Green Dragon frowned. "I don"t know what the list is. I don"t know what it is about. But I think that, since Shark Kun is so attached to it, it must be something that relates to his fundamental interests. And his fundamental interests are drugs, so... Tianhe…" Green Dragon was clever. He easily avoided Qin Feng"s "trap".
"I don"t know for the moment, but even if Shark Kun had a foothold in Tianhe, this city is too small to be of much importance to his plans," Qin Feng said. "The most important thing now is to destroy Shark Kun"s old nest, so that this world-cla.s.s drug lord can be eradicated. This is what we went to the Golden Triangle for and what our comrades sacrificed themselves for. It wasn"t easy to find it and now our action plan is delayed. Xiao He"s spirit will not rest in the underworld until this mission is accomplished."
Qin Feng"s greatest wish now was to personally destroy Shark Kun"s base in the Golden Triangle and raze it to the ground. From then on, at least in China, the supply of illegal drugs would diminish by 80%. This would save countless people from becoming victims of drug abuse and destroying their families.
The good such a move would accomplish could not be overstated. It would save more people than eliminating any number of terrorists. The consequences would be absolutely unparalleled, enough to affect the people of China for generations to come. Even if no one remembered him in the future, even if Qin Feng would have to give his life for this cause, he would not regret it. In his view, this was something that truly needed to be done, regardless of any political or personal interests. He felt only a determination to serve the people and fight for the benefit of China.
Hearing Qin Feng"s words, the loyalty and righteousness Green Dragon had buried at the bottom of his heart were piqued. Did he not want to continue to fight Shark Kun alongside Qin Feng? Last time, he was chased away by hundreds of mercenaries, and he was embarra.s.sed ever since. Next time, if they were sufficiently prepared and equipped, they would be able to catch Shark Kun"s whole army by surprise.
He was not as ambitious as Qin Feng, but he too had no fear of losing his life, if only for the sake of avenging Green Snake.
At that moment, however, reason overcame his loyalty and courage.
All his hard work went unnoticed. Green Dragon had given of himself with dedication and could boast countless great achievements, but what has he ever gotten in return?
What was the use of the promise of a far-off paycheck? If he died one day, his name wouldn"t even get an honorable mention on a commemorative monument. What use were his efforts?
Although Green Dragon had never heard Qin Feng mention his family or background, he could feel that Qin Feng was at least not a poor person. He did not need to consider the problems of food, clothing and survival. In Green Dragon"s hometown, his 35-year-old brother was still single. A tall, strong man, handsome enough, healthy, with a good head on his shoulders… Why did he have no wife? Was it just because of money? In his poor family, even a pair of cotton trousers had to be patched up and made to last at least ten years. They simply could not afford even the lowest bride price. What girl would be willing to marry him?
His family thought that since Green Dragon had entered the army and would send a little money every month to help with the household expenses, they could save the money for his elder brother"s marriage. They did not expect that Green Dragon"s combat skills would improve so much that he"d be transferred to the most elite Special Forces brigade in the whole country. He had become an enviable Special Forces soldier, but his unit had a special attribute: it was under the direct command of the National Security Department. It specialized in carrying out top-secret and extremely difficult tasks, sometimes even protecting state leaders. Of course, there have also been many secret a.s.sa.s.sination missions, all of which were labeled top secret. Therefore, the members of his unit were basically not allowed to have any contact with the outside world, including salaries and bonuses, which were temporarily held by the National Security Department. On the day of retirement, they would be paid in full, but during their period of service, the soldiers had to endure isolation so that they could devote themselves to their tasks with all their hearts and souls, without any interference from the outside world. That was the only way they could be entrusted with state secrets.
Over the years, under the command of Qin Feng, the Golden Four team won a hundred victories and never failed to meet their objectives. Each time they successfully completed the tasks a.s.signed by their superiors, they relied on their devotion to the country. Without sufficient psychological preparation, it would have been impossible to maintain the unit"s track record for that long.
Of course, if they experienced emotional trouble, they could come forward at any time to retire from service. HQ would conduct a comprehensive review and immediately make the necessary arrangements.
If Green Dragon chose to quit now, the military would give him a good post elsewhere and his acc.u.mulated salary would be paid in full. But in his mind, doing so meant betraying his comrades; it was no different from running away. Even if the military headquarters would not enact any punishment, he knew that his career would be forever after fixed in place; he would have no more opportunities to get promoted.
Green Dragon deliberated many times on which path to choose. He thought of quitting the Special Forces and requesting to be rea.s.signed somewhere near his hometown, so as to live a quiet life without distractions, to get married and have children, and to take care of his family.
He could definitely do it now, and it would all go well, but he was not willing to give up quite so easily. He had already given so much of himself. Why should he give up halfway? But after witnessing the death of Xiao He, he didn"t want to go on fighting like that forever. He was tired and afraid. He was afraid that one day he would die just like Xiao He in a strange country from which even his bones could not be retrieved, and his name would not be included in the death pension list.
Green Dragon was not as great as Qin Feng. The difference was that Qin Feng did not need to consider so many practical problems.
Qin Feng"s father, Qin Wannian, was a legend in the entire Chinese military. He was brilliant, and because of that, he had too many expectations for his son. Therefore, Qin Feng was brought up with inhuman training and hated him for it. In the mountains, he was almost taken away by a hungry wolf; on the Nicola plateau, he had a high fever of forty degrees and alt.i.tude sickness and nearly died overnight; in the snowfields of Mecaso, he nearly froze to death in minus fifty-degree weather, dressed in a single coat and looking for food and shelter in a cave; in the African savannah, he watched as a pack of hyenas battled a lion.
The lion"s hide was torn and shredded apart until it eventually died of blood loss and exhaustion. Qin Feng would never forget that aggrieved roaring. The b.l.o.o.d.y experience formed his steely soul and his calm countenance in the face of blood and gore.