EM 51. Mission

The weather after the New Year was still cold, but slowly warming up. Ever since Song Feng had heard from Xiao Mingxuan that he had been recognized by Zheng Qiyong, he had been like a man on a mission. Every day he went out for training on schedule, and even increased the intensity beyond his usual load. His sudden burst of enthusiasm left the rest of Team 2 completely confused.

Bai Xuyao, always the eager and positive one, rushed over to join him and forced himself to keep pace, howling as he ran, “Bro, I’m gonna rise up too!”

Song Feng grinned. “Not bad. You’ve got promise.”

“Mm!”

Once one person jumped in, the rest followed. After a moment of silence, the entire group took off behind him. The members of Team 1 looked over in confusion and came over to ask, “You guys changed your training schedule?”

Xiao Mingxuan replied calmly, “No. We didn’t.”

Wei Xiaoyan was the only one who hadn’t lost his mind. He sneered. “Did the commander’s words really affect him this much?”

Xiao Mingxuan had just opened his mouth to say “maybe,” when Song Feng came sprinting across the obstacle course and stopped with his chest out and chin up, clearly waiting to be praised. Xiao Mingxuan raised an eyebrow and glanced behind him. Zheng Qiyong was walking their way and soon reached them. He gave his student a quick glance, then pulled Xiao Mingxuan aside to discuss official matters. In passing, he asked, “What’s with him?”

Xiao Mingxuan kept a straight face. “Nothing.”

Song Feng stood frozen in place, blinking slowly like he had just been abandoned. His shoulders slumped, and he turned silently to resume training. His back looked especially pitiful. But before long, he was back at it again. Team 2, led by Bai Xuyao, kept pace behind him like a pack of wild dogs, yelling as they ran.

Wei Xiaoyan: “…”

Duan Qing had been quietly watching someone this whole time. Seeing that he hadn’t moved at all, he decided to go over and try striking up a conversation. Just as he broke off from the group, Song Feng’s voice rang out across the training field.

“Wei Xiaoyan, get your ass over here!”

Bai Xuyao echoed right after, “Senior, come on! If you don’t hurry up, we’re gonna pass you—pass you—!” He paused, then asked innocently, “Bro, is my senior not feeling well?”

Song Feng blinked. “Could be. Huh? But he was fine during drills earlier.” His expression darkened. “Wei Xiaoyan, when did you get this fragile? Did you forget everything I taught you? So what if you got fucked? I was bouncing around the next day like nothing happened! What, you and Duan Qing into some heavy shit? Huh? Is that it? Something hardcore, yeah?!”

Wei Xiaoyan: “…”

Duan Qing: “…”

Everyone else but Bai Xuyao collapsed. Song Feng’s voice was loud enough for the whole training ground to hear. In the military base, jokes like this were common, so most people didn’t take it seriously. But Team 2 knew him better than anyone. They knew that if he said it, it probably happened. He never spoke without evidence.

Everyone had already guessed that there was something going on between Song Feng and the captain, but hearing it said out loud was something else entirely. It still caught them off guard.

But that wasn’t even the main shock. The real bombshell was those two. No warning, no signs, and suddenly the news hit like an explosion. None of them were prepared. They stared at the two of them, completely stunned.

When the hell did that happen?

Duan Qing stayed silent. Wei Xiaoyan opened his mouth, then opened it again, trying to explain a little. But the rest of the group had already scrambled up from the ground in complete disorder. Their expression tightened, eyes locked straight ahead, heads high, marching forward. After spending enough time with these people, their baseline for what counted as normal had been eroded again and again. Compared to half a year ago, they had undergone a complete transformation.

Wei Xiaoyan: “…”

The main culprit shouted again, “Comrade Wei Xiaoyan, you—”

Wei Xiaoyan let out a bark and sprang to his feet, sprinting over to rejoin the group, throwing himself into the madness. One by one, the others came over to pat him on the shoulder with sympathetic smiles.

“It’s alright. If you’re not feeling well, don’t push yourself. We understand.”

“…”

---

Days passed. Song Feng’s enthusiasm never waned. Still, the cold weather left him a little lazy, and every time training ended he would dart straight into the dorm, cup of hot tea in hand, happily curled up like a satisfied cat. Xiao Mingxuan watched him in surprise. The weather was much warmer than before the New Year. Was this man really that sensitive to cold? He leaned over and asked, and only then did he learn the real reason.

Song Feng sipped his tea slowly. “Might be from those two months in Russia. Froze me down to the bone. Now whenever it’s cold, I can’t help but hate it.”

Xiao Mingxuan stroked his head and didn’t say another word.

The Northern Hemisphere was moving into spring and summer. The sun was shining brighter by the day. Song Feng was still leading a pack of lunatics through training, and soon Team 1 had no choice but to increase their own training load. Song Feng constantly kept an eye out for a certain someone, and every time that person passed by, he would trot over with a big smile, looking like he was waiting to be praised. Xiao Mingxuan honestly felt that if he had a tail, it would be wagging nonstop.

Zheng Qiyong glanced at him with a strange look. In his memory, the last time this man had smiled at him like that was once, years ago. He paused. “Xiao Erzi.”

“Here!” Song Feng stood at attention, eyes sparkling.

Zheng Qiyong finally reached out and patted his head. There was even a trace of emotion in his voice. “Spring’s here.”

What he really meant, of course, was: mating season has begun.

Song Feng watched him walk away, turned to look at Xiao Mingxuan, and blinked innocently. “What did he mean by that?”

Xiao Mingxuan said with a straight face, “He meant you’re full of energy. Really.”

Half-believing, half-doubting, Song Feng let himself be coaxed back into training.

Xiao Mingxuan turned and walked off. A high-level inspection was scheduled for today. Those same officers who had reviewed his transfer proposal wanted to see how the team was performing. He waited in his office until he saw several jeeps pulling up outside. He immediately went down to greet them, gave a standard salute, and led them toward the training ground. Team 1 happened to be there as well. One of the officers pointed into the distance. “That’s Team 2 over there?”

Xiao Mingxuan nodded. “Yes.”

Team 2 had changed. Thanks to the influence of certain individuals, plus gambling, brothel jokes, and general moral erosion, they had slowly begun to shift. While they still followed all military regulations, the aura of rigid discipline had thinned considerably. Compared to Team 1, the difference was obvious.

During training, Song Feng and the others noticed the stars on the shoulders of the incoming visitors and were immediately stunned. Bai Xuyao let out a sudden “Eh?” and dashed over, saluted sharply, then threw himself at one of them.

“Chief! It’s really you!”

The lieutenant general looked at his old favorite and nearly dragged him back on the spot. He patted his shoulder and said with a trembling voice. “Good, good. You’ve grown up. How’s it been here? Are you getting used to things?”

“Used to it!” Bai Xuyao beamed. “Everyone takes really good care of m—ow!”

Before he could finish, someone kicked him to the ground. Song Feng stood behind him, towering above, lazily cracking his knuckles. “Comrade Xiao Bai, who gave you permission to fall behind?”

Everyone was stunned. They were all soldiers, but the ranks on their shoulders still meant something, and now they had just watched a second lieutenant boot a higher-ranked officer straight to the ground. What the hell was going on?

Catching their looks, Song Feng flashed a grin and gave a casual wave. Then, as if just remembering his manners, he snapped into a salute. “Sirs. Afternoon.”

The lieutenant general was so shocked he couldn’t speak. The one who had been kicked was curled on the ground, drawing imaginary circles with his finger. “I just got excited seeing someone I knew…”

Song Feng grabbed him by the collar and dragged him back. “What the hell are you getting excited about for no reason? You ever hear the saying ‘impulse is the devil’?”

Bai Xuyao protested, “Come on, that’s normal human emotion, alright? That sir is basically family to me. If it were you, wouldn’t you be happy to see your relatives? Actually, forget relatives. You get even happier when you see pretty women. Your eyes light up. You start drooling—ow! Bro, I was wrong, I take that back, you never drool.”

He covered his head, full of righteous outrage. “You hit me in front of my former leader! No shame at all! You bastard, I curse you to never get laid again! May you be bottom forever! May you eat instant noodles without the seasoning packet for the rest of your life—ow! I said I was wrong!”

The lieutenant general finally snapped out of it, his hands trembling. “What the hell happened to my soldier? Who turned him into this?”

Xiao Mingxuan stayed perfectly calm. “If even you can barely recognize him now, that means our training has been very effective.”

“…”

The lieutenant general sucked in a sharp breath. If not for the fact that he was longtime war buddies with this kid’s father, he might’ve lunged at him right then and there. He looked off into the distance, his heart bleeding. That decent, pure, driven young man of the past was gone forever.

After taking a moment to collect themselves, the visiting officers watched quietly for a while, then checked some of the team’s performance stats. In the end, they nodded and left. Xiao Mingxuan and Zheng Qiyong walked them to their vehicles. After watching them drive off, Zheng Qiyong said, “You might be receiving a mission soon.”

Xiao Mingxuan nodded. He was thinking the same thing. He turned and asked, “Any updates on the head of that organization?”

“Still nothing. He’s hiding deep.”

Xiao Mingxuan said nothing more and walked away.

A few days later, Xingtian received its first international assignment since being founded. The entire team was mobilized. They boarded a helicopter and flew out of the base, landing in a relatively remote area. Several SUVs were parked there. The man in charge, dressed in a clean-cut suit was leaning against a car door, waiting for them.

The team disembarked and exchanged brief greetings before hopping into the vehicles and driving off at speed. This man would be their client for the next stretch. Their mission was to escort him to Europe and protect him for the duration of the operation.

The convoy rolled into a gated villa complex. They stayed the night. The next day, they boarded two private helicopters bound for Europe. Bai Xuyao sat beside Song Feng, face lit up with excitement.

“We’re going to Europe. I’ve never even been out of the country. This is awesome. Don’t even have to pay for the flight.”

“If we come back alive, it’ll be even better,” Song Feng replied. He rubbed his chin and grinned. “European beauties are spicy. Their pole dancing’s way better than what we saw last time. If there’s time, I’ll take you to see some.”

Everyone else on the chopper, who had been dozing off or doing whatever, perked up the moment they heard that. They sat up straight in unison.

“Hell yeah! Let’s go together.”

“Depends where the boss is doing business. If we get the chance, we’ll sneak off for a bit.”

“Deal. You said it.”

Bai Xuyao nodded along, head tilted toward the front. He bumped Song Feng with his elbow. “Bro, you said you’d teach me how to fly a helicopter if we had the chance. You didn’t forget, right?”

“Didn’t forget,” Song Feng said. “If our boss ends up getting chased and needs to run, and the pilot just happens to be gone, I’ll let you sit next to me. That’s when I’ll teach you.”

“Okay!” Bai Xuyao nodded eagerly, then paused. “Do you think we’ll actually have to run for our lives? And what if someone shoots us down midair?”

“Then we’re screwed. You could ask the boss if the scenes he’s about to face are going to be that intense.”

So Bai Xuyao obediently turned. “Boss?”

The man had been quietly observing them the whole time. Headquarters said they were assigning special forces to protect him, but he couldn’t see it. These people didn’t look like special forces at all. Had he been duped? Were these guys even reliable?

Bai Xuyao waved a hand in front of his face. “Boss, hey, snap out of it.”

The man looked at him. “What?”

“Will it be intense? Like really intense?”

He raised a brow. “Define intense.”

“Like a bunch of people chasing us with guns, and we’re running to the helicopter, and just as we lift off someone lobs a grenade launcher at us.”

“…”

“Is that gonna happen? Hello? You with us?” Bai Xuyao gave him a wide-eyed stare. “Boss, do you deal with that kind of thing often?”

The man came back to himself. “What kind of thing?”

Bai Xuyao kept the same blank look. “That.”

“…”

Bai Xuyao patted him on the shoulder. “Alright. Got it.” He turned back to Song Feng and muttered, “Bro, I’m seriously concerned about this mission.”

“No worries. You’ve got me.”

That finally shut him up. Song Feng glanced out the window, then leaned against Xiao Mingxuan’s shoulder. The latter shifted a little to help him settle comfortably, gently rubbed his head, and fell into thought.

From what he had gathered so far, the organization had strong influence in South Asia. Whether they had any reach in Europe was unclear. He just hoped everything would go smoothly this time.

He lowered his gaze to the face pressed against his shoulder. Whatever came next, they would face it side by side.