Rebirth of a Mercenary: The Ace Mercenary Forced to Be the Beloved of the Group

A week is neither a long nor a short time, but it's enough for the air pressure in Dormitory A to return to normal.

However, that night, the atmosphere in the conference room was as cold as a winter night in the Gobi Desert.

A satellite map was spread out on the long table, with a coordinate point circled in red pen, and several printed intelligence summaries were pressed down next to it.

Li Mo sat in the main seat, with Lu Xiao to his right. There were four other people in the conference room.

The man sitting at the other end of the long table was in his early fifties. He had an old scar on his left eye, which stretched from his eyebrow to his cheekbone, making him look like an old stone worn down by wind and sand for half his life. His name was He Zhen, and he was in charge of task review and external liaison.

Sitting to He Zhen's left was a woman in her forties. Her name was Shen Lan, the head of the Breaking Sky Intelligence Group.

Two people sat to his right. One was a man in his late thirties, lean and with his hair neatly combed back. He wore thin-rimmed glasses and was flipping through an intelligence summary in front of him. His name was Zhou Huai, and he was in charge of Pokong's external liaison and contract negotiations.

Sitting next to Zhou Huai was a young man, around twenty-five or twenty-six years old, dressed in a crisp uniform, with the lowest rank among those present. His name was Gu Chuan, He Zhen's deputy, and also the liaison for this mission.

He Zhen pushed a stack of intelligence summaries to the center of the conference table: "Have you all seen them? Viper, one of the biggest drug lords in Southeast Asia, controls three transport lines across the Mekong River, has more than 500 armed men under his command, and has his own arms channels and money laundering network. Our mission is to send someone to infiltrate his core stronghold and obtain his fund flow records and supplier list."

Lu Xiao glanced at the intelligence report but didn't reach for it: "This job isn't difficult. Infiltrate, get the information, and get out. We've done many missions like this before; any two people from Team A can handle it."

He Zhen glanced at him, then at Li Mo, and then spoke: "The problem is, Viper has a very fixed personal preference. All his confidants and personal guards were trained from a young age. He prefers younger people, preferably sixteen or seventeen, because younger people are easier to brainwash and easier to build loyalty with. We've checked, and there isn't a single person over twenty years old in his inner circle; they were all recruited between fifteen and eighteen."

Lu Xiao's hand stopped on the table.

"You want Bai Ye to go."

This is not a question.

He Zhen did not avoid his gaze: "In terms of age, appearance, and potential, he is the most suitable candidate. Sixteen years old, clean-cut face, no obvious features, and psychological qualities far superior to his peers. He does not need to actually participate in Viper's criminal activities, he just needs to infiltrate, gain trust, obtain the information we need, and then withdraw. The intelligence team will provide full remote support, and the infiltration period will not exceed three months."

Lu Xiao slammed his hand on the table, the force so great that several intelligence summaries slipped off the edge of the table, the pages scattering in the air and spreading out on the ground.

"I disagree." His voice wasn't loud, but every word seemed to be ground out from between his teeth. "Bai Ye is sixteen. How long has he been in Pokong? Sending him undercover? To be the bodyguard of Southeast Asia's biggest drug lord? Do you even know what the rules are in those places? Once his identity is discovered, he's finished! Your intelligence team's so-called 'full remote support,' in those enclosed armed outposts, are you really going to be able to pull someone out through the walls or something?"

Shen Lan sat quietly next to He Zhen, her fingertips unconsciously fidgeting with the edge of her sleeve. Seeing Lu Xiao's agitated state, she spoke in a steady tone, but faster than usual: "Lu Xiao, sit down first."

"I won't sit."

"sit down."

Lu Xiao took a deep breath and sat back down in his chair, his back taut and his hands gripping his knees, his knuckles turning white.

Li Mo remained silent. He sat in the main seat, his hands crossed on the table, his gaze fixed on the open intelligence summary, as if reading the meaning behind each word.

He Zhen turned his head to look at him: "Li Mo, what's your attitude?"

Li Mo looked up at him and said, "No. Change the person."

Just four simple words, without any unnecessary embellishment.

He Zhen frowned.

"Li Mo, this is one of our few high-priority commissions at the moment. The client's compensation is very substantial, and it's not just about the money—Viper's money laundering network involves the illegal flow of funds in at least three countries. If we can obtain its list of contacts, it will be a major boon to our future plans in Southeast Asia. Bai Ye is indeed the most suitable candidate at the moment; his age, appearance, and qualifications are a perfect match."

Upon hearing the words "most suitable," Lu Xiao was about to stand up again, but Li Mo raised her hand and pressed her down.

"I'll say it again. No. Bai Ye is my man, I'm his direct superior, and I have the right to refuse any assignment that puts Bai Ye at uncontrollable risk."

He Zhen's face darkened.

"Bai Ye is a member of the Breaking Void team. Members of the Breaking Void team must obey mission assignments; this is basic discipline. You can offer suggestions and discuss solutions, but you do not have the right to unilaterally refuse a high-priority mission."

A few seconds of silence followed in the conference room. Then Li Mo leaned back in his chair, took his hands off the table, and placed them folded in front of his stomach. He looked up at He Zhen, his tone unchanged, but every word seemed to rise from a very deep and cold place.

"Bai Ye is indeed a member of the Breaking Void team. But first and foremost, he is Bai Chen's younger brother."

Upon hearing that name, Shen Lan stopped fiddling with the cuff of her sleeve.

Bai Chen was never an ordinary name in Po Kong. He was a sword hanging over everyone's heads. Even though he had been missing for three years, that sword had not rusted.

Of everyone present, everyone except Gu Chuan recognized Bai Chen.

He Zhen took a deep breath, his tone a few degrees harsher than before: "Bai Chen has been missing for three years. The military has presumed him dead. Three years, without a trace. Do you really think he'll come back?"

Lu Xiao suddenly stood up, the chair scraping loudly on the floor again: "Even if Brother Chen is gone—even if he really can't come back—so what? Just because Bai Chen is dead, does that mean you can push his brother out to die? You know better than anyone how many lives he risked for Po Kong. Now that he's gone, you're going to push his brother into the fire? He Zhen, is that what you mean?"

He Zhen gritted his teeth, just about to speak.

Just then, the conference room door was pushed open. The hinges made a short, sharp sound, which was particularly jarring in the tense silence. Everyone's eyes turned to the doorway at the same time.