In Xiao Rulai's office at the headquarters building of the Secret Service in Shangjing District.
Zhang Rong looked at his longtime friend with a somewhat unpleasant expression, his voice filled with barely suppressed anger:
"Do you dare repeat what you just said? You're gambling with their lives, Xiao Rulai. Have you been in such a high position for too long that you've forgotten what you said before?"
Faced with Zhang Rong's questioning, Xiao Rulai's hand, hidden under the table, unconsciously clenched, but his expression remained unchanged as he looked at Zhang Rong and calmly replied:
“Zhang Rong, I don’t know where you got this information. According to the law, I can investigate this matter thoroughly right now, and I can even arrest you and those who leaked the information to you and put them all in the war zone prison. But out of consideration for our past relationship, I can turn a blind eye to this matter. However, you should no longer concern yourself with this matter. Since you chose to leave this place back then, you naturally have no right to get involved now. Right now, you are just a regional squad leader!”
Furthermore, I'm not gambling with the lives of those new recruits. I've said it before, I will guarantee their safety!
When Zhang Rong heard Xiao Rulai's words, he looked at him in disbelief. Was this still the same Xiao Rulai who used to talk so passionately with him, saying that he wanted to protect every human being?
How did he become like this?
Zhang Rong was somewhat dazed, but when he saw the few strands of white hair on Xiao Rulai's head, he suddenly felt relieved. Yes, people change, let alone Xiao Rulai who is now sitting in this position.
"As for that boy, you shouldn't investigate him anymore. Even with your strength, the things behind this are beyond your control now!"
Looking at the silent Zhang Rong, Xiao Rulai spoke up again to persuade him.
For more than a month, Zhang Rong frequently visited the Secret Pavilion and even used his own name to access some of the highest-level coded texts. Xiao Rulai had been watching all of this. At first, Xiao Rulai didn't pay any attention, but when he realized that Zhang Rong was getting closer to that secret, Xiao Rulai suspended Zhang Rong's access privileges.
Upon hearing this, Zhang Rong gave Xiao Rulai a deep look. During this period, no matter what methods he used, he was unable to find out the secret about the mysterious scar on Chi Chen's chest. Those things were deliberately hidden by the Secret Bureau.
Zhang Rong and Chen Sheng were right. There must be a shocking secret hidden in Chi Chen, otherwise Xiao Rulai would not have warned him again and again.
Zhang Rong looked out the window. Sure enough, he still didn't like this glamorous but filthy Shangjing District. Even someone like Xiao Rulai would gradually become corrupted if he stayed in such a place for too long.
Zhang Rong spoke, his tone turning somewhat cold:
"I know you have your reasons for being in this position, but I also ask you not to forget what you've always upheld. After all, some things, once lost, are not so easy to get back. I won't interfere if you want to use their lives as bait to catch a big fish, but you can't interfere if I want to save people. And as for Chi Chen, I don't care what secrets he's hiding, but in my eyes, he's just a young man who has endured years of hardship alone. Some things shouldn't be his burden, at least not now. Perhaps one day, when he grows up to a certain point, he will choose to walk this path himself, but right now, he shouldn't, and cannot, become a tool for your power struggles!"
After Zhang Rong finished speaking, he didn't give Xiao Rulai a chance to speak again, and turned around and left the office that represented the highest honor of the Great Xia War Zone.
"well!"
As Xiao Rulai watched Zhang Rong leave indifferently, his hand under the table clenched and unclenched repeatedly. The day he least wanted to see had finally arrived.
Ultimately, these two brothers, who had risked their lives together on the battlefield and created numerous miracles, went down two different paths.
A moment later, Xiao Rulai swept away the gloom on his face, and in its place was his unwavering gaze once again.
"You've made such a fuss for so long, it's time to put an end to this!"
Xiao Rulai got up and looked at the sky outside the window. Even under the sunlight, there are always shadows that it cannot reach. What Xiao Rulai needs to do now is to drag out those rats hiding in the shadows.
...
It was another early morning. At 6:30 a.m., halfway up the mountain, Chi Chen woke up from a light sleep.
Why wasn't there a wake-up alarm today?
Chi Chen was slightly puzzled. Usually, the piercing alarm would be sounding at this time, so why was there no sound at all today?
After waking up Lin Bai and Xiang Ming, who were sleeping like pigs, Chi Chen went out of the dormitory. In the square, groups of new students were washing up.
"Chi Chen!"
"Chi Chen!"
When the newcomers saw Chi Chen come out, they greeted him warmly. Three days had passed since Chi Chen defeated Lan Yue and helped the newcomers win the sparring match.
That day, after Chi Chen defeated Lan Yue, apart from some newcomers who sensed that Lan Yue had released her cultivation level, the rest of the newcomers who didn't know about it hid for the entire afternoon and didn't come out. The instructors had to drag them out of the mountains one by one, completely bewildered.
Some of the new recruits were even more ruthless. They dug a hole in the mountain, made a hollow straw out of a wooden branch, put it in their mouths, and buried themselves in it. If the instructors hadn't been shouting through the mountains with megaphones, they might have buried themselves until midnight.
When all the new students later learned that Chi Chen had won the sparring match, he was greeted with cheers and spectators from hundreds of people. That day, Chi Chen experienced the thrill of a drop tower for the first time. He was thrown around by others countless times. Among them, Lin Bai and Xiang Ming were the most enthusiastic. In the end, Chi Chen fled in panic, calling them two traitors. Chi Chen, who had always been used to a quiet life, simply couldn't resist the enthusiasm of so many people.
"Wang Hao, where are the instructors?"
Chi Chen came to Wang Hao's side and asked in confusion, "It's one thing that there was no wake-up alarm this morning, but why are all the instructors gone? It seems like there are only us newbies left on the whole mountainside."
When Wang Hao saw Chi Chen, he gave a somewhat silly smile, touched his almost shaved head, and replied:
"I don't know either. I didn't see any instructors when I came out."
Upon hearing this, Chi Chen looked at Gan Yuan, who was standing to the side. Gan Yuan shook his head, indicating that he did not know.
On the square, the new students gradually emerged from their dormitories, and they were all bewildered when they saw that there wasn't a single instructor in sight.
"Chi Chen, the instructors didn't sneak away behind our backs, did they?"
Lin Bai and Xiang Ming came to Chi Chen's side. Lin Bai looked at the empty platform. He was really not used to Cheng Hu's loud voice and cold poker face today.
"Probably not. The training camp isn't over yet, and their stuff is still there. This is probably some kind of trick by that head instructor!"
Chi Chen glanced around and saw that everything was intact except for the instructors. Considering the torment they had endured over the past month, there was a high chance that Cheng Hu was behind this.
"So what do we do now? Continue training as usual? Or can we take a day off and slack off?"
Lin Bai's eyes darted around. After working so hard for so long, he could finally relax a bit.
"Rest? Maybe those instructors are hiding somewhere watching us right now? You still want to carry heavy loads and climb up and down these mountains from morning till night?"
Upon hearing this, Xiang Ming rolled his eyes and looked around suspiciously.
Don't ask, the answer is that I've suffered.
"Training as usual..."
Chi Chen also felt that Xiang Ming's words were very credible, but before he could finish speaking, he suddenly looked towards a certain place in the forest.
"That's... mysterious?!"
At the same time, some people exclaimed in surprise.
"Whoosh whoosh whoosh!"
"Whoosh whoosh whoosh!"
Throughout the forest, the sound of leaves rustling could be heard constantly.
One by one, mysterious creatures of varying appearances, sizes, and levels of cultivation emerged from the forest.
"roar!"
From all directions, the mysterious, ear-piercing roar continued to echo, causing Chi Chen's expression to change slightly, and the newlyweds to feel a chill run down their spines.
How could so many mysteries suddenly appear here?
Is this also part of the training program?
But what about the instructors? Are they supposed to face so much mystery alone?
The forest was densely packed with at least a hundred mysterious creatures, their numbers no less than those of the newcomers. Moreover, among them were several mysterious creatures radiating terrifying spiritual pressure, at least at the peak of the Solid Mirror realm or even the Ascension Mirror realm. Could they really handle this?
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