A Backer?

Suddenly, he had become a hot commodity. Gao Fei retreated into his dugout, resolving to simply stay put inside. Reasonably speaking, the platoon leader shouldn't be coming back, right? He had already been flatly rejected; pestering him relentlessly would be crossing a line. "Company Commander!" Gao Fei couldn't see who had arrived, but he heard Glaski's somewhat overly loud shout. Sokholov jolted awake in an instant. Scrambling to his feet, he dashed out of his dugout with no trace of morning grogginess and rushed straight up to the company commander. "Greetings, Commander!" The company commander had brought seven or eight men carrying a substantial amount of supplies, but the platoon leader wasn't among them. Glancing around and seeing no sign of the platoon leader, Sokholov relaxed slightly, then said without hesitation, "Commander, drop the supplies and get moving quickly. It's dangerous here—watch out for drones." Sokholov spoke in Russian, but the company commander didn't reply in Russian. Instead, he answered in English, "Don't worry. The enemy knows we're launching an offensive. Even if they make a move, it'll only target the penal battalion that's already assembled, not here." Both were shrewd old foxes—their minds were crystal clear, and neither could put on an act for the other. Sokholov felt bitter inside. With a grave expression, he said, "Rex is just a new recruit. He doesn't want to join the assault squad." The company commander's face stiffened. "Did I say I came here for a recruit?" Sokholov lowered his head and kept silent. "I came because you performed very well last night. A major operation is coming soon, and our front line will definitely have to push forward, so I'm here to survey the terrain and figure out where to set up the command post once the line advances." The company commander offered an explanation, then waved his hand. "This round of bounties has been issued. Your squad gets two thousand four hundred euros in total. None of the other units have been paid yet—I made a special effort to fight for you to get paid first." Sokholov froze, looking dazed. "Nobody else got paid, but we get it first?" "Of course. Exceptional performance naturally gets exceptional treatment. Under a midnight assault, a four-man team wiped out an eight-man enemy raiding squad. That's a solid record, and the regimental commander was very pleased when he heard about it." Sokholov's jaw dropped, looking stunned. "Even the regimental commander knows? Just a small engagement, and he already knows?" "Coincidence, pure coincidence. Last night the regimental commander was reviewing assault routes with the penal battalion. They were using drones to observe enemy trench defenses and troop dispositions, and as luck would have it, they caught your skirmish. You got lucky. The regimental commander was thrilled, and everyone was pleased." The company commander broke into a broad grin. Hesitating briefly, he nodded and added, "This morning the regimental commander personally praised me, so naturally I had to show my appreciation." As long as he wasn't here to poach people, it was fine. Sokholov immediately said, "Both of our newcomers are solid. It really was our luck." The company commander nodded, then drew a stack of cash from his pocket. "All cash. Euros, not rubles." Sokholov took the bills and said solemnly, "Thank you, Commander." The company commander swept his gaze around. "What, not going to let me meet your sharpshooter?" "Uh, he's asleep." Gao Fei wasn't asleep, but the moment he heard Sokholov's words, he leaned back, shut his eyes, and pretended to be fast asleep. "I've already spoken with your platoon leader. Don't transfer Rex to the assault squad. Even the regimental commander was impressed by him—well, you know how it is." Overjoyed, Sokholov immediately hollered, "Rex, what are you doing! Are you awake yet? If you are, get over here right now!" Gao Fei scrambled up, emerged from the dugout, hurried behind Sokholov, and said, "Greetings, Commander." This was the second time Gao Fei had seen the company commander, yet the commander looked at him as if seeing him for the first time. After sizing Gao Fei up from head to toe, he suddenly asked, "You fought well last night—very well. I didn't see your performance firsthand, but I heard others describe it. What kind of unit did you serve in before you discharged?" "I'm sorry, Commander, that's classified." Gao Fei once again pulled out secrecy as his shield. The commander's expression hardened. "Do you think I've never dealt with people from China? I know full well what is classified and what isn't. If you really came from a high-security unit, you never would have made it to Russia. And if you aren't from a high-security unit, there's no need to hide it. Or are you a spy?" "No! I'm not a spy!" "Then you can at least disclose your branch of service, unit, and rank. You don't need to conceal that, nor should you." The company commander looked Gao Fei up and down twice, saying with utter gravity, "If you don't make it clear, I can't determine your motive for joining Wagner. Are you a spy?" A company commander was truly a company commander—far sharper than a team leader, squad leader, or platoon leader. In just a couple of sentences, he had backed Gao Fei into a corner. If he didn't talk, he wouldn't get past this hurdle. Gao Fei was in a tight spot; at this point, he certainly couldn't admit he had been bluffing the whole time. After an agonized pause, Gao Fei lowered his voice. "I was a disciplinary inspector—what you call military police." The company commander froze, and so did Sokholov. Even the look in Sokholov's eyes changed. Before the commander could speak, Sokholov asked nervously, "What kind?" "The kind strictly in charge of military discipline." "*Hiss...*" Sokholov drew in a sharp breath, then looked toward the company commander. With a sudden look of realization, the commander said, "So that's how it is. Did you ever get beaten up?" Gao Fei lowered his head with the guilty posture of someone caught red-handed. "You did get beaten up?" Gao Fei fell silent. After thinking for a long while, he said in a low voice, "That... is classified." "Hahaha..." The company commander suddenly burst out laughing, then said with relish, "Then you definitely got your ass kicked! I was wondering how a prime prospect for a sniper like you could end up in the military police." "I didn't have much choice either..." Sokholov also looked enlightened. He sighed, "That makes sense. That explains everything. I kept wondering why you seemed both like a veteran and not like one. Turns out you were military police! Your MPs don't do much combat training, do they?" "Yes, relatively little. And I honestly preferred an easier life." Sokholov turned to the company commander. "He's just an MP. Not a sniper, not special forces." The company commander waved his hand. "Enough. Don't worry about me transferring him to the assault squad. Shut up and step aside." Sokholov stepped aside helplessly, while the company commander looked at Gao Fei with a smile. "Our company is the only one in the 4th Assault Detachment that accepts foreign mercenaries—especially those who only speak English. As long as you were assigned to the 4th Assault Detachment, you were guaranteed to end up in my company. Did you know that?" Gao Fei had no idea what the commander was getting at, so he cast an imploring glance at Sokholov. Sokholov was equally clueless, having no clue what the commander meant by this. Hesitating for a moment, Gao Fei shook his head. "I didn't know." "Well, someone did." The commander chuckled. "The moment you signed the contract to join Wagner, he knew which unit you'd be assigned to. Then he gave me a call and asked me to look out for you." Sokholov's eyes went wide, while Gao Fei thought for just a brief second before a name blurted out. "Mr. Osokayev?" Osokayev was the recruiter who had enlisted Gao Fei into Wagner. Gao Fei truly hadn't expected Osokayev to call their company commander, let alone ask him to look out for him. "That's right, him." Seeing Gao Fei's shocked expression, the company commander laughed heartily again. "He said you were a ruthless bastard, but I never expected you'd be this kind of ruthless." Pointing toward the corpses on the ground, the commander smiled. "Not bad. You really did perform well. I'm very satisfied, and pleasantly surprised." Gao Fei stammered, "If you get the chance, please convey my thanks to Mr. Osokayev once more. He saved my life, and I'm endlessly grateful to him." The commander nodded in satisfaction. "I'll tell Osokayev. I'll let him know you're doing well." Before Gao Fei had even arrived at the company, the commander had known he was coming. After all, as the sole Chinese soldier and someone Osokayev specifically phoned in about, the commander naturally recognized him. Recognizing him didn't mean he'd acknowledge him; if Gao Fei had performed averagely, the commander wouldn't have bothered paying him any mind. But now that Gao Fei had performed well, the commander was naturally going to pull him a bit closer. There was no special reason—it was just the standard, fundamental way of doing things in the adult world. Solemn and excited, Gao Fei said, "Thank you, Commander!" "Keep up the good work. You've done well, and I have high hopes for your future." Patting Gao Fei's shoulder, the commander added, "I made sure to reward you guys with some good stuff. Enjoy it quietly among yourselves; don't go flaunting it in front of others. All right, I'm off." The commander turned to leave. After hesitating a moment, Sokholov asked in a low voice, "Commander, with things like this, does that mean the platoon leader won't..." "That depends on his own wishes." Without looking back, the commander kept walking. Sokholov raised his voice slightly. "Commander, what about these corpses?" "We don't have the manpower to collect bodies. Toss them outside the trench. We'll be moving out before they start to stink anyway. Let the relief unit deal with the headache." The company commander left, departing as briskly as he had arrived. Once the commander was gone, Sokholov immediately turned to Gao Fei, looking curious. "Never mind you being an MP—how do you have a connection with the company commander? And who is Mr. Osokayev?" Glaski asked excitedly, "Is he some big shot?" Gao Fei was just as baffled. Feeling utterly helpless, he said, "Mr. Osokayev is a recruiter. He's the one who enlisted me into Wagner. As for whether he's a big shot, I have no idea." Nearby, Samir Bek piped up, "He definitely is! He said you were a ruthless bastard. What did you do?" Gao Fei thought about it. These were comrades who had walked through life and death together; this was something he could share. If he kept quiet, it would only create distance between him and his brothers. And so, Gao Fei let out a sigh. "It's a long story. Here's how it went..."