Chapter 156: Occupation

Horatio watched as the ten armored warriors entered, each wielding a grade-two weapon, and a chill gripped his heart. He had received no orders to surrender, which meant he had to resist, even if resistance would only end in capture.

This was his duty in guarding the C117 Shelter. Once he surrendered without a fight, his entire life would be ruined. The Blade of Freedom Mercenary Corps would hold him accountable, and even if he managed to leave them, no other mercenary group would ever take him in with such a record.

This stronghold was much more than just the C117 Shelter; attached to it were five abandoned mining veins nearby.

Although deemed abandoned, these veins, having once belonged to a large-scale mine, still yielded far more than ordinary low-grade krypton crystal mines.

Above all, this place was protected by Naan City's massive defense shield and its formidable military might, preventing the Zerg from interfering with the mining operations.

One had to know that krypton crystal mines in the wilderness were always the primary targets of Zerg attacks. The high costs and immense dangers of mining out there were simply incomparable to the abandoned veins here.

"Kill them!" Helena ordered in a deep, resolute voice.

Her tone was utterly freezing, brimming with killing intent.

Before Horatio could even speak, seven special forces armored warriors formed a charge formation and rushed forward.

The five Blade of Freedom armored warriors, including Horatio, had no genuine intention of fighting. They merely wanted to put up a verbal front, offer token resistance, and surrender immediately.

Helena, however, clearly did not think that way. This concerned the dignity of Transcendental Galen; since her disciple had been attacked and they knew who was responsible, the immediate response was to slaughter every single participant.

Up until this moment, Horatio still had no idea of David's true identity, which was why he had been harboring such unrealistic illusions.

"I surre—" one armored warrior yelled while desperately parrying, but before he could finish, a grade-two warhammer swung by another special forces warrior struck his vital point. He collapsed to the ground, his sentence cut forever short.

David had initially prepared to step in and help, but Furness pulled him back.

"The armored warriors of the special forces are masters of combat formations; you won't be of much help out there!" Furness said softly.

Hearing this, David did not insist. Just over a dozen seconds later, all five armored warriors lay motionless on the ground.

The Shadow Servant successively absorbed five souls, signifying that all five armored warriors had been completely eliminated.

"David, I was originally wondering what kind of welcoming gift to prepare for your discipleship, and now the gift has presented itself. The C117 Shelter was captured by the special forces because of your affair, and you've also wiped out the main force of the Blade of Freedom Mercenary Corps here. According to the rules, the spoils should be distributed to you as well. I've decided that you will hold a two-thirds stake in this shelter's profits, while the special forces will take one third!" Helena said, opening her helmet visor to reveal a face completely devoid of killing intent, smiling as she spoke to David.

Helena's features were not exceptionally pretty, but she possessed a heroic spirit rarely found in women.

"Second Sister, if you set the bar for gifts this high, what am I supposed to do?" Furness immediately cried out in protest.

"David, this place generates about 150 million credit points in annual revenue. After deducting administrative costs and the like, your share will come out to around 80 million every year!" Helena ignored his complaint and continued to explain.

"Helena, this is far too generous!" David was startled. This was by no means a small sum, and more importantly, it was a recurring annual yield.

"David, don't turn it down. It's what you deserve—Second Sister just didn't want to bother preparing a proper gift!" Furness nudged David and said.

"David, Furness is right. Originally, this entire shelter could have been given to you, but without the backing of the special forces' name, I'm afraid others would constantly covet it," Helena shot a glare at Furness before turning back to smile at David.

In truth, Helena was not exaggerating. After years of fierce competition, all resources within the underground network had long been firmly claimed.

Places like the C117 Shelter and its surrounding resources were normally places no faction dared to touch because they belonged to the Blade of Freedom Mercenary Corps, and by extension, the Naan Chamber of Commerce.

If not for a fully justified reason, even Helena would have found it difficult to step in and seize those interests.

The reason Helena acted so decisively was partly to avenge David, and partly to seize the opportunity to snatch up resources.

"Thank you!" David did not refuse further, remembering that he might well need a vast amount of credit points in the future.

"David, don't be so polite!" Helena laughed heartily.

Everything that followed required no worry on David's part. Helena used the communication channel on her exoskeleton armor to summon a swarm of professionals. Some took over the control room, others re-registered the ordinary personnel, and the rest handled asset-related matters.

"This fellow is named Graham, and he's currently a wanted fugitive!" shouted a staff member who was busy compiling the shelter's population records.

Furness, who had been growing somewhat impatient, brightened up immediately. He rushed over to look at his target, drawing David's gaze along with him.

Armored warrior Graham was dressed in tattered clothes, bearing none of the usual imposing demeanor of a warrior, and was shaking from head to toe.

Graham had been extraordinarily unlucky. The moment he sobered up after accidentally killing a man while drunk, he immediately fled through an underground network entrance into the lawless subterranean world.

He had no idea that among the few people he had inadvertently killed was a government official of considerable status.

When he arrived at the C117 Shelter, intending to hide out for a while until the storm blew over, he was instead ambushed by the shelter's own warriors, who not only stripped him of his exoskeleton armor and weapons but also locked him away in a back room.

Although he could have smashed through the room's door with a single blow, how could he possibly dare to stir up trouble on the territory of the Blade of Freedom Mercenary Corps? He figured that since he hadn't offended them, they wouldn't treat him too harshly.

Terrified and trembling, the warrior Graham never expected events to take such a dramatic turn. Looking through the window, he watched in horror as the government's special forces armored warriors breached the C117 Shelter's defenses and stormed in.

Then he was ferreted out by the census personnel, offering not the slightest trace of resistance throughout the entire process.

"My lord, I am Graham!" the armored warrior Graham said in a quivering voice.

He could not comprehend why the accidental death of a few ordinary people had triggered Naan City's most formidable special forces to hunt him down. Had he known it would invoke the wrath of the special forces, he would have turned himself in long ago.

Furness looked at his target, then caught the unmistakable trace of a smile on David's face. He stepped forward, knocked Graham unconscious with a single punch, and hoisted him up by the collar.

Having such a spineless warrior as his target left Furness himself struggling with a nameless sense of exasperation.

"David, would you like to go and take a look at the mining district here? The Blade of Freedom Mercenary Corps has managed this place quite well; well over half of the ordinary people here are mining slaves!" Helena asked, glancing over the data handed to her by her subordinate.

"Helena, I won't get involved with the operations here. Just handle everything as you see fit!" David shook his head and said.

Though he abhorred slavery, he was in no position to intervene in the management. After all, this wasn't solely his asset—the special forces held a one-third stake, and the administration would be handled by them as well.

He had merely acquired a share of the profits thanks to his status as Transcendental Galen's disciple.

"That's fine too. You'll be studying by the teacher's side from now on and shouldn't be distracted by other matters. I'll have your share of the profits sent to you every month along with the accounts," Helena nodded and smiled.

"Helena, there's nothing left for us to do here. We'll be heading back now to submit our mission!" Furness said, lugging the unconscious Graham as he chimed in.

After bidding farewell to Helena, the two of them escorted the warrior Graham back toward the government's safe zone.

Upon arriving at the safe zone's main hall, Furness eagerly handed Graham over to the staff. Using specialized equipment, the staff verified Graham's identity and processed the mission completion procedures.

"David, this fellow is worth ten government contribution points, plus one hundred thousand credit points. I'll split half of it with you!" The very first thing Furness did upon returning to the surface, shedding and storing his exoskeleton armor, was to operate his identity bracelet and speak to David.