death of hope

Chapter 1020 "Psionic Storm" (94) The Fate of 'Gruul'
"Thirty...thirty-one...thirty-two..."

Paul Korchagin, wearing a blue and white striped sailor vest sewn by the base's clothing factory, rests his calloused hands on the worn floor. To increase the difficulty, a single sofa is placed on his back.
Salty sweat dripped down his sculpted pectoral muscles, resembling those of an ancient Greek sculpture, and his undulating trapezius muscles.
When he did his thirtieth push-up, the doorknob of his dormitory room creaked. Someone was trying to turn it, but it was locked.

"Who?!"

Hunted and targeted by both the federal government and the corporation, years of counter-encirclement operations have made him extremely cautious. He even sleeps with his eyes open and ears perked up, ready to fight at any moment.
No planning, no thinking, just pure intuition and muscle memory.
Paul pushed aside the sofa, sprang to his feet with a nimble leap, and drew a Tokarev high-powered automatic pistol from his belt.

With a flick of his heel, he smoothly loaded the gun, flicked the safety, placed his finger on the trigger, and reached for the grenade with his other hand—a posture perfectly prepared for a life-or-death situation.
"Who?!" Paul asked again.

"Hello~" A familiar voice came from outside the door.

"Seriously... why didn't you just knock on the door? You scared the hell out of me..." Paul complained as he put away his weapon, turned the lock, and opened the door.
Tonya stood in the doorway, wearing her worn-out, pilling Mickey Mouse pajamas, her two loose, disheveled golden braids resembling a glittering bird's nest.
With gum in her mouth, a lazy look in her eyes, and a nonchalant expression, she resembled a rebellious young woman from the streets of Shin-Sapporo.

·
"Just say what you have to say," Paul said impatiently.

"What do you mean? So I can't contact you unless there's something wrong? You've got a little fame and you're already putting on airs, acting all high and mighty. You really think you're so great~" Donya retorted sharply, firing off a barrage of words.

“I…I’m fucking…” Paul was speechless for a moment, feeling somewhat helpless.

Tonya shoved Paul aside, walked in casually in her slippers as if she were entering her own room, touched the clothes rack and looked at the wardrobe, then slammed the door shut with her heel.

"Why are you wandering around so late at night instead of sleeping?"

"You shameless jerk, you weren't asleep either!"

"I drank coffee in the afternoon and couldn't sleep, so I got up to exercise," Paul said, wiping the sweat from his forehead with a towel.

"As expected of you, the King of Scrolls in the base!"

Tonya gazed at Paul's muscular, muscular body, which resembled a Greek sculpture, and felt a dryness in her mouth. She reached out and touched the bulging triceps on the back of Paul's arm.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Paul shuddered as if he had been electrocuted, dodging the other hand that was reaching for him;

Don't touch me!

"Ugh! Not even a touch," Donya pouted and made a face, "You stingy thing!"

"How old are you? Why are you still so childish? If I did that, would you be happy?"

"What if I'm happy?!"

Donya laughed heartily, unbuttoning the top two buttons of her pajamas and boldly showing off her figure:
"Come on~ let's compare pecs~"

"Uh…"

Paul nearly had a nosebleed. His handsome face flushed slightly. He turned and ran towards his desk as if fleeing, poured himself a glass of water and gulped it down, choking and coughing.

·
"Oh dear~ I'm so sorry~ Even the great hero of Volgograd knows how to be shy~"

Donya giggled and chased after him, hugging him tightly. Her messy blonde hair pressed against his broad back as she greedily inhaled his strong, hormonal scent.

"Stop fooling around, mind your manners." Paul shrugged and broke free, then said seriously, "We are on an important mission, I am your Director L."

"Keep pretending! There's no one watching here, so what's the big deal about being a nuisance!"

Tonya kicked Paul hard in the muscular glutes:
"Six months ago, in the grove near our base, you were really in a hurry, weren't you?"

“I said…Antonina and Z,” (Antonina is Tonya’s real name), Paul said with a serious expression:
“You should know the discipline of the GRU special operations group. We are the elite of the organization. Can’t we even do the most basic professional work?”

"Fool! You won't even take what's offered to you!"

Suddenly, Tonya saw the handwritten copy of "How the Steel Was Tempered" on the desk; it was a gift from the branch's sniper, Takiya Rimi, to Pavel, and she was instantly consumed by jealousy.

"Takiya, you two little Japanese slut...were you just......?"

With that, Tonya yanked open the wardrobe, forcefully pulling at the clothes inside. She glared at Paul, then squatted down to look under the bed. "Miss Takiya isn't as boring as you, you Slavic shrew~" Now it was Paul's turn to laugh.

"Confess! Are you after that little slut Takiya?!"

"Mind your own business~ I'm going to buy Takiya a ring tomorrow~"

"You filthy man! You're asking for it!" Tonya bit Paul on the neck, making him howl in pain;

"Ouch, you son of a bitch!"

Tonya used a move from Sambo (Slavic hand-to-hand combat), throwing Paul hard onto the mattress with a sack over her shoulder…

·
All night long, they were out partying...

The next morning, Paul groggily woke up and reached out to grab the golden hair that exuded a captivating fragrance, but found nothing.

I rubbed my eyes and got up, and saw Donya standing there, her body erect.

A pair of beautiful, deep blue eyes stared blankly at the "Siegfried" assassination plan, pinned to the wall with thumbtacks.
"Reviewing the plan first thing in the morning, that's good. Even last-minute cramming can be effective!"

Donya's gaze never left the blueprints: "Nikolai, and those people in the branch seem determined to succeed, believing this plan is flawless..."

“Of course,” Paul said, stretching and draping his coat over Tonya’s shoulders. “When it comes to assassination, Old Lai and his men are absolutely professional.”
"Don't catch a cold."

Donya seemed to have just remembered that the window was open, and a shiver ran through her from the cold wind:
“Pavlusha (Paul's nickname)...I…”

"What's wrong?" Paul finished dressing and prepared to go out to greet his comrades.

"I... have a bad feeling..." Donya's eyes were bloodshot, clearly she hadn't slept well, and she looked worried.

"Come on, you said the same thing before the last mission, and the one before that. You said you might end up losing everything, but look what happened! You always escaped unscathed."

Paul straightened his collar, his face full of confidence: "The GRU special operations team is the best. The organization trusts us and has entrusted us with this important task, and we rarely let the organization down."

"But...but..."

"No buts, darling~" Paul very gentlemanly kissed her hand.
"I can smell the pancakes and miso soup. Takiya's cooking is always pretty good. Let's go have breakfast. People need to eat, otherwise they'll get hungry!" Paul hummed a little tune as he walked away.

·
Tonya stared blankly at Paul's retreating figure, then turned back to look at the plans on the wall.
She had almost forgotten how many battles she had fought, how many times she had survived sweeps, and how many dangerous operations she had undertaken. As the organization's most elite special operations team, GRU members often did not live past the age of 30.
Her parents were both guerrilla fighters, and she had a tomboyish personality from a young age. At fourteen, she stabbed a vicious warlord soldier to death with a triangular bayonet.

As an adult, she displayed an even more reckless and chivalrous spirit, taking on over a hundred enemies from the organization; corporate warriors and federal agents became the victims of her blades.
She was passionate towards her comrades but ruthless towards her enemies, never expecting any pity from them. Since joining GRU, every mission had been a brush with death, and she had become accustomed to it, gradually becoming numb to it…

Tonya's entire life was dedicated to the greatest cause: the struggle to liberate humanity on Terra.
Her only wish was to be buried intact, taken back to the Martyrs' Cemetery planet by her comrades, and to be honored by future generations…

But ever since I met Pavel Korchagin, a true hero who embodies both sunshine and handsomeness, bravery and charm, a righteous arbiter with wings of light...

(It's all his fault. Ever since I fell in love with Pavlusha, I've become increasingly vulgar. All the lowbrow tastes I'd abandoned have returned, and I've become a coward again...) Tonya thought with a wry smile.
(Treat each mission as if it's the last, finish this mission and then leave GRU, go to the safest remote star sector base to live a life... have a bunch of kids... and live an idyllic, pastoral life...)

But every time I miraculously survive... after a short rest, I start preparing for the next, even more difficult task. A person's good luck always runs out... like throwing a glass from a high floor until it breaks, even if it doesn't shatter.

Joining the GRU is voluntary; there is absolutely no coercion… but if we withdraw… the mission will be handed over to someone else…

The children of the base—Dolokhov, Marinsha, and Benedictine…the best cadets of every year vie to join the GRU…their parents all perished in the counter-encirclement campaigns, and they yearn for revenge…just like us…

There's no such thing as a free lunch... The safety and freedom of our base were won with blood and sweat...

Just like Pavlusha said...someone had to step up...he never shirked his responsibilities, a hero who's more handsome than a male model and stronger than an action star...who wouldn't love him...

Is this the fate of the GRU...?

Our youth... our passion... and our lives...
·
"What are you doing?! The soup's getting cold! Get up!"

Rimi Takiya's shout came from the living room, pulling Tonya back to reality.
She sighed deeply, wiped away her tears with the back of her hand, put on her clothes, and smiled at her family and colleagues.