At the Yanjing Military Airport, the delegation welcoming Xu Ze and his team back home was unusually high-profile. Although General Yang Guanglian didn’t show up in person, Deputy Minister Wang from the General Staff Department was there, flanked by a row of senior officers.
Hu Qiang, Bai Qi, and the others descended the plane’s gangway, and when they saw the sea of gleaming golden stars on the shoulder boards below, their faces flushed with excitement. Never before had they experienced such treatment.
When they’d departed for Lima, it was because General Zuma was with them that General Yang Guanglian had led a group of high-ranking officers to see them off. But this time, there was no foreign head of state on board—the highest-ranking officer was Xu Ze, a lieutenant colonel—and yet Deputy Minister Wang of the General Staff Department had brought so many senior officers to greet them. It was beyond their expectations.
They’d thought that, despite their considerable achievements this time, a lieutenant general from the General Staff coming to welcome them would already be a great honor. Who knew it would be Deputy Minister Wang—a full general—leading the contingent, with a lieutenant general and three major generals behind him? Even Major General Bai Qiwei, the head of the Wolf Fang unit, was only qualified to stand at the back.
Only Xu Ze remained calm and composed. Right now, he couldn’t care less about any awards or commendations upon his return. All he wanted was to find a place with abundant spiritual energy, get some good rest, and at the very least, fix his automatic response system first…
“Colonel Xu Ze—you’ve had a long and arduous journey. Congratulations on completing this difficult mission flawlessly. Entrusted by the Chairman and Minister Yang Guanglian, I’m here to welcome you back.” Deputy Minister Wang gazed at Xu Ze with the warm, appreciative look an elder gives to a younger generation. After returning Xu Ze’s salute, he shook his hand and said with heartfelt satisfaction.
“Colonel? I just got back—could Minister Yang have promoted me already? They haven’t even formally conferred my rank yet…” Hearing Deputy Minister Wang’s address, Xu Ze inadvertently glossed over the mentions of the Chairman and the Minister.
Seeing Xu Ze’s stunned expression, Deputy Minister Wang explained with a smile, “What’s the matter? Too excited? This promotion to colonel was personally ordered by the Chairman. So now, you’re officially the youngest colonel in our military’s history. Later… when the Chairman has time, he’ll personally present you with your new insignia and medals.”
“Huh? The Chairman is personally conferring my rank?” This time, Xu Ze was genuinely taken aback. “But there’s no precedent for the Chairman personally awarding a colonel’s rank, is there?”
Seeing Xu Ze finally show an expression that pleased him, Deputy Minister Wang chuckled and said, “A twenty-one-year-old colonel—that’s also unprecedented, don’t you think? Hahaha…”
Hu Qiang and Bai Qi, standing behind Xu Ze, overheard their conversation and couldn’t hide their envious admiration. They had no idea that Xu Ze would jump two ranks at once upon his return, and that the Chairman himself would be presenting the honor. A distinction like that—even once in a lifetime—would be glory enough…
After exchanging a few words with Deputy Minister Wang, a unfamiliar major general walked over and shook Xu Ze’s hand with great enthusiasm. “Colonel Xu Ze, you’ve really had a tough time out there. We truly appreciate your efforts.”
Xu Ze was a bit taken aback by this stranger who seemed overly warm. He forced a dry laugh and replied, “It’s no trouble at all—it’s what I should do.”
Bai Qi, walking just behind Xu Ze, noticed his awkward expression and quickly stepped in to introduce him: “Colonel, this is our Wolf Fang Corps Commander, Major General Bai Qiwei.”
Only then did Xu Ze snap out of it. So this was the commander of Wolf Fang—no wonder he was being so warm. But honestly, this was a little too enthusiastic!
“Colonel Xu Ze, if you ever get the chance, I hope you’ll visit us at Wolf Fang and offer some guidance to my lads.” Hearing General Bai’s words, Xu Ze finally understood. So that’s what this is about. He nodded and chuckled in reply: “Of course, of course. I had a wonderful time working with Captain Bai Qi on this mission, and we’ve forged a deep friendship. I’ll be sure to visit Wolf Fang often…”
After leaving the airport, Xu Ze went straight to Old Man Li’s place to check in and put the old general’s mind at ease. Before he left, Old Man Li had been deeply worried about him, even privately passing along a “secret strategy”: if you can’t win, run. The old man really cared about him, so not dropping by would have been unthinkable.
“You little rascal—you’re way too reckless! Carrying a rifle to take on a fighter jet? Weren’t you afraid they’d blow you to pieces with one shot? I told you before—if things look bad, your first priority is to get the hell out!” Old Man Li put on a stern scolding face, but no matter how fierce his words, the delight and pride dancing in his eyes were impossible to hide.
Xu Ze, shameless as ever, put on a sheepish grin and said, “Grandpa Li, what else could I do? Forget about General Zuma for a moment—there were more than a dozen of our people out there. If I’d run, what would have happened to them? They’re all elite members of our nation—there’s no way I could just abandon them!”
“Hmph… you sure know how to talk your way out of it. Fine, I’ll let it slide this time. But next time, keep your wits about you. If those American bastards had killed you, this old man wouldn’t have shed a single tear,” Old Man Li snorted lightly, then looked at Xu Ze with a faint smile. “You’ve done a great service. Even the Chairman called me personally yesterday to say you did well, and he asked me to encourage you to keep making progress. So, do you have any thoughts of your own?”
“Ah…” Xu Ze hadn’t expected the Chairman to call Old Man Li directly. That speaks volumes about Old Man Li’s influence at the highest levels. He furrowed his brow slightly, then laughed: “What thoughts could I have? I’m still a student, after all…”
“Hmph… you good-for-nothing! The Chairman praised you and told you to keep improving, and here you are, acting all indifferent…” Old Man Li was genuinely annoyed by this slacker. “This is a golden opportunity. Sure, you’ve been promoted to colonel, but let me tell you—colonels are a dime a dozen in the military. You’re only one step away from major general, but the vast majority of colonels get stuck at that rank for life, never able to cross that final threshold.”
“Even though you’re young, and this old man is still around, and Old Tang is too, if you don’t seize the moment and solidify your position now, you might never get another chance like this.” Old Man Li’s voice was stern. “Minister Yang has offered you two positions. One is the Deputy Director of the Intelligence Bureau’s Third Division—which was his initial promise to you. The other is Deputy Director of the Special Operations Division under the Operations Department. You choose.”
Seeing Old Man Li’s angry expression, Xu Ze couldn’t help muttering softly, “How am I supposed to choose? I’m only twenty-one. I don’t know anything about these things. I don’t even understand what these positions really do. Besides, my main specialty is clinical medicine—intelligence and warfare aren’t my field…”
Upon hearing Xu Ze’s quiet grumbling, Old Man Li paused. That’s true enough. Xu Ze had never been exposed to this sort of thing—how would he know what to pick? And it would be a shame to waste his medical skills…
Now Old Man Li was stumped. He frowned for a long time before finally saying, “Forget it, forget it. Your medical skills are impressive, but I can’t exactly send you to the General Logistics Department. Relying solely on that, you’d be nothing more than a doctor for the rest of your life. Go to the Operations Department instead. The work there will be simpler and easier for you. Gain some experience first. You’re already a colonel, and given your age, there’s no room for further promotion right now anyway. We’ll figure out the rest later. As for everything else, I’ll discuss it with Minister Yang.”
While Old Man Li and Xu Ze were hashing out his future, at another location in Yanjing—in a study somewhere—someone else was also talking about Xu Ze. And if Xu Ze could have overheard their conversation, he would have been extremely interested. Unfortunately, he couldn’t.
A middle-aged man sat on the sofa, speaking to an elderly man who stood at a desk, brush in hand, intently writing a scroll. “Father… Xu Ze has returned to the country with his team. I heard Deputy Minister Wang from the General Staff Department went to the airport to receive him.”
“Hmm…” The old man nodded without pausing his brush, a cold chuckle escaping his lips. “Old Man Li must be quite pleased with himself now.”
“Of course he is. But we’re not in a bad position either. If it weren’t for this Xu Ze, we’d have no chance of getting involved in Lima from now on,” the middle-aged man said with a soft laugh. “And besides, if it weren’t for him, we wouldn’t have been able to confirm that the second control point really is in Lima.”
At the mention of the control point, the old man finally looked up. A sharp glint flashed in his hawk-like eyes as he fixed his gaze on the middle-aged man. “Have you confirmed the location of the second point?”
“Yes, Father. The base detected a signal two days ago—emitted by the second control point. And through geolocation, it’s roughly where we estimated: indeed within Lima’s borders.”
The middle-aged man could barely contain his excitement. “All our efforts to push the contact plan with Zuma haven’t been wasted. And supposedly, when Xu Ze and the Wolf Fang team were visiting a sacred mountain in Lima, their helicopter experienced severe interference and nearly crashed. I think that area might be where the control point is located…”
Hearing this, a flicker of wild elation flashed in the old man’s eyes. “This is a case of ‘no effort wasted.’ We must accelerate our progress and gather more power, so we can amass enough energy to activate our control point. Then we’ll get closer to Lima and seize control over there. And when that happens… hmph.”
“Yes, Father!” The middle-aged man’s eyes burned with fervent zeal, though a trace of resentment crept in. “If that damned Xu Ze hadn’t interfered back then, and that document hadn’t been leaked, we’d already have enough strength to activate the control point.”
“Yan Zheng, don’t lose heart. We’ll take it step by step. We’re getting closer to our goal now…” The hawk-eyed elder’s gaze once again turned razor-sharp.
