The deputy commander's workshop did not have the joyous and festive atmosphere of the square outside. On the contrary, there was a depressing atmosphere in the air.
As soon as Ding Meng walked in, a smile appeared on Sleeman's serious face. "Brother Ding, you're here. Come, let me introduce you. This is the deputy commander of our Green Arrow headquarters, Bai Yue."
Ding Meng only noticed then that in addition to Sleeman, deputy commander Gulaga, and Yu Liang, there were two strangers in the room, a man and a woman.
The man looked to be about the same age as Sileman. Although he had a benevolent appearance, he faintly exuded an imperceptible majesty. It was obvious that he was someone who was used to giving orders. He must have come from the upper echelons of headquarters.
Bai Yue's attitude was very friendly. He took the initiative to extend his hand and said, "This must be Brother Ding.
It's a pleasure to meet you. Commander Gulaga and Captain Sleeman have mentioned you to me more than once. Thank you for your help in the K8 mission on the Dead Silent Star. On behalf of our Green Arrow Corps, I would like to express our most sincere gratitude to you … "
The big shots from the headquarters had come to this remote base in the middle of nowhere. Obviously, it was not as simple as transporting supplies. As expected, after a brief introduction, Bai Yue put away his smile and said seriously,
"Actually, the main reason I'm here this time is to take care of something. Half a month ago, the headquarters received a bounty mission. The goal is to retrieve a test mixture for the employer in the Holy Grail Federation's Blue Pole Star City. The reward is 200,000 Star Coins …"
He was only halfway through his words, but Ding Meng and the others were all moved.
Under normal circumstances, a low-level mission for a bounty hunter would start at 1,000 Star Coins. After all, the cost of sending out a spaceship and manpower was not small.
5,000 Star Coins was the first hurdle. It was relatively more difficult. Usually, it was to go to very bad areas to help people find rare resources or all kinds of strange things. It was quite time-consuming and energy-consuming.
A mission of 10000 Star Coins was the dividing line. Missions of this level were very tricky and had a certain degree of danger. If you wanted to take it, you had to be mentally prepared. It was very likely that you would not return.
Now that Bai Le had offered two hundred thousand Star Coins right off the bat, from a certain point of view, this mission was definitely not up to Sleman and the others. The branch base simply did not have the ability to take over the mission, and it was very likely that the headquarters would personally take over the mission.
This was where the problem lay. "Retrieving a test mixture" would cost 200,000 Star Coins. Furthermore, they had to enter the Federation's territory. Therefore, the value of this reagent would not be small. Therefore, Bai Yue had revealed a huge amount of information in just a few sentences.
Bai Yue continued, "The mission went smoothly. The reagent was obtained by Captain Yu Yixiao from our headquarters. However, on the way back, this reagent was unfortunately lost …"
Yu Liang didn't seem to understand. "We'll be taking a spaceship on the way back. How could we lose it?"
Sileman's eyes flickered, and he muttered, "I'm afraid it wasn't lost, but replaced or stolen."
Bai Yue nodded with a heavy expression. "After many investigations, we found that the reagent was indeed stolen. Furthermore, we also found out that the person who stole it was' Nightmare '."
Ding Meng might not be familiar with "Nightmare", but Sileman and the others had heard of him for a long time. This guy with the nickname "Nightmare" was a very famous thief in outer space. He came and went without a trace. No one knew his background, and no one had ever seen his true face. This person was active among the various large military forces, and he was also the type of person who "did things for money".
Why was he called "Nightmare"?
It was because once he set his eyes on something good, your nightmare would come. Over time, the nickname "Nightmare" was spread.
Bai Yue's expression was very heavy. "After many investigations, Nightmare did not take the reagent for himself. Instead, he sent it to another place through various transfers."
Sileman frowned. "Where did he send it?"
Bai Yue's expression was very ugly. "As far as we know, the reagent is now in the hands of the Heavenly Wolf Mercenary Group's deputy commander, Huang Long."
This time, not only did his expression turn ugly, but Sileman and the others also had ugly expressions. This was because the Green Arrow Group had always been at odds with the Heavenly Wolf Mercenary Group. It was basically impossible to get the reagent back.
In fact, the Heavenly Wolf Mercenary Group did not only have a bad relationship with the Green Arrow Group, but also with all the military forces in outer space.
The Heavenly Wolf Mercenary Group was very close to planet KV303, but they had always been alone and did not take on missions from outer space forces. Their employers were mostly sects or financial groups of the Holy Grail Federation. It was said that they had dealings with large forces. To put it bluntly, they had the backing of the upper echelons of the Federation. Therefore, this mercenary group had always maintained an aloof attitude, like an independent kingdom among the military forces.
To put it simply, one did not have to give the Heavenly Wolf Mercenary Group any face because they never dealt with others. The problem was that the reagent was now in their hands, so they had to deal with it even if they did not want to.
Under normal circumstances, if a bounty hunter lost an item designated by their employer, according to the agreement on the dark net, if they could not find it within the stipulated time, they would have to compensate for the loss.
Bai Yue said, "The compensation is 1.25 million star credits. It's not that our mercenary group can't afford it, but it's just a small matter …"
He did not say it clearly, but Ding Meng could still understand what he meant. Compensation was a small matter, but reputation was a big deal. The Green Arrow Group had a good reputation and cherished their reputation. If their employer's valuable item was lost in the hands of the Green Arrow Group, then the ability and credibility of all the Green Arrow Hunters on the dark net would plummet. This loss was so great that it could not be measured by money. Therefore, this reagent had to be found.
And according to the Green Arrow's usual style of doing things, they would always use a polite, peaceful, and friendly way to do things.
Yu Liang could not help but ask, "Officer Bai Yue, did our headquarters not send anyone to communicate with them?"
At the mention of this, Bai Yue's expression turned even uglier. "We, the Green Arrow Group, are willing to buy back this reagent for a high price of 1.4 million star credits. This was a message that the chief commander personally sent to Sirius, but they rejected it."
1.4 million star credits was already a huge loss for this mission, and if the chief commander personally contacted them, there was no result, which meant that there was no room for negotiation.
"That's why Miss Dai Yi is here this time. She plans to make a trip to the Zhifan System to lobby for the reagent on behalf of our Green Arrow Group." Bai Yue finally got to the point.
Ding Meng only then noticed the other person sitting on the sofa in the distance. This was a rather eye-catching woman. She did not look very old, and was wearing a black and light green galactic tight-fitting outfit that outlined her entire body's curves. She sat lazily on the sofa, a pair of long, slender legs wrapped tightly in black stockings crossed.
Just by looking at those legs, Yu Liang's throat involuntarily made a few gurgling sounds. These beautiful, almost flawless legs really caused one's imagination to run wild. There was a kind of soul-sucking charm to them.
The woman's soft, jet-black hair draped over her shoulders, setting off her beautiful face. She had one thing in common with Lan Bing 'er, and that was that she was cold and noble. However, the difference between her and Lan Bing' er was that she did not have Lan Bing 'er's "cold" temperament. This was because her chin was raised very high, and there was an arrogant expression between her eyebrows, as if she disdained to be associated with the people around her. Thus, when Bai Yue was explaining the situation, she did not even stand up.
However, none of this was important because Ding Meng could sense that Bai Yue's Origin Energy fluctuations were very strong, not at all inferior to his own. On the other hand, the fluctuations coming from Dai Yi's body were much weaker. Of course, this was only relative. To have the strength of an Origin Energy warrior at her age was quite an impressive feat.
Ding Meng suddenly understood Green Arrow's intentions. This Dai Yi was someone they had invited, and her background was probably not small. The Heavenly Wolf Corps could not give Green Arrow any face, but they would definitely give her some face. Since she was not a member of Green Arrow, she had a reasonable status to head to the Zhifan Star System.
However, after thinking through these key factors, Ding Meng had a trace of doubt. What does this have to do with me?
Fortunately, Silman took the initiative to explain. "Brother, the Heavenly Wolf Corps' territory is not a place where ordinary people can easily enter. Miss Dai Yi is a girl, after all. If she goes alone, I'm afraid that there will be unexpected risks. Thus, I recommended you to Officer Bai Yue, hoping that you can accompany her. If she encounters any difficulties, you and Miss Dai Yi can take care of each other. After all, you are not a member of Green Arrow …"
His explanation had a corresponding logic to it. Whether it was mercenaries or bounty hunters, in the various large organizations in outer space, Origin Energy users and beginner warriors were the mainstream. Those who were slightly more powerful were only mid-level warriors, and War Venerables were extremely rare. These people were usually the leaders of the Corps and would not easily reveal themselves.
However, Ding Meng's strength was quite powerful. Based on the mission on the Dead Silent Star, Ding Meng's strength would not be lower than that of a mid-level warrior. Thus, Silman's meaning was very clear: I hope that you can protect Miss Dai Yi's safety along the way.
Before Ding Meng could answer, Dai Yi, who was sitting on the sofa, turned her head and glanced at Ding Meng in surprise. The corner of her mouth twitched twice, but she still did not say anything. However, the disdain between her brows became even more apparent.
Others could understand her mentality. How should they put it?
From the outside, Ding Meng was really too shabby and unremarkable.
The Jade Light Armor that Qu Xiaoqing had given him had long been damaged in the battle with Lan Binger. Now, what replaced it was the slum clothes that Ah Qiao and the others usually wore. There was an old checkered shirt, a pair of linen pants, and a pair of combat boots from Anvil Company. However, many places were old and worn. In addition, Ding Meng was not very tall, so Ding Meng always gave people the illusion that he was a wild child from some slum.
The only thing that was a little surprising was the dark ancient sword at Ding Meng's waist. This showed that he was not an ordinary person. At the very least, he had practiced martial arts. However, who would still use this kind of toy-like antique weapon in this day and age?
In Dai Yi's perception, she could not detect the existence of any Origin Energy on Ding Meng's body at all. She could not even feel a trace of fluctuation, so it was inevitable that she would look down on him.
At this time, Bai Yue also jumped out to persuade him. "Little Brother Ding, I know this request will definitely make things difficult for you, but there is no one else on Planet KV303. Your identity is the most suitable, and the time limit that the Dark Net gave us to find them is very short. We can't invite people from other places. I hope you can understand our difficulties. If you can come with us, we, Green Arrow, will definitely reward you handsomely after the matter is done. What do you think?"
Ding Meng secretly sighed. Many years of living in exile had already made him develop an instinct: it was best not to get involved in other people's troubles, so as to avoid getting into trouble.
It was just that during this period of time, the people on KV303 were very friendly and took good care of him. The Green Arrow base also treated him well. At the very least, he used up all the cultivation resources on his own. However, Gulaga and Sleman didn't have any dissatisfaction on their faces. Just based on this point, they couldn't reject him.
Ding Meng took a deep breath. "Okay, Officer Bai, then I will respectfully accept!"