Trench shook his head. His stern, expressionless face showed not a trace of emotion. "Don't flatter us. In Syria wiping out IS, we were hunters; here, we are the prey."
That answer deserved full marks!
Chen Ge silently gave Trench a thumbs-up. He liked that Trench was captain—unassuming and level-headed, always keeping absolute rationality.
All members of the Falcon Hunting Team were utterly devoted to Trench, mainly because his personal charisma was too strong.
Rewards and punishments were clear; he was composed and calm, greedy for neither money nor credit, treating his mercenaries like brothers rather than other commanders who cared only for money and power and never gave a damn about their subordinates' lives.
Ratibor clearly knew Trench's personality well. He laughed heartily, his deep, bright eyes sweeping over the Falcon Hunting Team members as he asked, "Who is the artillery ace Sledgehammer?"
Chen Ge hesitated for a moment, then stepped out of the ranks.
"It's me!"
Ratibor stepped forward, carefully sizing up Chen Ge, a hint of appreciation flashing in his eyes.
He had heard of Chen Ge's combat record in Syria. The Falcon Hunting Team had become a nightmare that struck terror into IS, and Chen Ge had played an indispensable role.
"Oleg contacted me and asked me to look after you. He's my comrade-in-arms; he saved my life in Chechnya in 2000. I won't refuse his request. I give you two choices: one, go to the logistics department; two, go to the artillery battalion!"
At these words, everyone's expression changed. All eyes gathered on Chen Ge, and they subconsciously held their breath, waiting for him to make his choice.
Had it been them, they would have chosen the logistics department without hesitation. What did lower pay matter? Safety!
Chen Ge smiled and turned to look at Trench, Hailstone, Rock, Fortress, Ice Man, Drill Bit... and his four good brothers.
The most nervous were Big Bear, Lightbulb, Night Cat, and Manhole Cover. The four stared at Chen Ge with wide eyes, their hearts in their throats.
"Thank you for your kindness. I choose to stay with my brothers. Later I'll call Oleg and tell him not to bother you anymore!"
Ratibor was not surprised at all, because he knew Oleg's temperament. Anyone who could make Oleg care so much as to shamelessly ask him to look after him—this Huaxia young man must be a man of loyalty and honor, a tough guy.
Trench, Hailstone, and the mercenaries of the Falcon Hunting Team all beamed. That was what true brothers were like!
What they didn't know was that Chen Ge's main reason for refusing was not wanting to owe Oleg a favor; brotherhood came second.
"Fine, I respect your choice. Do you need any help? For example, weapons and equipment—I can provide them!"
"I want an SVCh rifle, with a Schmidt & Bender PMII scope and a FLIR thermal sight. I can buy it myself."
Ratibor waved a hand. "No need to pay. Wagner doesn't lack weapons and equipment. I'll have someone bring them to you later."
Saying this, Ratibor turned and walked toward a tent.
"Trench, Hailstone, come with me!"
Trench smiled at Chen Ge and stepped out to follow.
Hailstone raised an eyebrow, muttered "idiot," ordered everyone to rest in place, and strode into the tent.
Lightbulb came over, opened his arms, and hugged Chen Ge tightly. "I knew it, Hammer Brother! You wouldn't abandon us. I was so nervous just now—you have no idea? I almost cried."
"Otowali! You're disgusting!"
Chen Ge pushed Lightbulb away with a look of disdain, then looked at Big Bear with his red eyes and laughed, scolding him: "Swallow it back. How embarrassing."
Big Bear gave a silly smile. The 1.9-meter-tall burly giant smiled so innocently that he seemed inexplicably cute.
Chen Ge bumped fists with Night Cat and Manhole Cover, then walked up to Rock and asked, "Got any cigarettes? Give me one."
"Three packs left. I'll give you one."
Rock pulled out three packs of Hongtashan Classic 1956, tossed one to Chen Ge, tore open the other two to hand out cigarettes, and didn't forget to remind everyone to watch out for fires.
The weather was dry. If someone accidentally set dry grass and leaves on fire, that would be something else—it would be like giving the Ukrainian military coordinates.
The Falcon Hunting Team members sat in twos and threes by the dirt road, smoking and chatting—about the Bakhmut situation, their wives and children, women, weapons and equipment.
Chen Ge leaned against a tree as thick as a thigh, pulled up his hard groin protector to shield himself, took out his Huawei Mate 40 Pro, turned off airplane mode, and checked his messages.
Mobile phones were banned on the front lines; both the Russian military and Wagner prohibited them, but it wasn't mandatory. Using them secretly in private was fine.
As long as you weren't stupid enough to keep it on 24/7, or to have it on in a combat zone. Once located, artillery shells and rockets would land on your head.
Oleg: "Arrived in Bakhmut? I asked Ratibor to transfer you to logistics, or the artillery would work too. Your contract expires next April. How about we open a shooting range in Amur Oblast?"
Chen Ge: "Thanks for your concern, bro, but I don't need you pulling strings to give me special treatment. That would make me lose face, you know. I care about face more than anything, so I just turned down Ratibor and chose to stay with the combat squad. A shooting range? I can consider it! We'll talk about it later."
Hardly a few seconds after the message was sent, Oleg sent back a string of curses.
Chen Ge's lips curled up slightly. He sent a few soothing words, then opened Natasha's chat box.
They had chatted for most of the day yesterday and were already quite familiar.
The girl had sound values, was well-behaved, kind, and gentle, and talked a lot. She messaged him at 6:30 in the morning, one every ten minutes, sharing funny stories from school, domestic and international news, asking if they were safe, why her brother wasn't replying.
Chen Ge: "Eat well, sleep well, don't overthink it. Your brother will come back safely."
Natasha: "Hammer Brother, you come back safely too! I'll pray for you, asking God to bless you!"
Chen Ge: "Don't just ask God. You can ask other gods too. Best to ask some Huaxia gods—I'm worried God won't bless me."
Natasha: "Makes sense! I'll ask my best Huaxia friend and get it done for you tonight!"
Chen Ge couldn't help laughing out loud. This Natasha was really fun.
Natasha was nineteen this year, studying clinical medicine at Moscow State Sechenov First Medical University. There were quite a few Huaxia international students at the school, so her Huaxia friend was probably a classmate.
"Assemble!"
Trench's cold, hoarse voice rang out. Chen Ge replied to Natasha, turned off his phone, tucked it into the waist pouch of his tactical vest, stood up, and ran over to assemble.
From his understanding of Trench, the colder the voice, the heavier the mood.
The heavier the mood, the more it meant... Ratibor had definitely assigned the Falcon Hunting Team an extremely difficult mission.
The Falcon Hunting Team wouldn't go to the front lines for direct assaults—that would be a waste of talent. The Falcon Hunting Team's role was special operations.
Everyone assembled. Trench and Hailstone stood at the front of the formation, their expressions unusually solemn.
"Squad leaders stay behind. Everyone else, board the vehicles."
Implicit obedience was the Falcon Hunting Team's specialty—more special-forces than special forces. They grabbed their gear and jumped onto the trucks.
The squad leaders of the three assault teams, demolitions team, communications team, sniper team, reconnaissance team, and fire support team stayed behind, Chen Ge naturally among them.
Trench headed into the woods. Hailstone waved his hand, and everyone followed.
Entering the woods, they found a clearing. Several people squatted in a circle. Trench took out a military tablet, pulled up the map of Bakhmut's southern wing, and began explaining the combat mission.
"Klishchiivka Heights!"}
Chapter 9