His Parents' Speculation

"Xiao Fan..."

The moment Luo Mengjie saw her son on the screen, the longing she had suppressed for a year finally burst forth.

Tears welled up and washed away the dust on her cheeks, leaving two clear tear tracks.

She raised her hand, trying to touch Chen Fan's face through the ethereal Light Screen, her voice choked with emotion.

"It's Mom..."

Chen Fan placed his hands on his knees, his body ramrod straight, and quietly watched the Light Screen.

"Dad, Mom!"

Luo Mengjie kept looking at her son, her voice choked with emotion.

"You've grown taller and lost some weight!"

However, what caught her attention most was Chen Fan's eyes. His eyes lacked the liveliness and naivety of children his age, instead revealing a deep, calm depth.

The calm brought Luo Mengjie a little comfort, but then the hospital diagnosis certificate indicating autism flashed through her mind, and her heart suddenly clenched with pain.

It's too quiet.

Has the child's condition worsened?

Chen Long leaned closer to the screen, his eyes red-rimmed and bloodshot, filled with exhaustion.

He took a deep breath and forced a gentle smile.

"Xiao Fan, how have you been lately?"

Chen Long's voice was very low, hoarse and extremely cautious, and he spoke very slowly.

How is Grandpa's health? Has he been eating on time?

He dared not ask about his studies, his Martial Dao, or even whether he had made any new friends. He was afraid that any word might upset his son, whom he perceived as fragile and withdrawn.

Chen Fan's gaze swept across Chen Long's face.

On Chen Long's left cheek, there was a deep, fresh wound that exposed the bone, with the skin and flesh turned outwards. Only the most basic blood clotting treatment had been done. On Luo Mengjie's left arm, a thick emergency bandage was wrapped, and the glaring blood had already soaked through the white cloth.

Chen Fan slowly closed his hands, which were resting on his knees, his fingernails digging into his palms.

He suppressed the surging Star Qi and Blood within his Dantian caused by emotional fluctuations, relaxed his facial muscles, and spoke in an extremely calm tone.

"Dad, Mom, I'm fine."

Chen Fan looked at the screen.

"Grandpa is doing well too; he trims the flowers and plants in the yard every day. I eat on time every day. You don't need to worry about me."

Upon hearing Chen Fan's fluent answer, Chen Long and Luo Mengjie exchanged a glance, a hint of surprise flashing in their eyes.

They can communicate normally, which is much better than they expected.

A fleeting moment of warmth flowed across the galaxy of Light Screen.

Luo Mengjie wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, her emotions calming down slightly. Her gaze inadvertently drifted past Chen Fan's shoulder, looking at the background behind him.

The tear tracks on her face froze instantly.

"Xiao Fan, your room... what happened?"

A look of doubt appeared in Luo Mengjie's eyes. She remembered the old house on the outskirts of East Sea City; it was an old wooden structure from decades ago, with yellowed walls.

But at this moment, the wall behind Chen Fan was a cold, silvery-gray, the color of a high-strength Special Alloy. The room was extremely simply furnished, with no unnecessary furniture, exuding an inhuman coldness.

What surprised her even more was that occasionally a dazzling neon Stream of Light would flash past the window; that was a sight only seen on Elevated Hovercar Lane, and there was no such transportation facility near the old house.

"Did Grandpa renovate this for you?" Luo Mengjie asked instinctively.

Upon hearing his wife's words, Chen Long's gaze shifted to the background.

As a soldier who had been fighting on the front lines for many years, his observation skills were far more acute than his wife's. He could tell at a glance that the silver-gray wall was not only made of Special Alloy, but also had the texture of micro energy circuits faintly visible on it.

This is not a configuration that should be found in residential buildings!

This level of defense, this cold and austere style, is more like a Single-Person Cultivation Dormitory in a Top Academy, or the core family quarters of the Military.

Chen Long frowned.

How could a small place like East Sea City have a building of this caliber?

My father, Chen Ping, is just an ordinary retired old man. How could he possibly have gotten a house like this?

"Xiao Fan, where are you right now...?"

Chen Long stared at the screen, about to ask another question.

"Waaaaaah!!"

An extremely piercing alarm suddenly blared from the other side of the Light Screen!

The red alarm lights flashed wildly, illuminating Chen Long and Luo Mengjie's faces in a blood-red light.

"S-Rank Emergency Mission! All combat personnel, assemble on deck within three minutes!"

The cold, mechanical, synthesized voice echoed outside the communications room.

The warmth on Chen Long's face vanished instantly, replaced by the coldness and decisiveness of a hardened warrior. He abruptly straightened up and grabbed the Tactical Helmet lying beside him.

Luo Mengjie also stood up at the same time and swiftly pulled the bolt back.

"Xiao Fan, Mom and Dad have a mission!" Luo Mengjie spoke rapidly, her eyes filled with reluctance. "We'll talk next time. Listen to Grandpa at home and take good care of yourself!"

"Live on." Chen Long left with those words.

Smack

The communication was abruptly cut off.

The Holographic Light Screen in mid-air instantly went out, turning into countless points of light and dissipating.

The dormitory fell silent once more.

G-7 Resource Planet.

A strong wind whipped up grayish-brown dust, which slammed heavily against the walls of the metal passageway.

Chen Long and Luo Mengjie mingled with the fully armed crowd and ran wildly toward the deck.

"Old Chen, something's wrong with Xiao Fan's room!"

Luo Mengjie ran while shouting loudly, and sand and dust filled her mouth.

Chen Long fastened the visor of his Tactical Helmet and replied in a deep voice, "I know! That wall is made of military-grade Special Alloy."

"Then Dad and Xiaofan..."

"Don't overthink it!" Chen Long interrupted his wife, his mind racing as he offered the most logical explanation, "The old house was in terrible condition. I bet Dad used his savings to move Xiao Fan to a high-end apartment in the city. It's normal for those apartments to use special materials for security."

"But..."

"There's no 'buts'! Dad probably kept it a secret because he was afraid we'd worry about the expenses." Chen Long gripped the High-Frequency Vibrating Blade in his hand. "After this mission, I'll have someone check the household registration changes in East Sea City. Right now, focus all your attention on the Anomalous Beasts! Only by surviving can we see our son!"

Luo Mengjie gritted her teeth, forcibly suppressing her doubts.

Prodigies Dormitory, Jiangnan No. 1 High School.

Chen Fan remained seated on the edge of the bed, maintaining the same posture without moving.

The room was so quiet that only his own breathing could be heard.

The deep, bone-revealing Scarface on Chen Long's cheek, the glaring blood on Luo Mengjie's left arm, and the ear-piercing S-level alarm.

These images and sounds played over and over again in Chen Fan's mind.

Blood is flowing on the front lines.

The parents are risking their lives.

An S-class mission means an extremely high mortality rate, and he didn't know if his parents would come back alive this time.

He could only sit in this absolutely safe, Special-Grade Dormitory and watch the screen go out.

An indescribable sense of oppression swelled wildly within Chen Fan's chest.

He thought of the Bloodstained Cage Qi Realm cultivator, Black Bone, in the Qi-Blood Realm Cage. He was too weak. With that level of power, if he were on the Starry Sky Frontline, he probably wouldn't even be able to hunt down a low-level Anomalous Beast on his own.

His current strength might be considered exceptionally prodigious among his peers, but on a real battlefield, in front of those terrifying Anomalous Beasts capable of tearing apart Starships, he would still be nothing more than an ant.

Chen Fan slowly stood up.

He walked to the corner of the room, where there was a miniature control panel embedded in the wall. This was Gravity Regulation System specially provided to Chen Fan by Jiangnan No. 1 High School.

Before leaving, Gu Ci told him to rest for three days.

But now...