[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-mercenary-s-war":3,"chapter-mercenary-s-war-mercenary-s-war-chapter-237":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Mercenary’s War",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1613327,2077,"Chapter 237 - 237 235 Big Spender This Is","mercenary-s-war-chapter-237",237,"\u003Cp>237: Chapter 235: Big Spender, This Is 237: Chapter 235: Big Spender, This Is The price Maide offered surprised Gao Yang, because Maide was not bidding low, at least much higher than he had imagined.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aside from Maide himself, who appeared relatively well-dressed, everyone around him wore tattered clothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Most of them were in flip-flops, and some didn’t have any shoes at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that if the members of the Skull Gang weren’t carrying guns, they would look exactly like a bunch of refugees.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao Yang hadn’t expected that Maide, who was leading what seemed like a troop of refugees, would start the bidding at a million US dollars.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>While a million wasn’t an astronomical figure, the fact that a group of refugees was offering this much seemed rather ridiculous.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, Gao Yang, though initially surprised, did not find the offer of a million US dollars to train a group of people particularly attractive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Training a group of competent soldiers would take at least three months, even under the most compressed schedule, so considering the time commitment, the money wasn’t that much.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If this had been in the past, Gao Yang would have cheerfully accepted a mission worth a million US dollars.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It would have also made many lower-tier mercenaries jump with joy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But now, it just didn’t seem worth it for Gao Yang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their current escort missions could net each person at least a hundred thousand or eighty thousand dollars a month with minimal risk.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A situation like with the Cloldylin was unlikely to happen a second time, and training the Skull Gang was full of uncertainties.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao Yang completely ruled out the possibility of giving up escorting in favor of training missions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Gao Yang fall silent again, Maide frowned and said, “I’m not really sure how much to offer to hire you guys, so if you think a million US dollars a month is too little, feel free to name your price.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All right, even if you won’t train my soldiers, could you at least tell me if the price is reasonable?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That way, even if I have to look for other mercenaries, I’ll at least have an idea.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao Yang paused for a moment and said, “A million a month?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Maide was also taken aback and replied, “Ah, isn’t the pay for mercenaries calculated by the month?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Have I offered too much?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao Yang shook his head, but then he nodded and said, “Mercenaries are paid by the day, nobody charges by the month.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Also, your bid isn’t low.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A million US dollars for a month’s training isn’t considered low, but it depends on who you’re hiring.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For us, a million a month is just mildly tempting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You need to understand that you could find some mercenary to train your people into competent soldiers, but what we train won’t just be regular soldiers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How should I put it, we are more professional.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Maide snapped his fingers excitedly and said, “I understand, the difference between regular soldiers and special forces.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao Yang nodded and replied, “Something like that, your description isn’t wrong.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But it’s impossible for us to train a bunch of special forces for you, you have to understand that.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Maide sincerely said, “I got it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I just want our soldiers to be better than other Somalis.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So, if my offer tempts you, would you please consider it?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There’s a wise saying in Huaxia, ‘good steel should be used on the edge of the blade.’ I’m willing to spend money to enhance our combat capabilities, and I do have the money.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao Yang shrugged and stated, “I’ll need to think about it, and I have to consult with my brothers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I’m just curious, how many people do you plan to train?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Maide pondered for a moment before answering, “We have four hundred people right now, combat personnel that is.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If we include those who joined today, we should have nearly six hundred.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao Yang shook his head and said, “That’s too many, way too many.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There are only six of us, and it’s just not realistic to take responsibility for training six hundred people.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I don’t have that much time, and I don’t want to produce half-baked results.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, I could ask around for you, see if any of my friends are interested in training soldiers.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Maide asked earnestly, “Are they as good as you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao Yang was considering recommending the people from Green Mamba since they had enough manpower, but even individually, the Green Mamba’s fighters could not be compared to them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Well, they can make your men into qualified soldiers.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No, I only want the best.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You take as many people as you can manage; I won’t insist on numbers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As long as some of them reach the standard you’re satisfied with, they can continue to train others as instructors.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao Yang, at this point, was truly tempted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A million dollars a month for three months of training, especially before the Maritime Security Company officially started, might actually be a good use of their time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After giving it some thought, Gao Yang nodded and said, “Alright, I’ll have to discuss it with my brothers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As long as there are no objections, we’ll provide the training.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But we’ll need to talk about the details later.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Right now, the most pressing issue is to recover the merchant ship hijacked from us.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Can you help us out?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I just need a large enough ship to get us on board the merchant vessel.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Maide waved his hand and declared, “That’s no problem at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What exactly are you planning to do?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao Yang shook his head with a vexed expression, “I don’t know yet, still don’t know.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I have to see how things go before I can say.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We still don’t know if the pirates left on the merchant ship are aware their lair has been raided.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If they do, then things will become tricky.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No matter how weak the pirates’ combat strength is, as long as there’s a gun blocking the boarding ladder, there’s no possibility of forcefully boarding.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We need to think this through.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Maide spoke in a deep voice, “I understand, ‘a single man can hold the pass against ten thousand’, right?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Alright, you guys can think it over.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I will have my people do their best to cooperate with you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Maide casually use a Chinese idiom, Gao Yang smiled and said, “Alright, now I’m starting to trust you.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because indeed, you had no reason to let us go and then deceive us back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I can let our people come ashore, until we come up with a plan.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After speaking, he made a ‘wait a moment’ gesture to Maide and pressed the transmit button on the intercom.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In a deep voice, he said, “This is Ram.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everything’s normal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Approaching shore is safe, no danger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Follow my lead.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Roger that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This is Big Dog.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Heading over now.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Follow my lead’ was the code phrase Gao Yang and his group agreed upon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If said under special circumstances, it meant that his words were true, and he wasn’t coerced.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Due to his absolute trust in Gao Yang, after Glolov responded to him, signaling they had received the message, they immediately started turning the ship’s bow towards the shore.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How will our commission be paid?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We need three months.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Three months is enough time to train a batch of qualified soldiers for you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Cash.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The money for three months, all paid in one lump sum.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Also, I just came to my senses, and I still don’t know your names.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao Yang and Li Jinfang were so surprised that Maide could speak Chinese that, for a moment, they had forgotten to introduce themselves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After shaking hands with Maide once more, Gao Yang laughed, “It’s not too late for an introduction now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Call me Ram, and my brother here, you can call him Toad.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sorry about that, in our line of work, we usually go by nicknames.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Understood, I completely understand, Ram.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You have wide connections; could you help me spend some money?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao Yang chuckled and said, “Since when did spending money require asking for help?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Maide replied with a helpless expression, “Of course, spending money elsewhere doesn’t require help, but in Somalia, it’s hard even to spend money.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I don’t need those pricey and useless things.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I need food, arms, medicines; these are what I urgently need, but right now, I can’t find a place to buy these.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When we purchase food, the prices are exorbitant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Buying arms, I don’t even know who to approach.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pirates?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Or the Youth Faction?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They are not the types to sell things to us.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Our reach is currently limited to this nearby underprivileged area, and there’s nothing to buy here.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao Yang let out another chuckle and said, “No matter where it is, I assure you that you can buy anything you wish for, because I just happen to know someone who can meet all your needs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But I need to ask first how much money you have.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You know, convincing someone to ship goods to Somalia, small deals won’t sway people.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a moment’s hesitation, Maide still decided to reveal his financial resources and said in a serious tone, “We currently have twenty-one million six hundred thousand US dollars in cash.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao Yang whistled, “That much?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How long have you been collecting tolls to amass such an amount?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Maide quickly shook his head, “The tolls didn’t bring that much.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We collected just under two million.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The rest of the money, we got it through raids, from the hands of pirates.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We attacked a pirate lair not so long ago.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We were lucky; they had just received a ransom and hadn’t had time to move it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We captured it all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, I want to use this money to improve my people’s lives, so the entire twenty million can be spent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, the tolls we collect should sustain our future expenses.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao Yang nodded immediately, “Alright, what do you plan to buy?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How will the money be allocated?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After thinking for a while, Maide spoke firmly, “Might is the foundation of everything.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I want to buy arms, as well as food and medicines.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for the distribution of the money, divide it into thirds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I now have a force of over six hundred armed men but am responsible for four to five thousand people in total, so I’d prefer to buy practical and inexpensive goods.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Save where we can.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Okay, got it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hang on a second.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>While our people haven’t arrived yet, I’ll make a call to see if I can help you with your situation.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao Yang was carrying a satellite phone, and it wasn’t the one Farah had.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was his own satellite phone, reclaimed from the pirates.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Stepping aside, Gao Yang dialed Uriyangko’s number.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Waiting for Uriyangko’s familiar voice to respond, Gao Yang laughed, “Hey, Vampire, this is Ram.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After having made a large sum of money, are you still an arms dealer?” (To be continued.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it at qidian.com.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Your support is my biggest motivation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mobile users, please go to m.qidian.com to read.)\u003C\u002Fp>",1870,"2026-06-06T10:19:38.027Z",1,"novelbin.me","7d5fe7a7564a5a92e4087b58aaa4e096e4d3304768602375c1673a457a1ef890","mercenary-s-war-chapter-238","mercenary-s-war-chapter-236",2343,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fmercenary-s-war-cover.jpg"]