In the open space at the entrance of the shuttle ladder, a carrier ship was docked. All the coolies from the mining area were moving the crystal-carrying matrices they found to the starship.
The entrance to the checkpoint was naturally guarded by a large group of mercenaries. Mao Luan was naturally there as well, but this time, he wasn't sitting down. Instead, he was standing obediently behind a person.
There was a chair in the open space, and the man was sitting on it. The other mercenaries were guarding around him.
The man was not tall, and he was a little short, but his gestures were more dignified than Mao Luan's. Obviously, he was a senior member of the Extreme Pirate Corps, because only these crystal-carrying matrices could alarm the senior members.
Mao Luan trotted over with a flattering smile. "Mr. Guan, the dividends have been distributed. I have counted the people. Now only Du Mo and Wolf haven't come up."
Guan Bai nodded with satisfaction. "You have worked hard!"
Mao Luan immediately bowed his head. "It's my duty!"
Guan Bai said, "Then we will wait."
Mao Luan did not dare to object. "Okay."
They did not wait for too long. About half an hour later, the entrance door opened to both sides, and the shuttle ladder rose. Ding Meng and Du Mo came out with huge boxes.
As soon as they came out, the surrounding mercenaries surrounded them and aimed their guns at the two of them.
Du Mo's face changed. "Captain Mao, what do you mean?"
Mao Luan stepped forward and coughed. "This … that …"
In the distance, Guan Bai waved his hand lightly. "Put away your weapons. Mr. Du is a VIP. Don't be rude."
The guns were put away quickly, but the problem was that the mercenaries were not polite to them. They took out their tools again, and dozens of people pried the boxes up. It seemed that they were going to carry them to the starship.
Guan Bai immediately waved to Ding Meng and Du Mo, motioning them to come forward and talk.
Du Mo's face was obviously unhappy. "Mr. Guan, it doesn't seem right for you to take the goods away like this."
Guan Bai showed a gentle smile: "Mr. Du is young and promising. I admire you for finding the goods in such a short time. The representative of your company has arrived here. He is a guest of the head of the company. I have been entrusted by the head of the company to pick up Mr. Du and the goods. As for how to deal with the goods, it will be up to the two families to negotiate."
Du Mo was silent for a while before he said, "Since that's the case, then I thank Captain Lu for your kind intentions. As for being a guest, I don't have to."
Guan Bai was a little surprised. "Oh?
Why? "
Du Mo said, "Leader Guan, I was asked by the school to come here as a technical guide. Now that the container has been found, my task can be considered completed. There are a few students who came with me. They are here for sightseeing. It's better for me to meet them as soon as possible because it's time for us to go back."
Guan Bai's expression seemed to be a little regretful. In fact, he wanted to befriend this proud son of Starlight University, but the other side didn't give him a chance. There was nothing he could do. "Since it's like this, then I'll immediately arrange a ship to send Mr. Du out of the port."
Du Mo smiled and waved his hand. "Captain Guan, you're too polite. We're all students, so it's better for us to take the Tian Yun public safety boat."
"Alright then!"
Guan Bai sighed helplessly. Then his eyes fell on Ding Meng. "This is Mr. Wolf, right?"
Ding Meng immediately stepped forward. "Hello!"
Guan Bai turned to look at Mao Luan. "Has Mr. Wolf received his bonus?"
He obviously knew the specific situation of the mine. Qian Zhenghong and Li Zhao had a lot of points, but the real hero of discovering the crystal-carrying matrix of Xinhong Group was Ding Meng.
Mao Luan had already turned on his wrist device and walked over with a gentle smile on his face. "Brother, you're in luck. Mr. Guan values talents very much. Here's a bonus of 500,000 star coins. Why don't you thank Mr. Guan?"
"Wait!" Ding Meng decisively waved his hand to stop him. "The bonus I want is not this."
Mao Luan was stunned. "Then what do you want?"
Ding Meng coldly replied, "Captain Mao, I remember you saying before that as long as you can dig out the goods, you can even get a 90% bonus."
Mao Luan's expression changed. "Kid, don't refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit. If you don't believe me, ask the people around you. Which one of them has a bonus of more than 100,000 star coins?
Giving you 500,000 is because Mr. Guan is taking extra care of you. "
Ding Meng was too lazy to listen to his explanation. Instead, he pointed at the box and said,
"This crystal-carrying matrix is made of platinum red crystal metal. It was a common material on the market more than a hundred years ago. Although it's not a liquid polymer alloy, this material is very rare nowadays. It's very rare and has a lot of research value. Just these 12 containers alone cost more than 80 million star coins. I spent a lot of effort to find them, and now you want to send me packing with 500,000 star coins?
Do you think I'm a beggar? "
"You!" Mao Luan was furious. "Do you know who you're talking to?"
Ding Meng's words were definitely not meant for him to hear. It was a risky gamble. He spoke so "professionally" casually because Little Rascal taught him in secret. The purpose was to attract Guan Bai's attention.
He made such a big fuss in the underground mining area just to attract the attention of the top leaders of the Extreme Pirate Force. There was only one reason: Cypress Ancient Planet was so big, the underground area was so complicated, and there were dozens of large starships floating around the planet. He had no idea where the nest of the Extreme Pirate Force was.
If he and Meng Yan searched the area one by one, they would not be able to find it even after a few years. However, if he could get in touch with the top leaders of the Extreme Pirate Force, it would be much easier.
Sure enough, Guan Bai waved her hand casually, and Mao Luan retreated with a sullen face.
"Brother Wolf, I heard that you used to be a raider?" Guan Bai looked at him with interest.
Ding Meng said, "Yes, I've been in this line for many years. If it weren't for your high recruitment price, I wouldn't have come all the way here."
Guan Bai simply asked directly, "Then how much do you want?"
Ding Meng said, "I don't want money."
"Oh?" Guan Bai was stunned. "Then what do you want?"
Ding Meng's eyes fell into the distance. The mercenaries were using engineering vehicles to lift boxes onto the starship. "I want a container."
Guan Bai smiled meaningfully. "You have a big appetite."
Ding Meng sneered. "I know myself. What's inside has nothing to do with me. I just want to scrape some material from the surface of the container and take it back for research. Anyway, many people don't need such a container now. I might as well turn it into a treasure."
Guan Bai did not answer him directly. Instead, she turned her head and glanced at Mao Luan.
Mao Luan also remembered that Ding Meng had said in the underground mining area that his expenses had always been high because he was an authoritative expert in raw materials. So Mao Luan nodded slightly, indicating that this was indeed the case.
Guan Bai smiled. "I wonder what Brother Wolf wants to research?"
Ding Meng said, "The raiding starships have always been repaired a lot. My materials can be sold at a high price."
This answer was watertight. The raiding starships' transportation capacity was indeed incomparable to all the other starships. This was completely reasonable.
Guan Bai nodded with satisfaction. "Brother Wolf, in fact, our starships also need to be repaired. Are you interested in repairing our port?
How much money did Xi Qing pay you? Guan Bai can double it. "
Xi Qing was the chief commander of the raiding starships. Since Guan Bai dared to speak so directly, it was obvious that he wanted to poach him.
Anyway, the two families were far apart. Xi Qing couldn't possibly come to Cypress Star, could he?
He also knew that Ding Meng had traveled thousands of miles to Cypress Star to search for treasures. How many mercenaries like him did not love money?
Ding Meng suddenly sneered. "Master Guan, in our line of work, we definitely come to search for treasures for money. But it's not appropriate to break the rules just for money. Since I'm working for the raiding starships, I naturally have to work for President Xi."
Guan Bai also smiled. His smile was full of meaning. "If you think that I, Guan Bai, am trying to steal Xi Qing's woman, you are wrong."
"Oh?" Ding Meng frowned.
Guan Bai said, "Brother Wolf, you should know that we, the Extreme Pirate Corps, have always been paid to do things. You get what you pay for. Similarly, if we pay you, we also ask others to do things for us."
Ding Meng hesitated and said, "Master Guan, do you want me to work for the Extreme Pirate Corps?"
Guan Bai waved his hand and said, "You're wrong. It's the Extreme Pirate Corps that asks you to do things for us. It's a fair trade."
As soon as he said this, Ding Meng knew in his heart that things were going in the direction he had predicted. He was not afraid of Guan Bai raising the price, but he was afraid that the other party would not open his mouth.
Ding Meng said, "What does Master Guan want me to do?"
Guan Bai pondered and said, "I heard that the top talents in your line of work can determine the value of a treasure by its appearance, position, color, and traces with just a glance when digging for treasures. Is that true?"
"That's right!"
Ding Meng nodded. In fact, he was really an authority in this field. For example, when a piece of gold-bearing shale was unearthed, he could immediately determine how much gold sand it contained by its appearance, volume, color, texture, and degree of corrosion. Basically, all the laborers who had worked in the Black Gold Base for more than three years had this ability.
"Brother Wolf also has this ability, right?" Guan Bai stared at him.
Ding Meng knew that there must be a deeper meaning to his question, so he replied in a low voice, "These twelve boxes of goods have been buried underground for at least eighty years. To be exact, it's about eighty-three years. Compared to the containers themselves, the goods inside are of higher quality. Moreover, they were buried in the form of a closed warehouse. I believe that there are at least top-grade crystals in them."
Guan Bai suddenly clapped his hands and said, "Brother Wolf is really the best in this line of work. Then please come on board. Welcome to our Extreme Pirate Corps."
Ding Meng hesitated for a while and said, "Then I'll accept your invitation. Thank you for your kindness."