I really can't control myself.

Chapter 4087 The Truth

Chapter 4087 The Truth

Shimizu Ritsu's question also made Shimizu Mai feel uneasy. Since Shimizu Ritsu asked this question, the person who assigned the task to her brother was clearly a rather troublesome person.

The reason why Shimizu Mai said so easily that she was giving up on the mission was mainly because she and her brother had done something similar before.

After all, they are mercenaries, a profession that relies on reputation. The idea of ​​100% mission completion is pure nonsense. Unless it's a newly established mercenary group, how could they possibly achieve 100% completion? Unexpected events are quite normal.

If a real problem arises, on the one hand, you should see if you can salvage the situation. For example, if you tried to kill someone but failed, alerting the enemy, they'll definitely be more cautious. But if you add more people or replace them with a more skilled one, you can still kill them—that's a way to make amends. After making amends, you'll also have to apologize to the person involved.

Some cases are simply impossible to rectify. For example, if you try to silence a witness but fail the first time and the witness arrives safely at court and speaks, then even killing the witness won't make up for it. In such cases, they will have to seriously pursue compensation.

Therefore, it can't be said that Shimizu Mai suffered no losses at all by abandoning the mission. There were definitely losses, and they would have to discuss it properly with others afterwards, which might even damage the reputation of their mercenary group.

Shimizu Mai had clearly thought about these things; if it were a normal loss, she would have already planned how to compensate for it.

However, the brother's current behavior is clearly not normal. If the mission fails, it seems that the employer will not let him off the hook, which is not an unprecedented situation.

Yes, after being a mercenary for a long time, you'll encounter all sorts of situations. If you really do run into such a situation, there's only one solution left. And this solution is, of course, quite damaging to your reputation. Generally, it's not used unless you can resolve the situation cleanly; otherwise, even the mercenary group will come after you.

"Who commissioned this task?" Shimizu Mai asked, a hint of realization in her voice. Unfortunately, she still hadn't grasped the gravity of the situation.

Of course, the next second her brother told her just how serious the problem was: "The person who commissioned the mission is... the God-Emperor Linton."

"What?" It wasn't just Shimizu Mai who made the sound; Akiyama Shunsuke and Kashin Shohei, who were also listening nearby, couldn't help but exclaim in surprise when they heard the name.

Indeed, even Shimizu Mai, who had only recently arrived in Japan, was very familiar with the name Linton, let alone Akiyama Shunsuke and Kagami Shohei. They had obviously watched Linton's live stream as well.

But how could this be? The one who wants to deal with them is that god-giant Linton? But Linton usually deals with demons, especially something like the Yamata no Orochi. How could this be…?

The three men were momentarily speechless upon hearing this, as the name was truly terrifying. They were all acutely aware of the consequences of becoming Linton's enemy—it would essentially mean certain death.

They had felt somewhat relieved when Shimizu Mai pleaded for her brother. Clearly, these two high school students lacked the confidence to deal with these two professional mercenaries. Just when they thought they were doomed, Shimizu Mai's words offered them a way out.

But now, suddenly hearing Linton's name, their hearts sank. If this were true, it would be far worse than being directly targeted by two mercenaries. Especially He Xinchangping, who had just started thinking about how he could escape from these two mercenaries if the negotiations failed.

He Xinchangping is a smart man; he won't keep putting his life on the choice between these two mercenaries. Even if he has to struggle, he'll struggle for a while.

But now that Linton's name has suddenly been mentioned, how is he supposed to struggle? Even if he escapes these two mercenaries, what about Linton? Will he let them go?

"This...this is impossible. Why would the God-Generation Linton want to deal with us? Is it because of the system?" He Xinchangping quickly asked.

"That's right." Shimizu Ritsu didn't try to hide anything and admitted it directly. She was probably explaining this mainly to her younger sister and didn't want any misunderstandings between the siblings.

"So, my investigation revealed that the system holders are either dead or missing, which is also due to the existence of the God-Generation Linton?" Shimizu Mai followed up with a question.

“Yes, actually, you should know that I also have a system,” Shimizu Ritsu said. “Not long ago, I went to make contact, but I was actually captured by Linton and his men, which is why I couldn’t contact you. Now I haven’t exactly escaped safely; I’ve agreed to some of their demands.”

"You agreed to help them capture other system holders?" He Xinchangping asked immediately.

“It wasn’t an arrest,” Shimizu Ritsu shook her head. “They captured me before only to study the system on my body, in order to create a detection machine that could pinpoint the exact location of the system holder, even down to who it is. Now it seems that the research on this machine has been quite successful. You must have just gotten the system not long ago, right? Probably… a day? Anyway, your information has been thoroughly investigated, and your location is constantly being updated and is always showing up on my end.”

Shimizu Ritsu's words chilled He Xinchangping to the bone. Because Shimizu Ritsu's words conveyed two meanings, both of which were bad news.

One possibility is that the other side possesses a machine capable of accurately detecting them, and the second is... the machine has already been developed, so there's no need to continue seeking cooperation in its research. Therefore, the only outcome awaiting these newly discovered system holders is to eliminate them all.

Meanwhile, Shimizu Mai overheard another layer of meaning: if the machine could pinpoint the exact locations of Akiyama Shunsuke and Kashinobu Shohei, it could also pinpoint the precise location of her brother, the system's owner. In other words, even if she tried to persuade her brother to abandon the mission and run away with her, it wouldn't work, because the machine could find them just as easily.

At this moment, Shimizu Mai's expression began to change rapidly. She had clearly understood what her brother was trying to say.

Although Akiyama Shunsuke and Kanobu Shohei had indeed done her a favor, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say they saved her life. She had genuinely wanted to let them go, and might even have asked her brother to help them escape.

However, if this matter involves her brother's life, then everything is different. She would never joke about her brother's life, and how could Akiyama Shunsuke and Kanobu Shohei be more important than her brother's life?

Of course, He Xinchangping clearly saw the changes in Shimizu Mai's expression.