Chapter 46: Enjoying Life on Time

  Enjoy yourself while you can

  The coffins of the madman and the servant were slowly taken off the transport plane, stepping onto French soil. As they smelled the salty sea breeze blowing in the wet air mixed with floral scent, everyone lined up to carry their comrades' bodies to the airport, where Mei Du drove a Hummer from the base, placed the coffin on it, preparing to take the madman back home to Brazil by plane again.

  Watching the car go away, maybe someday I'll be going home like that too! However, looking at my comrades around me, perhaps fighting and dying for them isn't a bad thing either! Thinking about this makes my heart feel much lighter, maybe it's only now that I've truly become part of the pack. Maybe what happened at the Congo base was just a catalyst!

  "Alright! Let's go!" The captain said ahead.

  "Where are you going?" I asked the butcher beside me.

  "Just follow along and don't ask any more questions!" The butcher didn't give me a direct answer, but instead slowly followed the group towards the garage.

  What's going on? I inexplicably followed everyone into the car and then drove towards the suburbs of Marseille with the cars in front. The place we were heading to was not our main base on the island of Corsica, but a secondary base in Marseille, the second largest city in France. This base, which I had only been to once, was much smaller than Corsica, although it was also an abandoned French military facility that looked more like a villa. So everyone liked to come here to live when there were no tasks, and it was convenient to go to the big city to have fun.

  However, there are also many "prohibited items" of the government inside! For example, these bulletproof Hummers that can be equipped with anti-tank guns and heavy machine guns, although they have been removed now, but a team of Hummers running on the streets of France still attracted everyone's attention, and the police cars following far behind are evidence.

  The slow procession split into two groups, the priest and REDBACK led the coffin of the servant to the Church of Our Lady of Gethsemane for purification and burial in the church cemetery. And we returned to the base to do something unknown! The car stopped inside the base, and we all got out of the car and looked at this strange "castle". Although it was surrounded by greenery and gardens, the building in the middle was not a Gothic or Baroque style mansion, but a prominent three-story four-square factory building.

  Following the captain, they entered the main building. The first floor was a living room with a unique eye-shaped layout. We came in from the corner of the eye. This layout made people who had just entered the building unable to adapt to the design inside, giving them a sense of disorientation and making them lose their sense of direction. Moreover, it took advantage of various visual weaknesses of humans to hide many spaces. When my brother first came here, he couldn't even find his way back. This was the original intention of that genius monster's design plan.

  They followed the captain and walked for a long time before arriving at a triangular room that resembled a pyramid with a narrow top and wide base. On the wall directly opposite the entrance was a black metal door with a pair of wolf-tooth carvings. The captain approached the door, pulled out his soldier's badge from around his neck, which had a small key attached to it. He then opened the left canine tooth on the carving, followed by the corresponding lower canine tooth, revealing a keyhole. He inserted the key and turned it, causing a window to pop open beside him, displaying a password input screen and a square indentation. After entering a string of passwords, he placed his soldier's badge into the indentation and pressed firmly, causing the iron door to creak open with a loud clang.

  This is the same procedure as when we enter the central computer room and arsenal in our main base. I didn't expect there to be such a secret place in the secondary base. In fact, those four teeth can all be moved. If one step of the five-step program goes wrong, the floor under our feet will become electrified with hundreds of millions of volts of high voltage electricity, and machine guns will appear on the ceiling and shoot us into mush. We all have keys but I've never used mine because I'm afraid that if I make a mistake in one step, I'll lose my life.

  The captain pushed open the iron gate and walked in. We followed him in. As soon as I stepped inside, I saw a shocking scene!

  An old-fashioned table filled with military swords of all kinds, some of which were standard equipment for troops from various countries, while others looked like they were homemade. There were over 300 swords, filling up a long, narrow table to the brim, and each sword had a soldier's tag hanging from it. The tags didn't have names on them, only a tooth-shaped embossing that was the same as the one on the door outside. That was our wolf pack's unique soldier's tag. Some of the swords were rusty, but most of them still looked brand new, gleaming with a cold light. The table itself also looked like it had been around for many years, with an old-fashioned design and pockmarks all over its surface.

  The captain took out the madman's military sword and soldier card, wrapped the soldier card around the hilt of the sword, and then inserted it into the desktop with force. Then he stepped back, facing the sword on the table, shouting: "All - remove hats! - Salute!"

  When the captain inserted the knife into the desktop, I knew the meaning of this table. This is a wolf's graveyard!

  We all take off our hats and pay tribute to our fallen comrades! Although I don't know the owners of these military swords, I can imagine that they must have forged unbreakable friendships in the flames of war and written countless poems worth singing and crying about!

  "The pack wasn't something I founded, it already had many years of history when I joined. The one who first formed the pack was Phils Mant. Our captain pointed to an old-fashioned large Bowie knife and said: "I joined when he had already passed away, and the captain at that time was Ben Jack, the owner of that M4 bayonet! I'm the third captain now. Actually, back then the pack only had me, Ben Jack, and thirteen others. Later on, due to wars all over the world, the pack grew, with a peak of over 200 people, but they're all here now! This place doesn't just have dead comrades, but also soldiers who were injured and couldn't continue fighting. From now on, whenever someone dies or leaves the team, they must bring their knife back here, unless they don't want to be with everyone else.

  The captain paused for a moment before continuing: "In today's era, war is no longer the main theme of the world. More mercenary groups have emerged, and the tasks we receive are fewer and more difficult. We also have fewer reinforcements, and even if we do get them, they can't keep up with the pace of war... So I have a premonition that the pack will eventually disappear. I know everyone doesn't want the pack to disappear, so Knight brought back Knife Hand and Butcher brought back Xing Tian, no! Now he should be called GHOUL (Corpse Eater). However, the result was that I led over ten soldiers on our most disastrous mission.

  Xing Tian almost went insane due to his inability to adapt to the fear of his loved ones, but in the end, he regained consciousness... The captain paused again and looked at me before changing the subject: "So I hope everyone will no longer force anyone or bring inexperienced, immature soldiers into the pack. I don't want to see another newly sharpened knife stuck on this table. If the pack is destined to disappear, then let it end in my hands. Let me go explain to Phils and Ben.

  Finally, I'd like to reiterate that I'm honored to have fought alongside everyone! Can you all accept this?"

  "What if it's a seasoned and mature warrior?" Trigger asked from the side.

  "We'll talk about it when everyone agrees!" The captain didn't shut off the retreat route immediately.

  After the ceremony ended, everyone left the cemetery with a heavy heart. The captain's words had basically foretold the future of the wolf pack, and without replenishing their forces, each battle would leave them with one less helper, increasing the likelihood of their own death. Many people were thinking of retreating, but the wolf pack was free to exit, yet we hadn't thought of quitting. I could imagine that everyone's mind was like mine, thinking of how to strengthen our abilities or evasion skills to survive on the battlefield rather than retreating in defeat.

  We walked out of the room and onto the balcony, where we all stood in silence, gazing at the distant fields and lakes. No one spoke, which was unusual for our group. I wanted to break the silence but couldn't think of anything to say, just like everyone else seemed to be thinking.

  "Hey! Hey!" The butcher rubbed his hands together, a perverted excitement on his face: "It's getting more and more interesting! Hehehe! Let's have a competition to see who can survive the longest! I reckon none of you will make it, just looking at your stupid faces tells me you're all cannon fodder. Don't drag me down later!"

  "A group of people shouted: 'You're the most troublesome! All day long, you're cutting and chopping, catching people and skinning them alive, don't harm us!'"

  "Ah, you little scoundrel! You still have the nerve to mention us? Screw your mother! Brothers, let's teach him a lesson!" The devil shouted as he was the first to pounce. Then everyone else followed, and they all started fighting together, instantly dispelling the previously oppressive atmosphere. Butcher indeed had his own set of skills!

  "Hah! Hah! Hah!" A group of people lay on the ground with bruised noses and faces, panting, their painful expressions replaced by joyful ones.

  "Right! Brothers!" The young master yelled out while lying on the ground: "Aren't we supposed to get GHOUL that kid to treat us? Today, let's have a blast and enjoy ourselves!! He earned more from this mission than I do in a year, let's all follow me and squeeze him dry!!"

  "Agreed!"

  "Agreed!"

  "Long live!"

  "Long live!"

  "Ghoul! Ghoul! Ghoul!..." Everyone lay on the ground cheering loudly.

  "What the...! Didn't you say not to call me by that nickname at the base?!" I shouted.

  "Never mind those trivial things, let's hurry up and set off! Life is short, we should make the most of it!" The young master said with a lustful face, drooling.

  "Look at that shameless expression of yours, I can tell your mind is full of women's breasts and thighs!" Little Cat cursed, wiping the blood from the corner of her mouth.

  "Enough said! Let's depart!" The knight concluded finally.

  "Let's go!" A group of people carried me from the balcony and jumped down, rushing to the Hummer parked below, then opened the rear door and threw me in. The car sped away with a whistle, heading straight for the city center.

  In the city center of Marseille, I came for the first time and saw a street full of greenery. For the first time, I had a feeling of being abroad. Everywhere I looked were blond-haired blue-eyed foreigners who seemed very unfamiliar!

  I used to think that France was just a big farm, but after coming here, I've caught a whiff of modernization. However, looking at the quiet streets of France, I feel that China's population is really dense. If it were in China, this time would be the peak hour with throngs of people, unlike here where there are only a few scattered souls. Of course, it's not that France has fewer people, but just that the difference between France and China is too great!

  The first impression of French cities is that they are clean! To exaggerate, one could roll around on the ground without getting dirty. Of course, this is a bit exaggerated but it also shows the characteristics of France. The streets are lined with European-style buildings that look very elegant. Large numbers of young men and women are embracing and kissing in the park, which is a pleasant sight to behold! This is not often seen in China!

  "Ghoul! Where are we going to eat?" The werewolf poked at my belly, right on the wound that had just healed.

  "Ow! That hurts a bit! I knew you were the glutton! Just go to Chinatown!" I didn't even turn my head, still gazing at the scenery by the street.

  "What's to eat? Go to Chinatown? Chinese food?" The young master shouted in front: "What's good to eat? I'm tired of eating too much! Do you still want to eat? No way! Let's go have a big meal and take advantage of this little guy!"

  "Ass! You don't know squat! I smelled authentic Chinese food in the jungle, and it's absolutely not what we've been eating. Stop interrupting! Start your car, Xingtian said he'd take us to eat real Chinese food! If you don't want to eat, then there won't be a share for you, watch out!" The werewolf stomped his foot on the rich kid's backrest, almost causing him to fall onto the steering wheel.

  "Get out of my face! You little punk, do you want to live or die? Everyone get back! Let me give him a lesson!" The young master pulled out his gun and started wildly firing behind him without even turning around.

  "Asshole! You little punk, stop waving that spray around! If you hit us, you're done for, I'll pull your thing off!" The crowd cursed loudly as Bottom Fire kicked the back of the rich boy's chair again.

  The young master looked at him with a lonely and helpless expression, "swallowing his breath" while scolding and continuing to drive.

  A group of people cursed and shouted as they drove to Chinatown, with a convoy of ten armored Hummers stopping on one street, looking like an army executing a mission. All the people who got out were wearing military uniforms, and some had already begun speculating that there might be terrorists hiding here.

  More than thirty of us got off the bus and walked into a restaurant. I took a look at the sign, it was a very large Chinese restaurant called "Mysterious Orient"!

  A group of people entered the restaurant, startling the owner. Although Marseille is a major entertainment destination for the French Foreign Legion, with many bases nearby, it's rare to see such a large group of soldiers in uniform, let alone armed, suddenly appearing.

  "Excuse me, sirs! Is there anything you need?" The young assistant manager stuttered.

  "We're going to eat Chinese food!" The werewolf grabbed the little brother and lifted him into the air like a chick.

  "Of course! Of course! We only sell Chinese food here!" The boss rushed out, holding the wolf man's hand and desperately explaining: "We must make sure you are satisfied! Please put him down, okay?"

  "Werewolf! Put him down, we came to eat not to kill!" I shouted. After the werewolf put the little brother down, I said to the boss: "I want a private room with the best wine and dishes for human beings, not for ghosts!"

  The boss was taken aback at first, then looked at me and burst out laughing: "I get it! I get it! Please, have a seat in the VIP room! The dishes will be served immediately!" After saying that, he led us to a large VIP room with two big tables inside.

  "What did you just say to him? Food for humans or food for ghosts?" Di Huo asked from the side. I knew he could understand Chinese, so I didn't hide it and said honestly: "Yes! The ones that are for people to eat are for Chinese mainlanders, and the ones that are for ghosts to eat are for foreigners! One is real Chinese cuisine, and the other is a weird-tasting Chinese dish made to cater to foreigners' desire for novelty!"

  "Ass! How come I didn't know before, never been to mainland China for a meal, the food on the Vietnam side is tasteless, not as good as here!" The knight also shouted from the side.

  "That's it! How can Vietnamese food compare to Chinese? Haven't you heard? Eat Chinese food, marry a Japanese wife! Chinese food is the best, Japanese women are the most obedient! These are the world's top pleasures!" I chimed in from the side. I remember there were two more lines about living in French houses and driving American cars or something, but I couldn't recall them clearly!

  "I don't believe it!" The young master said with a somewhat disdainful tone, "Our French haute cuisine is world-renowned, I just can't believe that it's not better than China's sweet and sour soup!"

  I didn't argue with him, just smiled and took out my phone to call Godfather and REDBACK to ask if they could come over for dinner. After getting affirmative answers from both of them, I put away the phone and chatted with everyone else. We talked about many interesting stories on the battlefield, especially when we mentioned the last time in the forest being smoked by smoke bombs and dying like a mother.

  "Next time, if anyone uses tear gas on me again, I'll feed him a whole box of that stuff and let him smoke for the rest of his life!" The butcher said, sniffing his nose, as the tears from the fast-paced machine were drawn out.

  "Damn it! Don't mention this again, just thinking about it brings tears to my eyes! That thing is really unbearable for humans, I didn't notice how bad it was before. Next time we go on a mission, bring a few more!" The slow machine on the side wiped away tears while cursing.

  The little brother of the cold dish saw a group of big men crying when he entered the house, and was so scared that he didn't know whether to go in or not. I guess he was also puzzled about what these guys were doing, running here to cry! I beckoned him to put the cold dishes on the table. Then waved my hand for him to leave, don't want him to hear anything scary!

  Before long, the priest and REDBACK also arrived. I ran outside to bring them in. The two large tables were the kind used by Europeans, super long and super big, forty people could sit there without feeling crowded. After everyone was seated, the boss rushed in to ask me if it was okay to serve the dishes. I nodded! Then, two rows of Chinese ladies wearing cheongsam dresses walked in with plates, placing dish after dish of delicious food on the table, and suddenly the whole room was filled with fragrance.

  "Is this Chinese food?" asked the young master, werewolf, and others in unison.

  "Haha!!" I looked at their three stunned faces and couldn't help but burst out laughing.

  Although it was Chinese food, in order to accommodate foreigners who didn't know how to use chopsticks, knives and forks were also placed on the table. The priest and REDABCK used chopsticks, and from their skilled movements, it could be seen that they had lived in Taiwan for more than a day or two. Others either picked up chopsticks or used knives and forks without hesitation and started eating.

  "How was it?" I asked Gongzi Ge.

  "The dish looks the same, but it doesn't taste like what I had before!" The young master said with a smack of his lips after eating a piece of grilled eel.

  "Is it delicious?" I asked knowingly. Actually, looking at everyone gobbling down their food, nothing else needed to be said.

  "Although it's good, it's still a bit worse than French cuisine. Don't believe me? Tonight I'll take you to have French cuisine!" The young master retorted with his mouth full of food.

  "Son of a rich family, you bastard, it's not good to eat and you're still snatching my dish!" The cowboy picked up the chopstick holder beside him and threw it over. He had a lion's head snatched away from him.

  Looking at a group of people there scrambling for food without any elegance, I sincerely lament the charm of Chinese food culture.

  "How come you're not eating?" The REDBACK next to me nodded and brought me back from my daze: "It's been a long time since I've had such delicious Chinese food. I thought the Chinese restaurants in France weren't skilled enough to make authentic Chinese dishes, how did you get them to make it?"

  "It's a secret!" I happily made a zipping motion across my mouth, then picked up the public chopsticks and clamped down on a piece of pork rib, placing it in my bowl. Next, I picked up my private chopsticks and put them to my mouth. Mmm! Delicious! I closed my eyes to savor the flavor.

  "Xing Tian!" The butcher on the side shouted: "We ate in Vietnam and Cambodia, why didn't we see them using so many chopsticks? Why are two pairs of chopsticks given here, one pair is extra long and the other pair is extra short?"

  "This was the traditional culture of China! The long one is called Gong Kuai, used to pick up food but not for eating, and the short one is called Si Kuai, used to pick up food for eating. This is to prevent saliva from getting on the dishes that everyone eats together, it's for hygiene!" I explained, but I didn't mention that China rarely pays attention to this anymore.

  "I say! The little chopsticks are still not skilled, and a pair of big chopsticks come up!" Big Bear is using the chopsticks as bamboo skewers, poking around here and there.

  "Chopsticks aren't used like that!" I demonstrated to everyone how to use chopsticks while laughing in my heart, looking at this group of people eating Chinese food is really funny!

  "Don't laugh at us!" The young master said with a displeased face, looking at me from the side: "Tonight it's my turn to teach you! Don't forget! Western food!" The young master pulled up his sleeves, with a face that dared you to underestimate him, I'll make you look good!

  I stifled a laugh, sat up straight and picked up my chopsticks to join the food fight. Plates were flying everywhere as everyone was eating like crazy. The knights at that table finished their food the fastest and even came over to our table to grab more dishes to eat. A group of people were fighting over a plate of Mapo tofu, so I quickly asked the boss to bring up a few more plates to calm down the crowd! The waitress who was bringing out the dishes was covering her mouth with one hand, looking like she couldn't help but laugh, yet trying not to at the same time.

  Looking at the messy dinner table and a group of big-bellied men rubbing their stomachs, she quietly ordered some food for the priest and monks who didn't get anything. It was REDBACK's fierce style that earned her a lot of praise.

  "Damn it! If I had known Chinese food was so delicious, I would have joined the Chinese army!"

  "I'm speechless, for the sake of eating Chinese food... it seems that during China's aid to North Korea against the US back then, they should have brought more chefs instead of cannons!"

  As I watched a group of people finish their meal, I asked the boss to bring the bill. Without even looking at it, I handed my credit card over for him to swipe. The REDBACK next to me looked at me with envy and said: "You rich folks are really something, not even bothering to look at the bill? This meal must have cost at least several thousand dollars. Don't you feel a pang of pain?"

  I curiously looked at REDBACK, I knew that the Assassin of God wasn't very rich, but did it have to be like this!

  "It doesn't matter! As long as everyone is happy, I don't mind about this little money. Besides, once we go to the battlefield, it's uncertain whether we can come back or not, so what's the point of leaving so much money to rot?" I said slowly.

  "Why don't you give some money to our orphanage instead? My orphanage is really poor, you know we basically don't get paid for our missions. Those kids of mine really need help!!" REDBACK had a pitiful expression on his face, looking like a little cat that couldn't catch any fish.

  "No problem! How much do you want?" I said without thinking, but her wide-open mouth startled me, fearing that she would shout out a number that I couldn't afford, so I quickly added: "I'm not Bill Gates!"

  "Haha! I know! Just lose a million or two to me and that's it!" REDBACK said with a relaxed face, uttering an astronomical figure that didn't match his expression.

  "Yen?" I asked timidly!

  She shook her head.

  "RMB?"

  Still shaking head.

  "Fran?ais?"

  Still shaking head.

  "That's dollars!" I was actually just teasing her.

  "Of course! Aren't you very rich?" REDBACK said with a matter-of-fact expression, as if accusing me of being wealthy but not benevolent.

  "But $1 million!" I said with a deliberately troubled face.

  "Avery! Don't make things difficult for Xing Tian, this isn't extortion is it!" The priest quickly ran out to give me a hand, afraid that REDBACK would humiliate me.

  "Father, don't worry about it, GHOUL doesn't care about that little money! Just one diamond from his pocket is worth more than this. The doctor and the genius are exposing my true nature on the side, I was still thinking of pretending to be poor to tease REDBACK but these two bastards ruined it."

  "Hah! You little brat, pretend to be poor for me! 1 million is too little, at least donate another 1 million to the church." The monk gave me a punch on the side. REDBACK also had an expression of "you dare to fool me" and was grinding his teeth over there, it seems that 2 million is settled.

  "Oh no!! My 20 million!! My life is so bitter!!" I intentionally let out two loud groans.

  "Hmph, you still dare to cheat me!" REDBACK snatched the gold card that the boss had returned and put it in his pocket: "I'll return it to you after I've withdrawn the money!" After a while, he whispered: "Thank you! My kids really need this money!"

  I looked at her face, which had never shown a sad expression before, and didn't expect that she was also troubled by such trivial matters in her heart. I always thought she was a bold and heroic Japanese heroine, but it seems she also has a soft side.

  I patted her arm and smiled reassuringly, "It's okay, as long as someone can use it! Money can be earned again, but life cannot be relived. If this money can change the lives of some children, it's well worth it."

  She looked at me for a while before breaking into a smile, "slap!" and gave me a slap, saying: "Not bad, you're sincere!..."

  I was waiting for her to praise me a couple more times when the howling of wolves and the pleading voice of the restaurant owner interrupted our conversation.

  "Damn it! Did you use that trash to fool us before? Didn't I give you money? Do you want me to rip your mouth off?"

  "No way, I thought all foreigners loved that flavor! Didn't expect you to like real Chinese food. Spare me! This meal is on the house, I'll refund your money!!" The boss thinks we're from a black society already.

  "Hey, wolf man, it's okay, it's not anyone else's fault. You just don't know any better. Next time you come, remember to tell us you want authentic Chinese food! Don't scare people like that or they'll call the police!" I chimed in from the side, trying to mediate.

  "Hmm!" The werewolf thought for a moment, then shouted at the boss: "Take a good look at my face! Next time I come back, if you give me sugar water again, I'll burn down your wine shop!!"

  "Me too!"

  "Me too!"

  "And me!" A group of people eagerly pressed their faces in front of the boss, letting him remember clearly, regardless of how fierce they looked, and not afraid that the boss would have nightmares later. I saw that the restaurant owner was almost scared to pee his pants!

  As we finished this intense lunch and walked out of the restaurant to get on the car, I and REDBACK were the last ones to come out. When we turned back to take a look, we found that the boss of the restaurant was wiping away his tears and worshiping the God of Wealth, probably thanking it for safely sending away this group of "troublesome gods"!

  I smiled and got on the bus, then asked everyone: "Okay, my program is over, who's next?"

  "Me!" The young master shouted: "Next stop red light district!"

  The man clapped his hands, the woman cursed! Even the priest made the sign of the cross to get off but was pulled back by the butcher, and a group of people yelled as they headed towards that chaotic area!

  Click to view image link: M134 MINIGUN Gatling gun.