That Old Bastard Was Seriously Shady

"Hey! Summer intern! Wake up!"

Yuri opened his eyes. Beneath his goggles, his Golden Pupils flashed with dazzling light. The squad leader, who had rudely woken him, met his gaze and felt a primal fear rising from the very depths of his being.

The golden light vanished in a flash, and his pupils turned completely white. The squad leader's hand, which had been patting Yuri's shoulder, fell away. Unaware of what he had just seen, he forgot all about it.

He pulled a box of ammunition from the large crate in his arms and tossed it into Yuri's lap, reminding him casually, "Afghanistan's a dangerous place. It doesn't matter if you don't earn your commission. The most important thing is to stay alive, got it?"

"Yes, sir."

Yuri readily agreed. He could sense the man meant him well. He took the rounds from the box and used a speedloader to fill his magazines.

A few of the soldiers nearby teased the squad leader as he handed out ammunition. "Sir, that's not what you told us earlier. I remember someone saying, 'It doesn't matter if you get killed. This money's enough for your family to enjoy the rest of their lives,' wasn't it?"

The squad leader took out a box of ammunition and tossed it at the speaker's head. "You bastard! Of course your whole family would be happy if you died. Don't forget, guys, our dear little Yuri's only twenty. He's only here to get a summer job and fulfill his school's social-service requirement~"

The soldier who'd been hit easily caught the box of ammunition, and the conversation drifted to whether twenty-year-old Yuri had ever held a girl's hand. The squad leader's aim was so terrible that they absolutely couldn't let him throw grenades...

Yuri tightened his sand-proof hood and quietly loaded his magazines.

He knew the teasing was just the other soldiers' way of easing their nerves. Once the cargo-bay doors opened and they started jumping out one by one, nobody would remember what they'd said.

One magazine filled, two magazines filled, three magazines filled...

He glanced at the two empty magazines left in his hands. With ten full thirty-round magazines strapped to him, he turned to the soldier who'd gotten an extra box from the squad leader. "Mind giving me that box of ammo if you don't need it?"

"Sure!"

The soldier glanced at the ten neatly arranged magazines on Yuri's waist and joked to the others, "Our summer intern must think his body armor's too thin, so he's added some extra padding. Look at that belt of mags! I swear to God, no one could shoot his kidneys out!"

The soldiers all burst into laughter, and Yuri laughed along with them. If he remembered correctly, his current condition was apparently a disease in twenty-first-century China called "Firepower Deficiency Syndrome."

"Beep! Beep! Beep!"

The alarm sounded without warning, signaling that the cargo-bay doors were about to open. All the mercenaries fell silent and got ready, checking their gear in unison.

Then they shouldered their parachutes and lined up on either side of the cargo bay according to their seats.

As the doors slowly opened, the squad leader shouted over the fierce wind, "Our luggage is being sent to a US military base. I hope that when the mission's over, I won't have to personally deliver your bags back to you bastards!"

"Clack!"

The doors opened all the way, revealing Afghanistan's dry, yellow landscape. The mercenaries at the front exchanged a glance, then sprinted forward and jumped without hesitation.

The squad leader squeezed in front of Yuri and turned around to straighten his uniform. "Stick with me. This mission's really simple. We'll all be perfectly safe."

Yuri nodded. Every scene from his memories felt as if he'd lived through it himself, and he'd inherited the Mutants' extraordinary physique intact. Skydiving was nothing. Even if he free-fell without opening his parachute, he'd suffer no more than a few minor injuries when he hit the ground.

He was, after all, the culprit behind the dinosaurs' extinction!

A weapon created by the Gods Group!

The Eternals' lifelong nemesis!

The leader of the Mutants!

Yuri!

His body lifted into the air, wind rushing against his face. The yellow ground hurtled closer. Yuri spread his arms, savoring the sensation of free-fall.

Suddenly, the squad leader's voice roared in his earpiece. "Yuri! Open your parachute! Yuri! Do it now!"

"Yes, sir."

His parachute burst open, and the powerful pull instantly slowed his descent. Steering toward the squad leader, he shouted, "Where are we landing, sir?"

"There's a nest of armed men at ten o'clock. We'll steal a car and then head out!"

Yuri froze for a moment, then cursed at the squad leader in the distance. "Fuck you, you bastard! Is this what you meant when you said sticking with you would be safer?"

They landed safely on a ridge. The squad leader checked the locator and watched as his men split into pairs and spread out to their assigned positions. Then he patted the indignant Yuri on the shoulder. "Trust me, kid. Sticking with me is definitely the safest option!"

"Yeah, right!"

They stopped bickering, shouldered their rifles, and hiked a mile or so to the top of the hill. Once they'd secured the high ground, the squad leader took out his binoculars and surveyed the enemy. "There are only nine left. I'll take the left, you take the right. Let's finish this fast!"

Yuri wiped the sweat from his forehead. He'd worked it up deliberately to avoid seeming suspicious. Without wasting time arguing with the old bastard, he quickly raised his rifle, sighted in, and blew away the enemy at the far right, three hundred meters away.

"Nice shot!"

The squad leader nodded in approval and raised his rifle to shoot back, but he couldn't match Yuri's inhuman speed.

In the space of two breaths, it was all over. The firefight ended, and Yuri grinned as he patted the squad leader on the shoulder. "Nine men. I took out six, and you got two and a half. I'll drive later."

The squad leader shrugged. Finding Tony was all down to luck. It made no difference who drove or picked the direction.

They found a dusty yellow armored vehicle with a full tank. The squad leader found a can of spray paint and covered up the emblem on the door: a large ring made up of ten small circles. "This thing's ugly as hell. You'd have to be out of your mind to use it as a symbol."

"You're right."

Yuri nodded in agreement and walked over to the armed man the squad leader had wounded.

Ignoring the man's pleas for his life, Yuri suddenly extended a strand of hair from the back of his head. As the man stared in terror, it pierced his neck.

Once Yuri had gotten what he needed, he stood up, picked up a dirt-encrusted rifle lying on the ground, and aimed it at its former owner.

"Click." He ended the man's life.

Anyone who'd fired a gun on the Middle Eastern battlefield deserved to die, himself included.

The squad leader was loading gasoline cans into the trunk. When he saw Yuri approaching, he shouted, "Get over here and help, you lazy bastard!"

They filled the trunk together, then tossed a few boxes of ammunition onto the back seat. Once they were settled inside, Yuri started the engine. "Please fasten your seat belt, sir."

The squad leader glanced at him. When Yuri still didn't step on the gas, he reluctantly did as told, muttering all the while, "What kind of mercenary wears a seat belt?" and "I've never worn a seat belt in my life."

"Vroom!"

Yuri stomped on the gas, and the engine promptly stalled. He gave the squad leader a friendly smile. "I'm terribly sorry, sir. My driver's license only allows me to ride a bicycle.

"But don't worry. There's no place in all of Afghanistan safer than sitting in my car."

Hearing the familiar words, the squad leader grabbed the handle overhead with one hand and clutched the laptop on his lap with the other. "Oh my God! I want to get out!!"

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