After hearing Jiang Rui out, Lin Xinghai frowned for a moment before his expression relaxed.

"Can you show me the battle plan from the Military Department first?" Lin Xinghai asked.

"Of course," Jiang Rui said, quickly taking out an electronic document and handing it to Lin Xinghai.

This so-called electronic document was actually a mobile device, though it was designed to look like a physical folder.

Lin Xinghai took it, opened it, and quickly began to flip through its contents.

In addition to text and images, the battle plan also contained computer-simulated diagrams of the battle’s progression.

After a quick review, Lin Xinghai felt reassured. He had confirmed that his idea was feasible.

"So, Brother Lin? Do you think we can get those Mercenary Corps to follow orders and execute the battle plan?" Jiang Rui asked anxiously as soon as Lin Xinghai finished reading.

"Why must we order the Mercenary Corps to follow this battle plan at all?" Lin Xinghai asked with an enigmatic smile.

"..." Jiang Rui was rendered speechless.

’Why do we need to execute the battle plan? Isn’t that obvious?’

’If they don’t, the Mercenary Corps will just be a chaotic mess. How are they supposed to help the army clear out the Zombies?’

But this wasn’t Jiang Rui’s first time dealing with Lin Xinghai. He knew that for Lin Xinghai to say something like this, he must already have a plan.

"Brother Lin, don’t mess with me. If you have a good idea, just spit it out!" Jiang Rui said with a wry smile.

"You can tell from this battle plan that the general staff understands Mercenaries aren’t soldiers, so they made the plan as simple as possible."

As he spoke, Lin Xinghai reopened the route map on the electronic document. "According to the requirements, all we need to do is advance along the designated routes at the scheduled times."

"To achieve that, we don’t actually need to command the various Mercenary Corps directly. We just need to tell them which areas they can operate in and at what times."

"Of course, if you just tell them that, they probably won’t listen. So instead, just tell each Mercenary Corps in which areas they can receive the army’s protection if they run into danger."

"The Mercenary Corps will naturally seek advantages and avoid danger, so they’ll stick to the zones we’ve outlined."

Hearing this, Jiang Rui felt as though the clouds had parted.

He instantly realized the method was viable.

And besides designating the areas, they could also designate the times.

They could tell the Mercenary Corps what times they needed to reach certain areas to receive the army’s protection.

In that case, it wouldn’t be much different from commanding these Mercenary Corps directly.

At this thought, Jiang Rui snatched the electronic document back and reviewed the battle plan again. The more he looked, the more feasible Lin Xinghai’s method seemed.

"Thanks, I’m leaving," Jiang Rui said before hurriedly leaving the conference room.

Seeing this, Lin Xinghai shook his head in amusement and returned to the Star Shield District.

...

The next day, at just past 7 a.m., the Mercenary Guild was already bustling. The mission acceptance windows and ammunition purchase counters, in particular, were packed to the brim.

After a night of rumors spreading, almost every Mercenary Corps had undoubtedly heard about the major operation to clear out Guanghan City. They were all rushing over to accept the mission, afraid of missing this golden opportunity.

Even some small hunting squads dared to apply to join, which left the Mercenary Guild’s higher-ups, who had been worried about the operation’s success, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

Just last night, they had been worried about how many Mercenary Corps would even be willing to accept the mission.

They never expected it to turn into this overnight. What did everyone take Guanghan City, the so-called "Mercenary Restricted Area," for?

At 8 a.m., Lin Xinghai strolled unhurriedly out of the Star Shield District. He immediately saw crowds of Mercenaries rushing down the road.

"Looks like the news has spread," Lin Xinghai commented on the scene. "It’s going to be lively today. Let’s get going."

He then led Liu Miaomiao straight to the Mercenary Plaza in the Lower City District. As for matters like accepting the mission and purchasing ammunition, he naturally didn’t have to worry about them.

When the two arrived at the Mercenary Plaza, they were greeted by the spectacular sight of a sea of people. Previously, Lin Xinghai hadn’t known just how many Mercenaries the Mercenary Guild had.

But now he knew the number exceeded 30,000.

Although the plaza was packed with people, it wasn’t as chaotic as one might expect.

This was partly because of the 5,000 soldiers stationed in front of the Mercenary Plaza. With them maintaining order, no one dared to cause any trouble.

But beyond that, the spontaneous formation of lines by the various Mercenary Corps was also an important factor.

Of course, this wasn’t to say the Mercenaries were particularly well-behaved; it was purely because of the unwritten Rule among them: respect the strong.

So, lined up at the front near the exit were, naturally, the Third Level Mercenary Corps, followed by the Second and First Level ones.

Moreover, even among Mercenary Corps of the same Level, everyone had a clear sense of who was stronger and who was weaker, so they tacitly arranged themselves according to that pecking order.

Of course, there were exceptions, the biggest one being the Heaven-Sundering Mercenary Corps.

This Second Level Mercenary Corps had not only positioned itself among the Third Level Mercenary Corps but had also claimed the very best spot.

In addition, because the Mountain and Sea Mercenary Corps was Lin Xinghai’s Affiliated Mercenary Corps, it also received preferential treatment, taking the best position among the First Level Mercenary Corps.

With Lin Xinghai’s arrival, someone in the once-packed Mercenary Plaza shouted out, and the Mercenaries automatically parted to form a path for him.

Lin Xinghai was quite surprised by their reaction. He hadn’t realized his prestige had grown to such a degree.

"Morning, Captain Lin!"

"Captain Lin, you’re here early!"

"Captain Lin, have you had breakfast? I just bought some local specialties."

"..."

As he walked through the crowd, the various Mercenary Corps Leaders greeted him enthusiastically. Lin Xinghai could only nod in response to each of them.

When he reached the Heaven-Sundering Mercenary Corps, he was met by a somewhat resentful-looking Fang Tianhe, who said in a sour tone, "Our great leader has finally arrived. Perhaps I should abdicate and become the vice-captain!"

"Sure, why not?" Lin Xinghai replied with that same enigmatic smile.

Fang Tianhe was left speechless.

"Focus on your Cultivation," Lin Xinghai said, patting Fang Tianhe’s shoulder earnestly. "Once you break through to the Blood Qi Realm, they’ll recognize you, too."

Then, his expression grew serious. "How are we on ammunition?"

Hearing Lin Xinghai get down to business, Fang Tianhe’s expression turned serious as well. "Don’t worry, everything’s ready. We used all of the Mercenary Corps’ funds to buy ammunition. Two-thirds of it went to Hand Cannon Bullets."

Lin Xinghai nodded. Just then, a commotion broke out at the front of the Mercenary Plaza.

They looked toward the sound, and a look of astonishment quickly appeared on Fang Tianhe’s face.

"Now that’s a rare sight," Fang Tianhe said, a hint of surprise in his voice. "The president of the Mercenary Guild is actually here."