80: Chapter 79: The Ram and Satan 80: Chapter 79: The Ram and Satan Having heard the reasons put forward by Glolov and the others, Gao Yang no longer declined.
It was simple to confirm Gao Yang as the leader of the mercenary group of only four people, but naming the mercenary group proved to be difficult.
One should not underestimate the importance of a mercenary group’s name.
Although there is a great deal of flexibility in choosing a name, much like managing a brand, a memorable and impressive name is very important.
Once a mercenary group becomes famous, it brings with it a continuous stream of money-making opportunities, so a good name is essential.
After falling into silence once more, and pondering for a long time, Glolov said with a troubled expression, “Let’s put the name of the mercenary group on hold for now, Gao, you should come up with a nickname for yourself first, as we’ll need to register your name later.”
Gao Yang was dead set against using the nickname Little Lamb, but it felt awkward to come up with a nickname for himself out of the blue.
Eventually, Gao Yang said helplessly, “Fine, Little Lamb is out of the question, so let’s go with ‘Ram’.
Even if I have to be a sheep, I should at least be a big ram.”
It was sufficient to inform Cui Bo and Li Jinfang, but Gao Yang also had to tell Glolov.
When choosing how to explain his nickname in English, Gao Yang found it somewhat difficult, but he quickly made a choice and translated his nickname to “Ram,” which simply represented a male sheep, rather than “Bill Goat” or “Female Goat.”
When he announced his new nickname, something stirred in Gao Yang’s mind.
In Western mythology and religion, the image of the ram is always associated with evil and chaos, and the goat especially represents Satan.
Satan often appears in the form of a goat, and there are legends that Satan has the heads of a human, a ram, and a ram male, but no matter the version, the ram always has a deep relationship with demons and evil.
Considering the connotations associated with “Ram,” Gao Yang blurted out, “Glolov, I remember you saying that some people use the leader’s name as the mercenary group’s name?
If that’s acceptable, how about we call it ‘Demon Mercenary Group’?
After all, the ram represents evil.”
After thinking for a while, Glolov replied with a gloomy face, “That name’s been taken, and there are at least two fairly famous ones.”
Gao Yang slapped his forehead helplessly and said, “I finally came up with a somewhat related name, and it’s already taken.
Forget it, if ‘Demon’ won’t work, how about ‘Devil’?”
In the Western religious system, demons represent chaotic evil while devils represent lawful evil.
The low-intelligence man-eating creatures are usually referred to as demons, whereas devils are seen as intelligent.
If he could not use ‘Demon’, which represents chaos, Gao Yang felt ‘Devil’ could work as well.
“Devil Mercenary Group?
Forget it, I know of at least four mercenary groups with that name,” Glolov said.
Glolov completely shattered Gao Yang’s hopes, who then exclaimed in frustration, “Dammit, even the name’s been snatched away.
I’m totally out of ideas now.”
Glolov cautiously said, “Actually, ‘Satan’ is quite taboo in the religious beliefs of Westerners.
They might name their mercenary groups after demons or devils, but to my knowledge, no one is willing to name their mercenary group ‘Satan’.”
Gao Yang slapped his thigh and said, “That’s it, the Satan Mercenary Corps!
All of us are atheists, well, you have no problem with that, do you?”
Glolov laughed and said, “I have no faith, so let’s just call it the Satan Mercenary Corps.”
After excitedly announcing the freshly minted name of their mercenary group to Li Jinfang and Cui Bo, Gao Yang immediately rushed to the officer in charge of registration and loudly declared, “Our mercenary group is called Satan, I’m the person in charge, my name is Ram, just register it like that.”
After the officer quickly completed the registration, he gave Gao Yang a number plate and said, “Take this; someone will lead you in.
You’ll need to change into military uniforms first, and then you will be assigned to the elite team’s accommodation area.
You’ll be under the command of a certain officer, but you will have a high degree of autonomy.
Okay, now you can go in.”
Following a soldier, Gao Yang and his group first went to get their military uniforms.
The uniforms for the 32nd Brigade were sand-yellow camo, and the ones Gao Yang and his team received were the same as the 32nd Brigade’s.
To avoid friendly fire, wearing a unified uniform was very important, so despite the clothes being quite unattractive, Gao Yang and his group carefully stored them away to change into at a more convenient time.
After getting their uniforms, still led by the same soldier, Gao Yang and his team were taken to a dormitory area.
After finding an officer, the guiding soldier jabbered away to the officer and kept pointing at Li Jinfang.
Cui Bo tugged at Gao Yang’s clothes, grinning and said, “He’s boasting about our glorious deeds at the entrance, hehe.”
Gao Yang gave Cui Bo a disdainful look and retorted, “What’s there to show off?
What they’re talking about must be Jinfang’s brilliant achievements, no, Toad’s brilliant achievements.”
After listening to the soldier, the officer approached Gao Yang and said in English, “Hello, in the coming days, you’ll be under my command, but I’ll only give you the targets for your missions and won’t direct how you carry them out.
Now tell me your specialties, and I’ll consider assigning you your combat tasks.”
Gao Yang thought for a moment, then said, “We’re a sniper team, which can also be divided into two separate sniper teams, but we’re strongest when we operate together.”
The reason Gao Yang claimed they were a sniper team was because he knew that snipers were the most in demand and also had the highest paying jobs.
A good sniper team could earn more than a team responsible for assault, despite the latter being more dangerous.
Sure enough, upon hearing Gao Yang’s words and after taking a look at the rifles carried by Gao Yang and Cui Bo, the officer’s eyes brightened considerably.
He nodded repeatedly and said, “Very good, I will deploy you separately on the battlefield.
Payment is daily; your mercenary group will earn $6,400 US dollars per day, how you divide it is up to you.
Generally, I’ll hand it over to you personally in the evening.
Ammo and food will also be collected together; if there’s a special situation, there might be a delay, but this is rare.
Also, if you need any special equipment or supplies, you should apply in advance.
Given that you’re a sniper team, you’ll get a room for four people, but you’ll only be able to rest for one night since we’re setting out early tomorrow.
Alright, if you don’t have any questions, you can go and rest now.”
Knowing that they wouldn’t have to cooperate with unfamiliar mercenaries in combat and enjoying the highest degree of freedom, Gao Yang was very satisfied with the privileges they received as a sniper team.
In particular, they didn’t have to cram into a room with a bunch of strangers; it was just the four of them.
Even though he had to endure Cui Bo’s stinky feet and Glolov’s teeth grinding, Gao Yang seized the opportunity to get a good night’s sleep.