EM 29. Transition

By the time the sun had completely set, half the participants had returned to the base. Some were perfectly intact, some looked as disheveled as Song Feng, and others had unfortunately sustained injuries and were promptly taken by the medical staff stationed nearby for treatment. Xiao Mingxuan stood at the gate the entire time, one step behind the threshold, calmly watching the road ahead.

“Vice Captain, we’ve reached the required number.”

Xiao Mingxuan nodded. “Close the gate.”

The olive-green metal gate began to close slowly. On the mountain path, several soldiers could still be seen sprinting toward the camp. The one closest was only about ten meters away. As the gap narrowed, he had already made it within six or seven meters of the entrance. The blood-red sunset stretched behind him, casting his figure in a wash of loneliness and helplessness.

He stared at the gate, unwilling to give up, eyes fixed on the man standing just inside. He tried to say something, but the moment their eyes met, he couldn’t utter a word. That gaze was calm, free of reproach or approval, but it told him everything. He had failed.

Despair took hold as he watched the man disappear along with the entire camp bathed in golden-red light.

All the participants’ luggage had been loaded into a truck the morning before. Those who passed retrieved theirs. Those who didn’t would board that truck and leave this place for good.

A sharp whistle rang out across the training field. Everyone gathered at once, lining up by height as always. Their eyes turned instinctively to the lieutenant colonel. He walked slowly to the center of the formation, returned a formal salute, and said, “I am your lead instructor for this round of training. My name is Xiao Mingxuan.”

Song Feng stood in line watching him, then glanced at the other instructors. Only Xiao Mingxuan had camouflage paint on his face. After a moment’s thought, Song Feng’s eyes gleamed with mischief. He had punched the man hard enough last time that the bruise around his eye probably hadn’t faded. So that was the real reason for the face paint.

“Starting today, training officially begins. Just like before, you will have no names and no ranks, only code numbers. The training will become even more intense. Anyone who can’t keep up is welcome to come find me. I’ll personally arrange your departure.” Xiao Mingxuan’s gaze swept over a certain someone, then continued, “There are 48 of you. At the next evaluation, I’ll cut that number in half again. If you want to stay, prove yourself. Understood?”

“Understood!”

Xiao Mingxuan cast one final look at that particular person, then waved to the man behind him. The instructor stepped forward.

“Everyone, left face. Forward march!”

The troops obeyed. The formation was sharp and uniform, until a certain point. Two people were strolling like they were out for a walk. In the middle of the orderly unit, they stuck out like a sore thumb, like a clean line of train cars with a sudden gap in the middle.

One of the instructors could only laugh. “Vice Captain, what now? Should we start over and teach them from scratch?”

Xiao Mingxuan pictured that man’s pitiful expression and shook his head. “Let it be.” After all, this unit had never been meant to follow a standard special forces model. And deep down, he felt Song Feng was far better suited to being a mercenary. That man had always lived wildly and freely. He wasn’t someone who should be bound by military rules and regulations.

He couldn’t help but glance toward that lazy, slouching silhouette. His gaze darkened.

A person like Song Feng wouldn’t be tied down by anything. Not even love.

He was like the wind. Untouchable, uncatchable. Trying to make him stay was nearly impossible.

And Xiao Mingxuan didn’t want to use force. Because what he wanted wasn’t just the person.

He wanted the heart too.

The camp’s bunk beds had been reduced by half, no longer crammed in row by row. With more space between them, everything instantly felt more comfortable.

Bai Xuyao weaved through the crowd, asking around. At points A and B, everyone else had either picked up flags or retrieved cloth strips with writing on them. He was the only one who brought back two mice.

“This is ridiculous,” he said, shaking Song Feng furiously. “Was this your idea? Tell me the truth!”

Song Feng raised his hands. “It really had nothing to do with me. But the vice captain knows you’re afraid of mice. He probably wanted you to overcome that fear. Don’t believe me? Go ask him.”

“How would he even know?”

Song Feng pulled away. “Babe, we’ve been chasing you around with mice for over a week. The entire base knows about it, alright?”

Bai Xuyao flopped onto his bed and yanked the blanket over himself. “Just wait. One day, I’m going to conquer this mouse phobia once and for all.”

Song Feng nodded approvingly. “You got this.”

Life moved into a new phase. Everyone had thought the earlier training period was the limit, but they quickly realized they had been too naive. All their training loads doubled. The schedule was packed so tight there was barely room to breathe. Even Wei Xiaoyan was starting to complain.

“Damn it, this training’s exactly like what you put me through back then. Where the hell did you learn that stuff?”

“From the one who trained me,” Song Feng replied, squatting under a 25-kilo log, sweat tracing a clear line down his neck and into his collar.

“Who was it?”

“Don’t ask. I don’t ever want to remember that name again in my life.”

Wei Xiaoyan dropped the topic and resigned himself to the training. Even after the grueling physical routines, they still had to attend theory classes. Some of the material was familiar, some completely new. Fortunately, most of them were quick learners, so it was manageable.

But whenever class was in session, Bai Xuyao’s presence was impossible to ignore. As Song Feng put it, the guy might be mediocre in physical strength, but his intelligence was terrifying. Even when exhausted, he absorbed knowledge like a sponge. Especially when it came to communications engineering, he was unbeatable. Anyone who couldn’t grasp a topic would come to him for help. In no time, Bai Xuyao had become a cornerstone of the training group.

“Heh heh heh! Finally, I’ve got my moment to shine!” Bai Xuyao declared proudly, placing one foot on Song Feng’s bed like a conqueror. “You two, come over here and bow before your master~”

Song Feng smiled, eyes fixed on his foot.

Bai Xuyao instantly stepped back and planted his foot on his own bed instead, coughing awkwardly.

Song Feng finally nodded. “Comrade Xiao Bai is becoming a star.”

Wei Xiaoyan added, “Comrade Xiao Bai, the heartthrob of the camp.”

Bai Xuyao immediately snapped, “Xiao Bai, Xiao Bai, how many times do I have to say it? Will you two knock it off already? Do you know how dumb that sounds? It’s like you’re calling me ‘dumbass.’ You keep calling someone that long enough, they’ll actually turn into one! I’m a highly educated intellectual, okay? A genius, got it? A genius!”

Song Feng grinned. “Then what should we call you?”

Bai Xuyao pondered for a moment, nibbling his fingertip like a child, then asked innocently, “How about… calling me ge?”

Song Feng turned to glance at Wei Xiaoyan. The latter stepped forward with a smile. “Gege~”

“Aaaargh!” Bai Xuyao immediately screamed in despair. “Help! Help! Xiao Qing—Qing-ge!”

Duan Qing, standing nearby, sighed and stepped in. “Xiaoyan, want to go a few rounds?”

Wei Xiaoyan’s face twitched. Duan Qing was tall and lean, always one of the top performers among the recruits. Ever since Wei Xiaoyan lost to him during a sparring match, Duan Qing had stuck to them like glue. Whenever he had free time, he dragged Wei Xiaoyan out to practice. The guy had insane talent for hand-to-hand combat. After just a few rounds, he had started keeping up with Wei Xiaoyan’s pace, and soon enough he was tossing him around.

Wei Xiaoyan twisted midair and landed smoothly on his feet, only for Duan Qing to strike again and send him flying once more. At first, Wei Xiaoyan figured the guy would cool off after proving himself, but instead he just ramped things up. Wei Xiaoyan was close to snapping. “Enough already. You addicted to throwing me or something?”

Duan Qing looked at him calmly. “I can tell you’re holding back.”

No shit. This wasn’t a real fight. Wei Xiaoyan couldn’t go all out.

Duan Qing, still unconvinced, assumed his stance. “I’ll drag your full strength out of you one day. Let’s go.”

If you ever betray the country, I’ll be the one to take you down, Wei Xiaoyan thought, beyond exasperated. Still, he had no choice but to keep stalling.

“Come on. Let’s train.”

Wei Xiaoyan reluctantly climbed off Bai Xuyao and followed him out. In the quiet of night, Duan Qing threw him around the training field like always.

“You’re seriously good at holding back,” Duan Qing remarked mid-throw. “When are you going to actually fight me?”

Wei Xiaoyan had no answer for that. God help you if you ever go rogue, I swear I’ll come for your ass myself.

Time became both brutal and full. Two weeks later, another round of cuts halved the group again. Bai Xuyao barely made it by a hair, clinging to the tail end of the qualified list. He’d grown even closer with Song Feng and the others, and he was starting to get a clearer picture of their personalities. He realized that “shameless” wasn’t even strong enough to describe Song Feng.

“You don’t think… he’d come after us, do you?” Bai Xuyao crouched in a corner with Wei Xiaoyan, looking genuinely concerned.

“Relax, Xiao Xuxu,” Wei Xiaoyan said reassuringly. “Boss might have no bottom line, but he’d never go after his own students.”

Bai Xuyao had long grown numb to being called “Xiao Xuxu.” After protesting against “Xiao Bai” multiple times, he’d ended up with this instead. He still looked uneasy. “Are you sure?”

“Positive, Xiao Xuxu,” Song Feng said, popping his head down from above with a grin. “I’m not that desperate, even if I am about to die of boredom. No girls, no booze, no cigarettes… Wait. Cigarettes. I should go ask the vice captain for a few smokes.”

The moment he said the word “cigarettes,” everyone around them turned to stare. Not because of his casual tone, nor because of his obvious connection to the vice captain, but because of that word. In this woman-less, pleasure-less base, there were only three things that kept people sane: eating, sleeping, and training. Cigarettes were a spiritual necessity. Everyone needed them.

Bai Xuyao stared at him, voice bone-dry. “Bro~”

Wei Xiaoyan mirrored him. “Boss~”

Even Duan Qing, though silent, was watching intently.

Carrying their collective hopes, Song Feng leisurely strolled out of the barracks and made his way toward the main building.

At that moment, Xiao Mingxuan was organizing some paperwork. He stood up and handed a file forward. “Commander, here’s the list of those who made the cut. One more round of elimination remains.”

Behind the desk sat a man in his forties. His aura was sharp and commanding. With two bars and four stars on his shoulder, this was Colonel Zheng Qiyong, commander of the special forces unit.

This area was divided into front and rear sections. The front was mostly for the recruits, while the rear housed the main force of the special operations unit. When they deployed on missions, they always left from the rear. The main building in the back shared the same style as the one in front, and the commander’s office was located there. Since another round of eliminations had just cut the group in half, the commander had come to review the files.

Zheng Qiyong flipped through the stack without bothering to comment. He and the captain of Unit 1 were notoriously ruthless with cuts. He glanced at the first few pages. “The quality this round’s pretty solid. Those two you specially recruited made it through too?”

“Yeah. Their scores are in the back.”

Zheng Qiyong nodded and started turning the pages, when a clear voice rang from outside.

“Report.”

“Come in,” he said, without looking up.

Xiao Mingxuan recognized the voice instantly. He turned toward the door, just in time to see Song Feng step inside… and immediately collapse against the doorframe.

Xiao Mingxuan: “……”

“Uh, wrong room…” Song Feng stammered as he scrambled to his feet, trying to flee.

“Stop.” Zheng Qiyong spoke.

Song Feng froze, snapping to attention with a loud slap of his heels. He stood rigid, spine locked straight like a steel rod. His face had gone pale as a sheet, eyes wide like he had seen a ghost. Xiao Mingxuan blinked in surprise and instinctively stepped forward. “Commander.”

Zheng Qiyong flipped the file shut, walked over, and casually brushed Xiao Mingxuan aside.

Song Feng inched backward. “In… Instructor…”

“So it really is you, brat. I was wondering who the two were that caught Xiao Mingxuan’s eye. Figures you’d be one of them.” Zheng Qiyong looked him over. “But what the hell’s with your scores? Hm?”

“I-I can explain… Commander, I was trying to help someone else—ow!” Before he could finish, Zheng Qiyong sent him flying with a kick. Song Feng hit the ground hard, groaning as he curled up and clutched his side.

Xiao Mingxuan startled and quickly stepped between them.

“Move,” Zheng Qiyong ordered.

Xiao Mingxuan stood firm. “If you’re still angry, then kick me instead.”

Zheng Qiyong raised a brow. “A bit protective, aren’t you.”

Xiao Mingxuan stayed silent.

Song Feng had scrambled behind him and was now clinging to the back of his pant leg, shivering like a beaten dog. “I thought I’d finally made it out alive…”

“What was that?”

“Nothing!” Song Feng jerked upright in panic. “Didn’t say a thing!”

Zheng Qiyong stared him down for a moment. “Next time you pull a score like that, I’ll have a word with your grandfather and throw you back into retraining. I wouldn’t mind drilling it into you myself again.”

Song Feng trembled harder.

Zheng Qiyong said nothing more and turned to leave.

Xiao Mingxuan crouched beside him and ruffled his hair. “The Commander used to train you?”

Song Feng was still pale, his lips trembling. Xiao Mingxuan wondered just how deep the trauma ran. After a pause, he gently pulled him into his arms and gave a few steadying pats.

Song Feng immediately choked up and threw his arms around him, wailing through gritted teeth, “Why is my life always this miserable?!”

Xiao Mingxuan rubbed his head again. Had he just found this man’s one true weakness?