Chapter 352: Chapter 352
"We’re here. This is the place for mercenary assessment. Come on, buddies!" Little Black announced. "My dear Yang Yang said I could join your ranks this time and enjoy the same treatment as you. In your ancient Huaxia words, ’I’ll be asking for your guidance from now on,’ since I’m also part of the team now. Oh, and my dear teammates, don’t be dissatisfied. After all, none of you five speak English, and you need me, your loyal and reliable translator."
Jing Shu couldn’t help but remember how she had answered her teacher after scoring only in the tens on her English exam, claiming that not learning English was an act of patriotism... This just went to show how important mastering a foreign language really was.
The Mercenary Association was predictably a grand and imposing structure, a classic setup that never got old. The Underground Black Market’s Mercenary Association was a Duel Arena. It was prominently located in the center of the entire Black Market and constructed from giant stones assembled into a circular depression that covered the entire bottom layer.
"Look at this awe-inspiring place!" Little Black exclaimed, gesturing around. "It’s the only connection to the top-tier Nobles in the Underground Black Market. The Nobles watch the mercenaries fight in the Duel Arena from the top level every day, and only ’Nobles’ have the right to gamble on who wins or loses. I hear this is the preferred recreation of the upper class.
"But we commoners can bet on fighting pets. We can wager on lizards, tigers, poisonous snakes, and the like to win or lose. Right now, the strongest is a crocodile. If you want to make some Black Market Coins, this is absolutely the fastest shortcut. I think this Ah Huang looks pretty good. It could probably win five or six fights and earn several hundred, perhaps even a thousand Black Market Coins. Then we’d be rich!"
Little Black, his eyes gleaming, looked at Ah Huang, who was baring its teeth, and said, "Buddies, as for the other pets you brought—that parrot, the featherless chicken, and the toothpick snake—I’m not too optimistic about them. You’d better leave them safely in the truck; otherwise, they could easily get caught and eaten."
The parrot and Fat Chicken were left in the truck. The toothpick snake Little Black mentioned was coiled on Snake Spirit’s head, serving as a ’bulletproof hat’. Ah Huang trotted along behind Monkey. Updates are released by 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹·𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗲·𝗻𝗲𝘁
Jing Shu squinted, mulling over Little Black’s talk of fighting pets. Perhaps, short of selling food or bartering supplies, pet duels really were the fastest way to earn Black Market Coins. Even letting Fat Chicken win a few rounds might work. Who knew? It might just be the fiercest contender in the cockfights.
The hall was crowded; some people held up signs, looking to form teams or seeking teammates with guns and ammunition.
"Hey, buddies, eighty percent of the ’Intern Mercenaries’ in the Black Market are pushovers. Only twenty percent are real ’mercenaries’. Even among those, a large portion are retired special forces from other countries, each possessing formidable individual strength, and many are ruthless, hardened criminals. This is no joke. Everyone must be careful.
"So, first, we register as ’Intern Mercenaries’. A Mercenary Team can have a maximum of six members, and the registration fee for a Mercenary Team is 100 Black Market Coins. Damn those Vampires! A loaf of black bread only costs 2 Black Market Coins."
Little Black reluctantly handed over the coins, his heart aching at the expense. After collecting fingerprints from everyone, he distributed nameplates marked ’Intern Mercenary’.
"Hey, buddies, our current goal is to become a true ’D-class’ Mercenary Team in the Black Market, then C-class, B-class, A-class, and S-class. Stop gawking. Only real mercenaries are qualified to fight in the Duel Arena. For now, to get promoted from Intern Mercenary to full Mercenary, we have to complete various missions issued by the Black Market. If a Mercenary Team loses more than half its members, it’s forcibly disbanded."
Tan Ke asked, "What kind of missions do we need to complete for promotion?"
After all, their time was limited. Their team’s objective for this trip was clear: reach S-class mercenary status within ten days.
"Hey, it’s simple. For the whole team to advance from Intern Mercenary to Mercenary, you must complete a mission worth 1,000 Black Market Coins to apply for promotion. It gets much simpler after that initial promotion.
"From D-class to C-class, you need to accumulate missions worth 3,000 Black Market Coins. Of course, Black Market Coin rewards from winning in the Duel Arena also count towards this total. From C-class to B-class, you need to accumulate 8,000 Black Market Coins. B-class to A-class requires 20,000, and A-class to S-class requires 50,000. The higher the Mercenary Team’s grade, the better the benefits and the higher the compensation for the missions they can accept. I’ve heard that S-class teams are even allowed to live on the top level."
That is to say, to reach S-class, we’d need to accumulate 50,000 Black Market Coins from missions and demonstrate value far exceeding that. Could the few of us complete this challenge in ten days?
Wait a minute, Jing Shu thought she finally understood why Yang Yang called him Little Black. It wasn’t because he was dark-skinned, but because he was always saying ’Hey!’
"What kinds of missions are there?" Jing Shu asked curiously. In her previous life, she had read many mercenary novels, and in her experience, entry-level mercenaries were usually just gofers—finding strange artifacts, retrieving items for merchants, or acting as bodyguards.
Little Black began to translate, "Scout the Sacramento Mines, avoid patrols, and survive for five days. The entire team’s reward is 1,000 Black Market Coins."
"Assassinate government remnants. Each confirmed kill, proven by identification on the corpse, is worth 50 Black Market Coins."
"Accompany a mercenary group to Mexico to ’acquire’ special products (you know what I mean). One trip for a team is 1,000 Black Market Coins."
"Eliminate the armed forces at a small diamond mine in Sacramento and reclaim the mining rights. Reward: 1,000 Black Market Coins."
"Guard a fishpond. 10 Black Market Coins per person, per day. Paid daily. Payment void upon death."
There were many missions, all sorts of them. However, they all had one thing in common: they involved killing, assassination, or guarding—essentially, risking one’s life. No wonder the Black Market welcomed outsiders; the danger involved in these missions was practically a death sentence for most.
The problem was, Intern Mercenaries and Mercenaries were completely different. To become a full Mercenary, one had to complete a mission worth 1,000 Black Market Coins. Otherwise, they’d be stuck as nobodies forever, only able to accept scattered, low-value tasks.
Even retired special forces couldn’t guarantee a 100% success rate, not to mention the many ordinary people who, despite carrying guns and weapons, had negligible combat skills.
Jing Shu now understood why Little Black had said that out of so many mercenaries, only twenty percent managed to complete the missions and become true mercenaries.
Tan Ke pointed at a mission and said, "Let’s go destroy the armed forces at the small diamond mine. That seems like the fastest way."
Little Black relayed the message, then turned back with a helpless expression. "Hey, buddies, someone already took that mission today. If the current team doesn’t return by 3:00 p.m., the mission is considered a failure, and only then can others accept it. However, another Mercenary Team has already reserved the next attempt. We can either cooperate with them and split the reward fifty-fifty, or we can directly challenge their team. The winner gains the right to undertake the mission."
Snake Spirit rolled her eyes. "Split the reward? How are we supposed to get promoted to full Mercenaries then? Let’s just challenge them."
Jing Shu was actually quite curious how two teams would typically fight to demonstrate their relative strength in such a situation, but she never would have expected...