Spy-x-War Showdown
Chapter 403 - 391 The Pride of a Master

Chapter 403: Chapter 391 The Pride of a Master

Shock, absolute shock!

Zhang Yong was definitely one of the best at waging war on this planet. Of course, he might not be very good at polar combat, but as a seasoned warrior, allowing the enemy to casually reach the back of his head was unacceptable.

Some excel at street fighting, some are especially good at indoor combat, and others are proficient in jungle warfare, which is all determined by each person’s upbringing and training environment. Someone who has never been to a jungle or received jungle warfare training won’t perform well in the jungle, and the same principle applies to polar combat.

But Zhang Yong was skilled at indoor combat, and he had fought in the jungle. He was familiar with and had experienced most forms of combat, being an experienced veteran; so even if he was not adept at combat in the snow, he should not have been manhandled and casually pushed around on the ground by Pasanin.

No one is invincible, and Zhang Yong is no exception, so an occasional defeat was completely normal. Zhang Yong would be annoyed, but he would never treat defeat as a great humiliation.

However, being defeated three times in a row in an almost humiliating manner naturally made Zhang Yong furious.

So although Yang Yi was curious, he still had to counsel Zhang Yong to prevent him from becoming completely disheartened due to the setbacks.

"That Finnish person defeated the Soviet Union back in the day using guerrilla warfare, right? The Soviets relied on severe cold weather to defeat the French and the Germans but fell at the hands of the Finns. So losing to a Finn who grew up here is actually quite normal, isn’t it?"

In the Soviet-Finnish war of that year, the Soviet Union launched a war against Finland with absolute superiority. Anyone would have thought it was a foregone conclusion, but in the end, the Soviets won a pyrrhic victory over Finland with huge casualties and quickly lost what they had gained from the war.

The White Death, Simo Häyhä, was the strongest sniper that emerged in the Soviet-Finnish war. As the weaker side, Simo Häyhä and his companions moved stealthily through the forests and snow, using guerrilla tactics to terrorize the mechanized Soviet soldiers.

Essentially, what Simo Häyhä and Pasanin did were identical: in the most familiar terrain, they struck deadly blows to the enemy in their most practiced manner.

But no matter what, Zhang Yong’s defeat was a bit too embarrassing...

"The second time, we split up, and I thought maybe I left footprints, allowing Pasanin to silently ski up behind me after finding my tracks. So the second time I chose a hilltop and hid under a big tree, but just as I settled in, a snowball fell on my head from above."

Zhang Yong looked at Yang Yi with a face of despair, unable to eat the bread in his hands, and said helplessly, "And then Pasanin... that guy was already hiding up in the tree, watching me settle before tossing a snowball! I swear I checked carefully, there were no footprints on the ground! Not a single one, and even if I’m not adept at snow warfare, I should be able to spot if someone had walked there, no matter how much he tried to hide the tracks—but there weren’t any!"

Zhang Yong could do nothing but sigh.

"The third time, I was baffled. I knew I should have called it quits. To insist was only humiliating myself. But I actually just wanted to see how Pasanin did it. So once again, after we split up, I just stood still. I merely walked a few steps, then stopped, and I just spun around; I wanted to see where he would come from!"

Yang Yi couldn’t help but say, "You couldn’t discover him even doing that?"

Zhang Yong replied weakly, "He reached my back again and tapped my shoulder. I’m going crazy, really. He’s driving me insane."

Yang Yi gasped, shocked and unable to speak, "That’s impossible. The way you describe it, he’s not even human."

Zhang Yong shook his head, took a sip from his soup bowl, and complained, "It’s really disgusting! Even worse than the British stuff!"

As Yang Yi pondered how Pasanin achieved it, he subconsciously looked towards the window, then immediately said, "You guys went out at seven, which means it was still dark then!"

"It was dark out there, but you can still see a bit in the snow. Let me put it this way, when it comes to night battles, I fear no one. Not mercenaries, not any special forces. If I can fight at night, I would never choose the day."

Kate also spoke anxiously, "Does that mean he was using night-vision goggles?"

Zhang Yong shook his head, "I didn’t use night-vision, and neither did he. The temperature outside was minus thirty-six Celsius. The thermal imager I brought wouldn’t even start up."

Yang Yi was dumbfounded, "Damn! Seriously, you actually used thermal imaging?"

Zhang Yong said sheepishly, "We agreed not to use it, but I got desperate..."

"I thought you had the pride of a master!"

Zhang Yong glanced at Yang Yi, disdainfully saying, "Pride of a master during a battle? Are you an idiot?"

"But this isn’t a real battle!"

"This is a battle!"

After forcefully rebutting Yang Yi, Zhang Yong immediately deflated, his face betraying his helplessness as he said, "A battle of dignity, and then the thermal imager lets me down, freezing so it won’t start up."

Kate wasn’t as fussy as Yang Yi, she just asked curiously, "So, could Pasanin’s thermal imager still work under those freezing conditions?"

Zhang Yong covered his face with his hands, saying, "I had the same question, and when I got back, he showed me all his gear, one by one. No thermal imager, no night-vision goggles. Meanwhile, I was fully equipped with both."

Yang Yi shook his head, "Even if Pasanin used thermal imaging, it doesn’t explain how he got behind Brother Yong. Just being able to see doesn’t mean you can get close. Besides, he didn’t cheat. But, let’s face it, Brother Yong, you cheated and still couldn’t make it, it’s just... really..."

Zhang Yong was visibly annoyed, "Whose side are you on, exactly?"

Yang Yi gestured with his hands, "We’re just discussing, no need to get angry."

"Bullshit! You’re like someone stabbing a knife into my heart over and over, you know that?"

Zhang Yong covered his chest, then said with a pained expression, "My heart hurts! You’re turning your elbow out."*

Yang Yi laughed, "It’s good that Pasanin is a master, right? We’re here to train, aren’t we? So you should learn from him. Once you’ve learned, you’ll know what happened, and then you can beat him."

Zhang Yong said irritably, "Save it. Do you think training in polar combat is useful? Useful? What’s the point of being in this godforsaken place? Even if you master it, what’s the use?"

After saying this, Zhang Yong suddenly paused, then looked at Yang Yi, "Hey, do you think the birds here could freeze mid-shit? Hey, what if your pee freezes into a stick mid-stream? Should I go out and try?"

*Note: The phrase "You’re turning your elbow out" roughly means "You are being unhelpful or disloyal to your own group."