Colonel Hank and several other Dragonsquad Special Ops soldiers looked at Shawn Young with a mix of ambiguous admiration in their eyes, secretly giving him a thumbs-up. This made Shawn ridiculously proud, so he launched a surprise attack on Jade Swann’s tender, pretty face—"Smooch!"—a loud kiss.
"Ah! You—you shameless rascal! You’re so annoying, that’s way too much! Stop it, people are watching!" Jade Swann hadn’t expected Shawn to be so bold and brazen. She was both embarrassed and secretly delighted, her cheeks turning bright red. She gave Shawn’s arm a playful pinch, but it was just for show and didn’t use any strength.
"Uh—" Colonel Hank and the others were left dumbfounded, mouths agape like a bunch of idiots. They’d never seen Jade Swann act so feminine before! It took them a moment to process her dramatic change.
"Hey, what are you staring at? Haven’t you animals ever seen a man and a woman getting cozy? What’s the big deal? Get back to work!" Jade Swann shot Colonel Hank and the others a glare, snapping at them.
"Oh! Right, right, we need to get back to business! Uh—but this guy’s frozen, we—we can’t interrogate him!" Colonel Hank had wanted to personally question the foreign mercenary officer, but the guy couldn’t move or speak, so there was no way to interrogate him.
"Let me handle it!" Shawn Young said, walking over to the foreign mercenary officer. He stretched out his right hand and tapped the officer’s forehead with his palm—"Whoosh—" a faint white light flashed, and the officer’s body suddenly jerked. His joints loosened up, his throat twitched, and he let out a startled cry, regaining the ability to speak.
"Heh, old man, you want to live or die? If you want to live, you’d better cooperate and spit out everything we want to know. If you hide even a little, I’ll slice your throat right now! Got it?!" Colonel Hank pressed a tactical knife against the officer’s throat, warning him coldly.
"Got it! Got it! I want to live, I’ll cooperate!" The foreign mercenary officer turned pale and nodded hurriedly.
"Tell us your name. Who are you, really?" Colonel Hank asked directly.
"My name is Max, I’m Italian, a retired special forces soldier from the Italian 'Balaclava' Anti-Terror Squad! Sirs! I’m just here fulfilling a company contract." Max, the Italian mercenary, stammered nervously. His Chinese was surprisingly good.
"Damn! The Italian 'Balaclava' Anti-Terror Squad is actually a pretty famous special forces unit—how did they end up with a coward like you? You’re ruining their reputation! Haha—so, what, you broke after retiring? Why’d you end up as a mercenary working for Nick?" Colonel Hank kept grilling Max.
"Uh—I, after I retired, I used the money from the government to open a fishing tackle shop, but the European economy tanked and I was bad at business, so I lost everything. I had no choice but to join the Red Angel Mercenaries. Nick paid big bucks to hire us to train his men and run operations for six months, so Red Angel sent me and a few other Chinese-speaking mercs here. Now the contract’s almost up, but you guys showed up and ruined everything—now I won’t even get my commission, let alone my pension! I’ve got no beef with you, please don’t kill me, okay? I just want to go back to Italy and do business!" Max actually sounded a little whiny, blaming Colonel Hank and the others for messing up his gig.
"Damn! So you’re with the Red Angel Mercenaries? That’s pretty damn ironic—working for your old mortal enemies just to make a living!" Colonel Hank sneered. (Note: The Red Angel Mercenaries used to be the infamous Italian terrorist group 'Red Brigades,' and were the main rivals of the 'Balaclava' Anti-Terror Squad. Colonel Hank knows this, which is why he’s mocking Max.)
"That’s just how it is for mercenaries. Once you’re out of the military, you sell your skills for money, that’s it. Politics don’t matter to us anymore. I never thought I’d end up working with my old enemies, but Nick and my boss treat me pretty well. I’ve already served my country, now I’m just trying to survive the rest of my life." Max didn’t even look ashamed as he said this.
"Alright, I don’t care what you Europeans think. Let’s get to business—what’s the situation inside Nick’s lair on Raveneye Mountain?" Jade Swann stepped up and asked directly.
"Uh—right now, Nick’s base has over fifty trained fighters, including five of my colleagues. They’re armed with Chinese and Russian weapons, have three light armored vehicles, five Humvees, and a dozen transport trucks. There are tons of landmines around Raveneye Mountain, and only people who know the paths can get in. The place has plenty of food, water, and electricity because there are several drug production lines and warehouses up there. There are also interlocking bunkers with a dozen automatic cannons and plenty of ammo. If you don’t have heavy weapons or attack helicopters, those fifty guys could hold off a whole Myanmar infantry division for at least a month!" Max explained in detail.
"Damn—that’s way tougher than I thought! This is going to be a hard nut to crack. By the way, how are the American JS guys mixed up with you? Who did they send this time, and why is Nick working with them?" Jade Swann pressed, frowning.
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"Oh, here’s the deal—there’s only one American JS guy, his name’s Gerard. He offered Nick a sweet deal: if Nick helped him mess with you, he’d open up contacts with American gangs for drug deals and help Nick break into the North American market. So Nick agreed right away!" Max said.
"Damn! I didn’t think the JS guys would stoop to such shady deals! So, why does Nick trust that guy and accept his offer?" Jade Swann pressed on.
"Because that guy is scary strong. I’ve never seen anyone like him—he didn’t use any weapons, just moved his hands a bit and took down over a dozen of Nick’s trained bodyguards! If he hadn’t held back, those guys would be vegetables by now. Nick had no choice but to agree to work with him. Even I couldn’t see what he did! Gerard is definitely some kind of superpowered freak!" Max said, still shaken.
"Good. Max, you’ve been very helpful. Now we need you to take us into Nick’s lair on Raveneye Mountain and help us find that American, Gerard. If you do, we won’t give you any trouble—might even throw you a bone!" Shawn Young stepped up and said to Max.
"Ah! Can I not go? Gerard—he’s a demon! If he finds out I brought you, he’ll kill me!" Max’s face turned pale with terror as he shook his head frantically.
"Hmph! If you don’t cooperate, I’ll slit your throat right now!" Colonel Hank pressed the sharp blade of his tactical knife against Max’s neck, drawing a thin line of blood.