Chapter 685
Chapter 685 - 671: Agreement
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Since the war had started, there was naturally no turning back.
The wolf pack were excellent hunters, and on this green planet full of forests and fields, Lu Ping’an’s team, mainly consisting of Gardeners and Beast Tamers, were the best hunters.
It was imperative to conduct a large-scale cleanup around the outpost centered on the Beast Tamer base and eliminate hidden threats in their territory.
However, the results seemed rather subtle.
"...Are they just some insignificant leftovers?"
The task of "eliminating the nails" went quite smoothly, which made Lu Ping’an feel a bit disappointed.
The Aus people were as loose as ever, which included not only Hod Company but also several other companies and independent teams.
The sentries cleared out by Lu Ping’an were mercenaries employed by a security company...It wasn’t wrong to say they belonged to Hod Company since their entire mercenary company was affiliated with Hod.
Now, Hod Company had gone crazy with killing, and they would kill any outsider, especially competitors from Earth, before even asking questions.
Under normal circumstances...In most cases, that person might just be gone, after all, individual forces could never compete with large local powers.
In addition to the fact that most of the previous Exotic Realm explorations were "illegal smugglers", some small and medium-sized forces who had "invested" and failed could only accept their bad luck...In comparison, it was better to develop in a different area than to have a hard time with Aus’s local powers here.
This was also the reality of many Exotic Realms, where "local powers" rose up and became "warlords" in some sense, being even more ruthless than the original residents.
"...They don’t know much, it seems that they should only be peripheral forces."
"But they came here five years ago...and before they came, there were several well-established mercenary companies that had already settled in."
This implied many things, a decade of operation not only meant accumulation of technology and industry, but also the "extras" that naturally emerged during the operation of large organizations and powers.
Bureaucracy and disposable excess were not exclusive to any country or nation. The company system based on interests made cost accounting even more brutal...Instead of paying for the transportation costs of sending some surplus people back, it was better to leave them here, not necessarily to fend for themselves, but the little salary input was only a fraction of the transportation costs.
In this continent, there were also quite a few "disposable" scattered forces, they were indeed subordinate employees of Hod Company, but they hadn’t received a direct order for a long time, and mostly just performed routine patrols in the vicinity.
After completing the initial "hunt giant beasts" mission, they were indeed in a state of being left to their own devices...
"There’s good news and bad news."
"The bad news is that they have a lot of people, and have been stationed here for a long time...Is there any good news?"
"The good news is that they came early, so...There aren’t many professionals among them."
Lu Ping’an was surprised at first, then understood.
At any time, stable and powerful professionals were a precious resource. Before the explorer system was established, most professionals were typical "profiteers" who needed resources to grow and improve themselves to resist the shackles around their necks.
For large companies, these professionals were undoubtedly expensive costs...Why use those demanding "elite soldiers" when ordinary Soldiers can handle it.
Especially when locally formed weapons were indeed a threat to low-level professionals, high-level professionals were even rarer and more expensive decades ago, and the number of high-level professionals Hod Company could afford was limited.
"...This is indeed good news." Lu Ping’an breathed a sigh of relief, as no one wanted to fight a deadly battle with Rule-level and a large number of Law-level professionals.
The explorer mechanism could provide professionals with everything they needed. In the process of their own exploration, it was normal for them to accept the employment of certain forces...Why not do a job that pays two salaries? Especially when the big powers could provide good hunting grounds and battlefield support.
Many professionals who used to practice alone and live in seclusion have come forward. Nowadays the labor market is not only cheaper but also much easier to recruit mid-to-high-level professionals.
"Maybe they don’t even know the times have changed, and they still use the old practice of intimidating us by killing a few people..."
𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖
"There is a possibility, especially the middle and lower levels, they probably don’t even know the changes in the times. But it doesn’t really matter anymore." Yes, it doesn’t matter.
For the Eastern Country people, from the moment you killed the first group of Soldiers, both sides naturally became enemies...The enemy’s attack on the camp only escalated the situation, where only one side could survive.
This information also eased the tension for Lu Ping’an and his party, as their side should only be considered "insignificant leftovers" for the time being, with no major pressure, and the opponents should not be able to deploy high-level professional teams in the short term.
After the initial hunt and establishing a safe boundary, Lu Ping’an returned to the base.
There was no need for him to personally deal with these scattered mercenaries and ordinary soldiers dispersed in the mountains and forests. He could just leave it to the wolf pack and his own warriors to handle, and wait for the results.
Now, the most important thing was to develop his own side... In the coming days, he would definitely not have any peace.
"Was the experiment successful?"
Near Lu Ping’an’s original base, a high tower was rising from the ground.
Most of its structure was made of wood, as the wood here was both of high quality and inexpensive. As for the core area, metal materials were still needed... At this time, the metal materials provided by the Aus sentries were greatly appreciated.
The radio tower didn’t need to cover the whole city, nor to be too high. The core components were being assembled and demonized by Fang Wen... In places where the level of industrialization wasn’t enough, a "great engineer" like her had to manually create the parts.
In a sense, this was the first time Lu Ping’an had let Fang Wen interfere with the outside world, so naturally, there were some safety risks...
"Let’s sign an agreement. When you reach the sixth-tier, let me go. In return, I can serve you for an additional ten years."
This was Fang Wen’s "proposal", which Lu Ping’an immediately agreed to sign... This was actually something he had been considering for a while, and his bottom line was actually the fifth-tier.
Both sides knew that Lu Ping’an would never release Fang Wen unless he had enough strength and confidence—that is, when she could no longer pose a threat to him.
Even now, the slight loosening of the reins was only due to Lu Ping’an’s increased strength. With that, he might be able to counter Fang Wen at any cost.
"Words and promises are useless, and contracts aren’t one hundred percent foolproof. However, if Lu Ping’an’s strength crushes Fang Wen’s, she naturally won’t be a problem... At least not a big one."
Since both sides knew what their limits were, negotiations went smoothly. Fang Wen showed sincerity, and Lu Ping’an wouldn’t refuse... He was increasingly aware of the value of a master-level engineer, blacksmith, and beast tamer, especially since unlike others, she could actually work with her hands.
However, during the signing of the agreement, a small problem arose... Fang Wen had been deprived of her human rights recognized by the Life Bank and couldn’t sign their contracts as a target.
"... Let’s sign the agreement later when we return. I’ll pay for a high-level contractor."
Lu Ping’an consulted and then "surprisingly" discovered that there was no option to return human rights in the Life Bank’s service list, because the move Lu Ping’an previously had made was beyond its normal uses.
Since the Life Bank’s contracts couldn’t be signed, they could only rely on expensive contracts from high-level contractors... It wasn’t that Lu Ping’an was willing to spend money, but he knew Fang Wen was already poor, and he wouldn’t let her access her former "treasures."
Hearing this, Fang Wen glared at Lu Ping’an for a long time. This was the first time she displayed negative emotions since her arrival.
In the end, she could only sigh helplessly and continue working overtime.
After dealing with Fang Wen, Lu Ping’an also waited for Meow to return, as well as another "Ancient Jade."
"Meow, Sister Wang encountered some small troubles... Their camp was bombed, meow! Sister Wang lost an eye and an arm, and we don’t know if she can successfully regenerate them, meow."
It turned out that Wang Xier’s camp had also been attacked.
Accidentally letting their guard down, they suffered a huge loss... When Meow went there, he saw the remains of the camp, with the leader Wang Xier severely injured.
Not to mention the previous "Ancient Jade" that was used for communication—Wang Xier’s room had received special attention during the first wave of the attack. She was the most intact survivor.
Hearing this, Lu Ping’an was surprised, as this was beyond his expectations.
It wasn’t that he was surprised by the fact that Wang Xier was attacked, but that their strength was quite impressive. Not only did they have many skilled local masters who had infiltrated, but the hired Ancient City mercenaries were also strong.
After they grouped up, they should have been among the top in the newly arrived explorers... It made him wonder why the Aus people who were experts in cost calculation would choose to bite the bullet first.
If Lu Ping’an were in the Aus people’s shoes, he would definitely go for the weaker ones first, causing panic and disturbance.
"... Lu Ping’an, we found the mining area—the mining area those damn Aus people are hiding!"
The repressed angry voice from the Ancient Jade gave Lu Ping’an the answer.
— End of Chapter 685 —