Father Nie had a mind to give Nie Yan a good scolding for his nonchalant attitude over the phone. An expert of Bayonet's caliber was practically a character on the level of a national treasure. Someone like this couldn't be sought after, only discovered by happenstance. If Nie Yan's negligence led to Bayonet leaving, it would be a huge loss for them.
Father Nie looked at Bayonet in a new light. The skills Bayonet displayed just a moment ago were clearly honed on the battlefield. With someone like that as a bodyguard, he could rest assured that his son would be safe. For peace of mind like that, he was willing to pay any price.
Those in the military always held strength in high regard. With strength one could obtain the respect of others. After confirming that Bayonet hadn't come intending to do harm, a born soldier like Father Nie couldn't help but be impressed by his skill.
「Son, hire him as your bodyguard. It doesn't matter how much he asks for! I'll transfer over ¥300,000,000 to your account right now. If it still isn't enough, ask me for more.」For the sake of recruiting Bayonet, Father Nie was willing to break the bank.
World Bloc raked in a ton of profit every day from their various businesses. But an expert like Bayonet couldn't be found even if you had the money. An opportunity like this couldn't be missed!
Bayonet was absolutely worth the price!
Nie Yan chuckled. He had always intended to give Bayonet the best treatment. Just when he was wondering how he was going to get the money, Father Nie directly transferred over the funds.
By the time the conversation was over, Nie Yan arrived at World Bloc's headquarters. He entered through the main entrance and walked up to Bayonet.
Several girls from the reception desk had already taken care of the six fallen bodyguards, helping them up and taking them away.
"We meet again." Nie Yan smiled at Bayonet.
Bayonet held up his palm with an indifferent expression. "Hold up. Before I become your bodyguard, I have a couple of requests. One, prepare a villa for me in the Cloudwater district. Two, I want a yearly salary of ¥100,000,000. Let's see if you're willing to agree to these terms first."
"Sure, no problem. I can prepare it in two days. If you're still not satisfied, feel free to ask for more," Nie Yan answered with a straightforward smile. With his father footing the bill, he had no need to worry about these matters.
Bayonet never expected Nie Yan to agree to his conditions so quickly. Although pay as a mercenary was pretty good, the associated risks were also high. More importantly, he had those brothers who were injured in combat to think about. It was fortunate they had evacuated in time during the Xie Yao kidnapping incident. Else who knew what sort of danger would've befallen them. He had some concerns in his heart. He had no qualms with throwing his own life away. However, he wouldn't be able to live with himself if his brothers ended up dying because of him. Acting as a bodyguard for Nie Yan was probably the safest choice.
"Alright, it's settled then." Bayonet nodded.
"Here's to a fruitful relationship!" Nie Yan smiled.
Father Nie walked over to Nie Yan. Bayonet returned to his usual stone-faced expression.
"Son, how about having your friend wait in the lounge?" Father Nie said, glancing at Bayonet.
"He's not big on meeting new people," Nie Yan replied in a slightly helpless tone.
Father Nie nodded. It was fairly normal for experts like Bayonet to have such a temperament. He didn't touch on the subject any further. "Come to the conference room in a bit. We're having an important meeting, and I want you to be there." He turned around and headed to the conference room with a different shareholder following behind him.
After Father Nie departed, Nie Yan brought out a digital contract. The two signed their names. This was proof of Bayonet's servitude!
A ¥100,000,000 bodyguard contract, Bayonet was perhaps one of the few people in the world skilled enough to justify this kind of price.
Nie Yan looked over the contract. Both of them had signed their names, stamped their fingerprints, and provided their DNA. Everything was recorded digitally. However, Bayonet had simply signed off with his alias instead of his real name.
"I forgot to ask, what's your real name?" Nie Yan didn't feel too comfortable calling Bayonet by his alias in everyday life.
"My surname is Wang, no first name. Just call me by my alias," Bayonet replied. He wasn't willing to explain any further regarding his name.
Nie Yan thought for a moment, but stopped pursuing the topic any further.
Nie Yan had Uncle Lin help Bayonet find a villa in Cloudwater, preferably one close to his own.
After Nie Yan finished taking care of everything, he turned to Bayonet. "Let's head to the conference room for a listen."
Bayonet didn't object and obediently followed behind Nie Yan. The two walked toward the conference room.
After passing through a long corridor, Nie Yan and Bayonet entered World Bloc's conference room. It was already packed with more than 100 people. They were currently having a heated discussion about something.
Nie Yan scanned the room. The number of big shots gathered here had increased exponentially. He spotted a few familiar faces such as the leader of Icewind, Frozen Prose; the leader of Azure Dragon, Annihilation; and so on.
Ah Chen was the person in charge of the meeting.
After listening on the sidelines for a bit, Nie Yan roughly understood what they were arguing about. The War God Tribe was in a rough spot right now. The five guilds under the Tuoba Family had launched a fierce assault and nearly captured several of their strongholds. If the strongholds fell, all the money and resources they had invested up until now would go to waste.
At this point, the conflict between World Bloc and Tuoba Hongye had already come to a head. Tuoba Hongye wasn't sparing any effort to annihilate the War God Tribe. Still recuperating from their previous conflict, Asskickers United was in no position to participate in another war, lest they risk total collapse.
The War God Tribe had only recently risen to power. Facing the combined might of the Tuoba Family's five guilds was still a bit too much for them.
Some infighting had also broken out within the War God Tribe. A group of people were vehemently demanding Asskickers United take action.
Nie Yan quietly listened to the people arguing in the conference room.
A short, bald man in his 30s with a somewhat heavyset build rose up from his seat. "We have no hope of winning against the Tuoba Family's five guilds with our current forces. If Asskickers United isn't willing to take action, we might as well just call it quits. We're outnumbered six to one. We have a better chance at winning the lottery than this war!" His gaze was brimming with disdain. He felt Ah Chen had no clue about what sort of situation they were in, and was just blindly issuing orders.
This baldy was called Rubble, the leader of a gaming organization with close to 3,000 members. He had brought five people with him to this meeting today.
After the baldy finished speaking, the several people around him joined in by jeering and heckling. The people in the conference room descended into murmured whispering as the overall mood of the meeting turned dreary.
Frozen Prose stood up and stared at the baldy. "Even though we've been forced to turtle in our strongholds, we should have no issues holding out for the time being. How can you expect Asskickers United to take action when they've just come out of a grueling war themselves? Why should others go out of their way to help us? Having this kind of debate is meaningless. We should focus the discussion on how we go about preserving our strongholds."
"How long do you think we can keep this stalemate up for? I'd say we'd be lucky to last another five or six days. If the Tuoba Family gets their hands on a few Armoured Catapults, we're finished! I know the chance are slim, seeing as they've only appeared during the Cripps Stronghold siege, but we can't rule out the possibility. Even without them, their siege crossbows can't be underestimated either. In five days when we can't hold out any longer, what then? Do you think we can bear the losses?"
The outlook for the War God Tribe was grim. It was going to be incredibly difficult to not lose a single stronghold. Each one was being sieged by one of the five guilds under the Tuoba Family, leaving the War God Tribe with no choice but to spread themselves thin if they wanted to defend them all. On top of this, the enemy already heavily outnumbered them.
Nie Yan walked up to the front of the conference room, then turned his attention to the baldy. "What a pathetic display, whining about giving up simply because no one is bailing you out, when you could be thinking of a way to resolve the situation yourself instead. It's not like the underdog never comes out on top. Isn't Asskickers United a prime example of this? No matter how bad the situation gets, you must never falter. If the guild was built on cowards like you, the Tuoba Family wouldn't even need to destroy the War God Tribe, you lot would do it yourselves with all the infighting."
"Brat, who do you think you are to lecture me?" the baldly loudly cursed. His face was red with anger.
"Boss, he's the son of the chairman," a person beside him reminded.
The baldy immediately tempered his anger. After all, World Bloc was his financial backing. He couldn't push things too far with the Nie Family. However, under the gaze of so many people, he also wasn't willing to lose face. "So what if he's the chairman's son? What difference does that make? He's still a stinking brat, thinking he can run his mouth just because he plays the game a little, when he knows nothing about the situation between the War God Tribe and the Tuoba Family. What qualifications does he have to lecture me? Why don't you just run on along and let the adults talk?"
Nie Yan sneered. "Qualifications? I'm the guild leader of Asskickers United, Nirvana Flame! Is that good enough for you?"
All at once the conference room turned deathly silent. One could even hear a pin drop. Everyone was staring at Nie Yan with an incredulous expression.
The identity of Nirvana Flame had always been a mystery. His position in Calore was unsurpassed, and in the entire Viridian Empire, he was also a legendary figure. With his own strength, he had established Asskickers United, sweeping through every obstacle in his path and forcing the likes of Sapphire Shrine, Holy Empire, and Radiant Sacred Flame to submit. In the present day, his presence could be felt all throughout Calore. His glorious achievements gained the admiration of the entire playerbase.
Many people spent countless hours trying to figure out the identity of Nirvana Flame, and what sort of background he had. Who could've known that such a legendary figure was standing right in front of them in the flesh?
Those on the side of the Century Financial Group and Angel Corps had recently obtained some information on Nie Yan. His identity was already on the verge of being exposed, and would probably be fully uncovered within the next few weeks. However, since he had been accepted into the Top Military Academy, the Century Financial Group wouldn't rashly lay hands on him. Besides, he also had an expert like Bayonet by his side. Even if he announced his identity to the public, so what? He had nothing to fear!
The baldy had a stupefied expression on his face. If Nirvana Flame wasn't qualified, who was? In front of Nirvana Flame, his status as the leader of the Black Dragon gaming organization wasn't worth slag on the ground!
"Holy shit! Asskickers United and the War God Tribe are actually one and the same!"
"World Bloc is really impressive!"