183: Chapter 180 The Startup Ended Before It Was Even Halfway Through

Chris Parkman paced back and forth, his gaze fixed tightly on the stairwell area.

Although this stairwell was very concealed, he was terrified that the guy downstairs—the one Bart called a demon—would come up from here.

"Shit, what exactly is going on?"

Chris Parkman raged impotently. If that group of cunning clients had been able to pay an advance, they wouldn't be in this situation.

The team had no money!

Teams often in war zones aren't necessarily all wealthy; some mercenaries there are still using old versions of the AK. As the slogan of those broke mercenaries goes, 'One AK conquers the world.'

In fact, those people are always the first to die in war zones.

These days, without tactical goggles, a helmet, military-grade body armor, night vision goggles, or even a drone, many missions are extremely dangerous.

And heavy weapons are also needed, like an RPG.

However, Chris Parkman possessed most of these, but they were all old versions. The only thing he could manage to equip that was sufficiently high-quality was the protective gear.

As for Advanced gadgets like drones, they simply didn't have the money. He disdained buying civilian ones, and he couldn't afford military ones.

So, Chris Parkman now felt a faint sense of sorrow.

"If I had known, I should have bought a DJI. Damn it! Damn it!"

If he had a drone now, he would at least know the situation below, and his combat squad could gain a better field of vision through the drone.

But having gotten used to staying in war zones, civilian ones are easily jammed or blocked in that hellhole, making them just a pile of trash once bought.

Military ones have strong anti-jamming capabilities, but they had no money, so it was shelved.

It's just that who the hell knew that facing a Gang leader would result in such a pathetic state.

Rat-tat-tat!

Not long after, a series of gunshots rang out from downstairs again.

"Looks like Silk's squad has already engaged with the enemy."

His heart eased slightly.

"Silk's squad is more reliable than that guy Bart."

Chris Parkman nodded. You could tell his priorities from the division of labor; letting Silk guard against any counterattacks from Gang members that might appear outside was the main priority, while dealing with the guy in the iron cage inside was relatively simpler.

Just then, the phone rang.

"Mr. President Chris Parkman, you said you would give me proof of the beheading by noon, but my friend, you still haven't fulfilled your promise. If this is the case, I will be very skeptical of your company's operational capabilities."

As soon as the phone connected, a slow, calm, and aged voice came through. The voice was very deep and clearly somewhat displeased.

"Rat-tat-tat~ Boom!~"

"Mr. Chris Parkman, it's a bit noisy on your end. May I ask, are you near a construction site?"

The person on the other end was confused. Isn't it just killing someone? Why run to a construction site? Is a construction site more ritualistic?

Hearing this, Chris Parkman's chest was heaving violently. He suppressed his anger and said calmly:

"Mr. Hard, I demand an increase in the price for this cooperation. The intelligence you provided is incorrect. The target this time is extremely tricky, and now my entire squad has been wiped out. I need to increase the price!"

"..."

There was a long silence on the other end of the line, as if they hadn't quite processed the massive amount of information contained in those words.

"Chris Parkman, my friend, you aren't joking with me, are you? The target is named Zhang Youwen, a Chinese person who smuggled in last century. A leader of a Chinese Gang, with at most five hundred thugs, and you are elite soldiers. But according to my information, his people haven't even gone out today, and you're telling me you want to increase the price? Honestly, this joke is not funny!"

The person on the other end was also furious after being stunned.

Damn it, beforehand, your company boasted so loudly, and now you tell me that taking out an old man cost a full squad? You couldn't even fool a ghost with that.

"Then what do you want? Mr. Hard, my men have suffered heavy losses, and I need to see the money right now!!!" Chris Parkman was already somewhat hysterical.

There was silence on the other end again. After a moment, they said: "Friend, don't get angry. I can transfer the money to you now, but I also need to see results within an hour, otherwise, I can apply to freeze these funds. Believe me, my friend, I hope you are quick."

With that, the communication on the other end hung up.

Hoo!

Chris Parkman exhaled slightly at this moment. Although he hadn't managed to demand more funds, it would be fine as long as the money arrived.

He swore that once this job was done, he would leave this hellish place immediately.

Before coming, he heard many peers say that war zones were too dangerous and that they wanted to go to countries like the U.S. to open PMC companies.

They said it earned more and there wasn't much danger.

Now, Chris Parkman didn't believe a word of it. Damn the 'no danger'—dealing with one Gang member had left his team battered and bruised.

Rat-tat-tat!~

Just then, dense footsteps appeared at the stairwell. Chris Parkman became alert immediately, simultaneously reaching for his waist.

But as several figures wearing combat uniforms came into view, his expression relaxed, and he smiled.

"Silk, I knew you wouldn't let me down!"

There were five people coming upstairs in total, and the person in the lead was none other than Silk.

Seeing this, Chris Parkman opened his arms, ready to give Silk a hug.

However, Silk took off his tactical mask, his expression exceptionally grave.

"Boss, I don't think now is a good time for celebrating." Silk's face was terrifyingly grave.

Chris Parkman stood frozen in place. He hesitated and said: "Silk, what did you say? I don't quite understand."

"Boss, I'm here to extract you. It's very dangerous here; we need to evacuate as soon as possible!" Silk said again, his expression still terrifyingly grave and solemn.

"No, no, no!" Chris Parkman shook his head repeatedly. "I'm not leaving! I'm not going anywhere! The enemy! You guys solve the enemy for me, solve that damn Chinese Gang leader! You are my best soldiers; you've taken my salary for so many months, I expect you to help me eliminate this target!"

Silk looked helplessly at his boss, who had become somewhat obsessed, and he let out a long sigh.

"Boss, precisely because we took your salary, I think, for the sake of your safety, we should leave this place."

"Why? How many enemies are there exactly? Bart said just one! Tell me, how many enemies are there! Is it hundreds of people?" Chris Parkman was truly going crazy.

He had just started his business. For this company, to achieve the days of lying down and counting money without having to experience the front lines personally, he had sacrificed too much.

Now he knew nothing; not only had he lost so many people, but the business was completely ruined.

To use an old Chinese saying, it was: The business half-finished, yet collapsed mid-way.

"Boss, whether the enemy is one person or not, I don't know. I only know that when our squad entered the factory, we lost three men, then five, then seven. Now that we've come down, we may have already lost ten men. I don't know if staying here means we'll end up staying here forever. Shit! Why am I explaining so much? Take him away!!!"

With a roar, Silk could no longer hold back. Following his order,

two of Silk's fellow countrymen beside him stepped forward with agile movements, and in a few swift motions, they quickly tied up Chris Parkman, stuffing a wad of sanitary napkins picked up from the floor into his mouth.

"Mmm-mm!~ Mmm-mm~"

Chris Parkman struggled tearfully, but he couldn't do anything. He could only be carried away like a sandbag by these Russian men as they ran quickly downstairs.