"More money? That's easy to discuss!"

Upon hearing Zhu Rong's words, the Team Leader chuckled as he spoke.

"How about one hundred thousand?"

"One hundred thousand asset points?"

Bone Spur asked in surprise.

This was a number large enough for them to never have to work in this line again after finishing this job!

With that amount of money, and with a bit of maneuvering, they might even be able to buy a second-class citizen status, or even a non-hereditary Baron noble identity, and purchase a house in the inner city! 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

The Team Leader spoke with a smiling expression.

"Yes, and... it's extra."

"If you complete it, you'll receive a total reward of 150,000 points."

As he spoke, the Team Leader shook the Golden Vouchers in his hand, the paper making a delightful rustling sound.

Big Ball and Bone Spur were clearly already tempted.

However, Zhu Rong showed no intention of agreeing.

"Not enough. Just points... are not enough."

As she spoke, the Team Leader smiled and said, "Is that so? You want a reward beyond points?"

"Yes. I want materials: 'Hatred Copper,' 'Jadeite Laurel,' and 'Heart Vein Stone.'"

"If you can find these materials, I can forgo the extra 100,000 points—this should be cheaper for you than 100,000 points."

Zhu Rong spoke calmly, but the Team Leader seemed somewhat unsettled.

His lifeless, dead-fish eyes stared at Zhu Rong, then a smile reappeared on his face.

"Asking for one of each of the most precious materials from the three major corporations... these priceless, unobtainable items are worth more than 100,000 points to you, aren't they?"

"And asking for all three at once, isn't that a bit..."

Zhu Rong shook her head. "This is a method beneficial to both of us."

"I don't want you to know which of these three I need the most, and at the same time... your employer probably doesn't want me to know which one he can most easily obtain, right?"

As Zhu Rong spoke, the Team Leader chuckled.

"Well said. I agree."

Listening to the conversation between the two, Lin Yu silently analyzed in his heart.

The possibility that this Zhu Rong was a Player increased once again...

This characteristic of wanting materials over money was very much something a Player would do.

And that Team Leader was no simple figure either—even if he was the employer's trusted confidant, he didn't need to consult his employer about a request for such rare materials!

"Really interesting. Truly worthy of being my 'Promotion' dungeon!"

Lin Yu mused.

The Team Leader then looked at Lin Yu and the other two with a beaming smile. "Does anyone else want to change their reward?"

Big Ball and Bone Spur hesitated for a moment, but ultimately said nothing.

On one hand, getting 150,000 points in one go was already enough for them to live comfortably for the rest of their lives; they could completely wash their hands of this business after this job.

On the other hand, it was because they simply didn't have the courage like Zhu Rong to bargain with the Team Leader, who was still holding the detonator button and ready to blow everyone up at any moment.

However, Lin Yu spoke up.

"I still have a question."

The Team Leader looked at Lin Yu, noting his phrasing.

"You have a question?"

Lin Yu nodded and asked directly.

"Yes. Since everyone reacted so strongly, and you even offered an additional 100,000-point reward, I want to ask... what's so special about Alt Mercury that warrants such a high reward?"

His expression was extremely sincere.

"Who is this guy anyway?"

After Lin Yu asked this, everyone in the private room, including the Team Leader, looked at Lin Yu as if he were a monster.

"Alt Mercury, you don't know?"

Bone Spur exclaimed dramatically.

"Is he someone I absolutely must know?"

Lin Yu retorted calmly.

The Team Leader looked at Lin Yu. "Are you really from the Great Wasteland?"

Lin Yu shrugged, not directly answering the other.

Big Ball, recovering from his shock, began introducing Alt Mercury to Lin Yu.

"Alt Mercury is the elder brother of the current family head, Arlan Mercury. He is the former acting clan leader of the Mercury family and the former Chairman of the Board of the Divine Power Group—fifty years ago, after his father passed away, Arlan Mercury inherited the Peerage position, becoming the new ruler of the Mercury family and the Divine Power Group."

"But Arlan Mercury disappeared in the Great Wasteland three years after taking office, so Alt acted as the caretaker of the Divine Power Group and the Mercury family for five years—and during those five years, the Mercury family flourished."

"The situation where the Autumn family, which was once slightly stronger than Mercury, is now firmly suppressed by the Mercury family... one could say it's due to Arlan's efforts over the years, but in my opinion, Alt's actions during those five years were the primary contribution."

Lin Yu nodded and raised a question. "Then how did he end up as an A-2 at the Truth Corporation?"

Although he didn't know Alt Mercury, Lin Yu was still aware of the basic common knowledge of Sleepless City.

The Sleepless Sky family controls the Truth Corporation; the Mercury and Autumn families jointly govern the Divine Power Group; the Universal General Chamber of Commerce is the territory of the Sorenson family.

The Saint-Lan family remains relatively neutral, holding shares in all three major corporations, but focuses mainly on the Sleepless City Parliament and governing other nobles.

Although the spheres of influence of the five Peerage Noble families aren't so clearly demarcated, and even if relations between the corporations are tense, it doesn't prevent nobles from intermarrying, forming alliances, and maintaining friendly relations, and family members often take positions in the other two major corporations.

But that is limited to branch lines or unimportant descendants from the main line.

How could someone like Alt Mercury, the elder brother of the clan leader, a former acting clan leader from the Mercury main line, and an old man already over eighty years old, be employed at the Truth Corporation?

"Is it because he didn't get along with Arlan Mercury?"

Lin Yu asked, and the Team Leader spoke in a low voice.

"It seems you really don't know anything."

"On the contrary, Arlan and Alt are rare among nobles as blood relatives with extremely good feelings for each other," the Team Leader continued from Big Ball's words, his dead-fish eyes staring emptily at Lin Yu. "Forty years ago, after Arlan Mercury resumed control of the family and the Divine Power Group, Alt Mercury, to prevent anyone in the family from still harboring disloyal thoughts, voluntarily left the Divine Power Group and took a nominal position at the Truth Corporation—this eliminated any possibility of anyone using his name and banner to challenge the legitimacy of Arlan Mercury's return."

Hearing this, Bone Spur pondered and said, "Yes, but I've also heard that Alt Mercury did this simply to save his own life..."

"No, that's not the case."

The Team Leader interrupted Bone Spur but showed no intention to explain further.

"In any case, Alt Mercury is such a legendary figure... Now do you understand why they increased the price?"

Hearing this, Lin Yu nodded.

"I understand their thinking, but I don't see any necessity for him to warrant a price increase."

"Even if he once held a high position and was skilled in political maneuvering, now he's just a dying old man—his glorious achievements from his youth won't change the hardness of his skull or increase the toughness of the skin over his heart."

Lin Yu said calmly.

"To put it bluntly, the difficulty of killing him might be less than killing a gang boss in Gray Three Streets who fought his way up on his own."