408: Chapter 406: The So-Called Principles 408: Chapter 406: The So-Called Principles Justin appeared somewhat stunned as he furrowed his brow and glanced at Nate, then firmly shook his head and said, “Mr.
Schumacher, I cannot agree to your request.
You have no need to worry that I will inform anyone of your whereabouts.
I keep my word.”
Nate replied coldly, “I don’t trust you.”
Justin still wore a courteous smile and said, “I won’t give my phone number to anyone, so I cannot agree to your request.”
Nate calmly stated, “You act without restraint, and you make no attempt to hide that fact.
In truth, I don’t mind the way you conduct your business, but I don’t want my movements to become something you could sell.
Therefore, I must eliminate the possibility of being betrayed by you.”
Justin shook his head and responded, “I’ve already told you, I will not sell your information to anyone.
I would prefer to establish a long-term partnership with you.
Rest assured, I would never betray my partners.”
Nate shrugged and said, “We are not in a partnership yet, which means, in your words, you could betray us at any moment.
Plus, anyone who believes the promises of an informant is a fool.
I am not a fool, so I’ll say it again, hand over your phone.”
Gao Yang watched, his eyes wide, as the conversation between Justin and Nate turned tense, noticing that Nate was not as patient with Justin as he had been with Gao Yang.
Justin maintained his smile throughout, but as Nate’s tone grew increasingly serious, he still refused to relent.
Spreading his hands, he chuckled and said, “Sorry, I can’t give you my phone.
These are my principles and my bottom line, Mr.
Schumacher.
I am willing to promise once again that I will not sell your information to anyone.”
Nate nodded, then pulled out his handgun from his waist and, with deliberate calmness, cocked the hammer with his left hand and aimed it at Justin’s head.
“3, 2.”
Nate only counted down two numbers before Justin immediately raised his hands, looking frustrated, and said, “Hey, hey!
Alright, fine, I’ll give you the phone, buddy.
It doesn’t have to come to this.”
Gao Yang could tell Nate was serious; if he had finished counting down, he would have definitely pulled the trigger, and Justin realized this too, hence he immediately capitulated.
Nate’s gun-holding hand remained still, then Justin, with a wry smile, placed a satellite phone on the table and pushed it across to Nate, who acted as if nothing had happened and cocked the hammer of his gun back into position.
Gao Yang shrugged and said to Nate, “I thought you’d prefer German-made guns, but it turns out you’re using a Colt Government Model 1911A1.
Why do you choose to use this gun?”
Nate glanced at his gun and said in a deep voice, “I used to carry a P8, but after someone gave me this Colt, I started using the Colt instead.”
Gao Yang laughed and said, “I like the 1911 too.”
Nate shook his head and replied, “I don’t.
I preferred my P8.”
With a gesture of helplessness and a wry smile, Justin said, “You two jump around in your thoughts way too much.
Why did you start talking about the gun that nearly blew my head off?
Can we discuss something more interesting, hmm?
For example, you two seem like friends right now.
So, are you friends?”
Nate immediately shook his head and stated, “We are not friends.
The Angel Mercenary Corps doesn’t have friends—no past ones, no current ones, and there won’t be any in the future.”
Justin, looking curious, asked, “Then, are you enemies?”
Gao Yang shrugged and answered, “Looking at the current situation, although we are not friends, we’re at least not enemies.”
Nate nodded and spoke solemnly, “Exactly, we are not friends, but we are not enemies either.
We are just two leaders of mercenary groups who happened to cross paths.
To put it precisely, we are acquaintances, nothing more.”
The coffee was finally ready, and a soldier placed three cups on the table, along with a dish of sugar cubes.
After pouring the coffee, Nate dropped two sugar cubes into his own cup.
Gao Yang remembered that Nate had a strong liking for sugar, but did not know why Nate only added two cubes this time.
Gao Yang didn’t ask or make a comment; he quietly dropped a sugar cube into his own coffee cup, then raised it for a toast with Nate and Justin before taking a sip.
“Hmm, great coffee,” he remarked.
“Silky smooth as it hits the tongue, with an elegant aroma.
I like it, it’s really good.”
Justin was full of praise, and Gao Yang also felt that after many days in the rainforest, having a sip of hot coffee was indeed comforting, yet he couldn’t discern any silky texture, nor could he associate the aroma of the coffee with elegance.
Nate greatly enjoyed Justin’s compliments.
With a smile, he raised a glass to Justin and slowly sipped his coffee.
It was then that Justin casually asked, “Mr.
Schumacher, I have a question for you, it was you who told ‘The Mercenary’ magazine about the Satan Mercenary Corps, wasn’t it?
Why did you do that?
Honestly, it was after reading the article in the magazine that I took notice of the Satan Mercenary Corps.
At first, I underestimated their strength, but fortunately, I’ve realized my mistake now.
Nevertheless, I must thank you; otherwise, I wouldn’t have noticed them.”
Justin’s question was precisely what Gao Yang was concerned about; in fact, even if Justin hadn’t asked, Gao Yang would certainly have inquired himself.
“No reason, really, I just felt that it’s been a long time since a mercenary group of caliber appeared in our circle, so I thought it necessary to let more people know of the existence of the Satan Mercenary Corps, that’s all.”
Nate’s reply was too perfunctory; Gao Yang would have to be a fool to believe it.
He helplessly said, “But why?
I think it’s better for mercenaries to keep a low profile.”
Nate looked at Gao Yang and said, “That’s your opinion.
What’s that got to do with me?
I’m not obliged or interested in keeping secrets for you, am I?”
Gao Yang, as if possessed, asked, “Is it because of Aurora?”
As soon as the words left his mouth, both Justin and Nate’s expressions froze—they seemed to have not expected Gao Yang to throw such a direct question.
After a moment of silence, Nate picked up his coffee and slowly took a sip, then exhaling lightly, said, “No.”
Justin shrugged and said, “Really?
Are you sure there’s no such reason?
I feel like Satan has the potential to become the next Aurora.”
After another moment of silence, Nate finally nodded and said, “Perhaps subconsciously, that is what I thought.
Maybe I wanted to see if Satan could become the next Aurora.
I don’t know, but it’s possible that’s what I was thinking.”
Justin’s face lit up with understanding, then he winked at Gao Yang and laughed, “Buddy, how does it feel to be someone’s ex’s stand-in?”
Gao Yang involuntarily sprayed his coffee all over Justin, and even Nate, with his usually unreadable face, looked astonished.
Justin, with a wry smile, said, “Hey, hey, is it that surprising?
Guys, don’t you think what I said makes sense?”
Nate frowned and said, “Mr.
Cicero, our subsequent conversation is not suitable for others to hear.
Besides, I trust your promise, and I hope you’ll keep your word.
Now, you can take your phone back and leave.”
Justin looked utterly baffled, but after shaking his head and chuckling wryly, he still took back his phone.
Then, after draining the coffee in his cup, he promptly stood up and said, “Well, I won’t disturb you two any longer.
It was a pleasure meeting you, Mr.
Ram, and thank you for the coffee, Mr.
Schumacher.”
Watching Justin leave with his phone, Gao Yang puzzledly asked, “Why?
You forced him to give up his phone, but now you’re giving it back to him?”
Nate casually said, “I initially just wanted him to hand over the phone, but when he insisted on not doing so, claiming it was his principle and his bottom line, I wanted to see if he could really stand by his principles.
If he had died, I would have acknowledged him as a man who stood by his principles, and I would have trusted him.
But, as you saw, when someone pointed a gun at his head, the guy had no principles to speak of.
So, if you’re not an idiot, you won’t get involved with that guy in any way.”
Gao Yang laughed heartily and responded, “Your jokes aren’t funny.
If Justin had to die before you believed him, what would the point be?”
“Of course, there’s a point, at least to me.
For an information trader, dying for one’s principles is worth noting.
I might not have killed him, but I would certainly have shot him to see if he actually could stick to his principles.
Unfortunately, it turns out no information trader truly sticks to their principles.”
Gao Yang nodded and said, “Alright, I admit what you say makes sense, so I won’t get involved with someone like Justin.
Perhaps in the future, I might actually buy information from him, but before buying any information, I’ll have to be careful not to become the information he sells.”
Nate nodded, finished his coffee in one gulp, and poured himself another half cup, this time adding a dozen sugar cubes.
After stirring for a while, once the sugar dissolved, Nate picked up his cup and took a sip, showing a face of enjoyment as he said, “Even though it’s just the sweetness left, this is the coffee I like.”
“You intentionally hid this habit in front of Justin; you don’t even want him to know this?”
Nate smiled and said, “For someone I don’t trust, I’ll carefully hide everything about myself.”
Gao Yang shrugged and said, “Now, let’s continue our previous topic, I want to know, you’re not seriously treating the Satan Mercenary Corps as a stand-in for Aurora, are you?” (To be continued.
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