Chapter 71 Your Grandpa (Minor Edits + Additions)

Chapter 71 Your Grandpa (Minor Edits + Additions)

"Big bro, is that guy your friend?"

In the silent temple, the girl's gentle, youthful voice echoed.

Xu Qingran picked up on something unusual in her simple question.

When he turned around, he saw the girl clutching a small knife tightly in her hand. The knife was plain, worn from use, dirty and slightly dull.

"Uncle?" Xu Qingran let out a soft chuckle.

Shen Tingyu's gentle expression was on the verge of cracking.

The little girl's face was expressionless.

Even though she was alone, she showed no fear and said, "Yeah, he looks older than you, bro. Shouldn't I call him uncle?"

Despite her young age, her intent to provoke was clear.

Shen Tingyu was roughly six years older than Xu Qingran's current form.

Honestly, in this day and age, it wasn't a big deal. But for Shen Tingyu, who placed great importance on his 'compatibility' with Xu Qingran, being called out so bluntly felt like a stab to the heart.

Shen Tingyu was, after all, quite patient.

He struggled to maintain his usual gentle demeanor, smiling as he said, "Indeed, and this uncle can take down a kid with one strike."

"Wanna give it a shot?"

The girl let out a throaty laugh, "I can take down a bad uncle with one strike too."

Xu Qingran watched their intense stares, feeling like a fight was about to break out.

Behind them, the man the girl had stabbed wasn't dead yet, weakly pleading, "Help... help me..."

Xu Qingran paid him no mind.

Sadly, the fight never happened.

Mainly because a group of people suddenly burst into the temple.

Fully armed and clad in Silver Dragon Guard uniforms, they surrounded them with guns and knives.

They were likely terrified by the gruesome scene in the temple.

The guard, visibly nervous, shouted, "Don't move! Drop your weapons and raise your hands!"

The recent uproar had finally caught the attention of West City's military guard.

Unlike the few tentative scouts before, they sent a larger force this time. A dozen gun barrels were trained on them, ready to fire at the slightest hint of resistance.

Xu Qingran didn't resist, slowly complying with their orders.

Their leader first strode in with hands on hips, scanning the temple.

His demeanor was imposing, his expression shifting from surprise to shock.

Finally, he covered his cheeks and screamed loudly, "Oh my god!"

"What the hell have you done!"

The leader rushed over, helping the barely alive priest or pope, who was continuously spitting blood. With a pale face, he directed people to provide medical aid while angrily looking up at Xu Qingran nearby, demanding, "Where the hell did you come from?!"

"Are you from the south or the north?"

"Or are you spies from the Lower South Continent?!"

Looking at the priest, beaten by Shen Tingyu and spitting blood wildly, he loudly added, "The pope is our lieutenant colonel's lover—how dare you touch him?"

Xu Qingran was astonished.

This was truly shocking news. No wonder the cult was so rampant in the west city—it turns out they had such high official protection.

Just then, the leader, fuming with anger, arrogantly said, "Do you really think you can mess with our west city lieutenant colonel?"

Xu Qingran thought to himself, isn't their lieutenant colonel just a local thug who got into the system?

Why can't he be messed with?

Then he heard the leader say, "Have you heard of Deputy Commander Wang from the Silver Dragon Battalion, the legendary figure with the most authority?"

"He's our lieutenant colonel's uncle!"

Xu Qingran: "?"

Wang Jian? He actually has this kind of relationship with him?

Then he heard the other continue, "The Feng family, the largest shareholder of the Silver Dragon Battalion, their head is the lieutenant colonel's godfather!"

"Otherwise, why do you think our west city army is the richest in the Upper South Continent?"

Xu Qingran was slightly surprised again.

They're connected to the Feng family too? Do they know about Feng Yao being mistakenly injured by the townspeople?

"The political officer by His Majesty's side is his great-uncle!"

"And Major General Lu of the Silver Dragon, now very prestigious, was also a disciple of our lieutenant colonel!"

Xu Qingran initially listened to these incredibly impressive claims and tried to believe them.

Until he heard the leader, puffing up with pride, say, "Not just the Silver Dragon Battalion, even the Golden Wing is full of his connections and friends!"

"I won't even mention the Xie and Su families—let's just talk about the Shen family, the most well-known."

"General Shen, the most prestigious now, was taught by our lieutenant colonel! A proper E-type, as rational and normal as he is now—our lieutenant colonel deserves the credit!"

Xu Qingran instinctively turned his gaze to Shen Tingyu, who was also being pointed at with guns.

General Shen, exquisitely handsome, didn't even wear a mask today, but no one seemed to recognize him, including the leader, who was vigorously bragging and showing off.

Finally, he passionately added, "You know the new colonel from the Upper South Continent!"

"That one—he's our lieutenant colonel's biological grandfather!"

"Pfft."

Xu Qingran held back his laughter.

But Shen Tingyu remained silent.

"Hey, what's going on? Show some respect!" The leader, still unaware of the situation, frowned and asked them, "What are your identities? What are you really here for?"

Xu Qingran finished his silent laughter and answered seriously, "We're new recruits."

Looking at Shen Tingyu, his smile was as gentle as a spring breeze, "I'm just a traveler."

Anyone with a bit of sense could see through the leader's bluster.

The soldiers, cut off from outside news, bought it hook, line, and sinker, looking down on the two nobodies with pride.

The leader didn't give them a good look either, "You two nobodies think you can mess with West City?"

"If the Pope so much as sneezes, you're dead men!"

The Pope's spiritual energy level was likely higher than other heretics.

That's why he survived Shen Tingyu's attack, barely clinging to life.

However, as soon as the leader finished speaking, Xu Qingran, who was closest to them, suddenly lifted his foot and stomped heavily on the chest of the fallen man in the holy robe.

The stomp made the man cough up blood, his eyes bulging as he stopped breathing.

The incident was sudden, and the people around were caught off guard by Xu Qingran's kick, their eyes wide with shock.

And he, with an arrogant attitude and no remorse, asked, "Whoops, my bad. Killed him. Now what?"

"You... you... you...!"

The leader's face turned beet red, his mustache twitching in fury.

·

"You adults really don't get it, do you?"

Inside the sweltering military truck.

Two adults and a child were crammed in the back, hands cuffed with restraints that dampened SSS-level and lower spiritual energy. Armed guards surrounded them, eyeing the trio like dangerous criminals.

The temple leader, furious but not reckless, had them hauled off to the West City sub-camp in the seventh district.

Apparently, their lieutenant colonel would handle their punishment personally.

The little girl they'd rescued sat expressionless, muttering complaints.

She still wore the old red butterfly hairband, and when silent, she looked eerily like Xu Qingyao. But Xu Qingran knew, no matter how alike, she wasn't his sister.

Time travel was probably just a fluke.

How could the world be so kind? That they, survivors of the apocalypse, both got a second chance?

"A kid trying to take down an adult? Not exactly a genius move," Shen Tingyu's tone was light and indifferent.

Xu Qingran sat between them, a human buffer against their tempers.

But they still bickered. Shen Tingyu, of all people, picking fights with a kid.

Xu Qingran's low fever lingered, his head throbbing faintly.

But he still gently pressed Shen Tingyu's hand and asked the girl beside him, "Little sister, do you know what your current spiritual pool level is?"

"I don't know," the girl replied.

When speaking to him, her tone softened slightly, tinged with hesitation.

Xu Qingran asked her again, "Why do you dislike this brother so much?"

The girl was silent for a while before replying, "I just can't stand him. I always feel like he’s going to kill me."

Upon hearing this, Shen Tingyu chuckled lightly and said, "Funny, I feel the same way."

The atmosphere grew tense again.

Xu Qingran and Shen Tingyu exchanged glances, both already having some ideas.

But considering her age and that she was still developing, they decided not to tell her.

Xu Qingran only said to her, "Don’t worry, he won’t kill you."

He still had some confidence in his control over Shen Tingyu, but with the unfamiliar girl in front of him, he narrowed his eyes and added, "But if I find out you want to harm him, I’ll kill you."

The girl paused, her eyes slightly puzzled as she glanced between them.

Despite her young age, she understood a lot and quickly grasped their relationship.

She didn’t show disdain, only frowned and asked reluctantly, "What if he tries to hurt me first and I fight back?"

After asking, she saw Xu Qingran smile faintly again.

His smile was particularly beautiful, but the words that came out were, "Then I’ll still kill you."

The girl fell silent.

This statement, aside from being blatant favoritism towards Shen Tingyu, also clearly prevented others from framing him.

In Xu Qingran’s view, Shen Tingyu would only act for two reasons.

First, if the other person really provoked him.

Second, if someone made him believe the other person had provoked him.

Even if Shen Tingyu went crazy with jealousy and started killing everyone he saw, Xu Qingran would still make the same decision.

His heart was that small, only helping those he wanted to help.

"Fine, I can see neither of you has much morality," the girl replied with her head down, feeling gloomy.

—It would probably take years for her to understand that this feeling was because she had been harshly rejected by Type D today.

Though Shen Tingyu didn’t join their conversation, he listened to everything they said.

Before he could feel a hint of what might be called 'happiness' from Xu Qingran’s favoritism, Xu Qingran closed his eyes and leaned on his shoulder.

"My head hurts, don’t bother me for now."

His tone when he was sick always had a hint of softness, unconsciously.

Shen Tingyu fell silent.

Soon, he felt an uncomfortable gaze fixated on them inside the vehicle.

When he looked up, he saw several soldiers sitting nearby, eyeing Xu Qingran beside him with particularly lustful and lewd stares.

His expression darkened instantly.

He almost broke free from the shackles, which were no real restraint for him, ready to gouge out the eyes of those men. But then he remembered that with Xu Qingran's sharpness, Xu Qingran must have noticed this as well, yet he hadn't given any instructions... It was better not to act rashly for now.

He had to restrain himself for now.

Unless these bold perverts really dared to make a move in public.

The vehicle transporting them to the military base made several stops along the way.

The stops had nothing to do with checkpoints. After observing for a while, Shen Tingyu realized they were collecting 'protection fees' from some of the more legitimate establishments in West City. Under the guise of improving the military's provisions and better protecting the residential areas of West City from demon attacks.

But it had to be said, West City was indeed wealthier than other places due to these unusual regulations and illicit trades.

Now, looking at the soldiers on the vehicle, each soldier was well-armed.

Upon reaching the military camp area, they found that the camp looked even more luxurious than the main camp in East City. Everyone had at least basic firearms and knives, and from a distance, they even saw several people carrying brand-new psychic cannons towards the armory.

Those were psychic cannons that even the main camp in East City possessed just one of.

In addition, armored vehicles, fighter jets, and more were all fully stocked.

The numbers were more than double that of the largest main camp in South Continent, East City.

Shen Tingyu frowned slightly.

Perhaps Xu Qingran might not fully grasp, but having been in the military for so long, he could estimate the value of these resources at a glance. Without the support of the Silver Dragon Battalion, these equipments couldn't be bought just by collecting protection fees and profiting from tolerating cults and poaching businesses.

"You're lucky, the lieutenant colonel hasn't been in the Tianlong system these past few days, so you’ve got a few more days to live!"

The leader who brought them back locked them in a small building.

The room was empty, apparently cleared out for use as a temporary prison. Other than that, it was just like any ordinary small room, with windows all around that allowed a view of the outside.

It suited Xu Qingran's needs.

They observed the West City military district throughout the day.

Work... they were indeed working.

Before nightfall, Xu Qingran saw several teams of vehicles setting off grandly, sounding like they were preparing to clean up disaster areas. Because they were well-equipped and had abundant resources, the military guards here only needed to put in half the effort of those in South City to achieve the same results.

Xu Qingran quietly took note of everything.

Thinking to himself, he had finally found some of the 'beauty' of West City.

It wasn't until nightfall that a large military vehicle returned to the camp.

From the moment it entered the camp, the vehicle kept honking noisily, all the way, as lively as a wedding procession.

Xu Qingran leaned by the window, barely able to see the distant flashing headlights.

After the lively commotion started, people came out of several nearby rest rooms, laughing and heading towards the large vehicle. Some had purely amused and entertained expressions, while others whistled mockingly, their attitudes appearing particularly frivolous.

While he was still puzzled and observing, the girl sitting in the corner of the room, trying to keep as far away from Shen Tingyu as possible, suddenly sprang up.

His expression as he looked outside grew increasingly agitated and uneasy.

"Let me go!"

People quickly emerged from the car.

The first to be yanked out of the car was a long-haired girl, handcuffed like a criminal, writhing to escape their grasp.

Then a soldier by the car slapped her hard and barked, "Behave!"

Her swollen eyes brimmed with hatred, but in her vulnerability, she had no choice but to comply.

After her, several others were dragged from the car.

There were both men and women, dressed as typical West City residents, all with slender builds. Their most striking commonality was their good looks.

Each boasted fair skin, delicate features, and rosy cheeks.

It wasn’t hard to guess why they’d been brought to a camp teeming with men at this hour.

"Why the tears? Have you forgotten who’s been slaving away to protect you in West City all these years?"

"You should be grateful to serve as our comfort tools!"

The soldiers yanking them out kicked a young boy, laughing uproariously with their comrades as he cowered in fear, their thirst for dominance instantly quenched. Their faces were revolting.

Xu Qingran watched, stunned, as the civilians were marched toward a large building, horrified by what he was witnessing.

He was appalled that in the ostensibly advanced and prosperous Kayan Empire, there were pockets where individuals, clad in uniforms meant to symbolize honor and duty, exploited their authority to commit such vile acts.

Even more shocking was the realization that such practices had plagued West City for who knows how long.

And yet, every ruler of the Shangnan Continent had vowed to overhaul the status quo and quell the rebellious armies of the four cities. Yet, since his arrival, the horrors he’d uncovered only deepened, with no hint of reform in sight.

Now he fully grasped why the sensible armies and locals were so resistant to their superiors’ commands.

As Xu Qingran seethed, the girl, who had been calm all day, suddenly hurled herself against the locked door like a madwoman.

The room had multiple doors, the innermost one a heavy metal gate. Though frail, she was relentless, pounding, kicking, and throwing herself against the door.

Shen Tingyu observed coldly, making no move to assist.

From his vantage point by the window, Xu Qingran spotted two soldiers nearing their house.

He could also clearly hear their conversation.

"The two guys we nabbed this afternoon are pretty good."

"But the black-haired one seems too tough to crack. Let’s snag his buddy first for the brothers to have fun with."

"Heh, I remember there’s a girl too, right? She’s on the small side, but maybe some brothers are into that?"

The more Xu Qingran listened, the colder his eyes became.

Before he could act, a white shadow suddenly flashed outside the house.

In the blink of an eye, the two men with lecherous smiles were pounced on.

A massive white wolf dog pinned a soldier under each paw, its strength rendering them helpless.

With a fierce glare, it bared its teeth at them, and with a slight downward hook of its claws, it exerted force, releasing its psychic power. This not only pierced through their psychic defenses but also directly penetrated their chests, ripping out their hearts and lungs.

The two men screamed in agony on the ground.

At this hour, there weren’t many guards around.

Moreover, most of those who were awake had been lured away by the nighttime 'entertainment activities,' and the distant noise sounded like a party, completely drowning out their cries. The white dog moved swiftly, not giving them time to recover before silencing them.

During this time, a few nearby patrol guards noticed the commotion and rushed over with weapons to assist.

However, the white dog, which had been well cared for by Xu Qingran for some time, had long recovered from its injured state, and its psychic reserves had fully recovered. It was naturally a beast adept at running through mountains and forests, faster than a speeding car. By the time the guards raised their guns, it had already vanished from their sight.

When they turned around, they found that it had silently appeared behind them, its claws striking their vital points.

The white dog's sharp claws were so hard that they could even pierce through the Empire’s finest metal alloys. To it, these ordinary soldiers were weaker than the big cats it usually battled.

In moments, the guards were all defeated.

Although it could have easily broken the lock on Xu Qingran's door, it was surprisingly careful.

After sniffing, it grabbed a key from one of the guards and walked over to the iron window where Xu Qingran was standing.

It tilted its head, its sharp gaze flicking its tail, then stood up and leaned against the window, placing the key on the window frame.

Xu Qingran hooked his finger and picked up the jangling keys, smiling at it: "Thank you. It must’ve been tough, trailing us and staying hidden this whole time."

The white dog flicked its fluffy, high-raised tail again.

With a cold and proud look in its eyes, it thought to itself that its master looked especially handsome when he smiled.

Xu Qingran unlocked the handcuffs on the three of them and opened the door.

He approached the bodies the white dog had taken down and took the guns and knives from them. The girl followed his lead, grabbing weapons from them, though she seemed confused as she inspected them, having never used such things before.

"Kids your age usually aren’t allowed to use a psychic gun yet."

A deep voice sounded from beside her, and at the same time, the tool in her hand was taken away.

She looked up at Shen Tingyu, who struck her as somewhat arrogant, and was about to get angry with him when she heard him continue: "But in your case, you can."

Shen Tingyu was also a special child who had started learning to handle a psychic gun at the age of seven or eight.

He took out another, easier-to-operate short gun and looked down at the girl, who was not even as tall as his waist, asking: "Do you want me to teach you?"

The girl pursed her lips and silently looked at Xu Qingran, who was bending over to collect weapons.

Then she heard Shen Tingyu say: "Looking to him won’t help. At this stage, only I can teach you."

"Because we’re cut from the same cloth."

The girl listened, half-understanding.

But even so, her hostility toward Shen Tingyu did not diminish. In fact, because he now seemed more powerful and stronger than her, she felt even more annoyed and resentful.

She couldn't help but ask: "I can tell you probably don’t like me either."

"Why are you still helping me? Is it because of him?" She was referring to Xu Qingran.

Hearing the mention of Xu Qingran, a faint smile crossed Shen Tingyu’s eyes, as if his fondness for him softened those negative feelings.

He said, "That guy... is partly to blame."

Then he lightly tapped his head: "Disliking you is just in our nature."

"But I know how to keep it in check."

The girl stayed quiet, taking it all in.

He then asked, "If you had to choose, would you control your power or let it control you?"

The girl still did not answer.

Maybe she wasn’t ready for that question yet.

But Shen Tingyu still told her, "If you can get to where I am."

"Then you’ll be free."

With that, he handed her a gun better suited for her age.

On the other side, Xu Qingran had already tried out the long-barreled gun he’d snatched from the guards.

Firing it felt way better than using a short gun.

Since graduating, Xu Qingran had gotten way better with the psychic gun.

Now, he could handle any gun, even someone else’s, with ease. Once everything was ready, his eyes locked onto the distant house, cold and sharp.

At this moment, in the large house, the 'captives' were herded into the center of the room.

Guards crowded the room, drinking and snacking on melon seeds, all part of the 'fun.' The inner circle was rowdy, playing drinking games, their faces red with excitement. The young men and women, treated like prizes, were tear-streaked.

"Haha! I won! First pick!"

The bald guy raised his fist, bragged to the crowd, then yanked a girl he’d been eyeing, drunkenly pawing at her.

The room was electric, with everyone cheering them on.

So no one noticed when a stranger walked in.

Dressed in all black, Xu Qingran strode through the crowd, gun in hand.

Then he raised the gun, aiming at the eager bald guy.

Finally, someone noticed him and blurted, "Hey, who the hell are you?"

Xu Qingran's gaze remained focused on his target.

Only after firing, the thin wire guiding the shot through the guy’s skull, did he smirk and say, "The demon here to take your lives."

With that, he spun around and decked the guy in the face.

The gunshot snapped the guards out of their drunken stupor.

The crowd couldn’t see the front, and those up front scrambled for their weapons.

Before they could draw them, a fluffy white figure leaped into the crowd, stepping on the heads and backs of many in the rear to rush to the front, then kicked down those who tried to attack Xu Qingran.

The room erupted into chaos.

Some in the back wanted to turn around to find weapons or call for reinforcements, while others, feeling too weak, attempted to flee, only to find another man blocking the doorway. He gave them a gentle smile, and in the next moment, delivered a kick powerful enough to shatter internal organs.

After Shen Tingyu pushed everyone back inside, the girl behind him thoughtfully locked the door, completely cutting off the chaotic and noisy sounds.

In the distant restrooms, dormitories, and among the guards on duty, they faintly heard the sounds of chaos but just assumed it was part of the intense fun and didn’t investigate. By the time someone decided to check on the situation on a whim, the scene inside was already gruesome.

The person who opened the door screamed and tried to run, but was grabbed by the hair by the seemingly nicest brown-haired guy inside and yanked back in.

And then, there was nothing more.

Inside the room, after Xu Qingran and Shen Tingyu took care of the perverts, the girl ran over to the group huddled in the center, trembling.

She ran up to a woman, bent down, and placed a hand on her shoulder: "Sister Xiaofei, it's okay now."

After looking around at the captives, she muttered fiercely: "I knew as soon as I was gone, these assholes would go after our people!"

She was the best fighter and had the strongest mental energy in their village.

She was fearless; give her a knife, and she could take on a group of adults. Usually, because of her, the guards who wanted to target their village found it hard to make a move.

This time, she was caught by the cultists while out rescuing a child from a nearby community.

They held her for a day, delaying a lot of her tasks.

The girl she spoke to was the woman who had been shoved off the car earlier and slapped while resisting.

She leaned into the girl's arms, her voice trembling with tears: "Yaya, I'm so scared! They also hurt my brother and mother... and many people in the village!"

"It's okay, I'll kill them all," the little girl said with the harshest words.

Other siblings asked her, "Who are those two...?"

"Are they here to rescue us too?"

The girl glanced back at Xu Qingran, lightly kicking a body on the ground, and Shen Tingyu, leaning nearby wiping his knife, and quietly said, "...Yeah, I guess."

Surprisingly, these two, faced with such a situation, were even angrier and crazier than her, a local.

They killed everyone in the room! Especially that seemingly gentle young man named Xu Qingran, who was just as fierce as the other man, sometimes specifically targeting the lower bodies of those perverts.

The others in the room might have been scared by their terrifying rescue vibe, but she felt relieved and even envious.

She also wanted to possess such powerful strength.

Xu Qingran tossed the keys to the girl, and after unlocking their shackles, led the group out.

At this time, the sky was still dark, and there were guards in the distance.

Perhaps because he and Shen Tingyu moved so naturally, their walking posture no different from that of military personnel, they were initially thought to be finishing up inside, preparing to send these 'captives' away.

It wasn't until Xu Qingran and Shen Tingyu had loaded the people onto the vehicle and driven out of the military camp for quite some time that someone felt something was off.

They thought it was too quick to finish today, and why hadn't anyone else come out. Upon checking, they were nearly scared to death by the hellish scene inside.

By the time the camp sounded the alarm, the vehicle was already far away.

The driver was Xu Qingran.

The girl sat in the passenger seat, responsible for guiding him back to the village.

The atmosphere in the car was unusually heavy.

Mainly because Xu Qingran seemed to be in a bad mood, his face grim from start to finish. Even the girl, who was naturally not easily scared, unconsciously softened her tone when speaking to him.

Xu Qingran's fever hadn't completely subsided, and being sick always put him in a foul mood. To make matters worse, he had discovered such despicable behavior at the West City military camp.

After asking around, he learned that all this had started after a certain bully was appointed as a so-called lieutenant colonel. When he was still a bully, he probably did such things frequently, but bringing this kind of behavior into a proper military unit and tacitly allowing it to happen was simply outrageous.

This was the biggest piece of trash he had encountered since coming to Shangnan Province.

He heard that the man was currently at the military headquarters in District 15 of West City.

After sending the girl and the rescued group back to their village, Xu Qingran immediately set off, driving non-stop towards District 15 of West City.

When the car entered the camp, the lieutenant colonel was at the assembly area, his eyes red as he berated his soldiers.

In front of him lay a stretcher covered with a white cloth, inside which was probably his lover, a member of the cult.

"Have I been raising a bunch of useless idiots all this time?"

The speaker was a robust man, looking about fifty years old, but his voice was still strong and powerful: "The camp was already embarrassed by that lunatic's rampage, and now, just after I went on a trip, you let two unknown nobodies turn West City upside down?!"

The soldier in front of him hurriedly said, "I heard that the sub-camp in District 7 already caught them a few days ago! They said they were waiting for you to return to personally judge them."

As soon as he finished speaking, he received a sharp blow to the head.

"Is District 7 the headquarters, or is District 15 the headquarters?" the lieutenant colonel roared. "Hurry up and tell them to bring the people here!"

The soldier quickly agreed and was about to notify the people in District 7.

Before he could move, a soft voice came from beside them, saying, "No need to trouble yourself, we've come on our own."

Turning around, they saw two unfamiliar men who had somehow appeared beside them.

And no one had stopped them along the way!

—Probably because Xu Qingran and the others had come down from a military vehicle stolen from District 7.

They were mistaken for West City military personnel.

The lieutenant colonel glanced at Xu Qingran and frowned, asking, "Who are you?"

Xu Qingran raised the corner of his mouth and sneered, "Your grandpa."

·

West City had been quite turbulent recently.

Many of the soldiers there had lost their comrades and brothers. Hearing that someone had come to cause trouble, their first thought was of South City, with whom they had always had a strained relationship. So, some overzealous soldiers deliberately crossed the border and started a fight with the guards at another South City checkpoint.

Soon after, South City called for reinforcements, and the troublemakers in West City also called for backup.

What started as a small skirmish quickly escalated.

Half of South City's two districts got involved, which infuriated Lin Xuan and Ma Biao, who scolded them for not doing their jobs properly and just causing trouble. The soldiers below also felt wronged and explained that West City people had started entering South City in large numbers to cause havoc and mischief.

The argument between the two sides escalated to the point where they directly took it to the Upper South Continent Military Headquarters in the East City.

The people from the South City said there was no way to resolve this and needed the colonel to step in and make a ruling.

The people from the West City weren’t fazed either, saying the colonel was their lieutenant colonel's grandfather, so they were fine with seeking his help.

On this side, Deputy Mao was at his wit's end. He was still shaken by the message Xu Qingran had sent him some time ago, about sending reinforcements from the Lower South Continent to the West City, and hadn’t gotten over it yet. Now, he had to face the argument that was heating up between these two groups.

The most headache-inducing part was that the colonel they were looking for was nowhere to be seen.

Calls rang out, unanswered.

Deputy Mao lost his cool: "I told you the colonel isn't here!"

"Don’t ask me, I don’t know where he is either!"

"Weren’t you the ones who refused to recognize the Silver Dragon's official reps? Now that something's happened, you come running to the East City asking for the colonel to judge—what kind of sense does that make?"

Amidst the noisy argument, a soldier from the East City camp burst in, wide-eyed: "Deputy... Deputy Mao, someone from the Silver Dragon Battalion HQ is here!"

This announcement not only shocked the deputy but also shut up the arguing reps in an instant.

Silver Dragon, headquarters??

It had been years since anyone from the headquarters paid attention to their little backwater. Why would they suddenly show up?

The soldier, who seemed to be seeing someone from the Silver Dragon headquarters for the first time, and with quite a grand entourage outside, looked like he was on the verge of tears: "They... they brought a lot of things, and they even mentioned wanting to meet our new colonel... Deputy, you're the only one who knows what's up with the colonel, so I had to come and ask you to meet them."

Deputy Mao stood there, dumbfounded.

—No, he didn’t know anything either!!

The East City camp's landing field was huge.

The massive starship from the Silver Dragon headquarters was parked there, its sleek, high-tech design leaving the local soldiers in awe. They also saw Silver Dragon staff from the headquarters unloading a ton of gear.

There were custom fighters, aircraft, and mechs that looked like they cost a fortune.

Smaller items included custom weapons, uniforms, and other military gear.

Deputy Mao stepped out of the building, feeling like he was in a daze, and greeted a few stern-looking reps outside.

The entourage from the Silver Dragon Battalion wasn’t particularly large, but the local soldiers hardly ever saw anyone from HQ.

Even the rowdiest among them couldn’t help but be curious about these visitors from the prosperous star systems, gathering around to watch.

The representatives from the Silver Dragon headquarters were well-trained, dignified professionals.

After confirming Deputy Mao's identity, they smiled and said, "These are the custom rewards for your colonel, who was an outstanding graduate and special invitee from the Grandis Military Academy."

"Now that everything is ready, we’ve delivered it to his workplace as per the original agreement, and he needs to personally sign for it."

Deputy Mao was stunned by their words.

Even the surrounding soldiers were in an uproar.

What?

A newly outstanding graduate and special invitee from the Grandis Military Academy??

Their new colonel was that much of a big deal?!