Chapter 286: Troop Leader Zhou Liao

"Yes, Governor!" The attendant ran off with Governor Xiao's message.

"Well, the special forces' barracks is quite some distance away, so let's have a chat inside first." Xiao Zhengyang was getting more and more enamored with Zhang Lie, and Zhang Lie himself had no reason to refuse.

Governor Xiao's manor, like Governor Xiao himself, gave off the same feeling: simple and straightforward. Stone sculptures of prominent hunters adorned his estate, a style that suited Zhang Lie's tastes as well.

Zhang Lie had heard of Xiao Zhengyang's name before, but in his past life, he had never met the man in person. After all, he had hardly been able to reach such vaunted heights.

His meeting with Governor Xiao today validated the claims and rumors that he had heard about him in the past. Soon in the future, the sura would once again come for mankind. Xiao Zhengyang was the only one of the city governors who chose to fight to their death without retreating so as to secure the safety of the troops and civilians within. Allegedly, in order to avoid being taken as a slave, he even self-destructed at the end of the fight, taking down a whole wave of sura with him.

To the past Zhang Lie, this had just been a tale of remembrance. Now, however, he had become a member of Qi, and he too would have to face the sura invasion. Furthermore, after getting to know him a little, he was favorably inclined toward Governor Xiao.

They passed through a rather large courtyard and into a meeting room. Xiao Zhengyang motioned for Zhang Lie to sit by his side, as though they were already close friends.

"Here, have a taste of this bloodvein tea!"

"Bloodvein tea?" Zhang Lie stared at the proffered cup of tea doubtfully, the very image of a country bumpkin.

"Indeed, bloodvein tea! It's a superior type of tea leaf, extremely rare even in the second realm. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't even let them smell such a delicacy!"

Zhang Lie didn't know quite how to respond to his generosity. After all, they had met each other for the first time not fifteen minutes ago, but Xiao Zhengyang was already treating him like an old friend.

"Thank you, Governor Xiao!" He lifted the cup of tea to his mouth and took a tiny sip. The tea was refreshing, with a bittersweet aftertaste that remained at the tip of his tongue. A unique fragrance suffused his nostrils. Zhang Lie's eyes widened. "This is good tea!"

Governor Xiao smiled. While awaiting Zhou Liao's arrival, the two of them had more tea as they chatted with each other.

Zhou Liao arrived within ten minutes, marching stiffly into the room. When he saw Zhang Lie, his eyes widened momentarily before he turned to the governor. "At your service, Governor Xiao."

Governor Xiao told Zhang Lie, "Here, let me introduce the two of you. This is Zhou Liao, my direct subordinate responsible for the special forces of Qi, as well as your new troop leader. He'll be responsible for arranging your entrance into the special forces."

Then, he turned to face Zhou Liao. "I'm sure I don't have to tell you who he is, do I?"

Zhou Liao seemed to be in his thirties, with piercing eagle-like eyes and a vigilance about him that reminded him of the specialized Blackwind troops under Su Feng's direct command.

"Champion of the Void Cup, the new star of China, the Dragonwolf Zhang Lie… it's a pleasure to meet you in person." Zhou Liao relaxed as he looked Zhang Lie up and down, admiration and excitement warring in his eyes. He was excited that Zhang Lie had ended up in Qi, that he was about to become one of his men, that they would be working together for quite some time afterwards.

Indeed, he was already itching to spar with him.

"It's a pleasure," Zhang Lie replied politely.

"Alright, then! Let me be direct. From today onwards, Zhang Lie will join the special forces of Qi as a new recruit. Zhou Liao, find some space for him in your troop—and warn those hunters not to mess with him, or they're the ones who will suffer!"

Zhou Liao hesitated. "Governor Xiao, what of those recruits who have been training hard to join the special forces? Zhang Lie's certainly qualified, but unless there's a demonstration of some sort, I'm sure there'll be friction from those hunters who weren't selected owing to his arrival..."

He glanced at Zhang Lie intermittently, trying to discern his thoughts, but Zhang Lie himself revealed nothing.

Instead, Xiao Zhengyang remarked to Zhang Lie, "They're all young, hotblooded recruits. Don't hurt them too badly—they haven't had it easy, you hear me?"

Zhou Liao frowned again. Those hunters who wanted to join the special forces of Qi had been in the second realm for five Earth-years—in other words, they had spent five decades in the second realm! They had almost all maxed out their gene capacities, and their genetic armor, framework, and techniques were perfectly compatible.

How could Zhang Lie, who had just arrived in the second realm, be able to challenge them?

Although he was certainly strong relative to first-realm hunters, and it was even rumored that he had killed two elite hunters of the second realm some time ago, surely those elites were still far weaker than the special forces recruits of Qi. And Zhang Lie hadn't even had a chance to acquire any gene fragments from the second realm! Did he have any hope of victory?

Zhou Liao suspected that Governor Xiao was overestimating Zhang Lie's skills. Indeed, Zhang Lie had no equal in the first realm of the dimensional world, and he had contributed dramatically to the view of mankind in the Milky Way at large, but this wasn't the first realm anymore—it was the second!

All the gene fragments that he had acquired in the first realm had been incorporated into his genetic code, so he would have to start collecting them from scratch from the lifeforms of the second realm.

Did Governor Xiao really think that, with nothing but his base strength from the first realm, Zhang Lie would be able to challenge seasoned veterans of the second?

Zhang Lie smiled again. "Please don't worry, Governor Xiao. Would you prefer that I simply take part in the selection process for joining the Qi special forces? It seems as though that would save quite a bit of trouble for both of us."