After entering high school, studies became more intense, and Raymond Brooks stopped going to martial arts class and instead became fascinated with the military. It’s normal for boys to like knives and guns, but Raymond Brooks wasn’t just interested in light weapons—he liked to study land, sea, air, and space, and enjoyed the history of wars from ancient to modern times, both in China and abroad.

Originally, having an interest in the military wasn’t a big deal, but this hobby ended up influencing Raymond Brooks’s ambitions.

Raymond Brooks’s dream was to become a war correspondent. No matter how this ideal came about, throughout his three years of high school, he was single-mindedly determined to become a war correspondent—the kind who would run to wherever there was fighting.

Then, when it came time to choose between taking the college entrance exam or joining the army, Raymond Brooks chose the college entrance exam instead of enlisting.

His exam results weren’t great, but at least he got into a third-tier university. When it came to choosing a major, Raymond Brooks resolutely chose to study a foreign language, because he felt it would bring him closer to his dream.

Then, when faced with a major life decision, Raymond Brooks chose Spanish as his major.

For foreign language majors, especially those studying less common languages, it’s typical to also study English. Although Spanish isn’t exactly a rare language, Raymond Brooks followed the trend and learned English quite well too.

Up to this point, Raymond Brooks’s choices in life couldn’t really be called major mistakes. But in his senior year, when faced with a choice between loyalty to his friends or standing by and doing nothing, he made the wrong decision, and as a result, he lost the chance to graduate and only received a certificate of incomplete studies.

Forced to enter society early, Raymond Brooks’s dream of being a war correspondent had long since faded. But when faced with the choice between living an ordinary life or taking a risk, Raymond Brooks chose to venture out.

There’s nothing wrong with being young and wanting to explore, but after more than a year of struggling in society—doing odd jobs and trying to run a business—he didn’t make any money and ended up losing everything, making his already poor family’s situation even worse.

Not wanting to rely on his parents, with no capital to start a business, and unable to find a suitable job, Raymond Brooks figured that after all those years of studying Spanish, he might as well consider going abroad.

He found a random job and worked for half a year, doing some online translation work on the side, looking for opportunities as a Spanish translator. By scrimping and saving, he managed to save up twenty thousand yuan, and Raymond Brooks started to get ideas.

He couldn’t get a visa for Spain, a Schengen country in the EU, so he had to choose from the many Spanish-speaking countries. In the end, after much deliberation, Raymond Brooks chose Mexico.

Choosing Mexico for his first trip abroad was one thing, but between Mexico City and Tijuana, Raymond Brooks chose a flight that landed first in Tijuana.

If he hadn’t studied Spanish, he wouldn’t have come to Mexico; if he hadn’t come to Mexico, he wouldn’t have ended up in Tijuana; if he hadn’t gone to Tijuana, he wouldn’t have been kidnapped.

He always made the wrong choice at critical moments, and now Raymond Brooks was once again at a crossroads—and this time, it was a matter of life and death.

But Raymond Brooks still didn’t let anyone else make the decision for him. He just hesitated for a moment, wavered for a bit, and finally said firmly, “I’ll go with you, but I don’t have a U.S. visa. Is it still possible for me to go?”

“Yes.”

Raymond Brooks thought for a moment and said, “But wouldn’t that count as illegal entry? Will I be able to go home in the future?”

Captain wasn’t impatient; he replied gently, “It’s very strict when going from Mexico to the U.S., but if you go from the U.S. to Mexico—especially from San Diego to Tijuana—there’s no inspection at all. I suggest you come with us to San Diego. After a few days, when it’s safe, you can return to Tijuana anytime.”

Raymond Brooks hesitated no longer and immediately said, “I’ll go to the U.S. with you.”

Up ahead, Cap muttered, “Alright, you’ve saved yourself the money for smuggling across the border—a lot of money.”

Captain smiled, then continued, “What languages do you speak?”

“Uh, Spanish, English, and of course Chinese—that’s my native language.”

Captain asked with interest, “You seem to have a real talent for translation, and you’re good at mimicking people’s voices. Have you studied this professionally?”

Raymond Brooks didn’t care much and said, “Oh, I liked imitating people’s voices when I was a kid. I never studied it formally—it’s just a little hobby.”

“Just a little hobby? Hmm, you seem pretty familiar with weapons. Have you ever served in the military?”

Raymond Brooks gave a wry smile and said, “No, I just like weapons and military stuff, so I’ve always read about it online. After reading so much, I naturally picked up some knowledge.”

“Oh, I see…”

For some reason, Captain sounded a bit disappointed, but he quickly said, “Well, even though you haven’t served in the military, that’s not a big deal. I have a job here that requires translation skills. Are you interested?”

Of course Raymond Brooks was interested. He immediately asked, “What kind of job?”

“PMC.”

After saying this, Captain quickly added, “Tonight’s operation is just a temporary side gig for us. The job I’m talking about is a legal one—a legal PMC. Do you know what that means?”

Chapter 5: Private Military Force

As a military enthusiast, Raymond Brooks not only knew what a PMC was, but was also very familiar with it.

PMC stands for Private Military Contractor, or you could call it a military contractor. It’s actually a legitimate profession.