Mercenary’s War

Chapter 2397 - 2373: How Much Easier It Is to Just Force Someone

Masyev is a military industry talent who drifted out after the Soviet Union dissolved. There are so many people like him. The Soviet Union’s millions of troops collapsed in an instant, and everything was gone, leaving these soldiers, who only knew how to fight, suddenly without any means of survival. The result was that the mercenary community was almost overnight monopolized by people from the CIS countries.

No one can do anything about the tide of the times. Gao Yang just needed to know Masyev’s background, that Masyev had no history, no background; he was just a child of the times born in the wrong era, struggling to survive, and that was enough.

Gao Yang patted Masyev’s shoulder again and smiled sincerely, "Life is hard, buddy. That’s just how it is, right? Some things can’t be helped, right? Uh, you’re just working here, correct? So how much do you make a month?"

Masyev said in a low voice, "Not much, maybe two hundred dollars a month, but sometimes they can’t pay, or only a few dozen dollars. But I don’t need much money now, I have a place to live, food to eat, I rarely go out, so I don’t need much money."

Gao Yang pinched his own ear and said loudly, "Uh, how much?"

"Two hundred, but sometimes they can’t pay."

"Cough cough, hmm, you haven’t remarried later? Seeing as you’ve been here a long time, didn’t you remarry?"

Masyev, still looking troubled, said, "I remarried, but my wife died, several years ago. She was killed in an attack at the market. After that, I never remarried and have been living in the barracks."

No complex background, and now he has no attachments or burdens. This matter is really settled.

Gao Yang sighed sympathetically and said, "Masyev, you’re a great mechanic. Work for me."

Just then, Rebrov shouted towards Gao Yang, "Boss, should we send the artillery out first?"

Gao Yang waved his hand and said, "Find the ammunition depot first, and drive the support vehicle away at the same time!"

After shouting, Gao Yang urgently said to Masyev, "So, how about it? Work for me; I’ll pay you twenty thousand US dollars a month!"

Masyev was startled, raised his head, and said to Gao Yang, "A month? Twenty thousand US dollars?"

"Yes, come with me. From now on, you’ll be repairing and maintaining our vehicles, still doing what you used to do, no problem for you, surely."

After hesitating for a moment, Masyev lowered his head and whispered, "Thank you for your offer, but I still don’t think so. I... I..."

Glolov became anxious and shouted, "What? Speak up! If you’re not satisfied with twenty thousand a month, say how much you want!"

"It’s not about the money..."

Masyev hummed, looking troubled, and said, "It’s really not about the money; what do I need money for now? I’m fine here; I don’t know what I’d do if I left here. Why do I need so much money? I’m sorry, I don’t want to leave."

Glolov took a deep breath and said anxiously, "With money, there’s nothing you can’t do! You could marry again, enjoy life, do anything you want!"

Masyev hesitated for a moment. Gao Yang could see it wasn’t Glolov’s vision of life that he was considering, but how to refuse him.

"Thanks, but I’ll stay. I really don’t want to, uh, don’t want to..."

Gao Yang patted Masyev, coughed lightly, and then smiled, "You see, this place is already occupied by us. The Houthis Armed Forces and the Government Forces have started fighting. From now on, you can’t stay in this barracks anymore; everything you’re familiar with will be gone."

Masyev looked bewildered and said, "Huh..."

Glolov, annoyed, said, "Are you a man or not? You..."

Gao Yang waved his hand and then said to Masyev, "I guess you’re just very scared, right? Everything familiar is about to disappear, and you feel very afraid. You don’t want to make a lot of money; you just want to live the quiet and familiar life you have now, right?"

"Yes."

"But it’s gone. Stop thinking about it; it’s all gone."

Masyev bit his teeth, not out of anger, but out of fear and confusion.

Gao Yang sighed and said, "Why did you mention that the artillery couldn’t start because of a preheat switch problem?"

Being asked about his profession, Masyev awkwardly said, "The 2S3 self-propelled artillery is designed for use in temperate and frigid zones, it’s too hot here in Yemen, so the air intake preheat switch is useless. Uh, it’s just a common issue. I just couldn’t help but blurt it out. I really just said it off-hand, I wasn’t thinking..."

Having said something off-hand got him into trouble; this was surely what Masyev thought, as Gao Yang laughed and said, "When did you suspect it was a U-shaped pipe problem?"

Masyev pouted the corners of his mouth and said helplessly, "You can tell by listening carefully. At first, I was a bit scared and wasn’t paying attention..."

Gao Yang heavily patted Masyev’s shoulder and then laughed spiritedly, "Alright, you’re the one, come with us. Someone will arrange things for you later; from now on, you’re with us."

Masyev raised his head, still looking bewildered, and said, "Huh? But I don’t want to..."

"Don’t want what? Do you have a choice? Pack your tools; you don’t need to bring anything else. From now on, you’re with me. I’ll pay you, but don’t think about whether or not you want to work for me. That’s it."

After speaking very dominantly, Gao Yang shouted towards Rebrov, "Wild Duck."

"What’s up, boss?"

"His name is Masyev; he’s a great mechanic. From now on, he’s with us. He’s under your supervision now, make sure he doesn’t run away."

Masyev was stunned and said, "Make sure he doesn’t run away?"

Gao Yang said helplessly, "Masyev hasn’t prepared himself mentally to work for us yet. Before he truly changes his mind, you need to keep an eye on him, understand?"

Rebrov immediately laughed and said, "Understood, boss. I’ll soon change Masyev’s mind."

Pushing Masyev on the back, Gao Yang laughed, "Don’t scare him; take care of him and take him away."

Rebrov took Masyev away, and Glolov discontentedly said, "I thought you’d keep persuading him or offer him more money. This guy doesn’t seem much like a man."

Gao Yang laughed heartily, "Didn’t you see he was terrified? When I said twenty thousand dollars, his eyes were saying, ’Are you kidding me?’ Actually, if I had said I’d give him two thousand dollars a month, he might have agreed. Do you believe that?"

Glolov frowned and said, "Could he be that foolish?"

Gao Yang sighed and said, "He’s not foolish; he’s just gotten used to being poor."

Glolov nodded, whispering, "You’re not wrong. I also once got used to getting a few hundred dollars for a fight, and it seemed normal to me. If you’d offered me tens of thousands of dollars for a fight, I’d have thought you were scamming me. Looking back now, it’s really..."

Gao Yang smiled, "So why say so much? Forcing them is much more straightforward!"