Soon, the group arrived at a nearby office building. It had clearly been requisitioned by the military, and nearly everyone coming and going was a soldier.
Before they had even reached the entrance, an officer with the rank of captain was already there to greet them.
The female civil servant accompanying them hurried forward to make introductions. The officer's stern face managed to squeeze out a smile. "Welcome, welcome!"
After exchanging a few brief courtesies with the group, he led them into a conference room.
Soldiers promptly brought in tea.
"Have the military's martial artists not arrived yet?" Qin Liuyuan asked as he took a seat at the head of the table.
"I'm afraid not. Please, have a seat. There's still half an hour until the appointed time," the officer said, checking his watch. "I won't keep you any longer. If you need anything, just have a soldier call for me."
After greeting them, he hurried out of the conference room and closed the door.
"They're being a little too neglectful, aren't they?" Zhou Dapao said, looking displeased.
"That's normal. This is their turf, after all. They probably want to take the lead," said a middle-aged man named Zhao Zhishan. He sipped his tea at an unhurried pace and chuckled, looking perfectly at ease.
"True. I've heard the martial artists in the army are pretty competitive. Wouldn't surprise me if they try to put us in our place," Zhou Dapao said.
The military was closed off and operated as a system unto itself, and its martial artists were no different. As one of society's most efficiently organized groups, they placed discipline and the purity of their ranks above all else.
Rather than recruiting martial artists from the civilian world and adding them to the army, the military preferred to enlist