Chapter 459: Chapter 308: Nuobai Joins the Team (Part 2)
These people came from various major factions, including Mercenary Corps Leaders, intermediaries, HR officers, and executives.
Their purpose here was simple: to recruit Dongdong into their ranks.
Let’s not forget, Dongdong had fiercely attacked the Hellhound Mansion earlier, severing all ties with the Edge, making her an official "free agent" now.
A free agent capable of operating in overdrive second gear—how sought after she would be in the market, needless to say.
People from all the factions had been waiting in the lobby since early morning, and now they finally saw Dongdong. They all rushed to offer her their advantageous terms.
Under everyone’s expectant gazes, Dongdong fixed her eyes, and waved at someone.
It was the leader of a small Mercenary Corps, newly established, who hadn’t really expected to recruit Dongdong. He just wanted to mingle and get acquainted with the big shots in the industry.
When he saw Dongdong waving at him, his face was full of surprise, and he exclaimed in disbelief, "You... Do you want to join my Mercenary Corps?!"
Dongdong almost rolled her eyes to the back of her head: "I asked you to move, you’re blocking my boss."
When everyone looked back, they realized Su Mo had returned at some point.
Su Mo squeezed through the crowd and came to Dongdong’s side.
He crouched down to lift Dongdong up, letting her sit on his shoulders.
Then he turned to look at everyone.
"What are you looking at? Never seen my invincible and adorable Dongzai before?"
After saying that, under everyone’s eager eyes, he carried Dongdong swaggering into the elevator.
Before the elevator door closed, Dongdong made a playful face at everyone.
"Bleh~"
...
After the Fools’ Association incident, the power structure of the Mercenary Realm in New Moon City underwent a massive shift.
Out of the original seven stars of the New Moon, four had fallen. Currently, only "Yao Guang Star" Shangguan Li, "Spirit Star" Chiyoda Shinnai, and "Omen Star" Su Mo remained.
Setting aside the first two for now, the Edge Mercenary Corps has risen from the ashes with unstoppable momentum.
Countless Mercenaries came because of the reputation, and in less than a week, the number of combat Mercenaries of the Edge had expanded to 12,000, officially entering the ranks of large Mercenary Corps, nearly rivalling the Scythe of Death in fame and status.
At the same time, there were also significant internal personnel changes within the Edge.
The Edge Mercenary Corps, due to its unique internal benefits, had much higher loyalty among its members compared to similar sized Mercenary Corps, but the human instinct to seek advantage and avoid danger was inevitable.
During the Fools’ Association incident, the Edge was under immense pressure, and a significant number of Mercenaries left to save themselves.
Especially after Su Mo raised the blood flag and beheaded Lucifer, many Edge Mercenaries were terrified, leaving the group overnight to escape New Moon City and avoid the reckoning of the Hegemony Company.
Originally totaling over 800 members, nearly three-quarters of the Edge left over time.
Yet even in such a catastrophic crisis, some of the original members chose to stay.
Altogether, there were 216 such people who weren’t afraid of retaliation or death, who regarded the Edge as their real home, unmoved by the Hegemony Company’s threats, determined to live and die with the team.
These people can only be described with one word—brothers.
After the Fools’ Association incident, all 216 of these loyal brothers were given a place on the specialized floors above the 80th level, and were included in Su Mo’s secret list.
All these individuals were designated as core members of the Edge, entitled to the same special treatment as Dongdong and others, granted the right to know all team secrets, with Su Mo personally tailoring their development paths in power.
Among those who had left, some felt ashamed and didn’t want to come back, opting to seek new paths elsewhere.
However, some had thicker skin and reconnected with Su Mo, expressing remorse and wishing to return to the Edge.
For those wanting to return, Su Mo didn’t give them a hard time and accepted them back.
In the Mercenary profession, interests come first, and seeking advantage and avoiding disadvantage is human nature.
There are not many truly faithful people in this world, and self-preservation in the face of disaster is the choice of most.
As long as they can still be useful to the team, there’s no need to be too harsh.
However, while bringing these people back, Su Mo also drew a line in his heart.
These people could only be "members." For all the work they did, he would repay them correspondingly, never shortchanging them.
But they would never be further trusted.
...
This fire-tested trial not only led to an unprecedented expansion for the team, but also held significant meaning for Su Mo personally.
Currently, the 80th-floor entertainment room of the Edge Mansion had been set up for the party, festooned with decorations, and filled with food and drinks.
While everyone played on their phones waiting, Dongdong walked in from outside, with her baseball bat still stained with blood that hadn’t been wiped clean.
Su Mo asked in confusion, "Dong, where did you just go?"
Dongdong: "Went to that TV station on Shuiyun Road."
Su Mo was even more puzzled, "What did you go there for?"
Dongdong swung a baseball bat and snorted coldly, "Earlier, when you took Sister Bai to find shelter, those people mocked us on a talk show. They liked to laugh, so I knocked out all their front teeth."
Su Mo: "...When it comes to holding grudges, I only admire Dongzai."
At this moment, Chu Nanyi walked in from outside with his hands in his pockets, "Leader, the person has been picked up."
The first to enter was Audiana. She looked at the table full of delicious food and teased, "Luckily, I skipped lunch today. If I eat all this, I’m afraid I’ll gain several pounds."
Su Mo greeted her with a smile, "Knowing Lady Countess values figure management, everything marked with a little red tag is low-calorie. Eat to your heart’s content."
The two shook hands, and Audiana naturally put her arm around Su Mo’s shoulder, whispering softly in his ear, "You won beautifully, didn’t let me down."
Su Mo looked at her sincerely and nodded humbly.
After Audiana, Sikinkov walked in.
Perhaps the previous incident of being forced to set up Su Mo made him feel awkward. He looked around hesitantly, appearing somewhat embarrassed.
Su Mo saw this and laughed, "What’s wrong? Standing there silently, you’re making me feel embarrassed."
Sikinkov hesitated for a moment, then stepped forward and said, "Bro, why don’t you just slap me back now, otherwise I can’t get over it."
Su Mo chuckled, "Do you really want me to slap you? I was joking back then, brother."
Sikinkov reached out and pulled him over, "Come on, hurry up, I need to get this off my chest."
Su Mo: "Alright then, close your eyes and clench your teeth. It’s going to hurt a lot."
Sikinkov clenched his teeth and closed his eyes, his face wrinkling in anticipation of the impending blow.
Suddenly, he felt something wet touch his face.
He opened his eyes to see a black Labrador being held by Su Mo, enthusiastically licking his face.
Sikinkov quickly jumped aside, pulled out a tissue from the table, and started wiping his face while laughing and cursing, "Suka Bulie! Are you crazy or something, covered my face with slobber!"
Su Mo burst out laughing while holding the wagging Pipi, "Isn’t this way more fun than a slap?"
Sikinkov jokingly said, "I’m telling you, this counts as attacking an officer, and not just any officer—the chief. I’ll have you detained for three to five days."
Su Mo laughed heartily, put Pipi down, and walked up to Sikinkov with open arms, "Good brother."
Sikinkov gave a knowing smile and embraced him in a big bear hug.
"Tap, tap, tap..." Finally, familiar, light footsteps were heard approaching from outside the door.
Su Mo was stirred and turned to look.
A figure in white walked in, smiling brightly at him.
Over the past few days, Nuobai had recovered from her injuries at the hideout provided by Audiana.
Additionally, with the dark web bounty secretly taken down by Zhao Yiming, the enemies who had been pursuing her had vanished without a trace.
Now she was without the wig or mask she used for disguise in the past.
Those things were things of the past, meaningless now.
For the first time, she appeared with her true face in front of so many peers.
"Nuobai." Su Mo stepped forward to shake hands with Nuobai, looking into her eyes and softly asking, "About what I asked Lady Countess to relay before, have you given it any thought?"
The two gazed at each other for a long moment.
Nuobai smiled slightly, nodding firmly at Su Mo.
"Whoa—" Cheers erupted in the recreation room.
"Congratulations on adding a great force to our Edge!"
"Senior, please take care of us in the future!"
"Brother, with Sister Bai joining the Edge, with something this good, shouldn’t you perform a bottle-chugging for everyone’s entertainment?"
"Get lost, if you want to chug, do it yourself. If the boss gets drunk, I’ll be the one foolishly carrying him back to his room again."
Amidst everyone’s cheers, Su Mo’s heart was also filled with joy.
Thinking back to when he first crossed over, from being adversaries to standing side by side, then later parting ways, and finally coming together in this way, it suddenly felt like a lifetime ago.
Su Mo gazed into Nuobai’s smiling eyes and said deeply, "Welcome to this big family, I’ve been waiting for you for so, so long..."
"For the rest of our lives, please take care of us, Nuobai."
