Lin Zhengyang’s expression soured at Jin Canlan’s words, but he couldn’t immediately refute them.

Lin Zhengyang knew full well that if he were to become the chairman, the final outcome would likely be either him leaving or the Mercenary Guild disbanding.

After all, those people became Mercenaries precisely because they were unwilling to be restrained. Otherwise, they would have joined the military long ago.

If you pushed those Mercenaries too far, it wasn’t out of the question for them to simply head to another Shelter during a mission.

After a long moment, Lin Zhengyang simply said in a cold tone, "As long as you can achieve the objective, that’s all that matters. Now, let’s discuss the specific operational plan."

For the rest of the time, Lin Zhengyang did most of the talking, with other military officers occasionally adding a sentence or two. As for the representatives sent by the Mercenary Guild, they mostly just listened.

After listening through the meeting, however, Lin Xinghai gained a general understanding of the Military Department’s plan of action for Guanghan City.

The Military Department would dispatch an elite team to enter Guanghan City one step ahead of the major Mercenary Corps. Along the way, they would use existing buildings to establish a series of outposts.

These outposts would be places the various Mercenary Corps could fall back to for support if they encountered danger.

Of course, these outposts wouldn’t be static. Their locations would shift along with the progress of the Zombie cleanup, which was precisely why cooperation between the Military Department and the Mercenary Corps was necessary.

These matters had been brought up before; they were just being explained in detail now.

The meeting lasted for nearly half an hour. Once Lin Zhengyang had detailed the entire plan, it was adjourned, and everyone went their separate ways to get busy.

Jin Canlan hurriedly pulled Lin Xinghai back with him. He then summoned the leaders of all the Third Level Mercenary Corps for a meeting to discuss the issue of forming teams.

"Chairman Jin, why did you have to drag me into this?" Lin Xinghai was truly exasperated.

"Hehe! I was afraid my own prestige wouldn’t be enough, wasn’t I? But with you here to hold down the fort, it’s a different story."

"Besides, you’re also a Mercenary. Some things are much more effective coming from you than from me," Jin Canlan said, a wide smile plastered on his face, as if he hadn’t noticed Lin Xinghai’s displeasure.

Lin Xinghai was rather speechless. ’Is this really our Mercenary Guild’s chairman? He’s so thick-skinned, and he doesn’t hesitate one bit when it comes to using people.’

Soon, Lin Xinghai arrived at another conference room, a temporary one set up by the Mercenary Guild.

And after receiving the summons, the leaders of the various Third Level Mercenary Corps quickly gathered in the conference room.

"Alright, I’m sure you’ve all guessed why I’ve called you here. The Mercenary Guild just met with the Military Department, and we’ve finalized the details of the cleanup operation."

"As for the specific details, Captain Lin Xinghai attended the meeting on behalf of all the Mercenary Corps, so I’ll leave it to Captain Lin to explain!" Jin Canlan said, making a gesture of invitation toward Lin Xinghai.

Seeing this, the corner of Lin Xinghai’s mouth twitched slightly.

However, he had no reason to refuse. After a light cough, he began, "Since Chairman Jin has spoken, I’ll give a brief summary."

"The Mercenary Corps that have come this time total around 30,000 people. These 30,000 people will be divided into 30 teams of 1,000 each. We will then take turns clearing out the Zombies in Guanghan City, operating on a team-by-team basis."

Hearing Lin Xinghai’s words, the various Mercenary Corps Leaders had mixed reactions. Some were pleased, some frowned, and others fell into deep thought.

They had previously assumed that after arriving, each Mercenary Corps would hunt Zombies on their own, making it a free-for-all where rewards were based on individual performance.

Now, being required to operate in teams, they weren’t sure if this was a good thing or a bad thing.

Lin Xinghai could more or less guess what these leaders were thinking, so he smiled and continued, "Everyone, rest assured. Although on the surface we’re divided into teams, when it comes to actually clearing out Zombies, you’ll still be doing your own thing."

At this point, Lin Xinghai had Jin Canlan display the cleanup route map provided by the Military Department.

"Everyone, take a look. We will divide our forces into 10 groups and attack simultaneously along these 10 routes."

"The Military Department will go one step ahead and establish outposts along these routes. If any of you encounter danger, you can immediately call on these outposts for help."

"The only reason for forming teams is to make it easier to coordinate with the Military Department’s operations. The military will not interfere with the cleanup itself."

"However, if you stray too far from the designated routes and the outposts while clearing Zombies, you won’t be able to receive timely assistance if you run into danger." Lin Xinghai explained the situation in the most concise terms possible.

After listening to Lin Xinghai’s explanation, the expressions on the faces of the Mercenary Corps Leaders eased considerably.

Lin Xinghai’s speech could be summed up in two points: the military would not interfere in their cleanup operations, and as long as they cleared Zombies along the designated routes, they would be protected by the outposts.

With that clarified, they had no more objections to forming teams.

"If there are no further objections, then go ahead and start forming your groups. Once you’re sorted, you can elect your own captains and then find the remaining Second Level and First Level Mercenary Corps to form your 1,000-person battalions."

Lin Xinghai glanced around at the crowd. There were 35 Mercenary Corps Leaders in total, so choosing 30 captains would be easy. The remaining five could just join other teams.

Hearing this, the Mercenary Corps Leaders immediately perked up. According to Lin Xinghai’s plan, letting them form their own battalions was equivalent to a certain delegation of power!

Instantly, the room filled with hushed whispers. Some Mercenary Corps that were on good terms with each other even began planning to operate together.

After all, here in Guanghan City, having an extra Third Level Mercenary Corps in your team would undoubtedly increase your safety margin.

But just as everyone was deep in lively discussion, Jin Canlan, who had been listening from the side, let out a light cough. "Ahem, you all only need to form 29 teams. Our own Lin Xinghai is an exceptionally capable individual; he should lead a team as well."

The assembled Mercenary Corps Leaders naturally had no objections. As for Lin Xinghai, he sighed softly. He knew he wouldn’t be able to get out of this.

Soon, the 29 captains were chosen, and Jin Canlan had a staff member register each of them.

"Alright, now that the captains have been chosen, I’ll ask each of you to go and contact the other Mercenary Corps to form your 1,000-person battalions. I need the rosters submitted to me before noon, 12 o’clock," Jin Canlan said after glancing at the list he was holding.

At the same time, he glanced at Lin Xinghai beside him. His beady, mung-bean-like eyes darted about, and a brilliant smile began to form on his pudgy face.