Soon, the convoy approached the Military Departmentâs main base, and Lin Xinghai noticed from a distance that a banner had been hung at the entrance.
A Hearty Congratulations to the First Grand Company on Their Triumphant Return!
The large, glittering gold characters were visible from far away.
The others quickly saw it as well. They were stunned, but also felt an inexplicable sense of pride.
This was especially true for the First Level Mercenary Corps. They had been disdained before, but now they were the center of attention.
âWhat on earth is our Chairman trying to do!â Lin Xinghai thought, feeling a headache coming on as he watched the conspicuously-built Jin Canlan standing under the banner.
"Boss, why worry about him? We crushed a zombie tide. Itâs a huge victory! No matter what, this canât be a bad thing," Xu Haishui said with a carefree expression.
Lin Xinghai glanced at him but said nothing.
Soon, the convoy reached the entrance of the main base. Lin Xinghai led everyone out of their vehicles and went to greet Jin Canlan.
Regardless of what the man was planning, he had to show the Chairman of the Mercenary Guild some respect.
"Haha, our heroes have finally returned victorious!" Jin Canlan strode forward, his chubby hand affectionately draping over Lin Xinghaiâs shoulder.
"Chairman! This is too grand. Besides, we were just doing our duty," Lin Xinghai said modestly.
"This isnât what you were âsupposedâ to do at all! The Mercenary Guildâs mission is just to clear the Zombies from the supply lines."
"If you encounter danger, especially a zombie tide, youâre supposed to retreat to an outpost for shelter, not turn around and go provide reinforcements. Thatâs why Iâm calling you heroes, and the Military Department has to acknowledge it," Jin Canlan declared loudly.
His voice was so loud that probably half the nearby camp heard him.
And just like that, Lin Xinghai understood Chairman Jinâs intentions. âSo heâs planning to use this matter to get some perks from the military!â
Lin Xinghai just kept a smile on his face. He didnât take the bait, but he didnât deny it either.
âHe didnât want to get involved, but if Jin Canlan secured some benefits, it was only right that he get a cut.â
"Ahem!" Seeing Lin Xinghai remain silent, Jin Canlan cleared his throat, thought for a moment, and continued, "Youâve all achieved great merit this time. Iâve already negotiated with the Military Department, and all the Points you earned on this mission can be converted into Merit Points for you. Of course, this doesnât include the Points youâve already used to redeem Elemental Crystals."
The moment Jin Canlan finished speaking, before Lin Xinghai could even respond, a wave of irrepressible cheers erupted from behind him.
The Heaven-Sundering Mercenary Corps had a Merit Medal, so they didnât really need Merit Points, but for the other Mercenary Corps, they were incredibly precious.
They could use them to purchase military equipment that was normally completely inaccessible to them.
Things like military-grade radar or some high-power military engines might not offer a huge, immediate boost to a Mercenary Corpsâ overall combat power. But the long-term benefits were incalculable; this was all equipment that could greatly increase a Mercenary Corpsâ survival capabilities.
At worst, even if they couldnât use them right away, they could sell these Military Merit Points and get at least three times the value back in regular Points.
So, for every Mercenary Corps involved, this was an absolute windfall.
Lin Xinghai was also somewhat surprised, but he quickly smiled and nodded. "Then on behalf of all the members of the First Grand Company, thank you, Chairman Jin."
"Donât be so formal. As the chairman of the Mercenary Guild, itâs my duty to look out for your interests." Jin Canlan paused, then added, "Thatâs why I plan to take this opportunity to propose that the Military Department open up access to purchasing some of their equipment. However, the request would probably be more effective coming from you than from me."
Now Lin Xinghai fully understood his intentions. "Alright! If I get the chance, Iâll mention it to General Lin Zhengyang."
"And that old fellow Wei Tianxing. This matter will need his nod too," Jin Canlan added.
"Alright! Iâll talk to Elder Wei about it after I get back." Lin Xinghai didnât refuse. He also wanted the Mercenary Guild to grow stronger. With more fertile ground, the Heaven-Sundering Mercenary Corps and the Mountain and Sea Mercenary Corps would have more room to grow.
Seeing Lin Xinghai agree so readily, Jin Canlan was surprised, and the smile on his face grew even more brilliant.
"Excellent! You really live up to your reputation as a leader among Mercenaries. By the way, Iâve prepared a victory feast for you all. Come, letâs eat! We can also take the opportunity to boost the morale for the Mercenary Corps that havenât deployed yet."
Lin Xinghai was speechless.
âSince when am I a leader of the Mercenaries?â
Besides, he honestly didnât want to attend a victory banquet. However, since Jin Canlan had framed it as a way to boost the morale of the other Mercenary Corps, he thought it over and agreed.
After all, the other grand companies couldnât compare to his First Grand Company.
One could imagine that if these Mercenary Corps encountered serious trouble, like Mutated Zombies or a zombie tide, their casualties would be immense even if they managed to pull through.
An event like that would be a huge blow to morale. It could even affect the other Mercenary Corps after they retreated to the main base, which would in turn impact the entire operation.
So, before the other teams departed, letting them see the rewards and making them a little green with envy wasnât necessarily a bad thing.
That way, even if they encountered a setback, their first reaction would likely be to think they were just unlucky, instead of concluding that Guanghan City was too dangerous and losing the will to carry on with the mission.
The so-called victory banquet was a simple affair. A huge tent was erected in an open plaza, and all sorts of food and drinks were served.
The banquet may have been simple, but the atmosphere was electric. Many Mercenary Corps Leaders were asking the corps from the First Grand Company about what they had gained.
When they heard the full story, they were green with envy.
While inwardly cursing these corps for having the dumb luck to profit by following Lin Xinghai, they also eagerly anticipated their own trip to Guanghan City, wondering just how many Points they could earn.
Jin Canlan dragged Lin Xinghai around the banquet to say a few words of encouragement before he was finally able to slip away.
Of course, the banquet itself didnât last very longâan hour at most.
Theoretically, the Mercenary Corps, divided into three rotating batches to clear Zombies, had at least six hours of rest after a mission. But if something unexpected happened, or if another grand company in their rotation was crippled and forced to retreat, they had to be ready to fill in at a momentâs notice.
Whatâs more, their rest time also had to be used for treating the wounded and repairing equipment, so they really didnât have much time to spare.
Especially after this mission, where the First Grand Company had charged directly into a zombie tide and faced so many High Level Zombies, the outer armor of every corpsâ Armored Vehicles and Mechas was covered in scratches.
If not repaired promptly, these scratches posed a potential hazard.
Of course, Lin Xinghai paid no mind to these things; he trusted Fang Tianhe to handle it all.
To his surprise, however, not long after he returned to his tent, Fang Tianhe knocked on the door and entered.
"Something wrong?" Lin Xinghai asked curiously.
"Yes, itâs about the repairs for the Speed Mecha," Fang Tianhe said. "Your Superpower puts too much strain on the Mecha, so I just went to consult with the militaryâs engineering department. Iâm planning to have them help perform a comprehensive reinforcement and install some of the militaryâs special-supply parts."
"Oh! Thatâs a great idea," Lin Xinghai said, his interest piqued. "Those special-supply parts must be pretty effective, right?"
"Theyâre definitely in a different league from standard parts. I had the engineering department run an estimate. Once the modifications are done, the Speed Mechaâs performance should improve by at least one-third. And its overload resistance will double. Itâs just... a bit expensive."
"How expensive?"
"Five hundred thousand... Merit Points."