After he finished speaking, Lin Xinghai started a video conference, intending to discuss in detail how to adjust the teams.

The various Mercenary Corps Leaders quickly joined the video conference, but their expressions were all a little confused and perplexed.

In their eyes, it was already incredible that in such a fierce battle, a Mercenary Corps was only now reporting casualties.

The current casualty numbers were already far better than they had anticipated.

If the Heaven-Sundering Mercenary Corps hadn’t been at the very front, bearing the brunt of the pressure, the number of casualties would have likely been dozens of times higher.

"Captain Lin, that isn’t necessary! I was just a bit careless. I’ll be more careful from now on. You don’t need to go to such lengths to adjust the entire formation," said Meng Fuzhong, the leader of the Steel Mercenary Corps whom Lin Xinghai had mentioned, sounding a little embarrassed.

"Captain Meng Fuzhong, this isn’t just about your Mercenary Corps. Haven’t you all noticed that our advance is getting more and more difficult as we push deeper?"

"If we keep this up, by the time we’ve advanced about five kilometers, I estimate 10% of the entire contingent will be injured," Lin Xinghai said with a grave expression.

However, after hearing this, the other leaders just stared at each other in bewilderment.

After a moment, one of the leaders whispered, "Isn’t that pretty normal?"

At their current zombie-hunting efficiency, if they could push five kilometers deep, even a First Level Mercenary Corps like theirs could earn at least 5,000 Points. The price for that would only be 10% of their members getting injured.

For a fully staffed First Level Mercenary Corps of 50 people, that was only five injuries. To them, this was an absolute steal.

On a typical mission, they might have a dozen members get wounded just to earn one or two thousand Points.

Hearing that leader and seeing the expressions on everyone else’s faces, Lin Xinghai frowned. "If you take 10% casualties on a single mission, you’ll have to return to the Shelter to recuperate after earning 20,000 Points at most."

At a 10% casualty rate per mission, these Mercenary Corps would be crippled after four or five missions at most. After all, morale tends to collapse when casualties approach 50%.

However, Lin Xinghai never expected that after he said this, Meng Fuzhong, the Steel Mercenary Corps leader he had called out earlier, would ask with a look of pleasant surprise, "Captain Lin, are you saying we can earn as many as 20,000 Points on this expedition?"

It wasn’t just him. Nearly all the other leaders wore the same expression.

It was then that Lin Xinghai realized he had been thinking about this all wrong.

The corps that had joined his contingent were almost all at the bottom of the barrel among First Level Mercenary Corps. Their highest expectations for this trip to Guanghan City were even lower than his own absolute minimum.

Originally, Lin Xinghai had planned to boost their morale before reorganizing the teams. But seeing the situation, he immediately decided to change his approach. "Alright, how about this? I won’t waste any more words. From now on, as long as you follow my commands to the letter, I guarantee every First Level Mercenary Corps will earn at least 50,000 Points, and every Second Level Mercenary Corps will earn at least 100,000 Points."

HISS!

In an instant, a collective gasp echoed through the video call. Even Chen Tianlei of the Blood Carving Mercenary Corps was stunned by Lin Xinghai’s bold proclamation.

100,000 Points. That was a figure they would never have dared to imagine before.

His initial hope was to earn thirty or forty thousand Points, and he would have been thanking his lucky stars for that. After all, they were only a Second Level Mercenary Corps. If it weren’t for the arrangements made by the military and the Mercenary Guild, they wouldn’t have even dared to set foot in a place like Guanghan City.

However, Chen Tianlei quickly calmed down after the initial excitement. He cleared his throat and, for the first time, confronted Lin Xinghai directly. "Captain Lin, how can you guarantee that?"

"And if we all follow your orders, what if you ask our Mercenary Corps to do something beyond our capabilities? Do we still have to obey?"

"Of course, I’m not questioning you. But if you can’t answer these two questions, it will be difficult for us to trust one another." After speaking, Chen Tianlei stared intently at Lin Xinghai through the video feed.

’100,000 Points... Of course I’m tempted,’ he thought, ’but I’m more afraid that Lin Xinghai will use this as an opportunity to screw us over.’

The other First Level Mercenary Corps Leaders stared at Lin Xinghai without blinking. They harbored the same concerns but didn’t dare voice them. Having Chen Tianlei, a Second Level Mercenary Corps Leader, step forward to ask was the best possible scenario for them.

Under everyone’s watchful gaze, Lin Xinghai smiled faintly. He didn’t answer directly, but instead posed a question of his own. "Before I answer that, let me ask you something first. What is your acceptable casualty limit for this mission to Guanghan City?"

Although Chen Tianlei didn’t understand why Lin Xinghai was asking, he gave it some thought and answered truthfully, "A casualty rate not exceeding 40% of our Mercenary Corps’ total members."

Lin Xinghai nodded. It was a reasonable answer. He glanced at the other Mercenary Corps Leaders, none of whom voiced any objections.

"Alright, then let’s use that standard. We can sign a contract. For the remainder of this operation, you will follow my orders unconditionally and execute every command I give without fail."

"If your total casualties exceed 40%, you are free to withdraw at will."

"When you withdraw, or at the conclusion of the Guanghan City mission, if the Points you’ve earned don’t meet the guarantee I just gave you, we, the Heaven-Sundering Mercenary Corps, will make up the difference." Lin Xinghai laid out his proposal directly.

HISS!

Another collective gasp filled the air. None of them had expected Lin Xinghai would dare to make such a promise.

As for Chen Tianlei, his expression had shifted several times while Lin Xinghai was speaking.

’Were the terms Lin Xinghai offered good? Of course they are. They’re better than I could have ever imagined.’

Take their Blood Carving Mercenary Corps, for example. They had 100 members in total. As long as their casualties exceeded 40 people, they would get those 100,000 Points, regardless of whether the mission was completed or not.

On a normal mission, never mind the time it would take to earn 100,000 Points, the casualties would be far higher than that.

After all, on a typical mission, they might have a dozen members get injured while only earning four or five thousand Points.

Furthermore, Lin Xinghai’s proactive offer to sign a contract completely erased the last shred of doubt in his mind.

At this thought, Chen Tianlei no longer hesitated. He was the first to nod in agreement. "Alright! Since Captain Lin has put it that way, once the contract is signed, the Blood Carving Mercenary Corps is at your command."

The other Mercenary Corps Leaders hastily spoke up as well, afraid they would miss this golden opportunity if they were too slow.

Five minutes later, every leader held a signed contract, and smiles appeared on their faces, almost involuntarily.

In their eyes, this contract was as good as 50,000 (or 100,000) Points.

Of course, they only dared to think this way because the one signing the contract with them was the Heaven-Sundering Mercenary Corps.

If it were any other corps, even another Third Level Mercenary Corps, they would worry whether the other party actually had the financial resources to honor their promise.

Besides "Gun God," Lin Xinghai had another, even more famous title among the various Mercenaries: "God of Wealth." Since he could earn forty to fifty thousand Points on a single mission, no one dared to doubt the Heaven-Sundering Mercenary Corps’s financial backing.