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

Time, like the moisture in the jungle, silently flowed by for another half month.

Life under the sun returned to its seemingly stable rhythm—waking up at dawn, following the scorpion through the warehouse and along the route, taking stock of the accounts in the evening, and then huddling in the room after nightfall waiting for a signal that would never be on time.

037's death was like a pebble thrown into water; the ripples subsided after a few days, and the people at the outpost rarely even mentioned him anymore. Only the silver chain in Bai Ye's pocket remained, the metal ring pressed against the fabric of the inner pocket, occasionally digging into his chest when he bent over.

But in the past two weeks, he has clearly felt some subtle changes.

The viper started looking at him more often, each time with a slow, deliberate gaze, as if it were weighing something, no longer just glancing at him casually before looking away.

The old cat would slow its pace slightly when passing by him. The atmosphere in the main courtyard was subtly different from before, but Bai Ye couldn't quite put his finger on what it was.

All he knew was that Scorpion wasn't at the base today.

Scorpion was dispatched by Viper to an outer transport line early in the morning, supposedly to deal with a disturbance. Before leaving, he paused as he passed by Bai Ye's room, and a voice slipped through the crack in the door: "Don't wander off today."

Bai Ye did not answer. The scorpion did not wait for his reply either; its footsteps faded into the distance along the corridor.

As evening fell, Bai Ye came out of the warehouse and walked back along the path on the side of the main courtyard.

He had walked this road for almost three months, and he knew with his eyes closed which bricks were loose, which walls had moss, and which eaves dripped water year-round. The sky was turning from bright white to dusky yellow, and the air was filled with the damp scent of grass and trees, as well as the smell of cooking oil wafting from the kitchen in the distance.

Then he stopped as he turned into the alley.

Five people stood on either side of the alley. Not many, but not few either. Each of them was dressed in dark clothes, their hands behind their backs, their posture relaxed yet not casual.

They blocked both ends of the alley, completely sealing off the narrow space that could only allow two people to pass side by side. Three of them held steel pipes in their hands, while the third had a bulge at his waist, as if he were carrying something. None of the five men spoke; they simply stood there, their eyes fixed on Bai Ye.

Bai Ye stopped in his tracks. He stood still, his gaze sweeping around before finally settling on the man at the very front.

He recognized the man; he was one of Cat Brother's henchmen, surnamed Zhao. He was usually quiet and had never said a word to Bai Ye. At this moment, he was looking at him with a gaze devoid of any warmth.

Bai Ye frowned, his voice low and flat: "What?"

The leader, surnamed Zhao, took a step forward, his tone indifferent, as if conveying a pre-arranged instruction: "The boss wants to have tea with you. Come with us."

Bai Ye glanced at the four people behind him, then at the blocked exits at both ends of the alley, and said in a slightly lower voice, "Do we need so many people for tea?"

The leader surnamed Zhao didn't answer or waste any more words. He threw a punch directly at Bai Ye's abdomen, the fist whistling through the air.

Bai Ye moved his feet, twisted his waist, and turned half a body to the side, the fist grazing his ribs.

Taking advantage of the moment when the opponent shifted their weight forward and couldn't retract their fist, Bai Ye pushed off with his left foot, leaned forward, grabbed the opponent's outstretched arm with both hands, used his waist and hips to generate power, spun his body, and threw the Zhao-surname leader off the ground with an over-the-shoulder throw.

The man's body tumbled halfway through the air before his back slammed solidly against the brick wall on the side of the alley with a dull thud, sending a few pieces of debris flying. He slid down the wall to the ground, groaned, and didn't get up for a long time.

Bai Ye didn't stop. The moment the man landed, he had already drawn a dagger from the side of his boot, the blade flashing coldly in the twilight. With a flick of his wrist, the blade was pointing downwards, ready to plunge into the man's throat.

"Lin Mo".

A voice came from the alley entrance, neither too loud nor too soft, carrying a calm and unhurried tone.

Bai Ye stopped moving.

He turned his head and saw Cat Brother's figure in the twilight—he was leaning against the wall at the alley entrance, his arms crossed, his posture relaxed as if he were watching a play that had nothing to do with him.

Cat Brother's face was expressionless, and his perpetually half-closed eyes held no threat whatsoever. Yet, he stood there like a door, sealing off all exits.

"I advise you to cooperate a bit," Cat Brother said. "The boss wants to see you. The bigger the commotion you cause, the harder it will be to handle things when they meet."

Bai Ye crouched on the ground, the knife still hovering in his hand, its tip less than a finger's width from the throat of the Zhao-surname gang leader. He was silent for a moment, then released the knife, put the dagger back into his boot, stood up, and dusted off non-existent dust from his hands.

"lead the way."

Cat Brother glanced at him, turned and walked towards the alley entrance, leaving without looking back with the words, "Let's go."

Bai Ye followed behind him, walking through the narrow alley, through the passageway on the side of the main courtyard, past the reception room where Viper usually met with outsiders, and straight towards the door deep inside the main building that he had only visited a few times in the past three months. No one spoke along the way, only the sound of footsteps echoed in the corridor.

Cat stopped at the doorway, stepped aside, and gestured with his chin toward the door.

Bai Ye pushed open the door and went inside.

Viper sat in the dark brown leather sofa by the window.

The chandelier wasn't on; only the twilight filtering through the half-drawn curtains cast a dark golden glow in the room. The light outlined the viper's profile sharply, his posture relaxed and at ease, as if he were waiting for a pre-arranged guest.

Bai Ye stood in the center of the room, hands hanging down, back slightly hunched, maintaining the submissive posture he always displayed in front of the viper: "Big Brother."

Viper turned his head to look at him, his gaze sweeping over him from top to bottom, a slight smile playing on his lips.

"Lin Mo," he called out, his tone carrying a relaxed warmth that was hard to gauge, "Do you know why I'm looking for you?"

Bai Ye stood still, not moving, only slightly tilting his head, his expression carrying just the right amount of bewilderment: "I don't know. Big brother, what happened?"

Viper sat up a little straighter on the sofa, crossed his legs and changed direction, resting his hands on his knees. His unhurried and composed tone deepened. He looked at Bai Ye's face as if admiring a work of art being carefully examined, and only spoke after several seconds.

"I received a tip-off letter," he said slowly. "It said you were an undercover agent."