The taxi pulled up in front of a villa area in downtown San Diego, and Kevin paid for the taxi and walked with Yang Fan and Sokolov to a villa on the side of the road. The villa area is set away from the main road and is very peaceful.

It is a small villa typical of Americans, separated from the outside world by a fence wall, and several low trees are planted on each side of the doorway. Through the fence, you can see that there is a separate yard inside, and the yard is all green lawn, and there are barbecue grills, tables and chairs on the lawn. Between the villa and the entrance is an open-air swimming pool. In the middle of the yard is a two-story brown building with a garage next to it where a Lincoln Navigator is parked.

Behind the whole villa is a low hill, covered with greenery, and the green hill is connected by two cars, connecting the villas on this road that have nothing to do with each other.

Kevin walked in front, Yang Fan and Sokolov followed, and the three of them walked along the path towards the door of the villa.

Kevin looked back at the two of them and introduced the situation at home, and he said with a happy face, "When I was very young, my family moved to San Diego with my dad. But the houses here are surprisingly expensive, and I used to live in apartments in the city center, which I always felt was too noisy.

The first commission I received from joining SK was to buy the house, and my parents just moved in before Thanksgiving this year. My dad was a sales manager for a company, and after moving here, he had to drive to and from work every day. So, I bought two more cars. However, he travels a lot, and my mother is usually the only one in the house. She was a typical housewife, and she always said that the house I bought was too big and too tiring to clean, and I told her that I could hire someone to clean it, but she felt that it was too much of a waste of money. Probably all parents do. ”

"Yes, parents all over the world are the same." Sokolov said.

Yang Fan bowed his head and was silent, he was thinking about what would happen to his adoptive mother if he also bought such a villa. She should have complained first, and then began to work hard to decorate the home, busy at home, properly arranging and waiting for the father and son to come home. She knows her adoptive mother too well, as long as the family can be together, wherever she lives is home. The adoptive mother would complain, nag, and occasionally lose her temper, but in her heart, nothing was more important than her family.

"Ding-dong." Kevin rang the doorbell at the gate, and after a while, the door to the first floor of the villa was opened. A chubby, middle-aged white woman walked out, wearing an apron with an American flag around her waist, presumably cooking.

When the man saw Kevin, his eyes widened, he covered his mouth with his hands, first slowly moved two steps forward, then quickly ran to the door, opened the door, rushed to Kevin, hugged him tightly, and said, "Oh my God, Kevin. Are you back? Why didn't you tell me in advance? As he spoke, tears flowed from the corners of his eyes.

"Mom, I'm passing through San Diego for work, and I happen to have a few days off and I'm back with two of my colleagues." Kevin said.

Kevin's mother found out that a guest was coming, so she quickly let go of Kevin, wiped her tears, looked at Yang Fan and Sokolov and said, "Hello, you must be Kevin's colleagues in the security company." Welcome to my home, welcome! As he spoke, he quickly wiped his hands with his apron and shook hands with Yang Fan and the two respectively.

Yang Fan and Sokolov also introduced themselves, and the four of them walked into the villa.

On the ground floor of the villa is the living room, dining room, kitchen and a bedroom. The wooden floors, the pale yellow walls, the white roof, and some simple but functional furniture, everything is very warmly furnished.

The three of them sat on the sofa in the living room, and after Kevin's mother poured a glass of water for a few people, she said, "Kevin, you talk to your colleagues first, I'll go cook, and I'll be fine soon." Your dad went on a business trip to Washington yesterday and may not be back until a few days later, so this time you must stay for a few days before leaving. ”

Kevin's mom turned around and walked out of the kitchen again, her steps seemed brisker than before.

When Kevin saw his mother go in, he lay down on the couch in an extremely relaxed position and said, "It feels so good to be home!" ”

"You told them you worked for a security company, right?" Sokolov asked.

"Yes, that's what I said. In our business, we only have something to do with the security company. This also explains why we always lose contact in stages. Kevin said as he lay on the couch.

"Well, that's what I told my wife and daughter." After Sokolov finished speaking, he picked up the water glass and leaned back on the sofa.

"I don't have to think about these issues, and I don't have to worry about it." Yang Fan spread his hands and said.

Kevin sat up from the sofa, patted Yang Fan on the shoulder, and said, "Yang Fan, don't give up, your sister has no news yet, indicating that there is still hope." And you still have a mother waiting for you at home, haven't they always been the reason for your efforts? You're doing a great job right now, and you must not give up! I'm sure you'll see them again one day. ”

"Yes, Yang Fan. For the sake of the family, everything is worth it! Sokolov also comforted Yang Fan, he put the water cup on the coffee table, and continued: "Yang Fan, do you know why we were so willing to help you and Ye Ting when we were in Chinatown? Because we don't like organizations like WTD.

For us mercenaries, life and death are a matter of moments. We can die for our family, our brothers, our faith, and even for money, but we will never allow anyone to hurt our family.

I noticed you in the camp and I know you have a lot of pressure on you, but you're strong, very strong, and you've never been crushed by that pressure! But you can't always bear it alone. Me, Kevin, and Evan, Parker, we're probably not your family. Yang Fan, you remember, we are not only your so-called colleagues, we are also brothers who can accompany you from birth to death! ”

Yang Fan picked up the water glass, smiled faintly, and said, "If this is not considered a family?" So what else counts as a writer? ”

The three of them looked at each other for a moment, and after clinking glasses with water instead of wine, they laughed.

Kevin took Yang Fan and the others to visit his family's villa, the first floor is mainly a reception area, and his parents also live on the first floor. The second floor is mainly four independent bedrooms, American villas have a large living room, a large leisure area, but the bedroom is small.

The three of them accompanied Kevin's mother to lunch. In the afternoon, Kevin drove, and the three of them accompanied Kevin's mother to a nearby supermarket to buy supplies for the next week, and bought some cocktails by the way.

After dinner, the three of them helped Kevin's mother clean up the house, each holding a bottle of cocktail, sitting on the lawn in the courtyard of the villa, looking at the sky, thinking about their own thoughts.

Yang Fan sat on the lawn, looking at the starry sky and the bright full moon, he missed his adoptive mother very much, and he didn't know what she was doing at the moment when she was far away in China. He couldn't help but think of Su Shi's words, "I wish people a long time, thousands of miles together." If the moon is really that magical, what he hopes most now is not that his adoptive mother will think of him, but that he will forget about himself completely, so that she can live a better life.

Yang Fan raised the cocktail in his hand, took a shallow sip, turned his head to look at Kevin, and asked, "Kevin, at dinner, your mother said that you still have a girlfriend, do you plan to come back to see her this time?" ”

"Yes, her name is Alice, and she's an assistant lawyer now. Her father was a colleague of mine, we lived close together when we were young, and she was my classmate in elementary, high school, and college. After I joined the military, she moved to San Diego with her family, who now live in an apartment in the heart of the city. I'm going to see her in two days. ”

Kevin took a sip of wine and looked at the stars in the sky, perhaps thinking about his girlfriend, with a happy look on his face. In Yang Fan's impression, Kevin is a very calm and serious person. If he is in the workplace, he is likely to be a serious workaholic. But it was the first time he had seen Kevin be as relaxed as he was today.

"Kevin, you have a happy family." Sokolov said with envy, then looked at Yang Fan and asked, "Yang Fan, did you have a girlfriend when you were in Huaxia?" ”

Hearing Sokolov's question, Yang Fan didn't know how to answer. That Xue Qing, it is estimated that she has already been married and had children, Yang Fan never thought about how she would react after learning what happened to their family, whether she felt sorry, or felt relieved that she finally had no worries, would she cry for herself. However, it doesn't matter now, they are not destined to be people of the same world.

Yang Fan raised the wine bottle and took a sip and said, "No." Then he asked, "Have you ever thought about quitting SK and leaving T3 from now on?" You all have happy families and have enough savings now, have you ever considered a different way of living? ”

Sokolov did not answer Yang Fan's question, but asked rhetorically: "What about you?" Yang Fan. You now have hundreds of millions of assets, no matter what kind of life you want to live! Will you quit? ”

"Nope! I can't quit yet, you know. Yang Fan continued to drink the wine in the bottle, looked at Sokolov and Kevin, and said: "Money is not so important to me, I didn't join T3 for money, and of course I won't quit for money!" If you need it, or if money is more important to you, I can share the windfall with you. ”

"Hahahaha" Sokolov laughed a few times and said, "See? It's because of brothers like you that it's impossible for us to quit! ”

He put the bottle down and continued, "It is impossible for a man to stop, except at the moment of death. It is impossible for people like us to be satisfied with this kind of stable life, and we may want to settle down at some point, but after a long period of stable life and idleness, we will all go crazy.

A mercenary is different from a soldier, a soldier may be for ideals, for duty, or for a job. But the person who chooses to become a mercenary may be forced to do so, or maybe he yearns for that kind of exciting life, no matter what, it is destined that we can't easily quit! ”

Kevin also nodded and said, "Yang Fan, you, me, Sokolov, Evan, Parker, Bruce and everyone else, we all have enough reasons to leave the life of a mercenary. Or, sooner or later, there will always be.

But we were able to meet and become friends at T3 because none of us came to T3 purely for money. Do you know? If someone doesn't voluntarily choose a profession that will cost them their life at any time instead of money, then they must have a reason not to leave easily! ”

"And one more reason!" Sokolov continued: "It's these brothers. I've been in the army for many years, and I'm slowly discovering a truth. Family members and brothers who are related by blood may not feel anything when they are together, and as long as they leave, you will miss them.

But those brothers who were born and died, you don't want to leave them at all, not for a moment. Of course, we can't do without them. The world of mercenaries is a very unique world, in this world, life and death brothers are our family, I can't imagine the scene one day when the few of us really go our separate ways.

I used to have a lot of comrades, but for many reasons, I had to choose to leave. But this time is different, if I had a choice, I would not leave you all! I think that as long as one of us has a reason to keep fighting, none of us will think about living those peaceful lives! ”

Yang Fan didn't know what to say at this time, and he regretted that he had asked this stupid question. A stable life, a warm family, a wife, and children are not something he can dream of now.

He now has a few brothers who are so good, and he already feels very content. Considering what he was going to do in the future, he was afraid that his revenge plan would affect the people around him, and he had no right to ask everyone to take risks for their own sake. But as Sokolov said, are they still able to tell each other apart? Maybe they are fate for them, but also bad luck, knowing themselves, they are dragged into the whirlpool of this bad luck.

Yang Fan usually doesn't like to drink, but at the moment he feels that the cocktail in the bottle is too delicious. He only now understands why the wine tastes so strange but there are always people who like it, and the stranger the taste, the more people like it. Maybe it's because when you need to vent your inner depression, the stimulant smell can make you feel enjoyable.

Sokolov said: "Yang Fan, I think Evan is right about you. You're outstanding! You are very kind to your brothers, but you are always deliberately refusing everyone's kindness to you.

I understand that you must feel that you are carrying hatred, and you are afraid that one day you will implicate us. But we are brothers, everyone can take risks for Ye Ting's completely irrelevant people just because they think it makes sense, do you think everyone will abandon you at that time?

You have so much on your back that you need someone to share it. Everyone is like this, and there are some secrets that are inconvenient to reveal to their families, which is why we need friends. Friends are sometimes better to talk to than family. Because family members are likely to stress you, but friends are not! If friends and brothers become another burden on your heart, then your life will be difficult and we will feel uncomfortable. I don't know what you Chinese think of brothers, in our Russia, brothers are used to make trouble. Do you understand? ”

Yang Fan was very moved when he heard Sokolov's words, he didn't know what to say, and the words of thanks seemed too weightless at this time. He didn't say anything, just raised the bottle and drank the wine from the bottle.

Kevin also took the wine glass and touched it with Yang Fan, but he didn't say anything.

"Thank you." Yang Fan drank all the wine in the bottle and said.