Spy-x-War Showdown
Chapter 94 - 93 The Best Soldiers

Chapter 94: Chapter 93 The Best Soldiers

Zhang Yong’s first lesson for Yang Yi was to teach him respect for life, to think carefully before acting about whether it was necessary to do so.

Yang Yi remembered this because he had already realized that he indeed seemed to be naturally lacking in respect for life and in awe of rules.

For an ordinary person to take a knife and kill someone, the vast majority of people, even if they had a great hatred, would really find it difficult to carry through with it, and after killing someone, they wouldn’t be as calm as Yang Yi.

Yang Yi didn’t know why Zhang Yong wanted to teach him this, but he felt that Zhang Yong must have had a good reason for doing so.

"I remember what you said, but can you tell me why it has to be this way? I’m the kind of person who likes to get to the bottom of things."

Zhang Yong nodded and then he looked at Yang Yi very seriously and said, "I’ve been a mercenary and also a hitman, and then I realized that your personality is very much like two people I knew."

Yang Yi didn’t speak, knowing that Zhang Yong would explain it clearly.

Zhang Yong shifted in his seat again, first chuckling bitterly a few times, before slowly saying, "I started out as a mercenary, joined a small mercenary group, but in less than a year the group disbanded after almost half of the people died. However, one of the world’s best mercenary groups took a liking to me, so it was a blessing in disguise I guess."

"The best mercenary group?"

"Yeah, the Angel Mercenary Corps. Have you heard of it? The best small mercenary group in the world. They’re only ranked second, but the first hasn’t been active for many years, so they’re considered the first now."

"I’ve never heard of them. I don’t know anything about mercenaries."

Zhang Yong sighed and said, "I was in the army before I went abroad."

"Were you in the army? Special forces? The really impressive kind, right?"

"I indeed was in the special forces, but not the kind people usually think of. I was a chemical defense soldier, but not the kind who wears chemical suits and does decontamination work; I was a flamethrower soldier."

"Ah, a flamethrower soldier? The kind that uses flamethrowers? Are flamethrower soldiers part of chemical expertise?"

"That’s right, at least that’s how it is in Huaxia. Our training was very tough, the demands were particularly strict. Don’t think just because we’re chemical soldiers we relaxed in infantry skills training. On the contrary, it was stricter! Moreover, I also attended military school. Do you think just anyone can be a flamethrower soldier?"

"No, I didn’t mean that, I was just curious, please go on."

Zhang Yong took a breath and said, "Speaking of which, my connection with the Angel Mercenary Corps is quite interesting. The mercenary group I was with took on a job in South America. It was two drug lords fighting, and the first battle I fought was also the last and quite tragic; quite a few died, many were wounded, and the worst part was that we were surrounded."

Lost in his memories, Zhang Yong fell silent for a while, and then he said in a low voice, "That was the first time I saw such a gruesome scene. I had served in the military for several years, and all I had seen were military drills."

"Hmm."

All of a sudden, Zhang Yong looked at Yang Yi and smiled, saying, "I’m getting sidetracked, aren’t I?"

Yang Yi hurriedly said, "No, no, I like hearing this, please tell me in detail."

Zhang Yong nodded and continued, "I was guarding six injured people, nobody was looking after them. Everyone was a mercenary. In times of great peril, it’s every man for himself, but I couldn’t just ignore them. There was someone among them who I had a good relationship with, but that wasn’t the main reason. I just felt that I couldn’t abandon my comrades, ’leave no one behind and give up on no one.’ That’s the style of a Huaxia soldier. At that time, I had just become a mercenary, and I felt that I couldn’t just leave them there."

"What happened next?"

"After that, I fought for a long time. There was no one left by my side, not a single one, just six severely injured soldiers. I thought I might as well go out with a bang, one for one, any more would be a bonus. Then, um, I killed about forty or fifty people, but they were all just the drug traffickers’ minions. I never got a chance to fight the really tough ones."

"That many?"

"Yep, quite a few, but not an unusual amount. Fighting a war in the South American jungle is really tough; you’re finished if you’re surrounded by a few guys. But we were in a small town. Was I scared of them?"

"So what happened after that?"

"Suddenly, someone came out waving a white flag. Since he was waving a white flag, I didn’t kill him. Then the guy said he was from the Angel Mercenary Corps and their leader wanted to talk to me."

"Just like that?"

"Yeah, I also thought, ’Can this really work?’ But I agreed anyway. Then the leader of the Angel Mercenary Corps came out, and the two of us talked face to face. He asked me which country I was from. I told him Huaxia. He said he really admired me and invited me to join them. He said if I agreed, they would let the few of us go and even treat the wounded."

Yang Yi laughed and said, "This man knows talent when he sees it."

Zhang Yong smiled and said, "With such favorable terms, of course I agreed right away. Then he really did treat our injured. Two of the six survived, which wasn’t a bad outcome, and indeed, I joined the Angels."

Zhang Yong sighed deeply and said, "Only later did I realize Nate was completely insane."

"Insane?"

"That’s right, insane. What does the average person become a mercenary for? Money. But not the Angel Mercenary Corps. They fought for the sake of fighting, without reason or pursuit. Wherever there was a war, they’d go. Can you understand that?"

"Uh, that’s hard to understand."

Zhang Yong took a breath and said, "Our leader was called Mad Wolf. He was handsome, intelligent, and dignified. He led from the front and could lead us from one victory to another. But he was indeed mad. Why do I say you’re like him? Because you share some common traits: both highly intelligent, both very handsome, both indifferent to life, whether it’s your own or someone else’s. Moreover, you both have a grand, almost impossible dream."

Yang Yi gave a dry laugh and said, "Is that so? What’s the Angel Mercenary Group like now?"

"I don’t know. I left the Angels."

"Why?"

Zhang Yong looked at Yang Yi and said, "Because everyone in the Angel Mercenary Corps was rigid. They were fixated, willing to sacrifice everything for an impossible dream. But I’m not like that. I fight for money, not for the sake of fighting and losing my life. I’m not cut from the same cloth as them, so after getting injured once, I left."

Looking at Yang Yi, Zhang Yong said with sudden pride, "Nate may have his head in the clouds, but he said I was the best soldier. I’m brave, resilient, obedient, and can fight tough battles. I truly am the best soldier in the world. To have him say that, as a mercenary, I certainly have reason to be proud."

Yang Yi said softly, "So he just let you leave?"

Zhang Yong said with a wistful expression, "Nate is too proud to retain anyone. He’s a person to the utmost extreme of pride. Plus, in his eyes, I was just a part, a component that could help the Angel machine run better. But just an accessory. If he had me, great, but if not, he truly wouldn’t care."