149: Chapter 149 The Person Being Poached

When Qin Ce walked into the Seventh Squad barracks, he finally understood what those people meant earlier when they asked him, "Which squad are you from?"

The Seventh Squad barracks was a drab, two-story building with peeling plaster that exposed the mottled brickwork beneath.

In the building's lobby stood seven or eight people wearing military uniforms of various styles and colors, most of whom were the same people from earlier in front of the 3rd Battalion office building.

Seeing Qin Ce approach, they whispered among themselves for a moment, and then one of them walked up to meet him.

"Captain Qin?" The man looked him up and down, his gaze lingering for a moment on his brand-new uniform and polished boots, before the corner of his mouth twitched—not in a smile, but more as if he had confirmed something.

"Yes, what is it?" Qin Ce said.

The man nodded and turned to walk into the barracks, saying as he did, "Come in first. Some things need to be handled in your presence."

The two stepped into the barracks.

Inside, the five or six people had already found a few tables and sat down.

Judging by their shoulder insignia, there were squad captains, team leaders, and a few others whose ranks Qin Ce couldn't identify.

They had several documents spread out on the tables in front of them and were speaking in low voices.

When they saw Qin Ce enter, some looked up, while others didn't even lift their heads.

Qin Ce frowned.

This was the Seventh Squad barracks; these people were not his subordinates, yet they were sitting openly and brazenly on his turf.

Just as he was about to speak, the man who had greeted him earlier spoke first.

"Captain Qin, according to the rules, during the period of restructuring after battle damage, squads are allowed to recruit within the ranks. As long as the member agrees, they can transfer squads." He pointed to the documents on the table, "This is the Seventh Squad roster; we have already verified it. We are currently speaking with those who meet the criteria."

Qin Ce's frown deepened.

He walked over to the table and took a look at the roster.

It listed the names, ranks, merit points, and statuses of all personnel currently in the Seventh Squad.

Of the twenty-three names, several had already been circled in red.

"Speaking with them?" Qin Ce looked at the man, "In my barracks, poaching my people?"

The man didn't seem to care about his tone and even smiled slightly, "Captain Qin, rules are rules. You just arrived, so you might not be aware. During the restructuring period, personnel movement isn't up to the captain; it's up to the individual to decide. If they are willing to come with us, you can't stop them."

After finishing, he stopped looking at Qin Ce and turned to a soldier in a tattered uniform nearby, "Old Liu, what have you decided? Come to our squad. We take a thirty percent cut of your merit points, but there are more missions, so you'll earn more. It's better than rotting away in the Seventh Squad."

The soldier called Old Liu lowered his head, remained silent for a moment, and then whispered, "Thirty percent... isn't that too much?"

"Too much?" The man laughed, "Go ask around, how much do other squads take? There are plenty that take fifty percent. Thirty percent is already a discount because you're a veteran."

Old Liu was silent for another moment, then finally nodded. The man put a checkmark next to Old Liu's name on the roster and turned to the next person.

Qin Ce stood by, watching this scene, a surge of indescribable anger rising in his heart.

He took a deep breath, suppressing the anger, and said, "I don't take a cut."

The man paused in his movements and turned to look at Qin Ce. The few soldiers nearby also raised their heads, their gazes falling on Qin Ce.

"I mean," Qin Ce's voice was not loud, but very clear, "In my squad, I don't take a cut of your merit points. Whatever you earn from missions, you keep."

The barracks went quiet for a moment.

The soldiers exchanged glances; some hesitated, some lowered their heads, and some twitched their mouths, as if they wanted to say something but swallowed it back.

But Qin Ce noticed that after hearing his words, more of them actually shifted closer to those other people.

Then, the Old Liu who had been hesitating just a moment ago stood up, walked over to the man who was recruiting him, and said with a voice much firmer than before, "I'm going with you."

The corner of the man's mouth curled up, and he glanced at Qin Ce with an expression that seemed to say, "See?"

Qin Ce didn't understand.

He took a deep breath and said, "Double. If you stay in my squad, I will give you double the base merit points."

This time, the barracks went completely silent.

Double base merit points.

This meant that even without going on missions, just from the base merit points, they would earn more than they would by going on missions in other squads.

Everyone could do that math.

But what Qin Ce waited for was not a rush of people wanting to join him.

It was an even deeper silence.

Then, a soldier who had been sitting in the corner and had not lifted his head the entire time stood up.

He walked over to the man recruiting him, his voice hoarse, "I'm going with you too."

Another one.

And another.

Almost at the same moment, the soldiers in the barracks who had still been watching began to walk toward those people one after another.

They kept their heads down, none of them looking at Qin Ce, none of them saying a word; they just walked over silently and stood on that side in silence.

Qin Ce stood where he was, watching his soldiers leave one by one.

He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but couldn't say anything.

He didn't know what he had done wrong.

In less than a quarter of an hour, only two people were left in the barracks.

One was sitting on a bed in the corner, half-leaning against the wall, one leg in a splint and wrapped in thick bandages.

His face was mostly covered by messy beard and hair, making his expression unreadable.

His Pet Beast was not with him.

Qin Ce noticed that the aura within his body was also empty, lacking the fluctuations of a Pet Beast.

This was a semi-crippled soldier whose Pet Beast had died, and who was unable to contract a new one.

The kind that nobody wanted.

As for the other person, while the others were signing up everyone else, he had walked over and asked Qin Ce if he could advance a year's worth of merit points to settle his family.

And after Qin Ce agreed, he stayed behind.

This man was in his thirties, lean, with sharp eyes; he looked like the type of person whose mind worked quickly.

He stood in front of Qin Ce, clutching a newly signed agreement in his hand, his expression complex—a mix of excitement, nervousness, and something else Qin Ce couldn't decipher.

"Captain, the agreement is signed. One year of double base merit points, advanced. Two thousand merit points, you can transfer them to me, right?" He handed the agreement to Qin Ce, his voice very soft, as if confirming something.

Qin Ce looked at the agreement, then at him, and without saying much, he accessed the merit account from his commander's token and transferred two thousand points.

Upon receiving the merit points, the expression on the man's face visibly relaxed, and a hint of a smile even appeared.

He carefully folded the agreement, tucked it into an inner pocket, and turned to leave.

"Wait." Qin Ce called out to him.