Atlas of Heaven and Earth
Chapter 444: Welcoming
After a night, at eight o'clock the next morning, a train arrived at No. 4 Fortress Base, stopping with a whistle.
Amidst the waiting gazes, a squad of soldiers first descended, lining up on both sides, followed by a handsome officer with a wary look in his eyes.
He glanced around, then turned back and respectfully said, "Teacher."
As a military boot stepped down, a man wearing a wide-brimmed hat and a military coat emerged from the train. He wore a half-face mask and, despite appearing to be only around forty-five or forty-six years old, his exposed half-face was covered in deep wrinkles and interspersed with silver hair.
His uniform was crisp, with the collar and cuffs tightly fastened, the brass buckle was polished very brightly, and his eyes were as sharp as knives. From the outside, he looked like a very old-fashioned soldier.
However, he wasn't particularly tall, appearing to be only a little over 1.7 meters, not even as tall as a regular soldier. If it weren't explicitly stated, or if one ignored his bright eyes, it would be hard to tell that he was a Strength powerful Martial Artist. More people might believe he was just an ordinary officer.
Following him was a female officer like an iron tower, at least 2.2 meters tall. Although her figure was burly, she wasn't unattractive, with surprisingly harmonious features.
Despite the huge difference in size between the two, everyone unconsciously focused their attention on the former. As he stepped off the train and walked forward, all the soldiers on both sides, including those at the station, stood at attention and saluted.
"Teacher Chen."
A greeting came from the platform. Lai Wu, a Third-Limit Martial Artist within Base Four, walked out from the welcoming crowd with a beaming smile.
This person had a very bad reputation in the Base because he never took the initiative to talk to anyone. Once, Chen Chuan's team passed by him and greeted him, but he only glanced and didn't even respond.
But this seemingly arrogant person was now respectful to Chen Bitong, giving the latter a standard salute and saying, "Instructor Chen, please stay a few more days at Base Four and allow your student to fulfill his duty as host."
Chen Bitong said, "You are busy with official duties, so don't waste time on someone as insignificant as I am."
He stood in place, raised his hand, returned a salute to everyone, and then, escorted by the leading officer and his iron-tower-like female officer, walked into the Base.
The soldiers then raised their guns, carried them on their shoulders, and followed in neat steps.
Although Yuan Qiu Yuan came out early, he couldn't go to the station to greet him because he wasn't relevant personnel. Watching the approaching figure, he felt a little excited.
He said to Qin Qing Que beside him, "I wish I could also be Master Chen's student. Even if I couldn't, it would be great to get his guidance. What do you think, Executive Officer Qin?"
Qin Qing Que shook her head.
Yuan Qiu Yuan was a little surprised by her reaction, but he didn't think much of it. He looked ahead again and said, "I wonder how many days Instructor Chen will stay..." Then he looked around, "Huh, where's Captain? Captain said he'd be here this morning..."
Chen Chuan stood on the high corridor of the Base, watching Chen Bitong walking over from afar. He also saw the sincere respect in the eyes of most of the soldiers present.
It's no wonder the higher-ups couldn't directly convict this person. Leaving aside the issue of evidence, he had a dazzling record of achievements and was an object of admiration and aspiration for many people. Saying that he was related to the gap in the World Ring would have a huge psychological impact on many people and cause a very bad Influence.
Even if it was ultimately proven that he was indeed involved, the higher-ups couldn't deal with him on this charge and would probably have to find another excuse.
Just as he was staring at the person, Chen Bitong suddenly turned his head and looked towards him, his sharp gaze shooting over like two sharp arrows.
But after just one glance, the sharp gaze retracted, and he returned to his previous appearance.
Chen Chuan raised an eyebrow. He noticed that although the other party had looked at him, none of the people around him showed any Anomaly, and no one followed his gaze, as if they hadn't seen his action. Even he himself had the feeling that the look just now was a fleeting illusion.
But after thinking about it carefully, he felt that the other party hadn't actually made a looking motion. It should be the Influence of the energy field and Spirit working together, which caused him to have the illusion of eye contact.
This seemed to be a very skilled application of energy field and Spirit Skills, and during this process, he couldn't feel the other party's energy field at all. This alone was something Iron Demon couldn't compare to.
While he was thinking, Chen Bitong and his group walked into the fortress and disappeared from sight. He didn't stay there any longer and returned to his dormitory.
The people from the Base who came out to welcome Chen Bitong this time all came out spontaneously. The main officers of the Base didn't show up, obviously knowing something and taking an attitude of avoiding suspicion, but they didn't treat him badly in terms of treatment, arranging the best accommodation rooms for him and his entourage.
83 latest address
After Chen Bitong entered the room, the young officer brought a stack of documents and placed them on a table, saying, "Teacher, these are the reports that have accumulated over the past few days."
He was forced to take a vacation and wasn't allowed to access outside news on the way. He could only read some outdated news when he arrived at the Base.
He picked up a few copies and read them. When he saw one of them, his hand paused, "Iron Demon has been dealt with?"
The handsome officer said, "Yes, he was killed by an Executive Officer who just arrived in the Convergence Zone."
Chen Bitong slowly said, "I heard about Iron Demon before. I was thinking that if this person came to the Base, I would take care of him along the way. Now it seems that I don't need to take action."
The handsome officer said, "It would be too much Face for someone like Iron Demon for teacher to take action. If you encounter such a thing, just leave it to your student.
But just seeing him killed by an Executive Officer who hasn't been here long shows that his skills aren't that great. I don't know how he made such a big name for himself before. I think it's mostly bragging."
Seeing that Chen Bitong was still reading the war report, he knew that teacher liked to guide younger generations, especially those with great Potential. When he saw them, he would give them pointers, so he said, "Does teacher want to meet this Executive Officer? This is simple. Maybe he's outside now. I'll say a word, and he'll be eager to see teacher."
Chen Bitong said, "I do want to meet him, but let's forget about it today. I'm not restricted in my movements now, but I'm still under surveillance by the higher-ups. I just arrived here, so there's no need to rush to do too much, otherwise many people may have to hold meetings all night again."
The handsome man glanced at the tall female officer who was standing silently on the side and said indignantly, "It's clear that this matter has nothing to do with teacher, but they insist on putting the blame on teacher. Now even teacher's actions are restricted. They don't even think about how much teacher has contributed in the past. They really don't show any consideration."
Chen Bitong seemed very calm. He said, "What the higher-ups have to consider is never consideration, but risk. I'm such a dangerous person in their eyes. If I were them, I would do the same."
He added, "Let's not talk about this. Xiao Yi, you just returned from abroad. You should have seen a lot of things outside. I want to hear you talk about things abroad."
The handsome officer immediately stood at attention and said, "If teacher wants to hear it, your student will definitely tell you everything he knows."
Meanwhile, Chen Chuan came down from above and returned to his dormitory. He locked the door, sat down, and took out a tube of Special drugs that he carried with him and took it.
The Base issued a warning when distributing Special drugs, telling them to avoid cultivating in the Convergence Zone as much as possible, especially those who have never used Special drugs before. Sometimes, they may run into problems if they are not careful.
Except for some people with higher SpiritCultivation who can ignore this, most Martial Artist, for the sake of safety, will wait until they leave the Convergence Zone before taking the medicine.
However, he could rely on Second Self to transfer the invasion, so he didn't have to worry too much, and he didn't know how long he would have to stay here, so he couldn't waste so much time.
The next day, when he came out of the dormitory, he found that the Base had become much "livelier." This was a military Base. Usually, there was basically no extra noise except for the sounds of soldiers training and drilling, but now he could hear the occasional footsteps and chatter of people passing by.
When he had breakfast with Yuan and Qin, he learned that the reason for this was that many of Chen Bitong's students and people he had taught knew that he was returning to Central City from here, so they made a special trip to see him. Among them were some children of high-ranking officials who came to admire him.
Chen Chuan thought about it and felt that things might not be that simple. The Data Commissioner Liang gave him said that Chen Bitong had a certain background. This might be his faction behind him clearly expressing support.
Just as he was thinking, a strange signal suddenly appeared on the Boundary Token, trying to contact him. He turned his mind and answered, asking, "Who is this?"
A strong voice came from inside, "Captain Chen, right? I am Zhan Yi, Instructor Chen's student. Captain Chen should have seen me yesterday if you were there.
Teacher heard about you killing Iron Demon. He admires you very much and wants to meet you. I wonder if you have time? If it's convenient, there will be a tea party at three o'clock this afternoon. You are welcome to attend."
Chen Chuan's heart stirred slightly. He was originally on a mission to contact Chen Bitong. Since he had the opportunity, he would naturally not miss it. He said, "Okay, I'll be there on time."
The other party also thought that this answer was a matter of course and said, "Okay, then I'll see you then."
After Chen Chuan ended the call, he contacted Qin Qing Que again and said, "Executive Officer Qin, please go to the communications department and find out who leaked my contact channel."
"Yes, Captain, I will find out."
……
……
83 latest address