The Choice

It wasn't about the money at all. Gao Fei simply felt the kid had vision, guts, and sheer ferocity. He had previously thought Andrey was just a reckless hothead, but whenever trouble hit, Andrey actually dared to charge in. He would be their point man from now on, so keeping him around certainly wouldn't hurt. Gao Fei looked over at Sokholov. "Squad Leader?" Sokholov glanced at Andrey, then said impassively, "That depends on whether the penal battalion is willing to release him. Unless his original unit was wiped out and scattered, there's no way he can join another outfit." With that, Sokholov raised a hand to cut off Andrey, who was about to speak, and went on: "All the bodies here count toward our kill credits. Keep an eye on them. D Company might not have any major bad blood with us, but their general attitude stinks. If their men don't have enough kills to report, they might very well sneak over to steal ours." Gao Fei was dumbfounded by this. What, did Wagner fighters steal each other's kill counts too? "Andrey." Andrey thrust his chest out, staring straight at Sokholov. "Hold this position. I'm putting you in charge of clearing the battlefield. First, check the bodies for valuables. Gather any hand grenades—we're running low on those. And most importantly, see if there are any mobile phones." Sokholov assigned Andrey his task, then jabbed a finger against the man's chest. "It's not guaranteed you get to stay, but whether you can will depend on your performance." "Yes, sir!" Andrey answered with boundless energy. Sokholov then turned his gaze to Parker, hesitating slightly. It was obvious Sokholov didn't know what to do with Parker now. Parker had already taken part in combat and performed exceptionally well. Forcing him to carry the suicide trio to bait drones wouldn't be appropriate anymore, but washing away his prisoner status just like that felt a bit too simple. Anyone with eyes could see Parker wasn't going to die easily. The skills he possessed were precisely what Wagner desperately lacked. Someone like him could do very well for himself; at the very least, he could ensure his own survival. After a brief hesitation, Sokholov said grimly, "I'll put in a good word for you, but I won't hide anything. What happens to you next is up to you." Parker smiled with total confidence. Setting his rifle aside, he said, "Thank you. Let's go." Andrey began searching the dead enemy soldiers for valuables. He took a helmet from a corpse and tossed whatever small valuables he scavenged into it. Sokholov led the way, with Parker following behind him, Gao Fei behind Parker, and Samir bringing up the rear. Rounding a corner, they saw their squad mates waiting eagerly. The others hadn't been able to see what was happening in this section of the trench, but they could hear voices and knew the fight had ended in victory. Glaski asked urgently, "How'd it go?" Sokholov pointed his thumb at Gao Fei and said impassively, "All handled. Over twenty of them, basically all him." Glaski was overjoyed. He turned to Gao Fei. "I knew you could do it! But this is still too incredible. Brother, you're really... you're really..." Being at a loss for words felt just like this. He desperately wanted to praise Gao Fei and express his deep admiration and respect, but limited by his lack of education, he didn't even know how to put it into words. After struggling for a good while, Glaski stammered, "You're a modern-day Vasily Zaytsev!" Vasily Zaytsev—Gao Fei was all too familiar with that name. The Soviet ace sniper depicted in the movie *Enemy at the Gates*. Comparing Gao Fei to Zaytsev was probably the highest praise a Russian could bestow upon a marksman. Gao Fei grinned. But before he could show any modesty, someone nearby spoke up: "Not Zaytsev. Zaytsev was a sniper. Rex isn't a sniper—Rex uses an assault rifle!" The rebuttal wasn't meant to diminish Gao Fei. A soldier Gao Fei didn't recognize stepped forward and extended his right hand, brimming with excitement. "My name is Granov. Hello. It's an honor to fight alongside you. I think you're way better than a sniper. A sniper couldn't wipe out dozens of men this fast." Gao Fei shook Granov's hand. One couldn't be humble around Russians. They didn't really have humility as a virtue; merely refraining from bragging about yourself was already considered very modest. "Thanks for the compliment," Gao Fei said, happily accepting his comrade's praise. Glaski protested stubbornly, "Rex just hasn't used a sniper rifle. If he picked up a sniper rifle, he'd be a sniper. With an assault rifle, he's the deadliest sharpshooter around. Bottom line, he's the absolute best—who dares say otherwise?" "Nobody's saying he isn't. Of course Rex is the best. And what matters most is that he's one of ours." Another man Gao Fei didn't know stepped up, extended his hand, and said respectfully, "You're truly incredible. We'll be relying on you from now on. You can shoot down drones, and you can gun down dozens of men. I've never seen a shooter like you—never even heard of one. If anyone told me a gunman like this existed, I'd have called bullshit. But today, I saw it all with my own eyes. You're the real deal." "Thank you." Sokholov cleared his throat twice and let out a soft sigh. Gao Fei had no idea why Sokholov was sighing, so he looked at him. With a helpless shrug, Sokholov said, "Brother, you're too damn good. We... we can't keep you." Gao Fei was taken aback. Sokholov continued, "If the platoon leader wanted you, we could still hold him off. If the company commander wanted you, we might push back a bit. But today..." He gestured vaguely, smiled bitterly, and went on: "A record like this can't be hidden. We can't cover up your achievements. If regimental command asks for you, there's no way we could stop them—not that we should, anyway." He shone too brightly; there was simply no keeping it under wraps. Gao Fei didn't know whether he would remain in 1st Squad, or even whether he wanted to leave. Normally, leaving the frontline was supposed to be safer, not to mention that being transferred or promoted would certainly come with higher pay. But while he could leave, Sokholov, Samir, and the others couldn't. That was the real reason Gao Fei felt torn. If not for looking out for his brothers, he would have jumped at the chance to get transferred off the frontline immediately. What was there to hesitate about? Noticing Gao Fei's indecision, Parker suddenly chimed in, "Going to regimental special forces isn't necessarily a good thing, though the compensation definitely increases substantially. It all depends on what Rex chooses." The others looked over at Parker, who spread his hands. "If you want to leave once your contract ends, you'd better not go to some regimental special forces unit, and definitely don't catch the eye of the higher-ups. Once they hold you up as a war hero, you won't be able to leave." Gao Fei was surprised. "Oh? Why?" "Dead simple. If you become famous, you'll be stuck in Russia. I don't know your background, but are you Russian?" Gao Fei shook his head and lowered his voice. "I'm not Russian, and I don't want to stay in Russia forever. I still have to go home." Parker smiled. "I know a bit about your outfit. A large portion of you are foreigners. Think about it: a foreigner fighting as a mercenary for Russia, decorated as a war hero by Russia—do I really need to spell out the consequences?" Parker clearly had his own motives. He wanted to recruit Gao Fei for himself, so he had to persuade him not to tie himself too closely to Wagner. Lowering his voice further, Parker said to Gao Fei, "If you choose to become a Russian war hero, you won't be able to make big money anywhere else. Forget Russia for a moment—Wagner itself won't let you go. You'll end up fighting until you die as their poster boy. Sure, you might rise into Wagner's upper management, but with all due respect, an ordinary foreign grunt has almost zero chance of climbing that high." Makes sense. A whole lot of sense. Parker continued, "Your value is on the battlefield. So think about it: would they ever let you leave the front? With the achievements you racked up today, you'll get a bounty and then get transferred to some special forces unit. But the casualty rate in Wagner's special forces isn't low at all—they ought to know that best." Parker pointed at Sokholov. After pondering for a moment, Sokholov nodded. "That's true. As long as we're not holding the very tip of the frontline, we aren't in as much danger. But the regimental special detachment has combat missions almost every day. Their pay is great, but their combat load is much heavier." Gao Fei waved his hand. "Say no more. I'm not leaving. I don't care about the money—what matters to me is staying with my brothers. Besides, today's credit belongs to everyone, not just me." Gao Fei's declaration was met with a chorus of cheers. Men he knew and men he didn't were all thrilled. But cheering wasn't enough; they had to back it up with real action. Without hesitation, Sokholov declared, "No matter how much bounty comes down for today, you get half. Any objections?" Sokholov surveyed the crowd. Not a single person showed any displeasure. A moment later, a soldier Gao Fei didn't recognize shouted, "As long as he stays, I'd even split my salary with him! I don't want to die, and I feel like as long as Rex is here, we won't die!" Giving Gao Fei a cut of his salary was an exaggeration, of course, but giving him the lion's share of the bounties was only right. No one saw any problem with it. Gao Fei didn't see any problem with it either. What was earned should be taken. It was won by putting his life on the line, so why shouldn't he take it? And so, Gao Fei's focus shifted from whether he should transfer to how much money he was going to get. With keen anticipation, Gao Fei asked, "So, how much bounty are we looking at today? A few thousand at least, right?"