Mercenary’s War
Chapter 1244: One Thousand Two Hundred Twenty-Seven: Wanted Order

Chapter 1244: Chapter One Thousand Two Hundred Twenty-Seven: Wanted Order

The focus of work must change. The idea of making a fortune has to be postponed. Right now, Satan’s top priority is to deal with the looming threat of Krulney.

After ending the call with Little Donnie, Gao Yang immediately called Frey, telling him to leave America with his family and head to Europe for safety.

The car kept moving. After Gao Yang finished the call with Frey, Jansen spoke worriedly, “Boss, should we pull over to bring Rafael and Eileen back?”

Gao Yang waved his hand and said, “No, stick to the original plan. We’ll carry on as we planned.”

After saying this, Gao Yang dialed Justin. As soon as Justin answered, Gao Yang spoke urgently, “Buddy, I asked you to look for Krulney’s whereabouts. Any progress on your end?”

“Sorry, absolutely no progress.”

Disappointed, Gao Yang said, “You’re working too slowly. Come on, I’m desperate to locate Krulney. Otherwise, I won’t even be able to sleep properly. Can’t you assign more people to track him down?”

Justin chuckled bitterly, “It’s incredibly easy for someone to hide if they want to. I can’t assign people to monitor Krulney constantly; he’s just a minor figure. Buddy, you’re looking for one person, not an organization. The world is massive—do you really think I’m a god who can find someone with the snap of a finger?”

Frustrated, Gao Yang asked, “Is there no way at all to locate Krulney?”

“I’ve already assigned people to trace him through his past network of relationships, but it’s really difficult. Krulney isn’t in a hotspot area, nor is he a prominent figure. Buddy, I can’t promise I’ll find him. I definitely can’t give you a timeline either.”

Feeling helpless, Gao Yang raised his voice, “Alright, keep searching, buddy. Can you post a bounty on my behalf? I want the exact location of Krulney’s hideout. If the information proves valid, I’ll pay one million dollars for it. If someone kills Krulney and provides his corpse, I’ll pay five million dollars. If someone captures him alive, the reward is ten million dollars. This bounty stands indefinitely.”

Justin sighed and said, “You’re sure you want to issue a bounty? And your terms include either killing or capturing Krulney alive? Buddy, if I post this bounty, it’s tantamount to directly declaring war on Krulney! Are you absolutely certain about this?”

Gao Yang replied grimly, “Yes, I’m sure. Buddy, Krulney is already making moves to kill us. I can’t afford to wait—I have to strike first!”

Justin exhaled deeply and said, “Alright. I can issue the bounty on your behalf. If anyone provides verified intel, you’ll need to pay me so I can disburse the money for you. Also, our previous agreement is nullified—you no longer owe me the intelligence fee of ten million dollars. You just need to pay the bounty.”

“Fine, the previous agreement is void. I’ll handle the bounty payments, and you’ll post it for me. How much commission do I owe you for this?”

After a brief silence, Justin said in a low voice, “Commission—ten million dollars. Declaring war on someone like Krulney comes at that price. Once I receive the payment, I’ll issue the bounty immediately. Buddy, may I offer some advice?”

“Go ahead.”

“A bounty of one million is too low. Frankly, I wouldn’t bother helping you locate a runaway for just one million. If that’s all you’re offering, people like me won’t be interested. The bounty won’t be effective. You need the whole world to mobilize for your reward, not scare off the serious players after paying me a hefty commission—for instance, players like me.”

Backed into a corner, Gao Yang had no other choice but to opt for the fastest solution: getting Justin to issue the bounty.

Posting a bounty isn’t as simple as shouting it out—it requires knowing enough people and having a large enough network for it to matter. Satan had improved his connections recently, but ultimately, Satan’s network was still quite limited. Even if Satan issued a bounty, he couldn’t just approach random people, promising them money for finding or taking out Krulney.

To issue a bounty effectively, you need professionals. People like Justin.

Justin had an extensive network and an intelligence web of his own. If he issued a bounty, its details would spread overnight across intelligence circles, mercenary networks, and even the mysterious yet real assassin organizations. That was the power of a high-level intelligence broker.

Bounties require credibility. If some unknown nobody posted a bounty, the scope of its dissemination aside, would anyone really trust that person to deliver on their promise? Issuing a bounty only holds weight when someone with status, economic capacity, and reputation does it.

For intelligence brokers, they don’t issue bounties lightly. They do business with everyone; issuing a bounty to take someone’s life is a definitive declaration of war.

Initially, Gao Yang had hoped Justin would locate Krulney for ten million dollars. But Justin wasn’t guaranteed to see a cent—a failed search would mean immense effort with nothing to show for it. Whereas if Justin issued the bounty, regardless of Krulney’s fate, Gao Yang would have to pay him ten million as commission—and that payment would need to be made upfront.

Ten million sounds like a lot, but for Justin, posting such a bounty for a specific assassination was the bare minimum fee.

It boils down to Krulney being an underestimated figure. If he were someone major, Justin wouldn’t have agreed to act as an intermediary. Take Grand Ivan, for instance. If Justin valued his life, he’d never issue a bounty targeting Grand Ivan—whether it’s for assassination or mere intelligence. The price of even suggesting such hostility would be astronomical.

Similarly, when it comes to mercenary groups like Satan and Angel, infamous for their ferocity and fearlessness, Justin wouldn’t dare target them unless he’d lost his mind—and even that would come at a price tag north of billions.

Acting as an intermediary is no easy job. On one end, you need to protect the identity of the person issuing the bounty. On the other, you’ll directly face the outrage and retaliation of the target. No wonder intermediaries demand high commissions.

Justin’s asking price of ten million dollars showed just how minor a threat he believed Krulney to be. Perhaps, in Justin’s eyes, Krulney was already a dead man.

So, upon hearing Justin’s terms, Gao Yang was somewhat surprised and said, “Ten million dollars? Just ten million? Perfect! I’ll transfer the money to you right away. Post the bounty immediately. By the way, how much should I increase the reward to make it more compelling?”

Since Justin felt the original bounty was too low, Gao Yang decided to increase it without hesitation. Justin was right—mercenaries and assassins alike would be drawn to a five-million-dollar reward for killing Krulney. After all, there were many capable people out there with untapped potential and unfulfilled opportunities. But the one-million-dollar prize for intel alone wouldn’t motivate top-tier intelligence brokers to act.

Justin contemplated for a moment and said, “Ram, if you’re truly in a rush and already spending a fortune, don’t cheap out on the smaller sums. I’d suggest raising the intel reward to three million dollars, setting the kill reward at ten million, and… do you really need Krulney alive?”

Gao Yang thought for a moment and said, “My plan was to capture Krulney alive to clarify everything and eliminate any future troubles. In your opinion, what would be a reasonable bounty for bringing him in alive?”

“Twenty million, at least! Since killing Krulney pays ten million, capturing him alive is exponentially harder—it merits twenty million. But honestly, I don’t see why you’d need him alive. Twenty million dollars is excessive. Killing him alone solves your problem; no one will deliberately come after you posthumously.”

Gao Yang agreed. Once Krulney was dead, there’d be no reason for anyone to target Satan out of sheer spite. Tomler had plenty of followers, but none stepped up after his death to avenge him. Why would Krulney, whose feud with Satan was more about self-preservation than revenge, be any different?

In truth, Krulney was Satan’s revenge target anyway.

Tomler might’ve masterminded the plot against Satan, but Krulney was the executor. Worse, he’d crossed paths with Satan directly. Bruce’s death was partly his doing—therefore, Krulney had to act preemptively to protect himself.

After thinking it over, Gao Yang exhaled and said quietly, “Capturing him alive really isn’t necessary. Fine, no live capture—three million for his hideout, ten million for his head. Done. I’ll transfer the money now. Get the bounty posted.”

Justin chuckled, “Alright, once the funds hit, I’ll issue the bounty. By the way, you’re supposed to pay me ten million dollars as a deposit upfront—to cover situations where someone delivers intel or Krulney’s body and you can’t settle the payout. In that case, I’d pay on your behalf. But since you have a solid reputation, and we’ve worked together so many times, I won’t require a deposit anymore. Just make sure to settle the rewards promptly when the time comes.”

Gao Yang laughed, “No problem. My word is my bond—every cent will be paid. Deal. Goodbye.”

After hanging up, Jansen remarked with amazement, “Wow, one call and ten million’s gone. Plus, it looks like another ten million’s going out soon. Boss, I guess we’ll need to hustle and earn money quickly.”

Gao Yang shrugged nonchalantly and said, “There’s no sense in endlessly guarding. For us, any problem solvable with money isn’t really a problem. We can afford this—and it’s worth it!” (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation or monthly votes. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com for reading.)