Work Prophet

Andreyevich is a captain in the Gru Special Forces, and about five months ago, he received a secret mission on Earth.

According to the mission description, he needs to infiltrate with his teammates into a remote, technologically backward, and linguistically alien small country, to assist a local warlord in defeating other competitors and eventually ascend to become king.

Andreyevich wasn't particularly unfamiliar with such missions; the current international environment is like this. Small countries have virtually no sovereignty, and in the end, they can only become puppets or vassals of greater powers.

Besides, the place he was going to this time is reportedly somewhere locals don't even know what cola and mobile phones are; Andreyevich even doubted if there was such a country left on Earth.

After all, even in countries like South Sudan and Somalia, recognized by the United Nations as extremely impoverished, most people have at least heard of Coca-Cola.

Could it be an isolated island country somewhere in the Pacific?

Furthermore, there were two points about this mission that caught Andreyevich's attention—this turned out to be a multinational operation.

Besides Russia, the UK, France, China, and even the United States, which usually doesn't get along with Russia, would send military teams. Their mission this time was the same, requiring cooperation and mutual support.

Andreyevich found it truly astonishing that Russia would support the same warlord as the United States.

He had to confirm with his superior several times, and even after receiving an affirmative answer, he still found it unbelievable.

In addition, this was also an extremely rare one-way mission. One-way, meaning there's no return.

Andreyevich still remembered the first words his superior said to him after finding him, "Are you a patriot, Captain?"

Andreyevich responded affirmatively without hesitation.

This led to the subsequent conversation. Andreyevich's parents had passed away when he was very young, and newly forty, he had never married.

So, after saying goodbye to his sister at home, Andreyevich got into the Lada that came to pick him up.

He was first taken to a training base for an inspection, but it wasn't a regular physical exam; it was a psychological exam.

The staff responsible for the inspection pressed him continuously as if interrogating a prisoner, testing his psychological endurance and loyalty.

Andreyevich and other team members who came for the inspection felt insulted, but those staff didn't care if they were enraged.

They repeatedly provoked the examinees, scrutinizing their records like Sherlock Holmes with a magnifying glass searching for doubts, even digging up online statements they made a year ago.

Fortunately, Andreyevich was always a cautious and prudent person, which ultimately allowed him to pass the examination.

Fourteen others also passed the exam with him; of course, this was just the first batch. The training base's commander informed them that others would later come to assist them.

Moreover, in this operation, although they wouldn't receive satellite support, they would get a batch of modern weapons, including the latest S-500 air defense missile system developed by the military.

The air defense missile system is usually used against ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, hypersonic vehicles, and low-orbit satellites, boasting a combat radius of an impressive six hundred kilometers.

Besides that, Andreyevich also saw Iskander M missiles, armored vehicles, armed helicopters, anti-materiel sniper rifles, all resembling a military exhibition.

They were required to familiarize themselves with the use and maintenance of these weapons within a month. This wasn't difficult for Andreyevich, as being part of special forces, most of these weapons weren't unfamiliar to him.

The people sent to the training base mostly had similar experiences to Andreyevich, so they completed this part of the training in advance.

Just as Andreyevich and his teammates were filled with anticipation, preparing to make a big impact, they were taken to an Eastern Power next door.

Then they were sent into a company named Third Age.

That night, one of their members was taken to an empty room next door.

Andreyevich and others could clearly see everything happening in that room through the one-way glass on the other side.

Andreyevich saw the Admiral who recruited him entering the room with a young Chinese man in a black suit.

Subsequently, the Admiral said something to the soldier in the room, then took out a pistol and handed it over, and the soldier's expression was of utter shock and confusion.

He then suddenly started yelling, visibly agitated.

But the Admiral and the young man next to him were unmoved. The Admiral's face appeared very stern as he spoke again.

At this point, Andreyevich turned to look at his fellow beside him, named Danila, nicknamed Little Bee. He was an excellent sniper, and most importantly, he was also the only one among the fifteen who could read lips.

"What did he say?" Andreyevich asked.

Little Bee had a look of disbelief, "He... he said, get on with it."

"Get on with what?"

"Suicide," Little Bee's voice trembled, "He also said not to disgrace your country and unit."

Andreyevich's heart sank instantly.

The room descended into chaos.

None of them expected, after so much effort and countless assessments, that they came here just to die. This was truly the most ironic black joke of the century.

No wonder the mission description mentioned it was a one-way mission.

Andreyevich feared not death, yet he didn't wish to die so shrouded in mystery.

Many shared his thoughts, including the soldier in the room, who was now in inner turmoil.

He held the gun, the muzzle hovering between the Admiral and the young man in a suit.

But he clearly knew that even if he could kill the two, he couldn't possibly escape in a foreign land, and he had family, children.

So in the end, he aimed the muzzle at his own temple.

The Admiral nodded, "I wasn't wrong about you; you won't regret your choice."

The soldier pulled the trigger, and then Andreyevich saw the young man in the suit walking up to the corpse on the ground, taking out a small bell, shaking it, and muttering something.

After finishing all this, he shook hands with the Admiral and left the room. Their expressions remained calm throughout, as if they were selecting freshly slaughtered chickens in a meat shop.

The Admiral, however, didn't leave the room afterward. He turned his head towards the glass in front of him and calmly stated, "I know you're watching. If any coward wants to quit, now is the time."