54: Chapter 54 Harvest

The team arrived at Outpost No. 9 at two in the afternoon.

The outpost's perimeter walls had collapsed in many places, and one of the bunkers had been destroyed. Shell craters and claw marks were everywhere, and the air was thick with the smell of gunpowder and blood, a mixture that made one's throat feel parched.

Lin Mo jumped off the vehicle and stepped onto the scorched earth. A faint crunching sound came from beneath his feet—the charred bones of some fierce beast.

It seemed that a significant battle had also taken place here at Outpost No. 9.

However, the situation wasn't too dire; they had successfully held the line.

Fortunately, Yuan Shoucheng had only deployed over three hundred members of the Elite Assault Team, leaving enough defensive forces at the outpost.

Wu Feng walked over, leaning on a crutch.

"Don't just stand there dazed. The queue has already formed at the military merit settlement office. Everyone, get over there quickly."

He glanced at Lin Mo, looking like he wanted to say something, but ultimately just patted him on the shoulder.

"Go on. Your harvest this time is even greater than mine, kid!"

The military merit settlement office was inside the camp, with a long line at the entrance. It was filled with soldiers and students who had just withdrawn from the battlefield, exhaustion written on every face.

Lin Mo stood in line, with Yi Xiaoyu and the others in front of him and Captain Wu Feng behind him.

When it was Yi Xiaoyu's turn, the recording soldier took her communication bracelet, glanced at it, and said:

"Yi Xiaoyu, member of the 22nd Squad of the Elite Assault Team. Mission completed: 2,000 base merit. Five Tier 1 fierce beasts killed: 100 merit. Total: 2,100."

Lin Sisi and the others were next.

"Lin Sisi, member of the 18th Squad of the Elite Assault Team. Eight Tier 1 fierce beasts killed: 160 merit. Mission failed: base merit halved to 1,000. Total: 1,160."

"Shen Yi, member of the 18th Squad of the Elite Assault Team. Three Tier 1 fierce beasts killed: 60 merit. Mission failed: base merit halved to 1,000. Total: 1,060."

"Ye Zhixia, member of the 18th Squad of the Elite Assault Team. Twelve Tier 1 fierce beasts killed: 240 merit. Mission failed: base merit halved to 1,000. Total: 1,240."

The four girls took back their communication bracelets, each with a different expression.

Next were Lao Hei and Lao Yu.

"Li Erniu, member of the 22nd Squad of the Elite Assault Team. Mission completed: 2,000 base merit. Twenty-one Tier 1 fierce beasts and two Tier 2 fierce beasts killed: 850 merit. Total: 2,850."

"Yu Dingshan, Vice Captain of the 22nd Squad of the Elite Assault Team. Mission completed: 3,000 base merit. Twenty-seven Tier 1 fierce beasts and three Tier 2 fierce beasts killed: 1,150 merit. Total: 4,150."

Lao Hei grinned. "Not bad, not bad. Adding this to my savings, it's enough to exchange for a good saber."

Lao Yu gave him a punch. "You've used that saber for three years; it's long overdue for a replacement. Look at Lin Mo, he's already using an A-rank combat saber."

When it was Lin Mo's turn, the officer looked at his name and froze for a moment.

"Lin Mo?"

Lin Mo nodded.

The officer looked down at the records in front of him, then back up at him, as if confirming something.

Then he spoke, his voice slightly louder than before:

"Lin Mo. Base mission completed: 2,000 merit. Rescue mission completed: 2,000 bonus merit."

"Eighty-six Tier 1 fierce beasts killed: 1,740 merit. Thirty-two Tier 2 fierce beasts killed: 6,500 merit. Three Third-Order Fierce Beasts killed—"

He paused briefly before continuing slowly.

"Two Third-Order Shadow Leopards, 2,000 merit each, totaling 4,000. One Third-Order Rock-Armored Earth Dragon—"

He paused again.

"5,000 merit."

"Total: 2,000 + 2,000 + 1,740 + 6,500 + 4,000 + 5,000 = 21,240 military merit."

The queue fell silent for a moment.

The people waiting behind him, and those who hadn't left after their settlement, all turned their heads to look at Lin Mo.

21,240 merit points.

From a single mission.

Lao Hei's eyes went wide, and his mouth hung open for a long time before he managed to choke out a sentence:

"I... I've only saved up twelve thousand merit in two years..."

Lao Yu nodded vigorously beside him, unable to speak.

Wu Feng stood behind Lin Mo, his expression equally stunned.

He knew Lin Mo had killed a lot, but he hadn't expected it to be this many.

86 Tier 1s, 32 Tier 2s, 3 Tier 3s.

In one mission.

By one person.

Lin Mo showed no expression. He simply nodded and took the communication bracelet from the officer.

Shen Yi, being more forward, leaned in to look at Lin Mo's communication bracelet, which was already displaying the merit interface.

"Let me count... ones, tens, hundreds, thousands, ten thousands... It really is over twenty thousand?!"

She looked up at Lin Mo, her eyes filled with admiration.

"Lin Mo, you're rich! You're treating us tonight!"

Lin Mo glanced at her.

"I'm not. We're eating at the canteen tonight!"

Shen Yi was stunned for a moment, then burst out laughing.

Yi Xiaoyu couldn't help but curl her lips into a smile as well.

Lao Hei and Lao Yu crowded around. Lao Hei threw an arm over Lin Mo's shoulder. "Kid, don't you know you can order extra dishes at the canteen?"

Lao Yu chimed in from the side. "Right, right, treat us! The canteen has braised pork; our whole team is having it tonight on your tab!"

Lin Mo looked at Lao Hei.

"No. I'm saving it so it can hatch eggs."

Lao Hei was taken aback. "What do you mean?"

"If it can't hatch eggs, why have you been saving for two years?"

Lao Hei: "..."

Lao Yu roared with laughter, slapping Lao Hei on the shoulder. "That's what you get for trying to extort him—you got counter-killed!"

Walking out of the military merit settlement office, the support teams were returning one after another.

Campfires were everywhere in the outpost. People sat in small groups around the fires, roasting the meat of fierce beasts they had hunted over the past few days and talking in low voices.

Yi Xiaoyu suddenly spoke up. "Lin Mo, aren't you coming with us to the exchange center?"

Lin Mo shook his head.

"I'm going to sell some things."

Yi Xiaoyu was confused. "Sell things? Sell what?"

Lin Mo didn't answer.

He looked into the distance toward a tent with a sign hanging at the entrance: Hualian Chamber of Commerce.

When Lin Mo walked over, someone was already standing outside the tent.

He was in his forties, short and stout, wearing a silk robe that looked completely out of place in a camp full of combat uniforms. He was clutching a string of prayer beads, pacing back and forth and glancing over occasionally.

When he saw Lin Mo, his eyes lit up, and he hurried forward to meet him.

"Little brother Lin Mo?"

Lin Mo nodded.

The man's eyes crinkled into slits as he smiled. "Oh my, oh my, I've finally waited for you."

"Battalion Commander Yuan sent someone to notify me, saying you have a batch of high-quality goods to sell and told me to buy them at the top market price. I've been waiting here all afternoon, not daring to go anywhere."

He extended his hand. "I am Huang Guinian, Procurement Supervisor for the Hualian Chamber of Commerce. You can just call me Old Huang, little brother."

Lin Mo shook his hand.

Huang Guinian enthusiastically ushered him into the tent. "Come, come, please come inside. Let's talk slowly."

The tent was simply furnished with a table, two chairs, and a few wooden crates piled in the corner.

Huang Guinian invited Lin Mo to sit, personally poured him a cup of tea, and then rubbed his hands together, looking at him expectantly.

"Little brother, let's chat first. What kind of goods do you have? So I can give you an estimate."

Lin Mo said nothing.

He raised his hand and placed the spatial ring on the table.

Huang Guinian's eyes instantly bugged out.

"This... this is a spatial ring?"

Lin Mo nodded.

With a thought, items from the ring began to appear on the table one by one.

"One Tier 1 Late Stage Wolf King pelt."

Huang Guinian picked up the pelt, examined it several times, and nodded. "The quality is excellent. I can give you a high price—100,000. This is absolutely the top of the top!"

Lin Mo continued to bring things out.

"Two Tier 3 Shadow Leopard pelts, eight leopard claws."

Huang Guinian's hand froze.

He glanced up at Lin Mo, then looked back down at the two pelts. After a careful inspection to confirm they were indeed Tier 3, he swallowed hard.

"One complete Tier 3 Blazing Flame Tiger pelt, four tiger claws."

"One Tier 3 Iron-Armored Rhino horn."

Huang Guinian's eyelid twitched.

"One Tier 3 Rock-Armored Earth Dragon Reverse Scale, one dragon tendon, two dragon horns."

Huang Guinian leaned on the table with both hands, his breathing rapid. His entire face turned red as he watched the pile of materials on the table grow higher and higher. But Lin Mo had no intention of stopping and continued to take out materials.

.

Soon, the table could no longer hold everything, so Lin Mo began dropping them directly onto the ground.

Materials, each worth millions or even tens of millions, were being tossed onto the floor like unwanted cabbage and radishes. "One Tier 4 Blackwater Giant Python gall, one skin, and one water-attribute crystal core."

Huang Guinian bolted upright, a green glint in his eyes.

"Tier 4?! Those are Tier 4 materials?!"

"Only fierce beasts of Tier 4 or higher have crystal cores inside them!"

"A Blackwater Giant Python! That's a ruthless character even among Tier 4 fierce beasts!"

"How did you kill it?? How did you even get your hands on this?"

"I didn't kill it; someone else did!"

Lin Mo didn't stop.

"One pair of Tier 4 Vajra Violent Bear paws, one bear gall, and one bear heart! One earth-attribute crystal core!"

A sudden commotion broke out outside.

Several people passing the tent looked through the open flap and saw the items on the table; their eyes went wide.

"Holy crap! Is that a Tier 3 Shadow Leopard pelt?!"

"And dragon horns! Tier 3 Earth Dragon horns!"

"So many... who is this guy?"

"Lin Mo! It's that guy who killed three Tier 3s by himself!"

"My god..."

Only then did Huang Guinian snap back to his senses. He rushed to the tent entrance in a few steps and yanked down the curtain, blocking those prying eyes.

He turned around and looked at Lin Mo, his smile looking more painful than a sob.

"Little brother, you... you're going to be the death of me..."

Lin Mo looked at him.

"Can't take them?"

Huang Guinian smiled bitterly. "I can take them, I can. But..."

He swallowed hard.

"But I didn't bring enough money."

He pulled out his phone, checked his account balance, and his face grew even more miserable.

"I only have 130 million on me. This batch of goods is worth at least 300 million."

Lin Mo's eyes finally flickered.

300 million.

Huang Guinian looked at him, suddenly made a decision, pulled out his phone, and dialed a number.

"Wait, I'll have the company transfer the money."

The call connected, and an impatient voice came from the other end:

"Old Huang, what is it? I'm busy right now."

Huang Guinian took a deep breath. "A big deal."

The other side paused. "How big?"

"Never mind that, just transfer money to my account first."

The other side was clearly losing patience. "Can't you damn well handle it yourself? Why do you have to call me for everything—"

"I don't have enough in my account," Huang Guinian interrupted.

The other side was stunned. "Not enough? Didn't we just transfer 200 million to you two days ago? What kind of deal makes 200 million not enough?"

"It's really not enough. Transfer another 200 million over."

Silence fell on the other end of the line.

After several seconds, the person spoke again, their voice completely changed.

"Old Huang, are you being fucking scammed? What kind of business needs 400 million in cash? Or maybe—"

His voice suddenly became suspicious.

"Are you trying to run off with the money?"

Huang Guinian's face turned red with anger. "Bullshit! I've worked for this company for twenty years; when have I ever cheated the company? If you don't believe me, I'll video call you right now so you can see the goods for yourself!"

He hung up, started a video call, and aimed it at the pile of materials on the table.

In less than ten seconds, the phone rang again.

The person's voice was trembling.

"Old Huang... is that dragon horn real?"

Huang Guinian sneered. "See for yourself."

There was a few seconds of silence, followed by a clattering sound, as if something had been knocked over.

"Wait! I'll arrange the transfer immediately!"

Huang Guinian hung up, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and looked at Lin Mo with a much more sincere smile than before.

"Little brother, wait just a few more minutes; the money will be in the account soon."

Lin Mo nodded.

He lowered his head and continued to take items out of the ring.

Suddenly, he paused.

Because he saw the final item.

It was a heart.

It had been buried at the bottom by other beast materials, wrapped in a layer of beast hide.

Through the hide, Lin Mo could feel it moving.

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

It was very slow.

But very powerful.

As if it were alive.

Lin Mo hesitated for a second, then prepared to take it out.

The moment the beast hide was pulled back—

[WARNING—!!!]

The system's warning tone exploded in his mind, sharper and more piercing than ever before!

[Warning! Extremely dangerous item detected!]

[Name: Contaminated Heart]

[Source: source of corruption]

[Danger Level: Exceeds detection limit—Unable to evaluate—Unable to evaluate—]

[Warning! This item is a highly active source of contamination!]

[Warning! Probability of infection for direct contact exceeds 99%!]

[Warning! Within a certain range, all Mimics can sense its presence!]

[Recommendation: Destroy immediately! Destroy immediately! Destroy immediately!]