362: Three hundred and sixty chapters: A friend’s best friend, an enemy’s worst enemy.
362: Three hundred and sixty chapters: A friend’s best friend, an enemy’s worst enemy.
After sitting back down on the sofa, Gao Yang said in a deep voice, “Mr.
Grand Ivan, how should I make the payment?”
Grand Ivan shook his finger and then said with a relaxed face, “Mr.
Ram, before we discuss the method of payment, could you tell me why you want to send the Nisshin Maru to the bottom of the sea?
Are you a radical environmentalist?”
Gao Yang shook his head and said, “No, I’ve never been an environmentalist, let alone a radical one.
I never deliberately kill certain animals, nor do I go out of my way to protect them.”
Grand Ivan shrugged and said, “Then I’m quite puzzled.
Twenty million US Dollars is not a small sum, and it’s all of your assets.
Why pay all your assets to protect whales?”
Gao Yang laughed and said, “No, you’ve misunderstood, wanting to take down a whaling fleet does not mean I want to protect the whales.
Actually, this is for my girlfriend.”
Grand Ivan, looking confused, said, “Does that mean your girlfriend is a radical environmentalist?”
Gao Yang sighed and said, “No, my girlfriend is not an environmentalist either.
She’s just an ordinary girl.”
Grand Ivan forced a smile and said, “Mr.
Ram, you must have a reason for willing to sink a whaling ship with all your assets.
Could you tell me directly what it is?”
After a moment’s thought, Gao Yang said in a solemn tone, “First, my girlfriend was hit in the head with a metal hook by the crew of the Nisshin Maru and fell into the sea, and she is still in danger.
Second, I am a Huaxia person; I don’t need a reason to hit Japanese people.
Third, the Japanese shamelessly slaughter whales under the guise of scientific research, which really pisses me off.”
After finishing, Gao Yang hesitated and then said, “The third reason can be ignored.
The second reason, well, as much as I profoundly dislike the Japanese, I wouldn’t use all my assets just to take out their whaling ships.
If I really wanted to cause some damage to Japan, I would go to Japan itself.
So, the reason I am willing to wipe out a whaling ship, which otherwise has nothing to do with me, is simply that they harmed my girlfriend.
It’s that simple.”
Grand Ivan’s face showed astonishment as he said, “That is tragic news.
I sympathize with your girlfriend’s plight, but I am sorry, I’m now even more curious as to why your girlfriend got hit on the head by a metal hook from a Japanese whaling ship in the Antarctic Ocean?”
Gao Yang felt Grand Ivan was asking too many questions, but still answered, “Another friend of mine, who is also a friend of my girlfriend, invited her to participate in an action to protect whales initiated by the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society in the Antarctic, so I let my girlfriend go.
Then, while they were stopping the whaling ship from hunting whales, my girlfriend was hit on the head with a metal hook by the crew of the Nisshin Maru.”
Grand Ivan frowned and asked, “Your girlfriend, how is she now?”
Gao Yang shook his head solemnly and said, “I don’t know, I can’t reach her.
After fifty-three hours, she will be taken to the port of Punta Arenas, Chile, so I must get there within fifty-three hours as well.”
Grand Ivan nodded and said in a somber voice, “Now I understand why you want to send the Nisshin Maru to the bottom of the sea.
But please forgive my directness, Mr.
Ram, I know about the things done by the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.
They forcibly stop Japanese whaling ships, and the Japanese whaling ships retaliate by continuing to hunt.
These things happen every year, and injuries frequently occur, but in the confrontations, it’s a normal thing.
You want to sink a ship, along with its crew, even an entire fleet because your girlfriend got hurt—don’t you think that might be too overbearing?
Or let’s say, you don’t seem to be on the side of justice?”
Gao Yang said, “Mr.
Grand Ivan, I’m a mercenary, when did mercenaries become synonymous with justice?”
Grand Ivan was briefly taken aback, then laughed lightly and said, “What do you mean?”
Gao Yang said with a fierce sneer, “I’m a mercenary.
If you want to talk about fairness, point a gun at my head, otherwise, talking about reason and justice with a mercenary who kills for a living?
Mr.
Grand Ivan, that’s not a funny joke.
If I were powerless, then after my girlfriend and my friend were injured this time, I could only bluster, protest, and let it be.
But protesting is just farting.
I’m a mercenary, what I do and am good at is killing.
Now that I have the ability to take out those Japanese bastards, since my girlfriend and a very good friend were knocked into the sea by those bastards on the Nisshin Maru, I’m going to send all those damn bastards to the bottom of the sea!”
I don’t care whether my family and friends are on the side of justice or evil; if someone messes with my loved ones and friends, I will take them out.
In Huaxia, such behavior is called standing by relatives instead of principles, and it’s also known as showing favoritism.
But it doesn’t matter, I’m very happy to do so.
For me, whoever hurts my family and my friends is my enemy, and there’s only one principle I have towards an enemy: eliminate them!
After he spoke coldly, Gao Yang, who had been restraining his anger, somewhat lost control.
He had never expressed to anyone just how angry he was with the Nisshin Maru, but then, he stood up, waved his hand forcefully, and violently shouted, “In my family and friends’ eyes, I’m perhaps a good person, an angel, but I’ve never really seen myself as a good person.
To my enemies, I have to be the villain they hate, the devil they fear.
So let whatever damned reason and justice go to hell.
Daring to hit my girlfriend, I will annihilate his entire family!
I will make every Japanese mutt on that fleet die!
I am the best friend of my friends!
I am the worst enemy of my enemies!
I don’t know if I have achieved being the best friend of my friends, but I am confident I’ve achieved being the worst enemy of my enemies since all of my enemies are dead.
And now, I intend to maintain this excellent record, which means the Japanese mutts on that whaling fleet, must die!
After bellowing out in exhaustion, Gao Yang realized his lapse and took a deep breath.
Just as he was about to speak, Grand Ivan sprang up from the sofa and loudly said, “Very good, the best friend of friends, the worst enemy of enemies, I like this saying, I like your attitude and your style.
On the account of this saying, I promise that Nisshin Maru will go where you want it to go.
No, an entire fleet will.”
Grand Ivan wasn’t particularly tall, about one meter seventy, neither bulky nor fat, in fact, a bit on the thin side, wearing ill-fitting clothes, his dry face adorned with a goatee, looking like an ordinary middle-aged Russian, the most inconspicuous kind, but when Grand Ivan stood up and spoke with pride, Gao Yang felt an imposing aura from him.
Gao Yang nodded and said in a deep voice, “I apologize, Mr.
Ivan, I was somewhat uncontrolled.
I’ve been quite angry lately, very sorry.”
Ivan waved his hand and said, “No, you don’t need to apologize at all.
I admire you.
As an arms dealer, becoming friends with mercenaries seems like a natural thing.
Just for saying you’re the best friend of your friends, I’ve decided to be your friend.”
Gao Yang replied somewhat sheepishly, “I’m sorry, there’s no better friend than me, no worse enemy than me—this is the motto of the Marines, not my own words.”
Ivan seriously said, “Real friends aren’t judged by how they boast normally, but by what they actually do.
Being able to say and deliver on that sentence is what matters most.
Let me reiterate, I like your attitude and your style.
For that, I am willing to make another concession in this deal.”
After that, Ivan gestured expansively, with a magnanimous look, “You just pay ten million US Dollars first.
If you take down the Nisshin Maru, pay the remaining ten million.
And if you fail to sink the Nisshin Maru, you won’t have to pay the remaining ten million US Dollars.
That’s the deal.”
Uriyangko, with a look of surprise, turned to Gao Yang and said, “Ram, you must know, for this kind of transaction, payment must be made in full first.”
Ivan waved his hand again, this time with a touch of wistfulness, “Ram, people like you are rare these days.
Nowadays, people always talk about friendship, but when it comes to the crunch, they value money more.
You’re ready to risk your whole fortune just to get even.
I must say, while such an act is very foolish, it’s also very stupid.”
Uri entered the conversation, saying, “Absolutely, a very foolish and stupid act.
If it were me, I would never do such a thing.”
Ivan spread his hands, shrugged his shoulders at Uri and said helplessly, “The problem is, there are too many smart people like you nowadays.
It’s hard to find fools like Ram.
Thus, you should treat him better.”
Uri, momentarily stunned, said, “That’s true, isn’t it?
The world is full of smart people who casually speak of brotherhood, but when faced with benefits, they would fight you tooth and nail, unwilling to take the slightest loss.
Lovable idiots who don’t put money first like Ram are indeed rare.
No, I have never seen one before.
It’s no wonder I was willing to give up four million US Dollars to help Ram.
It turns out I also cherish the friendship with fools like him very much.”
Gao Yang replied with a wry smile, “You say I’m foolish, you call me an idiot, should I take your words as a compliment, or as praise?”
Ivan burst into laughter and said, “Definitely a compliment.
Alright, give me ten million US Dollars, and then hurry to Punta Arenas to see your girlfriend.
In no more than five days, the needed ship will definitely arrive.
Then, go and avenge your girlfriend.” (To be continued.
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