We offered you a summer job, but you went and became a mercenary?

Zhao Jianguo smiled wryly and quickly took out a top-secret document from his briefcase, handing it to Lin Ye with both hands.

"Money is absolutely not a problem!" Zhao Jianguo lowered his voice, his expression becoming extremely solemn. "This situation is very special. Chief Li personally approved it. As long as you are willing to make the trip, you can name your price for the special funds from the national treasury."

Lin Ye only reluctantly accepted the document after hearing "name your price".

Turn to the first page.

The image above is a high-resolution satellite image.

The photo shows a range of snow-covered mountains, but deep within the mountains, an enormous black vortex appears.

The snow around the whirlpool melted completely, revealing large areas of charred rock.

"Where is this?" Lin Ye asked, pointing to the photo.

"Deep in the Kunlun Mountains," Zhao Jianguo said gravely. "Three days ago, satellites detected strong energy fluctuations there. After investigation, it was determined to be the entrance to an ancient secret realm."

"A secret realm?" Lin Ye raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, an ancient secret realm," Zhao Jianguo continued to explain. "It contains extraordinary resources that completely surpass modern understanding, and may even contain cultivation techniques and magical artifacts left over from ancient times."

"The news has leaked."

Zhao Jianguo pointed to several blurry red dots on the edge of the photo.

"The Western powers reacted extremely quickly."

"Although the Divine Punishment Organization lost six S-class soldiers in Jiangcheng, they have joined forces with the Holy Light Knights of Europe and the gene modification camps of North America, and have dispatched a large number of top combatants to jointly seal off the border."

"They are attempting to overstep their bounds and monopolize all the resources within the secret realm."

Zhao Jianguo clenched his fist, and the veins on the back of his hand bulged.

"The leader this time is the Grand Master of the European Holy Light Knights, an SS-level light-elemental ability user. There are also three perfect-level beastmen from the North American gene modification camp."

"Our border garrison and Dragon Group agents are being suppressed to the point of being unable to raise their heads. Three peak-level Transformation Realm masters are seriously injured, and one early-stage Grandmaster was killed on the spot."

"They even erected barbed wire along the border and displayed helmets of our Chinese soldiers as a provocation!"

Zhao Jianguo gritted his teeth, his eyes red-rimmed.

"Conventional heavy firepower is simply ineffective in the extreme terrain of the Kunlun Mountains. Missiles would easily trigger massive avalanches, burying even the entrance to the secret realm."

Zhao Jianguo looked at Lin Ye with hopeful eyes.

"The country urgently needs top-tier combat power to maintain order."

"As long as you step in and send those Western bastards who have overstepped their bounds back, you can name your price!"

Lin Ye looked at the photo on the document, lost in thought.

There's potential in the overtime pay area.

Just as Lin Ye was about to start negotiating the price.

Xia Wanqiu, who had been sitting obediently to the side, suddenly stiffened slightly.

She stared intently at the photo of the black vortex on the document, her face instantly turning pale.

It was as if I had seen some kind of extremely terrifying taboo.

Xia Wanqiu reached out and quietly tugged at Lin Ye's sleeve under the table.

Lin Ye turned his head away.

Xia Wanqiu's face was slightly pale. She leaned closer and lowered her voice.

"Lin Ye, I recognize the place in this photo." Xia Wanqiu stared intently at the satellite image.

"You know them? Your relatives live in Kunlun Mountain?" Lin Ye replied casually.

Xia Wanqiu took a deep breath and lowered her voice even further, making sure that only the two of them could hear her.

"No. This black vortex totem was drawn in a fragment of an ancient book passed down in my Xia family." Xia Wanqiu's tone was extremely certain. "The ancient book says that this is a large secret realm from ancient times. Those people from the West were definitely after the extraordinary inheritance inside, but they don't know that the most valuable thing inside is not actually the inheritance."

She paused for a moment, observed Lin Ye's expression, and then dropped a bombshell.

"It's filled with rare and precious herbs of extremely high age. Ancient records state that the secret realm is closed year-round, with abundant spiritual energy. You can easily sell a wild ginseng or purple lingzhi mushroom of a certain age for an astronomical price on the black market. Many herbs that have become extinct in the secular world grow in large patches inside."

Upon hearing the words "sky-high black market price," Lin Ye's sleepy eyes instantly widened to be as big as copper bells.

Even a 200-watt light bulb isn't as bright as his eyes now.

The nerve in my brain called "working people making money" started throbbing wildly.

A long, large area?

That's like having gold bars lying all over the ground waiting to be picked up!

Lin Ye suddenly turned his head and stared straight at Zhao Jianguo.

Zhao Jianguo felt uneasy under Lin Ye's sudden intense gaze and subconsciously took a half step back, wondering if he had said something wrong again and displeased Lin Ye.

"Old Zhao," Lin Ye slammed the top-secret document onto the greasy table, his voice firm and resolute, "I'm taking this job!"

Zhao Jianguo was overjoyed and was about to speak when Lin Ye raised a finger.

"Don't get too excited yet. Overtime is fine, business trips are fine, but we need to settle the accounts first. Even close brothers keep clear accounts, let alone us, who are on a labor dispatch agency."

Lin Ye pulled over a plastic stool and sat down with an air of authority.

"I won't ask for more of the special funding approved by your National Security Bureau. Since it's a business trip to a remote, godforsaken area like the Kunlun Mountains, it's a tough, backwater region. The daily allowance is ten million, including food, lodging, and round-trip travel expenses. Is that alright?"

Zhao Jianguo nodded repeatedly, this was simply too cheap!

Compared to Lin Ye's appearance fees of billions, ten million a day is practically dirt cheap.

"But this is just the basic salary." Lin Ye changed the subject, tapping his fingers on the table, and began to make exorbitant demands, "For any loot obtained from the secret realm, whether it's rare treasures or ancient magical artifacts, I have to take 80% of it."

"The remaining 20% ​​will be my personal income tax payment to the country," Lin Ye added seriously. "I'm a law-abiding citizen, and I pay every penny of my due taxes."

Zhao Jianguo was stunned.

He originally thought Lin Ye would ask for hundreds of billions in cash, or some kind of incredible privilege.

So you only want the resources from the secret realm?

It's important to know that the bottom line set by Chief Li is...

As long as the Western powers can be driven out and the absolute sovereignty and dignity of the Dragon Kingdom on the border can be preserved, the country will not hesitate to give everything in the secret realm to Lin Ye!

At the national level, sovereignty and territorial integrity are paramount.

As for rare and precious materials, those are just icing on the cake.

"Eighty percent?" Zhao Jianguo swallowed hard and asked tentatively.

"What? You think it's too much?" Lin Ye frowned, making a move to push the documents back. "I'm going there to risk my life. That place is full of knights and beastmen; it's a high-risk working environment. I'll be fighting a whole group of them by myself, and I'll also be responsible for carrying bricks and transporting things out. Taking 80% is reasonable, right?"

"No, no, no! We can never have too much!" Zhao Jianguo, afraid Lin Ye would change his mind, grabbed a pen from the table and handed it over. "Eighty percent done! Deal! Chief Li said that as long as you can drive those foreigners out, you can take whatever resources you want! You can even scrape three feet off the secret realm!"

Lin Ye snatched the pen and signed his name in two quick strokes.

He secretly rejoiced, thinking that Old Zhao was still too young and didn't know how valuable rare and precious materials were on the black market.

This is an absolute steal! Once we leave the secret realm, we'll be able to buy several commercial buildings in downtown Jiangcheng and collect rent from them.

After signing the document, Lin Ye turned to look at Xia Wanqiu beside him.

"You, come with me." Lin Ye pointed at Xia Wanqiu.