"As promised, I will give you 500 Gold as well as the extra golds," Mok-Rang replied and pulled out several gold coins from his storage ring on his fingers before handing it over to Jessica.
Looking at what happened, Jessica's eyes widened slightly before it returned to normal. She was surprised by the storage ring. But not for Leo. He had read about it before.
"Please allow me to count it first." She pushed her glasses and began counting, eliciting a wry smile from the old man.
No one had dared to show such disrespect in front of him before, but he didn't get angry at her. He watched her count the money before giving him an answer.
"Please get used to this." Leo decided to explain it to the Heavenly Demon. "We, Mercenaries, love money very much. That being said, we are satisfied with your pay."
"No, it's fine." Mok-Rang shook his head. "In fact, I think that I am lucky to have met you. I was sure that I would die here today." He chuckled, amused. He looked at the group once again and narrowed his eyes. "But you put yourself in a dangerous situation by helping me. Now, the Poison Sect will see you as their enemy."
"About that, I think we're okay." Leo responded calmly as if he was not in a life-and-death situation anymore. "As we said before, we're on the side of those with higher offers."
Meaning, if the Poison Sect paid him more than what Mok-Rang was able to afford, he and his subordinates would immediately change sides, like insects that smelled food.
"I see." Mok-Rang paused for a moment, understanding what Leo was trying to say. "And if I cannot afford it?"
"Then we'll accept their job and get paid by them instead." Leo shrugged his shoulders and chuckled darkly. "But besides what's written or agreed, we will be no one's enemies. Of course, if they attack us, we will retaliate. But we won't bother anyone who doesn't seek conflict with us."
Seeing how fearless he was, Mok-Rang couldn't help but chuckled bitterly. He guessed that he must have judged them too early after seeing them helping him.
'They are crazy mercenaries who are willing to accept a huge payment and sell their services to anyone as long as it benefits them.'
That being said, it seemed like these people were willing to go against the entire Murim Alliance if they wanted to. Or went against the Unorthodox sect if paid enough money.
Leo turned his attention toward Jessica who finished counting the money and gave him a nod. Then, he turned his attention back toward Heavenly Demon.
"The amount is correct. Thank you for using our service. If you need us, please do contact us again."
"Please wait." Mok-Rang lifted his hand up and stopped them from leaving immediately. "Before you leave, I want to hire you again for a different matter. Can you do an escort mission?"
"Heavenly Demon, please let me say what our service is once again." Leo said seriously as he gazed straight into Mok-Rang's eyes. "We provide everything as long as it's not against our belief and is paid enough money. So the answer to your answer is... How much money will you pay us and what kind of job will you ask us to do? Let's talk about it."
Understanding them better than before, Mok-Rang nodded in satisfaction.
***
Leo left the negotiation to Jessica completely. She was smart and knew what they needed the most right now. And without a doubt, she realized they weren't in their home world after seeing Mok-Rang's storage ring earlier.
They were stranded here with no way of returning home. Without the Warp Gate, there was no way for them to contact their base.
Jessica and Leo left the building after they reached an agreement with Mok-Rang and heard the details of the new job. A satisfied smile plastered on his face.
"Good job, Jessica. That was impressive," Leo praised her as he gave her a pat on the shoulder. "We got a job again. And the payment is satisfactory."
Jessica's cheeks turned slightly red as she giggled at his praises. "Thank you for your kind words." She bowed slightly, taking it as a compliment.
"Call the others. Ask them to gather near the destroyed wall so we can share the job's detail to them. It's essentially our first official job in this place and I want all of them to listen."
"As you wish."
Jessica pulled out a small pink toy similar to Coco from her pocket and pressed its mouth. It was a communication device designed to fit their style. The male members were given a red one instead of pink and Leo had a black one.
"Leader's order. Gather near the destroyed wall where we entered this place earlier. That includes Jack and Anya."
"Roger!"
"Got it."
"We're on our way."
Leo arrived first with Jessica as they were the closest. He sat on the largest rock, which had a towel laid on it before he realized it. He looked at Jessica and smiled, knowing she was the one who prepared it.
"Thank you."
"It's my duty as your secretary." She flashed her smile happily as she stood behind him.
A few seconds later, Shui and Chiaki appeared. They returned from patrolling around the perimeter. They stopped in front of Leo and the former reported.
"There is nothing unusual around this area. We only found a tower-like building that's locked by something I can't understand. I tried to forcefully open it by slashing the door and wall, but it's useless. Of course, I didn't use my full strength."
"A strange symbol is drawn on the door... Leader, maybe it's a kind of lock." Chiaki added while showing an image to Leo using her smart database. "I tried to look it up in the database but no result."
The image showed something like two intertwined dragons over a pentagram star. It was difficult to explain what it was since it didn't exist in their world. But he understood it.
'It must be the seal used by Mok-Rang by burning his lifeforce so the students of Demon Sect can escape. Shui said he didn't use his full strength, that means he used half. Hmm, the seal is strong enough to keep even Shui from cutting it, huh? People in the Murim world are way stronger than expected.'
"Good job, Chiaki. That's valuable information." Leo praised the short-haired girl, causing the corner of her lips to tug up slightly.
"It's my job, Leader," she responded modestly before taking her position near Shui, before Leo.
Following them were Jack and Anya who approached them. The former caressed his gun, praising it endlessly while the latter had a large grin on her face while her body was drenched in blood.
"Leader!" Anya waved her hand excitedly and ran toward him like a cat. "I have finished my job perfectly. There are many nasty poison users hiding in the forest, so I decimated them all. You should have seen how they begged me to spare them..."
"Nice job," Leo commended her and smiled wryly. He felt bad for the Poison Sect people who fell into Anya's hand.
'They must be scared. She can be a bit... sadistic and unhinged sometimes."
"Hehehe. Leader praised me." Anya's smile widened further and looked like a Cheshire cat who just stole a fish from a fisherman.
"Anya. That's enough."
A low voice echoed around them. Everyone's attention turned toward the source, including Anya's who was fawning over Leo earlier. Jessica let out a sigh when she saw her acting like this in front of Leo.
"I will explain the mission in detail."
When the secretary said that, everyone went silent. Leo nodded to her and gestured for her to start.