Book 3, Chapter 215: Tea Party

The next afternoon, Chen Chuan walked out of his room and met up with his team members before heading to the tea party.

While Chen Bitong had invited him, he could bring a few people with him. When Yuan Qiuyuan learned that Chen Chuan had received an invitation to the tea party, he said that he wanted to go too. Since they were part of the same unit and were highly likely to be assigned to Chen Bitong’s side in the future, Chen Chuan decided to bring Qin Qingque as well.

The venue was already packed by the time they arrived. People were gathered in small groups and were chatting with champagne flutes in their hands.

Most of them were young men and women in uniforms of low-ranking officers. They had to be the soldiers who took the train to rush over. There was one thing common about them: All of them were at least second-generation soldiers.

Based on their biofields, a number of them had implants. This wasn’t common for martial artists, and it confirmed Chen Chuan’s theory—these people weren’t Chen Bitong’s students. They didn’t need his guidance, but were sent here by their factions to show support and side with Chen Bitong.

They had come here specifically because Chen Bitong was going to leave the merged space in a few days to take a break in Central City. This was his final station before leaving.

Yuan Qiuyuan took a look around and saw beautiful tea-time pastries and high-quality drinks on the long table. Their sweet scent filled his nose.

This was all good stuff they never saw in the base’s restaurant, so a train had to have brought the food and drinks from Central City.

He also recognized certain signs only children of soldiers would have, so he asked Qin Qingque, “Do you know anyone here?”

“No,” Qin Qingque said with a shake of her head.

Just then, the people in the venue saw Chen Chuan’s unit as well. While there were plenty of people here, there were only a handful who wore the uniform of a squad captain at Chen Chuan’s age, so their arrival attracted a lot of attention.

Zhan Yi walked over and shook Chen Chuan’s hand. “Hello, Captain Chen. I’m Zhan Yi.”

Chen Chuan took a look at his uniform and epaulette. He, too, was a squad captain, but Zhan Yi was around ten years older than he was. He appeared to be thirty years old. “Hello, Captain Zhan.”

“Instructor Chen would like to see you. Come with me,” Zhan Yi said.

“Please lead the way,” Chen Chuan replied.

After telling Yuan Qiuyuan and Qin Qingque that he would be stepping away for a while, he followed Zhan Yi to where Chen Bitong was. The man was talking to Lai Wu, the sentry of Fort 4. Around them were other high-ranking military officers and tactical advisors. Just like yesterday, though, none of the main officers of the fort were here.

Zhan Yi walked over and said, “This is Captain Chen, Instructor Chen.” The military officers and tactical advisors turned around.

Chen Bitong sized Chen Chuan up before saying, “We met yesterday, young man.”

The others were surprised by this. They met yesterday? When did that happen? They remembered that Chen Bitong had not stepped foot out of his room after going inside.

Chen Chuan knew that he was talking about their biofields coming into contact with each other, so he said, “I was indeed around when we were welcoming you to the fort. I wasn’t expecting you to be able to see me from so far away.”

The others relaxed once their question had been answered.

“You’re an outstanding young man. Even if you were standing in a crowd, I could tell in an instant,” Chen Bitong said languidly.

“You’re a great judge of character, Instructor Chen,” one of the tactical advisors said with a smile. “Captain Chen is the hero who killed the Iron Monster a few days ago. He solved a major problem for us. A rare talent.”

“How did you defeat the Iron Monster, Captain Chen? The report wasn’t written in great detail. Since you’re here today, why don’t you tell us?” one of the military officers suggested.

The others appeared interested as well. Some of the nearby young officers also drew closer.

Most of them weren’t interested in martial arts techniques since they could not understand them.

They got their strength from implants. After all, high-grade implants had few side effects and were practically undetectable to the naked eye. Aside from the exceptionally talented people, others would rather take shortcuts to gain strength instead of training hard.

That didn’t stop them from being interested in stories of martial artists fighting against powerful enemies, especially those that happened in the merged space. This time, one of the parties involved was even the Iron Monster, an enemy with quite a bit of fame to his name.

When Chen Chuan saw Chen Bitong looking over as well, he said, “This isn’t some secret, so I don’t mind sharing.”

He gave them a brief outline of the entire event. He started with how they were attacked at night, then to how he decided to chase after them, and finished with how he defeated the Iron Monster in a head-on clash.

Chen Chuan didn’t add anything or edit any parts of the fight but just told it as it had happened. This made it seem like the fight was nothing special, but he put a special emphasis on the critical role the Intelligence Department had played.

“If the Intelligence Department hadn’t fed the Iron Monster false information, he wouldn’t have come back to fight against us. That’s why I believe that the Intelligence Department played as crucial a role as we did in defeating the Iron Monster.”

One of the tactical advisors said, “I think it’s because the Iron Monster thought that he could defeat your unit as well, since you were the only ones pursuing him at that time.”

He then turned to the others and said with a smile, “But Captain Chen is simply too strong, and the Iron Monster was defeated.”

The tactical advisor started clapping, and the others followed suit out of politeness. Many of them were disappointed by the story. Chen Chuan’s description of the fight wasn’t as thrilling as they had thought it would be. It wasn’t exciting at all.

Zhan Yi noticed something, though. “Captain Chen, you mentioned that the Iron Monster mutated at the end, didn’t you?”

“Yes. His mutated tissue started growing on his skin, and he gained great defenses and strength, but that’s all. His movements were no longer coordinated, and his overall strength dropped compared to before,” Chen Chuan replied.

“The Iron Monster should have been a demon, then.”

“A demon, huh?” Zhan Yi scowled.

The tactical advisor continued, “Captain Zhan, you’ve spent a long time abroad and have only just arrived at the merged space, so you might not know the situation here well. The royal family in the merged space has long since joined forces with demons to gain supernatural strength.

“In other words, they’re going through voluntary vitalization. I heard that it can be controlled. Not only does it allow them to retain their mind, but they can even increase their potential.

“But things are changing. The royal family and royally appointed warriors are no longer the only ones who can go through vitalization. They’ve started offering that option to all those whom they value. They believe vitalization to be an honor.

“Still, I think that it hasn’t been long since the Iron Monster had gone through vitalization. It’s either this, or something went wrong, and he couldn’t blend well with his vitalized organ. That’s why that happened.”

One of the young military officers seemed to be interested in demons. “Advisor Fa, do we have that sort of technology?”

With a smile, Advisor Fa said, “It’s impossible for the government to do that, but I can’t guarantee the same for the companies. They’re likely to be conducting research behind closed doors.”

Then, as if he no longer wanted to talk about this, he said to Chen Chuan, “Thank goodness you got rid of the Iron Monster. If his fusion rate grew higher, he would’ve become a tough opponent.”

They started clapping again. This time, the claps were much more enthusiastic.

Just then, a voice at odds with the others chimed in. “Captain Chen, I noticed in your report that you spent a night outside while chasing after the Iron Monster and used a ritual to fend against the nighttime abnormalities in the merged space. That’s no easy feat. Looks like you have quite the understanding of rituals.”

Everyone turned around and saw a tall military officer in the uniform of the Disciplinary Department. He wore a round pair of glasses and had his hair parted. At that moment, he was smiling at Chen Chuan.

His question caused the crowd to exchange a few glances, and knowing smiles formed on their lips.

After all, rituals were under strict regulation in the Great Shun Republic, and many of them were outright banned, but Chen Chuan knew how to perform them. Who did he learn them from? Had he joined a cult before?

“I do have some understanding about them,” Chen Chuan answered honestly. “During my freshman year, I came across some anomalous events. Because of it, the Cult Investigation Bureau gave me missions and taught me things. That’s why I have some knowledge about rituals.

“If I hadn’t been recommended to study at Central City’s Martial Valor University, I might have ended up working at the Cult Investigation Bureau, not fighting in the merged space.”

“Is that so?” The tall military officer stared at him a little while longer before smiling and looking away.

Chen Chuan turned to Chen Bitong and approached him. “Instructor Chen, may I ask you a question?”

Since Chen Bitong was wearing a mask that covered half his face and his wrinkles were so deep, he looked stern, but when he spoke, he sounded like a friendly man. “If you have any questions, feel free to ask, Captain Chen.”

“When I was fighting against the Iron Monster, I noticed that he could sense impending danger. The base knew about it too, since he could always avoid places that posed the most danger to him. I’d like to know whether this is a martial arts ability or whether this is something he gained as a demon,” Chen Chuan said.

The others became interested as well and turned to hear Chen Bitong’s analysis.

But Chen Bitong didn’t give them an answer. “After going back, I’m going to rest in Central City. I might open a training center with a friend’s help. If you’re free, come visit me. Then, I’ll give you the answer.”

Chen Chuan watched him for a moment. Setting aside his stance and all the problems attached to him, Chen Bitong was a capable martial artist. If he could get some guidance from him, it would be beneficial to him. So, he said, “I’ll come, Instructor Chen.”