Mercenary's War-Chapter 2023 - 2000: Righteousness

Morgan sat on the sofa, looking at Gao Yang. At this moment, Simon personally brought a few cookies and placed them in front of Morgan. Immediately afterwards, two more servants brought a pot of black tea, a few plates of cake, and several cups, then, at Morgan’s gesture, they poured black tea into the three cups.

Morgan gestured for Gao Yang to eat the cookies and then said with a smile, "Let’s just enjoy the afternoon tea together. Simon, you sit down too."

Simon shook his head and whispered, "No, I’m not used to it."

Morgan said helplessly, "Sit down."

Simon still shook his head resolutely and said, "No, I prefer to stand. I’m used to it."

Morgan replied helplessly, "Then change your habit. How long do you think you can keep standing? After I die, you should get used to sitting, just consider it getting used to in advance."

The muscles on Simon’s face twitched slightly, then he finally sat down on the single sofa next to Morgan.

Morgan picked up a cookie, took a bite, chewed a few times, then nodded and said, "Hmm, turns out I was really hungry."

After eating a big cookie in a few bites, Morgan took a sip of black tea and then, with a smile, said to Gao Yang, "Do you know what exactly I do?"

This question from Morgan really stumped Gao Yang.

Morgan seemed to do everything, but it was as if he had no formal occupation. He had many industries, but not even a legitimate company. He did whatever business made money worldwide, yet none of them could see the light of day.

After hesitating for a moment, Gao Yang whispered, "Forgive my boldness, are you a White Glove?"

Morgan clapped his hands, smiled satisfactorily, and said, "Some people’s hands are covered in blood, but don’t want to be seen doing so, so they need a pair of white gloves to wear, and I am that pair of white gloves."

Morgan reached out his hands, pinched the cookie crumbs on his fingers, and said with a smile, "Just like this."

With a hearty laugh, he picked up another cookie, took a bite, and then said proudly, "But not all white gloves are the same. Some people are just white gloves, and after being used, they go to where they belong—the trash bin! Although I am a White Glove, I have never let myself get dirty, especially not becoming a blood glove. Thus I can always play the role of the White Glove, but..."

Morgan stuffed the cookie into his mouth and stretched out his hands again, smiling, "My greatest achievement is that, while being a white glove for others, I earned enough money so that, in the end, I became my own hands, and not a glove on someone else’s hands."

Gao Yang exhaled and said softly, "That’s very difficult."

Morgan smiled and said, "Yes, it’s very difficult. When you plan to free yourself from some people’s control and become your own master, the original masters certainly won’t be happy, but if you own your own capital and have enough strength without anyone noticing, then you will upgrade your status, becoming a partner of the original masters, rather than a white glove."

Morgan pointed to himself and said with a smile, "So now I am a free man. However, do you want to know who I originally worked for?"

Gao Yang said softly, "Who?"

Morgan picked up his tea with a smile and said, "Rockefeller."

Gao Yang gasped and said with a wry smile, "That’s not an unexpected answer at all."

Morgan smiled, took a sip of tea, and said, "So, it wasn’t easy at all to become a partner from Rockefeller’s white glove. And now, I don’t want to give all this back, so I have to find someone, a successor of my choice, to ensure that what I’ve worked so hard to gain won’t be easily taken away by the original masters after I die."

Simon said nothing. Gao Yang shifted his position a little uneasily. Morgan smiled as he looked at Gao Yang, then glanced at Simon before suddenly saying, "Simon, what do you plan to do after you retire?"

Simon looked up, puzzled, and said, "Retire?"

Morgan shrugged and said, "Yeah, after I die."

Simon said with a look of disgust, "I don’t know, never thought about it. Also, don’t talk about that."

Morgan shook his head with a smile and said, "How many years have you worked with me? It must be fifteen years."

Simon quickly said, "Fourteen years and eight months."

Morgan sighed and said with emotion, "If your brother hadn’t died, he would have been with me for ten years today."

Simon pursed his lips and then said softly, "Yes, a full ten years."

Morgan said very emotionally, "Since you two came to me, I haven’t worried about safety anymore. However, your brother eventually died protecting me, and as for you, you’ve had at least seven brushes with death while protecting me."

Simon said softly, "That’s my duty."

Morgan looked at Simon and said, "Have you ever thought about, or blamed me, why I would leave what should be yours to Gao?"

Simon said seriously, "I’m just a bodyguard. I don’t think about these things, never have, and also, I’ve never blamed you. Besides, the money you’ve given me is enough for me to live a wealthy lifestyle."

Morgan sighed, smiled, and said, "Yeah, your money is enough to live like a millionaire, but you don’t even have time to find a girlfriend, nor do you have time to spend money. Do you know how to enjoy life?"

Simon frowned and said, "What’s wrong with you today? Why are you saying these things?"

Morgan chuckled, looked over at the somewhat uneasy Gao Yang, and said in a deep voice, "I’ll tell you why. I must protect everything I’ve earned and seized. I don’t want Bob to take this risk, and his personality and training don’t suit him to be a successor. You are one of the people I trust the most. You’re honest, reliable, the best soldier, and the best bodyguard, but you don’t know how to deal with a bunch of demons who chew people up without spitting out the bones. You must extract more from them rather than being devoured entirely because your military and bodyguard mindset is too rigid."

Morgan breathed a sigh of relief and loudly said, "I understand what kind of people those big shots I’ve been dealing with are, so I need a successor who dares to fight and has brains. Simon, you’re not cunning enough."

Simon looked at Gao Yang, Morgan also looked at Gao Yang, then Morgan smiled and said, "Some people rely on honesty to do business, while others always like to use shrewdness and play little tricks. People who prefer cunning won’t go far, while honest people might go far but are more likely to be swallowed whole. Now, look at Gao, isn’t he always very sincere?"

Simon was silent for a moment and then said softly, "That’s right, Gao is trustworthy, a true friend. If you give it to someone else, I’d be upset, but if you give it to him, I accept it."

Morgan burst out laughing, loudly saying, "What kind of person is Gao? He’s a mercenary! A group of scum. Who does Gao deal with every day? Mercenaries, intelligence sellers, arms dealers, pirates, warlords, spies, gangs, a collection of sly and ruthless scum. But Gao? Not only is he still alive, he’s doing better and better, and that’s the issue. Do you understand now?"

Gao Yang said uneasily, "Why are you saying this?"

Morgan laughed, pointing at Gao Yang, saying to Simon, "See that? Would you believe that shy young man is a bloodthirsty, ruthless mercenary?"

Simon shook his head and said, "Just by looking, you really can’t tell."

Morgan patted Gao Yang again, laughed, and said, "I’m really good at assessing people. This guy is very honest, but he’s also very cunning. Gao, let me ask you, have you ever done a loss-making business?"

Gao Yang replied confidently, "I have, uh, well, but later there seemed to be more substantial returns."

Morgan and Simon laughed.

Gao Yang said urgently, "Hey, that’s not me—uh, not, not on purpose. Um, let me put it this way, it’s what we Huaxia people pursue. I’m a person of great..."

Not knowing how to say it in English, Gao Yang loudly said, "Righteousness! Do you understand? I’m a person of righteousness."

Morgan said with a smile, "I don’t understand Huaxia culture, but I know you have an honest heart. You’re absolutely loyal to your friends and trustworthy. You’re cunning enough not to be swallowed whole, and at crucial times, you’re ruthless enough. You’re not a saint, and most importantly, you’d never harm Bob, nor covet Bob’s share of the wealth, because you’ve never been a greedy person. I don’t know if that’s what you mean by... righteousness?"

Gao Yang shook his head and said, "Sort of, but not really. It’s part of righteousness. Actually, I can’t explain it either."

Morgan looked at Simon, smiled, and said, "Both of you are here today, so I want to make things clear. I don’t want you to have any dissatisfaction with me in your heart. I really don’t want that."