Seeing everyone frozen as if struck by a spell, Song Heping realized something was terribly wrong.
Grey Wolf came over, pulled Song Heping aside, and whispered, "Are you crazy?! Why did you bring Disaster Star back?"
"Disaster Star?"
Song Heping continued to be clueless.
"What Disaster Star?!"
"The guy behind you, Big Beard!" Grey Wolf said. "Isn't his name Umarov?"
Song Heping nodded repeatedly, "That's right."
Grey Wolf looked at Song Heping with despair, "Do you know his nickname? He's a celebrity in our Baghdad mercenary circles!"
Song Heping was utterly confused, "What's it? GOD?"
He thought, does it have to do with a nickname?
Grey Wolf's expression was as complicated as a trap mine, "His nickname is Disaster Star. Do you know why he's called that? This guy came to Baghdad and in less than three months, wiped out four mercenary groups, averaging one per month."
"Wiped out?"
"Yes," Grey Wolf said. "Whichever mercenary group he joined, various kinds of deaths followed. Roadside bomb deaths, ambush deaths, and the freaking strangest thing, the leader of the mercenary group he joins always ends up dead... So Disaster Star can't mix in the Baghdad mercenary circles anymore, no one dares sign him!"
This time, the hairs on Song Heping's neck finally stood up.
He sneakily glanced at the cook.
The cook's face had petrified into marble, looking like he was about to burst from holding in urine, probably feeling extremely distressed right now.
This damn...
No wonder he's called Disaster Star.
Fuck!
What had he brought back?
He thought he had found a treasure, but it turned out to be poison.
Song Heping was totally flustered.
But then again, he felt it wasn't that big of a deal.
If what Grey Wolf said was true, if Disaster Star only targeted the bosses,
Then the person who should be panicking was the cook.
He's the top guy in the company.
Once he broadened his thinking, the possibilities seemed endless.
Song Heping became composed.
On the other hand, the cook was in a difficult situation.
It wasn't that he was loath to get rid of Big Beard, the Disaster Star.
If it was just Disaster Star alone, he would have unhesitatingly told him to get lost.
But Disaster Star was with Guy.
Compared to Disaster Star's lousy reputation, Guy's was quite the opposite.
He was a well-known sniper in the Baghdad mercenary circles.
One Disaster Star, one talented man.
A bizarre combination.
"Hunter," he addressed Guy by his nickname, "I would be very pleased for you to join, but as for Disaster Star, well... I'm truly sorry, I'm afraid my luck isn't strong enough."
Guy said, "Disaster Star saved my life, he's my brother. I swore I'd face any misfortune alongside him and share any fortune for life. If you want to recruit us, take us both. Otherwise, we'll leave together. It's up to you."
The cook said, "Is it really not possible to take just one?"
"Of course not, you either take us both or we both leave."
Guy said with an uncompromising tone.
Umarov whispered something in Guy's ear.
Guy shook his head.
Song Heping felt that Umarov probably didn't want to drag Guy down with him and was considering backing out.
Seeing the cook silent, Guy picked up his backpack, turned around, and walked away.
Umarov followed behind him.
When they were about a dozen meters away, Song Heping called out to them, "Wait!"
Guy turned around, and Song Heping said, "Hunter, wait here for a moment. I need to discuss this with the cook."
He then approached the cook and whispered, "We're short-staffed this time, especially core members. The oil field is too vast, and we're already short-handed, particularly lacking a top-tier sniper like Hunter. I've done my research; in the Hassan Oilfield Area, an excellent sniper can be more effective than ten infantrymen. I think we should keep them."
"Damn it!" the cook said. "Didn't you hear what Grey Wolf said? Where Disaster Star goes, teams get wiped out!"
Song Heping said, "You still believe in that?"
The cook said, "Do you think everyone is an atheist like you guys?"
He furrowed his brow as he spoke, then suddenly his eyes darted, and he said to Song Heping, "I have a method we could try."
Song Heping quickly asked, "What method?"
The cook said, "The Defense Company can register you as the legal person, I'll no longer be the boss, and you'll take over as boss from now on."
Song Heping was shocked, "Me?!"
He thought about how he had just joined the group a few days ago, and now they were making him the boss.
The cook was indeed scared out of his wits by the legend of the Disaster Star.
"Right."
The cook looked quite serious.
"You're a natural-born commander anyway, and since you're already in charge of military operations, no one will object to you being the leader. As for me..."
He grinned, showing off his shiny white teeth.
"I'll be your deputy."
"Fuck!" Song Heping became angry, "You're afraid the Disaster Star will jinx you, aren't you? I can't believe you Russians believe in this stuff too!"
The cook made a sign of the cross in front of his chest: "We believe in God."
Song Heping turned his head to look at Guy and finally gritted his teeth, "Deal. I'll just be the legal person, a mascot."
"That's the spirit," the cook said loudly to Guy, "Alright, you guys can join us."
Then he didn't forget to announce to everyone, "Starting today, Song is the head of our Defense Company and Mercenary Group. I'll step down to the second-in-command. I'm not the boss anymore."
As soon as he finished speaking, everyone couldn't help but laugh.
Song Heping became the "Musician's" leader after just a few days of joining, and everyone knew why the cook was willing to step down and let him lead—it was all out of fear of the curse.
"Boss!"
Guy stepped forward, extending his hand.
"I won't go on about gratitude, just thank you for giving a place for the two of us brothers. Oh, by the way, do you guys have anything to eat? We're hungry."
These words again caught Song Heping off guard.
He had seen mercenaries who were down on their luck, but this was the first time he had met someone who didn't even have money for a meal.
What had these two brothers been through?
"Yes, there are lots of canned foods and batt bread in the kitchen, as well as mutton. I'll get Grey Wolf to take you there and fill you up."
After Guy and his brother entered the kitchen, Queen started teasing Song Heping, "Boss, you better wear an extra layer of bulletproof vest next time you go on a mission."
White Bear joined in with the banter, "No use, even Disaster Star's last Mercenary Group, 'Eagle', the boss died in a helicopter crash, a bulletproof vest couldn't have saved him."
Having said that, the two of them looked at each other as if they had heard some ridiculous joke, wrapped their arms around each other, and burst into a big laugh.
Boss?
Song Heping was still getting used to the title.
Just a few days ago, he was a small businessman selling generators in Baghdad.
In just a few days, he had become the leader of a Mercenary Organization and the legal person of a Defense Company.
The most important thing was that Song Heping now had nearly six hundred thousand US dollars in his own pocket.
Six hundred thousand US dollars, worth about five million in China's currency as a reward!
Five million!
With that money, Song Heping could buy more than thirty houses in his county town!
One for his sister, one for his brother, and he could still be a property owner.
The money had come too fast!
It was a pity that Lao Gui wasn't here.
Otherwise, he would have definitely been astounded.
Song Heping really wanted to share his joy with someone, but on second thought, he restrained himself.
His younger siblings were still young; he absolutely couldn't let them know their brother had so much money, or it would surely spoil them and ensure they would amount to nothing in the future.
Moreover, considering the nature of his business, to put it bluntly, the money he earned was blood money—it was better not to make it public.
He decided to remit a small portion of the money back to China, letting his sister first pay off the debts they owed relatives. After all, being debt-free is a carefree feeling, and Song Heping had long since grown tired of the sensation of owing money.
There was another issue that Song Heping was always worried about, but he had never spoken to anyone about it.
This issue was like a thorn in his heart, always making him feel uncomfortable.
But as they say, worry about something and it's certain to happen.
What should come will always come.