Famous

What was going on here? From the look of it, had Parker been promoted? Just yesterday he was a captive, a prisoner of war. They had escorted him off for a quick turn, and he returned as a superior officer—looking like he outranked the company commander, no less. What kind of setup was this? Even if the Wagner Group consisted of mercenaries rather than regular forces, they couldn't just mess around like this, could they? Gao Fei couldn't wrap his head around it, and he couldn't hear anyway. Samir, who already knew Parker's new status, had gone completely pale. Watching Parker's mouth open and close, Gao Fei politely pulled out his earplugs and shouted, "I can't hear you!" Parker waved a hand with gentle reassurance. He glanced over the men around him, then reached out toward Samir. "Do you have a flashlight?" "Yes." Samir looked at the company commander. Seeing no reaction from him, Samir quickly pulled out a flashlight and offered it obediently with both hands to Parker. Then Samir whispered, "Sir, please, let's move somewhere safe to talk. It's still too dangerous out here." The company commander said nothing, but Parker spoke with absolute confidence. "The enemy won't attack anymore. They won't launch an assault for a long time. Even their drones took heavy losses. Unless they face a large-scale offensive, they won't make a move on their own initiative, let alone waste drones on a forward position." Parker spoke so firmly and assuredly that Samir was left dumbfounded. "How do you know that?" he asked, stunned. Parker waved a dismissive hand, then motioned for Gao Fei to crouch down. Holding the flashlight in one hand, he pointed at Gao Fei's ear with the other. Was he going to examine Gao Fei's ears? Though confused, Gao Fei didn't hesitate much and squatted down. Finding the crouch uncomfortable, he simply sat on the ground, leaning back against the dirt wall of the trench. Parker bent down, took hold of one of Gao Fei's ears, and tugged it gently to straighten the ear canal before shining the flashlight inside. "The eardrum... is still intact. Just temporary blast deafness. You'll recover soon. It's completely normal not to hear right now." Parker told Gao Fei to stay still, then circled around to the other side. He inspected Gao Fei's left ear with the flashlight for a moment before nodding. "This one looks worse than the right. There might be a perforation in the membrane, but it's definitely not completely torn. Classic conductive hearing loss. It will heal on its own with time, but..." As if performing a magic trick, Parker pulled a small vial of liquid from his pocket and smiled. "Use some medicine. It'll restore some hearing quickly and speed up the ear's recovery." The company commander watched in silence, his expression sour, but Samir asked with nervous curiosity, "What kind of medicine is that?" "No idea. Seems like some sort of steroid, but who cares what it is as long as it works?" Parker pinched Gao Fei's ear and poured in a bit of the liquid. Gao Fei felt a chill in his ear, followed by a faint fizzing sensation. It felt slightly uncomfortable, but right after the medicine went in, sound rushed back into his head. It was very quiet and muffled, but he could definitely hear. Parker moved back to the other side, took Gao Fei's left ear, and dripped a few drops into it. This time there was no fizzing sound. The left ear still seemed deaf, but focusing carefully, he could make out faint traces of noise. Parker screwed the cap back onto the small plastic bottle and spoke in a normal voice, "Can you hear now?" Gao Fei heard a faint murmur, but couldn't make out the words. He looked up at Parker, who raised his voice. "How about now?" "What did you say?" "How about now!" Parker wasn't shouting yet, but his volume was significantly louder than normal. This time, Gao Fei finally nodded. "I hear you." Parker let out a breath and said loudly, "Good. The eardrum isn't torn. You'll be fine in a couple of days, but you need to protect your hearing. Keep this. I got it from a field doctor." "Uh, thanks." Gao Fei pocketed the medicine and glanced over at Andrey. Parker patted Gao Fei's shoulder again, smiling warmly. "Buddy, where's my phone?" Snapping back to reality, Gao Fei hurried to find his backpack and retrieved Parker's mobile phone from inside. Parker took the phone, let out a long sigh of relief, and chuckled. "Thanks for looking after it for me." A captive, a prisoner of war, transformed into a superior officer who seemed to outrank even the company commander? Gao Fei couldn't help asking, "So you're... uh, one of us now?" Parker threw his hands up, looking helpless. "Yeah. I was captured, and a prisoner has to act like one. So I signed a contract with Wagner. I'm officially a military advisor for Wagner now. I wanted a short-term contract, but they refused, so I ended up having to sign for a year." The company commander turned his head away. Parker pointed at the soldier standing behind him and continued, "I'm now your detachment's deputy chief of staff, in charge of drawing up operational plans. He's my guard and orderly, and also my watcher. If I try to run, he'll put a bullet through my head." Parker was uncomfortably candid, leaving his orderly looking visibly awkward. Changing the subject, Parker went on, "As deputy chief of staff of the 4th Assault Detachment, a major part of my job is coordinating with the Russian regular armed forces. I can direct artillery, so the regimental commander put me in touch with the gunners. I had your coordinates and knew things looked bad here, so I immediately gave the artillery your strike coordinates. How was it? Decent effect, right?" A person had to know how to adjust to their circumstances; treating Parker like a prisoner now would just be tactless. Gao Fei answered at once, "It was fantastic. Without your fire support, we'd all be dead." "I just didn't want you to die!" Parker made no attempt to hide his admiration for Gao Fei, completely ignoring the fact that the company commander's face had darkened to the point of thunder. Noticing the commander's foul expression, Gao Fei hesitated, then offered cautiously, "Your pistol... I'll go get it back for you." Parker's pistol was still with Glaski. It could no longer be considered a war trophy. If Glaski had any sense, he would return it right away. "No need. It's just a pistol. I have a new sidearm now." With that, Parker turned to the company commander and the orderly. "Mind if Rex and I have a few words in private?" The orderly looked hesitant, and the company commander shook his head slightly. Parker smiled. "Relax. I don't even have my own freedom, and they're hardly going to hand me command of a unit. I'm just a staff officer. Are you worried I'm going to reassign him?" The company commander still refused to budge, so Parker added in a leisurely tone, "I'm the one coordinating and directing the incoming artillery support. Ahem... you can disregard a staff officer if you want, but you'd better show some respect to the artillery's eyes." Defeated, the company commander muttered, "Make it... quick." The company commander turned and walked away, and the orderly followed him. Samir pulled Andrey along, stepping a symbolic distance away. Gao Fei couldn't hear if Parker spoke too softly, so that distance didn't make much difference anyway. Parker looked at Gao Fei with a rueful expression. "Even though I was brought in as a captive, I signed a contract with Wagner, and a contract has to be honored—unless the Ukrainians capture me again. Mercenaries might lack allegiance, but mercenaries must keep their word. So I won't be leaving for at least a year." Gao Fei nodded. Either way, Gao Fei had never intended to follow Parker around, even if Parker seemed to be doing well for himself. Parker continued, "The current situation is very messy. From what I can tell, the Russian military's attitude toward Wagner seems to be shifting. I don't have the full picture yet, but I think the Wagner Group's situation might deteriorate down the line. They won't be able to hold onto their former status." Gao Fei nodded, then shook his head. "They agreed to pay me twenty thousand euros a month because I have skills they desperately lack. But honestly... it doesn't mean much." Looking troubled, Parker said, "I'd rather get out of here sooner, but I'm tied down by the contract. I can't leave for a year. But you signed for six months, right?" "Yeah, six months." "When your contract is up, you have to leave. Wait six months for me. Once I get out, I guarantee I'll help you make serious money." "Uh, yeah, sure. We'll see how things go then. Who knows how long any of us will survive?" "My post is far to the rear. There's no way I'll be sent to the front line again, so surviving a year won't be a problem for me. But you have to be careful. Going forward, I'll push the regimental commander to see if I can get your squad relocated. Even if you can't leave the forward position entirely, at least you shouldn't be holding this exact spot. This position is a death trap. Whenever there's fighting, it'll always be the main axis of attack. You have to move." Parker glanced around and lowered his voice slightly. "The penal battalion still has plenty of men. I looked into it—they committed over a thousand men, and their organization hasn't completely collapsed. At least three hundred are still alive. I can't reassign troops directly, but finding a way to swap your defense sectors shouldn't be an issue." Better them than us. That was definitely doable. Still, Parker had only just joined—how did his word already carry more weight than the company commander's? Seeing Gao Fei's confusion, Parker smiled. "Mercenaries only care about competence, not allegiance, and certainly not background. With my capabilities, commanding a regiment would be child's play. How could they ever let a commander like me walk away?" Gao Fei nodded along. Finishing his explanation, Parker let out a breath. "I'm just inspecting the front line. In a little while, I'll arrange to move you to a safer sector. Oh, one more thing." Parker powered on his mobile phone. As the screen lit up, he looked at Gao Fei with a gratified grin. "You're famous. The Ukrainians posted several videos this morning. One look, and I knew it was you." Gao Fei froze, pointing a finger at his own chest. "Me?" he shouted. "Of course you! Shooting down a drone like a god—who else could pull that off? Take a look. Tell me that's not you." The connection was lagging, but the footage clearly showed the evacuation carrying Sokholov. Even before the video started playing, Gao Fei said in shock, "That really is us!" Parker nodded, grinning broadly. "I watched all the clips. All I can say is, you're an absolute legend. Brother, you've gone viral before you even made a name for yourself. That's a great thing! You can't die, whatever you do. Once you get out of Bakhmut, you'll command an astronomical price anywhere in the world. You're famous!" Gao Fei felt none of the thrill of fame. On the contrary, he swallowed hard, feeling deeply unsettled. "Damn it. I'm famous... Now I'm in real trouble."