Mercenary's War

Hung up the phone, Gao Yang and Nate both remained silent.

The silence lasted for about two minutes. Both needed time to process what they had just heard, and finally, Gao Yang spoke.

Scratching his head, Gao Yang said, "Did you... understand it?"

Nate nodded but then shook his head.

"I know how to make money now, but I don’t quite understand the reasoning behind it."

Nate was quite honest. Abdul had just briefly explained over the phone about exploiting the future, how to make quick money, and even gave a simple explanation of the rationale and some technical terms, but he didn’t understand.

Of course, Gao Yang didn’t understand either. Many things were handled by others for him, like Morgan and Abdul who dealt with such matters. But Abdul’s words, though individually comprehensible, made no sense when strung together.

Gao Yang nodded in confusion, zoned out for a moment, and then suddenly asked, "Have you decided what to do yet?"

Nate zoned out for a moment, then replied in a low voice, "I haven’t decided yet. I need to think about it more. For now, are you going to select your artillerymen?"

Gao Yang immediately put aside what he was thinking and replied straightforwardly, "Yes!"

Nate shook his head, as if to shake off what he was thinking, then slowly said, "The artillerymen aren’t together, and you’re already familiar with my artillerymen. Which unit do you want to select people from? I won’t set any obstacles for you, but I also won’t offer any help."

Currently, Nate’s artillerymen are divided into two main parts: most are volunteers, while the last captured artillery regiment accounts for a minority. Those unwilling to serve the Eastern Ukrainian Militia were partly imprisoned and partly released back home, while some soldiers willing to serve stayed with the regiment.

Without much hesitation, Gao Yang said in a deep voice, "I want to select from the volunteers, those who are of the right age and capability."

Nate gave a disdainful chuckle and said softly, "Last time, you attracted people with high wages. This time, are you planning to save even on that?"

Gao Yang quickly waved his hand and said, "You can’t say such things lightly. I won’t short them any money due; I’ll still offer high wages. But I’ll also tell them it’s for fighting for the country. Why not use this reasoning? It’s a well-intentioned lie, don’t you get it? They feel like they’re serving the country and making good money at the same time. Why not?"

Nate coldly said, "A lie is a lie, regardless of intention."

Gao Yang immediately said, "Earlier in our conversation, I said you’ll surely get through tough times quickly, and the situation will only get better. Remember that?"

"What about it?"

"That’s a well-intentioned lie."

Nate fell silent, and Gao Yang spread his hands and said, "See, there is indeed a difference between malicious and well-intentioned lies."

Nate’s mouth twitched a few times, and then, looking quite aggrieved, he said, "But you shouldn’t exploit their patriotism."

Gao Yang looked at Nate seriously and said, "There’s a mission you’ll lead the Angels to complete. It’s ten million dollars. Now, I’m telling you that completing this mission is needed by Germany and brings significant benefits to Germany, and the payment remains the same. Are you happy?"

Nate turned his head to the side, sighed, and said, "Happy."

"Then it’s settled. See, not only do well-intentioned lies exist, but they’re also very necessary. Although they don’t affect the essence of the matter, they always make people feel more comfortable."

Nate raised his hand and pointed at Gao Yang, saying, "I don’t want to talk to you about this anymore. You’re the Devil, and Devils have the skill of seducing hearts, a natural ability of the Devil."

Gao Yang helplessly said, "Why make me sound so bad? Actually, I’m quite guilty about it, but, forget it, let’s not talk about it..."

Gao Yang realized that he was indeed deeply influenced by Yarebin. Initially, he might think about using and playing with people’s hearts but wouldn’t act on it. Now, he instinctively does it first and then feels guilty, but in the end, he has already acted on it.

But he certainly wouldn’t reveal these things to Nate.

They both got back in the car, Nate driving, with Gao Yang calling Rebrov and Joseph along. The terms had been agreed upon, and those coffees now served as gifts to Nate, so Joseph no longer had to guard them.

In the car, Gao Yang said to Rebrov and Joseph, "This time we change tactics. We’ll recruit artillerymen under the name of the KGB. Rebrov, you identify which artillerymen are suitable, and Joseph, you know what to do."

Next, everything was similar to recruiting those Missile Troopers.

Nate first screened a portion of the artillerymen. The screening criteria included choosing from those who came from Russia to Ukraine as volunteer soldiers, then selecting from the Russians in Eastern Ukraine. After meeting these two criteria, they still had to be skilled and courageous.

After screening a portion, Nate gathered them together, and then Gao Yang gave a speech filled with truths and half-truths, creating a mystifying aura, and thus the matter was settled.

However, unlike those Missile Troopers, the proportion of artillerymen willing to go fight in Yemen was much lower. Many Ukrainians were unwilling to leave their homeland to fight a secret war for Russia; they preferred to stay and protect their homes, as their families were here. Meanwhile, nearly all those who came from Russia to assist in Ukraine wanted to go to Yemen, but this group only included eleven people.

To find enough artillery candidates, Gao Yang and his team had to repeatedly give speeches to groups of people, but it was still a minority who could make a major decision quickly.

Choosing and using people is not a task that can be completed quickly. Even after a full day, only twenty candidates were confirmed. The work continued into the evening, and it wasn’t until around midnight that Rebrov finally selected twenty-seven people out of about one hundred and fifty.

Artillerymen are soldiers, but they are technical soldiers, and all the people Rebrov picked were technical backbones, which is why Nate looked extremely displeased.

"Don’t come here again. Stop coming to recruit people from me. This isn’t your training center!"

Watching the despair on Nate’s face, Gao Yang chuckled softly, saying, "If I should come, I will. One shouldn’t be so petty."

Nate pressed his lips tightly, but eventually, he could only turn and leave, throwing out one last sentence as he left.

"You better leave quickly before I regret it and expose your lies!"

Gao Yang raised his voice and said, "Buddy, don’t forget that you have more secrets here than I have. And, after working all night, you didn’t even prepare a nighttime snack. So inconsiderate!"