What Do You Mean I'm The Captain Of A Yandere Mercenary Company? Chapter 830: Smuggler Contact

At long last, after several tense minutes of me soothing their frayed nerves, they managed to speak with me without completely losing it.

By chance, I noticed the smuggler captain seemed remarkably young, perhaps in his early twenties or even late teens, with sandy brown hair and sharp blue eyes showing no trace of genetic or cybernetic modifications.

"So, once again... I’m going to ask this... What do you want to do with the turtle?"

The smuggler captain shivered visibly, "I... Don’t think we can handle having that beast aboard the ship any longer..."

They must have been deeply scarred by the turtle... I suspect the creature took out a few of them in revenge for their assault, and watching that massive, unstoppable brute lumber toward you would shatter anyone's mind.

I arched an eyebrow at him, "So... You want us to blast it out the airlock?"

He parted his lips as if to nod in agreement but clamped them shut just as fast.

The smuggler pulled up his personal terminal and scrolled through it briefly.

His complexion drained of color before he faced me, "Umm... You said that you are a Merc, correct?"

I squinted at him, "Yes? Why?"

"You have your own ship, right? A ship with a cargo bay big enough for that creature?"

I folded my arms, "Are you suggesting I take that turtle along? Why on earth would I?"

He shook his head frantically, "No, no... I... Umm... As you might know... I’m supposed to be transporting that creature somewhere, right?"

"More specifically, you were smuggling it somewhere."

He winced at my correction, "Well... I suppose that is a way to describe it... But basically I need to transport it to a certain place for a certain person... And that person would very much prefer if this monster remains alive..."

"Not those other creatures that we wiped out?"

"Umm... No... That goes to someone else but... That’s not important. The more important thing is that unkillable monster needs to reach its destination and if it doesn’t... A lot of problems are going to happen..."

"Ok? Good luck then?" I told him, puzzled as to why he was spilling all these details to me.

Why couldn't he simply say he doesn't want it killed and leave it at that? I never requested the full backstory...

He pressed his hands together pleadingly, "Please... This creature needs to get there!"

I shot him a baffled glance, "Yeah, I heard you the first time. So good luck I guess? I won’t kill it so you can go ahead to deliver it. What else do you want me to say?"

Yumiko murmured from nearby, "Mistress... I believe he’s trying to ask us to take over the delivery for him..."

I whipped around to him, catching his pitiful, begging expression that confirmed Yumiko's words.

I scowled, "Really? I think the fact that I’m not turning you in for being a smuggler and also saving both your crew and your ship is already pretty good for you, don’t you think? Now you want me to take part in your smuggling operation as well?"

He threw up his hands, "It won’t be for free! The payment for this delivery! You can have it all!"

"Weren’t you already going to pay me to save you from the turtle to begin with? Why don’t we settle that first?" I reminded him.

His face crumpled as the reality hit him—paying me for the rescue plus the delivery fee might bankrupt him entirely.

At least... That's what I figured from his crushed expression.

He glanced at his crew, who mirrored his anxious stares, likely fretting if their captain would drag them into ruin too.

He faced me again and produced a Credit Chip, "As promised... Three hundred thousand Credits, everything is in there."

I might have felt guilty snagging this from them if they weren't smugglers.

This captain doesn't realize yet, but the other cargo containers remain sealed, and I'm betting they hold more illicit goods, so he can still profit from this run despite the chaos.

I slotted the Credit Chip into my Codex, seeing my balance surge by three hundred thousand Credits.

I eyed the smugglers, who shifted uncomfortably under my gaze.

Hmm... Actually...

"How’s your smuggling record?" I inquired.

The captain looked startled but replied anyway, "Umm... I’m an independent so... I would say it’s still ok? If you don’t count this event’s of course..."

"Hmm... What kind of markets can you access?"

"Eh? Umm... I mean... I guess the normal markets and... And the surface tier black markets I suppose..."

Surface tier? That implies layered black markets, with elite ones reserved for top-tier dealers or similar.

So this guy's a low-level smuggler...

No matter, he could serve as my gateway into this underworld.

I tapped my Codex to send the three hundred thousand Credits back to the Credit Chip, then ejected it and offered it to him.

He accepted it with a bewildered frown, clearly at a loss.

"I’m willing to invest in you to keep your operation going as long as you agree to handle some jobs for me occasionally."

He blinked rapidly, "What?"

Listen... My cargo bay's stuffed with loot from pirates and raided spots that I haven't offloaded yet, since we lack time to haggle for top dollar everywhere.

I can't tap every black market myself, and peddling directly would tarnish my crew's standing.

But if he handles the sales for a profit share... That boosts our funds big time.

Plus, we'd unlock markets too dangerous or off-limits for us otherwise.

Overlooked in the Outer Colonies, sure—but Inner Colonies enforce rules brutally, way stricter than out here, yeah?

I nodded firmly, "You heard me. I’m willing to establish a working partnership with you where I get you to help me acquire and sell stuff for a cut of the profits. What do you say?"

The captain struggled to process it, turning to his equally baffled crew.

They never imagined encountering a prospective backer in this mess, and the idea left them reeling.

I reassured them, "Hey, I’m a Merc from the Outer Colonies and I’m only here for a job. I don’t want a trail linking me to black market dealings, but they're wildly lucrative... So an intermediary between us and the markets would be gold. Interested? I’ll even toss in extra Credits to rebound from this fiasco and get your crew back on track."

It finally sank in, and he leaped with excitement, "We... We would love to!! Of course we would!!"

I extended my hand, "Perfect. You can just refer to me as ’T’."

Yumiko interjected, "’Mistress T’. Nothing less."

The smuggler accepted without hesitation, gripping my hand in a solid shake, "Yes! It’s a pleasure, Mistress T! I’m Clement and this is my crew! We’ll be happy to work with you! Thank you!!"

He radiated pure joy now... His crew erupted in cheers, jostling and high-fiving each other.

"Alright then... First thing’s first... I can help you transport that turtle to wherever it’s supposed to go after I get the details for the transport and we also obtain all the compensation tied to this job. Next... I have a couple of things on my ship that I want you to help me sell off at the best price you can get. You in?"

He nodded eagerly, "No problem, Mistress T!"

Excellent... Renata, get my ship docked with theirs. Time to do some business.