986: Chapter Nine Hundred Seventy-One: Not One Less 986: Chapter Nine Hundred Seventy-One: Not One Less Djibouti.
Gao Yang was standing outside Djibouti Airport, accompanied by Cui Bo, Number Thirteen, and Rafael.
The date of the reunion had arrived, and today there would be an answer about who would come and who would not.
After being sprayed by Skunk, Rafael simply hadn’t gone home, and Number Thirteen had already brought Cui Bo from Thailand, so they had arrived early.
Even if someone hadn’t come, Gao Yang wouldn’t be angry.
Everyone in the Satan Mercenary Corps had already paid a lot for Bruce’s death.
He couldn’t insist that everyone should sacrifice their lives because of Bruce.
Although one might not necessarily die in battle, if one didn’t come with the resolve to die, it would be better not to come at all.
Gao Yang saw three people chatting and laughing as they walked out of the airport, Eileen, Tommy, and Jansen.
They carried bags and wore sunglasses as they walked out of the airport.
After seeing Gao Yang, the three of them waved in unison, then stood beside him.
There were no pleasantries exchanged, nor did anyone ask when the rest would arrive by plane.
Gao Yang was willing to stand under the sun all day to welcome his members, as those willing to live and die with him were worth it.
The African sun was scorching, but after two hours of waiting under the sun, none of the six people, clearly dressed in combat gear and wearing sunglasses, with a hint of fierceness inadvertently hanging on their faces, showed any signs of impatience.
They stood in a V formation outside the terminal exit, motionlessly staring at the exit and drawing sidelong glances from everyone entering and exiting the terminal.
Like a rock, every wave of people that came out from the terminal cast curious glances at them before automatically steering clear of the obviously formidable group.
Finally, a person walked out of the terminal.
Li Jinfang, empty-handed, emerged from the terminal.
He didn’t bring luggage but had shaved his head and was playing with a string of prayer beads in his hand.
Seeing Li Jinfang’s appearance, Cui Bo couldn’t help but say, “Damn, Toad, you didn’t become a monk, did you?”
Li Jinfang smiled slightly and said, “Don’t talk nonsense.”
“Then why do you look like a monk?
What’s that thing?
Is it prayer beads?”
Li Jinfang raised his hand, avoiding Cui Bo’s attempt to grab his prayer beads, and said, “They are just prayer beads, one hundred and eight Bodhi seeds.
Yeah, I went to Congo-Brazzaville.”
Gao Yang couldn’t help but break the somber atmosphere they had managed to create, ruining the scene that felt like something out of a movie.
“You dared to go to Congo-Brazzaville?
What were you doing there?”
Li Jinfang answered lightly, “Hey, I couldn’t let it go.
Thinking I might never have the chance again, I made a trip to Congo-Brazzaville.”
Gao Yang pointed at the prayer beads in Li Jinfang’s hand and asked, “What does this mean?”
Li Jinfang shrugged and replied, “I went to Congo-Brazzaville, then I went to the temple where I was saved, and met with Master Zhiran.
We had a talk.”
“What did you talk about?”
“Nothing much, well, Master Zhiran advised me that the sea of bitterness is boundless, turning back is the shore.
Then he gave me these prayer beads, saying I have a connection with Buddha, just like that.”
Gao Yang’s mouth dropped open, while Cui Bo let out a snort of laughter and said, “You?
You have a connection with Buddha?
You kill people as if slaughtering chickens, and you have a connection with Buddha?”
Li Jinfang shrugged and responded, “Who knows.”
Gao Yang frowned and said, “Toad, you didn’t actually start believing in Buddhism, did you?”
Li Jinfang waved his hand and said, “Believe it or not, it’s not bad.
It helps calm my mind, brings me peace, yeah, just like that.”
Cui Bo stared blankly and said, “No way, are you planning to become some kind of violent monk?”
Li Jinfang smiled slightly and said, “I only seek peace of mind.
I won’t abstain from killing, well, I can’t even if I wanted to.
There’s killing intent in my heart, and naturally, a blade in my hand!”
Cui Bo shook his head and remarked, “That’s too profound.
No, not profound, you’re just too annoying, I’m not used to it.”
Many in the Satan Mercenary Corps had beliefs, aside from Gao Yang and his group.
Gao Yang felt that having a belief wasn’t bad; even if they committed murder and arson, they still hoped to ascend to heaven after death.
Perhaps this was the best depiction of self-deception.
Nevertheless, having a belief was good too, just as Li Jinfang had said, seeking peace of mind.
Ever since his first love died, Li Jinfang had not been able to get over it.
His self-destructive tendencies had never diminished, but after revealing this issue during training, Li Jinfang had not corrected this significant psychological flaw.
He merely concealed it to avoid implicating his comrades during combat, which is why Gao Yang thought it was good for Li Jinfang to have a belief.
Gao Yang nodded to Li Jinfang and said softly, “Now that you’re back, rejoin the team.”
Li Jinfang smiled, moved to the edge of the group, tucked the prayer beads into his pocket, and then pulled out sunglasses from his shirt pocket.
The moment he put on the sunglasses, the hint of calm on Li Jinfang’s face immediately disappeared.
The seven of them 샛 c =் i e e = b e b a dzz=”싿zzed/lzzunzzzzzz째zz and, notably eye-catching, continued to wait.
Another group came out, and Gao Yang saw someone he hadn’t expected.
A tall man with a shiny bald head and a fierce look on his face pushed away the people blocking him and haughtily stood at the airport’s entrance.
Upon seeing Gao Yang and the others, Ludwig’s eyes brightened.
He took a few quick strides to reach Gao Yang and, with a laugh, said, “Hey, guys, I’m here.
Why no welcome?
What are you all doing?
Wearing sunglasses to look cool?
Ha-ha, guys, we didn’t use to do this back in the day.”
Gao Yang said in a deep voice, “How did you get here?
You were supposed to come with Little Donnie.”
Ludwig shrugged and replied, “Little Donnie didn’t want to wait for me to rendezvous, so he told me to come straight here from Mexico.
So here I am.
I didn’t expect you guys to be lined up to greet me, haha, thanks, I’m quite flattered.”
Gao Yang sighed and said, “Cut the chatter, stand aside, and don’t block my view.
We’re not waiting for you.”
Ludwig pouted and remarked, “That’s hurtful.
With that attitude, you’re bound to get shot in the back.”
After saying that, Ludwig smiled, raised an eyebrow, and pulled out a pair of sunglasses from his pocket, saying, “Sunglasses, huh!
I’ve got some too.”
Putting on the sunglasses and stepping aside, Ludwig’s voice changed.
With a serious and stable tone, he said, “I’ve noticed, this feels good!
Yeah, definitely cool!”
Nobody responded to Ludwig, and Gao Yang and the others continued waiting.
Gao Yang, Li Jinfang, Cui Bo, Rafael, Eileen, Tommy, Jansen, and people from the Satan Mercenary Corps—there were seven of them in total.
After a long wait, Glolov and Frey appeared.
After seeing everyone, Frey raised his fist, waved it in the air, brushed past Glolov, and quickly ran up to Gao Yang.
Extending his fist towards Gao Yang and bumping it with his, Frey grinned and said, “Boss, I’m here.”
Gao Yang nodded and asked, “Is everything settled at home?”
Frey laughed, “Of course, I have no worries now, nothing at all.”
Gao Yang patted Frey’s shoulder and said solemnly, “Rejoin the squad.”
Seeing everyone wearing sunglasses and acting cool, Frey was a bit flustered and urgently said, “I didn’t bring sunglasses, what should I do?”
Jansen chuckled and pulled out a pair of ballistic goggles, saying, “Use these for now.”
“You guys with sunglasses and I’m wearing goggles, this is so silly.”
“I just bought a pair of dark lens goggles, I’ll pass on wearing them.”
“No, give them to me; maintaining a unified image is important.”
Ignoring Frey and Jansen, Glolov, with a complex expression, stood in front of Gao Yang and frowned, “Yelena was very upset.”
Gao Yang nodded but remained silent.
Glolov took a deep breath, seemed to want to say something, but shook his head and sighed, “It’s in God’s hands now.
We don’t have a choice.
Also, I’ve found a few people to help, all skilled hands.”
Gao Yang asked, “Oh?
Did you talk to Little Donnie?”
“Yes, Little Donnie is bringing them.
They are all decent folks, familiar to me; old mercenaries I’ve dealt with during my time with Trident.”
“Good, rejoin the squad.”
From the moment Glolov received the order to rejoin the squad, his relationship with Gao Yang was no longer that of a father-in-law and son-in-law, nor as the closest of brothers who shared life-and-death experiences.
From that moment, Glolov reverted to being a subordinate to Gao Yang in their hierarchy.
In Africa, perception mattered.
Glolov looked around at the team, smiled slightly, took out sunglasses from his pocket, put them on, and then stood by the side of the formation.
Gao Yang checked his watch.
He had been standing there since eight in the morning, and it was now five-thirty in the afternoon.
As far as he knew, there were no more flights from America for the day.
The next direct flight from America was not until the following day.
They were supposed to meet by eight in the evening.
Sunset was around seven-thirty, and by eight, it would almost be completely dark.
Gao Yang felt that Andy He should have been on the same flight as Frey and Glolov since they were all in America, but Andy He hadn’t arrived.
Gao Yang didn’t leave; he continued to wait there.
Time seemed to pass very slowly, but as it approached eight o’clock, Gao Yang felt increasingly disappointed.
Despite constantly telling himself not to feel this way, Gao Yang couldn’t help but feel a bit let down.
When the time reached seven forty-five, Frey muttered to himself, “Dragon Knight better not stand us up…”
They had agreed to meet before eight o’clock; they had to be on time, no matter what.
If the flight didn’t make it, they should have arrived earlier.
At such a crucial moment, being late was not an option, because it meant something different.
When the time reached seven fifty-five, Gao Yang also felt that Andy He wouldn’t come, but he would wait until the last moment.
Finally, just as Gao Yang was about to start a countdown, he saw a familiar figure running fast towards them.
Andy He, carrying a large bag, sprinted up to Gao Yang, panting heavily and said, “Fuck, what kind of shitty timing is this, fuck!
My flight was delayed, but luckily I made it.”
Jansen couldn’t resist asking, “Where have you been?”
“I fucking went to Syria after learning some basic combat medic skills.
There were lots of casualties there for me to attend to; yeah, I should be a qualified combat medic now.”
Gao Yang smiled and said, “Rejoin the squad.”
Turning around to see that everyone was present, Gao Yang took a deep breath and declared, “All members are present.
I announce that Satan is now reassembled.” (To be continued.
If you like this work, we invite you to vote and support us at [qidian.com](http://qidian.com).
Mobile users, please visit [m.qidian.com](http://m.qidian.com) for reading.)