"No!" The same answer came from Ye Hao's mouth.

"Do you even see me as your leader? I heard from your subordinates that you left the battle midway during the mission! Is it really not there, or was it taken away?" Zhong Xiu saw Ye Hao's firm denial and couldn't help but wonder if it was taken by mercenaries from other countries.

If it was really taken by people from other countries, that would be troublesome. An unknown alien object could rapidly advance a country in weapons or other fields! If it were the smaller countries in South Africa, Huaxia wouldn't fear them, but if the country that claims to be the world's police or people from Jiepeng took it away, the consequences would be unimaginable.

"I've been watching all along. It's impossible anyone else took it!" Ye Hao explained again, thinking that the beam of light is with him now, but why give it to you? I risked my life on the mission, and now back home, I'm being threatened by you! Do you really think you're that important?

"Humph! Do you have clairvoyance now? Always watching, let's not talk about this topic! During the mission, did you leave the battle midway?" Zhong Xiu saw Ye Hao's determined face and realized he might not have seen anything. But he hadn't forgotten his original purpose: to punish Ye Hao and compensate Fang Zhongtian for yelling at him.

"That was to eliminate hidden dangers." Ye Hao felt deeply sad, thinking that this Team A under Zhong Xiu's command would collapse sooner or later, as they couldn't even anticipate various unstable factors in battle.

"Humph! What hidden danger? Tell me carefully what happened back then?" Although Zhong Xiu didn't like Ye Hao, it didn't mean he was stupid. If Ye Hao mentioned hidden dangers, and he punished Ye Hao without getting clear details, other senior members wouldn't agree either.

At that point, if someone reported it to the higher-ups, his position would be in jeopardy. To become the leader of Team A, the Zhong Family put in a lot of effort, plus his own national martial arts skills weren't weak. He wouldn't lose his high position because of an unknown, unimportant guy like Ye Hao.

"On August 20, 20XX, I received a mission from higher authorities to enter a fixed coordinate to detect an alien object! I camped at the perimeter with iodine for a night. The next day, I approached the scene with Cyan Snake, Cobra mercenaries, and others. Midway, I noticed a bright light coming from the left as I neared the location. I thought it was the reflection from a sniper scope, so I left the team to get rid of the safety hazard. Unexpectedly, it turned out to be a piece of broken glass." Ye Hao changed the ring he acquired to glass.

He knew Zhong Xiu might question how the reflection of light from glass could be the same as that from a sniper lens, so he explained beforehand: "It was an ordinary glass fragment with swamp mud and water on it, reflecting light similar to a sniper scope's."

At this point, Ye Hao paused, and everyone seemed lost in thought. After a long silence, Zhong Xiu broke the quiet atmosphere and said, "This is just your one-sided story. The fact that you left the battlefield midway is undeniable! If I were to punish you, do you have any objections?"

Yip Man raised his head to observe Ye Hao carefully, curious about how Zhong Xiu planned to deal with Ye Hao.

"Humph! Of course, I have objections. If you want to punish me, I would like to ask a question before you do." Ye Hao wasn't someone who would just take injustice silently! He was already holding a grudge after being forced to come back. But upon returning and finding out that Zhong Xiu didn't plan to give him new tasks and only wanted to punish him, how could he not be angry?

"Go on! But don't wander off-topic." Zhong Xiu, like some big shot, looked down at Ye Hao.

"Who's secretly communicating!? If the code is wrong, what consequences will that bring? Who is it? Step forward." Ye Hao was irate, the more he thought about Mu Qiu secretly communicating with this side and this side following up with that contact, the more furious he became.

"The secret communication will be discussed later! What's done by the higher-ups doesn't need your direction, nor does it need to be reported to you." Upon hearing this, Zhong Xiu's face darkened as he spoke.

"As our leader, have you thought about the scenario if, and I mean if, we were discovered? What position would we be in? What would happen to our mercenary line?" Ye Hao stared at Zhong Xiu and asked! At this moment, he didn't consider himself a soldier or Zhong Xiu his leader.

Instead, he treated Zhong Xiu as an equal, questioning the so-called superior's decisions from an equal standing.

"If I can communicate in secret, I can naturally ensure your safety! If I couldn't ensure your safety, would you be able to come back here now?" Upon saying this, Zhong Xiu regained his confidence. But at that moment, the landline connecting Team A to the South African mercenaries rang.

Zhong Xiu looked at Ye Hao with a smug expression, thinking that it must be some good news from Mu Qiu for him! He smiled and picked up the phone.

Just as he was about to exchange the secret code, a roar came from the other end: "F**k your mother! Who the hell has been secretly communicating all along? When I, Ye Long, return to Huaxia, I'm going to chop you up! This line is wasted, I'm retreating immediately, damn! … beep beep beep…" It was Ye Long's voice from South Africa.

Since Zhong Xiu believed it was Mu Qiu reporting some good news, he turned on the speaker, so everyone heard it.

"What? The South African line is cut?" Yip Man was the first to stand up, face livid, and then pointed his right hand at Zhong Xiu, coldly saying: "Zhong Xiu! Look at the mess you made! An entire line in South Africa, over a hundred mercenaries, such a powerful armed force, was secretly contacted by you and now has been targeted by others. Give me an explanation..."

Yip Man's words made Zhong Xiu jump up, quickly pressing several numbers, and then issuing several commands. After finishing all this, he sat back down with a sigh of relief.

Ye Hao was already fuming with anger. He had just left, and now Zhong Xiu was secretly communicating with others again? Why else would Ye Long and others need to retreat?

"Sorry! This kind of thing is beyond my control!" Zhong Xiu said, sitting in a chair somewhat dejectedly.

"Sorry? Have you ever thought about my brother's safety? You're just a worthless piece of shit." Ye Hao looked at Zhong Xiu with bloodshot eyes.

"Is this your attitude towards your leader?" Intelligence Section Chief Lu Zhi said coldly, slapping the table and standing up.

"Get lost! Who the hell do you think you are? I heard you complain that I don't give you intelligence, right? Do some petty mercenaries smuggling into Huaxia territory really need Team A to intervene? The existence of Team A has completely been forgotten by worthless people like you." Ye Hao looked at Lu Zhi and shouted coldly.

Ignoring his displeased expression, he turned to Zhong Xiu and said, "Is this your guarantee? I've had enough of you..." After speaking, Ye Hao rushed directly in front of Zhong Xiu.

"Bang!"

Ye Hao's fist, wielding the power of second-level National Martial Arts, smashed onto Zhong Xiu's right cheek!

Zhong Xiu looked at Ye Hao in disbelief, anger slowly rising in his heart. Is this the soldier under his command? Or has he been too low-key? Zhong Xiu thought incredulously.

"Bang!"

Another punch landed on Zhong Xiu's left cheek! The force of the punch was extremely strong! Zhong Xiu, whose National Martial Arts exceeded Ye Hao, could feel the anger contained in Ye Hao's fists.

A trace of crimson blood seeped from the corner of his mouth! Zhong Xiu used his fist to wipe it away, then coldly looked at Ye Hao and said, "Kid! You're very good, really good, daring to strike against me?" Zhong Xiu's words were very calm, but anyone could hear a chill in this calmness.

"Good hit! Kid, I got your back!" Others might fear Zhong Xiu, but not Yip Man; if the whole issue was reported to higher-ups, it would be hard for Zhong Xiu to remain in his position.

"Clap clap clap!"

"Excellent hit! Kid has guts; if Team A doesn't keep you, I'll take you away. This is exactly the kind of young person with guts that our great China needs." Fang Zhongtian clapped his hands in approval while looking at Ye Hao! He felt that the passion accumulated over the years had been ignited.

"Haha! I also support this; some people don't even consider the life and death of those under them! Just know how to put on airs, this Team A is becoming more chaotic under certain people's leadership!" Combat Group Leader Li Yi laughed heartily while looking at Ye Hao, very supportive of Ye Hao striking Zhong Xiu.

"This is just a little lesson for you! If anything happens to my brother, I'll make sure you accompany them to the grave." Ye Hao continued to stare fiercely at Zhong Xiu.

Zhong Xiu saw a hint of ruthlessness in Ye Hao's crimson gaze! This ruthlessness wasn't Ye Hao's posturing but the ruthlessness honed from three years of being a mercenary killer! Zhong Xiu, as he watched, felt somewhat evasive in his gaze.

"Let's go! Little brother, how about a drink?" Li Yi laughed heartily as he went up to put his arm around Ye Hao's shoulder! As the head of Team A's strongest attacking combat group, he naturally wouldn't support a group leader who did wrong! After all, even the biggest position of the group leader was only to coordinate within the group! Major issues would be reported straight to the nation's top leaders.

"Get lost! You get lost, Team A dismissed you! You don't need to report to me anymore." Zhong Xiu's face turned red from the mocking words of Yip Man and others. But he couldn't drive away Yip Man and the others, and the only outlet he had was Ye Hao.

"Haha! It's fine, Hao. If they don't want you, national security wants you; someone like him who doesn't know the good use of soldiers will only reach this position in his lifetime." Fang Zhongtian was the first to step up to support Ye Hao.

"Of course! If little brother doesn't mind my combat group's territory being small, you are very welcome, little brother." Li Yi, as the combat group leader, was responsible for assigning combat group's missions, and many things didn't need to go through Zhong Xiu's hands, so even if he took in Ye Hao, Zhong Xiu couldn't do anything!

"With me in Team A, I'll absolutely support your stay in Team A." Yip Man, who had always been low-key, also confronted Zhong Xiu directly! Looking at Zhong Xiu, he wished he could eat him.

"I don't want to say anything else; either Team A has him or has me, not both." Zhong Xiu said coldly and walked out, flicking his sleeves.

Ye Hao watched his departing back and said coldly, "Don't think I, Ye Hao, am dying to be in Team A! Having a leader like you is like I've had bad luck for eight generations; but if anything happens to my brother, I'll show you that even a small soldier can have a crazy day."

Upon hearing Ye Hao's words, Zhong Xiu quickened his pace! But anyone watching his departing figure could see he was leaving with anger.

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