The unit, composed of about a dozen men, moved swiftly. Their weapons and the palpable, murderous aura rolling off them in waves caused the swarming crowd to hastily make way.
In this place, soldiers killing a few people fell within the normal scope of law enforcement...
The leading officer walked up to Wen Yu and saluted him respectfully.
"Sir, the Supreme Commander has ordered me to escort you to the Central Control Tower."
Wen Yu nodded expressionlessly and, with the three people behind him, followed the group of soldiers as they pushed their way out.
By the time Wen Yu and his group had finally squeezed out of the overcrowded central square, another unit of soldiers, approaching from a different direction, had also escorted Arthur and his two companions to the edge of the square.
After ten days, they finally met again.
Wen Yu, of course, felt nothing particularly profound.
Arthur seems a little thinner, thatâs all,
he thought.
Oh, and the little girl holding his hand is quite cute.
Qin Tian, on the other hand, seemed somewhat emotional and walked directly toward Qin Shiyuan.
What followed was the typical, cheesy drama of a sibling reunion. After enduring a minute of the sappy scene, Wen Yu finally spoke.
"Letâs go. We should see Lin Haifeng first."
With that, he signaled the soldiers to continue leading the way.
They took the same route as before. The difference was that this time, they hadnât walked for more than three minutes when several military vehicles pulled up in front of Wen Yuâs group.
"Long time no see."
Lan Bo jumped down from the lead military vehicle and greeted Wen Yu with a smile.
Strictly speaking, Wen Yu and Lan Bo had only met a few times during the Sequence Member-Ranking Battle, so they couldnât really be called familiar. But as the saying goes, one doesnât hit a smiling face. Given Lan Boâs status as Sequence Number 9, his appearing personally to receive them was already a great show of respect.
Wen Yu also smiled and asked casually, "Howâs the battle going down there?"
As Lan Bo directed the people behind Wen Yu into the vehicles, he replied, "Itâs still a stalemate, but itâs not a major issue. Several large-scale attacks have been repelled. I estimate the Yanjing Assembly Site should be fine. Itâs just the other places..."
Lan Bo sat in the driverâs seat, chattering nonstop, practically itching to tell Wen Yu the situation of every major rally point in all of Cathay.
Of course, Wen Yu was happy to listenâthere was no harm in knowing more about such matters.
As the military vehicle roared towards the towering central control tower, Wen Yu listened to Lan Boâs prattling while observing the current state of Eternal Sky City.
The present Eternal Sky City seemed much more aliveâmainly due to the military combat personnel and researchers. Moreover, according to Lan Bo, all Sequence members could receive a residence in Eternal Sky Cityânot just those affiliated with the military, but all Sequence members!
So thatâs what this is about!
An expletive immediately sprang to Wen Yuâs mind.
So, Lin Haifeng, already in Eternal Sky City, had prepared a gathering point for us all along!
As for why Lin Haifeng did this... By offering a residence, heâs roping in Sequence members, regardless of whether they join the military. When Eternal Sky City faces a crisis, these Sequence members would more or less contribute. Itâs an unbelievably shrewd deal.
While looking at the scenery outside, Wen Yu listened to Lan Boâs incessant chatter.
After a moment, Wen Yu asked, "What about Tang Haofei?"
"Brother Fei is holding down the fort at the Yanjing Assembly Site. Let me tell you, your coming here has really helped..."
Lan Bo abruptly stopped mid-sentence, his expression turning chagrined as he gave Wen Yu a sheepish smile.
"You let that slip, huh..." Wen Yu remarked.
Wen Yu felt a sense of exasperation. As the saying goes, he who talks too much is bound to slip up. Lan Bo was the reckless type. To put it bluntly, Lan Bo had just divulged military secrets.
That old fox Lin Haifeng!
Wen Yu realized with a start.
No wonder he wasnât worried about me stirring things up in his main base. Turns out, heâs the one in damn trouble and is desperate for me to come!
SCREECH.
With a harsh grating sound, the military vehicle Lan Bo was driving skidded to a halt directly in front of the central control tower.
"Big Bro, do me a favor. Donât let the Supreme Commander know I spilled the beans..."
Wen Yu promptly gave an OK gesture.
Seeing this, Lan Bo burst into laughter. He threw an arm around Wen Yuâs shoulder with an air of easy familiarity.
"Good brother! Iâll treat you to drinks later. You guys head on up; I have to go."
With that, he gave Wen Yu a knowing wink, turned, and got back into the military vehicle.
At the entrance of the central control tower, personnel arranged by Lin Haifeng were, naturally, waiting to receive Wen Yu and his group.
Following a slender female officer, they entered a rather large reception hall. The female officer spoke to Wen Yu with great deference.
"Sir, please wait a moment. The Supreme Commander is currently in a meeting but will be here to receive you shortly."
Wen Yu nodded.
He had anticipated Lin Haifengâs busynessâwarfare, internal affairs, diplomacy; any one of these matters would demand a significant amount of Lin Haifengâs attention. In truth, even though Wen Yuâs relationship with Lin Haifeng could be described as being both adversarial and allied, there was one thing Wen Yu was absolutely certain of: Lin Haifengâs capabilities were undoubtedly worthy of his current position!
In the spacious reception hall, Wen Yu sat on a comfortable sofa, resting with his eyes closed. Nearby, little Nicole hopped about energetically, examining the surrounding decorations and furnishings, showing no sign of grief from the recent loss of her family and home.
Arthur must have done an excellent job comforting her,
Wen Yu mused.
Yang Hong and Wang Fucai were whispering to each other off to the side, their eyes occasionally darting in another direction.
There, Qin Tian and Arthur flanked Qin Shiyuan. The siblings, Qin Tian and Qin Shiyuan, were chatting idly, but the atmosphere lacked its previous liveliness. Arthur stood beside them like a stone statue, but...
Qin Shiyuanâs occasional glances towards Arthur now held a strange, new element...
And the look in Qin Tianâs eyes when he regarded Arthur also held a hint of that same âstrangenessâ...
Damn it!
Qin Tian seethed internally.
I told you to protect my sister! Did you protect her all the way into bed, you brat?!
The peculiar atmosphere in the room didnât disturb Wen Yuâs rest.
He couldnât be bothered with such romantic entanglementsâthey could resolve their own conflicts. Whatever melodramatic plot unfolded, Wen Yu wouldnât spare it a second glance.
This was Wen Yuâs way of leading a team: mutual assistance and mutual benefit were the guiding principles. He was not their nanny.
In fact, that Wen Yuâs current small group only included two "non-combatants," Nicole and Qin Shiyuan, spoke volumes about his team-building philosophy: he wouldnât give the weak a second thought, and the strong were expected to manage themselves. He would help resolve major crises if he could, but they shouldnât bother him with trivialities!
Amidst this somewhat ambiguous and bizarre atmosphere, the sound of footsteps approached from outside.