Ziye had the little sprout run a scan over the robot, ensuring it held no means to interfere or leak information, then asked, "Why is no one coming out?"

The robot replied, "You choose first."

Ziye and Lingyin exchanged a look.

Lingyin’s eyes asked, "Are you sure about this?"

Ziye countered, "Do we have a better option?"

Lingyin was silent for a long moment, then pointed at the light screen. "Choose."

Ziye glanced at the screen. Items like assassination, blocking entrances, damaging vessels, escort, and revenge were all listed in chilling, sharp script, as if hoarding a latent killing intent, resembling bright, drawn blades right before her eyes—yet, upon closer inspection, they were just a few words.

Composing herself, she selected the "Extortion" option.

The extortion interface opened, and a man was teleported into the room. He nodded slightly. "My name is Buyan. It is an honor to offer services to you two ladies."

The two parties verified details based on the email information the little sprout had received. Once verification was complete, Buyan opened the extortionist price list on the light screen and pushed it toward Ziye and Lingyin.

It listed prices ranging from ordinary citizens to Legion Commanders. Ordinary people started at one hundred thousand, while Legion Commanders began at ten billion—the disparity in price was astonishing.

Lingyin pointed to the section for political family members on the screen and whispered, "This one?" That category started at ten million, considerably more expensive.

Ziye shook her head slightly and pointed to the Student section below. "This one."

Students started at five hundred thousand.

Apparently, students were quite valuable after all.

Lingyin nodded. "Yes, students."

Buyan smiled faintly. "The price list is merely a reference. The exact cost depends on the identity of the person being kidnapped. There are many kinds of students too—ordinary students and important students. Take Madam Ziye, who has become quite famous recently; she is also a student, but her price exceeds ten billion, more expensive than many Legion Commanders."

Lingyin: "..."

Ziye: "..."

Buyan picked up the light screen, opened another interface, and pushed it back to the two of them. "Please input the information of the person you wish to extort. The more detailed, the better."

Lingyin was more familiar with this aspect, so Ziye decisively pushed the screen toward her. Lingyin filled in the information, and also included the coordinates Bobo had reported. After finishing, she asked, "The extortion we require is kidnapping for ransom, but the target's life must not be harmed. Is that acceptable?"

Buyan nodded. "It is acceptable."

Lingyin wrote this condition down as well and clicked confirm.

All the text on the screen instantly vanished, replaced by a single large line: This person’s price is: 100,000,000.00.

Both women were stunned. Did it really have to be this expensive?!

Ziye winced with pain. "Can it be cheaper?"

Buyan shook his head. "I apologize. This is confirmed by the system. I do not have the authority to know who you are extorting, so I cannot offer discounts or anything else."

Ziye and Lingyin exchanged another look.

Could Bobo afford this money?

If he couldn't, the two of them would have to cover it. If the money wasn't paid, angering the Teutonic Mercenary Corps would have severe consequences.

Ziye suddenly felt a bit of regret about hiring the mercenary corps for help.

However, thinking about it from another angle, they were the only viable option.

For one, she could not afford a situation where her own legion suffered losses. Secondly, going to Tama to find pirates would take more time. Their asking price might be lower, but they lacked credibility; if they decided to just kill the hostage, Bobo would certainly die.

One hundred million it is. Bobo was, after all, the only son of the Interstellar Federation Commander. He surely could come up with the funds. Even if he couldn't, his father was there to back him up.

Once Ziye realized this, the price didn't seem quite so exorbitant anymore.

Lingyin was nearly paralyzed with fright, but in front of Buyan, it was inconvenient for her to whisper with Ziye, so she anxiously pinched her arm.

Buyan noticed their hesitation, brought the light screen closer, and tapped the small line of text in the lower corner: "Request Discount."

Although they didn't know the identity of the target, they could request a discount from the system. Seeing the two young women seemed unable to come up with that much money, Buyan reluctantly decided to help a little.

After the request was sent, the system displayed the words: "Please wait..."

Lingyin opened the Hyper-Com terminal and secretly typed a line on the screen: "Is this really okay? It feels very dangerous."

Just as Ziye was about to speak, she noticed a flicker of astonishment on Buyan’s face. He shook the light screen vigorously. "No way, it's broken?"

She leaned closer and couldn't help but widen her eyes. The price on the light screen had lost a zero!

This was supernatural.

Buyan’s expression became slightly awkward. "Apologies, my optical computer seems to have malfunctioned. Please wait a moment; I will switch to another optical computer."

Ziye: "..."

Lingyin: "..."

Comms could not be used within the Pilot Training Base. Buyan contacted a colleague using the base's standard communication system. A moment later, a tall man entered and nodded to the two women. "My name is Buyu. It is an honor to meet you two ladies." He then turned to Buyan. "A message came from above—it's not a system malfunction. The two ladies are honored VIPs of the Mercenary Corps, and the Corps is willing to offer the most preferential pricing."

Buyan was slightly startled, checked the communication, and then returned to his calm, smiling demeanor. "This is the absolute lowest price our Mercenary Corps can offer."

Ziye, however, became uneasy.

The difference in price was too great.

Buyan and Buyu confidently guaranteed they would complete the mission.

Before deploying, thirty percent of the deposit must be paid upfront, with the remaining seventy percent due upon completion.

Ziye stated, "I will pay the deposit first. After you kidnap him and extort ten million, keep seven million, and then refund the deposit to me."

Buyan smiled faintly, made a note in the system, both parties signed, performed thumbprint scans, and retinal scans to confirm the contract.

After leaving the Pilot Training Base, Ziye was still dazed.

The price change was too dramatic. When did she become an honored VIP of the Mercenary Corps? It was impossible; this was her first interaction with them.

Perhaps Lingyin was the honored VIP?

While she was contemplating this, Lingyin was already rushing over to knock on the door. Butler W opened it, and Lingyin burst in impetuously. "Ziye, are you the honored VIP of the Mercenary Corps?"

Ziye looked bewildered. "Aren't you the honored VIP of the Mercenary Corps?"

The two women stared at each other. Lingyin waved her hand dismissively. "Forget it, let's not worry about that. The most important thing now is what we do? Do we just sit here and wait for Bobo to be kidnapped?"

Ziye blinked. "We gave them a three-day window. We don't know when they will act. Do we have to shadow Bobo every day?"

If they really followed Bobo, perhaps before the Mercenary Corps could even make a move, they themselves would be blasted into dust by the Interstellar Federation.

Meanwhile, still at the base, Buyan asked Buyu, "What exactly is going on?"

They were clearly just two ordinary young women, yet they suddenly became honored VIPs—it was too bizarre.

Furthermore, even if they were honored VIPs, the price shouldn't have dropped this drastically.

The most crucial point was that the message had come from the Commander of the Teutonic Mercenary Corps himself.

He had served the Corps for so long, and the Commander had never sent him a message before!

-RS