EM Chapter 22. Special Forces

“What did you say?! What about my vacation? Did you eat it?!”

His boss replied, “He’s offering triple the rate. Song Feng, I promise you’ll get your break after this job. That’s final.”

Song Feng stared at the phone that had just been hung up. “Goddamn capitalism!”

His current assignment wasn’t even over yet, but the company had already signed him up for the next one. He would be facing Fu Shanming again and could only hope he would survive the job.

It was already nighttime. He narrowed his pretty eyes and went back into the house to change clothes. Technically, he was responsible for the estate’s security, but he figured slipping out for just an hour wouldn’t hurt.

He tiptoed out the door, hopped the wall, and headed straight for a bar. But before he could even get a few words in with the beauty beside him, his phone rang. He looked at the caller ID and choked.

“Boss…”

“Where are you?”

“…The bar.”

Shao Xiujie spoke calmly. “I see. That explains why no one reacted when a killer broke into the house.”

Song Feng panicked. “A k-killer?”

“Yeah. A bullet just flew over my head. I think—”

Song Feng hung up with a smack and bolted back to the estate. The place was untouched, except for the master bedroom, which had clearly taken the hit. He examined the cracked wall, following the angle of the bullet to trace its direction.

“How did they get in?”

“No idea.”

“Where is he?”

“No idea,” Shao Xiujie said, watching him. “What were you doing out so late?”

Song Feng fell silent for a moment, then threw himself forward in repentance.

“Boss, I was wrong. I’ll never leave my post without permission again.”

Shao Xiujie patted his head and sighed.

“Forget it. It’s a good thing Shuang wasn’t home tonight, or she might’ve been caught in it. You really need to stop playing around so much.”

Song Feng nodded. After a pause, he asked,
“Did the security cameras catch the killer?”

“They’re checking now,” Shao Xiujie replied, glancing at his bedroom. “I won’t be able to sleep in there anymore.”

Feeling guilty, Song Feng raised a paw.
“Then… want to share a room with me?”

“Sure.”

The killer was never identified in the end. After that, Song Feng began taking his job more seriously. Occasionally, he and the boss would take a walk around the plaza, go fishing, or enjoy a good meal. Life was smooth and easy. In the blink of an eye, the two-month contract ended. He packed up his things with a lump in his throat and left the estate on wobbly legs to report back to Fu Shanming.

The moment he stepped inside, his eyes lit up. He hadn’t noticed it before, but after staying at the Shao residence, the maids here suddenly seemed really attractive. Fu Shanming saw him chatting with one and strolled over with a smile.

“Don’t waste your time, baby.”

Song Feng turned around. “What do you mean?”

“I’m gay.”

Song Feng slid two meters away. “I know.”

“I sometimes participate in LGBTQ charity events. Don’t look at me like that, I’m telling the truth.” Fu Shanming seemed to be in a very good mood. “Which is why, baby, every maid I hire is a lesbian.”

“……”

Song Feng once again came under Fu Shanming’s tyrannical rule. Dealing with a pervert required extra focus. That, he could manage. But there was something else that troubled him.

“I want to take time off to go home for the New Year.”

Fu Shanming reminded him, “The New Year already passed.”

“That’s your New Year. I celebrate Spring Festival.”

Fu Shanming looked up.”Is there a difference?”

“Of course there is. Either way, I’m going.”

“Then what about me?”

“Not my problem.”

Fu Shanming gave him a look full of ill intent. “Baby, I’m your boss now.”

Song Feng crouched in the corner, sniffling and mumbling complaints to himself. He kept muttering until he got to the words, “I’m going to quit the mercenary world for good.” Only then did Fu Shanming reluctantly agree to let him go, though he allowed just one day off.

So Song Feng rushed home overnight and celebrated Lunar New Year’s Eve with his family. But at five in the morning, a phone call jolted him awake. On the other end, Fu Shanming ordered, “Get back here. I have a deal to close today.”

Song Feng nearly clawed the walls apart. After hanging up, he called the U.S. headquarters. “I’m quitting. I’m done!”

His boss put down the contract he had been about to sign and looked regretfully at the figure listed on the page.

“Calm down, Song. I really won’t overload you anymore. You’ll get your time off, I promise.”

He talked him down gently, then hung up and turned to Shao Xiujie. “Sorry. He’s taking time off. But you could always invite him over as a guest. That way he would still protect you.”

Shao Xiujie had no choice but to take his leave.

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, the capital was filled with celebration. As usual, Xiao Mingxuan came by to offer New Year’s greetings.

Commander Song looked him over. The young man seemed to have transformed completely, like he had shed his old skin and emerged as someone new. He brought him into the study.

“I reviewed your proposal. What you’re describing sounds more like a mercenary unit.”

Xiao Mingxuan spoke slowly.
“There was a mission I participated in where we had to pose as mercenaries. Back then, it was just the special forces in disguise. While special forces training includes cover tactics, and our behavior is hard to distinguish from the real thing, and we learn the local language and customs ahead of time, the truth is, the lifestyle and mindset of a mercenary go far beyond anything that can be simulated. Over time, cracks start to show.”

“Special forces usually stay in the base. Most of our operations don’t require that kind of disguise. But I don’t believe we should wait for problems to arise before we start preparing for them. We should be ready in advance. My unit handles high-risk missions, and we were already planning to form a second team. So I thought this could be an element worth building into the program. They would still be special forces, but they could operate as mercenaries on the outside.”

“Some people might worry that soldiers would be tempted by that lifestyle and lose their way. But if you look at it from another angle, it can serve as a kind of test.”

His voice was steady, his thoughts distant. These were ideas he had once discussed with Song Feng, back in Thailand, carrying him on his back. He remembered every word.

“Special forces carry out missions of political importance. They must have absolute loyalty to their country and their people. Their conviction must be unshakable. But that conviction cannot come from brainwashing inside the unit. It must be a true strength of will. It means that no matter how much injustice they witness, no matter how many flaws they see in their homeland, they still love this country. They still love its people. And that love should never waver. Not even a fraction.”

He paused for a moment and added quietly,
“I borrowed that last part from someone else.”

Commander Song smiled. “Ah Feng?”

“Yes. He said his teacher told him that,” Xiao Mingxuan nodded. Then after a brief silence, he asked casually, “Where’s Song Feng? I haven’t seen him.”

“He had work. Left early this morning,” Commander Song replied. “Your proposal is solid. Young people should be ambitious.”

Xiao Mingxuan thought to himself that if the commander had said this much, the approval should go through right after the holidays. He let out a slow breath, exchanged a few polite words, and stood to take his leave.

Meanwhile, Song Feng had returned to Malaysia. He changed into a short-sleeved T-shirt and soaked up the sun while continuing to suffer in silence. He counted the days on his fingers, dryly ticking them off one by one as he inched toward the end of his contract.

Fu Shanming sat on the bed, watching him pack.

“Leaving already? I thought we got along pretty well.”

Song Feng twitched at the corner of his mouth. “Why?”

Fu Shanming thought for a moment.
“Maybe because I don’t have any family or friends. Everyone who gets along with me is tied to me by interests. In real life, we have nothing in common. They’re all afraid of me. Only you have the least amount of interest involved. It’s purely personal hatred. And you’re not scared of me. You’ve even managed to put up with me for this long.”

It was rare for this psychopath to say something normal. Song Feng paused.
“Believe me, that’s only because of everyone who has ever had personal hatred with you, I’m the only one besides Xiao Cheng who’s still alive. If you had killed me earlier, you wouldn’t be feeling any of this now.”

Fu Shanming narrowed his eyes at him.
“That actually makes sense.”

“……”

Just as Fu Shanming looked ready to snap and kill him again, Song Feng ran back to Beijing in a panic. The weather had started to warm. He stood in the airport and took a deep breath, ready to finally enjoy a vacation.

Just then, his phone rang loudly. He glanced at the screen, then answered with a choked voice. “Boss… is there another mission?”

“Not exactly,” Wang Yizhong said.
“The money for that dose of the drug finally came through.”

Song Feng’s eyes lit up. “I’ll be right there.”

He rushed happily over to Guoan, but the moment he stepped in, he froze.

“Xiaoyan?”

Wei Xiaoyan was sitting inside the office and greeted him cheerfully. “Boss!”

“What are you doing here?”

“I don’t know. They said something came up.”

The two of them turned to look at the man sitting at the desk. Wang Yizhong had someone bring them tea, then walked to the door and locked it with a smile. He came back and sat down.

“So here’s the situation…”

Song Feng and Wei Xiaoyan stared at him, stunned. “Special forces?”

Wang Yizhong nodded.

“…Special forces?”

“…Don’t pretend you didn’t hear me,” Wang Yizhong said. “I’m not buying it.”

Song Feng burst into tears.

“A million stupid rules, no freedom, no women, nothing… I refuse.”

Wei Xiaoyan nodded along behind him.

“I’m not asking for your opinion. I’m informing you.”

Song Feng lunged at him. “Boss, please. Just reconsider, one more time!”

Wang Yizhong dodged out of the way in a panic. “Just follow orders. Once you’re on base, try not to embarrass Guoan. And try not to embarrass mercenaries either, alright?”

Song Feng fell silent.
Wei Xiaoyan also shut up.

Wang Yizhong knew exactly how these two operated. To stop them from running back to the company and signing up for some far-flung mission in the polar regions, deserts, or tropical rainforests, he took them directly to the military district that very same day. At dawn the next morning, they were shoved onto a helicopter, which roared into the air and flew straight into the remote mountains. The door opened, a boot kicked them out, and the soldier turned and left without another word.

The other soldiers had already assembled. When they saw the two people who had just been dropped off, both wearing casual clothes, one with slightly overgrown hair and the other with dyed streaks, their expressions shifted quickly. They had no idea what kind of people these two were supposed to be.

“Hey, what the fuck is this!” Song Feng shouted in fury

Wei Xiaoyan climbed up from the ground.
“Boss, keep it down. If you hadn’t jumped the wall last night, we wouldn’t have missed the first flight. They had to send another one just for us. If they’re mad, it’s kind of understandable—”

Song Feng shot him a look, and he instantly fell silent.

“I just wanted to get laid. Fuck. I hadn’t even gotten my shirt all the way off before they dragged me back.” Song Feng got angrier the more he thought about it. “This is fucking inhumane!”

Wei Xiaoyan howled along with him. “Inhumane!”

“I was this close, you bastards!”

“Bastards!”

“If this ruins my dick, what the hell am I supposed to do?”

“…Erectile dysfunction!”

Song Feng turned to him. “Yeah… that one you didn’t have to repeat. Thanks.”

“Oh.”

Song Feng glanced to his side. Men. Then he scanned the surroundings. More men. His throat tightened. He had never believed in karma before, but now it felt like payback for how much he had fooled around. He took a deep breath. Whatever. He wasn’t picky. Worst case, he could go for a guy.

Wei Xiaoyan caught his gaze and immediately clutched his ass with both hands. “Don’t even think about it! You can dream!”

The soldiers all stared in silence.

Song Feng opened his mouth to speak, but a presence behind him made him freeze. He turned around sharply.

The man standing there wore neatly pressed military fatigues and polished boots. His face was familiar, but the sharpness in his features had changed. His gaze was steady, cold, and intimidating. There was something hard and dangerous about him that made it impossible to ignore.

“Song Feng,” he said. “Long time no see.”