When Qin Zheng pushed open the door, Zhu Fugui was already there.
His plump figure, still clad in that worn-out jumpsuit, stood out prominently at the seat near the window.
Qin Zheng walked over, greeted him, and ordered a glass of iced cola from the passing bartender.
"Zheng Ge, aren't you having a drink?"
"Alcohol affects bodily functions and brain responsiveness, so I generally don't drink."
"Wow, professional! But actually, it's no big deal. Just a shot and you're good. Nowadays, anything solvable with medication isn't really a problem."
"Sigh, it's all about money. Spend money on drinks, then spend more on meds... Let's talk about the mission first."
At the mention of the mission, Zhu Fugui immediately became serious. He took a tablet from his backpack, its edges worn, looking no better than Qin Zheng's notebook.
Zhu Fugui spread the tablet on the table, brought up the mission page, and turned it towards Qin Zheng, explaining:
"This is from a small foreign family named Luo. They want to go to YT-117 Mining Planet to conduct some biological research related to Sawtooth Bugs.
They need reliable guides to take them to the mining planet, ensure the safety of the researcher, and assist in killing some Sawtooth Bugs for research."
Qin Zheng swiped through the information on the tablet, frowning slightly, and asked in confusion:
"Then why don't they go through Balin's official mission platform? Since it's their own research, wouldn't it be safer to use the official platform?"
Zhu Fugui looked around, seeing no one paying attention to them, leaned in closer, and whispered:
"Because it's expensive. For such research projects, applying to publish on the official mission platform requires an additional fee to the Balin Legion squad.
Besides that, they also need to pay us mecha mercenaries, and their research results have to be reported to the Balin Group.
Zheng Ge, haven't you noticed?
The missions published by the Balin Mission Center are basically demands from Balin's official or major forces within the Balin Territory.
These missions always have Balin Legion squads accompanying them, so there's hardly any other small forces posting missions there."
A quick look at will leave you more fulfilled.
Qin Zheng recalled the mission center he had just looked at, and it did seem like that?
Previously, he was only an E-rank mercenary, taking on E-rank missions, so he naturally overlooked these issues.
"So, these private missions from small forces are quite common?"
Zhu Fugui nodded his chubby head:
"Yes, very common. Small forces and minor nobles usually post missions through bars or intermediaries.
Mainly because they generally have their own private soldiers, just lacking some like us to do the grunt work or act as guides.
If they post on the Balin Mission Center, although they can hire mecha mercenaries like us, there will definitely be Balin's regular squads too.
The private soldiers of minor nobles and Balin's regular squads will inevitably fight for command, causing chaos. It's better to just hire some mecha mercenaries directly."
Qin Zheng nodded, understanding now. No wonder the mission center only had those routine tasks; he thought there were fewer orders on the mining planet.
Thinking of this, Qin Zheng continued to ask:
"Then what about the mission source? Who guarantees these private missions?"
Zhu Fugui pointed to the bar counter and said:
"This bar provides such mission guarantees. Many minor nobles come here to post missions.
Of course, taking on missions requires some channels, at least recognition from this bar, or an introduction from someone familiar."
As they were chatting, three young people pushed open the bar door and walked in.
They glanced around and quickly spotted Zhu Fugui, heading straight for him.
"Fugui Ge, we're here!"
"Hello, Fugui Ge."
Qin Zheng sipped his iced cola, observing the three in front of him—two boys and a girl, none of them looked over 18.
The two boys were shorter, wearing the same jumpsuit as Zhu Fugui, which appeared a bit loose, with the pants bunched up at the ankles.
The girl, however, was quite tall, about 1.7 meters, wearing a set of gray combat attire. The clothes looked old, but the cuffs and collar were washed very clean.
"Fugui Ge, is this the Bedrock you mentioned?"
Zhu Fugui propped his chubby hand on the table, stood up to make room, and introduced:
"This is Qin Zheng, Zheng Ge, a PS-01 mecha pilot, a real expert. If it weren't for Zheng Ge last time, I might not have made it back."
Saying this, Zhu Fugui pointed to the other three kids:
"Ruan Chen, Ruan Xiao, they're brothers, co-piloting the Combat Engineer Mk II, and this is Huang Xiaorui, piloting the Wildcat Mk I.
With the five of us forming a team, we meet the requirements to take on the mission."
Qin Zheng nodded, shifting over to make room for Zhu Fugui.
Although he felt the three teammates were a bit young, Zhu Fugui's words "can be trusted" moved him.
In this era, the most important thing when doing missions together is "trustworthiness," which is far more crucial than individual ability.
Especially in the desolate areas of the mining planet, the trust between mecha pilots not only determines the success of the mission but also concerns everyone's safety.
Seeing Qin Zheng had no objections, Zhu Fugui breathed a sigh of relief, laughed heartily, and said:
"Now that everyone's here, let me talk about the mission. It's a D3 Rank difficulty, with a commission of 20,000 Star Coins from the Battleaxe Bar.
They take a 20% cut, so we get 16,000 Star Coins, split evenly among the four mechas, 4,000 per mecha.
According to the rules, others give 1% to the person who took the mission, so you each get 3,840, while Zheng Ge doesn't need to, just take 4,000."
Qin Zheng thought for a moment, then shook his head and said:
"Since it's the rule, I should follow it. That way, when I take on a mission someday, I'll calculate it the same way with you."
The three youngsters exchanged glances but said nothing.
Zhu Fugui's eyes lit up, rubbing his chubby hands together:
"Zheng Ge is righteous. Alright, so each of you gets 3,840 Star Coins per mecha. The mission should take the whole day tomorrow.
If you all have no issues, let's meet at 8 AM tomorrow, directly piloting the mechas to gather at K-0517 Dock in the spaceport."
Qin Zheng was taken aback and asked:
"For this kind of mission, doesn't the client need to meet us in advance?"
Zhu Fugui waved his hand and said:
"Normally, if the client requests, the bar will arrange a meeting in advance.
But for this mission, the client only needs guides. They have enough armed forces themselves, so they didn't request a meeting."
Qin Zheng nodded. Although it sounded reasonable, when the client sees their lineup tomorrow...
Three kids and a one-armed PS-01, he wondered what their reaction would be.