Chapter 84

In the virtual network, in the void space, two ghosts appeared. They were the leaders of the Poison Scorpion Mercenary Group.

Number One spoke: "Number Three is dead, killed in his own home. His home has been sealed, and the police have uncovered his identity within the mercenary group. Many of our members' real names have been traced and found out."

"Fools!" Number Two cursed loudly.

Number One's voice was calm: "I watched the virtual combat footage released by the Confucian world. I believe Number Three was struck by lightning because he was ambushed."

The central AI had already modified the combat details, hiding Sun Ran's outstanding performance, but most of the details remained unchanged.

"Ambushed?" Number Two snorted coldly, gritting his teeth: "A Destroyer who can be ambushed by a Maintainer is a fool. This damned guy was lying in an open area during a thunderstorm. Who else but a fool would get struck by lightning?"

Fortunately, he had always kept his identity secret and had not contacted this fool much, otherwise, he might have been implicated this time.

After calming down, Number Two continued: "Number Three was struck by lightning. The Confucian company started using this to promote and hype, causing the mercenary group's reputation to plummet. What should we do? Should we do something drastic?"

Killing a Level 4 Destroyer was a significant boost to the game company's reputation, demonstrating their determination and ability to combat illegal hacks. The Confucian company naturally had to promote this heavily.

The Poison Scorpion Mercenary Group was in a dire situation. With Number Three's death, their business volume plummeted, and many ongoing commissions were canceled by employers, leading to a significant reduction in income. This couldn't go on.

Number Two's idea of a drastic move was to enter the Confucian company and do something shocking, like a mass slaughter in the capital or killing the Emperor, a super VIP, to show everyone their power.

Number One shook his head: "No need."

"Are we just going to let this go?" Number Two was reluctant.

If the previous killing of Number Four hadn't affected the mercenary group, now with Number Three, a key decision-maker, dead and most of their operatives in the Confucian world expelled, this was a severe blow. If they didn't retaliate, it would be hard to operate in the Destroyer circle in the future.

Number One nodded, speaking earnestly: "We are a mercenary group, and we do anything for profit. The previous revenge was for long-term benefits, but now it's purely a matter of pride, which is meaningless. This opponent is tough, and we don't need to fight to the death. If there's a chance in the future, we'll see."

Madness is the beginning of destruction. If they really killed the Emperor of the Confucian world, the Poison Scorpion Mercenary Group would become a prime target for the Maintainers.

They were in the mercenary business to make money, not to fight the Maintainers.

These words woke up Number Two, who had been blinded by anger. He was silent for a moment, then said apologetically: "I understand, thank you."

"Alright. I'll go first." Number One's ghostly body faded and exited the virtual network.

Number Two sighed, shaking his head. The Poison Scorpion Mercenary Group had been cowed by a Maintainer, truly a great loss of face.

Leaving aside the Poison Scorpion Mercenary Group's subsequent low-profile and conciliatory actions, many Destroyer groups in the virtual network were also discussing this matter.

For Destroyers, obtaining Level 2 access was just the beginning. Level 2 marked the start of transcending the mundane. Level 3 made one a local expert. Level 4 was enough to become a mercenary group leader, like Number Three.

Number Three's death was not a big deal to ordinary people, but it caused a small earthquake in the Destroyer circle. The result was a significant drop in the Poison Scorpion Mercenary Group's reputation, and the Maintainer Rose Tree began to be known to the world.

In a crevice of the virtual network, two vague entities were also in conversation.

"The Maintainer team that recently emerged is quite impressive."

"Indeed. They suddenly burst onto the scene and advanced to the Bronze level. I watched their combat footage. The team consists of three women and one man. The women are average, with above-average strength, but the man is quite terrifying."

"My thoughts are the same. I checked his record. He has repeatedly broken fate limitations through his own efforts and personal talent, achieving remarkable success in many Silver worlds, almost a jack-of-all-trades. However, he has two flaws."

"Oh? I thought of the same. You go first, let's see if we're on the same page."

"Alright. First, he is a Maintainer, limited by his access level, unable to fully unleash his power. He is currently in the Confucian world, and after leaving, he will likely advance to Bronze. His instant skills are only up to the Bronze level."

"Right, that's his biggest weakness. He is aware of this flaw and uses skill delay techniques, but it can't completely compensate. To deal with him, we can use continuous high-intensity skills to deplete all the data he has pre-allocated, ultimately leading to a sure kill!" The ghost was excited, gesturing wildly.

"Second, I noticed he has no martial skills, not even a mention in his record."

"Ha ha ha." Another ghost laughed: "This flaw isn't significant on its own, but combined with the first, it's fatal."

Martial skills have the advantage of injecting sufficient data into the body, allowing skills to be maintained for a long time. With a good weapon, it's like a perpetual motion machine, with low dependence on external data. If this opponent had excellent martial skills, it would be questionable whether high-intensity skills could even form a siege.

However, other skills, whether Daoist, magical, or technological, are highly dependent on external data. That's why Number Three tried to use the silent magic ball against him, though it didn't succeed, the approach was correct.

The other ghost also laughed: "If so, if we find him opposing us, we'll deal with him like this, a sure kill, no return!"

The ghost nodded and asked: "What is our current commission?"

"There's a major commission. The target is the game 'Modern Great Century.' They are planning to launch a Mars expansion, and someone has commissioned us to delay the expansion by at least a hundred years. The reward is two million credit points."

"Two million? That's great. Modern Great Century is a world of technological explosion and a strict lawless world. Technology is our strong suit, perfect for causing chaos, ha ha."

The other person also laughed and outlined his plan: "Economic crises have appeared in Europe and America in the game, with social conflicts and hidden currents. I found out that the game company plans a five-year European war to promote technological development and introduce nuclear power naturally. We'll sneak in and turn it into a world nuclear war, hehehe."

"I like your plan. Guiding the tide of the times and destroying the world with a wave of the hand is very cool. But, isn't this a bit too harsh?"

"Fear what? Who told this company to take such risky moves? If they fail, it's normal, how can they blame us?"

"Alright, I'm in."

"Let's go, for two million!"

"For two million!"