Two Weeks of Leave

No sooner had Chen Ge's words landed than two Mustang-M trucks rolled up, fitted with welded "barbecue grills"—overhead slat armor cages. Trench called for everyone to board and head back to Donetsk to regroup and rest. "We're off. See ya!" Chen Ge waved goodbye, scooped up Lightbulb and Manhole Cover's packs along the way, turned toward the rear of the truck, tossed the backpacks into the bed, and helped the two men climb aboard. Both were aching all over, as if their bones had shaken loose. Their internal injuries were not critical. Both were built sturdy and would recover with some rest. A few minutes later, everyone had boarded. The two trucks started up and pulled away under the watchful gaze of more than a thousand Wagner veterans and K-soldiers. Inside the truck bed, the atmosphere was suffocatingly heavy. Caked in grime and nursing their wounds, the mercenaries watched Klishchiivka Heights shrink and blur into the distance, torn between the relief of surviving catastrophe and the sorrow of having lost their brothers. Chen Ge continued acting as a human radar, feigning a vigilant scan of the skies against Ukrainian drone attacks. Seeing Chen Ge so alert, the mercenaries—utterly drained after an entire night of high-intensity combat—gradually relaxed, leaning against one another with closed eyes to recharge. Seated beside Chen Ge, Drill Bit whispered, "Sledgehammer, we've got two weeks of leave! Want to go out tonight and blow off some steam together?" *Only two weeks? That stingy?* Chen Ge grumbled inwardly, feeling the break was far too short; it ought to be at least three weeks. Leave was not an ordinary benefit; it was a recovery period after brutal fighting. The Falcon Hunting Team had suffered over forty percent casualties—a pyrrhic victory. They needed time to recuperate and replenish, see to the affairs of their fallen brothers, mend their psychological trauma, and integrate new recruits. No, wait—the Falcon Hunting Team didn't take raw recruits. Replacements were picked from elite veterans, prioritizing men discharged from Russian special forces or elite units, followed by specialists with exceptional skills. Big Bear, for instance, had earned his spot on the team through his sheer physical prowess. How new members were picked had nothing to do with the Fire Support Team anyway, since they hadn't suffered a single casualty. Chen Ge yawned and shook his head. "Not going. I just want to sleep. I'm dead tired." Donetsk was currently deep in the rear of the Russian-controlled zone, serving as one of the main rest-and-recuperation hubs for Wagner mercenaries. The city was packed with restaurants, bars, nightclubs, and pool halls, all opened specifically to take the mercenaries' money. In the city center, the Donetsk Central Market housed a black market—often called the underground shops—selling combat boots, camouflage fatigues, and ballistic plates. Chen Ge planned to get a solid night of sleep, then drag Big Bear and the guys along to browse the black market for some winter gear and ballistic armor plates. When Drill Bit said "blow off steam," he meant finding women. Chen Ge had zero interest in that; he didn't want to catch anything. "You're really not going? My treat! I know a great spot—word is, they're all decent women out to earn some extra cash... heheh." Drill Bit refused to give up, continuing to tempt Chen Ge with a sleazy chuckle. Chen Ge shoved Drill Bit's hand off his shoulder in disgust, snapping irritably, "Piss off. A brother-in-law taking his sister's future husband to solicit whores? Do you have no conscience at all?" "Uh... you really want to be my brother-in-law?" Drill Bit's expression turned dead serious. "I'm down. Once we get our phones back, I'll send you Zoya's VK." Chen Ge raised an eyebrow, flashing a wolfish grin. "Is Zoya pretty? What's her height and weight?" Drill Bit tapped his temple. "Five centimeters shorter than me. Weight, no clue—I haven't seen Zoya in eight months." *Around one-seventy-five?* Chen Ge's interest was piqued. He had always liked tall, hot women. "I heard you say before that Zoya studies at Mendeleev University of Chemical Technology. How are her grades? What's her major?" At the mention of his sister's academic performance, Drill Bit beamed with pride. "Top of the Chemical Engineering Department! Last month, she was admitted into the Candidate of Sciences program. Once she graduates, she can go straight to work at Ural Chemical Company!" Chen Ge gave him a thumbs-up. This Zoya really had serious chops. "Zoya sounds incredible. Were you adopted? Otherwise, how on earth is the gap between your IQs so massive?" The moment that cutting remark landed, Drill Bit's grin froze, only to migrate onto everyone else's faces. The others laughed at Drill Bit mercilessly—all except Lightbulb, who didn't dare join in, since he also had an academically gifted sister. *** Four in the afternoon, Donetsk. Chen Ge and the others entered the city and booked rooms at a three-star hotel on the south side of the central square, paying out of pocket. The company's designated rest facility was out in the suburbs. Trench and Hailstone had dipped into their own pockets to treat the guys to the hotel. Fifth floor, Room 511. Chen Ge woke from a nap, took a shower in the bathroom, and walked over to the bed bare-chested, toweling his hair dry with a clean, soft towel. His hair had always been cut into a short, textured crop by Manhole Cover. That guy had the makings of a salon stylist, running a side hustle as the squad's barber at five dollars a cut. *Ding-dong.* The VK notification chime rang out from the bed. Chen Ge picked up his phone to check; it was a message from Natasha. Natasha: *Hammer Brother, I want to come to Donetsk. Can I?* Chen Ge: *Does your brother agree?* Natasha: *He just yelled at me. He thinks I'm crazy and out of my mind!* Chen Ge: *Well, that's the truth.* Natasha: *I just wanted to see him, and he still yelled at me! Hammer Brother, can I see you?* Chen Ge smiled and placed a video call. He wanted to see just how gorgeous this little sister was that Lightbulb bragged about every day. The video connected, and an extraordinarily striking face appeared on screen. It wasn't a delicate, dainty beauty, but an icy allure carved straight from bone. Natasha was standing on a balcony. Sunlight streamed in from behind her, gilding her light-blonde hair until it turned almost translucently pale. Her features looked like a Renaissance oil painting: a smooth, full forehead, high and sharp brow ridges, slightly recessed eye sockets, and grayish-blue eyes like a lake skimmed with thin ice—cold and crystalline. The bridge of her nose was straight, running without a hint of hesitation from between her brows down to the tip. Her lips were sharply defined, with a thin upper lip and a plump lower lip, carrying a natural rose hue even without lipstick. Yet her gaze was gentle and thoroughly obedient, her demeanor the polar opposite of her austere appearance. Chen Ge stared at Natasha for quite a while before praising her sincerely, "Natasha, you're truly gorgeous!" Natasha was also studying Chen Ge closely, her large eyes filled with awe. "Ты тоже очень красивый. Ты самый красивый мужчина, которого я когда-либо видела." *You're very handsome too. You're the most handsome man I've ever seen.* "Haha, really? I think I look pretty ordinary, but I've got a great build. Look, if you don't believe me." Chen Ge walked over to the full-length mirror in the corner, switched to the rear camera, and showed Natasha his sculpted torso. At 185 centimeters with immaculate proportions, his abs, pecs, and traps looked cast from steel. Combined with his sharp, aggressive facial structure, he radiated pure magnetism. What girl wouldn't be flustered? Natasha was left utterly dazed, her eyes widening involuntarily as she stared without blinking. She had seen plenty of muscular men online, but a man with such an imposing physique in the flesh was a first. "Uh, Hammer Brother, you really do have an amazing build! Do you have a girlfriend?" Chen Ge flipped the camera back, sat down on the bed, pulled a cigarette from his pack, and lit it. "Nope. Do you have a boyfriend?" "I've never even dated anyone! Really, I'm not lying to you." Chen Ge naturally knew Natasha had never dated. Lightbulb kept her on far too tight a leash, and she was far too obedient, following whatever her older brother said to the letter. On top of that, she was sensible and frugal, saving money wherever possible and reluctant to spend an extra ruble. The fact that her face was completely bare of makeup and free of any jewelry made it obvious how modest she was. "Your brother was always worried that if he died, no one would look after you, so he entrusted you to me. But he's got nine lives—I saved him again last night!" At those words, Natasha's eyes rimmed with red. Her lower lip trembled, and tears began falling in steady drops. Chen Ge comforted her softly, "Don't cry. Isn't he alive and kicking? That bastard just doesn't know what's good for him. When he woke up, he even blamed me for being too rough and nearly crushing him to death. "I swear, we were in a building, he got knocked cold by an explosion's shockwave, and the enemy brought the whole structure down. If I hadn't hurled him out, we both would've been buried alive. And yet the ungrateful jerk actually complained! Don't you think he went too far?" Natasha's heart pounded in terror as she pictured Chen Ge saving her brother. Mortified on his behalf, she said, "Too far! He went way too far! Hammer Brother, I'm hanging up first—I'm going to make him apologize to you!"