Chapter 289 Interstellar Journey Exposes Identity
As soon as the herd of beasts appeared in their sight, they pounced on them without saying a word.
Almost simultaneously, the Red Maple Mercenary Group also launched an attack.
They encountered a group of level-three mutated rats, each the size of a normal wolf. They weren't particularly strong, but their sheer number made it a time-consuming process.
The mercenaries used either supernatural abilities or energy guns to wipe out the entire rat horde without much effort or injury.
During the battle, the mercenaries displayed amazing teamwork.
Despite not being particularly strong, his rich combat experience and excellent teamwork with his companions allowed him to maintain a high level of control throughout the entire battle. The fight was quite exciting and efficient, providing a feast for the eyes of many viewers in the live stream who were unfamiliar with such situations.
In particular, one of the level four strength-type ability users grabbed a mutated rat with his bare hands and then pulled it apart with both hands, tearing the mutated beast apart with his bare hands.
His wild and testosterone-fueled demeanor drew screams from many infatuated viewers.
[So spicy! Slurp! This is a real man!]
Wow, that's amazing! I thought a C-rank mercenary group would be weak, but they performed unexpectedly well, leaving the streamer no chance to salvage the situation.
"It's only a level three beast. Any mercenary with a bit of strength could handle it. It would be shameful if you couldn't even handle this."
[Who gave you the illusion that C-rank mercenary groups are weak? Captain Fein is at least a high-level ability user; his strength is considerable. C-rank groups are only mid-tier on this mercenary planet; the truly weak ones are F-rank and E-rank groups.]
On another note, doesn't the streamer, as an eighth-level ability user, feel embarrassed to need protection from lower-level ability users?
Lu Xuan raised an eyebrow. Why should I feel embarrassed?
He said unhurriedly, "I paid money, so naturally they should provide corresponding labor."
[Isn't posting a task to hire someone just an excuse? Do you really have to pay them?]
Lu Xuan: "Otherwise what? Do I look like someone who tries to get something for nothing?"
The Red Maple Mercenary Group spent a lot of time and effort to bring him here and completed the mission diligently, but he just used him and then threw him away, refusing to even pay the reward.
He's not that tasteless.
After the battle, the mercenaries skillfully stored their prey in their spatial rings and quickly moved to a new location to avoid attracting more mutated beasts with the smell of blood, making it difficult to escape.
The mutated plants and animals on the outskirts of the forest are generally not too dangerous, mainly consisting of small mutated beasts such as mutated pikas, rabbits, and foxes.
Most mutated plants are the type that do not actively attack; at most, they may emit hallucinogenic or toxic substances.
As long as precautions are taken in advance, they won't amount to much.
The group killed off any mutated beasts they encountered along the way. They could then sell the meat to people on Mercenary Star who specialized in buying nutrient raw materials, earning some extra money in the process.
The mutated forest is incredibly large; it might take months of hiking to explore it completely.
Less than an hour after setting off, Finn retrieved a special alien detection device for the interior of the planet.
This device can detect unusual energy fluctuations within a radius of several kilometers.
Working in conjunction with a scout mercenary who possesses enhanced hearing and beast-skill abilities can provide early warnings of potential troubles.
After confirming that no advanced mutated creatures that shouldn't be there had appeared in the vicinity, the mercenaries took out the hoverboards they had prepared in advance.
Compared to the relatively bulky motorcycle, the skateboard is obviously more agile.
After confirming that Lu Xuan had experience operating hoverboards, Fein and his group decisively changed their mode of travel.
More than twenty mercenaries sped through the dense, mutated forest on hoverboards.
Occasionally, they would encounter flying mutant beasts or vine-like mutant plants along the way. Everyone was very skilled at dodging by sidestepping or flipping over, avoiding them whenever possible.
Only when there is absolutely no way to avoid it will they fight a quick battle and then continue on their way.
Just in case, the mech pilots in the team also started operating two mechs, ready to help the others escape should they encounter mutated creatures that the others couldn't handle.
Fortunately, by nightfall, everyone had found a place to stay for the night without any incidents or dangers.
Inside the temporary camp.
Fein took out a box of nutrients to prepare for tonight's dinner, and turned to Lu Xuan and said, "Today went relatively smoothly. At this rate, we should encounter some level 5 mutated creatures in three days at most."
Lu Xuan hummed in agreement, his fingertips brushing against the physical spatial ring as he retrieved a batch of mutated food.
Several buckets of steaming hot mutated rice, sausages made from mutated meat, large clusters of mutated meat mushrooms, as well as a considerable amount of mutated ...
Lu Xuan said, "Use these for dinner."
The mercenaries who were on guard nearby stared in shock.
"Natural foods?! So many?"
"Wow, how many star coins is this worth!"
Finn was also taken aback by Lu Xuan's generosity, but considering that the other party was a high-level wood-type ability user, and his main job might be to cultivate mutated food on some agricultural planet, he didn't find it too surprising.
Wood-type ability users who serve the government already have priority in purchasing natural food. Since their employer can spend millions of star coins to contract mutated plants, he is naturally not short of money, nor is he short of natural food.
Fein automatically interpreted Lu Xuan's possession of a large amount of natural food, and at the same time, he was quite moved.
Before Lu Xuan's sudden emergence, everyone in the Star Alliance thought that wood-type ability users had no combat power, and even the wood-type ability users themselves thought so.
But sometimes he would think that if his superpower was wood-based, it wouldn't be so bad to not have combat abilities.
He became a mercenary, leading his brothers through wind and fire. Did he really enjoy this life of licking blood from the edge of a knife?
It's because they don't have any other safer way to earn large amounts of Starcoins.
I couldn't stand the constraints of joining the army;
Being a bodyguard means having to read people's faces, and if you encounter a bad-tempered employer, you might even get beaten up and mistreated. The money you earn is really pathetic.
Those who become space pirates are hated like rats in the street, and most of them do not have a good end.
In comparison, mercenaries become the best choice.
But if you're a wood-type ability user, you're directly backed by the government, with plenty of money, little work, and lots of delicious food—how great is that?
While inwardly sighing, Fein said, "I can't accept this."
Lu Xuan watched as Fein apologized, but quickly took the things from him, and said with a smile, "It doesn't matter, I don't need these things, and I don't want to deprive myself of them."
The other mercenaries around him were also swallowing hard, their eyes gleaming with envy as they looked at Lu Xuan.
[The streamer has brought out so much food, how can they still not guess the real identity code?]
Judging from their expressions, I bet they've got the wrong idea.
[The streamer gave away too much in the past few years through giveaways. In the last two years, the Star Alliance's natural food production has indeed increased significantly. Even ordinary people can eat like this several times a month. The streamer is pretending to be a wood-type ability user, and wood-type ability users are known to be wealthy, so they certainly don't lack natural food. It's not surprising that this is unexpected.]
[I'm also a wood-type ability user, so it's true that it's not difficult for me to eat natural food normally, but asking me to give away so much to others is ridiculous!]
[Jealous of these mercenaries who can take advantage of the streamer!]
[Forget it, let's not think too much about it. Let's just wait for the delicious food. Ever since the streamer has been taking breaks so often, I haven't been able to enjoy much good food. I'm definitely going to have a big meal today!]
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The mercenaries were eager to get started when they saw so much food, and Finn called over the one in the group who had the best earnings to help with the preparation.
Others not responsible for guard duty also came over to help cut meat and mushrooms, and wash vegetables.
Besides stewing beef with tomatoes, the rest of the meats are skewered and grilled with sliced mushrooms. Vegetables are stir-fried, cucumbers are served as a cold salad to cut through the richness, and beef bones are split in half and grilled to extract the marrow.
After baking, sprinkle with chopped green onions and minced garlic; the taste is absolutely amazing.
Both the viewers in the live stream and the mercenaries ate without looking up, their mouths glistening with oil, and every now and then they would exclaim, "Damn, this smells so good!"
Lu Xuan had originally brought out some drinks, but Fein was quite rational and refused, fearing it would delay things.
Lu Xuan did not put the wine away.
"We can drink it at the victory celebration banquet after the mission is completed."
Mercenaries are bound to have a fondness for alcohol, especially since it's not synthetic liquor, but pure grain liquor.
Finn was reluctant to refuse, and under the eager gazes of his other brothers, he readily put away the wine.
The drinks served during the meal were changed from alcoholic beverages to chilled honey lemonade, also provided by Lu Xuan.
It's not so sweet that a group of grown men can't handle it, and it can also cut through the greasiness like a cold dish. After a few bites of meat, you can take a big gulp, which is just as good as drinking alcohol.
The food, weighing a total of seventy or eighty pounds, was devoured by the mercenaries in less than twenty minutes.
Finally, Lu Xuan also brought out a lot of fruit for them as a snack after the meal.
Of course, they were all ordinary fruits, not mutated fruits.
Even so, it was enough to make the mercenaries appreciate their employer's generosity once again.
Someone couldn't help but sigh, "This is the first time we've eaten so well on a mission."
The others nodded in agreement.
This meal alone, without exaggeration, is conservatively estimated to be worth hundreds of thousands of Star Coins.
Is this food?
It's all Star Coins!
After enjoying the delicious food, the viewers in the live stream kept an eye on the Red Maple Mercenary Group's reaction, wondering if they would have any inappropriate thoughts like the mercenaries Lu Xuan encountered during his seven-day trip to Sorenson.
However, upon observation, it was found that although these people had eaten a lot of Lu Xuan's food and their faces showed that they were still not satisfied, their expressions were very calm, and they obviously did not intend to engage in any double-crossing tactics.
Those who know the Red Maple Mercenary Group, or former employers who have used their services, have come forward to tell others that while the mercenary group isn't the strongest, it has a good reputation, a high mission completion rate, and there have never been any rumors of double-crossing.
In fact, mercenaries who genuinely seek long-term development don't easily resort to double-crossing.
Unless the profits are so great that one big score can guarantee a lifetime of comfort, one could easily ruin oneself or have to abandon all past businesses and live a life of wandering with a different name and no fixed abode, which would be a losing proposition.
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Perhaps because they felt obligated to help, or perhaps because they hoped for another meal, the Red Maple mercenaries were noticeably more motivated the next day, and their attitude towards Lu Xuan was more attentive and considerate, even to the point of being obsequious.
Occasionally, when he gets off the hoverboard and walks, he'll say a couple of things like, "Boss, watch your step!" or "Be careful not to fall!" Anyone who didn't know better would think Lu Xuan was incredibly frail.
Many viewers in the live stream were laughing out loud, while the other Mercenary Star members looked on with disbelief and wished they could take their place.
They must have made Lu Xuan feel even more at home than the people from Hongfeng!
They treat him like an ancestor!
As long as Lu Xuan can trade them some good things.
Over the next two days, the group still encountered occasional attacks from mutated creatures, but overall they were not a threat.
During this time, they also encountered other mercenaries doing missions in Sorenson from afar. After exchanging a brief greeting, they tacitly turned in different directions.
Everyone is here to make money, and there's no need to create conflict and waste time and energy if there are no personal grudges.
Besides the living, they also encountered the dead, who were corpses that had been eaten to pieces by mutated beasts, leaving only scattered remains.
When they were accidentally caught on camera during the live stream, it startled some viewers.
Captain Fein, worried that Lu Xuan had never seen such a scene before, took the initiative to say, "Sorenson Planet is highly dangerous. Every year, countless people who come here for various purposes perish there. There's nothing surprising about it. If you dare to come to a place like this, you have to bear the possibility of losing your life."
The mercenaries, who were so enthusiastic in front of Lu Xuan, displayed astonishing indifference when faced with unfamiliar, dismembered corpses.
I felt neither sympathy nor did I consider helping to collect or bury the body.
They're already dead; their fate is to remain here and become nourishment for the mutated forest.
Who knows, one day they might become one of them themselves. Mercenaries are a dangerous profession; you'll get used to it.
The audience listened with sighs of regret.
Some of the young people who were eager to register as mercenaries and go on adventures after watching their battle scenes quickly calmed down as if they had been doused with a bucket of cold water.
On the afternoon of the third day after entering the mutated forest.
The mercenary group began to discover some decent mutated plants, including a few level 5 plants.
Plants of level five or higher pose a significant threat to them, meaning that they can only attempt to harm plants if they cannot easily leave their growing area.
Nevertheless, Fein still dared not approach Lu Xuan easily, but instead asked for his opinion from a distance of several hundred meters.
"Boss, would you like that level 5 mutated lantern grass over there?"
Lu Xuan shook his head, "The level is too low."
Finn: "?"
Aren't you level 5? You still think mutated plants of the same level are too low?
Fein asked suspiciously, "So what do you mean? Do you mean a level six alien plant?"
"If we continue to go further in, it might be dangerous for our mercenary group, and we might not be able to escape unscathed."
Lu Xuan said, "If you don't want to go in, I can go by myself."
Finn: "..."
How are their tasks calculated?
Having come this far, are we really going to give up?
His gaze swept over the other members of the group, whose expressions were clearly conflicted as well.
After a moment, unwilling to give up the high reward, the brothers spoke up one after another: "Boss, why don't we try to go further in?"
"If all else fails, we can retreat when we encounter danger we can't handle. Can't we just run away if we can't win?"
Seeing that everyone shared this view, Fein gritted his teeth and said, "Then let's go in!"
This time, however, the situation was even more severe than on the outside, so Finn ordered all the mech pilots to start operating their mechs.
There are a total of 8 big machines, which look much more intimidating than just two.
Then, not long after crossing the boundary between the outer and central regions, a level six mutated vine suddenly sprang out from all directions, binding them all tightly to the tree trunk, which was more than ten meters high, before the mechs could react.
"!"
Finn's expression changed drastically, and he quickly gathered his supernatural power to attack the thick vines.
Fire-type abilities do indeed counter mutated plants, but there's a full level difference between level five and level six, so the damage from fire attacks is significantly less.
Even if some vines are burned off, the regenerative ability of a level six exotic plant allows it to quickly grow new vines, one after another, continuously and endlessly.
Finn's face turned ashen, and his heart sank. A deep sense of regret welled up inside him.
They shouldn't have come in!
Level 6 is far beyond their capabilities. Money can be earned slowly later, but life is only once.
He didn't hold a grudge against Lu Xuan, the boss, thinking that the other party had overestimated himself and harmed them.
They made the decision themselves, so they must accept the consequences.
He retrieved a powerful rocket launcher from his spatial storage and slung it over his shoulder. Turning back to Lu Xuan, he said, "We can't hold on any longer. We have to retreat, boss—"
Before they could finish speaking, they discovered that Lu Xuan, who should have been under their protection, had disappeared.
He nervously scanned his surroundings before suddenly realizing that the other party had somehow ended up on the trunk of a mutated tree that was extremely close to the main vine of the level six mutated vine.
His expression changed drastically. Just as he was about to shout, he saw an even stronger pressure than a level six vine erupt from Lu Xuan's body.
Immediately afterwards, a giant vine, even thicker than a level six vine, shot out from behind him, instantly tearing the level six vines that were entangled around the mechs to shreds.
Upon seeing that extremely familiar giant vine, which he had seen countless times in a live stream in another dimension and on the StarNet, Finn's pupils contracted.
Thinking of a certain possibility, he couldn't help but gasp.
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Author's Note: Just a heads-up: A top streamer will appear in the next chapter. (Update time is uncertain.)
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Reader "Yan", irrigated with nutrient solution +12 2025-08-26 23:24:28
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