EM 61. Personal Agenda

The weather gradually warmed as summer approached. After the last mission, Xingtian took on several more, each varying in length. They had encountered danger multiple times, but managed to survive every time. The bonds between teammates were strengthening rapidly, and they were gaining plenty of real combat experience, becoming tougher with each battle.

Life in the military camp went on as usual. With the new selection phase approaching, all of last year’s qualified candidates had been assigned to Team 2. Team 1, having missed out on a batch, flatly refused to let anyone go this time. But Xingtian was also short on manpower. After thinking it over for a long time, Xiao Mingxuan realized this situation couldn’t go on. Xingtian needed its own unique selection mechanism, not just the same old methods. He opened his computer, pulled up the application form he had written a long time ago, reviewed it carefully, made a few edits, and prepared to submit it.

Song Feng had just come out of the shower. “What, finally decided to move?”

Xiao Mingxuan nodded. “It’s time. We haven’t started selecting people yet, but Team 1 definitely won’t yield this round. We need to bring in more personnel too. Rather than fighting them over candidates, we might as well select our own. There are plenty of units across the country. We’re not lacking in choices. Physical fitness and the like can be trained later. We don’t have to pick elite troops from the start. I think we should even include people from the Navy and Air Force. Bring a few in, just in case. Who knows what kind of situations we’ll run into down the road?”

“Mm, I agree. Honestly, I think they’re all more or less the same, not very interesting,” Song Feng said as he leaned forward over Xiao Mingxuan’s back and wrapped his arms around his neck with a grin. “What we really need is combat experience. Why don’t we look at the border defense units? Hmm?”

Xiao Mingxuan paused, then pulled him around to sit on his lap and held him in his arms. He took a deep breath of the soap-scented skin and said. “Good idea. Not bad at all.”

“Obviously~”

Xiao Mingxuan smiled and kissed him on the lips, their tongues tangling and stirring together. It wasn’t until heat began rising in his body that he reluctantly pulled away.
“For drug traffickers, border defense troops tend to have familiar faces. That won’t be a problem later on, will it?”

“Probably not. Mercenaries don’t care about backgrounds,” Song Feng reasoned. “If someone really does make it through our assessment, we can just have their original unit announce that they’ve retired. Of course, we’d have to be upfront with the person and make sure they’re willing to stay.”

“Absolutely.” Xiao Mingxuan let go of him and turned back to the computer.

Song Feng bent down to grab a beer from the cabinet, cracked it open, and took a sip. “Where are you planning to move?”

“Beijing. Preferably the suburbs. If that doesn’t work out, I’ll look somewhere else,” Xiao Mingxuan said while typing. “After we move, I won’t restrict you. If you don’t have any missions, you can go wherever you want. Just like when you were with PMC in the U.S.”

Song Feng set the bottle down, placed both hands on either side of the chair, and stared at him suspiciously. “Xiao Mingxuan, be honest. Are you really relocating the team just for Xingtian’s sake, or is there something else going on?”

Xiao Mingxuan stayed perfectly calm. “You’re not stupid. Don’t ask what you already know.”

Song Feng looked at him in disbelief. “You’re using public business for private gain.”

Xiao Mingxuan pulled him into his arms again. “Not entirely. If we’re talking strictly logistics, Xingtian was always going to move eventually. Keeping everyone cramped here isn’t sustainable. I’m just accelerating the process.”

Song Feng raised an eyebrow. “And the rest of the reason?”

Xiao Mingxuan smiled and leaned in to kiss his neck. “If we’re talking purely selfish motives… I know you were a little resentful when I had you transferred here. But I didn’t have a choice. I can’t stand the idea of you living somewhere I can’t see you. I couldn’t take it if you were too far away. You like being a mercenary, so I let you be one. You hate the boring grind of military life, so I let you come and go as you please. Song Feng, I’m not some noble saint. Of course I have selfish motives. All I can do is make sure I never cross any lines, and do my best to keep you happy and fulfilled.”

Song Feng was quiet for a moment. “When did this idea first start?”

Xiao Mingxuan told the truth. “The moment I decided to join Special Forces. I didn’t fully understand my feelings for you at the time… but don’t ever doubt my work ethic. If I didn’t love this job, I wouldn’t have forced myself to come here in the first place.”

Song Feng stared at him without blinking. This man had power and strategy, and everything he was doing was for him. Yet somehow, there wasn’t a single fault to be found. He couldn’t help shaking his head. “You’re really…”

Xiao Mingxuan kissed him again, and whispered against his lips, “Really what?”

Song Feng didn’t answer. He kissed him back, more and more intensely. When things started getting out of hand, he pulled away, slightly out of breath. He grabbed the beer from the table and took a swig to cool down. “What would you have done if you hadn’t passed the selection?”

“If that happened, I would’ve retired, gone to the U.S., and become a mercenary with you.”

“That sounds pretty good. I’d have trained you hard. Shame though…”

“But I passed the selection and managed to transfer you to my side,” Xiao Mingxuan said, sliding his hand under Song Feng’s tank top and slowly running it along his back and waist. “And I founded Xingtian. With you helping me, I think it’ll only get better.”

His hand was warm. Song Feng let out a quiet sound of pleasure and squinted slightly. “So what is this? A shared business?”

“Not just that.” Xiao Mingxuan shoved his tank top up. “A shared life too.”

Song Feng smiled. He took a swig of beer, grabbed Xiao Mingxuan’s chin, and passed it over through a kiss. Beer spilled from the corner of his mouth. He glanced down, then lowered his head and slowly licked it clean. “You’re greedy.”

Xiao Mingxuan’s desire surged to the top of his head. He picked Song Feng up, carried him to the bed, tossed him down, climbed on top, and stripped them both quickly. He didn’t waste time. He got him fired up fast. When he finally thrust in completely, he asked in a hoarse voice, “You don’t like it?”

Song Feng let out a low moan. After a few breaths, he realized what the question was about. He smiled, wrapped his arms around Xiao Mingxuan’s neck, and said, “I like it.”

With this man, both work and life were moving in the right direction. It felt solid. Of course he liked it.

“Good.” Xiao Mingxuan kissed the corner of his mouth, then drove his hips forward hard. Their bodies locked into rhythm, breath tangled with movement. Song Feng wrapped his legs around his waist, matching each thrust with a gasp. Xiao Mingxuan stared down at him, overcome with satisfaction. He held him tighter, let himself sink into the moment, and after a long bout of intensity, finally came. “Song Feng…” He kissed his sweat-soaked forehead, murmuring against it, “Song Feng… Song Feng…”

He had wanted to say something more intimate, maybe call him baby, but just as the word reached his lips, some lunatic’s voice flashed through his mind and shut it down. After a moment, he asked, “Should we change how we address each other?”

Song Feng’s breathing gradually evened out. His eyes were lazy and half-lidded. “You want something couples-only?”

Xiao Mingxuan blinked, then kissed him. “Not a bad idea.”

Song Feng made a quiet sound and nuzzled against his chest. “Up to you. I’m fine with anything. Good night.”

“…”

---

Xiao Mingxuan really did take it seriously. The next day, after submitting the application, he spent the whole day wracking his brain. He even went as far as flipping through dictionaries and poetry collections, occasionally skimming a few pages of classic novels. Immersed in this ocean of knowledge all day, by the time Song Feng came out of the shower that night, he saw Xiao Mingxuan staring at him. Song Feng paused, stood still, and waited.

The two of them looked at each other for a while. Finally, Xiao Mingxuan said quietly, “Song Feng.”

Song Feng burst out laughing and threw the towel he was using to dry his hair.

Xiao Mingxuan caught it without missing a beat and laughed too. The two of them clearly weren’t suited for anything mushy.

There was still laughter in Song Feng’s eyes, and he was about to throw out a teasing remark when someone knocked on the door. He went to open it and found Bai Xuyao, Wei Xiaoyan, and Duan Qing standing outside, each holding a stack of files. He stepped aside and let them in.

“Boss, here’s the data you wanted,” Bai Xuyao said, putting the files on the table. “There’s more. We haven’t brought it all up yet.”

Xiao Mingxuan nodded. “Leave the rest for tomorrow. Get a good night’s sleep. We’ll start picking people in the morning.”

Bai Xuyao’s eyes sparkled. “Can I be an instructor?”

“You can,” Xiao Mingxuan said.

“Awesome!” Bai Xuyao ran over to Song Feng. “Bro, I want to take on apprentices too.”

Song Feng pinched his cheek. “You better think it through. Once you do, you’ll be responsible for their safety. Got that?”

Bai Xuyao blinked. “Why?”

Song Feng shot back, “Then why do you want apprentice?”

“To whip, abuse, knead… maybe have them massage my legs, fan me…”
“Ow—!”

Song Feng grabbed him by the collar and kicked him out. “Keep dreaming.” He shoved the other two out as well and shut the door. When he turned around, he saw Xiao Mingxuan staring at him and raised an eyebrow. “What?”

“I figured it out,” Xiao Mingxuan said, looking pleased. “How about I call you dumbass?”

“No way,” Song Feng said immediately, completely serious. “That’ll make me stupid.”

“…”

---

The next day, Xingtian’s members began digging through mountains of personnel files to find suitable candidates. It took four full days to narrow down the list. After the candidate list was finalized and submitted, Xiao Mingxuan’s earlier application was moving through review, with approval almost guaranteed. Finding a location and building the new base would take time, so the selection training was still held at the original camp. Team 1 had picked quite a few people as well, and one barracks wasn’t enough to hold everyone. Headquarters ordered them to put up another temporary structure.

The first round of screening was all physical fitness, so both teams trained together. Bai Xuyao sat in a vehicle like a king, watching the recruits run, and scolded them with a look of disappointment. “Come on, you bunch of rookies! Is one weighted cross-country run enough to kill you? When I ran this course for the first time, my speed was top-notch, okay? Actually, I’m even faster now~”

Team 1’s instructor was the same one from the last cycle. Hearing that, the instructor turned to look at him in silence. The meaning in his eyes was obvious: You were running from a rat back then, and you still have the nerve to brag? Not embarrassed at all, are you?

Bai Xuyao: “…”

With the arrival of the new recruits, the base quickly became more lively. Song Feng returned to his old job as an instructor, wearing the outfit he felt most comfortable in, hanging on Bai Xuyao’s shoulders all day as they swaggered around camp. He didn’t look like a soldier at all. He looked more like someone from the underworld. The new recruits whispered constantly, each one convinced they’d been sent somewhere dangerous as hell.

Training days flew by. Xiao Mingxuan’s application was approved, and they found a spot on the outskirts of Beijing. It was an abandoned factory with a large footprint. They brought in people to renovate it and moved in the equipment. The base was basically up and running. By then, Team 2’s elimination process had reached the third round, and Xiao Mingxuan ordered the entire unit to relocate.

Xingtian quickly adapted to the new environment. While training continued, they also took on two more missions. During that period, agents from Guoan came to give lectures, focusing on intelligence work. Before they realized it, two more months had passed.

One day, while flipping through a stack of files, Xiao Mingxuan frowned. Song Feng glanced over. “What is it?”

“You’ve read the papers the past couple days, right? Someone started a new organization. They bombed government buildings in several Central Asian countries. They’re calling themselves NW.”

“New World, right? That one?”

“Yeah, that’s the idea. They absorbed a few terrorist groups, and the way they’re moving, they’re headed straight for China’s border.”

Song Feng replied lazily, “Someone else will handle it. What’s it got to do with us?”

“That’s the weird part. The leader of the group seems to be connected to a celebrity in the country. The higher-ups want me to keep an eye on it.”

Song Feng looked surprised. “Why you?”

Xiao Mingxuan shook his head. After a moment, he said, “Out of all the missions I’ve taken, the only unusual one was that psychotic doctor who had your brother locked up. I still feel like it might be connected to him somehow. Otherwise, there’s no reason they’d put me on it. As for the border situation, I talked it over with Team 1. They want to take that organization out directly, but they don’t have enough manpower. They asked me to send a few people over.”

“I’ll go,” Song Feng said.

Xiao Mingxuan looked at him but didn’t respond right away. The group that had once targeted him had gone quiet three months ago, after being hunted by Guoan and several other forces. Maybe they had given up, or maybe they were planning something worse. No one knew if the threat was really gone.

Song Feng raised an eyebrow. “What is it?”

Xiao Mingxuan snapped out of it. “Nothing. Go ahead. Just be careful.” He figured if it was just the border, it shouldn’t be a problem.

Song Feng took a few people and quickly joined up with Team 1. They headed toward the border, this time with the local border troops joining in. The combined force packed serious firepower. After clearing out the small-time stragglers in the area, they began pushing outward, hunting for the main force of the organization. Song Feng slung his rifle over his shoulder and was preparing to head off-road when a group of prisoners escorted by the border troops was brought over. He gave them a glance, then paused for a step before striding forward and yanking a chain from one man’s neck.

It was a metal tag. Engraved on it was a blood-red skull.

Song Feng narrowed his eyes. He recognized that symbol. He looked up and asked, “Where did you get this?”

The man was injured, his face white as a sheet. “Someone gave them out…” he stammered. “All of us… we all… we all have one…”

Song Feng’s pupils contracted. He grabbed the man’s shirt and hauled him up. “Who gave it to you?”