75: Chapter 75 Welcome to the Company, This is Your 996 Blessing Contract

"Fifty thousand gold coins! I'll pay fifty thousand!" Marquis Ballet's voice was already hoarse, his fat face covered in streaks of sweat and mud, his small eyes flickering with a mixture of greed and fear.

He no longer cared about any debt agreements; as long as he could survive, everything was negotiable.

This figure instantly silenced the other nobles who were still hesitating.

Fifty thousand gold coins was enough to buy a mansion with a garden in the most prosperous district of the Royal Capital.

To shoulder such heavy debt for a vague chance at survival had exceeded their limits of endurance.

Levi's gentle voice rang out through the Transmission Array at just the right moment: "Fifty thousand gold coins once... fifty thousand gold coins twice... are there any higher bids? This is the ladder to life and hope, everyone."

His words acted as the most precise catalyst, completely igniting the last of Marquis Ballet's logic.

"No more! It's me! Fast! Let my people up!" he screamed frantically, urging the guards beside him to push him toward the rock wall leading to the high-ground shelter.

The few trusted guards around him showed the wild joy of surviving a disaster. They crowded around their bloated master and began to climb upward with all their might, while warily using their weapons to repel any survivors who tried to approach.

Victory seemed within reach.

Echo still stood on that highest rock, like a statue blending into the darkness.

His emotionless eyes quietly watched Marquis Ballet clumsily climb upward, as if watching a marked beast walking toward the slaughterhouse.

Now was the time.

He didn't even issue a clear command; just an imperceptible glance and a nearly undetectable ripple of Battle Qi were transmitted to his subordinates lurking in the shadows and the water.

In the next moment, slaughter descended.

Pfft!

The dull sound of a sharp blade piercing flesh was exceptionally clear in the noisy environment.

A guard who was climbing up with all his might suddenly stiffened. He looked down in disbelief, watching the tip of a dagger coated in a ghostly blue glow emerge from his chest.

Behind him, a man who originally looked like an ordinary mercenary revealed a cold, emotionless sneer.

At the same time, beneath the murky water, two dark shadows erupted like arrows from a bow, silently wrapping around the ankles of two other guards.

Cold blades sliced upward through the gaps between their calves and thighs, precisely severing their femoral arteries.

Before they could even scream, the two men went limp and were dragged into the water, vanishing instantly, leaving only a string of rolling bubbles and rapidly spreading bloodstains.

The chaos lasted for less than three breaths.

Marquis Ballet's remaining guards hadn't even reacted before they were completely dazed by this sudden assault.

And Echo himself had already moved.

His figure was like a wisp of green smoke, drifting down from the high rock. His toes tapped lightly on the head of a panicked noble, and his body rose again in defiance of the laws of physics, landing behind the scrambling Marquis Ballet with an elegant yet deadly posture.

Ballet felt a chill at his back. His fat body turned around stiffly, meeting a pair of eyes that were indifferent to the extreme.

"You..."

He only had time to utter a single word.

Echo's palm was as fast as lightning, pressing lightly against the back of his neck.

With a crisp 'crack,' the light in Marquis Ballet's eyes instantly vanished. His bloated body, like a puppet with its strings cut, slid limply off the rock wall and finally hit the murky water—which had already reached chest height—face-down with a splash.

Without stopping, Echo reached out and swiped at his waist. The ruby-encrusted family crest representing Marquis Ballet's identity fell into his hand.

The entire grotto instantly fell into a dead silence.

Everyone was intimidated by this lightning-fast, bloody method, staring blankly at the man who looked like the God of Death.

Echo slowly straightened up, ignoring all the terrified gazes around him.

He raised the crest in his hand toward the direction of the voice and said in a cold, flat tone, "Now, I am the winner."

At the entrance of the valley, Princess Ella's face grew even paler.

She watched the polite young lord before her use the most civilized rules to induce the most barbaric bloodshed within the mine.

This intense contrast made her heart skip beats in succession.

A smile of approval appeared on Levi's face, as if he were enjoying a brilliant play.

He spoke into the Transmission Array with a sincere tone:

"Congratulations, Mr. Echo. Your decisiveness and efficiency are impressive."

Echo did not respond, simply waiting quietly for the iron gate leading to survival to open for him.

"However," Levi's tone shifted, though it remained gentle, "before you enjoy the fruits of victory, I need to read the relevant clauses of the contract to you. According to Article 49 of the supplementary clauses of the 'Mining Area Development and Venture Capital Agreement' signed between you and Blackstone Territory, regarding 'Inheritance of Interests and Transfer of Debt': under specific circumstances, the final recipient of interests shall automatically and irrevocably inherit all rights, obligations, and debts incurred by the previous interest owner during this activity."

Levi's voice paused, as if to give the other party enough time to understand.

"Simply put, by killing him, you have inherited everything he owned. Including the fifty thousand gold coin emergency rescue service fee he just incurred."

Echo's pupils contracted sharply.

For the first time, the muscles on his face twitched visibly.

He stared fixedly in the direction of the Transmission Array, as if trying to pierce through the thick rock layers with his gaze to see the devil who was smilingly pronouncing his fate.

"Now, congratulations, distinguished debtor of fifty thousand gold coins," Levi's voice carried a hint of a pleasant smile. "The gates of the shelter are open for you."

As his words fell, the heavy iron gate at the top of the grotto let out a creaking sound and rose upward.

The three assassins beside Echo immediately surrounded him warily, guarding him as they climbed up.

Despite their hearts being filled with the anger and humiliation of being schemed against, the instinct to survive drove them toward that sole exit.

However, just as they were about to step onto the dry platform, a sudden change occurred!

On the other side of the shelter platform, and higher up the rock wall above them, several other massive gates disguised as rock opened with a rumble at the same time!

In the next second, a flow of water even more turbulent and murky than before crashed into the grotto like a waterfall from the heavens, carrying hundreds and thousands of black, palm-sized things that emitted sharp, rustling friction sounds!

Those were... juvenile Cave Demon Spiders!

The disturbed swarm of spiders was like a bursting beehive, instantly washed into every corner of the grotto by the water.

They were smaller than the adults, moved faster, and were even more aggressive.

In a short instant, the murky water surface was covered by a layer of wriggling, scalp-numbing black carpet.

Echo and his men had just stepped onto the high platform. Before they could even catch their breath, they were chilled to the bone by the sight before them.

The so-called 'Grade A Shelter' was not a safe space at all!

It was filled with spider webs of various sizes and white egg sacs, and the air was thick with a pungent, fishy stench.

This was clearly a hatchery for Cave Demon Spiders!

They had just escaped the hunting grounds of adult demon spiders, only to step right into an endless nest of juveniles!

Levi Byron never intended to let anyone out alive from the start!

This shelter was essentially a meat grinder to filter the strong, a more desperate death trap!

Hiss—!

Countless juvenile spiders surged up along the rock walls and the path they had climbed like a tide.

Their crimson compound eyes flickered with the light of hunger in the darkness, surrounding the 'food' that had just entered their territory.

"Chairman!" An assassin let out a low growl, his twin blades dancing into a silver whirlwind, instantly shredding over a dozen lunging juvenile spiders into pieces.

But more juvenile spiders surged forward fearlessly, covering his legs in the blink of an eye.

Sharp pain caused him to let out a muffled groan. He could clearly feel countless tiny fangs piercing his leather armor, injecting paralyzing venom into his body.

Echo's expression was so dark it could drip water.

Every time his short sword swung, it brought a sharp dark light, clearing a patch of juvenile spiders around him.

But these things were inexhaustible, endless!

Their Battle Qi had been heavily consumed in the previous chaos and flood. Facing this overwhelming swarm of spiders now, every ounce of strength was precious.

One trusted subordinate was half a beat slow in parrying and was immediately jumped by seven or eight juvenile spiders on his face, their sharp mouthparts frantically tearing at his flesh.

He let out a shrill scream and tumbled off the platform, instantly swallowed by the black tide of spiders below, leaving not even a bone fragment behind.

The remaining two assassins stood back-to-back, struggling to fend off attacks from all directions. Their movements grew slower and their breathing heavier.

Echo's situation was equally dire.

Although he had the highest Battle Qi cultivation, even an elephant can be bitten to death by enough ants.

He already had over a dozen bite wounds on his body. The paralyzing toxin was gradually eroding his nerves, making his movements sluggish.

After narrowly avoiding another bite from a juvenile spider dropping from above, he stumbled, nearly falling.

Watching his last two subordinates gradually get submerged by the spiders and hearing that seemingly never-ending 'rustling' sound, the pride and dignity of a top-tier assassin were being crushed bit by bit by despair.

He finally understood how laughable pure martial force was in front of a monster like Levi, who didn't care for martial ethics and only spoke of rules and profit.

His self-righteous schemes were merely a small link in the other party's massive plan from beginning to end.

He didn't want to die.

The foundation of the Shadow Guild was still waiting for him; he still had greater ambitions.

Dying here like a nameless stray dog was worthless.

At the brink of his limit, the desire to survive finally overwhelmed everything else.

He took a deep breath and, with all his remaining strength, roared hoarsely at the omnipresent Transmission Array: "Levi! I surrender! I admit defeat! The Shadow Guild can serve you! We still have value!"

This cry, full of unwillingness and humiliation, echoed clearly at the valley entrance.

A satisfied, harvest-like smile finally appeared on Levi's face. The fish had taken the bait.

He didn't respond immediately, instead unhurriedly straightening his collar, then nodding to Sylvie beside him.

Sylvie stepped forward expressionlessly, took a brand-new, pre-drafted parchment scroll from a folder, and began to read into a brass mouthpiece connected to the Transmission Array in her emotionless, mechanically precise tone:

"The 'Blackstone Territory Special Talent Introduction and Outsourcing Service Agreement,' core clauses reading beginning. First, Party B, namely the Chairman of the Shadow Guild, Echo, and his subordinate organization, voluntarily provides exclusive services to Party A, namely the Lord of Blackstone Territory, His Excellency Levi Byron, for a period of thirty years."

"Second, during the service period, Party B must unconditionally and without compensation execute any high-risk tasks assigned by Party A, including but not limited to intelligence gathering, target elimination, and security protection."

"Third, to repay the debt of fifty thousand gold coins and related interest incurred by Party B during the 'Mine Rescue Activity,' all commissions, spoils of war, and other income obtained by Party B during the service period will be treated as repayment funds, to be kept and accounted for by Party A until the debt is fully cleared."

"Fourth..."

Sylvie's cold voice hammered word by word against Echo's nearly collapsing nerves.

Every clause was like a cold chain, locking him and the entire Shadow Guild behind him firmly onto Blackstone Territory's war chariot.

This wasn't employment; this was selling oneself into slavery. And selling oneself into slavery while carrying an astronomical debt.

Only after Sylvie finished reading the core clauses did Levi elegantly take the mouthpiece and add the final note to this devil's contract in a caring tone:

"Mr. Echo, as long as you nod in agreement, Mr. Bolt will open a safe employee passage for you and provide basic antidotes. By the way, your first onboarding task is to clean out this hatchery. The batch of spider silk and venom raw materials ordered by a client must not be damaged; these will serve as your team's initial assets and be credited toward your debt repayment plan. If you perform well, it might affect your first-quarter performance review."

Echo leaned against the cold rock wall, gasping for air. His last subordinate let out an unwilling roar and fell into the spider swarm.

Looking at the endless, still-surging demon spiders before him and hearing the devilish whispers of contract clauses and 'performance reviews,' the last bit of color drained from his face.

Either be gnawed to nothing by the spiders, or... accept this 'blessing' from an otherworldly capitalist.

Finally, he closed his eyes and spat out three words in a voice so hoarse it was barely audible:

"...I... accept."