"It's you? That guy fighting on the street just now!"

Seeing the "Moscow Mule," which is Jack Carlos with his iconic Mohawk hairstyle and biker jacket, Yun You was a bit surprised.

"Oh? You saw that scuffle too?"

Jack's large eyes and thick eyebrows showed a hint of surprise, but he quickly returned to calm.

The commotion earlier was so loud that it was normal for an Apprentice Death God to notice.

"Indeed it was me. I suppose you didn't expect that a guy like me, who fought street thugs to a standstill, would be a registered mercenary, right?"

Jack shook his head with a smile and said, "Actually, I didn't expect the great Apprentice Death God would be a little girl like 'Chica'."

"Quite a contrast indeed."

"Better to sit down and talk slowly."

With that, he sat opposite Yun You, taking a few bottles from the embedded cooler in the table and started fiddling with a cocktail shaker.

"Care for a few drinks? My treat, drink as you please."

"My bartending skills aren't ordinary, you know. Even if I'm not a mercenary, plenty of bars would want me as a bartender."

As he spoke, Jack's hands flew up and down, quickly mixing a ginger-scented cocktail, which was his mercenary codename—the Moscow Mule.

"Better not. I don't really drink. A Sprite with ice will do."

Yun You politely declined Jack's goodwill.

The mercenary didn't mind and handed two cups of Sprite with lemon to the little girl.

"Thank you."

Yun You took the cup and casually asked, "By the way, what does... Chica mean?"

"It's from my hometown language, meaning 'girl'."

"You can call any young lady younger than us that."

Jack put down the brass goblet and laughed, "Miss Wu Ming, future teammate and leader, may I call you that?"

His words were pleasant, so Yun You didn't refuse.

"Whatever."

Jack nodded.

"This is our first meeting, and according to the mercenary business rules, Wu Ming, as the employer, you have the right to interview and question me."

"So, ask whatever you want, and I'll try my best to answer."

Seeing Jack understand the rules so well, Yun You agreed and didn't hold back.

"Since that's the case, let's start with the fight just now."

"Jack, you're a mercenary, and an experienced one with a Prosthetic Body. How is it that you can only hold your own against three thugs? You even got injured..."

"Because my fundamental purpose isn't to play hero; helping that old lady getting beaten was just in passing."

Jack shrugged and unabashedly replied, "I just wanted to earn some insurance money."

"In areas where I'm not known, I buy accident insurance, get a few small thugs to cut me a little, and I can easily make a few thousand bucks."

"This kind of work has no risk, earns money, and gives a good reputation... Miss Wu Ming, where else can you find such an easy way to make money?"

"Anyway, those who sell underground insurance got started by scamming and deceiving. They earn their money off the sweat and blood of the lower classes. I just reclaim a little interest from them; it's not too much, is it?"

"..."

Hearing this, Yun You raised an eyebrow slightly and said, "Isn't that just insurance fraud?"

"Using acting and others' bad luck to make money seems pretty unprofessional."

Though she said this, the little girl didn't mean to criticize, just to tease.

Jack, being mixed up in the Black Market for years, knew Yun You didn't mean harm, so he shrugged and smiled, "Professional ethics? Chica, mercenaries are of the most unethically oriented profession."

"Looking for ethics here is like looking for humanity in a giant corporation's rules, or finding a tax exemption policy in government documents, absurd and unreasonable."

"Mercenaries are the lowest profession, and there are the most despicable people among mercenaries. Noble qualities here are like cops who don't collude with gangs in lower-level police stations—it's not that they don't exist, but they are so few and far between it's negligible."

"The only thing mercenaries value is money—electronic debit cards, bank checks, cash, silver coins... As long as it's money, we like it. Getting the most return for the least money is the truth we follow."

"Under the ironclad rule of 'money-based,' mercenaries have no professional ethics. Running away in a battle and stabbing in the back are the most common things in this group."

"Is it that exaggerated..."

Seeing Jack mercilessly belittle his profession, Yun You couldn't help but be a little surprised.

"But the reviews I saw on the website were pretty good... Everyone seemed to think well of the mercenaries..."

"Since you went to the mercenary portal, can the reviews not be favorable?"

Jack laughed softly and said, "Data can be faked, comments can be deleted. It only lets you see what it wants you to see."

This, Yun You believed.

Manipulating information, distorting facts, reversing black and white—the internet companies in Nest City are totally capable of such deeds.

"But Jack, with you disparaging mercenaries like that, aren't you afraid I'll change my mind and 'fire' you, this veteran mercenary?"

Jack calmly shook his head.

"No, because I'm different from ordinary mercenaries. I'm a man of principles."

"As long as the money you offer outweighs the risk and is ample enough, I will give you my all. I will be loyal to you, just like the knights who died for their lords in ancient times."

"Life is greater than money, loyalty is greater than life. This is the motto of the Carlos Clan, and no Carlos would ever defy it."

With that, Jack downed his cocktail in one go, not forgetting to draw a cross over his chest, his expression quite solemn.

Recalling Jack's previous act of giving money to the elderly, Yun You thought that this guy wasn't inherently bad. At least in this stinking Nest City, he was one of the relatively "clean" ones.

Thus, the girl didn't dwell too much on this issue, choosing to believe it lightly.

"Given this, then why did you suddenly take on my task?"

Yun You swirled her Sprite, looking straight into Jack's eyes and asked, "Before you took the job, I met with a total of 446 mercenaries, 346 online and 100 offline."

"They came with confidence, but after seeing the task details, not one chose to accept it; they ran away like avoiding the plague... From this, I see that my task is probably not an easy job."

"So I'd like to know, why are you willing to take on this troublesome task?"

"For an opportunity."

Jack filled his glass with ginger beer and gave his answer calmly.

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