What About My Family?

Lu Feng's voice tightened. "Are you... planning to hand me over?"

Gao Zhan was silent for a moment, then glanced at the figures hovering outside the window. "By the Rules, we should hand you over."

He paused, his tone suddenly hardening. "But my mission is to protect your family. No one is taking you away from me."

Behind him, Lu Dahai and Li Qinglan finally relaxed their tense shoulders a little.

"Does your military... have any Grandmasters?" Lu Feng suddenly asked.

Gao Zhan turned to look at him, his expression saying, Isn't that obvious?

"Every commander of an Expeditionary Force regiment is at least in the Grandmaster Realm. The Grand Commander of the Military Region is even more powerful than a Grandmaster."

"More powerful than a Grandmaster!" Shock filled Lu Feng's eyes. He was about to ask another question when—

Nie Song came out of his room and looked up at the sky.

"Since Lord Zheng is here, why get so angry? Why not come in for a cup of tea?"

Zheng Henian immediately descended in front of him and clasped his hands in greeting. "Lord Nie! My grandson died tragically, yet the military took the suspect, Lu Feng, away. How do you explain that?"

"My condolences, Lord Zheng." Nie Song's tone was calm. "Lu Feng's arrival at the base has nothing to do with the murder. He's on this Expeditionary Force training class's roster and came to report for duty."

"Report for duty?" Zheng Henian sneered. "In the middle of the night, with his whole family in tow?"

"Who says his family came with him?" Nie Qian's voice remained even. "Lord Zheng, do you have any evidence?"

They stood facing each other, one representing the government and the other in charge of the Military Region. Though they addressed each other as "Lord," the tension between them grew tighter by the moment.

Even though Zheng Henian was a Grandmaster, he would never dare cause trouble at a military base.

The base was full of experts. If he tried to force his way in and seize someone, he would likely be killed on the spot—even as Jinzhou's Vice City Lord.

Nie Song had already shown him plenty of respect by coming out to exchange a few polite words.

If he wanted to take Lu Feng away, he would need direct evidence that Lu Feng had killed Zheng Tong at the Beast Fighting Arena.

"Dad! What are you doing here?"

Just then, a Military Region Warrior who had been away on a mission returned to the base's residential area with a group of people.

This was Zheng Henian's son, Zheng Yi, captain of the Night Owl Squad in the Military Region's 113th Expeditionary Force regiment—and Zheng Tong's father.

He still didn't know that his son had been killed.

He had only just returned from outside when he saw his father at the Military Base, apparently furious.

Zheng Yi hurried over to him. "Dad, what happened? Why are you at the base?"

When Zheng Henian saw his son, the anger in his eyes grew even stronger, mixed with a trace of pain.

He took a deep breath, his voice hoarse. "Xiaotong... is gone."

"What?" Zheng Yi froze. "Dad, what are you talking about?"

He stopped mid-sentence when he saw his father's bloodshot eyes and clenched fists.

"Xiaotong was killed at the Beast Fighting Arena." Each word Zheng Henian spoke sounded as if he had forced it through clenched teeth. "And the killer is right here in this base."

Zheng Yi abruptly turned to Nie Song, his voice trembling. "Instructor Nie, what my father said... is it true?"

Nie Song's expression didn't change. "Captain Zheng, I'm sorry about your son's death. But your father came to the base to seize someone without evidence. That clearly violates the Rules."

"The Rules?" Zheng Yi suddenly laughed, the sound wild with fury. "My son is dead, and you're talking to me about the Rules?"

He took a step forward, the muscles beneath his uniform tensing. "Dad! Who killed Xiaotong?"

Zheng Henian grabbed his son by the shoulder and lowered his voice. "Don't lose your temper."

Zheng Henian knew his son's temperament all too well. If he learned the truth now, things would inevitably get out of hand.

Zheng Yi was only forty, yet his cultivation was already close to Innate Realm Peak. He had also earned considerable Military Merit over the years in the Military Region. After a few more years of experience, he stood a good chance of becoming an Expeditionary Force regiment commander.

If he caused a scene at the base now to avenge his son, his entire future would be ruined.

"Come with me!"

Zheng Henian said no more. He seized Zheng Yi by the shoulder and forcibly carried him into the air, quickly leaving the Military Base.

After they left, it was as if a dry wind had swept through the base, coming and going in an instant. Before long, everything was calm again.

Only after Nie Song and Xie An entered the Chasing Wind Squad's residential building and reached Gao Zhan's room did—

Gao Zhan saluted them and asked, "Instructor, Minister Xie, will they come looking for trouble again?"

Nie Song answered, "As long as Lu Feng remains at the base, Zheng Henian won't dare act rashly. He'll keep Zheng Yi in check, too, and stop him from causing trouble. Once the 115th Legion sets out on its expedition three months from now, this matter will naturally die down for the time being."

At these words, everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief.

But Lu Feng immediately asked, "What will happen to my family after I leave? The Zheng Family won't let them off easily."

Xie An smiled and reassured him. "Don't worry. I'll make arrangements for your parents. As for your younger sister, her leg has healed, so it's about time she started at a Martial High School, right? If she's willing, I can arrange for her to attend Jinzhou Tenth Martial High School."

Jinzhou Tenth Martial High School was an elite local school. Nearly all its students were children of Military Region Warriors, and no one dared cause trouble there. Children from ordinary families weren't even eligible to enroll.

"Really?"

At the news that she could attend a Martial High School, Lu Mingxue immediately grew excited.

Only Lu Dahai and Li Qinglan still looked worried.

As ordinary people, they couldn't understand when their son had become so close to the military.

September 2, Jinzhou Military Region.

Led by Gao Zhan, the five warriors from Skyfire Club who would be joining the expedition arrived at the Mecha training base.

Although they had never actually piloted an Alloy Mecha, years of experience maintaining and servicing them had given them a solid understanding of their structure and performance.

Lu Feng was the only exception.

He had worked at the club for less than three months, and had spent most of that time taming Exotic Beasts. His knowledge of Mecha was far behind that of the others.

As a result, he would have to spend more time on piloting practice.

Tianlan Star was one of humanity's satellite planets. It had twenty-six major cities, each home to around fifty million people, for a total population of roughly 1.5 billion—a typical population for a colonized planet.

But more than twenty thousand years ago, Tianlan Star had been a devastated wasteland.

Its atmosphere was thin, radiation was rampant, and Exotic Beasts roamed freely.

Only after humanity deployed twenty-six "Star River Energy Shields" did it gradually establish the twenty-six Giant Cities that stood today. It was a classic example of humanity conquering an alien planet.

Today, only the cities were suitable for human habitation. The wilderness and ruins beyond their walls remained uninhabitable.

Only the Military Base near the city, which had been specially adapted, could serve as a foothold for humans in the wilderness.

The Jinzhou Military Region had twelve Expeditionary Force regiments under its command, and at least two left the planet each year to carry out Expedition Missions.

The ones scheduled to depart at the end of the year were the 115th Legion, where Gao Zhan served, and the 116th Legion.

Each regiment consisted of twenty Warrior squads.

This time, Skyfire Club had been assigned to the Chasing Wind Squad led by Gao Zhan. They would train alongside the squad and carry out missions with them once the expedition began.

At the request of our readers, we are now offering an ad-free experience for VIP Members.

Click to view.