"Sir, we found them acting suspiciously. They were lingering near our location for a while now. That's why we intercepted them," the leader of the squad explained, his voice firm yet respectful.
"Oh..." The young man with golden hair and sharp eyebrows nodded in understanding, a faint smile curling on his lips.
"So, where are you all headed, my friends? My name is Rudra Akaris. Nice to meet you." Rudra extended his hand for a handshake, his tone warm and welcoming, which caught the group off guard.
The young man's behavior surprised them. They had expected arrogance or hostility, but instead, Rudra's friendliness was disarming.
"Ooh, hi, muscle man!" Rudra exclaimed as he shook hands with Yang, who accepted the handshake while remaining vigilant. "My name is Yang," he corrected.
Rudra nodded and moved on to his next target, Silver.
"Hello, handsome Sniper! You're looking cool."
Silver furrowed his brows, clearly unimpressed. "Ah, huh! My name is not Sniper. It's Silver," he replied, his tone clipped.
Without missing a beat, Rudra turned to greet the ladies.
"Oh, what a hit babe you are, Iron Lady. Can I get your number and a hug, pretty please?" Rudra asked Alisha with a playful grin.
"Paah!"
Alisha's slap landed with a resounding smack, sending Rudra spinning. "It's Alisha," she corrected, her tone firm.
Seeing their leader get hit, the mercenaries tensed, ready to step forward, but Rudra raised a hand to stop them.
"It's fine. A slap from a beautiful lady is acceptable," Rudra said with a smile, as if nothing had happened.
He then turned his attention to Summer. "And what about you, dude? You look like you belong to my generation," Rudra said, extending his hand.
Caught a little off guard, Summer exchanged a handshake as he replied, "My name's Summer."
"Oh, Summer, is it? You're a Non-Awakener. What are you doing here?" Rudra asked, his eyes glinting with an unknown light.
Summer immediately became alert, his guard going up. "It's nothing special. Just something personal," he replied cautiously.
Rudra laughed, his tone light. "Haha... Relax, dude... I was just asking casually..."
Then, he turned to Lucia, his demeanor shifting slightly. "Aiya, now I see you're the perfect woman, Ma'am. I've never seen someone so beautiful. Your weapon is really something. Is it an ability manifestation?" he asked, his eyes lingering on her rapier.
Lucia gave a strange, cautious laugh. She found the sudden shift from the serious young man to this enthusiastic persona intriguing, but it didn't make her trust him completely. Who knew if this was just a cunning move to lower their guard?
"So, you didn't tell me—where are you guys going?" Rudra inquired, his tone casual yet probing.
Alisha answered, her brows furrowed in displeasure, "We were heading deeper into the zone, but due to the explosive sounds of firearms, we had to change our route."
"Oh, sorry about that. We actually found it difficult to defeat the beast, which is why we were using firearms. But it still isn't down. Would you like to help? You'll be paid handsomely, of course," Rudra added with a charming smile.
Lucia stepped forward, her expression serious. "So you're asking for our help? But that beast is clearly a Delta-tier mutated creature. You know how dangerous that is, right? You have so many Adapt Evolvers, and yet you couldn't defeat it. How do you expect us to handle it?"
"Besides, the Winged Viper Snake stays in pairs. You know that, right? Its partner could be here at any moment. It's too risky. Plus, we have our own mission. We're going," Lucia declared, turning to her team. "Let's go, guys!"
"Hey, wait..." Rudra interrupted as they were about to leave. "We really need all the help we can get. Don't worry, we have a Surpasser among us, and as for its male partner, we have another plan. Hey, stop, guys. I'm serious. I can even give you $50,000 per person..."
Everyone froze in their tracks, turning back to Rudra in surprise.
"Are you serious? You're willing to pay $50,000 just for this? What's so important to you?" Lucia asked, her curiosity piqued.
Rudra smiled slyly. "I can't tell you that. But just know I have a lot of money," he grinned. "So, what do you say?"
Lucia and the others were clearly tempted. It wasn't every day they got such an offer. $50,000 was a lot of money for them.
Lucia turned to her team. "What do you guys think? Do you want to do it? It shouldn't take that long, and they even have a Surpasser with them."
Alisha shrugged. "I have no problem, but ask for Summer's opinion first, Captain Lucia."
Silver and Yang nodded in agreement. All eyes turned to Summer.
"Don't look at me. I have no problem, as long as you get me to my location safe and sound. I won't fuss, because I know how hard you guys work to earn that money," Summer replied.
"Aww, thanks, Summy." Alisha leaned in and gave Summer a kiss on the cheek, more as an affectionate gesture.
Lucia then turned to Rudra. "We agree to your proposal, but tell us how you plan to deal with the male Winged Viper Snake. We can't face two of them at once. It would be a catastrophe otherwise."
Rudra grinned, a triumphant expression on his face. "Hehe, see this..." Rudra took out a glowing blue crystal from his space bracelet and showed it to them.
"Huh, you have a Teleportation Crystal. That's... somewhat... unexpected," Lucia said, sighing in defeat. She realized that common sense didn't apply to the ultra-rich.
"So, you want to send the male partner away using that Teleportation Crystal. But why didn't you use it on the female one in the first place?" Silver asked, furrowing his brows.
Rudra sighed. "You don't know how rare a Teleportation Crystal is, do you? I kept it for emergencies. It was still uncertain if the male partner would arrive or not. We might be able to clear the female one before he arrives. He usually goes to hunt in the morning and returns at noon, so we still have some time to kill the female. Moreover, a Teleportation Crystal is a lifesaver item, so it shouldn't be wasted that easily."
"Yeah, now I understand," Silver nodded, preparing his sniper rifle for the fight.
"Alright then, now follow me," Rudra said, leading them to the battle spot.