"Hello, Mr. Xu."
"Passing the written test shows you have considerable experience in communicator repair.
I've reviewed your educational background, and it generally meets our standards.
For the next stage, the technical interview, I'll ask you some professional questions."
The next day.
At nine thirty in the morning.
Xu Feng walked out of the base's Military Maintenance Department. He glanced at the two coworkers who had come with him and greeted them with a smile.
"You came to give it a try too?"
"Yeah, I heard the benefits are pretty good."
"But it's quite difficult. Base station antennas and vehicle-mounted antennas are completely different from the ones on mobile communication watches."
"They said they'd give us the results this afternoon. I wonder if I'll pass."
"Guess we'll have to wait and see."
Listening to their conversation, Xu Feng raised an eyebrow.
From what those two were saying, it sounded pretty hard. Why had it seemed so-so to him?
Could it be... that he'd completely misunderstood the questions?
Damn.
The three chatted for a while, then headed back to the repair room together.
When the manager of the Individual Communication Maintenance Department saw them return, he merely greeted them and said nothing more.
Xu Feng sat back down at his desk, troubled. The interviewer's parting words came to mind, and his worry only deepened.
"The exploration team's accompanying engineer is dead, and the entire team has lost contact.
The base has sent out a large number of drones to search the area for any trace of the team.
I hope Lu Fei is all right."
He took a deep breath, stared at the communicator on his desk, and started slacking off while practicing.
His progress with the Mind Movement Secret Technique was slow. He could practice it at most five times a day.
After that, he had to "use up" his mental energy by practicing his saber and footwork with complete concentration.
Then, once his mental energy was exhausted again, he could continue practicing.
Still, each time he finished, he felt a slight surge of mental energy.
Xu Feng believed that small gains added up.
Even if he didn't have much talent for mental energy, he could still make some progress.
The morning flew by.
Besides practicing, Xu Feng also calculated how much money he had in savings.
He planned to use it all wisely on the supplies he needed for training, turning it into combat strength.
After arranging his training schedule for the coming month, Xu Feng got up and headed to the cafeteria.
As he passed the First Affiliated Hospital, he sighed again.
Thinking back to how he'd gone to the hospital before work that morning to ask about Lu Fei, he felt a little helpless.
That morning, Xu Feng hadn't rushed off to eat or go to work.
Instead, he'd bought some fruit and gone to the First Affiliated Hospital.
He'd been lucky enough to run into Director Liu, who had treated him before, and asked about Lu Fei.
Xu Feng ignored the surprised look Director Liu gave him.
As long as he could get news about Lu Fei, he didn't care what other people thought.
But Director Liu, who had been quite polite the last time they met, treated him like a stranger this time and didn't tell him much.
He only said that Lu Fei's situation was unclear, but she was most likely safe.
However, that was all military intelligence, and Xu Feng shouldn't go poking around.
His every word also seemed to warn Xu Feng that Lu Fei was a martial arts prodigy.
A forty-year-old man with a kid in tow should stop trying to get close to her.
Xu Feng could only smile wryly.
He'd made it clear that they were just friends, and that he was only worried about her as a friend.
But Director Liu obviously didn't believe him.
"Come on, what's wrong with being forty? It's the prime age for making something of yourself. I'm very ambitious, all right?"
Xu Feng didn't wallow in self-pity. He put it all out of his mind and decided to grab something to eat.
But what Xu Feng hadn't expected was...
He ran into someone he knew while eating.
Liu Mengyao, the wife of his late former coworker Bai He.
"Sister-in-law, long time no see."
Xu Feng quickly greeted her when he saw her.
"Xu Feng, long time no see." Liu Mengyao still looked dispirited.
When she saw Xu Feng, she walked over, her expression troubled.
She looked a little older, her eyes dull and her whole body worn out.
"How have you been lately? Is Yuanyuan doing all right?"
Xu Feng wasn't close to Liu Mengyao, but out of respect for his friendship with Lao Bai, he still asked after her.
After all, Lao Bai had been a good coworker.
"Don't ask. I've been saving up to buy a plane ticket to send my child back home. I haven't had a decent night's sleep in ages."
Liu Mengyao shook her head with a bitter smile.
Xu Feng sighed inwardly, then asked, "How much more do you need?"
"Fifty thousand, Old Xu." Liu Mengyao hesitated, then looked at Xu Feng pleadingly. "Could you... could you lend me some money? I'll pay you back later..."
Xu Feng was taken aback. He opened his mouth, wanting to lend her the money, but then remembered the debt he was carrying.
"Sorry. I still have over a million in loans to pay off. I really don't have any spare money."
Xu Feng steeled himself and shook his head.
Liu Mengyao lowered her head, then forced a smile. "It's okay, it's okay. I'll ask someone else.
Everyone's got it hard. I know, I know."
Xu Feng fell silent for a while.
Then he suddenly remembered how, back when he'd worked as a porter, Lao Bai had thought he was short on money and told him he had some savings of his own.
After a brief pause,
Xu Feng spoke again. "But I can lend you five thousand—no, ten thousand.
You don't have to pay it back right away. Pay me whenever you're better off.
It's a little something from me, for Lao Bai's sake."
Liu Mengyao's whole body shook. Then she looked up at Xu Feng in delight, tears in her eyes.
She grabbed Xu Feng's hand excitedly. "Xu, Brother Xu, thank you! Thank you so much! I want to thank you on Xiaoyuan's behalf!"
Xu Feng hurriedly said a few comforting words before Liu Mengyao finally let go of his hand.
After Liu Mengyao left, full of gratitude, Xu Feng was reflecting on how hard life was for ordinary people.
Then someone behind him suddenly sneered, "Well, aren't you generous? You've got spare cash to lend people?
What, have you got your eye on her? Feeling sorry for that widow?"
Xu Feng looked instantly delighted.
He turned around.
A pretty young woman with a slightly pale face was leaning against one of the cafeteria's pillars, looking at him with a tray in her hands.
Who else could it be but Lu Fei?
"You're back?!" Xu Feng shot to his feet.
But once he was standing, he didn't know what to do.
All he could do was grin foolishly at Lu Fei. "I'm glad you're okay. I'm glad you're okay."
Seeing Xu Feng's delighted, flustered expression,
Lu Fei gave a derisive laugh and sat down beside him, setting her tray on the table. "Of course I'm fine. I'm a—"
But before Lu Fei could finish, Xu Feng was back to normal. He picked up her sentence with a light laugh. "A dignified Battle General. How could anything happen to you?"
Lu Fei gave a snort and said nothing.
Xu Feng's lips curved into a smile. Then he turned serious. "It must've been dangerous this time, right? What happened?"
Lu Fei sighed. "Sigh, I have you to thank for that watch you gave me. Otherwise, I wouldn't have made it back..."
As if she'd opened the floodgates, Lu Fei told Xu Feng everything she could about the mission, from beginning to end.
It was the first time Lu Fei had ever talked to Xu Feng like this.
The two chatted like friends.
For the first time, he saw her wear expressions other than a cold sneer.
Sometimes disdainful, sometimes exasperated, sometimes smug, and sometimes sad.
Every little change in her expression was alive with energy.
Only then did Xu Feng realize
that the woman before him really was someone born to stand above the rest.
He remembered what Director Liu had said.
Three chapters today—please vote~~
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