Chapter 743: Chapter 739: The Situation is Extremely Pessimistic
Standing at the door of Ye Fan’s dormitory, Leopard smiled and said, “Boss, I have some things to handle.”
“Alright, go ahead,” Ye Fan nodded.
Leopard turned and strode away.
Mo Shang had feelings for Ye Fan, a fact known to all core members of the Dragon Group. He certainly didn’t want to be a third wheel now and upset Mo Shang.
Mo Shang took out the key, opened the door, and said to Ye Fan, “Boss, please come in.”
Ye Fan nodded slightly and entered.
Upon entering the room, Ye Fan glanced around; it was much cleaner than when he had left, showing no signs of stuffiness, clearly well-ventilated regularly.
“Boss, please have a seat,” Mo Shang courteously pulled over a chair for Ye Fan to sit down.
Ye Fan didn’t sit down immediately but chuckled, “I haven’t been back for months and you’ve become much more polite to me.”
“Not at all; I’m always ,” Mo Shang quickly retorted.
Ye Fan also smiled faintly, sat down, and placed the document report on the table, then looked earnestly into Mo Shang’s eyes and said, “With this mission, in your estimation, how many losses will we need to sustain to complete it?”
Hearing Ye Fan inquire about the mission, Mo Shang immediately became serious and said, “The underground biochemical research base in Kumogo is equipped with strong weaponry and guarded by well-trained elite soldiers. In one-on-one combat, our brothers wouldn’t have any advantage; they might even be at a disadvantage.”
“Therefore, based on the information I’ve gathered, even with you leading the team, we might still lose over fifty percent of our personnel to complete it. Moreover, we must endure the insane retaliation afterward,” Mo Shang said gravely, “After this mission, the Dragon Group’s African division might no longer exist!”
Ye Fan sighed upon hearing this.
The Dragon Group was an organization that maintained the overseas interests of the Huaxia nation, operating clandestinely and with significant sacrifices. Although the country continually drew elites from the military each year to replenish the Dragon Group, the overall personnel level never saw a significant increase, primarily due to annual combat casualties.
Moreover, although split into African and Middle Eastern divisions, Africa was the real focus. The Middle East was always a global focal point with complex interwoven powers, and local national powers were not weak, leaving Huaxia barely involved. Moreover, Huaxia didn’t have significant interests in the Middle East, so the Dragon Group’s Middle East division was relatively weak.
If, as Mo Shang analyzed, completing this mission meant the end of the Dragon Group’s African division, then the Dragon Group could basically be disbanded.
“Have you discussed this with the general?” Ye Fan asked.
Mo Shang nodded affirmatively, “I directly analyzed the consequences with the general, but he still insisted on assigning this task.”
Pausing for a moment, Mo Shang continued, “Boss, I guess the country might not need us much longer. Over the years, as the national strength has flourished and our influence has expanded, our nation has reached an agreement with Djibouti in East Africa to establish its first overseas military base. When that happens, the country can openly maintain its interests in Africa…”
Ye Fan gestured with his hand to stop Mo Shang from continuing.
“Don’t speculate rashly, and certainly don’t spread these baseless ideas to others!” Ye Fan sternly cautioned.
“Yes!” Mo Shang responded.
The atmosphere then grew somewhat somber and oppressive.
“Mo Shang, come here, help massage my shoulders,” Ye Fan said.
Having been comfortably taken care of by Wei Ziling, he now felt uneasy, pondering how to accomplish this daunting mission with the smallest loss, so he suddenly wanted someone to massage his shoulders.
Mo Shang was momentarily stunned, but promptly replied, “Okay.”
Saying this, she walked over, moved behind Ye Fan, placed her hands on his shoulders, and began massaging.
Though she was not experienced in massaging shoulders, she was clear about the basic acupressure points and thus focused on those on the shoulders.
As for Ye Fan, he felt Mo Shang’s technique was not very good, but she was hitting the right spots, so he did not comment any further.
His mind was burdened, and he strived to calm himself and consider his strategies.
Mo Shang’s evaluations were always accurate; in fact, he had anticipated the difficulty of this mission while in the operations command room.
“Losing at least half of our brothers…” Ye Fan thought of Mo Shang’s analysis and felt it was more distressing than death, “Is that underground biochemical research base really so vital that it’s worth dismantling the Dragon Group?”
Ye Fan pondered, weighed his options, and struggled internally. Although he had left the Dragon Group, he never considered himself truly gone.
“Alive as a man of the Dragon Group, dead as a soul of the Dragon Group!”
Lost in thought, suddenly, Ye Fan felt the back of his head rest against a soft and elastic dip.
He immediately reacted, lowering his head forward, thinking he had concentrated too hard on the problem and unintentionally leaned back onto something he shouldn’t have.
Unexpectedly, he was immediately restrained by a pair of hands, and then a voice from behind his ear said, “Boss, don’t move, I haven’t finished massaging your shoulders yet.”
Ye Fan could only chuckle wryly, letting Mo Shang continue the shoulder massage.
However, the atmosphere didn’t feel quite right, so Ye Fan asked, “Mo Shang, how long have you been in Africa?”
“Four years,” Mo Shang answered.
“Heh, it’s hard to believe it’s been four years already. For a young woman at the prime of her life to stay in such a war-torn and impoverished place in Africa for so long, it’s really tough on you,” Ye Fan said.
Mo Shang replied, “Not at all; I think these four years have been very fulfilling and meaningful.”
“With your talent, you could have achieved much more,” Ye Fan said, “Do you want to return home? There’s a bigger platform there, where you can better realize your life’s value.”
“No!” Mo Shang refused straightforwardly, “Alive as a man of the Dragon Group, dead as a soul of the Dragon Group!”
“Yes, alive as a man of the Dragon Group, dead as a soul of the Dragon Group!” Ye Fan exclaimed, then closed his eyes and said no more.
Half an hour later, Ye Fan and Mo Shang exited the barracks.
Ye Fan gathered with the core backbone of the Dragon Group, while Mo Shang returned to her office to continue searching for information related to the mission.
Ye Fan and the core members of the Dragon Group met for over an hour, then it was time for lunch, so they went to the cafeteria together.
While they were eating, suddenly Ye Fan felt the atmosphere in the cafeteria was a bit off.
He looked up and swept his gaze across the cafeteria, noticing a tall, attractive girl with healthy wheat-colored skin, a gun holstered at her waist, and a military dagger inserted on the outside of her lower leg walking briskly down the central aisle.
The girl saw his gaze and immediately responded with a smile.
That girl was none other than Qing Luan, who had hurried over upon hearing the news.