Invincible through Touching Corpses-Chapter 97 - 96: Negotiation

"Brother Lin, they’re heading toward us," Ling Xiu said as soon as he saw them change course.

At the same time, he stopped shooting the zombies. After all, sniper bullets weren’t any cheaper than Armor-Piercing Bullets.

As the two groups drew closer, Lin Xinghai and the others gradually began to hear the roars of the zombies. Thousands of zombies were running and roaring at the same time, and the sheer momentum was overwhelming, like a vast army on the march.

Faced with such a scene, it wasn’t just Ling Xiu and the others; even Lin Xinghai felt a little intimidated.

But he didn’t change his decision. He knew very well that as he grew stronger, this was a scene he would have to face sooner or later.

Besides, although the zombie horde was terrifying, as long as they managed their distance and didn’t get swept into it, the danger was controllable.

Finally, once the two parties were within a certain distance of each other, the Communication Device in their vehicle showed an incoming external signal.

It was clearly the Mercenary Corps on the other side, broadcasting a signal to proactively contact them.

"Patch them through," Lin Xinghai said without much hesitation.

At first, the Communication Device crackled with static, but the signal soon stabilized and a voice came through clearly. "Hello! This is the Giant Hammer Mercenary Corps. Please respond if you can hear us."

"Yeah, I hear you," Lin Xinghai said, pressing the talk button.

"Thank you so much for coming to our aid. May I ask which Mercenary Corps you belong to?" the voice came again.

Hearing this question, everyone in the vehicle felt slightly awkward.

But Lin Xinghai didn’t care at all and said directly, "We’re a Hunter Squad from the Superpower Alliance."

The other party fell silent upon hearing this answer.

Lin Xinghai wasn’t in a hurry. He waited quietly. ’As long as they’re not idiots, they’ll definitely continue to ask for help,’ he thought. ’Their attitude will probably change, though.’

A moment later, a different, calmer voice spoke up. "Hello, I am Ren Hong, the leader of the Giant Hammer Mercenary Corps. Thank you for being willing to come to our rescue. I was wondering, what kind of help can your Hunter Squad provide us?"

"Your biggest problem right now is that you’re constantly being harassed by that Hunter, right? I can take care of it," Lin Xinghai said, getting straight to the heart of the matter.

In fact, as long as the Hunter was dead, the zombie horde would gradually disperse without a commander, and all their problems would be solved.

...

On the other side, Ren Hong, sitting inside his Mecha, was struck silent by Lin Xinghai’s reply. He had no idea how to respond.

He’d met arrogant people before, but never someone *this* arrogant.

’He can take care of a Hunter? Who does he think he is, a Blood Qi Realm expert?’

Normally, Ren Hong would have already started cussing him out. But right now, his Mercenary Corps was in a precarious situation, and he had to fight for every bit of help he could get.

So he took a deep breath, and even though he knew the other party couldn’t see him, he put on a smile and said, "If you can really do it, that would be wonderful. The Giant Hammer Mercenary Corps will be forever in your debt."

The young man’s voice came over the radio again. "No need for gratitude. Just give us something tangible."

"Of course. Name your price," Ren Hong said.

"Alright, 50,000 Points then. Oh, and since we can’t do a transfer here, you can just pay with items."

The expression on Ren Hong’s face froze. At the same time, the Giant Hammer Mercenary Corps’ internal communication channel erupted in an uproar.

"I’ve seen outrageous, but never *this* outrageous! 50,000 Points? Why doesn’t he just rob us?"

"Hah! Didn’t you hear him? He said he can deal with the Hunter."

"Tsk! That’s the funniest joke I’ve ever heard."

Listening to the sarcastic remarks from his subordinates on the internal channel, Ren Hong’s expression darkened.

He even began to suspect that the other party was just here to mess with them.

All talk and no action, running away when things get tough—he’d actually heard of people like that.

But he had no other choice. The zombie horde had already caught up to them. They weren’t too deep in it yet, and thanks to the powerful Defense of their Armored Vehicles, they could hold on for now. But if they couldn’t break the stalemate, they would never escape Qingtang Town.

So he could only say patiently, "My young friend, you must be joking! I’ve never heard of a rescue costing this much. Besides, we can’t come up with that many Points!"

The young voice on the other end replied in the same flat tone, "50,000 Points isn’t expensive. Your Giant Hammer Mercenary Corps has 23 members. That averages out to just over 2,000 Points per person to save their lives. That’s a bargain!"

"As for you not having enough Points, that’s fine too. Just give me all the Elemental Crystals and Energy Crystal Stones you have in your vehicles. If it’s not enough, you won’t have to pay back the difference later."

Hearing the words "Energy Crystal Stone," Ren Hong’s breath hitched. He quickly laughed and said, "You’re joking. How could our Mercenary Corps have something like an Energy Crystal Stone? Are you perhaps..."

But before he could finish, the young voice cut him off forcefully. "The Hunter is chasing you even while heavily injured. You must have something that’s attracting it. An Energy Crystal Stone is the only logical explanation."

Ren Hong fell silent again. He knew the other party was sharp.

"Fine. We’ll do as you say. As long as you can help us out of this predicament, we’ll naturally present you with a reward of 50,000 Points," Ren Hong said after only a second of hesitation.

As soon as he finished speaking, the internal communication channel exploded again.

"Captain, are we really giving them 50,000 Points? That fee is outrageous! It’s basically extortion," a member said immediately.

"Yeah! The total value of the Energy Crystal Stone we fought tooth and nail for this time is only around 60,000 Points. If we give them 50,000, what’s left probably won’t even be enough to repair the Mechas," another member chimed in.

Ren Hong didn’t get angry. Instead, he said in a calm tone, "Everyone’s lives are what’s most important. The priority right now is to escape. Besides, do you really think they can handle a Hunter?"

Hearing this, the internal comms channel instantly fell silent.

’That’s right. They’re just a Hunter Squad. They don’t even have Mechas. How could they possibly deal with a Mutated Zombie?’

"So, Captain, what you’re saying is...?" Vice-Captain Zhuo Wenbin asked at this moment.

"Agree to their terms first. Once they get here and draw the Mutated Zombie’s attention, it’ll be easier for us to escape."

"They’re just an arrogant Hunter Squad that doesn’t know its own limits. Just think of them as bait. Once they’ve drawn the Hunter’s attention, we’ll break out with everything we’ve got." Ren Hong was both answering Zhuo Wenbin’s question and issuing a command.

"Then... if we escape, what about that Hunter Squad?" one of the Mercenaries asked timidly.

"Wouldn’t it be better if they died? I never planned on giving them the 50,000 Points anyway. It’ll save us the trouble of arguing with them later," Ren Hong said with a cold smirk.

He’d never met such an arrogant Hunter Squad before. If they didn’t know what was good for them, he wouldn’t mind teaching them a lesson.