Gunfire, Punk and Necromancer

With two weeks and one day left before the operation, Steyr finally obtained the balloons requested by the two pilots, and full joint training officially began. Whether the action plan is really feasible or not, only successful joint training can give them confidence.

They arranged a five-kilometer-long section of railway track. The locomotive could not reach full speed and could only simulate the wind resistance environment as much as possible. The first five kilometers were used to simulate landing, and then several five kilometers were used for the trio to install equipment and blow up the balloon. The last five kilometers were used to simulate takeoff to see if they could lift the cargo-filled carriage.

The first time it failed as expected, the pipe rolled off the edge of the carriage, which meant it could be seen by passengers, and exposure equaled failure. The trio learned their lesson and got back on the horse, and everyone followed suit and started all over again without any complaints.

They finally completed the installation of the equipment during the seventh training session together, and completed the lifting during the ninth training session. Everyone was jubilant. I finally saw the hope of success, with more than 60 tons of carriages and more than 60 tons of trophies, which would be a heavy income.

"Think about what you did right, and which part feels more dangerous, and then let's do it again!" Zhuang Xuteng brought drinks to everyone. The iced juice was sweeter than wine at this time. "We still need to add the intelligence officer. I'm going to look for Nightingale and Rockbird. Let's take a rest before coming back."

Everyone took the juice bottle from his hand, raised it to greet each other, and asked Zhuang Xuteng to call the sisters.

The news of the successful joint training reached the middlemen, and they were also very excited. There are still two weeks, enough time for everyone to become familiar with the action routines, and even have time to practice backup plans, such as what to do if one or two of them are missing.

A backup plan should also be put on the agenda. Any redundancy can increase the capital for mission success. Of all positions, the most easily replaceable is that of a locomotive driver. The locomotive travels on the rails and is the least difficult to operate, so the three Kents also need to learn locomotive driving skills in order to free Muir and let her become Grove's substitute.

So Muir also needed to practice flying the helicopter downhill and taking off stably.

The most irreplaceable things in action are nightingales and chaffinches. They had to isolate the treasure trove car one after another, which required intelligence spy implants to achieve. Then they couldn't find a substitute, and they couldn't substitute for others. The two people in the car, Ge Gongdao and Zhuang Xuteng, said they also wanted to do some substitute work, especially getting on the roof to help the trio complete the laying.

"The work of finding escorts is essential, and the bottom line must be kept." Henry Henderson shook his head and said: "My three people can definitely complete the task."

"Nike can also fight, but I don't have his observation skills, so I can be a substitute." Ge Gongdao shook his finger and said, "I won't ask for more money because of this, so you don't need to worry about it."

"Let him follow the training." Lucy agreed and said: "He is free now and has nothing else to do, so there is no problem in following the training. Nike, come with me."

What Zhuang Xuteng fears most now is being called away alone. He doesn't want to be assigned another task like a traitor. Fortunately, this time it was just him and Lucy talking in the situation room. There were no other middlemen, and there were no nightingales and rock birds to block signals. If you want to arrange a task for yourself, it involves the issue of adding money, and you must have three middlemen present. Therefore, Zhuang Xuteng didn't panic at all when he saw this scene.

"How do you feel?" Lucy motioned to Zhuang Xuteng to sit down and confused him with just one question.

"It feels...very good. Sister Lucy, what specific aspect are you asking about?"

"If you were asked to perform a mission tomorrow, would you be able to complete it?"

"The odds of success and failure are about 1 to 10. If that's what it feels like, the answer is no. What's wrong?"

Lucy ignored Zhuang Xuteng and then asked, "What if there is a mission next week?"

"It's definitely much better than now." Zhuang Xuteng thought for a while and felt that it would be better to be more prudent: "Everyone is very professional, and the effect of practice is getting better every time, but we will never say it is foolproof."

"I know it's impossible to be foolproof. The whole operation is to grab profits from risks." Lucy's expression was hidden under the mask, and the emotion in her voice was also obscured by the voice changer. Zhuang Xuteng couldn't catch what she wanted to express. "You're training with me. Do you have any other suggestions for action?"

"Well... to be honest, I want more intelligence support." Zhuang Xuteng scratched his head and said: "Sister Lucy, I'm not saying this just to flatter you. For this mission, I feel that the intelligence at hand is not as good as just I was so detailed when I followed you. Sister Lucy, I still remember what you promised. If the two of us pass the assessment, you will use your own intelligence network to conduct a thorough investigation again. How about it, are there any results? "

"There is no problem with the intelligence provided by Steyr, and the results of my investigation are the same, confirming that this is a worthy operation." Lucy said: "I called you here this time to discuss matters related to the mission: We How are the three separate tasks assigned to you going?"

Alas, as expected, it was still a matter of finding a traitor, and Zhuang Xuteng's face immediately dropped. "Judging from the performance of active training, everyone is thinking about the same thing: to complete this operation. So far, I have not found any abnormality, so I still say the same thing: I was asked to do this job for nothing."

"No, actually you discovered some strange phenomena, but you just hid it for a more ambitious goal." Lucy leaned down and approached Zhuang Xuteng and said, "There is a problem with the nightingale and the rock bird."

Zhuang Xuteng took a deep breath and frowned deeply. He was thinking about the meaning of Lucy's words. Was it a hint that he wanted to throw dirty water on Nightingale and Rockbird? The two of them are an indispensable part of this mission. There is not even a substitute. If they are fired, then the mission will not be carried out.

Unless Lucy has prepared a substitute, should she let Meteor take action again? Zhuang Xuteng thinks it is impossible. Nizi has not yet overcome her fear of the external environment, and he cannot accompany her during the action. Then her resentment will accumulate quickly, and everything will happen next. will collapse.

"There is no evidence, and I have not found any signs of this, so I can't handle this matter." Zhuang Xuteng shook his head and said, "Lucy, I am a mercenary for money. You are my middleman. I can accept you." arrangement, but I have to figure out what’s going on and whether it’s in my interest.”

"According to Meteor's investigation, Steyer is in big financial trouble. In fact, he is bankrupt and can only rely on the proceeds from this operation to tide over the difficulties. If he can be kicked out of this operation, then he will have to sell out The resources at his disposal include his mercenaries. Whoever is prepared at this time can gain a lot."

Zhuang Xuteng shook his head and said: "Your proposal jeopardizes this operation. If I do it according to your words, it will be equivalent to using the money I should have earned to help you carry out a middleman war. Lucy, don't try to use 'action is just "Pause, you can come back later" convinced me. You actually know very well that once Steyr is kicked out, this operation will definitely be leaked and others will not be able to carry out it. No, I will not do this. "

"So you have to help me think of a good way." Lucy said: "I want the mission's dividends, and I also want Steyr's resources."

Zhuang Xuteng didn't refuse immediately. After all, he was Lucy's mercenary and he couldn't be stingy when it was time to use his brain. Under Lucy's gaze, Zhuang Xuteng looked like he was racking his brains and thinking hard, and finally came up with a solution.

"Since Steyr is bankrupt, buy out his debts in advance! You are his creditor, doesn't he have to give you money? You can..."

"I'm not asking for money, I'm asking for the resources in his hands."

"I don't even want his resources, as long as this mission is successful." Zhuang Xuteng pointed out his bottom line, and then said: "There is another way: you find a way to make Steyr lose even worse. He doesn't invest all his resources Into a cover operation? If I understand correctly, the cover operation should ideally fail, right?"

Lucy nodded, she probably understood what Zhuang Xuteng was going to say.

The cover operation is like an "alibi". Success or failure is irrelevant as long as it can prove that Steyer is busy with other things. Due to the existence of moles, even if the cover operation is successful, there will not be much profit. Therefore, letting the mission fail, deducting or even penalizing each mercenary's dividend can save Steyr a lot of money.

Once the mission is successful, even if the final profit is low, Steyr will have to pay each mercenary the money they deserve according to the specifications agreed on the mission, which will make his financial situation worse.

Zhuang Xuteng continued: "I don't know how big a hole he has. If it expands to the point that even if this mission is successful, he will still go bankrupt. Will this mission not be implicated?"

"Your ideas have expanded my thinking, so this mission will not be implicated - I promise you." Lucy said: "There is something you need to know: the dividends for this mission are calculated on a per-person basis. In the end, there are only a few people who share the money.”

"Thank you for telling me that this approach simply encourages everyone to kill each other."

"If you want to establish prestige among mercenaries, you can seize this opportunity. With prestige, you can attract people to fight alongside you, allowing your team to adapt to more scenarios and perform more complex operations."

"I understand, thank you for the reminder." Zhuang Xuteng smiled, and then asked: "When will the cover operation be carried out? It must be before we officially take action, right?"

“It’s less than a week away, so get ready.”

Zhuang Xuteng understood instantly. By preparation, Lucy was referring to nightingales and rock sparrows. As the people who are always with Steyr, and they are also intelligence officers, they must know Steyr's true situation. If things change, they must be stabilized, otherwise the entire mission may be affected.

Zhuang Xuteng doesn't like variables, but the occurrence of variables is not dependent on human will. He must take action to make things work in his favor. The two sisters can still relax a little, but the issue of dividends must be resolved.

Although Lucy suggested that Zhuang Xuteng seize the opportunity to increase his prestige and lay the foundation for attracting other mercenaries in the future, Zhuang Xuteng believed that this was a matter for Ge Gongdao. When the two of them partnered up, Brother Dao was responsible for the networking part, and he focused on solving the problems encountered during the mission. If the entrusted task is regarded as a house, then Zhuang Xuteng is in charge of the inside and Ge Gongdao is in charge of the outside.

What kind of people should be allowed in and what kind of things should be done to attract others - which is what Lucy calls prestige - it is up to Brother Dao to decide. He is a person who has suffered losses and injuries, so he has a wealth of experience and lessons. If he does not use them, it will be a waste of resources. Therefore, after leaving Lucy, Zhuang Xuteng went directly to Ge Gongdao and told him about the "dividends per head".

Ge Gongdao patted his forehead and said: "I was afraid that this would happen, but as a result... each mercenary took money from his own middleman, and this time there were multiple middlemen involved, so there was more room for manipulation. Lucy told you? Then she is probably a minority of the three."

"What are you going to do?" Zhuang Xuteng asked.

"I'm going to check first to see if this is true. There are four of us here, and the key lies in Henry Henderson's three."

"I think the key lies in Nightingale and Rock Bird. Can you win over them first?" Zhuang Xuteng said: "I think they are in a bad state and may have complaints against Steyr in their hearts. Moreover, they need money, more than we do."

"How can I see it?"

“Their implants are more expensive to maintain, and Steyr makes them treat clients like prostitutes.”

Ge Gongdao shook his head and said: "The things you think are pitiful may not really be pitiful. Well... you think Nightingale and Yanque's abilities are rare. Do you want to bring them into the team?"

"I have this idea, but I also know that they are the people Steyr is focusing on. We are Lucy's subordinates."

"Yes. They are focused on and trained by Steyr. If they don't want to do anything, does Steyr dare to force them? Especially since they are intelligence officer-type talents, equivalent to eyes and brains, who can prioritize success or failure. I What it means is: Either they want to do those bad things, or they are unable to refuse. The former is a matter of ideology, and the latter is an issue of ability, neither of which meets our standards."

"I understand what you mean: they have to save themselves, otherwise others can't go beyond Steyr to provide help." Zhuang Xuteng said, "I leave all the dealings with people to you. I'll go think about the task. Well... I want to Go out, there will be a treasure train tomorrow, I will go and find out the situation."

"Did you discuss it with Lucy?"

Zhuang Xuteng shook his head and said: "Lucy was distracted by other things. We must think about our own interests. I won't be discovered if I go there. Everyone is training and preparing in advance. The two of us are really good at it." All relying on improvisation? Don’t worry, I will hide my identity and won’t take any action, just observe.”

"Okay, I'll cover for you and come back soon."