129: Double-sided contract

wanderer, Strategic Briefing Room.

The light from the holographic star map cast flickering shadows on Su Li's calm face. With a light tap of her finger, a background investigation report was enlarged before everyone.

"The 'Skull Crusher' mercenary group is permanently stationed in Tartarus's Seventh to Ninth Sectors, with about three hundred members and medium-grade armaments. But..." Su Li's tone was devoid of any emotion, as if she were reading a financial statement. "Based on the public information I could gather, this mercenary group has at least seven records of betraying their employers in the past three years, three of which directly led to the total annihilation of the employer's forces."

"Conclusion: Risk rating 'extremely high.' I do not recommend cooperating with them."

She looked at Chen Feng, her gaze firm.

Reno's thick arms were crossed over his chest. Hearing this, he gave a low grunt. "Chief Steward Su, I know your data doesn't lie. But war isn't something you can do just by looking at data."

"Supervisor Reno, any investment with a failure rate exceeding 50% is commercially equivalent to suicide," Su Li countered without backing down.

"But what we need is 'momentum'!" Reno slammed the table, his voice echoing in the small meeting room. "We need a feint large enough, chaotic enough, and loud enough to draw all the attention of that piece of trash called J! In Tartarus, who else but those mad dogs of 'Skull Crusher' can do it? Those small-fry mercenary groups wouldn't even be enough to fill the gaps between their teeth!"

"We can hire multiple small mercenary groups in batches, at different—"

"That would leak our plan like a sieve!" Reno interrupted her. "Su Li, I respect your expertise, but in my field of expertise, I trust my judgment. Only the scale and ferocity of 'Skull Crusher' can make our feint look like a real main offensive!"

Su Li's lips thinned into a straight line. She stopped speaking, but the look of opposition in her eyes did not diminish in the slightest.

Everyone's eyes converged on Chen Feng.

Chen Feng's fingers tapped lightly on the tabletop. He remained silent for a full half-minute.

"Su Li," he finally spoke.

"I'm here, Boss."

"Your risk assessment is correct; from a business perspective, we shouldn't take this risk." Chen Feng looked at her, his tone calm. "However, Reno's military judgment is also correct. We need a performance that is realistic enough, and 'Skull Crusher' is the only choice."

A flash of disappointment crossed Su Li's eyes.

Chen Feng turned to Reno. "You go negotiate."

"Yes!" Reno's spirits lifted.

"However," Chen Feng added with emphasis, "I want you to include the most stringent breach-of-contract clauses in the contract—triple compensation, and they must use the entire assets of the mercenary group as collateral. I want them to know that they cannot afford the price of betraying us."

"Understood!"

"Go on." Chen Feng waved his hand. "Let everyone know that the money of our Hanhai Trade is not easy to take."

Tartarus, Seventh Sector, Rusty Barrel Bar.

The air was thick with the choking smell of cheap alcohol, sweat, and burning low-quality energy blocks. Reno pushed through the noisy crowd and walked straight toward the most conspicuous booth in the corner.

A burly alien, built like a giant bear, sat there. He had four thick arms; two were fiddling with a dagger on the table, while the other two were wrapped around two scantily clad dancing girls.

He was the leader of "Skull Crusher," Glack.

"You're the one looking for me?" Glack lifted his eyelids, his cloudy eyes gleaming with the light of someone appraising goods.

Reno didn't answer, simply watching him. The scar running through his left eye looked particularly sinister in the dim light.

Glack felt a bit uneasy under that cold, abyss-like gaze. He impatiently pushed the dancing girls away. "Speak. What business?"

"Attack the energy station of the Higher Academy," Reno said succinctly.

"Oh?" Glack became interested, placing all four arms on the table. "That's Alliance territory. The price won't be cheap."

He held up three thick fingers. "Three hundred thousand credit points, and I'll help you level it to the ground."

Reno looked at him as if he were looking at a clown.

Glack grew annoyed by the look. He stood up abruptly, his massive frame casting a huge shadow. "Kid, what's with that look? Do you know who you're talking to?"

"I only talk to people who can get things done." Reno's voice remained steady but carried a chill tempered in blood and fire. That murderous aura actually made the battle-hardened Glack feel a pang of trepidation.

"Hmph, you've got guts." Glack sat back down, but his momentum had weakened. "So, how much can you offer?"

Reno didn't answer, simply pushing a data chip onto the table.

"Here's fifty thousand, the down payment."

Glack picked up the chip and scanned it on his personal terminal, confirming the amount.

"This is the 50% advance. After it's done, the final payment will be seventy thousand. One hundred and twenty thousand in total."

"One hundred and twenty thousand?" Glack frowned. "Too little."

"This is the contract." Reno pushed forward an electronic agreement. "Sign it, and the money is yours. Don't sign it, and I'm leaving now."

The light of greed flickered intensely in Glack's eyes. One hundred and twenty thousand was a quite generous reward for a 'feint' with controllable risks. He quickly scanned the contract; the dense clauses gave him a headache, and he only saw that enticing number.

"Fine!" He picked up the electronic pen and scrawled his name. "Deal! When do we start?"

"Three days from now. The plan is in the chip." Reno took the contract and turned to leave without staying a moment longer.

Glack returned to the mercenary group's base. Just as he threw himself into a comfortable sofa, an encrypted communication request popped up.

He answered it lazily.

A processed, emotionless electronic voice spoke: "Leader Glack, I heard you've taken on a big job."

Glack felt a chill and sat up straight. "Who are you?"

"Someone who can make you more money," the electronic voice said. "My employer is willing to pay one hundred and fifty thousand to buy that plan worth one hundred and twenty thousand in your hands."

Glack's heart skipped a beat. He hardly hesitated. "How do I know your credit is good?"

There was a moment of silence on the other end.

"Check your 'Black Bat' No. 7 anonymous account."

Glack immediately opened his secret account. When he saw that long string of numbers, his breathing instantly became heavy.

"One hundred thousand!"

A full one hundred thousand credit points as a deposit had already been credited to his account!

This was nearly half a year's net profit for his mercenary group!

"Credit... more than enough!" Glack's voice trembled with excitement. "What do you want?"

"That plan. Complete, word for word."

"No problem!" With nothing but greed in his eyes, Glack immediately made a complete copy of the encrypted data disk Reno had given him and sent it through the anonymous channel.

The so-called breach-of-contract clauses and the triple compensation were long forgotten in the face of the temptation of one hundred and fifty thousand in cold, hard cash.

To him, this was just a good deal where he could profit from both sides. Once he got all the money, he could just take his core subordinates and leave Tartarus. The universe was so vast; who could find him?

wanderer, Bridge.

Reno reported to Chen Feng, "Boss, the mercenaries are settled."

Chen Feng nodded. "Are they reliable?"

"A bunch of greedy desperadoes." A hint of disdain appeared at the corner of Reno's mouth. "But they're usable. They'll definitely make quite a stir."

"Very good." Chen Feng turned his gaze to the star map. "Order the plan to proceed to the next stage."

Su Li stood to the side, looking at the light dot representing 'Skull Crusher' on the electronic star map. Her eyes were filled with deep concern, but in the end, she said nothing.

She knew the arrow was already on the string.

Meanwhile, inside the mobile command vehicle of the Omni-Dimensional Trade Alliance.

Shadow Chaser-J looked at the complete feint plan that had just been received on the screen, a cold arc curling at the corner of his mouth.

On the map, every planned route and every attack node was precisely marked.

"Fools... you've chosen the most perfect path to death."

J sneered and began redeploying his forces according to the map.

"Since you want to put on a play, I'll build a stage grand enough for you."

He dragged the red arrows representing the feint forces into a narrow valley.

Then, all around the valley, he laid down blue markers representing heavy artillery, snipers, and elite troops.

The feint had quietly turned into a trap designed to lure them in.

A larger, more lethal encirclement had silently spread open in the stillness.