1st Squad held the most important position, which was why the company commander was heading here first.
Once the company commander arrived, Parker would certainly have to be handed over to him. That raised a question: should the mobile phone be turned over to the company commander along with him, returned to Parker, or kept safe for Parker in the meantime?
Gao Fei had the impression that Parker wanted him to hide the phone.
Maybe it was better to wait and see how things played out.
The platoon leader showed no inclination to interrogate Parker directly. Today's battle had inflicted heavy casualties; the survivors were utterly exhausted, and their curiosity had waned.
The platoon leader sat down right against the trench wall, fished out a cigarette, and lit it, clearly intending to smoke and wait idly.
Just then, the platoon leader cast a careless glance aside—and shot right back to his feet as if he had sat on a lit cigarette butt.
He hurried down the trench.
Taking advantage of the opening, Gao Fei said to Parker, "What did you mean?"
"Keep it safe for me. Don't take it out. I'll come back to get it from you."
Parker spoke hurriedly, then realized his words might cause a misunderstanding, so he added, "There are phone numbers for a lot of my friends in it. If it gets confiscated or investigated, it'll cause trouble. Right now I can't be sure whose hands I'll end up in, so it's safer this way. Trust me, I'll definitely make it worth your while."
"Was this hit by gunfire?"
The platoon leader stood before a suicide FPV drone that had crashed in the trench. Turning his head, he stared in astonishment at Sokholov. "There are bullet holes in this drone. Was it shot down with a rifle?"
The drone hadn't detonated and was largely intact.
However, its unexploded munition posed a danger, so unless strictly necessary, no one wanted to touch a fallen drone.
How had the platoon leader spotted it?
Sokholov said calmly, "Oh, the drone? Yeah, we brought it down."
The platoon leader said without hesitation, "Rex shot it!"
"No, Andrey did. He got lucky."
"Andrey?"
The platoon leader froze for a moment, then flew into a rage. "Sokholov! You son of a bitch, do you take me for an idiot? You just said over the walkie-talkie that it was Andrey who directed the artillery!"
Sokholov was startled. He racked his brain, but for the life of him he couldn't remember whose name he had tossed out on a whim earlier.
Sokholov looked over at Gao Fei, who gave a slight nod.
*That's right, Squad Leader. You said Andrey before, and you said Andrey again this time. If you're going to lie, pay attention—don't keep shearing the same sheep.*
Sokholov scrambled to cover his blunder, muttering, "Andrey got lucky. I mean... he's... uh..."
"Is there anyone in our platoon named Andrey? Bring him out! Let me see who the hell he is!"
"Andrey is de—"
Sokholov almost blurted out that Andrey was dead, but his brain finally worked a step faster this time. If Andrey actually ended up sticking with him later, explaining it would be an even bigger headache.
"Andrey's from the penal battalion. He already rejoined his unit and left."
The platoon leader was genuinely angry. With a grim expression, he stepped right up to Sokholov and snapped, "Taking me for an idiot, are you? Enjoy playing me for a fool? Fine. Rex, you're being transferred to the assault squad right now. That's an order."
Sokholov backed down at once.
"Don't, Platoon Leader. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, my mistake."
Sokholov stepped forward and caught the platoon leader's hand, saying helplessly, "We took heavy casualties today, and I was afraid you'd take Rex away. Look, let me put it plainly: transferring Rex into the assault squad is absolutely out of the question. Platoon Leader, he's in my squad, but he's still your soldier!"
The platoon leader viciously shook off Sokholov's hand and barked, "You bastard, do you still consider me your platoon leader?"
By now, Gao Fei wasn't really worried about the platoon leader insisting on transferring him. If he were truly going to be reassigned, it would be to the company command post at least, or even the regimental special forces. It would never come down to the platoon leader forcing the transfer.
Sokholov's face looked grim, but he could hardly say anything.
The platoon leader gave a heavy snort, then began, "I—"
Whatever the platoon leader was about to say, his words were cut short by someone shouting from a distance behind them: "Ocean!"
"White!"
Things were lively today; challenges and passwords were being barked non-stop.
After a brief wait, the company commander hurried over, accompanied by four men.
Spotting Sokholov from afar, the company commander called out beamingly, "Good work, Sokholov! Excellent work!"
The platoon leader was fuming, but at this point he had no choice but to keep his mouth shut.
The company commander pointed at two men behind him. "These two came down from the regiment to verify combat honors. Sokholov, point out your positions and confirmed kills to them."
Usually, honors were reported by the company and then verified by the regiment. Direct tallying on the front line did happen, but rarely.
The crucial factor was that the achievement was so significant; a prompt response from regimental headquarters was also a way to recognize the front-line soldiers' feats.
The platoon leader shot the company commander a meaningful look.
Sokholov did the same.
For a moment, the company commander was baffled, wondering what was wrong with everyone today—instead of speaking up, they were communicating entirely with glances.
"Company Commander, Rex..."
The platoon leader decided to strike first, but Sokholov immediately cut in: "Rex achieved immense merit today. Without him, victory would have been impossible."
The company commander frowned and said to the platoon leader, "I know you want the man. Everyone loves a sharpshooter. But! You have to consider his own wishes!"
If it had been anyone else, who would give a damn about his personal wishes? But for a sharpshooter, his feelings had to be catered to.
The company commander stepped forward and said kindly to Gao Fei, "You did well today—"
"Suka blyat..."
Just then, the company commander heard an exclamation of shock.
The company commander's attention was drawn away. Sokholov said urgently, "Company Commander, these achievements are a collective effort! We did it together! Rex wants to stay in our company—he doesn't want to go to regimental headquarters! You get what I mean, right?"
The message was that Gao Fei wanted to stay in E Company and didn't want to be transferred away, even for a promotion.
The company commander caught on instantly. He murmured, "I get it. This was a battle completed by your entire squad. Let me see what happened... Fuck!"
Looking at the trench full of corpses, he automatically overlooked the few living men rummaging through pockets for spoils. His eyes widened instantly.
To the left, over a dozen bodies were piled atop one another.
To the right, dozens of bodies were lined up along the trench, the blood pooling across the bottom.
"How are there so many..." The company commander's voice trembled slightly. Looking at Gao Fei, he whispered, "This is insane!"
Sokholov said with utter earnestness, "There are plenty of us here! The enemy mounted a suicidal assault—they had a death wish and just threw themselves into our fire."
The company commander swallowed and muttered, "Who are you trying to kid? Do you think they'll believe that?"
One of the evaluators jogged over and said to the company commander, "Why are all of them shot in the head? What happened here? Did these men surrender, only for your men to execute them all at close range?"
Shooting prisoners of war—dozens at once—was a tricky matter. Instead of earning honors, it could turn into a severe offense.
The company commander pressed his lips together, then said abruptly, "Is there a problem?"
"No problem. Taking no prisoners is fine. I'm just curious."
The evaluator let out a breath and said with relief, "Because if this happened in actual combat, that would be far too... far too... uh, far too incredible."
The company commander decided to roll with the execution story. As long as Gao Fei didn't mind, he certainly didn't. In any case, a dead enemy was a dead enemy; whether they died after surrendering or in battle made no difference to recording the kills.
Saying that Gao Fei had personally killed most of them would be too terrifying—nobody would be able to keep Gao Fei in the unit then.
The evaluators went back to checking the count of bodies. They also needed to verify the position's coordinates to assess the tactical value of capturing this ground.
As the curious evaluators turned and walked off, the company commander looked at Gao Fei again.
But the look in his eyes was completely different now: it burned with fervor, and his expression hardened with determination—the shameless sort of resolve where a man would throw away all dignity just to secure the prize.
Sokholov suddenly chimed in, "We didn't just kill a lot of enemies—we also captured their commander."
Sokholov pointed at Parker and said, "Him right there. He's the one who directed the artillery just now, and he joined our counter-charge against the enemy, fighting bravely. I believe he's an extremely valuable prisoner."
The company commander looked at Parker. Parker gave the company commander a solemn nod. "Hello. That's me."
The company commander rubbed his chin, sized Parker up, and said, "A commander?"
"Yes."
"Mm, alright. You're coming with me in a bit."
The company commander's attention hadn't fully shifted away from Gao Fei. Even after being told Parker had directed the artillery, was it still not enough? That wouldn't do.
Sokholov pressed on: "Company Commander, this guy has a mysterious background and incredible capabilities. He's a brilliant tactical commander and knows artillery inside out. You didn't see it from the rear, but his artillery spotting was pinpoint accurate—every round landed right on the enemy's heads."
The company commander finally said, "Oh?"
Parker said without hesitation, "I know many secrets of the Ukrainians. I demand to speak with the highest-ranking commander before I reveal them. Company Commander, sir, I am valuable. Please take me to your highest-ranking commander as soon as possible. I have critical intelligence to provide."
Parker was a truly crafty fox.
The platoon leader wanted to poach Gao Fei, the company commander wanted to keep him, and Parker wanted to recruit him too. For the company commander and platoon leader, it was an internal reassignment; Parker, on the other hand, was thinking of poaching him right out of the Wagner Group.
So Parker was more than willing to cooperate; he didn't want to see Gao Fei bound hand and foot to the Wagner Group with no way out.
The company commander was visibly moved at last. Frowning, he said, "Mm, fine. I'll take you to see the regimental commander."
With that, the company commander turned back and said, "Since you're all here, I won't bother inspecting the other positions. Orders from above are to dig in for defense right where we are and wait for follow-on forces to relieve us."
Sokholov said loudly, "Understood, Company Commander! We need ammunition resupply, especially hand grenades. Since we're holding the front line, we'll need anti-tank weapons. Also, we need a shotgun."
"What do you need that for? Are you actually planning to—"
The platoon leader suddenly broke in: "Company Commander, look at this."
The platoon leader pointed with his boot at the untouched drone on the ground. The company commander took one look, and his expression turned to shock.
The platoon leader picked up the drone with his bare hands. Parker flinched in fright. "Dangerous!"
A drone wreck counted as unexploded ordnance. Picking it up by hand proved the platoon leader really didn't fear death.
Carrying the drone, the platoon leader walked up to the company commander. There was no need to say a word; the company commander naturally saw the bullet holes on it.
"Suka blyat!"
The company commander whipped around to look at Gao Fei, his voice shaking. "I knew you were a treasure, but I didn't realize you were a whole damn gold mine!"
The platoon leader tossed the drone over the trench parapet, then muttered, "I wasn't necessarily trying to force him into my assault squad, but... alright, let's respect his personal wishes."
Gao Fei said without hesitation, "I'm not going anywhere. I'm staying right here, in 1st Squad."
The company commander declared without missing a beat, "Wherever you say you want to be, that's where you stay! Whatever you want to do, you do! Whatever you ask for, I'll give you! Tell me, what do you want?"
"I want a shotgun, a sniper rifle, and... uh, a pistol."
A pistol was useless here, but Gao Fei had never fired one; asking for one just to play around with was harmless enough.
Glaski had captured a pistol from Parker and certainly wouldn't return it; Gao Fei had been eyeing it covetously and wanted one for himself.
"No problem! Done and done! I'll have someone bring them right over. Did you capture any pistols?"
Sokholov shook his head. "Not sure yet. I think there might be some."
"Doesn't matter. Whatever pistol you want, I'll have someone bring it over. Or else..." The company commander patted his waist, looking regretful. "I didn't bring my pistol with me. In a bit, I'll have someone deliver mine to you. My pistol is special—it took a lot of effort to get my hands on it."
"Thank you, Company Commander!"
Striking while the iron was hot, Gao Fei thanked the company commander immediately before he could change his mind.
Just then, the two evaluators returned.
"We've finished the count. Sixty-two bodies in total. First to breach the enemy line, capturing a key position and trench communication junction, and cutting off the enemy's retreat route. Adding it all together, the reward comes to thirty-four thousand euros."
Sokholov said in disbelief, "That little?"
The company commander said helplessly, "This was a massive operation with too many participants. Well, this is already the highest tier of rewards. The regiment has its own constraints."
Sokholov pointed at Parker.
The company commander immediately told the evaluators, "There's also a prisoner here—an enemy commander who holds vital intelligence."
"A prisoner? A commander?"
The evaluators hesitated, muttering to each other in low voices for a moment before saying, "Forty thousand euros, then. Don't think it's too little—this entire forty thousand is in cash euros. The other units are getting paid in rubles."
The money was far less than expected, but hearing that the other units were being paid in rubles, Sokholov was immediately satisfied.
Sokholov immediately said, "There's a kid from the penal battalion who performed very well. I want to keep him. We need replacements here anyway. Company Commander?"
The company commander was one of their own, and the evaluators belonged to the same regiment, so they were on their side too. Requisitioning a man from the penal battalion was no trouble at all.
The company commander waved his hand dismissively. "Keep him. Don't worry about the penal battalion; if they object, I'll handle them."
"Thank you, Company Commander."
The company commander said to Gao Fei, "Hold on here for a bit. Follow-up supplies will arrive shortly. Stay safe, watch out for drones, and keep an eye on enemy movements. As soon as the relieving forces arrive, I'll have you pulled back immediately."
Turning to the two evaluators, the company commander said, "You two keep verifying the achievements. This prisoner is important, so I'll take him back to the regimental commander right away. How's that?"
"Sure, that works."
The company commander waved at the platoon leader. "Go verify your battle honors. Quick, get to it."
Helpless, the platoon leader knew he wouldn't be getting Gao Fei. Verifying battle honors was genuinely important, so all he could do was mutter, "Gentlemen, please follow me."
With the platoon leader dismissed, the company commander said warmly to Gao Fei, "I'm heading out as well. Sit tight; I'll arrange for supplies to be sent right over. Stay safe, keep watch for drones, and be careful."
After showering them with repeated cautions and reminders, the company commander finally left as well.
As he departed, Parker looked back with a grin.
Gao Fei had no idea what that backward glance and smile meant, but he couldn't help finding Parker's grin a little chilling.
Never mind that. Parker couldn't stir up any trouble anyway. Now was time for the battle settlement—time to count up the spoils.
Chapter 54