Planet of Sand and Oasis of Iron

Chapter 178 177. It’s better to say hello before taking action.
Meanwhile, somewhere in an area with thick rock formations and complex broken roads, a group of people were discussing what to do.

They called themselves "Finishers," and their mission was to find those in debt and demand repayment, or even their lives. While large companies' debt collection efforts were easily detected, they were different.

However, besides finishing work, another type of job is more profitable.

They hunt down mercenaries with special modifications, strip off their modified parts, store the intact organs and sell them at high prices... Generally speaking, they are the kind of people that everyone hates.

But in this line of work, who cares if they're disliked? As long as you don't let anyone know about your company, it's easy to pretend you're a mercenary when you're out and about.

To sum up, what these people were discussing was how to hide here for a few days, and then make plans for the next step after the mercenaries who were chasing them were fooled away by the bait.

The most important thing is that now is the critical moment when the three companies and the desert climate transformation agency are about to start talks, and mercenaries will continue to gather.

It's a good idea to go find mercenaries to do something bad, wait for the company above to give you tasks to make money, or wait here for ambitious mercenaries to come and surrender.

Such a good opportunity, whether it is to make money, expand the scale of this "Hunter" company, or increase inventory, cannot be easily given up... The core of the argument revolves around this point.

Should I stay away and wait until the situation becomes clearer or the fighting has really started before joining this "event", or should I rush in now?
A few days ago, an unlucky company was directly overturned by mercenaries and has even been deregistered. It’s a pity that all the good things they had in their hands disappeared.

As for the mercenary who single-handedly took down an entire company, what was his name...?
"Red Crossbow, yes. I remember the name. It's said that this is a very advanced modified mercenary who can run and jump like a normal person!"

A masked man suddenly said this. He squatted in front of the fire and thought carefully. "That's right, and she's a very beautiful woman. With just one base, she beat the shit out of that company!"

"I, I remember that girl everyone's been talking about lately... They say she's three meters tall, can straf the enemy with a vehicle-mounted artillery, and can even tear apart fully armed people with her bare hands!"

"I heard……"

As time went by, the image of the legendary mercenary "Red Crossbow" has become a humanoid body. Some people even say that the guy's skin is full of iron, and he is essentially the ultimate product of a large company's human enhancement plan.

After chatting for a while, the group ate some roasted worm meat and drank some cheap beer, calmed down, and began to check with each other on the condition of the vehicles that had been bombed by the mercenaries.

Those corporate mercenaries were really crazy, they even chased the Hunter out of the safe zone and tried to destroy his car.

Are they not afraid that when day comes, their fragile bodies will be exposed to the sun and roast them while driving that thing? Or is it that "honor" is more important than life?

The hunters didn't understand what was happening. They cursed the mercenaries and drank their bland beer. When they were about to discuss how to allocate the repair work, someone came up nimbly climbing over the still warm stones.

"There's a communication coming from outside. Should we answer it?"

The group of people immediately fell silent, and then someone asked, "What communication?"

"Another company said they've recently targeted several mercenaries who owe a lot of money. They've been through a lot of transformation, and if they pay off their debts, they could make a little more money..."

It sounded normal. The man who was obviously in charge thought for a moment and said, "Use the third set of code words, the code words from that node city, to test the waters. If they match, we'll contact you again."

The messenger shouted a few times, and the voices in the car immediately fell silent. After a few seconds, the communicator said the other party had answered the question accurately, and also used a code word. The leader was immediately overjoyed, and everyone immediately scrambled to their feet, packed up their things, and rushed to the car. In just a few moments, they were inside the car's slightly tattered shell, the paintwork covered with charred craters.

The radio transmissions were transmitted through a number of repeaters placed on the nearby cliffs. These secret lines have always been a common method used by such companies.

If we hadn't been so hasty in our preparations when hiding today, those exposed rocks farther away should have been nailed with all kinds of repeaters to interfere with the mercenaries who were tracking us.

After getting in touch, the company's boss quickly picked up the phone.

"This is Green Finishing Company. What company are you? What mercenaries are you targeting? What's so lucrative about them that you're contacting us?"

"Hello, this is the Waste Residue Treatment Plant. I've marked a lot of mercenaries, and it's hard to tell them over the comms. The map shows we're very close, so why not just visit them directly?"

Visiting? And why does it sound like a woman's voice?

In this line of work, unless you are a woman with your own team, it is impossible for you to reach the level of a leader. In most cases, women only have two roles.

The boss thought for a few seconds and said, "There's no need to do this in person. Tell us the mercenaries' information and order. We'll decide whether to cooperate with you based on their threat level."

"Um……"

There was a sudden silence on the other end of the line, and then the conversation changed.

"How about this? Look up and see where it is, right above your car, on the second cracked rock?"

The boss was startled and immediately looked in the direction the other party mentioned. Under the moonlight, the outline of a regular, bipedal body was projected on the rock!
"Hello, I am the independent mercenary Red Crossbow. You hunt mercenaries, I want to hunt you."

The words spoken by the other party made those who heard the declaration in the car feel cold in their hands and feet.

It's a mercenary! A mercenary so close!
Why weren't they drawn further away by the communication antennas outside? Why didn't the alarm device work? Why were the mercenaries able to disguise themselves and invade this channel?
All kinds of thoughts flooded into the group's minds, and when the mercenary's body movement changed and the giant launcher in his hand was aimed at the car body, they all trembled, and were even forced by the momentum to become slightly incontinent!

The grenade launcher launched a charged weapon that was beyond human power. The arm of the machine was slightly pulled back by the recoil, and the black object instantly hit the armor on the surface of the vehicle.

'boom! ’

The flames from the large grenade instantly illuminated everything in the mountain stream. The flames shooting up into the sky showed that the mercenaries had ill intentions and were absolutely unlikely to hold back or even show mercy.

The 'hunters' inside the vehicles felt dizzy, and the objects before their eyes seemed to be split into several parts. They started the vehicles angrily and rushed towards the rock shelter area where they had already set their target.

A large number of explosive mines were also scattered along the way... As expected of a 'Hunter', his reaction was extraordinary!

However, it is of little use.

(End of this chapter)