EM Chapter 21. Gain and Loss

Song Feng had been forced to rest for two and a half months before finally shaking off Song Zhe’s poison. In high spirits, he drove over to Guoan and settled into the seat across from Wang Yizhong, gently broaching the topic of money. Everything went smoothly until they got to the cost of a single dose of the drug, where things hit a wall. The problem was that Xiao Mingxuan had only submitted a report and hadn’t mentioned anything else.

Song Feng was furious and demanded Wang Yizhong call him directly. Wang Yizhong, with a face of innocence, claimed he did not have the number. Song Feng really didn’t know the guy’s phone number either. He stared at him in disbelief for a good while, then stormed off in his car to the base, only to find out the man had been transferred. When he pressed for more details, he received two words in response: top secret. He ground his teeth, thinking to himself, fine, you’ll have to come home for the New Year sooner or later. We’ll deal with it then.

Then, he drove around the capital, circling the city in leisure, thinking about where he could go to have the most fun. During this process, his boss called six times in a row. When the seventh call came in, Song Feng figured if he didn’t answer, the man would just keep calling forever. So he picked up.
“You’ve got another job? Come on, let me have a few more days off.”

“You’ve been off for almost three months already. Still not enough?”

Song Feng felt like crying. Half a month ago, he thought he’d be let out, but a single sentence had landed him another fifteen days. He pleaded, “One more day.”

“No. The client’s been waiting half a month already. He’s offering a very generous price. You’re coming back today. Non-negotiable.”

Song Feng struggled a while but finally caved. He rushed back to the company and stepped into his boss’s office, curious to see who had such patience. The next moment, he slid down along the doorframe and choked out, “Can you just let me live…”

Sitting on the sofa was a handsome man with slightly long, fully dyed golden hair. He looked at Song Feng and said, “I figured you wouldn’t want to see me after you died, so I had someone go to Thailand to bring your corpse back and bury it in my yard. That way I could look at you every day and disgust you a little. But then they told me there was no corpse. That was unexpected.”

He walked toward him slowly. “Then I remembered that I’d captured a Thai cop, so chances were they’d help you out. Turns out I was right.”

Song Feng sniffled and shrank back.

“I figured you were ex-mercenary. Then I heard Shao Xiujie picked you up in the States, so I combed through every PMC company around here. Finally found you,” Fu Shanming crouched down and patted his face with a grin. “Baby, I missed you so fucking bad.”

“……”

---

In late autumn, Xiao Mingxuan received his first mission as a special forces operative. The operation took place near the border. A group of armed drug traffickers had been cornered by narcotics police and, in desperation, stormed a nearby staff apartment. They killed two workers on the spot and held several others hostage. By the time Xiao’s team arrived, a security perimeter had already been set up, and negotiators were working the scene. The unit split into two groups. One team moved in from the first floor, the other climbed to the rooftop and prepared to rappel down and break in through the windows.

The kills were executed at point-blank range. Fast, precise, lethal. From start to finish, it took less than thirty seconds. The air was thick with the stench of gunpowder and blood. Some bullets were powerful enough to blow off half a man’s head. Blood, soft tissue, brain matter, even eyeballs and strips of skin splattered across the floor and walls. After the kill, they immediately rushed to the dazed hostages, using their bodies to shield them from the gore, then handed them over to specialists for psychological counseling.

Xiao Mingxuan was the only rookie on the mission. The camp’s psychologist found it hard to believe. He had seen his share of rookie bloodings, and most of them involved nothing worse than a desperate man waving a fruit knife around. This time was different. The violence had been brutal, and the psychological impact much more severe. He looked at Xiao Mingxuan and asked.

“How did it feel to kill someone?”

“Just like that.”

The psychologist choked a little. “‘Just like that’ as in what, exactly?”

Xiao Mingxuan answered plainly,

“I’ve been killing on missions for the past two years, on and off. I haven’t developed a taste for it, and I don’t believe human life is something that should be trampled on. So… just like that.”

“……”

---

Song Feng clung to the edge of the desk for dear life. Under the threat of either resignation or suicide, his boss finally drew up a series of agreements with Fu Shanming. These included provisions such as: no sexual assault or physical abuse of employees, no intentionally assigning missions that were clearly impossible and amounted to sending people to their deaths. They could break the rules if they wanted, but the company would investigate afterward. If the complaints turned out to be true, then every mercenary on staff would become an assassin with a single target. They might hold them off for a year or two, but not forever.

Fu Shanming agreed. After signing the contract, he dragged Song Feng away and asked, “What’s your name, anyway?”

“Xiao Mingxuan.”

“Alright then.” Fu Shanming stepped into the helicopter. “From now on, protect me the same way you protected Xiao Cheng. Got it?”

Song Feng sniffed. “Yes, boss.”

Fu Shanming froze. “Say that again.”

“…Boss.”

His eyes heated up with a strange intensity.
“Not bad.”

Song Feng immediately clutched his chest and curled up in the corner, trembling all over.

The helicopter slowly descended onto the estate grounds. Song Feng resigned himself to his fate and followed him out, only to recoil the moment he saw the gravestone ahead. Fu Shanming smiled.

“This is the grave I built for you.”

Song Feng shivered and glanced over. The name carved on it was “Xiao Mingxuan.” He let out a laugh.

“Leave it there. Who knows, maybe one day you’ll actually need it.”

Fu Shanming stared at him.
“I think so too.”

“……”

“Oh, right. Shao Xiujie thought you were really buried here. He sent people over for two whole months to dig up the grave. Unfortunately, they were intercepted every time by my men. Honestly, he was so stupid I felt embarrassed for him.”

“……”

That night, Song Feng was sound asleep when he suddenly heard the door open. Someone pounced onto the bed with a breathless laugh. “Baby, having fun?”

“No sexual assault.”

“I’m inviting you.”

“No.”

“Well, fine,” Fu Shanming said regretfully, then lifted the blanket and climbed in. “My bed’s broken. I’m sleeping in here.”

Song Feng forcefully pried off the arm draped around his waist, then pitifully rolled off the bed and curled up on the carpet. He tore his bath towel into strips and twisted them into two ragdolls. One named Fu Shanming, the other Xiao Mingxuan, and beat the hell out of them all night.

The next day, everyone in the estate had the day off. Cooking, laundry, cleaning the house, everything was left to a single person. Even the weeds in the courtyard had to be pulled by hand because, for some reason, the mower had stopped working. After two minutes of weeding, Song Feng lost it. He stormed upstairs and hurled himself forward.

“I’m going to fucking kill you!”

Fu Shanming didn’t care at all that he was being choked. In fact, he even arched his waist upward slightly, his eyes burning.

Song Feng immediately sensed something hard pressing against him. He paused in silence, then quietly walked away.

“Where are you going?”

“To pull weeds.”

Fu Shanming tormented him for two straight days. He thought about tying him up and whipping him before screwing him into the floor, but when he turned around to grab his whip, he found it had already been chopped to pieces. There was no way to use it.

He had a major deal coming up, and there could be no mistakes, so on the third day, he finally allowed Song Feng to return to his role as bodyguard. They got in the car and headed out of the estate. Just after they made a turn, another car blocked their way. Fu Shanming looked up and smiled.

“Come on. Get out.”

Song Feng looked at the person stepping out and instantly teared up.

Shao Xiujie stepped out of the car and looked at him without blinking. The street was loud and crowded, but for a second, everything else dropped away.

He had thought Song Feng was dead.

And now he was standing right there.

Song Feng’s chest tightened.

“…Xiao Feng.”

---

Xiao Mingxuan had already carried out several missions. Although their operations were not frequent, and most of their time was still spent in training, being in special forces meant more than killing and saving lives. It also included silent abductions.

That day, he and his teammates lay motionless in the grass for thirteen hours. When their target finally appeared in sight, they waited another two hours. The area finally quieted down. The guards posted at the lookout towers on both sides were taken out at the same time. The command to move came through their earpieces. They advanced slowly, slipping into the bamboo house without disturbing even a single insect. The window was lifted, and a heavy palm landed hard on the man’s neck, knocking him unconscious.

The sound alerted those in the outer room. Two people came to check. Xiao Mingxuan and his teammate stayed flat against the wall by the door and took both of them out with quick thrusts of their military knives. They dragged the unconscious target out through the back window. Not a sound was left behind.

The next morning, panic and despair swept through the village. Their boss had vanished right under their noses. Not even a strand of hair remained.

---

Song Feng continued his job as a bodyguard, cautious to the point of paranoia. The contract was for one month. During this time, he escorted Fu Shanming through firefights and pulled him back from the front lines, shouting at him while doing it.

“Next time you plan a double-cross, at least pick someone easier to handle.”

Fu Shanming was pinned beneath him when a grenade exploded behind them. He laughed and said, “The easy ones are all rookies. They’re not worth eating.”

Song Feng gritted his teeth and dragged him out of the combat zone, threw him into the car, and drove off. Fu Shanming squinted at him. “No wonder Xiao Cheng wanted you as a bodyguard. You’re pretty damn good. Where is he now?”

“I don’t know.”

“Alright, baby. When you feel like talking, let me know.”

“I really don’t know.”

“Say whatever you want.”

Song Feng drove in silence, thinking the job was finally done. At last, he would not have to look at this face again. But Fu Shanming knew exactly what was on his mind. He had been planning to renew the contract, only to find out that someone else had already booked him. In a flash, he smashed his phone in frustration.

That night, Song Feng got a call. His boss was unusually gentle on the other end.

“There was no choice. The price was too good. Besides, it’s your old employer. I know you want a break, don’t worry. I didn’t overbook. Just two months. I promise, after that, you’ll get your vacation.”

Song Feng hung up and packed his things. Under Fu Shanming’s icy stare, he moved into the Shao family estate. The moment he arrived, he threw himself at Shao Xiujie.

“Boss, I have a request.”

Shao Xiujie patted his head.

“Go on.”

“Can I go out for one night and come back tomorrow morning?”

Shao Xiujie paused for a second.

“What are you planning to do?”

Song Feng grinned.

“Come on. We’re both men. Don’t tell me you really don’t know what I want to do.”

Shao Xiujie paused again for a second.

“You just moved in. If you go out tonight, Fu Shanming might spot you.”

“Oh. Right.” Song Feng blinked. “Then… could you get me a girl? A pretty one?”

Shao Xiujie patted his head again.

“It’s late. Get some sleep.”

Song Feng flailed around and threw a tantrum, but in the end, he had no choice but to obediently go to bed. When he woke the next morning, he was completely confused.

“Boss…”

“Hm?”

“When did the Shao household stop having maids?”

“I forgot.”

---

While the temperature near the equator remained hot, the northern hemisphere had already entered winter. Xiao Mingxuan had been injured, and had nearly died once, but each mission had been successfully completed. His rank was about to be promoted again. Even the central command was beginning to feel the pressure.

As the weather grew colder, they began cold-resistance training. Each day they climbed steep rock faces in freezing temperatures. The mountain wind was so sharp it felt like it could tear open their skin.

“Vice captain, I heard you submitted an application. What’s it about?”

Xiao Mingxuan was focused on a handhold in the rock wall. He opened his mouth slowly. The warmth in his chest turned into a puff of white breath in the air.

“A proposal for establishing Special Forces Unit Two.” He paused, and a faint smile touched the corner of his lips. “I’m planning to ask Guoan for someone.”