The Crowd Was Astonished

"What's all this about being alive or dead? What a rotten thing to say!"

Gu Lin and the others hadn't gone very far.

A deep voice rang out in the darkness.

Hearing the familiar voice, Gu Lin and the others' eyes lit up, and their spirits soared.

"Brother Chen!"

In the darkness, Gu Chen approached slowly from the distance with a smile. He gave each of the four a playful rap on the head.

"You guys couldn't spare a single good thought for me? Were you all hoping something would happen to me?"

They all knew Gu Chen was joking.

But seeing him return safe and sound, they couldn't help rushing over and hugging him tightly.

Not far away, Yang Tian and his companions stared at Gu Chen in bewilderment.

"Gu Chen just waltzed back like it was nothing?"

The others were just as dumbfounded.

"Could it be that Lei Chao didn't go after Gu Chen to get revenge?"

"Or maybe Lei Chao's hopeless with directions and lost him in the woods?"

"That's almost more insulting than saying Lei Chao was no match for Gu Chen..."

Unlike the new recruits like Yang Tian, the veterans who had been waiting for Lei Chao to "return in triumph" looked like they'd seen a ghost when Gu Chen appeared.

"Where's Lei Chao? Did that bastard go eat shit?"

"That killing maniac Lei Chao has been out and about plenty over the years. He knows the area better than the Logistics Soldiers. How could he possibly lose Gu Chen?"

"Lei Chao still hasn't come back, but Gu Chen's already here..."

"Maybe Gu Chen offered Lei Chao something he couldn't refuse, and they made peace?"

"The Gu Family may only hold sway over that little patch of land in Wushan City, but they've got plenty of martial arts resources. It wouldn't be surprising if Gu Chen gave up some of their interests."

"Ah, money really can make the devil turn millstones."

They shook their heads, apparently convinced this was the only explanation.

They weren't making any effort to keep their discussion quiet, so Gu Chen heard every word.

He merely smiled and didn't bother to explain.

He'd be more than happy if none of them found out that Lei Chao had been defeated by him.

Guan Shan's arrival had given him the perfect way to keep his strength hidden.

In the Military Camp, showing enough strength could certainly earn a general's attention.

But since Guan Shan already knew what they were capable of, there was no need to let everyone else find out.

The tallest tree catches the wind.

From what Head Instructor Guan Shan had said, there might be other enemy spies in the Military Camp.

If they caught sight of him, he feared he'd never know another day of peace.

Rather than risk that, he could take advantage of the situation and quietly keep building his strength!

After Gu Chen and the others returned to their room, they took out the resources Guan Shan had given them from the pendant.

"Brother Chen, what's this?"

At Gu Lin's question, Gu Chen simply smiled.

"Instructor Guan used us as bait to flush out enemy spies, including Lei Chao. These are the compensation he gave us."

He didn't say that the resources were compensation Guan Shan had given him and Gu Han.

It wasn't that he didn't trust his brothers. It was simply better if as few people as possible knew about Gu Han's strength!

Walls had ears.

The more people who knew, the greater the chance that word might get out one day, even if no one meant for it to.

Since Gu Han wanted to keep his strength hidden, Gu Chen, as his older brother, naturally had to help him.

"Haha, so that bastard Lei Chao really was a spy!"

Gu Lin and the others didn't doubt Gu Chen for a moment. They all burst into laughter, sweeping away the gloom of the past few days.

"A spy acting that brazenly? If he didn't die, who would?"

"Doing things that way actually makes the generals less likely to suspect him. It's a kind of disguise."

After chatting for a while, they divided up all the pills on the spot.

"What about Gu Han's share? Shouldn't we save it for him?"

After taking her share, Gu Jing suddenly spoke up.

Gu Chen smiled.

"Don't worry. I've already gone to see Gu Han and given him his share."

At that, Gu Jing had no more doubts.

She took the pills and hurried off to the training ground, eager to continue practicing.

The Gu brothers were all training fanatics through and through.

Early the next morning.

After the morning run, the War Soldiers formed ranks, sweating under the blazing sun.

It was the sixteenth day since they'd entered the Military Camp.

It was also the day of their first half-month training assessment.

But to their surprise, it wasn't just them gathered at the Warrior Camp today.

Even the cooks and Logistics Soldiers had all shown up.

The War Soldier training grounds covered a vast area, but with several thousand people crowded together, they still felt packed.

"What's the occasion today? Why are even the cooks here?"

"I can understand the Logistics Soldiers coming for an assessment and to receive their rewards, but what are the cooks being tested on? Who makes the tastiest food?"

"Hey, don't knock it. Some of the cooks really do make awful food. They should be tested!"

"Some of those cooks even shake their hands when they serve the food, like they're afraid of letting me get a full meal!"

As everyone grumbled, Gu Chen and the others spotted Gu Han in the distance and exchanged greetings with him.

Military regulations meant they couldn't go up to welcome Gu Han.

Gu Han, standing in the crowd, was just as baffled.

Early that morning, he'd been getting ready to continue his carefree life of roaming the mountains and enjoying the scenery when Old Li barged in.

He said something important was about to be announced and ordered all the Logistics Soldiers to head to the Warrior Camp at once.

Caught in the act, Gu Han had no choice but to put his hunting plans on hold and follow the crowd to the Warrior Camp.

At this point, none of the War Soldiers, Logistics Soldiers, or cooks had any idea what was going on.

Soon, several powerful figures approached together from afar.

"Everyone, quiet down."

Head Instructor Guan Shan spoke only a little louder, yet his clear voice reached the ears of the several thousand people present.

The crowd, which had been murmuring among themselves, fell silent at once.

Guan Shan cleared his throat and said solemnly,

"I'm sure many of you have noticed that some familiar faces are missing."

The crowd froze at his words.

They hadn't noticed until Guan Shan pointed it out.

Now that he mentioned it, several War Soldiers and Logistics Soldiers were indeed missing from around them.

Even Gu Han had noticed the change.

As someone who'd taken part in it himself, Gu Han was startled.

Could there really have been so many spies in the Military Camp?

Gu Han shook his head with a wry smile.

Was this proof that Sword-toothed Country's work behind enemy lines was just that good, or that Running Wolf Nation had failed to guard against infiltration?

Then again, Running Wolf Nation probably had spies infiltrating Sword-toothed Country too.

Sword-toothed Country had gone to such lengths to plant spies and sow discord among Running Wolf Nation's soldiers.

Was anyone seriously going to claim they hadn't tried bribing the people at the top?

Gu Han simply couldn't believe it!

If Running Wolf Nation hadn't struck back against Sword-toothed Country using similar methods, then with a border defense full of holes like a sieve, Sword-toothed Country would have attacked long ago!