would be on a completely different level from what it was now.

Various thoughts swirled in his mind, but he didn’t speak up to stop the Mercenaries’ argument.

Based on past experience, he knew it was impossible for him to quell an argument that directly concerned the Mercenaries’ personal interests, especially when their emotions were running high.

He could only wait until they had argued themselves out before stepping in to make the final decision.

The wait wasn’t long, not because the Mercenaries had finished their dispute, but because a signal was requesting access to their communication channel.

Clearly, the debt collector was calling.

"What should we do, Leader? Just give us the final word!" a mercenary finally said, remembering Ren Hong.

Once one mercenary spoke up, the others chimed in, asking Ren Hong to make the decision.

Seeing that the Mercenaries had finally remembered him, Ren Hong cleared his throat and shared his thoughts. "I think we need to consider two points here. First, a reward of 50,000 Points is unreasonable."

"Second, while that gunman is very strong, they’re ultimately just a Hunter squad. Once we get back to the Shelter, even if he wants to cause trouble for us, he’ll have no way to do it. And once my Mecha is repaired, they won’t be a threat to us."

"Of course, considering his Gun Technique, we can’t just openly refuse. So, we can first test his attitude..."

Ren Hong quickly laid out his entire plan. Many of the Mercenaries nodded repeatedly in agreement. Although some still had worried expressions, they ultimately said nothing.

Seeing no objections, a smile crept onto Ren Hong’s lips. ’A leader’s authority is built up, bit by bit, just like this.’

Meanwhile, Ling Xiu had tried calling several times with no answer, and his expression began to sour.

It was obvious that his worries were coming true. The other party was, in all likelihood, going to welsh on the payment.

"Brother Lin, they..." Ling Xiu began, turning to Lin Xinghai. But as he was about to speak, he was stunned to see a faint smile on the other man’s face.

"Uh..." The anger and frustration on Ling Xiu’s face instantly turned to bewilderment.

"Isn’t this great? It gives us the perfect excuse to extort them," Lin Xinghai said with a smile.

For a moment, Ling Xiu was at a loss for words.

Although Lin Xinghai had brought up this topic before, Ling Xiu had genuinely hoped it wouldn’t come to this. At the end of the day, he was just the vice-captain of a Hunter squad.

He really didn’t want to make an enemy of a Mercenary Corps for no good reason.

Otherwise, if the other party retaliated later, the Superpower Alliance would definitely be in for a world of hurt. After all, Lin Xinghai couldn’t stay with them forever.

Of course, he was also completely unwilling to give up on the 50,000 Points. Even if he had to give Lin Xinghai sixty percent, that still left 20,000 Points for them!

It would take his Hunter squad ages to earn that many Points. What’s more, since Lin Xinghai had opted for extortion, one could imagine they would end up with far more than just 20,000 Points.

So, he was feeling quite conflicted at the moment.

As if he could read Ling Xiu’s mind, Lin Xinghai reached out and clapped him on the shoulder. "Don’t overthink it. Instead of wasting time moping, you should use these Points to get stronger as fast as possible. Once you’re truly powerful, they won’t dare to mess with you."

"Right!" Ling Xiu nodded.

Seeing that Ling Xiu seemed to have calmed down, Lin Xinghai continued, "In that case, why don’t we first discuss what we should extort from them?"

"We should definitely take all their Energy Crystal Stones," Huang Nuo was the first to speak up. He didn’t share Ling Xiu’s reservations—or perhaps, not being in a leadership position, he simply didn’t have to consider such things.

"We can take their ammunition, too," even Yao Cheng chimed in.

"We can also see if any of them are carrying wrist-mounted computers," Zhang Meiling added, her eyes twinkling like little stars.

Listening to their suggestions, Ling Xiu felt his heart leap into his throat. Each proposal was more ruthless than the last.

Especially Zhang Meiling’s suggestion. If they took something like a wrist-mounted computer, they would be making a mortal enemy!

Lin Xinghai, however, nodded repeatedly as he listened. ’I really should listen to everyone’s opinion. I didn’t even think of something like ammunition.’

After seeing that no one had anything else to add, he paused for a moment and said, "Later, I’m going to force them to hand over the Mecha. What do you think?"

As Lin Xinghai voiced his proposal, the inside of the vehicle instantly fell into a deathly silence.

Everyone’s eyes went wide as they stared at Lin Xinghai in disbelief. Huang Nuo almost drove the car into a ditch.