Chapter 287: In Search of Zhang Lie

Did Zhang Lie really think he would be able to pass the Qi special forces' selection process so easily? More shockingly, Governor Xiao even seemed to agree!

Governor Xiao immediately shook his head. "Don't, don't! I don't want you to ruin the selection process for everyone else. Enter the special forces troops directly!"

Zhang Lie chuckled bitterly. "Alright, I understand."

"In that case, what are you waiting for? Zhou Liao, leave with your new team member!" Xiao Zhengyang, relieved that Zhang Lie had given up on his plan to mess up the selection process, sighed in relief.

However, before Zhou Liao could say anything, Zhang Lie interjected, "Please wait a moment, Governor Xiao! I advanced to the second realm by accident, and my emergency transceiver has been destroyed. It's been three months since my friends and family have heard from me, and I'd like to inform them of my safety if possible. It would only take half a day at most!"

Xiao Zhengyang cocked an eyebrow. "Advanced... by accident? ?I heard that there was some commotion in the Blacksteel settlement today. Was that related to your advancement, by any chance?"

"Somewhat related, Governor Xiao. I'm afraid it would take me too long to explain things fully at the moment..."

Xiao Zhengyang scrutinized Zhang Lie again from head to toe. "You've already left a teleportation marker behind, so return home and come back quickly."

"Thank you for understanding, Governor Xiao!"

"Enough, enough! This isn't a formal occasion, so there's no need to address me as governor this and governor that. Just Xiao's fine. To be honest, I was in the same battalion as Yan Long, and he's already told me a lot about you."

Zhang Lie bowed, then turned to leave with Zhou Liao, who was having a hard time processing just what Governor Xiao had said. He was known to be the most stubborn lord of the cities in the second realm—he couldn't recall a time when he had seen him so friendly, and to a newcomer, no less!

Given this unusual relationship between the governor and Zhang Lie, how was he supposed to act as Zhang Lie's troop leader? What, was he supposed to just let Zhang Lie do as he pleased?

While Zhou Liao was deep in thought, Zhang Lie entered the teleportation array and returned to Ning.

In a conference room within the Zenith Dojo, Zhang Hong, Lin Xiu, Zhang Hanxiang, the members of Team Zenith, and the established staff of the dojo were all gathered for an important meeting.

"It's already been three months! Where's my brother? Are you certain that he wasn't a victim of the disaster at the Blacksteel settlement?" Zhang Hanxiang's eyes were clouded with worry.

Ever since Zhang Lie entered secluded cultivation in the dimensional world, no one had seen him or managed to communicate with him. After his departure, there was news of a commotion that he had caused, followed by some sort of freak event that killed and injured quite a few hunters in the Blacksteel Inn.

Subsequently, Zhang Lie's genetic energy seemed to vanish into thin air, and the Blacksteel Inn's staff didn't find him within the inn in the aftermath. It was evident that Zhang Lie had chosen to head to some less populated region to avoid causing such unwanted mishaps, so none of them had been too concerned about his lack of communication.

Even a month without news had been bearable; they were all well aware of Zhang Lie's skill. They didn't think there was anything left in the first realm of the dimensional world that could challenge him. In other words, if he still hadn't reached out to them, he had to have been cultivating in solitude.

After two months, however, the members of Team Zenith and the Zenith Dojo couldn't sit still any longer. Zhang Lie had never lost contact with them for so long before, but in order to avoid a big commotion, they had chosen not to publicize his disappearance. Instead, they would conduct their own secret investigation.

That process had taken a month, and even after the members of Team Zenith searched through every possible location they could think of where Zhang Lie might be located, they were unable to find anything. Zhang Lie had vanished into thin air. As his disappearance dragged on, the hunters were becoming more and more worried.

They had had such a meeting thrice over the last ten days, and it was evident how worried they all were about Zhang Lie.

"I can confirm that there were quite a number of fans around the inn in the afternoon before his disappearance. With our captain's strength, no one would be able to kidnap him so silently and stealthily without his making a fuss, so he had to have chosen to leave the Blacksteel settlement himself. However, we simply don't know where he's gone. I don't think that there's anything we can do. Who's to say that our captain won't be back in the next day or two?" Fang Yi explained his perspective. As a member of Team Zenith, he was confident in Zhang Lie's abilities, and he was certain that Zhang Lie could handle whatever came his way.

"You're not wrong, but I simply feel that something has to be wrong if he hasn't communicated with us for so long. Let's continue trying to search for him—if nothing else, we can stand guard while he cultivates," Sun Mengmeng suggested.

She wanted to do something for her captain given how much he had done for them.

"Right, I agree with my sister! Surely we can't do nothing after our captain's been missing for so long? At the very least, I can't just sit here!" Sun Xiaowu added fervently.

"Right, it's already been three months. We've already searched in every location we could think of. Should we contact Commanders Su Feng and Yan Long to try to get their help?"

Lin Xiu, who had been one of Su Feng's subordinates, quickly interjected, "No, we can't inform them. They're commanders of the Chinese military, so they'd have to escalate the affair once they found out. If there really was a problem, then we'd have no choice, but it seems likely that Zhang Lie's just in secluded cultivation. If this were true, it would be a huge embarrassment for China if we mobilized our troops at this point."