RMM -Chapter 150 The Task Force

Xi Yuechen looked at Su Ruo, who tilted her head playfully like a little girl, her big eyes full of laughter. His heart warmed involuntarily.

He couldn’t help but confirm, “Really?”

Su Ruo’s smile widened. “Really.”

Xi Yuechen’s expression softened slightly. He withdrew his gaze, lowered his eyelids, and muttered a quiet, “Mm,” not really looking at anything in particular.

Looking at him with his head down, Su Ruo couldn’t discern his expression, but she noticed the slight upward curve of his usually firm lips. She puffed her cheeks and glanced at the silent Xi Yuechen, secretly smiling to herself without saying a word.

Xi Yuechen reflected on his own momentarily childish behavior and fell silent inside. He had always known that in front of Su Ruo, his usual calm and composed demeanor was no match—but he hadn’t expected that a single gentle sentence could throw him completely off balance.

It was entirely unexpected.

Yet, there was no denying that Su Ruo’s explanation felt like a breeze, smoothing out the wrinkles in his heart.

This was a completely new, unpredictable emotional world, and Xi Yuechen felt himself sinking deeper. He usually planned everything carefully and rarely took risks without absolute certainty, but if it was Su Ruo…

Well, it didn’t seem so hard to accept.

Neither spoke. They quietly enjoyed the serene presence of each other, hearts calm and steady.

Beautiful moments always seemed fleeting. In just a few breaths, it was already time for Xi Yuechen to leave.

Su Ruo glanced at the time and fell silent for a moment. “Time’s up.”

Her calm expression betrayed no sadness, as if saying, “Work time. Go on, get to work.”

Xi Yuechen responded with a soft “Mm.” A wave of reluctant sadness spread through him.

Over time, in a life of frequent separations, each parting felt increasingly painful.

This time, when Xi Yuechen left, Su Ruo did not go to see him off. She didn’t even leave the bedroom. After urging him to go, she buried her head and slept.

Shen Liang arranged for Xi Yuehui to take Xi Yuechen to the airport, sighing silently. He watched Ruo Ruo’s belly grow larger and larger while his son could never seem to stay home.

Su Ruo recovered her mood quickly. By evening, she was downstairs strolling, laughing and chatting with Shen Liang, showing no signs of lingering gloom. This reassured Shen Liang somewhat.

“Just three or four months left,” Su Ruo comforted herself. “If the mountain won’t come to me, I’ll go to the mountain. As a modern woman, I have to seize opportunities for myself instead of sighing all the time.”

Having spent the entire afternoon in her room, Su Ruo felt much lighter after realizing this truth.

Now, the priority was to take care of her health and deliver the little one safely. Everything else could be planned later.

By the time Xi Yuechen arrived in D Province, it was already late. He quickly shook off his low mood, took a cab, and left the brightly lit airport.

Some time ago, Xi Yuechen had bought a property in L City—a mid-range apartment building. Naturally, he would return to that “home.”

Recently, he had been mostly in L City, busy “building rapport” with Yanmen. He didn’t know how long he would stay, but future dealings with Yanmen would only increase. Staying in hotels all the time wasn’t proper; he needed a “base” in L Province, partly to show Yanmen. Cheng Yue had firmly decided to align with Yanmen.

As for the task force members stationed in H Town, Xi Yuechen naturally didn’t have time to meet them. After the initial “hellish” training, he appeared intermittently before the team, no longer acting as the distant commander. He trained alongside them, aiming for maximum coordination.

Their skills were unquestionable—they were elite, selected from millions. So Xi Yuechen had, from the start, devised a targeted training program focused on teamwork and understanding the reality of the battlefield: life-or-death situations, bloodshed, constant readiness, and developing a sense of imminent danger. Only then could they reach their full potential. Every detail of the training had been repeatedly considered and refined. He wasn’t teaching skills for the training ground—he was teaching skills for the battlefield.

Xi Yuechen had arranged numerous simulated combat exercises. Given the importance of the current plan, he demanded maximum effort, making each exercise as realistic as possible. The team’s performance improved steadily—from initial chaos and unpreparedness to calm and competent execution.

Yet he was still unsatisfied. Training could feel artificial; the team might know it was “just a performance.” So he started assigning them real missions, sometimes leading them personally. Each time, the difficulty increased, the risks higher.

As training intensity grew, so did the maturity of the team.

Now Xi Yuechen spent most of his time in L City, with little time to return to H Town. But the task force’s training couldn’t stop. When he was away, they had to work even harder. Xi Yuechen appointed Gao Yunxiao as vice-captain, in charge when he was absent.

Gao Yunxiao was a rare talent, excellent in all respects. Initially proud upon arriving in D Province—a common trait among the arrogant—but to improve, he had to remove his halo and move unburdened.

Gao Yunxiao understood this. From his first encounter with Xi Yuechen, he realized it and, fortunately, was straightforward and honest. After Xi Yuechen’s challenge, he accepted it, training even harder afterward without resentment.

Appointed vice-captain, Gao Yunxiao was meticulous, never careless, and didn’t pry into Xi Yuechen’s increasingly mysterious movements. He followed Xi Yuechen’s plan step by step in training everyone.

Regarding Xi Yuechen’s so-called “official business trips,” Gao Yunxiao was well aware that the task force was his real priority. His absence was only a cover; their presence in D Province had a purpose.

Several team members also understood that Xi Yuechen’s frequent “trips” were a ruse. They tacitly knew the truth.

They were perceptive; when the captain was away, they didn’t slack off but trained even harder. The longer he was gone, the more progress their “official business” implied, meaning their chance to act could come anytime—slowly or suddenly.

Xi Yuechen could always know their status from Gao Yunxiao. He was satisfied. Keeping his own whereabouts secret encouraged the team to think, choose, and act independently.

“Hope this ends soon,” Han Zhiyuan sighed, slinging his arm over Xie Haomin’s shoulder, mockingly carefree. “When will this endless training end? When will we finally be useful?”

Xie Haomin glanced at Han Zhiyuan, grass in his mouth, snorted coldly. “Too tired? Don’t come tomorrow. Who’s forcing you?”

“Tch,” Han Zhiyuan rolled his eyes. “That won’t do. I want to learn more now so I’ll have better chances to survive on the battlefield. What do you know?”

“Then shut up and get your hands down. They’re heavy, and I have no strength left.”

Xie Haomin shook off Han Zhiyuan’s arm, sweating and stinking.

“Tch, big young master,” Han Zhiyuan complained, unwilling to lend his shoulder even for a moment. He ran to catch up with the distancing Xie Haomin, asking again, “Hey, where do you think our Captain Xi has gone? Haven’t seen him recently.”

Xie Haomin gave him a cold look. “How should I know?”

Undeterred, Han Zhiyuan persisted. “Don’t lie! I can guess something’s going on in this ‘official business.’”

Xie Haomin finally stopped and said, “You talk too much.”

Han Zhiyuan, taken aback, thought he was serious, but that was all Xie Haomin said.

“Damn, Xie Haomin! Don’t you care at all? I’ll be fighting alongside you later. Show some concern!”

Han Zhiyuan’s wails echoed in the empty night, unusually clear.

Gao Yunxiao walked last, watching his comrades, a bit exhausted from a day of high-intensity training, yet in good spirits. He smiled quietly.

No matter the hardship, mental state was crucial. Good morale determined external explosiveness. He focused on their psychological performance.

This was also what Xi Yuechen emphasized: training intensity should match the team’s mental state; physical ability alone wasn’t enough. He wanted genuine skill, not coerced performance.

This is where Gao Yunxiao’s advantage shone: experienced, mature, responsible, and perceptive. Xi Yuechen had chosen him as vice-captain for good reason.