Chapter 13 Confrontation

Chapter 13 Confrontation

Xu Qingran had pondered many things during his two days in the arena.

First, how to take out everyone inside with minimal effort.

Then, there was the inspector who had been especially attentive to him recently. He had sensed something was off for a few days but couldn’t quite put his finger on it until he entered the arena and plunged into the life-or-death melee.

The high-ranking officer from the Golden Wing Battalion, with his natural aristocratic air and the unmistakable behavior of an E-type extremist.

He suddenly recalled that name.

The Tower Master feigned hesitation before answering, "If you ask me like that, I can’t say it’s not."

This was as good as admitting his suspicions.

There was no real need to hide it; new prisoners in the tower might not recognize him, but the staff who had been there for a while knew he was the general from the Golden Wing Battalion.

After a brief pause, Xu Qingran laughed again.

He said, "Good, I have no more questions."

So, it wasn’t some creepy old man.

"Look at his physique and credentials, and then look at the body you picked for me. Don’t you think you should do some soul-searching?" he said to the system in his mind.

The system complained, "Ah, even if you wanted to, he’s still alive, so you can’t take over his body."

Xu Qingran: "Then next time, kill him first, and let me take over."

The system: "..."

That’s just not possible!

·

Xu Qingran made it through the arena and got rid of the inspector.

He had been staying in the medical department of Tower 3 these past few days, switching between dressing changes and rest, recharging his batteries.

His fever had completely gone down.

He still refused the MT injections offered by the medical staff, choosing to recover slowly. After advancing his spiritual pool level, the time to fully restore his spiritual power had lengthened, but his physical wounds also healed faster.

The girls in the medical department, despite being from different factions, got along well.

They were all about the gossip.

"Check this out—the heartthrob of our Silver Dragon Military Department! It’s got to be Colonel Lu, who personally led the team to handle the chaos in Red City’s northern district!"

"Your Colonel Lu is definitely a looker, but too bad he’s off the market, unlike our Golden Wing’s eligible bachelor!"

Today, they dove back into discussing the big names from both battalions.

Initially, they tiptoed around the topic in his presence, but seeing he didn’t mind, they loosened up and spoke more openly.

One of the seasoned staffers even came right out and asked him, "Young Master Xu, remember that 99% soul compatibility gossip from a few days ago? Now they’re saying you’re one of them. Care to spill the beans?"

Xu Qingran, as one of the main topics of gossip, had been informed by them a few days ago about a major matching scandal on the Star Horizon forum.

Rumor has it, it's still trending on the homepage.

"Shh, the Tower Master of Tower 3 is here!"

As the colleague on lookout reminded, everyone quickly returned to their positions and resumed their work.

The Tower Master, responsible for individual towers.

The Tower Master of Tower 3 is a very tall man, with limbs as slender and long as bamboo, sporting a goatee, and always wearing a stern, no-nonsense expression. Since Xu Qingran entered the medical department, he has been frequently coming and going, mainly handling matters related to his departure from the Tower of Evil.

Today, the Tower Master of Tower 3 handed him a red letter with gold embossing: "This is an official invitation from Grandis University's military academy."

"All the registration and procedures have been completed. The semester starts in about a month. Just take this and report to Azure Star in the Celestial System."

Everyone in the medical department shot him envious looks at the same time.

The military academy of Grandis University is the most prestigious military academy in the entire empire, Grandis University's military academy.

Not only does it have extremely high requirements for daily grades and physical fitness, but the level of the spiritual pool must also be at least S-tier. Even most S-tier candidates are weeded out before the entrance exam. Graduates can jump straight into the elite forces of the two camps, fighting on the front lines without having to grind through low-level guard duties.

The special invitation letter Xu Qingran holds is even more exclusive.

If the evaluations during the academic period truly meet the empire's expectations, one can at least earn a minor title upon graduation.

E-types are rare and prized as the empire's sharpest blades. No wonder they aim to control them while offering conditions enticing enough to keep them.

Xu Qingran opened the invitation letter, which had a luxurious feel.

At the bottom was the president's signature, officially stamped with Grandis University's seal and the military academy's exclusive griffin emblem. The seal's color was a sand-gold-infused dark blue-purple, reminiscent of the starry sky's dreamy hues.

Two days ago, he signed the agreement with the Empire's military.

Joining the military was his goal, and with such an opportunity, refusing would be idiotic.

As for the future?

Xu Qingran didn't give it a second thought.

Whether he ends up as an E-type or not, if the school dares to use that as an excuse to expel him, he'll show them—what it means to be a bomb without being an E-type.

Xu Qingran tucked away the invitation letter, but noticed that the Tower Master of Tower 3, who usually left right after delivering messages, was oddly still there today.

He looked up in confusion, only to see the Tower Master asking with a stern face: "How are you today? Can you get out of bed?"

The medical room fell into a few seconds of silence.

Perhaps realizing that his sudden concern was indeed unusual, he coughed lightly with a fist against his mouth before adding.

"Someone is waiting outside the Tower of Evil to pick you up."

"If it's convenient for you, you can pack your things today and leave with them."

Xu Qingran was slightly stunned and asked, "Who?"

The Tower Master of Tower 3 replied, "I'm not sure, I'm only responsible for notifying you."

Although his injuries were not fully healed, getting out of bed and walking around was no longer a problem. He thought that he had spent enough time in the Tower of Evil and it was time to leave.

Although he was supposed to pack his things, apart from the documents he had received in the past few days, the rest, like clothes and other items, were provided by the Tower of Evil, and he had no intention of taking them away. So after thanking the staff of the medical department, he was led by the guards to the gate of Tower 3.

Waiting outside was a middle-aged man he didn’t recognize.

He was wearing a black and white suit, Western-style, and after confirming his identity, he gestured in a certain direction: "Mr. Xu, our sir has something to discuss with you at his residence."

Xu Qingran followed the direction he pointed and saw a small passenger aircraft parked in the distance, the kind capable of interstellar travel.

He inquired, "Who is your master?"

The man politely replied, "It’s General Shen Tingyu of the Golden Wing Battalion."

Xu Qingran’s eyebrow twitched slightly, a chilly smile playing on his lips.

"Alright, I’ll go with you."

As Xu Qingran departed on the spacecraft, someone arrived at Tower 5 as well.

The Tower Master personally went out to greet them, looking surprised when he saw the visitor: "Colonel Lu Cheng of the Silver Dragon Battalion, what wind brings you to my modest tower?"

Lu Cheng’s face showed unmistakable fatigue, as if he had just finished a mission and rushed here without even taking a break.

He came straight to the point: "I heard that recently, your Tower of Evil took in a young man named Xu Qingran, the young master of the Xu family, known for building the Silver Dragon."

"We grew up together; he’s scared of bugs, for crying out loud. There’s no way he could have done anything violent. The recent incident was just an accident, so I came here to clarify the situation and see if there was any misunderstanding."

After hearing this, the Tower Master fell silent.

Even the guards standing nearby couldn’t help but cough.

After the arena incident, there wasn’t a single person inside the Tower of Evil who didn’t know Xu Qingran.

Timid? Weak? Not violent?

Colonel, aren’t you feeling guilty for saying such insincere things to get him out?

"Putting that aside, regarding why he was brought into the Tower of Evil, we only did so after receiving a report, evaluating his recent behavior, and considering some information we had. We deemed him a potential individual with antisocial personality traits."

"But Colonel Lu, you don’t need to worry. Mr. Xu has already been permitted to leave the Tower of Evil," the Tower Master said with a reassuring smile. "He’s now recovering in Tower 3’s medical department. If you want to take him away today, I can notify them to bring him here."

Lu Cheng’s face grew even darker upon hearing that Xu Qingran was injured.

Xu Qingran had always been delicate, quick to tears. He couldn’t fathom Xu Qingran’s ordeal in the Tower of Evil.

"Then I must trouble you, Tower Master," Lu Cheng said politely.

The Tower Master nodded and walked aside to contact the administrator of Tower 3 using a communicator.

After a while, he came back frowning.

He apologized to Lu Cheng, "I’m sorry, Colonel Lu, but you’re a bit late. Mr. Xu has just been whisked away by someone."

Lu Cheng was puzzled, "Was it the Xu family who took him?"

The Tower Master replied, "I heard it was the Shen family, though I’m unclear on the specifics."

Lu Cheng was taken aback once more.

The Shen family? Which Shen family?

...The Shen family that Shen Tingyu is from?

What could they possibly want with Xu Qingran, since they have no connection at all?!

·

Xu Qingran breezed through customs and arrived at Jin City on Tianlang-Fei Star during the local daytime.

Surprisingly, Shen Tingyu's home was quite far from the main city, not even in the same city.

The area was surrounded by mountains and water, making it quite secluded.

In other words, if the owner didn't want to let him go, seeking help would be tough.

The house was large, with three floors visible from the outside, probably with many rooms.

But it also seemed quite desolate, with probably not many people living there.

The driver dropped him off at the entrance, where he happened to meet a middle-aged woman about to enter.

After looking him over, her eyes suddenly lit up: "Ah, you must be the guest Mr. Shen mentioned, right?"

"Come in, come in," she said, waving to the driver a few steps below. "Xiao Zhang, go ahead and rest. I'll handle things from here!"

"Alright, thank you, Auntie Song."

Auntie Song had long curly hair, was slightly plump, but still quite beautiful.

She looked healthy, with rosy cheeks and bright eyes. Without waiting for him to ask, she jumped right in with her introduction: "I'm the nanny Mr. Shen hired to help take care of the house and his young nephew. You can call me Auntie Song."

"I just went out to buy groceries. You must be Mr. Xu, right? Mr. Shen mentioned you."

As soon as Auntie Song stepped in, a small robot at the entrance took the heavy items from her hands and slowly carried them to the kitchen.

She quickly changed into slippers, muttering: "Mr. Shen probably isn't home right now. He usually comes back late at night or only on weekends. If he's busy, it could be a month."

"But I've already got a room ready for you."

Auntie Song rarely had guests staying over, especially such a handsome, well-mannered, and gentle boy.

Auntie Song smiled and took him to a large room on the second floor: "After such a long trip, you can freshen up and rest before Mr. Shen gets back. If you don't mind, there are clothes in the closet, all brand new and unworn, so go ahead and change into them."

Auntie Song thought she was pretty clever, putting Xu Qingran's room closest to Shen Tingyu's.

After all, there were only two masters in the house: Shen Tingyu and his 5-year-old nephew.

—At that age, it couldn't possibly be the nephew's partner, right?

She pointed to another door in the room: "That's the bathroom. It's fully equipped, with both a shower and a bathtub. Make yourself at home!"

Xu Qingran nodded: "Thank you."

After Auntie Song left, the room returned to silence.

Xu Qingran gently placed the special invitation letter and some miscellaneous documents and certificates he had brought with him on the only desk in the room. Against the wall, there was a small ornament, a solar-powered toy with a small swing, on which sat two wolves, one black and one white, swaying back and forth.

He picked it up, looked at it for a while, and suddenly smiled faintly.

The Supreme Commander?

One day, I'll definitely bring him down a notch.

Xu Qingran had been traveling for nearly a full day and was seriously beat.

He figured he'd splash some water on his face to wake up and headed to the bathroom Auntie Song had just told him about.

When he pushed the door open, a wall of hot steam hit him in the face.

In the middle of the bathroom, which was as big as the Xu family's living room, stood a guy.

The water was off, and the guy was drying his hair with a towel. The towel was slung over his head, hiding most of his face, but the one eye peeking out was a striking, familiar blue.

And from the neck down, he was completely naked.

The room was dead silent for about five seconds.

Then, with a loud bang, Xu Qingran slammed the door shut, his face completely blank.

He kept a tight grip on the doorknob, as if trying to make sense of what had just happened.

Finally, he muttered under his breath.

Damn.

He's huge.

And he's got an eight-pack.