Book 3, Chapter 214: Welcome

The night passed. At 8 a.m. the next day, a train arrived at Fort 4 with its whistle ringing as it came to a stop.

Right before everyone, a group of soldiers came out of the train and lined up on the sides. Then, a handsome man with guarded eyes stepped out. He was Zhan Yi, Chen Bitong’s student.

He looked around before turning to the train and saying respectfully, “Sir.”

Then, a man with a wide-brimmed hat, military overcoat, and military boots stepped out. He wore a mask that covered half of his face. Even though he appeared to only be around fifty years old, his exposed face had deep lines etched onto it. His hair, too, was graying.

His uniform was perfectly pressed, and his collar and cuffs were buttoned. The bronze buttons were polished until they shone. His gaze, though, was as sharp as a blade. From his appearance alone, it was clear that he was a traditional military man.

But he wasn’t exactly tall. He appeared to be just around 1.7 meters tall, shorter than the average soldier. Unless told, or if someone ignored his lively eyes, it would be difficult to tell that he was a powerful martial artist. Perhaps more people would be inclined to think that he was just a normal military officer.

A female military officer built like a tank came down with him. She was at least 2.2 meters tall and incredibly muscular, but not ugly. Surprisingly, her features were well-balanced.

However, while the size difference between them was incredibly great, everyone’s attention was on the man. Once he got down and started walking forward, the soldiers lined up along the path and all the others in the station saluted him respectfully.

“Instructor Chen.”

Lai Wu, a Third Limit martial artist in Fort 4, greeted him on the train platform and stepped out of the crowd to welcome him. There was a smile on his lips.

Lai Wu wasn’t popular in Fort 4 because he never took the initiative to talk to anyone. Once, when Chen Chuan’s unit walked by and greeted him, all he did was give them a side-eye.

But this arrogant man showed great respect to Chen Bitong. He performed a perfect salute and said, “Please stay for a few days at Fort 4. I’ll be sure to be a good host.”

“You’re busy. You don’t have to waste time on me, not when I’m not anyone of importance,” Chen Bitong said.

Then, he stopped, raised his hand, and gave a salute. After that, with Zhan Yi and the built female military officer escorting him, he walked into Fort 4.

The soldiers lifted their guns and placed them on their shoulders before following him with uniform footsteps.

Even though Yuan Qiuyuan had come to the station early, he wasn’t authorized personnel and couldn’t go into the train station to welcome Chen Bitong. When he saw the man outside, he felt his heart sing in excitement.

“It’d be great if I could become Mr. Chen’s student. No, I’d be fine with just receiving some instructions from him. What about you, Officer Qin?” he asked Qin Qingque.

His team member shook her head.

Her reaction puzzled Yuan Qiuyuan, but he didn’t think much about it and just looked ahead. “I wonder how many days he’s going to stay here...”

Then, he looked around. “Say, where’s the captain? He said that he’d be here...”

***

Chen Chuan was standing in the overhead walkway and watching Chen Bitong walk inside. He noticed that most of the soldiers were staring at him with respect.

It was no wonder why the higher-ups were unable to find him guilty. Setting aside the fact that they did not have concrete proof, he had multiple impressive achievements under his name, and many soldiers idolized him to the point that they saw him as their role model. It would be a huge shock to many if Chen Bitong had anything to do with the formation of the gap in the World Ring, and it would have an incredibly negative impact on them.

Even if the higher-ups could prove that Chen Bitong had something to do with the incident, they wouldn’t be able to punish him for it. They would have to find another excuse.

While Chen Chuan was observing Chen Bitong, the man suddenly turned his head to meet his eyes. His gaze was so sharp that it felt like two sharp arrows.

But after a moment, the sharp gaze turned away, and Chen Bitong returned to how he originally had been.

Chen Chuan raised an eyebrow at that. While Chen Bitong had cast a glance in his direction, no one by his side had noticed anything abnormal or looked up. It was as if no one had noticed Chen Bitong’s actions. Even Chen Chuan himself was wondering whether those eyes staring at him were just a figment of his imagination.

Yet when he thought about it, he guessed that Chen Bitong may not have physically looked over. That sharp gaze could have been a product of him using his biofield and mental foundation at the same time to observe his surroundings, which made Chen Chuan think that Chen Bitong had physically looked over.

This had to be an incredibly advanced way of using a biofield and mental foundation. During the entire process, Chen Chuan hadn’t even noticed Chen Bitong using his biofield. This alone proved that he was stronger than the Iron Monster.

While Chen Chuan was thinking about this, Chen Bitong and his entourage walked into the fort and vanished from his sight. Chen Chuan didn’t stay around and returned to his room.

The soldiers who welcomed Chen Bitong had all gone to the train station of their own accord, while none of the officers had shown up. Clearly, they knew something and decided to avoid him to stay out of trouble. Even so, they treated him like a proper guest and assigned the best rooms for him and the soldiers who came with him.

***

After Chen Bitong entered his room, Zhan Yi came over with a stack of documents and placed them on the table. “This is the news from over the past few days, Instructor Chen.”

Chen Bitong had been forced to take a leave and wasn’t allowed to receive news while traveling between forts. He could only read outdated information when he reached a fort.

Chen Bitong flipped through the news until he reached one article and stopped for a moment. “The Iron Monster has been killed?”

“Yes. He was killed by an officer who just arrived at the merged space,” Zhan Yi replied.

“I’ve heard about the Iron Monster. I was thinking about killing him if he ever came to a fort I was visiting, but now, it seems like I won’t need to do anything,” Chen Bitong commented.

The handsome officer retorted, “You’d be showing him more respect than he deserves if you fought him. If he did attack a fort we were visiting, I could fight him in your place.

“But if an officer who just arrived at the merged space managed to kill him, it shows that he wasn’t all that strong. I don’t know how he managed to gain such infamy. His strength might simply have been blown out of proportion.”

When he saw that Chen Bitong was still reading that article, he guessed that Chen Bitong was thinking about giving this officer some guidance. His instructor loved teaching younger martial artists, especially those who showed great potential. “Do you want to see that officer? That’s easy. He might be outside right now. Once I release word that you want to see him, he’ll come running to meet you.”

“I do want to see him, but not today. We can do it tomorrow. While my movements aren’t restricted, the higher-ups are still monitoring me. I’ve only just arrived, so there’s no rush for me to do anything. Otherwise, people will end up holding meetings overnight again,” Chen Bitong joked.

The handsome man cast a glance at the silent female officer standing by the side and hissed angrily, “You had nothing to do with it, but they just had to blame it on you. They’re even limiting your movements now. Why can’t they remember the contributions you’ve made in the past? They’re seriously heartless.”

Chen Bitong remained calm. “The higher-ups aren’t concerned about social niceties, but risks. I’m dangerous to them. If I were in their place, I’d do the same.

“Let’s stop talking about this. Xiao Yi, you’ve only just returned to the country. You should have seen quite a few things. I want to hear your stories about the world outside the Great Shun Republic.”

Zhan Yi immediately stood at attention and said, “I’ll tell you all that you want to know.”

***

Chen Chuan stepped down from the overhead walkway and returned to his room. After locking the door, he sat down, took out a tube of special medicine, and ate it.

When martial artists were issued special medicine by the base, they were warned to avoid training in the merged space, especially if they had never used special medicine before. Something could go wrong if they were careless.

Martial artists with strong mental foundations could ignore this warning, but most would only take the special medicine once they were out of the merged space, for safety’s sake.

But Chen Chuan could have his second self absorb damage, so he didn’t have to worry about it too much. Also, he didn’t know how long he was going to stay here, and he didn’t want to waste any time.

The next day, when he walked out of his room, he noticed that the fort had become much livelier. It was a military base, so aside from the sounds the soldiers made when they trained, one would be hard-pressed to find any other sounds. Yet at this moment, Chen Chuan could hear the occasional soldier walking by. He could even hear snippets of casual conversation.

After having breakfast with Yuan Qiuyuan and Qin Qingque, he learned that this was due to a lot of Chen Bitong’s students and former students having come to Fort 4 to meet him after learning that he was going back to Central City. A number of children of high-ranking officials had also shown up. They had come because of Chen Bitong’s fame.

Chen Chuan did not believe that things were as simple as they seemed. Based on the information Liang Guanghai gave him, Chen Bitong had quite the strong background. The faction he belonged to might be showing their support through this.

While he was thinking about it, he received a call from an unknown number. He answered it and asked, “Who is it?”

A firm voice came through. “You must be Captain Chen, I’m Zhan Yi, Instructor Chen’s student. If you were among the soldiers welcoming Instructor Chen at the train station yesterday, you should have seen me.

“Instructor Chen heard that you killed the Iron Monster and was impressed. He would like to meet you. Are you free? If you are, we’re going to have a tea party at 3 p.m. today. Join us if you have the time.”

A flicker of emotion stirred in Chen Chuan’s heart. His mission was to get closer to Chen Bitong, so once the opportunity presented itself, he wasn’t going to miss it. “Sure. I’ll be there on time.”

Zhan Yi found Chen Chuan’s agreement natural and said, “Alright. I’ll see you later.”

After the call ended, Chen Chuan called Qin Qingque. “Officer Qin, check with the Communications Department and figure out who leaked my contact channel.”

“Got it. I’ll find out.”