A little while later
A fighter jet cut through the sky and landed smoothly in the clearing in front of the cave.
Thud, thud, thud.
A group stepped out of the jet. At their head was a handsome young man dressed in white, a gold medal pinned to his chest.
"Which one of you is Qin Tian?"
Su Yunyi looked at the people in front of the cave and asked in a gentle voice.
"I'm Qin Tian."
Qin Tian stepped forward, his gaze passing over Su Yunyi's face. A slight stir rose in his heart.
It was him—the young man from the Gold Family.
"I'm Su Yunyi, commander of this operation."
Su Yunyi held out his hand, a smile playing on his lips. His voice was like a spring breeze, naturally inspiring goodwill.
"Hello, sir."
Qin Tian took Su Yunyi's hand, surprise flashing in his eyes. He hadn't expected this young man from the Gold Family to be so gentle and courteous.
Judge by actions, not intentions.
Whether this manner came from genuine kindness or deliberate pretense, Qin Tian's first impression of Su Yunyi was still a good one.
"Qin Tian, you reported earlier that you'd found the missing special forces personnel and killed a Myriad Poison Snake Person."
Su Yunyi released his hand and asked, "I'd like to confirm once more: is your report accurate?"
"I'm sure."
Qin Tian nodded and pointed at the two unconscious men behind him.
"One is Xue Lin, and the other is Wang Tiancheng. They're members of the missing Skywind Squad."
At that, the assistant beside Su Yunyi quickly pulled up the Skywind Squad's records and compared them with the two men's faces. The match was confirmed in seconds, and the assistant nodded to Su Yunyi.
Su Yunyi's brow relaxed. "Where is the Myriad Poison Snake Person now?"
To be honest, he still found it hard to believe that this soldier with such a special background had killed a Myriad Poison Snake Person.
On the way here, he'd reviewed Qin Tian's file.
To his surprise, Qin Tian was a Clone Soldier, and he hadn't even been out of the pod for a full month.
A Clone Soldier barely a month old had killed a Fourth Order Myriad Poison Snake Person single-handedly.
It sounded like sheer fantasy.
"The Myriad Poison Snake Person is at the back of the cave. I can take you there," Qin Tian said.
"Good. Sorry for the trouble."
Su Yunyi first had his assistant carry the unconscious Xue Lin and Wang Tiancheng onto the jet. Then, guided by Qin Tian, the group proceeded through the winding tunnels.
Along the way, they saw numerous Snake-man corpses. Judging by the wounds, every one had been stabbed through the back of the head and killed with a single strike.
Seeing this, the group felt a chill run through them.
If one or two Snake-men had died this way, it could have been called luck.
But if dozens of Snake-men had all met the same fate, it was no longer luck. It was undeniable skill.
A terrifying talent for assassination.
Nearby, Xiao Yunlong, whom Qin Tian had already woken, couldn't hold back any longer.
"Qin Tian, did you kill all these Snake-men?"
"Mm."
Qin Tian nodded, then added, "Don't forget my technique, the Shadow Thunder Prison Technique."
Shadow Thunder Prison Technique.
That was the technique he cultivated.
Su Yunyi's eyes shifted. As a light-type Psionic User, he'd studied dark-type cultivation techniques, martial skills, and spells that countered his own element extensively.
The Shadow Thunder Prison Technique was a Bronze-level cultivation technique that focused on both lightning and darkness.
It emphasized the destructive power of lightning and the concealment of darkness.
A body like a shadow, movement like thunder.
Still, one thing puzzled Su Yunyi.
According to the records, Qin Tian had only registered as a Psionic User a few days ago and qualified for the special policies reserved for clones.
In other words, Qin Tian had been cultivating the Shadow Thunder Prison Technique for only a few days at most. He might not even have formed a Star Aperture.
With such a foundation, how had he killed dozens of Snake-men without anyone noticing?
Though he had his doubts, Su Yunyi didn't ask.
Everyone had secrets.
As long as a secret had nothing to do with him, he wouldn't pry.
About ten minutes later, they reached the Central Cold Pool.
Water droplets gathered on the stalactites hanging overhead and fell one by one into the Cold Pool.
A bloodstained cross stood beside the pool. The headless Snake-man lay before it, its diamond-like scales glittering.
Not far away, two corpses lay flat on the ground. One was in especially terrible condition: an empty skull connected to the lower half of the body. It was hard to imagine how much pain he'd endured before he died.
The man beside him looked only slightly better. A savage wound gaped across his neck, his left hand was severed, and one eye seemed to have been gouged out, leaving only a dark-red hole.
"That's him!"
Qin Dadi, Xiao Yunlong, and Liu Zhaozhao recognized the Bearded Man at a glance, their hearts shaken.
Because of their many past grievances, they hadn't liked the Bearded Man. Yet seeing him before them in such a tragic and heroic state still weighed heavily on them.
"This is Lin Chao. That's Dai Jun."
Qin Tian recounted everything he'd witnessed, from beginning to end.
After hearing him out, everyone regarded the dead with solemn respect. Some of the more emotional ones even had tears in their eyes, unable to hold them back.
Su Yunyi stood beside the two men, sorrow in his eyes.
"They were true soldiers of the Empire. Combat Heroes. Everyone..."
Su Yunyi raised his voice, drew a deep breath, and called out:
"Salute!"
Smack!
Everyone immediately stood at attention and raised their hands in the most precise Imperial Military Salute, paying tribute to the heroes.
The fighter jet headed back.
When they returned to base, Qin Tian and the Earth Dragon Squad were immediately taken to the Medical Department for physical examinations.
Xue Lin and Wang Tiancheng were taken to the interrogation room, where Su Yunyi would question them himself.
Milky-white light washed over them, and Xue Lin and Wang Tiancheng's broken limbs quickly healed.
"Thank you, Young Master Su," Xue Lin said softly. He clearly knew Su Yunyi.
"Xue Lin, Wang Tiancheng, you're both veterans. You should know the Imperial Military Law very well."
Su Yunyi said slowly, "Tell me everything you know. I'll request that you be allowed to atone through meritorious service."
From the moment they woke up, Xue Lin and Wang Tiancheng knew they couldn't hide the fact that they'd surrendered to the Snake-men.
Resisting wouldn't help.
The Military Department had plenty of interrogation experts. Even the toughest person couldn't withstand their professional "questioning."
Besides, they already felt overwhelming shame and pain for surrendering to the Orcs and betraying their comrades.
So when Su Yunyi offered them a chance to atone through meritorious service, Xue Lin and Wang Tiancheng immediately told him everything they knew, holding nothing back.
"The Hujian Grand Canyon. This group of Snake-men has quite some ambition."
Su Yunyi narrowed his eyes. Several special forces teams had gone missing in recent days, and surely some of them had included traitors like Xue Lin and Wang Tiancheng.
In that case, they might as well turn the tables and use the plan against them.
A bold idea quickly took shape in his mind.
Su Yunyi's lips curled up. Perhaps this time, I can earn enough military merit to pass the Academy Assessment.
Before you continue