Life was definitely looking up.
Although Gao Fei was still using a basic feature phone, he had bought his own SIM card, so at least he didn't have to worry about the original owner's friends or relatives calling out of the blue.
No reinforcements had arrived, but there hadn't been any major fighting either. During the day, exchanging a few shots across the distance was enough to wrap things up. It was dull, but it felt remarkably safe.
With cigarettes, booze, food to eat, and a few hundred dollars coming in every day, one couldn't ask for much more from life.
The pity was that their own captured firearms had all been sold. Now they could only watch friendly units bring theirs to sell. Although they took a small cut, Gao Fei and his squad didn't mark up the price; it was just a little fee for their trouble.
The upside was steady money without making enemies—everyone in E Company owed Gao Fei and his crew thanks for their help. The downside, naturally, was that the money felt too slow in coming.
For soldiers, engaging in trade had nothing but downsides, but selling war trophies was different. Being able to quickly turn captured weapons into cash produced only one result:
They welcomed battle with open arms.
With no more trophies to sell, Gao Fei and the others actually found themselves wishing for another big fight just to make some more money.
"It's been a week without a major fight. Is the fighting here really coming to an end?"
Andrey was poking at the dirt with his bayonet, stabbing out little pits one after another. It annoyed Gao Fei just looking at him, because he was the one who would have to fill those holes back in.
"Quit poking around. If you're that bored, keep digging deeper."
Their original artillery shelter could only fit one person curled up inside. But now, Gao Fei could sit on a ledge that could actually pass for a bed. Digging down, digging deep—an underground bunker where a man could sleep and take cover from artillery.
The seven men of 1st Squad had spent three whole days digging out this luxury single-man dugout for Gao Fei.
If they dug it out any bigger, they could turn it into a double.
In fact, Gao Fei wouldn't have minded sharing a bunker with someone else. That way, if another barrage came down, two people could clasp their heads and tremble together, which felt a bit better than doing it alone.
Gao Fei had only mentioned it offhandedly, but to his surprise, Andrey actually picked up an entrenching shovel and started digging away with gusto.
With nothing better to do, Gao Fei took out his phone and dialed Sokholov.
They had been out of touch for a week. He didn't even know whether Sokholov was alive or dead, and calling his cell number always resulted in an unreachable tone.
The call still wouldn't go through, the prompt stating the number was out of the service area.
Gao Fei dejectedly put down his phone. Just as he was wondering whether to swap back to his old SIM card so Sokholov wouldn't fail to reach him if he tried calling, his walkie-talkie suddenly crackled to life.
"Rex, come to the company command post to pick up supplies. Bring someone with you—there's quite a bit."
It was the company commander calling personally.
Something must be getting issued again. Since he was told to bring someone along, it was likely both drinking water and ammunition.
Gao Fei didn't think much of it. He said to Andrey, "Stop digging. Come with me to the command post."
Going to the company command post still carried risks. There was a good chance of getting bombed by drones on the way. Over the past couple of days, the enemy's drone supplies had been replenished; while they weren't blowing up every person in sight like before, they had started launching strikes again.
So the shotgun had to come along, and naturally, an automatic rifle too.
If they ran into a drone on the way, they'd shoot it down; if not, so much the better.
There was another matter, and frankly, it was rather embarrassing: Gao Fei had screwed over the penal battalion pretty badly.
After swapping defense sectors with the penal battalion, those convicts had run into rotten luck. Drones targeted their position day after day. With protective netting in place, the drones dropped mortar shells onto them daily. For days on end, the penal battalion hadn't had a single moment of peace.
Although no one had been killed, they spent every day with their hearts in their throats, hardly daring to step out of their dugouts. Life for them was truly miserable. That was why Gao Fei avoided shooting at drones unless necessary, lest their new position be targeted too.
Letting Samir know and passing word to Glaski, Gao Fei set off for the company command post with Andrey.
After switching sectors, they were closer to the company command post—five hundred meters as the crow flies, and just over a kilometer in practical distance. Jogging at a steady pace, they arrived in about five minutes.
Stepping into the command post, Gao Fei noticed the atmosphere seemed somewhat solemn.
There wasn't any overt sign, but one could just sense it; in any case, the command post felt different from usual today.
These days, Gao Fei was a favorite of the company commander. If nothing else, all the weapons stockpiled at the command post were being sold through Gao Fei's position.
"You're here."
The company commander didn't look in high spirits. Pointing at a chair, he signaled Gao Fei to sit, then casually pulled out a cigarette. By the time Gao Fei put it between his lips, the lighter was already flicked open before him.
Only two people currently enjoyed the privilege of having the company commander light their cigarettes: one was the Assault Platoon leader, and the other was Gao Fei.
Once Gao Fei lit up, the commander cut straight to the chase.
"When you head back later, take two crates of hand grenades and two thousand rounds of ammunition. For the few guys in your squad, that ammo will definitely be plenty. Don't worry, I'll have someone help you haul it."
Just to draw ammo, the commander wouldn't have made him make the trip himself. There had to be something else. Looking at him with a puzzled expression, Gao Fei asked, "What else is there?"
The commander fell silent for a moment, then lowered his voice. "The back bounties came through. In euros. Take them back with you later."
The hand holding Gao Fei's cigarette froze in midair. Stunned by the news, he locked up for a brief moment.
Getting overdue bounties paid should have been good news, but one had to read between the lines.
Gao Fei was silent for a moment, then whispered, "A big battle?"
The commander nodded.
Only when a massive battle was looming would they rush to pay out overdue bounties, and only before a big fight would they issue euros instead of rubles.
Gao Fei exhaled and asked softly, "When?"
The commander shook his head, indicating he didn't know either.
The act of paying out back bounties spoke for itself; as for the specifics, the company commander wasn't high enough in rank to be cleared for that.
Gao Fei continued, "Are we getting replacement recruits?"
The commander shook his head again, but this time he finally spoke.
"No idea. We haven't received any notice yet. My guess... I think... since they paid out the cash first, there probably won't be any."
No replacements meant Gao Fei and his men would have to keep holding the very front line—and that they would be the ones sent on the assault. That was why collecting this bounty left such a bitter taste.
Taking a drag of his cigarette, Gao Fei asked, "Was the bounty paid in full?"
"In full. Not a cent short."
When it came to the Russians' mindset, Gao Fei saw right through it.
Bounties paid in full, and in euros at that. Right. A major operation, no reinforcements, and undoubtedly a suicide order demanding they take the position at all costs.
This was no longer a question of whether the commander was willing to send Gao Fei to his death; now it was a matter of whether the commander himself and the entire company headquarters could survive.
Gao Fei couldn't help saying, "How did it end up like this? Wagner..."
The commander raised a hand to stop Gao Fei from speaking any further, his expression grim. "Those bastards in the Smolensk Building can only hold us back. Bastards!"
The Smolensk Building was a nickname for the Russian Ministry of Defense, located on Smolenskaya Square in Moscow.
What could Gao Fei say? He could only nod and mutter sourly, "Fine. Whatever the case, at least the money came through."
The commander produced a paper bag and placed it in front of Gao Fei, saying flatly, "Here's forty thousand euros, the bounty for all of 1st Squad from the last battle. As for how to split it, you and Glaski figure it out when you get back."
These forty thousand euros were the bounty for the previous assault, intended for the whole squad. But out of those forty thousand euros, at least fifteen thousand belonged to Gao Fei.
Combat bounties and money from selling loot were two different things. Precisely because it was an award, whoever performed best and played the most critical role in the fight had to take the lion's share. That was the rule of the bounty.
Gao Fei picked up the paper bag filled with cash. Without opening it to dump out and count the bills, he slipped it straight into his backpack.
"Then I'm heading back to the position."
"Oh, one more thing. Sokholov called me. He couldn't get through to you, so he called my line."
The commander took out a phone—not an ordinary one, but a satellite phone. Setting it on the table, he said calmly, "Call Sokholov back."
Gao Fei was both surprised and overjoyed. But he didn't know how to operate a satellite phone, so in the end, the commander helped him dial the number.
Sokholov's voice came through the receiver. Gao Fei asked impatiently, "Squad Leader, how are you doing?"
"I'm fine. I'm in a rear hospital now, in Moscow. They told me I was in a coma for three days, and then I was put in a vehicle and sent back here. I'm lucky to be alive. Thank you for saving me."
Genuinely happy for Sokholov, Gao Fei said with relief, "That's great. But your phone wouldn't connect, and you didn't even think to call me."
"Idiot, my SIM card is Ukrainian, and so is yours. I didn't lose my phone, but I can't use it in Moscow. And whenever I dialed your number, it wouldn't connect either—the communications are cut off. That's why I had to call the commander's number just to get hold of you."
Bakhmut was a Ukrainian city. Sokholov's phone worked on the front line, but ironically couldn't be used back in the rear. Naturally, the number he had left before wouldn't go through.
He had completely forgotten about that.
Gao Fei let out a dry chuckle. "I clean forgot about that. Squad Leader, rest up and recover well. Better if you don't come back at all. Oh, the bounties came through—there's a cut for you."
"Whatever you do, don't wire it to me through the field bank! They'll convert the euros into rubles before giving it to me—I'd take a huge loss. Hold onto it for me first, and hand it to me when I get back."
Gao Fei lowered his voice. "Are you out of your mind? Why would you come back!"
"My contract isn't up. Even if I don't want to come back, I don't have a choice..."
There wasn't much more to say, just a bit of chitchat. Gao Fei finally said, "Alright. Well, try to come back as late as you can."
Hanging up and handing the satellite phone back to the commander, Gao Fei did his best to mask his helplessness. "Commander, if there's nothing else, I'll head back to the position."
The commander nodded, but after pondering for a moment, he finally murmured, "You've got too much cash on you. Don't carry that much around. If... you should really find a way to send the money home. I suggest you ask Jeff Li first—maybe he has a way. If that really doesn't work, then wire the money through the field bank. Just a suggestion; ultimately, it's your call."
What the commander really meant was that carrying that much cash on him would be a total waste if he died. The body collectors certainly wouldn't turn the money in; cash like that was far too easy for someone to pocket.
Russia was under sanctions, but Ukraine wasn't. Li Jie might be able to use the Ukrainian banking system to help Gao Fei transfer the money back home.
It was almost funny: the commander would rather trust the integrity of an arms dealer than believe that a bank partnering with the Wagner Group would transfer every single penny to Gao Fei's father's account.
Now it all came down to whether Gao Fei dared to trust Li Jie's character.
Chapter 86