Top Tier

On any other topic, Gao Fei wouldn't have bothered with Parker, but the moment money came up, he was suddenly all ears. "Do mercenaries really make that kind of money?" Gao Fei didn't reveal his own pay; he merely threw the question back at Parker. Sokholov had walked off, and Glaski had taken the machine gun to set up their defensive position, but Samir Bek was still right there. With an expression of pure disgust, Samir Bek said, "Don't listen to his bullshit. Fifty grand? Twenty grand? That's just the crap recruiters feed people to get them slaughtered as cannon fodder. If being a mercenary paid that well, why the hell would I have come to Russia?" Parker shook his head, looking completely confident. "An ordinary mercenary doesn't make that kind of money, of course. But can you really call a sharpshooter an ordinary mercenary?" Samir Bek froze for a second. Thinking back on the difference between his own pay and Gao Fei's, all he could do in the end was let out a soft sigh. Comparisons were only ever bound to infuriate a man. Parker looked at Gao Fei and said with dead seriousness, "I know a sniper who pulls in fifty thousand dollars a month. Just to do nothing—merely agreeing to join the mercenary group gets him a monthly salary of fifty grand. Combat pay is extra, hazard pay is extra, and if there's an actual operation, he pockets fifty grand for a single battle. I'm dead serious." Gao Fei swallowed involuntarily, an incredulous look on his face. "Fifty grand a month for doing nothing?" "That's right! Fifty grand! And I know another guy who doesn't even take a base retainer. Instead, he charges a minimum of ten thousand dollars just to step into a fight. And that's his absolute baseline. If it's a high-threat, high-difficulty mission, there's no ceiling at all. Whatever he asks for, they pay." Gao Fei's heart leaped, but thinking of his own contract, his excitement immediately deflated. Then, once he had cooled down slightly, he finally spotted the catch. "Wait a second. Did you say sniper?" "Yeah." "I'm not a sniper, though." "You're not a sniper?" Parker shot him a bewildered look, utterly baffled. "If your shooting is that good, why aren't you a sniper? Can you only shoot at close range?" "Not necessarily... Well, I've never actually tried using a sniper rifle." Gao Fei couldn't resist rubbing his chin, muttering under his breath, "Maybe I really ought to find a sniper rifle and give it a try." Parker's words had cracked open a window for Gao Fei—a skylight offering a glimpse of the open sky. Who knew mercenaries could make that kind of money? Fifty thousand US dollars a month—wasn't that over three hundred thousand RMB? Over three hundred thousand a month! What on earth paid that well? Wagner only paid two thousand euros even if you had a specialty. There was a massive gulf between that and what Parker was talking about. While Gao Fei was lost in thought, Samir Bek suddenly spoke up. "Wait a minute. You're not talking about that... what's his name... that famous German sniper, are you? Von Schulman—that's him, the Black Knight, isn't it?" Parker was taken aback. He glanced cautiously at Samir Bek. "You know about him?" "Of course I know him! The number-one sniper in the entire mercenary world! Obviously he can make hundreds of thousands a month! People would gladly hand him hundreds of thousands for a single battle, but that's because he's the very best sniper there is!" Parker gave a slight grin. "Sure, but it's true he makes that much, isn't it?" Samir Bek sneered. "We're both playing football, but I can't even make an amateur squad while Cristiano Ronaldo brings in hundreds of millions a year." Turning back to Gao Fei, Samir Bek added, "This bastard is talking about the absolute peak masters of the industry. Don't listen to him. Tens of thousands of dollars a month don't come that easy." So he had been quoting the industry's absolute top-tier bracket all along. What was the damn point, then? Others might not have known, but Gao Fei knew his own limitations. Firing an assault rifle and using a sniper rifle were two entirely different beasts. Being accurate at close quarters with an automatic rifle didn't mean he could land hits at long range through a telescopic sight. A top-tier sniper was a treasure to any nation or military. Beyond that, the ultra-elite snipers were rare, national-treasure-level assets. When someone truly reached that pinnacle, they could rake in cash anywhere on earth. Frankly speaking, if someone was genuinely that elite, why would they even bother working as a mercenary? Gao Fei's gaze toward Parker turned distinctly unfriendly. He couldn't tell whether Parker was just spinning sweet talk to save his own skin. Yet that didn't quite make sense either. Sokholov had already ordered him to shut up, so why would Parker bother trying to entice Gao Fei by painting pie-in-the-sky fantasies? Was something wrong with the guy's head? Just moments ago, Parker had behaved like a meek, battered wife—obedient and well-behaved. Yet now, facing Samir Bek's rebuttal, he looked completely indignant. "You're not wrong, but snipers still make top dollar! No matter what mercenary outfit they're in, they get paid! Put it this way: I know a sniper who pulls in twelve grand a month even in Africa! And what kind of place is Africa? Do the blacks even know how to fight? Africans don't even have artillery; they can't even handle rifles properly!" With that, Parker cast a wary glance around their surroundings before lowering his voice. "And what kind of place is this? In this godforsaken hellhole, artillery shells peel off entire layers of the earth! If you're fighting here and not pulling down tens of thousands a month... I got scammed, all right? Otherwise, there's no way in hell I'd have ever set foot in this damn place!" His reasoning made plenty of sense, but it was completely useless. Gao Fei curled his lip, shaking his head at Parker. "All right, shut your mouth. Keep spouting nonsense and our team leader really will blow your brains out." Parker clamped his mouth shut. Yet he truly seemed to have a death wish, because after pressing his lips together in silence for a brief moment, he turned back to Gao Fei. "If you're not a sniper, being a designated marksman is just as good! The guy I mentioned earlier who makes fifty grand a month is a designated marksman! Designated marksmen are in even shorter supply than snipers! You shoot so accurately with a rifle, and sharpshooters are welcomed anywhere they go. If you go to..." Parker snapped his mouth shut before finishing the sentence, seeing Sokholov striding back over. Sokholov stopped in front of Gao Fei and spoke in a hushed voice: "Things are bad. Communications are down, and we have no idea what the enemy's situation is. Listen carefully: if the enemy launches a counterattack, your job is to find the company commander and report our situation. That's an order from me. Don't wait around for me to tell you when to move. Read the situation yourself. The moment things turn sour, fall back to find the company commander for reinforcements. Do you understand what I'm saying?" He was telling Gao Fei to run the moment things looked bad. And since Sokholov had designated it as an official mission, pulling back wouldn't count as deserting the front line—it would be carrying out an order to fetch reinforcements. Gao Fei sighed. "I understand. But surely it won't come to that, will it?" With a grim, rigid expression, Sokholov said, "If things had gone smoothly, there would have been a breakthrough across the entire front line by now. But we're the only ones who've finished our fight. Listen to that—the fighting in every other direction is fierce. The battle isn't going well." Having said his piece, Sokholov turned his gaze upon Parker, hesitating for a moment as if contemplating whether it would be simpler just to shoot him dead on the spot. Parker was sharp enough to catch on. He immediately blurted out, "I can fight for you guys! There's no need to kill me!" Gao Fei hesitated as well, but quickly murmured, "Let's not kill him yet. Higher-ups might need a live prisoner. Let's keep him around for now."