I Level Up Dragons with My Evolution System-Chapter 61: Hire a group for an assassination mission

Miss Mery’s room was not grand. It had a desk and two large sofas with a small table between them. An oil lamp hanging from the ceiling lit up the entire room.

There was nothing else; the decorations were barely visible.

Edward paid little attention to the details or decorations in the room, keeping his focus on the woman in front of him.

"How should I address you?" asked Mery.

"You can call me Caterpillar, Miss Mery," replied Edward.

Mery was surprised by such a nickname. "Um... Well, Mr. Caterpillar. May I ask what I can do for you?"

"As the other lady already told you, I intend to hire some men."

"What is the purpose?" Mery asked.

"To kill someone." Edward leaned forward. "It’s someone rich."

Mery stared back at him. "Assassination missions require specialized people, Mr. Caterpillar."

"Money is not an issue. I can issue half as an advance payment and then the other half. You set the price, since you are the one who manages your boys."

Mery frowned slightly. She didn’t like getting involved in murders of rich people, but...

"Can I know the target’s identity?" she asked. She needed to know first to weigh the pros and cons.

Edward nodded but didn’t answer. He looked at Miss Mery, then scanned the room. He seemed to be looking for something.

’Is he afraid for the security of the information?’ Mery wondered.

"I can promise you that we are a serious company. We do not reveal our clients’ information or their targets," Mery declared.

Edward laughed and, for the first time, decided to show off his skill as a reader of fantasy novels.

"You are mercenaries, Miss Mery. Mercenaries can never be trusted. Right now, you serve a master because he pays you better, but if someone else comes along who offers you more, you won’t hesitate to stab him in the back. Clients will never be safe in an environment like that."

She swallowed her words, unable to say anything. He had hit the nail on the head.

"But even so, I think you are trustworthy." Edward replied, rendering his previous words null and void. "Do you have a pen?"

Although Mery was surprised by his sudden change of heart, she reached for a pen and ink and handed it to him along with a scroll. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

Edward proceeded to write a few things on the parchment and handed it back to her.

"Price is not an issue. Connections aren’t either. I can give you more than they give you if you complete that mission for me."

Mery grabbed the parchment. ’Give me more than they give me? Is he referring to the Merchants?’ She was a little confused by his words...

Her body tensed, and her hands clenched slightly as she read the two lines written on the parchment.

-Targets:

Silas Merchant and his daughter.

She looked up, revealing a slight annoyance in her eyes. "Are you playing with me, young man?" she asked angrily.

Edward laughed. "How would I be playing? My request is genuine." His words carried weight as he slammed several bags containing thousands of Yakins coins on the table. "In total, there are 50,000 Yakins. I can give you that if you wish. But you have to kill them within a week."

Fifty thousand Yakins!

Mery stared open-mouthed at the pile of coins on the table... Even Lander was stunned. He had never seen such a large amount of money in one place.

’Is this the wealth of a 3-star student?’ He was in shock.

But Mery was even worse off...

She runs a powerful organization in the underworld, and this Mery Auction was just a front for everything she has behind it. Even so, it would take her more than 10 years to earn that much money.

In a whole year, her company makes 50,000 to 70,000 gold coins!

And he was giving her 500,000 of those!

’God...’ Her hand trembled with the urge to jump up and grab those bags, but she held back.

She gritted her teeth, mustered her courage, and smiled. "Young Master, taking that out in front of mercenaries is never a good idea. Aren’t you afraid they’ll steal it?"

"I’ve been looking around, sizing up your strength... Honestly, I’m disappointed. Your guards aren’t strong at all, but I guess you save the best for your mercenary squads, right?" Edward laughed and shrugged.

"I’m not giving you this mission because you can’t do it, Miss Mery. It’s because I’m too lazy to do it myself. I have money, and I can buy their deaths, since they’ve crossed a line they shouldn’t have. So I’ll use it."

Mery didn’t respond, still stunned.

"Well? Is it a deal?"

Mery frowned. "You must know that we belong to the Merchant Tower, Mr. Caterpillar." She acted respectfully again.

"I know."

"If you want us to kill our leaders... we could be in serious internal trouble."

"But you’re tempted to do it," Edward guessed.

She laughed mockingly at herself. "I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t. But can you let me think about it? I’ll give you a clear answer in two days."

Edward then stood up and put away all the bags of money. "You can send your reply to the Goodnight Inn, on Middle Street, Room 13," he replied.

Mery stood up behind him. "Very well. Let me walk you out..."

"That won’t be necessary. Go about your business, Miss Mery. We’ll see each other soon." Edward left the office, said goodbye to the other lady, and then left the building.

When they were both far enough away, Lander couldn’t help but speak up.

"Edward, you know... outsourcing temporary groups to carry out this mission for us would never cost that much money. Why...?" He couldn’t finish what he wanted to say.

"Don’t worry, I don’t intend to pay them that amount either. I’m not crazy," Edward scoffed.

"Then..." Lander looked at him, confused.

"It’s just bait, Lander. We’ll see if they take it. The chances of them taking it are pretty high, so I think things will go well." He replied and looked at him. "By the way, I need you to go to the Goodnight Inn and rent room 13. It doesn’t matter if someone is already there; tell the innkeeper that you’re willing to pay to rent that room exclusively."

Lander was still confused. His mind tried to connect the dots, tried to get to the bottom of it... But it short-circuited.

"I don’t understand what you’re doing." He shook his head with a sigh. "But I’ll trust you. Where are you going?"

"I have to meet up with Arnold and Aurora. Come to me when you’re done."

"All right, I’ll see you later."