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"Maybe they wanted to remind me not to forget where I came from."
Chapter 7: Ideological education
FR Fairy Cloud Star, Silver Dragon City, central district 1.
"How long has it been? There are eighteen devil disaster zones in Red City, and you've only dealt with three! You even handed the credit for south district 13 straight to someone else!"
In the military assembly hall's conference room, a short, stout man with a small tuft of mustache angrily threw the lightboard in his hand onto the table.
The sturdy lightboard took the impact without so much as a crack. The map showing the state of each district's offense and defense merely switched to another page of data. Its steadily plunging curves looked just like a falling green fund chart, and they also represented the Silver Dragon populace's dissatisfaction.
The sight made the man even angrier. He demanded of the branch camp leaders around the table, who had their necks tucked in like quails, "Didn't you see how Xie Nanjun from the opposing camp mocked us in his interview? Do you really want to wait until the Golden Wing Camp takes care of all fourteen remaining districts and lets the whole empire laugh at Silver Dragon!?"
A hand with prominent knuckles knocked on the conference room door. The man raised a hand to smooth his increasingly thinning hair, then turned and saw the person outside. Still fuming, he said to the group around the table, "If only you could be half as reassuring as Lu Cheng!"
After receiving permission, the person outside entered the conference room. The people seated below looked at him with envy and jealousy, but also some admiration. After all, Colonel Lu really was a rare talent among the Silver Dragon Camp's younger generation.
Even before undergoing his adult soul awakening, he had been found to possess the rare aptitude of an 3S grade. His abilities had improved further after awakening, making him an outstanding prospect among his peers in their faction, one they could put forward for comparison with Admiral Shen of the Golden Wing Camp.
As they were still marveling at the gap between people, the middle-aged man at the head of the table bristled and glared as he barked, "What are you still sitting here for?"
"You have one month. You must preserve our prestige on Red Maple Star, and I want to see some results in the worst-hit devil disaster zones, including Red City! Why aren't you getting the hell out there and doing your jobs?!"
Everyone hurriedly assented, then fled the conference room as if escaping a disaster.
Only after they had left did Lu Cheng speak. "Admiral Wei, you wanted to see me?"
"Ah, yes." Wei Feng looked as though he could use an oxygen tank. "It's mainly about our camp's recent performance."
"I haven't had a chance to congratulate you on your engagement. Have you finished dealing with the wedding banquet?"
As he spoke, he patted him on the shoulder. "If you're done, I'll have to ask you to help out on a mission. Golden Wing has its eyes on the right to govern Red Maple Star, and they've already achieved so much. We absolutely can't let them take Red Maple for themselves."
"Once they do it once, they'll do it again. If this goes on, the people in Silver Dragon's jurisdiction will only trust us less and less."
"I understand," Lu Cheng replied. "My fiancée will be starting school again in a while, and the wedding won't be that soon. I have no problem going on a mission."
"Good, good. If you resolve the public opinion trouble in Red City this time, you might even get another promotion." As Wei Feng spoke, he raised an index finger and pointed upward. "You'll soon be able to reach Shen Tingyu's position."
But Lu Cheng modestly demurred. "You flatter me, Admiral. Compared with Shen Tingyu, I still have a long way to go."
Wei Feng, however, scoffed. "You only entered this battlefield a few years later than he did. Besides, so what if he's exceptionally gifted?"
"As long as he bears the title of an E-type mental power user, he'll always be a ticking time bomb for the empire. No matter how capable he is, the royal family will never let him become supreme commander of the empire's two camps."
Lu Cheng remained silent. Wei Feng gave him another encouraging pat on the back. "Don't sell yourself short. We all have high hopes that you'll one day secure the position of supreme commander of the two camps for Silver Dragon!"
Wei Feng left after saying that.
Lu Cheng stayed alone in the conference room for a few minutes. Only when a mission notice came through his communicator did he pull himself together and head outside. He had barely taken a few steps from the room when one of his subordinates came rushing over. "Major, over in Red City... it seems something's happened to that friend you grew up with."
Hearing someone mention Xu Qingran reminded Lu Cheng of the fiasco at the engagement banquet, and his head began to throb again. "What trouble has he caused this time?"
The subordinate paused, then stammered, "I heard that the eldest young master of the Xu family... was taken away by people from the Evil Tower yesterday."
Lu Cheng stopped dead and turned to the person following him, his eyes tense and shocked. "What did you say?!"
He opened his communicator and sent a communication request to the Evil Tower, intending to find out what had happened and then fly to Queen Star to get him out. But just then, someone else arrived, anxiously asking for help. "Colonel Lu, there's been an accident involving the squad sent to north city district 9 on Red Maple Star. The admiral wants you to go help immediately..."
Lu Cheng stood where he was, looking down at the communicator on his wrist, his eyes full of agonized indecision.
At last, after several prompts from the people around him, he reluctantly ended the communication request, turned, and put on his military cap. "Understood. First, help me contact the squad in Silver Dragon City and have them come with me to provide support."
Queen Star, Northern Nether Evil Tower.
After Xu Qingran and the others finished registering their information, they were pushed into a place resembling a lecture hall.
A large crowd was already seated in the room, most of them minors under eighteen. Some were huddled against the wall, muttering to themselves with their knees drawn to their chests. Others had started fighting over verbal disputes. There were also rebellious youths wearing expressions that said they were the greatest things under heaven.
He found the sight interesting. It had been a long time since he had seen lives so vivid and lively.
Xu Qingran gave the room a quick sweep and, out of old habit, sat down in its most inconspicuous corner. He simply didn't realize that without his hood today, he would still stand out even if he hid at the edge of the world.
Many gazes fell on him, but he couldn't be bothered to respond to each one. His attention was entirely on his gloved left hand. The original owner had many gloves at home, most of them fingerless designs that made it easy to move.
On the day he went out, he had put on this black leather one.