Rebirth: General, Don't Mess Around!

As he spoke, the Special Police Captain couldn’t continue again, resting one hand on his forehead and reaching into his pocket with the other. He pulled out a pack of soft cigarettes that cost no more than five yuan domestically. His hand trembled slightly as he took out a cigarette and reached for his lighter; the lighter dropped to the ground with a ”clatter.”

Xia Jinyuan, silent, bent down to pick up the lighter. With a slip of his thumb, a flame shot out of the lighter. The captain, with shaking hands, took out a cigarette and lit it with the flame Xia Jinyuan had sparked.

He took several harsh drags, smoking two-thirds of it in one go.

Many of the special police in the north are heavy smokers. The captain of the sixth secret service squadron, who had fought alongside them before, also smoked—a cigarette sometimes truly soothes the pressure.

The captain nearly finished half the cigarette, his gaze vacant as he looked into the distance, ”From the time my child was born to ten months old, my brother only saw him once, just once...”

”My child doesn’t recognize his own father, doesn’t even know what he does or what he looks like. In my child’s world, there is no father. What my brother most often said was that he felt most guilty towards his own wife and son.”

The cigarette was now finished. The captain’s emotions visibly eased a bit, and Xia Jinyuan finally spoke softly, ”The family and the nation, both difficult to protect. It has always been a tough challenge. We all are prepared to make sacrifices, but it’s agonizing when a comrade actually does.”

”But, some tasks must be accomplished by someone. In the process of accomplishing them, someone may fall and never manage to rise again to complete them. Those of us who survive can’t linger; we must continue to complete what hasn’t been finished, even if one day we too perish...”

”I have faced sacrifice, seen my comrades die in my arms, and those days were nothing but endurance. I had to endure, I had to hold on, I had to live properly for my deceased brothers, continue to fulfill our unfinished cause, carry on their responsibilities and feel as though my departed brothers never left, always by my side.”

”Lao Zhao, you now must endure and get through this. If a brother has fallen, you must finish the path he couldn’t. Let his sacrifice not be in vain, let it not be meaningless.”

”He’s gone, but he lives on in each of our hearts. As long as you remember him and continue with the cause he left unfinished, you can get through this.”

Xia Jinyuan’s words resonated deeply with the captain, reaching into his very soul, prompting him to repeatedly wipe the corners of his eyes, drying tears that had yet to fall.

”You’re right, I mustn’t let the sacrifices of my two brothers be in vain. I must continue on the path they couldn’t finish.”

”These past few days I’ve been feeling terrible, so suffocated that even I can tell something’s off. I’ve been longing to return home to track down the ones who killed my two brothers, but with everyone back home and me unable to return, I’m helplessly frustrated to the point I can’t even sleep.”

”Every year in our fourth secret service squadron, we make sacrifices. From when I enlisted at eighteen until now at thirty-one, I’ve had to bid farewell to my comrades each year, every year without fail...”

Every year brings a new ordeal, constantly facing sacrifice, yet the veteran special police never falter, using their lives to protect their comrades.

Blood is shed, lives are given, but they never regret, and they still push forward without hesitation.