Lu Beixiao had just returned to his dormitory, and the first thing that he searched for was the pager hidden under his pillow. He turned it on, only to be disappointed. There was not even a single message.
It had been five days since they last met, and yet she had never called him once. She had probably long forgotten about him. "What a girl," he thought.
"Wow! Lu, you have a beeper?" Da Sha caught the sight of the pager and immediately bounced off from his bed in hysteria. He found it beyond belief that a boy from the countryside would spend a fortune on a pager.
Growing up in a rural village, Da Sha did not have much of a chance to attend a proper school. His innocent and unpretentious quality gave rise to his nickname - Da Sha, which means silliness. As opposed to his down-to-earth nature, he was actually a bomb expert.
His demolition expertise caught the attention of the captain, who then took the unprecedented step to promote him from the basic squad to the Special Forces.
Gratefully, he made it through the tough selection process and became a proud member of the Special Forces.
"Why? Why can't I afford a beeper? Are you looking down on me?" Lu Beixiao played along and acted as if he was hurt.
The story about his rural upbringing was a joke, made only to fool Da Sha. Lu Beixiao's true family background was not known to many, except his superiors and his best friend, Ye Cheng. Quietly, Ye Cheng sat aside and watched as Lu Beixiao put up a show.
Panicked, Da Sha did not expect Lu Beixiao to be hurt by such a simple question. "I'm not! I was just curious. How did you get one? I've always wanted a beeper too!"
While Da Sha blabbered on, Lu Beixiao took the time to get undressed. His well-toned muscles came into plain sight as soon as he took off his black jersey top.
"I had to sell my body in order to afford one," he answered with a joke.
"What? Your kidney?" Da Sha had obviously misinterpreted.
"Yes, I sold my kidney."
Ye Cheng could not keep quiet anymore. Swiftly, he grabbed one of his shoes and flung it across the room with an aim to hit the man. However, Lu Beixiao was swift enough to avoid it.
"Lu Beixiao, you're killing me with your sick jokes!" Ye Cheng could not help but feel amused at his twisted sense of humor.
"That's right! Da Sha, kill him with more jokes, then take his money and get yourself a beeper!" Lu Beixiao continued.
An abrupt sound of a siren startled the boys.
"Damn!"
Lu Beixiao was in the middle of loosening his belt when the siren came blasting.
It was not the time to fool around. The siren claimed their serious attention and prompted them to change into their military uniform right away.
"What does Lao Cai want this time? I was just about to take a shower! Damn!" Faintly aloof, Lu Beixiao glared reluctantly at all the gears that he had just taken off.
The siren had better for something important this time. It had been triggered over and over again these days for small scale tactical exercises. Absolutely dissatisfied, Lu Beixiao thought that the exercises were too unimportant to be worth his time.
While Ye Cheng and Da Sha were still struggling to gear up, Lu Beixiao was already walking out of the dormitory with his facade of grandeur. They looked at him with hidden resentment. How did that guy manage to gear up in less than 30 seconds?
Exactly two minutes later, the entire squad of Blood Wolf was carried off by a helicopter.
…
In the streets of the downtown avenue, a team of three vehicles honked their ear-piercing horns to warn other road users of their speedy arrival. In response to the signal, every other car on the road had to give way to the mysterious black vehicle that did not even have a number plate.
The group of vehicles drove so dangerously that even the pedestrians had to avoid them. Once the black vehicle came to a stop, members of the Special Forces emerged from within.
They were fully covered in black gear and masks, thus retaining an aura of dominance and mystery. Many could not help but feel attracted to the group of mysterious men who then disappeared almost in an instant.
"The Special Forces are here! The people in the building are safe!" One of the onlookers exclaimed.
"Damn! The Special Forces look absolutely daunting!" Even one of the gangsters was impressed.