Communication

Wei Tianlong stood in front of the desk, looking at the Old Principal's cold and hard face, and opened his mouth.

"Principal, Tiannan Middle School has already announced that Zhou Ye will challenge all of our ninth-grade students in the Exchange Tournament. If we don't accept the challenge, the reputation of Jiangnan No. 1 High School..."

"Is reputation more important, or life?" The Old Principal interrupted Wei Tianlong. "Chen Fan is only nine years old, he's a Quasi-Martial Artist, Zhou Ye is at the Qi-Blood Realm, and the Quarantine Zone is full of Anomalous Beasts. You want him to go and die?"

Wei Tianlong lowered his head. He knew the Old Principal was right.

"Clear."

Wei Tianlong nodded, turned around, left the office, and closed the door behind him.

On the other side.

Chen Fan followed Gu Ci out of the underground arena's private passage. Outside the passage were bustling streets with flashing neon lights.

The two took the maglev train back to Jiangnan No. 1 High School.

Inside the carriage, Gu Ci sat by the window, watching the buildings rushing past outside without saying a word. Chen Fan sat opposite him.

Arrived at the single dormitory building for the Prodigy Class.

Gu Ci stopped and turned his head, his gaze falling on Chen Fan.

"Your Qi and Blood have reached 110 calories."

Gu Ci's voice was hoarse.

"Take three days off."

"I'll come find you in three days."

Gu Ci turned and left, his gray robe disappearing into the night.

Chen Fan watched Gu Ci leave, then walked into the dormitory building and pushed open the door.

The room was simply furnished with a single bed, a set of metal table and chairs, and a separate bathroom.

Chen Fan took off his tattered white Training Uniform, which were covered in dried blood and smelled strongly of blood. He went into the bathroom and turned on the cold water.

The cold water washed over his body, carrying away the blood and revealing his fair, tender skin.

At this moment, Chen Fan was more like a nine-year-old child.

An endless Cosmic Star River.

G-7 Resource Planet.

The sky was a somber, dark red, and the gale whipped up grayish-brown dust that lashed against the metal buildings with a dense, rustling sound.

Outside No. 368 Battlefield Fortress.

The heavy Alloy Gate slowly rose, the mechanical gears grinding together with a dull hum, and the five members of the Thunder Squad helped each other into the isolation chamber.

High-pressure sterilizing gas was sprayed out from all directions, covering their entire bodies.

They had just finished a high-intensity mission to exterminate Anomalous Beasts, fighting continuously for over forty-eight hours.

Chen Long and Luo Mengjie removed their dark blue standard Battle Armor, the surface of Battle Armor was covered with claw marks, and bits of the Anomalous Beast's flesh remained in the gaps.

Luo Mengjie's left arm was wrapped in an emergency bandage, and blood had seeped through, staining the white cloth red. Chen Long had a new wound on his cheek, with the flesh turned outwards and the bone visible.

The two walked to a metal bench in the corner and sat down. Utter exhaustion overwhelmed them.

Old Zhang plopped down opposite them. Old Zhang was a burly man, but he was in so much pain that he kept gasping for breath.

He picked up a can of medical spray and sprayed it onto a very deep wound on his thigh.

White foam billowed up, quickly solidified, and stopped the bleeding.

After treating his wound, Old Zhang freed his right hand and tapped on his Personal Terminal on his wrist.

The holographic screen unfolded in mid-air, the image flickering intermittently.

"This lousy internet is lagging again."

Old Zhang patted the edge of the Terminal.

He swiped the screen, browsing the severely lagging news from the rear-end Star Network.

A few seconds later, Old Zhang's eyes widened, and he let out a gasp.

"Tsk tsk, this is really weird."

Old Zhang looked up at Chen Long and his wife.

"Old Chen, Mengjie, guess what? A while ago, some incredibly talented genius actually emerged from that small place East Sea City in our backyard!"

Chen Long lowered his head to wipe the High-Frequency Vibrating Blade in his hand, ignoring Old Zhang.

Old Zhang continued speaking to himself, his voice rising a few decibels.

"I heard that little guy is only eight years old! He directly outshone the Prodigies of thirty-six cities! He didn't even finish the entrance exam, yet he was directly admitted to Jiangnan No. 1 High School with the highest level of special admission!"

Old Zhang clicked his tongue, his face full of amazement.

"This talent is probably far more impressive than my son's in the Prodigy Class! It's just a pity that this lousy internet can't even load the images."

Old Zhang frowned, trying hard to recall the content of the news.

"I remember reading on the news that the genius's surname was also Chen, and his name was something like Chen... Ugh, the words are too blurry, I can't remember."

Upon hearing the words "East Sea City," "eight years old," and "surname Chen,"...

Chen Long abruptly stopped wiping the blade.

Luo Mengjie's hands, which were tidying up the magazines, froze in mid-air.

Their hearts began to pound uncontrollably.

A small, quiet figure flashed through their minds.

The two exchanged a glance, both understanding each other's thoughts, but quickly lowered their heads again.

The diagnosis issued by the East Sea City First People's Hospital, written in black and white, was clearly imprinted in their minds.

Mediocre physical constitution, with autistic tendencies.

That brilliant genius who overshadowed thirty-six cities could never be their son, who even had difficulty communicating with others.

There are too many people in the world with the same surname. Luo Mengjie put down the magazine in her hand, her eyes gradually reddening and her vision blurring.

Some time ago, the G-7 resource planet was hit by a horde of Anomalous Beasts, and the battle was extremely intense. They fought continuously and didn't even have time to close their eyes.

They even missed Chen Fan's ninth birthday, and this heavy guilt weighed on her heart, making it hard for her to breathe.

Luo Mengjie covered her cheeks with her hands, her shoulders trembling slightly.

Chen Long put down the High-Frequency Vibrating Blade, walked to Luo Mengjie's side, and put his arm around her shoulder.

Luo Mengjie leaned on her husband's shoulder, letting out suppressed sobs.

"Xiao Fan... he's home alone, I wonder if he's been bullied."

Luo Mengjie's voice had a strong nasal tone.

Chen Long took a deep breath, his eyes becoming unusually resolute. He released his grip, stood up, and walked straight towards the base's military communications room.

"Old Chen, where are you going? The tactical meeting is about to start!" Old Zhang called out from behind.

Chen Long did not turn around.

Go make a communication call.

Military communications room.

Chen Long stood in front of the quantum communication device.

He entered his identity information and retrieved his military rank and combat merit account.

A row of numbers lit up on the screen, showing an account balance of 2,500 points, which was the merit he had accumulated over the past six months on the brink of life and death.

These battle merits could have been exchanged for a high-level Qi and Blood recovery potion, which could have saved lives in critical moments.

However, Chen Long did not hesitate at all and immediately redeemed a chance for Star-Domain Instant Communication.

Star Domain real-time communication is often very expensive; after all, connecting two people across an entire Star Domain via video is quite costly.

After successfully redeeming the item, Chen Long took a deep breath and entered Chen Fan's Optical Brain number.

In the single dormitory of Prodigies at Jiangnan No. 1 High School, Chen Fan sat on the edge of his bed.

The Personal Computer on my wrist suddenly emitted a rapid beeping sound, Optical Brain surface flashed a dazzling red light.

Chen Fan opened his eyes and looked at the Optical Brain screen.

A line of red text appeared on the screen: Military Family Communication Request.

"Mom and Dad?"

Chen Fan was taken aback at first, then pressed the call button without hesitation.

"Drop!!"

A soft sound.

The holographic projection unfolded in the quiet dormitory room. The Light Screen flickered a few times, and the image gradually became clear, Light Screen the faces of Chen Long and Luo Mengjie.

Their hair was disheveled, their faces bore traces of gunpowder, and their eyes revealed extreme exhaustion.

Luo Mengjie's eyes were red and swollen, and there were still tear stains on her cheeks.

Chen Long looked at the screen and forced a smile.

A year has passed.

The family of three unexpectedly reunited in this way, across the Milky Way.