Close body King of Soldiers

The scalding sun baked the impoverished, backward land, permeating the vast wilderness with the potent scent of gunpowder. Two bare-chested men with yellow skin stood on a large stone, facing the setting sun.

The man on the left handed the one on the right a Panda Brand Cigarette, lit one for himself, and whilst blowing smoke rings, asked, "Boss, are you really decided on going back?"

Taking in the familiar scent, his thoughts had already drifted to his homeland miles away. He grinned and said, "Home!"

...

As the saying goes: if you stay in a deserted area for three years, you will think that sows are even angelic beauties.

Basil Jaak leaned back in his seat, watching the stewardesses walking back and forth, deeply agreeing with this saying.

Ever since his last mission failed, Basil Jaak was thrown by his organization to that godforsaken place, and had stayed there for three whole years. Every day, he led a desperate life afraid for his life, just like a running antelope, hoping only to escape the claws of a lion.

"Sorry, sir. We will take off soon. Please fasten your seatbelt," the stewardess's sweet voice interrupted Basil Jaak's thoughts and she gave him a gentle smile.

"OK!" Basil Jaak made a casual gesture to the stewardess, revealing two rows of brilliant white teeth that contrasted sharply with his skin color.

"Thanks for your cooperation!" Seeing that Basil Jaak had fastened his seatbelt, the stewardess smiled slightly and proceeded down the aisle.

Basil Jaak withdrew his gaze from the stewardess and turned toward the girl sitting next to him.

Sitting next to Basil Jaak was a pretty girl with magna eyes under her curled fringe. She wore a pair of six-pointed star earrings on her full earlobes. Her skin was as white as snow and looked fresher under the backdrop of her white suit jacket. Rosy lips were attractive as cherry, with a playful smile lingering at the corner of her mouth. However, she was engrossed in her laptop and didn't notice Basil Jaak's gaze.

Looking at the girl busily working on her laptop, Basil Jaak got bored and yawned lazily, leaning on the table and chair to nap.

Finally, he could go home and lead a normal life, not having to live the violent life anymore. Thinking about this, Basil Jaak smiled faintly, like a lost boy who found his home.

Just as Basil Jaak was dreaming about his bright future, he felt a shake and heard a voice shouting: "Hey, wake up."

Basil Jaak opened his eyes to find the girl beside him frowning displeasedly at him. He asked bewilderedly, "What's wrong?"

"After making a mess, you still asked me what's wrong?" The girl glared at Basil Jaak, her eyes as wide as ring bells, pointed to the laptop on the table and angrily asked, "You crashed my computer, are you just going to pretend like nothing happened?"

Basil Jaak replied with a wry smile, "Beauty, I was just sleeping, how could I have crashed your computer? Are you mistaken?"

"Isn't this coffee on the table yours?" The girl pursed her lips discontentedly, speaking irritably.

"The coffee on the table is mine, but..." Basil Jaak was about to explain when he saw a smug expression in the eyes of a brat sitting across from him. The fingers of the brat were stained with black coffee. Basil Jaak quickly understood it was the little troublemaker who caused the mess and he felt relieved.

"But what?" The girl asked impatiently.

Basil Jaak cast a meaningful glance at the bratty kid then turned to the girl shaking his head, "Never mind, give me your laptop. I'll have a look."

Should give it to him, or not? The girl got nervous thinking about the precious photos on her laptop, if they are ruined how could it be?

Seeing no response from the girl, Basil Jaak grabbed the laptop, put it on his knees, opened the lid, turned on the power, and began typing on the keyboard.

The girl watched Basil Jaak operating very proficiently, which eased some of her anxiety. But she could not help but emphasize, "Hey, be gentle. Don't ruin the data inside. There are photos which I had a hard time getting."

What's the relationship between the force and the data inside?! Basil Jaak rolled his eyes unnoticed, ignoring her words and sped up the pace of typing on the keyboard.

Under Basil Jaak's operation, the screen of the computer suddenly lit up. But before the girl had a chance to rejoice, the screen extinguished immediately again.

Basil Jaak handed the computer back to the girl and said indifferently, "Reboot it, and it should work. However, I would suggest backing up your data, you might not always be so lucky to come across a computer whizz like me."

As per Basil's instructions, the girl rebooted the system and it worked perfectly. She was about to thank him, but his words quickly dissipated any budding goodwill. She frowned and glared at Basil, grumpily retorting, "Thanks for the tip, but I'm hardly as lucky as you think to always bump into a jerk who does wrong and doesn't admit it."

Basil knew she firmly believed that he was the one who messed up her computer. Too weary to explain, he leaned back on his chair and resumed his nap.

Seeing Basil's silence, the girl took it as an admission of guilt and confidently chastised, "A real man always admit his mistakes and seek forgiveness..."

The girl kept babbling, but Basil paid her no mind. Annoyed, she glared at the unbearable man and lowered her head to fiddle with her computer again.

As the plane landed smoothly, the thought of setting foot on this land once again stirred a tempest in Basil's heart, leaving a turbulent impression that lingered.

Basil comfortably stretched, swiftly stood up from his seat, and was about to leave. Unexpectedly, a startled cry sounded. He looked over to see the girl beside him trying several times, and failing, to reach her suitcase from the overhead bin. She sighed with exasperation.

Basil shook his head in amusement, reached over her, and easily brought down the suitcase. He placed it in front of the girl, playfully remarking, "Stubborn people sure do love showing off."

"You..." The girl glared back, fuming. Seeing that Basil had left without a word, she grumbled behind his back, "Miserly man, has no chivalry at all."

As the girl was preparing to leave the plane after gathering her things, she felt a light tap on her shoulder. She turned around to see a middle-aged woman, accompanied by a boy, standing in front of her with an apologetic look.

"Dear Miss, I apologize. My child accidentally spilled your coffee onto your computer. I brought him here to apologize and ask for your forgiveness." The sincerity in the middle-aged woman's voice was evident. The boy, in contrast, was guiltily hanging his head low.

"It's fine, someone already fixed it just now." As she spoke, she couldn't help but look around for Basil, who had vanished without a trace. She stomped her foot and murmured to herself, "That jerk should have explained, I wrongfully blamed him."

Her delicate face flushed crimson.

...

"Yawn!" Basil couldn't prevent two successive sneezes as he boarded the taxi. The driver chuckled, "Young man, did you offend someone? They might be cursing you behind your back, so you keep sneezing."

Basil briefly thought about the unreasonable girl on the plane and couldn't help but shrug his shoulders, answering with a wry smile, "Driver, you're absolutely right. I encountered an unreasonable woman on the plane; she's probably the one cursing me."

The driver laughed heartily, "Young man, remember this: it's better to upset a villain than a woman."

As the largest city in the west, Rong City had accelerated its urban development in recent years. Numerous rural dirt roads have been replaced by sleek highways, and old courtyard houses have given way to towering apartment buildings.

From the taxi, Basil looked at the tall buildings on both sides, feeling an overwhelming sense of unfamiliarity. He thought to himself, "Is this the hometown I remember?"

Seeing Basil's dazed expression, the driver sighed, "Young man, you just returned from out of town, didn't you? The changes have been so massive these past few years that it's disorienting. Even us taxi drivers sometimes don't recognize the roads if we don't drive regularly."

Basil quickly disguised his earlier expression, laughed lightly, and said, "It's good there are changes. I just haven't been back for a long time, so it's a little hard to get used to."

"Oh." The taxi driver hummed in reply. He changed topics and asked Basil, "Young man, we are already in the city now, where do you want to get off?"

Basil was an orphan, and he had no close relatives even before he was enlisted. After a moment's hesitation, he told the driver, "Take me to a small hotel. Since I'm back from abroad, I'd like to find a place to catch some sleep and relax a bit."

The taxi driver gave Basil a sly look. Without saying anything, he parked the car in front of a small hotel as asked.

Taxis in the suburbs do not use meters. Basil took out two bills and handed them to the driver. After the driver checked the authenticity of the money, he pocketed the bills and gave back twenty bucks change to Basil.

As Basil was preparing to leave, the driver suddenly poked his head out of the window and yelled seriously, "Young fella, remember, don't overuse your kidneys, hahaha…" before he drove away.

Basil looked confused. What, my kidney? When will the kidneys be used? Only during some things have name starting with 'S'…