Despite Mu Qiu's reluctance to wait quietly, he knew that Ye Hao's vision and hearing were sharper than theirs, so he sensibly kept quiet, waiting to speak once they returned.
"Shit, if I find out which bastard spread that bogus information, I'll show them how ruthless I can be." Haldar thought, becoming even angrier.
It's no wonder he was so furious; after all, his Cyan Snake Mercenaries were on the verge of running out of resources, with an imminent crisis. If they couldn't find a way to earn money soon, his men would really start jumping ship.
Now, they had finally accepted a commission from the South African Bangui government, hoping they could retrieve that mysterious beam of light from the Primordial Forest, promising a million dollars in cash once the task was completed. Even though the beam was useless to the Bangui government, they would still pay the million dollars. That's why he was so angry.
After all, if the beam was gone, it meant the million dollars was gone too. How could he not be furious?
"Alright, alright, since this is all nonsense, let's leave! Staying in this goddamn place a minute longer makes me feel like crap," Sara remarked coldly, secretly gritting her teeth at those who spread such false claims.
Even though both leaders acted as if it was all nonsense, they were both secretly planning to search thoroughly once the other party left. After all, how could something detected by satellites from various countries be nonsense?
Ye Hao was a bit puzzled, wondering why what was clearly detected by the country's satellites as an alien crash wasn't found here. Could it move? Or could it be that it was the ring in his backpack that glowed red?
Thinking of this, Ye Hao became excited. If it was indeed the ring, wouldn't it be the item the country so desperately wanted them to find? If he found it, wouldn't he be promoted multiple levels? Wouldn't his military career leap forward?
A soldier who doesn't want to be a general is never a good soldier! Ye Hao wants to be a general, so he is a good soldier.
Once the Cyan Snake Mercenaries and the Cobra Mercenaries left, Ye Hao led his team forward to pretend to search, at least to make it look like the ring hadn't been already taken by him.
Even if that beam wasn't the ring, he wanted to check if there was really nothing there.
"Sigh! Nothing here, could it be that the Cyan Snake Mercenaries secretly took it?" Mu Qiu speculated, his gaze seemingly hinting at Ye Hao.
Ye Hao glanced back at him, knowing exactly what he meant by that comment.
He was implying Ye Hao had temporarily left the combat zone for tens of seconds.
But even if Ye Hao did leave the combat zone briefly, it was only to remove a threat. Moreover, he had been keeping an eye on the Cyan Snake Mercenaries the whole time.
"Let's go back! It was a wasted trip." Ye Hao understood his implications but didn't argue with Mu Qiu. After all, many mercenaries were still hiding in the shadows watching them, and to show their unity, Ye Hao let it go.
Back at the Dragon Soul Mercenaries' base, Ye Long came out and slung an arm around Ye Hao's shoulder, saying, "Boss, your safe return is what I wished for the most."
Ye Hao smiled and said, "Unfortunately, the mission failed, it was nothing but an empty pit, found nothing."
"No worries, let those missions go to hell! As long as my brother is safe, we can thank Buddha for the blessing." Ye Long continued to play his mercenary role, speaking in measured tones.
Just as Ye Hao was about to speak, Mu Qiu approached with a smile and said, "Boss, there's a big shot calling for you, wants to do some business, maybe you should check it out?"
Ye Hao glanced at Mu Qiu in confusion, a big shot? Was it an upper-level command? He knew who Mu Qiu referred to as the 'big shot,' it was their code name for the upper command from Huaxia.
"Alright! I'll go take a look." Ye Hao said, then went into a secret room, which had two phones, one covered in dust, only occasionally ringing. Now the receiver of this phone was flipped on the table.
Ye Hao picked up the receiver without hesitation, smiling, "Hello! Big shot, how may we, the Dragon Soul Mercenaries, assist you this time?"
"Boss, how did the task I asked you to do last time go? Did you secure the supply?" A deep voice came through the line, commanding a sense of authority upon hearing.
"I'm very sorry, the supply is incredibly scarce, and many are after it. Big shot, we can't provide the supply you need." Ye Hao assumed a business tone with the caller. This manner of speaking also aimed to ensure the safety of Ye Hao and his team, considering a nation's top operatives undertaking mercenary work would be problematic if others knew, potentially resulting in attempts on their lives.
With fewer of a foreign nation's elite soldiers around, the threat to their nation decreases.
"What exactly is going on? Wasn't it said that the cargo there hasn't been fully tapped? How could it be gone?" A cold snort came through from the other end of the line.
"Gone is gone, and it's well known. Everyone has seen that there's nothing in that supply, so I can't do anything about it." Ye Hao heard his dissatisfaction and could only explain that others had also seen the big pit with nothing in it.
He couldn't have such good luck to find it. Thinking that even if they're looking for that ring, it has to be handed in once he returns to the country, as phone lines are never completely secure!
"Hmph... is it that you're unwilling to sell me a bit of the supply? I've heard you're quite idle." The person on the other end of the line amplified his voice.
Ye Hao immediately understood his meaning—someone had reported this operation! Saying he was idle? Does that imply he left halfway?
Besides Mu Qiu, who else could it be? Thinking of this, Ye Hao gritted his teeth at Mu Qiu, unexpectedly doing such a thing and reporting the task without his permission. Doesn't he know that if the code is wrong, the whole mercenary line would be unusable?
Foreign agents aren't fools! Once they capture bits of information, they might decode the entire situation.
Ye Hao also silently gritted his teeth against the superior in Huaxia. Knowing full well that the connector was not Ye Hao, and still linking up with Mu Qiu, isn't that seeking to kill off his line?
If there were no slip-ups, it'd be okay, but one slip would mean the entire mercenary group could be wiped out by another country!
"I'm saying it again, there's no supply here, you don't have to say more. If you still want business, please come to me next time." Ye Hao said next time more heavily, warning the superior in Huaxia not to play with their lives, after all, being a mercenary is already dangerous, and if the superior doesn't protect them, they needn't be so devoted.
"Bang!"
After finishing, Ye Hao hung up the phone.
A middle-aged man in military uniform on the other end listened to the busy tone gritting his teeth at the numerous officers sitting behind him:
"Look, look! Has that kid turned against the sky? Hanging up on me?"
"General Zhong! I think it's something urgent on Ye Hao's side, right?" The one who spoke was Yip Man from the Ye Family in Yanjing, who had a good impression of Ye Hao. He also felt that Zhong Xiu's actions were indeed wrong this time, so he spoke to exonerate Ye Hao.
"What could be more important than us superiors looking for him?" Zhong Xiu coldly snorted: "And you also heard just now, Ye Hao neglected his duty, dazed during the mission, leaving the battlefield, this is unforgivable."
"This is but a one-sided statement from Mu Qiu, we can't believe him completely. Besides, Ye Hao took Ye Long and Mu Qiu to South Africa, the chaotic land, and in three years established a hundred-member iron-blood mercenary group, demonstrating his intelligence in various ways. I believe this is definitely not his negligence." Ministry of State Security Director Fang Zhongtian was the first to not believe Ye Hao neglected his duty, so he stood up to refute Zhong Xiu.
Even if Zhong Xiu is from the Zhong Family, one of the five pinnacle families in Yanjing's political arena, Fang Zhongtian also has his considerations. Ye Hao repeatedly assisted the Ministry of State Security in breaking various major cases, even providing them with data on foreign agents in South Africa, for which Fang Zhongtian is extremely grateful.
After all, the Ministry of State Security can eliminate a threat by finding even one more agent hidden in Huaxia.
"Words are like that, but Ye Hao's recent performance is truly not as docile as before! With such big changes over there, he truly should be made to leave." A Major General, seeing how displeased Zhong Xiu was with Ye Hao, chimed in.
"How is he undocile? Tell me." Fang Zhongtian glared at the speaker, who lowered his head a bit in surprise. Fang Zhongtian, with years in the Ministry of State Security and now an advisor to Team A, emitted an aura naturally not comparable to an ordinary Major General.
"He was just undocile, isn't this his attitude towards superiors? I must make him come back for punishment." Others fearing Fang Zhongtian doesn't mean Zhong Xiu does. He directly met Fang Zhongtian's gaze.
"And you? As his superior, disregarding his life, privately connecting with Mu Qiu, have you considered the consequences if the code is wrong? Hmph! You even deserve to be his superior?" The more Fang Zhongtian spoke, the angrier he got, directly spitting at Zhong Xiu.
"You... you're being unreasonable, as the head of state security, you actually do such actions." Zhong Xiu never expected such a big response from Fang Zhongtian, and being directly spat at, he angrily pointed at Fang Zhongtian.
"I'm better being unreasonable than you lot who are good-for-nothing, only doing paper warfare, calling you to lead troops and you're like an egghead, if I were in the army now, I'd surely shoot you dead." Fang Zhongtian was incited with inner disgust by Zhong Xiu, stood up glaring at Zhong Xiu, raising his hand intending to smack Zhong Xiu in the face.
"Elder Fang, Elder Fang... please don't get agitated, don't get agitated! Aren't we just conversing! Stay calm." Yip Man quickly stood up to stop as he saw Fang Zhongtian about to smack Zhong Xiu.
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