Chapter 571: Section 358: Zhong Bei: Bu Quan, you are confused
Zhong Bei took the paper and looked it over carefully.
“Senior Alchemy Consultant for the squad?”
He noticed the keyword.
He breathed a sigh of relief to himself.
So-called “consultant”, as compared to regular members, undoubtedly belongs to the periphery of an organization.
From this perspective, Bu Quan seemed not to have wholly joined the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps.
“But this ‘with the squad’…”
The more Mage Zhong Bei pondered the term, the deeper he frowned.
This word was also crucial.
“If Mage Bu Quan is moving with the Mercenary Corps, then what is the difference from her fully joining?”
Zhong Bei mused and returned, feeling depressed.
Continuing to read, he saw the specific compensation for Mage Bu Quan.
He immediately showed an astonished expression, muttering in disbelief, “What does this mean? Mage Bu Quan’s annual salary is only one Gold Coin?”
A wave of anger rose in Zhong Bei’s heart.
He looked up at the Dragon-man youth, his gaze filled with inquiry, “Mage Bu Quan is a genius valued by the Alchemy Guild! Yet the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps is only offering a one Gold Coin annual salary. Isn’t this taking advantage of someone’s crisis? Is this how you exploit her gratitude towards the Dragon-man youth? How can you so brazenly squeeze her value with no conscience?”
The Dragon-man youth remained calm, “Mage Zhong Bei, you misunderstand. We never harbor thoughts or actions of exploiting gratitude.”
“In fact, I greatly admire Mage Bu Quan. She is a true mage, possessing a genuine mage’s heart, her curiosity and pursuit of knowledge completely supersede mundane financial interests.”
“Please continue reading.”
“What follows constitutes the actual payment we offer.”
“This compensation differs from regular payments.”
“In this contract, an annual salary of one Gold Coin merely serves as a symbolic meaning.”
Mage Zhong Bei shifted his gaze and continued reading.
The paper stated:
The Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps would provide Mage Bu Quan with precious Alchemy knowledge.
The knowledge includes alchemy experiment data, blueprints for making alchemy tools, formulas for Alchemy Potions, and various Alchemy techniques.
This alchemy knowledge must be precious and satisfactory to Bu Quan.
Should Mage Bu Quan be unsatisfied with this alchemy knowledge at the time of payment, she could request an alternative.
At the end of each year when the annual salary is paid, both parties have the right to renegotiate the contract, which can range from friendly negotiations to possibly terminating the engagement, among others.
Besides, Mage Bu Quan holds the right to unilaterally terminate the contract at any time. However, when executing this right, Bu Quan must pay back half of the compensation value she has received to the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps. Only compensation in the form of alchemy knowledge is accepted.
As for the precise value of the alchemy knowledge, it will be judged and assessed by professionals.
Mage Zhong Bei saw this, and his brows finally relaxed.
Clearly, the contract between the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps and Bu Quan was quite flexible.
This considerably reduced his disgust and suspicion towards the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps.
Even he had to admit, the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps sincerely wanted to recruit Bu Quan.
Mage Bu Quan’s pursuit of alchemy knowledge over money also aligned well with the values of Mages.
“This contract, if made public, would instead increase the reputation of Mage Bu Quan.”
“The Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps has handled matters quite appropriately, aiming for a good parting from the start!”
“According to the contract, Mage Bu Quan can leave the Mercenary Corps at any time.”
“She only needs to pay half the value of the alchemy knowledge. This, the Alchemy Guild can completely handle. If she is unwilling to stay in this Mercenary Corps, she can wait until the end of the year to negotiate during the salary payment, or she could terminate the contract suddenly. In this case, she would need to compensate with something. The Alchemy Guild can fully support her in buying back her freedom and even owe her a favor in the process.”
Mage Zhong Bei had yet to grasp the severity of the issue.
In his view, how much alchemy knowledge could the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps provide?
Even if backed by arms dealers, how could they compare to the Alchemy Guild of the Ice Sculpture Kingdom?
“There’s another way…”
“Since they have to pay satisfying Alchemy knowledge to Mage Bu Quan each year, then perhaps pre-teach many Alchemy techniques to Bu Quan, making it more difficult for her to be satisfied.”
“After a while, her gratitude towards the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps would diminish, and she would gradually realize the truth. How many times could the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps provide satisfying alchemy knowledge?”
“But this situation doesn’t help me.”
“I must dismantle this contract, or I will be deemed negligent!”
Mage Zhong Bei understood the real situation better after reading this.
“It seems, to solve this issue, the key still lies with Mage Bu Quan.”
“For her, I actually have no good solution, only able to persuade with good words. If all else fails, I’d even dig into my own coffers to sway her.”
Negligence would significantly impact Mage Zhong Bei.
Zhong Bei looked again at the Dragon-man youth, thinking, “Negotiations are needed on Bu Quan’s part, but I can’t give up on asking Long Fu, the squad leader.”
Mage Zhong Bei squeezed a smile onto his face.
Before bursting in here, he would never have expected he would show a smiling face to the Dragon-man youth.
But there was no choice, he was the one seeking help at the moment.
Zhong Bei the Mage earnestly requested the Dragon-man youth to lend his help.
If the Dragon-man youth helped him, and persuaded Bu Quan to have a change of heart, then Zhong Bei personally would generously reward the Dragon-man youth.
The Dragon-man youth laughed heartily and immediately shook his head, refusing the request.
“No amount of gifts can compare to Master Bu Quan herself.”
Zhong Bei the Mage frowned slightly, with a hint of threat in his voice: “Long Fu squad leader, please consider this carefully.”
“You must understand that even if your group has a complex background, it is absolutely no match for the power of the Alchemy Guild in our Kingdom.”
“Master Bu Quan is so grateful to you, are you really going to take advantage of her vulnerability?”
“Think carefully for Master Bu Quan’s sake. Although she is a genius, she has not yet truly grown.”
“The right environment for her growth is certainly not in your group, but in the Alchemy Guild that has vast knowledge, many mentors, and numerous alchemy predecessors.”
“Your insistence on keeping her here will only hinder her future.”
“Over time, Master Bu Quan will realize this, and might even voluntarily propose to leave, potentially bearing grudges against you.”
“Rather than that, why not let go proactively? In the future, you might even gain the friendship of a great alchemy talent!”
Zhong Bei the Mage, eloquent as ever, reasoned with and emotionally appealed to the Dragon-man youth.
The Dragon-man youth still shook his head.
“Zhong Bei the Mage, I must emphasize again: it’s not that we are forcefully keeping her, nor are we deceiving Master Bu Quan. In fact, we cannot force or deceive someone like her.”
“It is entirely her own strong desire to join.”
“For such a talent, we cannot let go just because of some external pressures.”
“Put yourself in our shoes, if you were a leader of a mercenary group, would you give in so easily? Would you back down?”
“Once I do that, the reputation of our Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps would be at stake. Just because of a small threat, we would have to give up someone who willingly wants to join us; how would others view us then?”
“Any organization that wants to grow needs to embrace new blood from the outside.”
“Please understand our difficult position.”
With that said, Zhong Bei the Mage looked grim.
The tone of the Dragon-man youth softened as he continued:
“However, if Zhong Bei the Mage can successfully persuade Bu Quan, we will let go immediately.”
“If this matter spreads, it’ll be seen as a good meeting and parting, which is beneficial to the reputation of our mercenary group.”
“Zhong Bei the Mage, you have already seen the actual specifics of the contract. When we signed the contract initially, we had already envisioned such a scenario.”
The points made by the Dragon-man youth were so logical that Zhong Bei the Mage couldn’t help but nod silently.
The content of the contract could easily be verified.
Zhong Bei the Mage probably believed it to be true, and clearly sensed the sincerity of the Dragon-man youth.
Realizing that he couldn’t get the help of the Dragon-man youth, Zhong Bei the Mage promptly took his leave.
He moved quickly.
As a protector, he certainly knew Bu Quan’s exact location.
“The most important thing now is to find Bu Quan and explain the situation to her.”
“What she is doing is killing her own future!”
“How could she remain so grateful? Alas, she is still too young.”
The Dragon-man youth stood at the window, watching Zhong Bei leave, and used the alchemy communication device to contact Zi Di: “Has that alchemy material been delivered to Bu Quan yet?”
Zi Di’s voice came through: “This is half a year’s salary paid in advance to her, and she accepted this arrangement. Now, she is immersed in it, fully engrossed in her research.”
“That settles it then,” the Dragon-man youth revealed a slight smile.
Moments later, Zhong Bei met with Bu Quan.
After learning of his intentions, Bu Quan remained unmoved: “Zhong Bei the Mage, joining the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps was indeed a decision I actively made after being recruited by the Long Fu squad leader.”
“Thank you for your analysis and advice, but I made this decision after thorough consideration.”
“I will not leave the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps anytime soon.”
“You’re being foolish, Master Bu Quan.” Zhong Bei was deeply frustrated, “Was my analysis wrong in any way? No matter how you weigh the pros and cons, joining the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps is a mistake.”
“This is too detrimental to your future development!”
But Bu Quan shook her head: “I don’t see it that way.”
“If life was just about weighing pros and cons, it would be too boring.”
“Revenge was my main life goal in my past life.”
“Now that I have achieved my revenge, it’s time to try a new life.”
Zhong Bei kept on urging, but Bu Quan gradually became impatient, and personally saw him off: “It’s getting late, Zhong Bei the Mage, I won’t keep you any longer.”
As Zhong Bei walked out of the Alchemy Workshop’s main gate, he saw the afternoon sun still high in the sky, his face filled with a look of defeat.
After seeing off Zhong Bei, Bu Quan plunged into the Alchemy Room.
Looking at the alchemy material provided by Zi Di, her eyes gleamed: “I didn’t expect the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps to have such profound alchemy material!”
“This material is extremely valuable; even in the Alchemy Guild, it would take me at least two years of accumulated contribution to exchange for it.”