Chapter 302 – The Revised Contract

“What? Is there a problem?”

Seeing Chi Qian frozen in place, Su Ming asked with a puzzled expression.

“No…” Chi Qian hesitated for a moment before speaking in a very uncertain tone. “Are you sure you want me to persuade them?”

To this question from Chi Qian, Su Ming responded with the same words.

“Is there a problem?” Su Ming raised an eyebrow. “You’re already a member of my team. In that case, isn’t it perfectly normal for you to help recruit new members for our team?”

Chi Qian was left speechless.

The logic was indeed sound, but why did she feel something was off?

“Don’t you want them to join our team?” Su Ming looked at Chi Qian. “Why?”

Chi Qian realized she couldn’t answer this question either.

Yes, why?

Why couldn’t Mu Yan and the others join this team?

“I think you’re being biased by your preconceptions,” Su Ming glanced at Chi Qian. “You believe your companions want to join the team in exchange for your freedom, so you instinctively oppose the idea and don’t want them to join.”

“But have you considered where they could go even if they don’t join?” Su Ming raised a crucial point. “Just as Mu Yan said, they’re all Professionals. They can’t possibly be unaware of their situation. Even if you formally part ways with them, all they can do is find another team to join. They’ll still take risks, and it’s not like they won’t face dangers in the future.”

“You seem to be stuck in a mental trap, mistakenly thinking that rescuing them means you’ve settled the matter and can peacefully devote the rest of your life to atoning for past mistakes.” Su Ming shook his head and said to Chi Qian, “That way of thinking might not be entirely wrong, but can you really stand by and watch them disband, join other teams, and face unknown dangers at any moment, potentially losing the lives you worked so hard to save?”

Su Ming’s words struck right at the heart of Chi Qian’s concerns.

Only then did Chi Qian realize that rescuing her former companions didn’t mean she could rest easy from then on.

Whether it was Mu Yan, Feng Qing’er, or even Tong Xinyao, they were all undeniably Professionals.

As Professionals, they would strive to improve, seek to become stronger, need resources, want to earn Contribution Points, and consequently need to take on missions and go out to hunt Phantom Demons.

Unless Mu Yan and the other two retired from being Professionals, stopped striving to improve, and were content to remain at their current Realms, only then could they stay away from danger and remain safe.

But would they do that?

They were all vibrant young women under thirty, with untapped potential and room for growth—especially Tong Xinyao, who was only fourteen this year. Her potential was limitless, and her future was bound to be extraordinary. If someone like her were content with the status quo and stopped striving to improve, it would be a terrible waste.

So, even if their former team had collapsed and their respected Commander had moved on, they would still continue to operate as Professionals.In this way, joining the team became an inevitable matter for those girls.

“With their abilities and potential, they certainly won’t lack for teams willing to accept them in Tianfeng City.” Su Ming suddenly smiled and said, “But which do you think is the better choice – joining those teams, or joining our team?”

Was there even any question?

Joining this team was absolutely the best choice!

Others might think this E-Rank team was just a small, newly-formed group, believing that two Upper-Rank Professionals and a promising Spirit Bearer joining such a small team would be a waste of time and talent – a foolish decision. But Chi Qian understood better than anyone how unfathomable this team truly was.

Here was a Commander who appeared to be a newcomer, yet was actually a Dual Professional capable of forcing back a Nightmare Species like the Poisonous Insect Queen with a single strike.

Here was a mermaid girl who hid even deeper than the Commander, whose existence remained unknown to others, suspected to be a Nightmare Species herself.

These two were existences that, even if they couldn’t quite match Seven-Star Professionals, would definitely not be inferior to Six-Star Professionals.

Moreover, this wasn’t their limit – they still had greater room for development and were bound to become even stronger in the future, potentially reaching the pinnacle of this world.

Not to mention, Su Ming had repeatedly demonstrated mysterious methods before Chi Qian, making his image in her mind even more inscrutable.

Chi Qian had no doubt that with Su Ming here, along with that human-understanding mermaid, this so-called E-Rank team would inevitably become one of Tianfeng City’s top teams.

With herself also in this team, able to look after them properly, after weighing the options, Chi Qian didn’t hesitate at all in thinking that Mu Yan and the others joining this team was the best choice.

The only hesitation came from not knowing what the treatment would be while staying here.

After all, it was an E-Rank team. Even with promising prospects, resources might still be scarce in the early stages. Whether her companions could receive good treatment and growth opportunities in such a team was something Chi Qian couldn’t be sure about.

She herself didn’t mind – having essentially sold herself, she had accepted that she might never progress further in this lifetime. But the other girls couldn’t do the same.

Thinking of this, Chi Qian couldn’t help but feel conflicted.

Although she was already part of this team – the lifelong commitment kind – and as Su Ming said, it was only natural to think about the team’s interests and recruit new members, Chi Qian naturally leaned more toward considering her former companions’ welfare over this newly-joined team and Su Ming, whom she had just met.

This left Chi Qian feeling torn and conflicted.

“Forget it, I’ll convince them myself.”

Seeing Chi Qian’s conflicted expression, Su Ming knew this woman probably couldn’t be relied upon.Perhaps due to the pain caused by the incident a year ago, this former female legend of Tianfeng City, though still resilient, capable, and decisive, had become particularly indecisive, hesitant, and overly cautious when it came to matters involving her former companions. She had completely lost the fearless demeanor she once displayed at the Talent Market—ignoring others’ judgmental gazes, daring to reject countless offers, standing firm in her beliefs, defying authority, and resolutely confronting those who spoke disrespectfully.

Su Ming knew this was because Chi Qian cared too deeply about these former companions.

Since that was the case, he decided not to pressure her further.

“You can just listen from the side. If you think the proposal I make is reasonable, give your companions a push—and yourself as well.”

After saying this, Su Ming turned and walked back to where Mu Yan and the others were standing.

Chi Qian remained silent for a long while before finally following him.

Mu Yan, Feng Qing’er, and Tong Xinyao had been waiting for some time.

Feng Qing’er, the most impatient of the three, couldn’t hold back any longer and spoke eagerly.

“So, what do you think, little brother?” Feng Qing’er said in her lively manner. “If you’re not satisfied, we can discuss it further, you know?”

Tong Xinyao nodded repeatedly, while Mu Yan kept her gaze fixed intently on Su Ming.

It was clear they were prepared to go all out, no matter the cost.

This made even a seasoned veteran like Su Ming feel a twinge of emotion.

“These girls really aren’t cut out for negotiations.”

Who in their right mind would start by showing they were willing to pay any price?

Wasn’t that just inviting others to take advantage of them?

Fortunately, he had no ill intentions—otherwise, these lovely young women might have been doomed for life.

So, Su Ming decided to be straightforward as well.

“First of all, I must make it clear that I absolutely cannot let your Commander go.”

As soon as he said this, the expressions on Mu Yan and the others’ faces immediately shifted.

Su Ming pretended not to notice.

“A lifelong pledge of loyalty from a Five-Star Peak-level Professional, who could advance to Six-Star at any moment—not even a mere team, but even the great Families and major factions wouldn’t be foolish enough to simply give that up.” Su Ming spoke calmly. “I didn’t form this team just for fun. Now that such a powerful Professional has joined, letting her go is absolutely out of the question.”

Then, he shifted his tone.

“However, aside from that, other terms can be renegotiated.”

Hearing this, Mu Yan and the others immediately perked up.

“Such as?” Mu Yan asked coolly.

“Such as the matter of compensation,” Su Ming said leisurely. “The contract Chi Qian signed with me is clear in black and white—she joined without compensation and pledged her service for life.”

“I can’t compromise on the lifelong service part, but I can compromise on the ‘without compensation’ aspect.”

With that, Su Ming laid out his proposal.

“I can draft a new contract, allowing Chi Qian to receive a monthly salary of 50,000 Contribution Points starting from the day she joins the team.”

Rather than feeling relieved, Mu Yan and the others frowned at Su Ming’s words.

50,000 Contribution Points might sound like a lot, but in reality, it was far from the treatment befitting someone of Chi Qian’s caliber and strength.

Moreover, offering only Contribution Points as compensation was essentially no different from paying a bare-minimum base salary.”Is that all?” Mu Yan said bluntly, “What about the commission after completing missions? And the rewards for exceeding the assigned mission quota? Are none of these included?”

Generally speaking, when a Professional joins a team, they typically receive compensation in three aspects.

First is the fixed monthly salary, equivalent to a base pay for working with the team.

Second is the commission received after completing each mission, similar to performance-based bonuses.

Third is the bonus reward – for excellent mission performance, outstanding contributions, or exceeding the monthly mission targets, there should be corresponding incentives.

This might sound similar to working for a company, and indeed the differences aren’t substantial.

Teams function like companies – when recruiting people to work for them, they naturally need to provide compensation.

Professionals joining teams are essentially interviewing for jobs, so they naturally need to choose teams with better treatment based on their own qualifications.

Working alone isn’t impossible, but for Professionals who deal with Phantom Demons daily and engage in life-or-death battles, solo operations are essentially gambling with their lives.

Unless one’s strength is truly exceptional, everyone would prefer to team up for missions and join groups for operations. This is basic knowledge even in games, let alone in reality where there are no resurrection opportunities – death is permanent.

Given this, the relationship between teams and Professionals is essentially mutually beneficial, not much different from that between companies and employees. However, since it involves lives and supernatural powers, everything becomes more rigorous and solemn.

Under such circumstances, for a Professional like Chi Qian to join a team and only receive a 50,000 Contribution Points “base salary” monthly would undoubtedly be exploitation – the kind of treatment only offered by unscrupulous teams.

In Tianfeng City, typically only lower-rank Professionals receive only fixed monthly compensation. But if they perform well and excel in missions, giving them commissions and rewards becomes necessary.

For upper-rank Professionals, all three aspects of compensation must be provided, and sometimes additional special treatment needs to be offered depending on the situation. Otherwise, they wouldn’t join your team.

Regarding specific treatment: lower-rank Professionals’ fixed compensation is generally below 10,000 Contribution Points, with commissions and rewards determined by performance.

For upper-rank Professionals, even newly promoted Four-Star Professionals should receive fixed compensation above 10,000 Contribution Points.

If they’re outstanding among upper-rank Professionals, or have potential and talent, even if they’re lower-rank Professionals, their treatment would only be better.

Like Mu Yan and Feng Qing’er – neither are newcomers among Four-Star Hunters. The fixed compensation Chi Qian previously offered them wasn’t low.

Feng Qing’er received 30,000 Contribution Points monthly.

Mu Yan received 50,000 Contribution Points monthly.

As for Tong Xinyao, being a Spirit Bearer and one of Tianfeng City’s highest-rank Geniuses, her monthly fixed compensation was the same as Feng Qing’er’s at 30,000 Contribution Points – better treatment than ordinary Four-Star Professionals.

And this is just the fixed compensation. When including mission completion commissions and rewards, the total becomes even higher.Based on this compensation structure, a Five-Star Peak-level Hunter like Chi Qian should receive a minimum fixed monthly salary of 100,000 Contribution Points.

She would even be entitled to fixed commissions—for instance, receiving 30% or more of the mission rewards upon completion, with the remainder going to the team.

Monthly bonuses were also guaranteed. For a Professional just one step away from advancing to Six-Star, anyone claiming her performance was lacking or her achievements insufficient would undoubtedly be deceiving others.

Moreover, any team would offer additional benefits to recruit a Professional on the verge of reaching Six-Star.

If Su Ming intended to offer only 50,000 Contribution Points as an incentive for Chi Qian to join the team, it would be beyond doubt that he was dismissively lowballing her—utterly unscrupulous.

However, just as the women were thinking this, Su Ming’s next words left them stunned.

“Let’s skip the commission, and bonuses will be given based on circumstances,” Su Ming said with a light laugh.

“But I can guarantee that within three months, I will help Chi Qian advance to Six-Star. In the future, I will pour resources into nurturing her, cultivating her into a Seven-Star Professional.”

(End of Chapter)