"Here's the deal, I've got a golden job here, wondering if you're interested?"
"Damn right I'm interested!" Feld grinned.
Watching the two big men laughing, Chi-Chi felt like she was between two old foxes.
Thankfully, she liked big foxes.
Then Raymond snapped his fingers, and a beautiful waitress walked in, handing Feld a task list.
Feld took a look and his expression became quite vivid. "This is indeed a golden job."
"You bet," Raymond said, puffing on his cigarette. "Those scumbags from the Sers Trading Company stole a batch of goods from the Wolf Gang. The girls from the Wolf Gang are nearly desperate, so they've put out a hefty commission to find someone to snatch back those goods."
"But nobody here likes the Sers Trading Company, and nobody wants to mess with them, so this commission has been sitting here for a while."
"In a couple of days, these goods will be transferred, so you have two days."
"As long as you can snatch back these goods, thirty thousand gold coins are yours. I also have an extra ten thousand gold as compensation for the mission. After all, time is tight and it's quite dangerous. So, what do you say, are you taking it?"
"Of course, if it's not dangerous, I won't take it," Feld immediately replied.
Indeed, this was a golden job, platinum-level.
Golden jobs are divided into two types.
One type is easy, with decent pay, and many mercenaries prefer these.
The other type is heavy-duty, with huge pay, and these jobs are generally beyond the reach of most mercenaries.
Generally, platinum-level commissions range from eight to twenty thousand gold coins.
And this mission offered thirty thousand, plus an additional ten thousand in compensation, making it incredibly lucrative.
But the job was also very heavy.
The Sers Trading Company wasn't a small outfit; they were large and had a presence everywhere.
And the Sers Trading Company primarily dealt in human trafficking, a job that couldn't be done without some toughness.
So the Sers Trading Company was definitely a tough customer.
From the task list provided by Raymond, it could be seen that there was a ninety percent chance that Feld would confront the Sers Trading Company's guards head-on.
The Sers Trading Company's guard force, conservatively estimated at thirty people, also had a few mages, one of whom was a platinum-level one-star mage.
And if you clashed with the Sers Trading Company, there was often no good result.
Their financial resources could keep bounty hunters and assassins coming after you endlessly.
So few people were willing to take this job.
But Feld accepted it.
Because he remembered that Chi-Chi didn't like the Sers Trading Company, as they dealt in human trafficking, particularly targeting orcs.
And from the moment he took on this mission, he didn't intend to leave any survivors.
Naturally, he wasn't afraid of being targeted by the Sers Trading Company.
If everyone was dead, where would they find out who did it?
As long as Raymond kept his mouth shut, the Sers Trading Company wouldn't find out about Feld for a while.
By the time they traced it back to Feld, he would probably be fully equipped, and one person would be enough to overthrow them.
And this was also a test for Raymond.
If he could keep things quiet, Feld could cooperate with him with confidence.
So, Feld crushed the cigarette butt and stood up. "I'll get to work now."
"So soon? Won't you stay for a while longer? They won't set off for two days, and the route has already been marked for you," Raymond was somewhat surprised, but he appreciated Feld's decisive style.
Feld shook his head. "I need to make some preparations, and their route may not be accurate, so I'd better start from scratch."
"Fair enough," Raymond nodded.
This task was the real stepping stone; the arm wrestling just now was just a small episode.
Only when Feld completed this task excellently could Raymond hand over the real heavy-duty jobs to him.
"If you need any help, just say so. I can provide some assistance within the scope of the mission," Raymond said.
"In that case, I do have a small favor," Feld thought of something, grinning.
"You there, do you know a guy named Perry? He's a golden-level mercenary. I have a task to collect a debt from him. The kid owes my employer some money, and I have to collect it. He's in the inner city now."
Raymond chuckled, then snapped his fingers, and the same waitress came back in.
"Find someone named Perry, a mercenary."
"Yes, boss," the waitress nodded and promptly left.
In less than ten minutes, a somewhat shabby mercenary was brought up.
"You guys are efficient," Feld chuckled.
"Mercenaries coming to the inner city usually come here to drink, ask around and you'll know," Raymond laughed.
Feld nodded and turned to Perry. "Come on, debts must be repaid, it's only fair. Will you pay up, or do I have to break your arms?"
Perry had been frightened for a long time. After all, this was Raymond himself speaking. He couldn't imagine that owing a few thousand gold coins would attract the attention of the boss of the Steel Arms Tavern. So when he heard Feld's words, he was immediately scared out of his wits and took out all his money.
Just over three thousand.
The task required four thousand eight hundred gold coins.
Since Feld took on this task, he had to deliver the full amount.
Four thousand eight hundred gold, not a single coin less.
However, the process of collecting the debt could be overlooked. As long as it was delivered to the employer intact, it would be enough.
So Feld took off the kid's longsword and equipment, added them up, and sold them on the market to make up the remaining debt.
And that's how Feld completed the last golden-level task.
Walking out of the Steel Arms Tavern, Chi-Chi appeared very happy. Although she had spent a lot of money on the whole venue, she still had over ten thousand gold coins left, which had multiplied several times. And just now, as she descended the stairs, all the mercenaries raised their glasses to toast her. At that moment, she suddenly understood why Feld enjoyed being a mercenary so much.
"Big guy, I want to become a powerful mercenary like you in the future, meow!" Chi-Chi exclaimed, waving her small fists.
"Haha, then you'll have to work hard. Starting tomorrow, you'll have to train with me. I promise to make you level up quickly!" Feld replied.
Chi-Chi had reached Silver Seven Stars yesterday, perhaps due to running around with Feld these days. But this level of cultivation wasn't enough, so Feld planned to give her some special training.
After wandering around the inner city for a while, spending a few thousand gold coins, replenishing supplies, and realizing that it was already late, Feld left the inner city and returned to the mercenary tavern. Seeing Feld return safely, Evelyn visibly breathed a sigh of relief and then curiously asked him about the Steel Arms Tavern.
Feld briefly explained, and it was evident that Evelyn was somewhat envious. She also wanted to become a tavern owner like Raymond.
After completing the task and receiving the commission, Feld took Chi-Chi and went to sleep.
Early the next morning, Feld took Chi-Chi to a leather shop and had the shopkeeper prepare a set of weight-bearing leather armor for her. It consisted of leather leg bindings, leather wrist guards, and a leather vest. Normally, the pockets of this leather suit were used for equipment, but Feld filled them with metal plates instead.
Cloud-patterned steel plates, three on each leg binding, two in each wrist guard, and sixteen in the front and back pockets of the vest, totaling twenty-six plates. Cloud-patterned steel plates weren't light, weighing around three pounds each. With twenty-six plates, that was seventy-eight pounds in total.
Considering that Chi-Chi weighed just over ninety pounds, this extra weight nearly doubled her body weight, causing her little face to droop.
"So heavy, big guy..." Chi-Chi pouted.
"It's heavy on purpose. It'll help you train and increase your physical strength more quickly," Feld explained.
"When will you be able to carry heavy weights and stay agile..."
"Then I'll become as strong as you, right?" Chi-Chi's eyes lit up.
Feld chuckled. "Then I'll give you even heavier steel plates!"
Chi-Chi: "..."
Although the weight on her body was a bit heavy, and the leather straps were a bit uncomfortable, Chi-Chi nodded in agreement, enduring it for the sake of becoming stronger.
After that, Feld took Chi-Chi back into the inner city, but this time it wasn't for shopping, but for surveillance. The branch of the Sers Trading Company was located in the inner city market street, in a luxurious large store. Feld rented a room across the street.
It wasn't cheap. A normal suite cost a hundred and forty gold coins a day, while the most expensive suite on Halan Street was only eighty gold coins a day. So Feld planned to recover the money he spent on the mission from the Sers Trading Company later.
There was nothing happening for the whole day. They had to keep an eye on things even at night; otherwise, they might miss the caravan leaving the city while they slept.
Fortunately, Feld didn't have to keep watch for long. In the dead of night, just as Feld and Chi-Chi had switched shifts and Feld had barely slept for a while, Chi-Chi hurriedly woke him up.
"Big guy, big guy, there's movement outside!" Chi-Chi exclaimed.
Feld immediately opened his eyes and looked out the window. Sure enough, six carriages came out from beside the big store, loaded with goods. It was clear they were planning to leave the city under the cover of night.
Feld smiled.