Cara and Crystal left after a couple of hours and it was decided that Shi Lang was going to set up a teleportation formation upon his return to the federation. In the meantime, the federation will keep on evolving and advancing to the level where they are not called weaklings.

Shi Lang spends the rest of the time memorizing and familiarizing himself with the information in his mind. At first, he wanted to try and rehearse this in the simulation world but then he denied the idea completely because this was not safe. Who knows what sort of monitoring has been arranged on their simulations?

His practice lasted for a couple of days. The reason he woke up was not the complete comprehension, but the knock on the door. He opened his eyes and walked over to find Jill standing outside. He asked, “What is it?”

The lady replied, “Boss, Commander Harley is summoning you.”

Shi Lang raised his eyebrow and asked, “She specifically mentioned me?”

Jill nodded and said, “She wants you to go to the office right now.”

Shi Lang nodded and went inside to take a shower and change his clothes. He has reached a level where eating food was no longer necessary for his survival. After dressing up, the man left his accommodation and headed to the Strike Force office. He was not in the uniform when he arrived and the people cast him a look.

The young man did not care and even picked up a wilting flower on the way. In the elevator, he circulated spirit energy in the flower and rejuvenated it into the mesmerizing form it had. When he got done with the elevator, he found Adjutant Shina sitting on her post table. He walked over and presented her with a flower.

The lady was surprised and wanted to say something when Shi Lang said, “Good day, Sister Shina, is the boss inside?”

She was surprised that someone called her sister. She sighed and said, “Captain Shi, where is your uniform?”

Shi Lang replied, “I was in deep meditation when I got the news, and immediately came over here.”

Adjutant Shina glared at him and then said, “Fine since you called me sister, I will allow you a pass, but this is a one-time deal. Go, the boss has been waiting for you.”

Shi Lang smiled and knocked on the door and asked, “Boss, may I come in?”

Harley replied, “Come in.”

Shi Lang pushed open the door and walked inside the room. He came in front of Harley and saluted her. He said, “You called for me, sir?”

Harley nodded and said, “Take a seat.”

Shi Lang nodded and sat on a chair, waiting for the lady to speak. Harley said, “I read your report, it was a job well done. Very cleverly you used public opinion in your favor. Also, that weapon has been disposed of so there is no longer anything to worry about.”

Shi Lang nodded but stayed silent. Harley said, “With this, you will climb the top fifty of the ranking table.”

The young terran asked, “What is the rank table?”

Harley explained that the rank table was just something they decided to keep up a spirit of competition among the teams. Ony the top hundred teams were listed on the table among thousand teams. Shi Lang understood this and then he found that the ranks changed based on the difficulty of the mission accomplished by the teams.

Shi Lang had just completed a grade S mission and the factor that he achieved it with zero casualties on either side made him eligible for the climb. However, all this was sounding different to the man.

He shook his head and said, “Boss, keep me and my team out of this table. I do not wish to end up stressed by this competition. None of the people wants to be demoted. If my team is promoted, the higher ranks will come to test us and the lower ranks will gnaw at us like termites. I do not wish to enter the loop of endless trouble.

My temper is one of the main reasons, I might end up killing someone with ill intentions. I hope you understand.”

Harley was surprised and said, “Well, fine, you should calm down, I will deal with this. Also, I have another task for you.”

Shi Lang sat up straight, as the lady continued, “This is a grade S mission as well. You will have to face a batch of mercenaries. The people you are facing are not simple, they are one of the top ten mercenaries of the galaxy. They have a strength of seven hundred people, all experts. Your task is to destroy them.”

Shi Lang raised his brows and asked, “What crime did they commit?”

Harley gazed at him, “Seven officers of team ninety were killed in an ambush. They were all women, out on a vacation. Brutally raped, tortured, and then their dead bodies were left in the square of the city to see. The Strike Force does not want to sit down, but these people are so slippery. Every ambush is avoided as if they are informed from the start.”

Shi Lang nodded and said, “Give me the last coordinates you have of their sighting. Also, we are not doing this with uniforms and armada.”

Harley was surprised and asked, “What do you mean?”

Shi Lang said, “You will know when it is done, now transfer the files. We need to leave the place. Also, some contacts and back stories to contact the weapon dealers.”

Harley was not a fool, she understood that Shi Lang wanted to go under the cover. She replied, “The information will be sent. What else?”

Shi Lang thought for a bit and said, “Put out a bounty on their leader, anonymously.”

Harley nodded, she understood that this was to lure the man out. Shi Lang asked for a few more things, like some money credits. Then he left the place and found his team. He said, “Get ready, work trip.”

Everyone sighed and Jill said, “Go, pack your bags.”

Crystal was confused and asked, “What’s happening?”

Jill said, “Undercover mission, you will be pairing up with me. Go get your clothes.”

Crystal nodded and followed the instructions quickly. The team met an hour later, their tickets have been booked and they were traveling in two batches. They were all in groups of three or two. They were traveling with the help of a commercial spaceship. This way the tracks will be hard to detect.

Harley had told Shi Lang that this method has been used before, and the result was still a waste of resources and lives. However, the young general was not afraid. He would not know until he tried everything and the first approach was undercover.

The spaceship took them to the place where this group was last spotted. However, Shi Lang did not make his way to the exact location but the team checked inside a lavish hotel on a planet called Rosa.

The people here were humanoids but they all had sort of flesh extensions on their foreheads. Shi Lang had read about this place and the people and knew this was a way for them to communicate, like ants.

The people checked into the rooms, and they began to party, moving into entertainment districts of the city and asking people for debauched things. Sonic and Raz even made rounds to a brothel. After three days, Shi Lang found the weapons dealer and talked to him about the things he needed.

Weapons were an extremely controlled commodity in the galactic council member nations. The only way to get any was through these dealers. Shi Lang had placed the order and was confident that he will not be ousted. After all, if the dealer tried anything funny, then it will be his ass on the line too.

Shi Lang had been monitoring things, he knew that the only way this dealer will get them the weapons was through the mercenaries. After all, such things were not something a single person could manage, and one needed to have good connections too. The order demanded twenty assault phasers, five snipers, twenty battle suits, nades, and other tactical supplies.

This order had to be taken out from the stock, no fresh supply will match it, and the stock was something that only the mercenaries had. Shi Lang had laid the net, now he only needed to wait and let the fish take the bait. The mercenaries will come for sure because someone placed a bounty on their leader, and someone came to buy weapons here, too much of a coincidence.

…

After two days, the weapon dealer contacted Shi Lang, gave him the address of a club, and asked for a meeting. Shi Lang smiled and said, “Crystal, you are with me tonight, get ready to unleash your charm skills. Also, no matter what happens, do not waver. I need you at your A-game.”

Crystal nodded with a firm face. She could tell something was about to happen.