Chapter 93 Cunning
Green Dragon felt his mind twist upside down.
He had been coveting Qin Feng"s position and the rank of Lieutenant Colonel for years. When he changed his career in the future, the job and the payment would be very good if he had these things on his CV. Becoming the team leader would essentially guarantee success for the rest of his life.
He lived too many days of poverty. He was afraid that in the end he would achieve nothing, and his family couldn"t count on him. The whole family would see him fail. If he could not return to his hometown with pride when he changed his career in the future, the whole village would laugh at his family.
Green Dragon could still remember the day when he became a soldier, how many people in the village called him a fool and said he"d never amount to anything in the military. They said it would be better if he stayed in the village and helped out on his family farm. Green Dragon secretly swore that, no matter what, he would achieve something great. He wouldn"t let anyone look down upon him.
Green Dragon worked very hard his entire life. He firmly believed that as long as he was willing to serve the people wholeheartedly and selflessly and fight on the front line, the Party and the country would not forget him and would not fail him. But now…
Hard work was not enough to achieve greatness. Connections and upbringing were more important. As a poor fellow from a small village, it was almost impossible for him to improve his lot in life.
"This pleases you, doesn"t it? I know what you"re thinking," Gu Shaoyun said disdainfully. "You just wanted me to promise you something specific. You were afraid of offending Qin Feng, and at the same time felt I neglected you, right? Good. Means you"re a thinker. You don"t act recklessly before having your goal in your sights. Now you"d better hurry back to Tianhe and speak with Jia Quan, the Director of Public Security, about how to deal with Qin Feng. It"s enough to get him thrown in jail for a few months, as long as you can retrieve the list of names for me. I"ll send you an appointment for your promotion in a few days."
"He won"t hand over the list to anyone; he understands its significance too well. I have tried, but it didn"t work. Do you think a small police station can hold him? He just beat up a police chief in public like it"s no big deal!" Green Dragon wanted that appointment letter very much. It was his dream, but he wanted to earn it the right way. After learning his lesson on the first attempt, he would not be so aggressive toward Qin Feng any more, or he"d be nothing but a jerk who returns kindness with ingrat.i.tude.
"You don"t need to care whether it can hold him or not, you just need to do whatever it takes to get me the list!" Gu Shaoyun changed his tone and said, "Your old mother and father back home need medical care. I have sent people to quietly escort them to a safe place to recuperate. Once you have completed your task, I will give you leave to be with them. I don"t think they have ever been out of the countryside, right? Why don"t you take them to the Maldives for a vacation and enjoy your good fortune?"
"What? You"ve got my folks?!" Green Dragon immediately became furious, "General Gu, what is the meaning of this? You cannot threaten me this way! I know you are one of Shark Kun"s partners in China. I know there has to be a bigger figure behind you. I can"t fight you, and I choose to keep quiet, but please do not force me to go on this path of no return. I quit!"
"It"s too late for that. You already know too much. If you"d refused what I asked from the very beginning, you could quit. But now? h.e.l.l no!" Gu Shaoyun snapped. "To tell you the truth, your parents" lives are in my hands, and I could kill them in a second if I felt like it. If you don"t do what I ask, I can kill you just as easily. Do you know how much money and how many people"s lives depend on that list? You"d better be smart about this! Finish Qin Feng, and we all get to have a good life. A man who wants to accomplish great things must learn to be ruthless at times. If you can"t do this, how can you expect to be the leader of a special combat team? No way! I have many ways to deal with you. I will make your life a living h.e.l.l!"
Now that everything was clear, Green Dragon did not have to try Gu Shaoyun"s patience again. Gu Shaoyun also made sure that Green Dragon was aware of the gravity of the situation. Too many people were involved. This wasn"t child"s play.
Gu Shaoyun was careful. He trusted n.o.body except Green Dragon to do this. He had a way to control Green Dragon, firmly believing that he was Qin Feng"s most trusted brother, and that only he could get the list from Qin Feng"s hand.
As for Qin Feng, Gu Shaoyun knew him all too well. Even if he threatened to kill him, he would not give in. But he had a soft spot: he put too much emphasis on brotherhood. Most of the time, Qin Feng would do whatever he thought was necessary, orders be d.a.m.ned. In Qin Feng"s mind, General Gu was the one in the wrong.
In order to comply with the country"s anti-drug policies and cooperate with Interpol operations, the Golden Four was sent to the Golden Triangle to investigate the whereabouts of the drug lord Shark Kun. All the other countries" teams were stopped before reaching the target, taken out by Shark Kun"s mercenaries somewhere deep in the mountainous jungles. Only the Golden Four, led by Qin Feng, made it through to the end, straight into the depths of the enemy camp, and actually found Shark Kun"s nest.
In fact, this in and of itself was nothing to worry about. The senior officials of China had long since been communicating with Shark Kun. Even if there was a large-scale search and capture operation, Shark Kun had left the area well in advance. At most, he would have to lay low for a few months. Gu Shaoyun could put up with Qin Feng"s bouts of insubordination before, but this time he stole Shark Kun"s list of the most important Chinese distribution points while fleeing the area, which put too many important people at great risk. Although most of the items on the list were codenames, a determined investigation would soon be able to identify all the people involved.
If this list got into the hands of the Ministry of National Security, it would be a big problem.
Gu Shaoyun received a command: he had to get the list back.
He knew attacking Qin Feng openly was futile. Very few indeed could match his skill, determination and strength. If he did not want to give the list away, not even Heaven could pry it from his hands.
Gu Shaoyun also had his own cover to consider. He did not want to expose himself. On the one hand, he promised to help Qin Feng contact Jia Quan in order to protect Zhao Jun, while on the other, he coerced Green Dragon into speeding up the process of getting the list. He had to keep Qin Feng under control and get the list back at the same time.
That was his way of thinking, as cunning as an old fox.