"Maria, it's ti to go. You needed to see ?"
Song Heping didn't understand why Maria would need to see him at this crucial mont.
Could it be that she wanted to leave with him?
That wouldn't be a problem.
The car was big enough, squeezing in one more person wouldn't be an issue.
"Song, you said earlier you're the boss of a PMC company?"
Maria's expression looked very serious.
Whenever he encountered a serious expression, Song Heping beca cautious.
Because it usually ant trouble.
Especially at tis like this.
"Yes, I am. Why?"
Song Heping thought it couldn't be about giving him business, right?
He was shocked by her next words.
"Yes, I want to hire you."
"Hire us?!" Song Heping almost laughed, "Are you sure?"
After all, he and his team were not just ordinary PMC company mbers.
If Maria knew they were on the watchlist of the US governnt, intelligence agencies, and even the UN as KB elents, he wondered what she would think.
Moreover.
Hire?
For how much?
His net worth was calculated in the US Dollars.
"How much can you pay?"
Curiosity got the better of Song Heping, and he didn't reject the offer outright but instead chose to ask tentatively.
"What do you want to hire us for?"
"Escort the villagers to a safe place," Maria looked dead serious, "Head north, into governnt army controlled territory."
"Lady..."
Song Heping was put in a difficult position, "You might not know what's going on right now. There's a war, and I can't even figure out where the frontlines are. The only thing I know for sure is that we're in the middle of the warzone; otherwise, we wouldn't have encountered those ard forces. You want and my few n to escort over two hundred villagers north, including wounded ones? Do you know how difficult this mission is militarily?"
"How difficult?"
"Hell level of difficulty!"
Song Heping couldn't help but sneer, "PMC companies can offer VIP protection services, but we're not a suicide squad company, we don't take jobs that send us to our deaths."
Maria said, "I can pay a lot!"
This piqued Song Heping's curiosity again, "How much? Let's hear it."
He wanted to see how much this "Doctors Without Borders" mber had.
"One hundred thousand US Dollars!"
Maria gritted her teeth as she answered.
"One hundred thousand US Dollars..."
Song Heping nodded slightly.
"It sounds like a lot, but I can tell you, it's far from enough. Don't even think about it. If you want to take you along, I can get you to Ethiopia and ensure your safety. But as for escorting the villagers, sorry, it's just not doable."
"I can't leave them behind..."
Maria turned and looked behind her.
There was a dense crowd of over two hundred villagers.
"If they're not escorted by ard forces, just a few militants on the way would be enough to kill them all."
For a brief mont, a fraction of a second, Song Heping actually softened.
But reason told him.
This job was a no-go.
No matter how beautiful Maria was.
No matter that she had saved Hou Xing.
Taking this job would make him a fool.
"Sorry, everyone has their fate."
With that, Song Heping turned and waved his hand, "Let's go, retreat."
Jiang Feng and the others imdiately followed, walking towards the jeep.
"Wait!"
Just before Song Heping reached the jeep, Maria caught up.
"Three hundred and fifty thousand US Dollars!"
She upped the amount.
Song Heping was curious about where the additional two hundred and fifty thousand US Dollars had suddenly co from.
This ti, Maria provided an answer, "But two hundred and fifty thousand of it will be converted from Euros. I have a single apartnt in France, selling it should fetch around two hundred and fifty thousand. I promise to pay you as soon as I get back to Europe."
"Hahaha!"
Song Heping finally couldn't hold it in.
Forget about the three hundred fifty thousand; he didn't care for it at all.
And Maria saying she'd transfer the money to his account.
What account was he supposed to give her?
This girl probably had no clue what kind of trouble sending him money would bring upon her.
"What are you laughing at!?"
Maria seed a bit angry.
"Do you find our current situation comical?"
"No..."
Song Heping imdiately denied.
But he couldn't explain.
So he said simply, "It's far too little. The risk of this mission is enormous. Even if I took the job, chances are I wouldn't live to spend it. That money wouldn't even be enough for my brothers' cetery plots."
If he couldn't explain, he might as well co off as more rcenary.
"Maria, if you want to co along, I can take you with . I'm giving you one last chance. Ti is running out. Choose now: stay behind, or leave with us."
Maria's face turned pale and then flushed while her breathing quickened.
After a long ti, she still didn't respond to Song Heping's question.
"Okay, looks like you made your choice."
Song Heping turned and continued towards his car.
"Wait!"
Just as he reached the car, Maria's voice stopped him again.
"Thirty-five million US Dollars!"
This ti, it wasn't just Song Heping; even Jiang Feng was stunned.
"Boss, did I hear that right!? Thirty-five million US Dollars?! My God! Is being a 'Doctors Without Borders' so lucrative?!"
Song Heping had to turn back again to face the tenacious Maria, "Thirty-five million? Are you sure?"
"I'm sure!"
Maria looked dead serious.
Though thirty-five million US Dollars was a lot, it didn't faze Song Heping. But he was really curious about how this female doctor had such a fortune.
Even if Maria were made of gold, she wouldn't fetch that much on the auction block.
"Alright, thirty-five million US Dollars it is?"
Song Heping took out his phone, keyed in one of his overseas account numbers, and handed it to Maria.
"You have five minutes. If the money's in this account within five minutes, I'll take the job."
"Yes, yes." Jiang Feng chid in, "We work for the money."
He also thought the prissy foreign girl was bluffing.
Maybe planning to trick Song Heping into taking the job, then reneging on paynt. At worst, offer herself or death as compensation.
There were plenty of naïve Europeans who might try that.
Letting her wire the money first might overwhelm her.
Maria said nothing, taking Song Heping's phone, then taking out her satellite phone and walking ten ters away to make a call.
"That foreign girl sure knows how to put on a show..."
Jiang Feng furrowed his brows, watching the serious-looking Maria.
"You think she can really get thirty-five million US Dollars?"
Song Heping watched Maria.
She seed to be calling soone she didn't enjoy talking to, her expression sour and tense, her body language showing two words: resistance.
Less than a minute later, she handed the phone back to Song Heping.
"It's on its way, but I don't know how long it'll take to arrive."
Antonov said, "Girl, thirty-five million isn't Zimbabwe currency..."
Just as everyone was questioning the truth of her claim, her phone rang.
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