Spy-x-War Showdown
Chapter 95 - 94 Rich Experience

Chapter 95: Chapter 94 Rich Experience

Yang Yi didn’t know much about the world of mercenaries, but he felt that since it was the first Mercenary Group, it must be the best, and Zhang Yong, having received the highest accolades in the best mercenary group, must be the best as well.

After a moment of silence, Zhang Yong sighed and said, "But the Angel Mercenary Corps was doomed to fall. Although they were indeed formidable, as long as they refused to change, their downfall was inevitable. From what I knew, Nate and his Angels would never change. Ultimately, we were not cut from the same cloth. I was completely indifferent to their ideals. Leaving was the best choice for both parties, so I left."

Yang Yi nodded and asked, "Is this your experience as a mercenary?"

Zhang Yong didn’t respond to Yang Yi’s question, instead, he spoke with a face full of emotion, "Looking back, sometimes I do have regrets. Going mad with a group of crazies isn’t so bad, dying together with a band of brothers who’ve shared life and death could also be considered a kind of happiness. If I knew what I would turn into later, I’d have just gone crazy with them."

Yang Yi had no idea what Zhang Yong had become later, so naturally, he couldn’t continue this topic, while Zhang Yong went on, "After my time as a mercenary, I messed around for a while. After I spent all my money, I felt I needed to find something to do, mainly to make money. At that time, an opportunity came, and I took a job. It was assassination, the work of a hitman, but I was fit for the job. So accidentally, I became a hitman for two years."

"A hitman?"

"Yes, a hitman. Not a professional, but not any worse than the rest either. There were some differences in the methods, but nothing significant. Because of my mercenary background, my methods compared to those assassins’ were more direct, and therefore more efficient."

"Uh, what’s the difference?"

"Though both involve killing, the differences are actually significant. First of all, assassins prefer to plan for a long time, striking a fatal blow without anyone noticing. The very best can make death look like an accident, leaving no trace of murder. Me? If I took a job, I’d just kill the target directly, no fuss. Snipe if I could snipe, or just slit their throat if I got close enough."

Yang Yi immediately said, "That’s indeed a big difference."

"Exactly, so I could only take on the simpler jobs. Gang vendettas were no problem for me but those big-money jobs were out of my reach. Simply put, making a high-profile individual’s death look natural is not something I can do, whereas the real pros can, but it takes a lot of time and intricate planning, sometimes even the coordination of several people. So these hitmen may only work once in three years, but when they do, they’re set for the next three, and nobody can trace it back to them. In that respect, I can’t compare."

After briefly explaining the difference between himself and professional assassins to Yang Yi, Zhang Yong suddenly smiled and said, "I’m off-topic again. I was supposed to be talking about your character, and here we are discussing my past. To get back to the point, I know an assassin."

"Hm."

"This assassin is something else. He works alone and has never failed a mission. He really reminds me of you, seemingly perfect. He’s the smartest person I’ve ever met, truly capable of anything. But to him, life had no meaning whatsoever. He was a pure hitman, to whom a baby and an ant were no different. To put it simply, he didn’t possess any humanity."

"As an assassin, isn’t that pretty normal?"

Zhang Yong laughed and replied, "Normal? Of course not. The person I knew died, by suicide. One day he got up, and while eating breakfast, he just said to me, ’Life is so boring,’ and then, while taking a spoonful of oatmeal, he slit his own carotid artery with a razor blade, and continued eating his oatmeal until he slumped over the table in front of him. Just like that, he died."

Yang Yi, taken aback, said, "Such a skillful assassin, died just like that? Without any purpose?"

"Yes, he died just like that, right in front of my eyes. I was as shocked as you because he didn’t have any reason to kill himself. He had a lot of money, a lot, he was healthy, but he died just like that. I didn’t save him, because there was no way I could."

Taking a deep breath, Zhang Yong looked at Yang Yi with a somewhat melancholic expression and said, "He wasn’t exactly a friend, but at that time, I really considered him as one. I never thought he would take his own life. Back then, it was unfathomable to me, but later I understood, there was nothing unfathomable about it. When he regarded his own life, including everyone else’s, with such indifference, death was not far away. Living like an emotionless zombie, dying might have been a relief."

Yang Yi subconsciously touched his own neck as Zhang Yong said, "You know, that hitman was trained from a young age, crafted to be a tool. And you, you’re naturally cut out to be an assassin. You’re calm, intelligent, decisive—all great qualities. But if you keep walking the path of slaughter, you could end up like that hitman I told you about, ultimately walking a path of no return. Is that the life you want?"

In a grave tone, Yang Yi said, "That’s not the life I want, but I have no choice. However, I will make an effort to maintain respect for life, whether it’s others’ or my own."

Zhang Yong nodded and smiled, "People as smart as you, geniuses really, if you could become a scientist, a doctor, that would be a stroke of luck for everyone. If you became a gambler, at least you wouldn’t pose a risk to ordinary people. But if you turned into a cold-blooded madman, especially being a genius, that would be unfortunate for ordinary people. To be honest, I’m quite wary of clever people like you. I’ve seen how formidable they can be when they’re mad. So, I still want to say this. I would not want to train someone heartless and mad."

Pointing at himself, Yang Yi laughed and said, "Then you don’t need to worry about that, I think I’m quite normal. But I will definitely remember your words, because I certainly don’t want to end up a madman."

Zhang Yong nodded, then stood up, and with a smile said to Yang Yi, "Later on, you’ll be moved to a different cell. Then we can start training, that’s it."

In a rush, Yang Yi said, "Can you tell me more about that incredible assassin friend of yours? I feel like I might need a skillful hitman in the future, so I want to know more about them."

Zhang Yong spread his hands in regret and replied, "Unfortunately, I think you might never find another hitman as skilled as him. Hmm, he was trained by an Assassin Organization known as Shadow, but now that Shadow no longer exists. The assassin I knew didn’t even have a name, just a number, 22, that’s all, that’s everything I know."