The old man who commanded with a wave of his hand sat alone in his wheelchair.
In the late autumn season, the imperial capital already had a bit of chill. Above the old man's head was a tree that had lost most of its yellow leaves. Chen Jinzhao stood in the distance, not disturbing the old man, only feeling that after just three months apart, the old man had become even more withered.
After standing for about ten minutes, the old man still hadn't noticed him.
Only then did Chen Jinzhao walk forward and speak a few low words with Xu Hanchen. As expected, Xu Hanchen no longer recognized Chen Jinzhao. He even took out candy from his pocket and handed it to Chen Jinzhao, smiling and telling him to eat it.
Chen Jinzhao's nose burned, as if he smelled tear gas.
"Old man, do you really not recognize me anymore?"
Xu Hanchen held Chen Jinzhao's hand and, after careful recognition, said, "This old man naturally remembers you. You are Chen Jinzhao, a formal member of the Candle Dragon Special Operations Team."
Chen Jinzhao was stunned, his sorrow turning to joy.
Before the young man could be happy for long, the old man said with great earnestness, "You are still young and must work hard. If there's an opportunity in the future, I will recommend you to the higher-ups. You are still too immature. However, this old man is very optimistic about you. I hope you can continue to play to your strengths in the days to come and defend the borders for Huaguo. If you encounter any difficulties in life, you can call this old man anytime, understand?"
"There's one more thing. Do you still remember my granddaughter, Yao Yao? After meeting you last time, this girl really liked you and wanted to stay in the army camp. But I don't want her to follow this path. If you see Yao Yao in the army camp in the future, it means this girl has sneaked in behind my back again. You must have someone notify me."
"..."
Listening to the old man's rambling words, Chen Jinzhao didn't feel annoyed at all. He listened patiently to these reminders that he had already heard from Xu Hanchen countless times. Sometimes Xu Hanchen would forget that he had just said something and would repeat it to Chen Jinzhao over and over.
Chen Jinzhao answered each time with utmost seriousness, just as he had when they first met.
As he spoke.
Chen Jinzhao realized that Xu Hanchen had stopped speaking. He then noticed that the old man had lowered his head and fallen asleep at some unknown time.
Seeing Xu Hanchen's state, Chen Jinzhao felt extremely distressed.
Although Xu Hanchen was not related to him by blood, the bond between them was stronger than family. Even his own grandfather might not have treated him so well. After escorting Xu Hanchen back to the special care ward, Chen Jinzhao sought out the specialist doctor to understand Xu Hanchen's condition.
The doctor's answer was blunt: Xu Hanchen had no hope of recovery.
Furthermore, as time passed, his condition would worsen. All the hospital could do was to slow down this trend.
Chen Jinzhao sighed.
Heaven was sometimes unfair. Clearly, Xu Hanchen had done many good deeds in his life, yet he did not reap good rewards. The saying that man can conquer heaven was ultimately just a joke; no one could ever win against heaven.
Heaven might make many mistakes, but man only needed to make one mistake to be irredeemably ruined.
After leaving the hospital, Chen Jinzhao returned home and stayed in quiet contemplation for seven days.
During these seven days, Chen Jinzhao did nothing but sit in his study and stare blankly all day, almost making Yu Mengzhi think he had lost his mind. Fortunately, Chen Jinzhao was not truly ill; he was reminiscing about the setbacks and hardships of his life and writing them down in a notebook. If he were to die in the future, this notebook would be enough for someone to compile a memoir for him.
After seven days, Chen Jinzhao went out.
This finally relieved Yu Mengzhi and the others, as they were at least sure that Chen Jinzhao was alright.
On this day.
Chen Jinzhao left the imperial capital and traveled to the Northeast of Huaguo.
After the war with Xinluo and Dongying began, the Northeast had become Huaguo's bridgehead, with countless military industrial enterprises in full production. Chen Jinzhao received news from the front lines. Although significant progress had been made on the Dongying battlefield, the Dongying royal family was still stubbornly resisting. They had secretly summoned Dongying's remaining S-class powerhouses and ordered them to infiltrate Huaguo's Northeast for large-scale sabotage.
It was important to note that S-class powerhouses were beings who surpassed human limits. Once they infiltrated military industrial enterprises, the destructive power was self-evident, and it could even demoralize the soldiers on the front lines.
Chen Jinzhao had come here precisely to resolve this matter.
Based on the information available, Chen Jinzhao knew that this intelligence had come from the Matsui family. After the Huaguo army captured territory, the Matsui family had secretly surrendered, with members led by Matsui Yugai sending intelligence to Huaguo.
Thinking back to this Matsui family, Chen Jinzhao found it somewhat ironic.
At one point, his relationship with the Matsui family was irreconcilable. Yet, not long after, the Matsui family had lowered their proud heads and knelt at Chen Jinzhao's feet.
After obtaining this crucial intelligence, Chen Jinzhao began making arrangements upon arriving in the Northeast.
Concurrently.
Under Chen Jinzhao's instruction, the Matsui family began spreading rumors. These rumors were heard by the Dongying royal family, who then distributed them to the several S-class powerhouses who had infiltrated Huaguo. These S-class powerhouses, like jackals smelling blood, rushed over one after another.
They had only one objective—
To kill Chen Jinzhao.
Seven or eight days passed.
Chen Jinzhao sat in the courtyard as usual. The Northeast, which had just experienced snowfall a few days prior, was now covered in a layer of silver. Chen Jinzhao was located at a sparsely populated sanatorium at the foot of the Changbai Mountains, a place rarely visited by anyone.
To avoid being disturbed, Chen Jinzhao had not even arranged for guards to patrol the area.
A graceful figure stood beside Chen Jinzhao. Looking at the man before her, the woman glanced around and said, "Will those people really come? Why do I feel like they might have gotten wind that this could be a trap and have chosen to be cowards?"
"They will come," Chen Jinzhao stated with certainty.
Xu Nianqing did not understand why Chen Jinzhao was so sure, but since he said so, she decided not to argue and instead began to praise the scenery of the Northeast. "Unlike the misty southern Jiangnan, the vast and boundless Northeast land is filled with a majestic and magnificent atmosphere, like a battlefield from ancient myths. Whoever can dominate this land can stabilize the world."
"They're here," Chen Jinzhao suddenly said.
Xu Nianqing did not react for a moment. "Who's here?"
A cunning smile appeared on Chen Jinzhao's pale yet handsome face. "The people we've been waiting for have arrived."
Xu Nianqing immediately realized something and looked around the courtyard.
It was still empty.
"No, where are the guests you mentioned?" Xu Nianqing asked, bewildered.
As soon as she finished speaking.
A gust of strong wind swept through, nearly knocking Xu Nianqing over.
At the same time, a chilling current surged through the land, making Xu Nianqing feel a deep chill in her bones.
Clatter!
The strong wind slammed open the courtyard gate. Xu Nianqing looked in that direction.
Realizing something was wrong, she clutched Chen Jinzhao's clothes. Although she had simulated this scene hundreds or thousands of times in her mind, facing these enemies directly still made Xu Nianqing feel a little fear.
This was the oppressive aura of S-class powerhouses!
And more than one!
"Chen Jinzhao, do you really intend to do this? I can still call for reinforcements now. Let's not waste precious time," Xu Nianqing said with a frown, afraid of any accident befalling Chen Jinzhao.
Chen Jinzhao showed no fear on his face.
Just like this vast Northeastern land, it was filled with a steady and solemn atmosphere.
"Isn't it a joy to have friends come from afar?"