Chapter 118: Rewarding Merit

Lady Ayana's condition was considerably worse than Terry's.

Baimu wasn't entirely clear at first how she had lost to that executive, but as Boldore dug a scorched-black Stunky out of a nearby pile of rocks, he more or less understood.

Had she been caught in a massive explosion, or had something detonated on her?

Or had it simply sprayed out flammable gas and then gone up in a massive blast, ending things with a bang?

"Don't rush—she'll wake up for sure after one shot from me!"

He said this to the anxious-looking Swampert, whose injuries were no lighter than Lady Ayana's, but whose trainer's concern had kept it holding on until now.

Chansey kept channeling Heal Pulse into it, restoring its stamina.

And when Baimu pulled a syringe from his bag and injected it into Lady Ayana's abdomen, a long, drawn-out inhale was heard, and her pupils instantly shifted from unfocused to sharp.

"Drink some water."

He gave Lady Ayana a little water, and her breathing gradually steadied as she let out a raspy voice.

"How's that person?"

"Already knocked out, tied up with rope."

"There's still one executive unaccounted for—we need to move quickly…"

"That executive was taken out by me. If the one who went to the mechanical warehouse is also gone, then the Hound Pack is now leaderless, just waiting for you to lead us in a counterattack."

As he said this, Baimu could feel Lady Ayana staring at him intently, but he continued without blushing or breathing hard.

Then—

Lady Ayana slowly sat up, gazed at the bright blaze of Xiong Xiong's fire on the horizon, and murmured, "No need. It's already over."

"Huh?"

"Do you know where these people came from?"

"Uh… wasn't it the subordinates of the Hound Pack's top executive, Jemat?"

"The top executive currently facing off against the boss at Mine No. 2 is called Loki. In other words, two of the Hound Pack's top executives struck back against our ambush, and a situation like this was actually foreseen."

Lady Ayana was saying things that seemed to come out of nowhere.

Baimu didn't catch on at first, but when he heard the crackle of static suddenly sound from her arms, quickly resolving into a human voice, he understood everything.

"Lady Ayana! Lady Ayana! We've reached the position—what's the situation on the ground? Why did something explode?"

"This is Lady Ayana… I'll explain the details in a bit. You can… come in and clean up the aftermath."

After Lady Ayana said a few words into the walkie-talkie, she ignored the squawks coming from the other end.

"The Stone Faction's people are here. If you still have the energy, you can coordinate with them. I have to get some sleep first." Lady Ayana turned and hugged Swampert.

Without caring how dirty or dangerous it was here, she closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

Baimu twitched the corner of his mouth. That shot he had just given her should have had anyone who wasn't critically wounded howling back to their feet in no time—so how had Lady Ayana fallen asleep after just a little while?

He didn't think the drug's effect had already worn off.

Forget it.

It's already over. He wondered when the other side, Mine No. 2, would also come to an end.

Baimu let out a long breath.

——

The Battle of Mine No. 1 left countless casualties on both sides.

Of course.

The number of captives was even greater.

Over a hundred ordinary members, a dozen or so squad leaders, and two heavily wounded executives plus one still receiving emergency treatment.

All in all, setting aside losses on every front, the Quicksand Team had won a crushing victory.

And Baimu, who had single-handedly taken down one executive and assisted Lady Ayana in taking down another, naturally became the greatest hero of this defensive battle.

Even though his original plan had been to grab his companions and run, when it came to results, no one could match his achievements.

Such an exaggerated record also caused the Stone Faction reinforcements who arrived later to not dare claim credit, afraid of offending this "Baimu the Monstrous," whose growth rate could only be called abnormal.

In just a few short months, he could already take on executives. What about a few more months?

No one dared to think about it.

On another front.

After the defensive battle ended, although the standoff at Mine No. 2 was still ongoing, Baimu had already been permitted to return to Pyrite Town with the injured Sand Faction members.

This told him his mission was completely over. He just didn't know how big a reward Cang Zhi Lang would be willing to give him for this record.

"Money is never too much, after all."

Baimu looked at his savings. They had originally dropped below eight million, but half a month of private-chef work had successfully made his deposits grow rather than shrink, and they were now charging toward the ten-million mark.

Once this mine battle was completely over, he'd find a chance to use the clue.

He thought silently to himself, beginning to wait for news from Mine No. 2.

At the same time.

Inside the Hound Pack's base, Jemat smashed one thing after another. "Useless! All of you are useless! How could you lose like this!"

Who could have imagined that the originally foolproof strategy would be so easily crushed? Now not a single person had come back—they'd all been captured by the Quicksand Team!

Three executives and over two hundred full members—this force, to him, wasn't just a matter of bleeding and tears; it was no different from cutting off his own flesh!

And with his bargaining chips drastically reduced, it meant that from now on, no matter the front, he was going to suffer enormous losses.

"Have you found him!? Report!"

"I'm very, very sorry! We searched the entire base and didn't see any sign of him!" The subordinate bent his waist to the extreme, and as expected, the incompetent Jemat smashed something into him.

"You're useless too! Get lost!"

"Yes!"

That person slunk away, and once outside, hearing Jiemaete's furious voice, felt a sudden pang of dread and unease in his heart.

The situation of the Mad Dog Squad was growing more and more complicated, and no one knew where they would head in the future.

—

Two days passed.

With clash after clash at Mine No. 2, the energy of both sides had reached its limit.

The food and drinking water inside the mine could barely hold on any longer, while Luo Qi's group of the Mad Dog Squad began to grow weary of attacking; the repeated losses in manpower brought many members who had harbored unrealistic notions back to reality.

Being a rabble in the first place, they truly did not wish to keep fighting.

Even though their superiors stated again and again that if they held out a few more days, Mine No. 2 would collapse on its own and they would welcome a great victory.

At this moment.

Having been misled by intelligence multiple times and finally sensing something was off, the town mayor personally came outside the town, halted this utterly meaningless struggle, and urged both sides to sit down for peace talks.

Luo Qi of the Mad Dog Squad very much did not want to give the mayor face, but the man had not come alone; as a top-tier force within the town, the armed escort the mayor possessed was on a different level from these thuggish underworld types, fully deserving to be called "regular army" caliber.

"Point Guard Is Here"

These men all wielded cutting-edge technology from the Orelei region.

So no matter how unwilling, Luo Qi could only sit down and begin negotiations with the Quicksand Squad.

The negotiations lasted half a day.

Both sides clashed repeatedly over their disputes.

The final outcome, however, was just as planned: the Quicksand Squad paid a trifling sum of money and took both mines under its wing, along with some of the large equipment inside.

As for the miners and the subsequently captured Mad Dog Squad members, the haggling was still ongoing.

Still, both sides were clear: even though meat already in the mouth was hard to snatch back, they still had to fight for it.

The news of the Quicksand Squad's great victory quickly spread throughout the entire Huang Tie Town; various forces grew either envious or wary, and those with foresight further pointed out that the Quicksand Squad's offensive would not simply end there.

Of course.

These remarks did not affect the Quicksand Squad's internal beginning of rewarding merit.

All Baimu, who had shone brilliantly in the defensive battle, once again, in a bizarre manner, made the name Yao Mu resound throughout every underworld force in Huang Tie Town.