The voyage from Yokohama to Binhai, the largest and most bustling city in China, takes five days. Life on the ship was dull, but for Xu Ze, it wasn’t a problem, because he spent most of his time cultivating his energy cycle and expelling that strange, sinister energy from his body.
For Qing Niao, it naturally wasn’t much of a problem either. As a high-level intelligence operative who had managed to stay hidden in Japan for ten years, he had long grown accustomed to silence and solitude. Apart from the occasional chat with Xu Ze when he woke from his cultivation, he spent the rest of his time either sleeping or secretly slipping up to the deck to get some fresh air.
By now, he had come to understand Xu Ze quite a bit. Watching Xu Ze cultivate his energy cycle tirelessly every day, Qing Niao truly confirmed that Xu Ze was one of those legendary elite figures in China. No wonder someone so young could hold the position of deputy director of the Special Operations Division.
The director of the Operations Department of the General Staff was a lieutenant general, and the director of the Special Operations Division was a major general. So this deputy director in front of him… must at least be a senior colonel, right? Looking at Xu Ze, who appeared to be no more than twenty-one or twenty-two, Qing Niao didn’t know whether to sigh or feel envious. He had spent ten years in Japan, and even now, his rank was only that of a major.
Still, the fact that the country could send such a high-ranking officer—one holding such an important position—to rescue him showed just how great a risk they had taken. If this senior colonel had been captured, there would have been no room for negotiation between the two countries at all.
Even so, as he looked at Xu Ze now, his eyes were full of gratitude. If not for Xu Ze, who knew how many intelligence agents on their side would have thrown themselves into the fire like moths to a flame, dying under the watch of those ninjas?
Meanwhile, Xu Ze continued cultivating every day without pause, but the faint, occasional cough that escaped him suggested that the serious injury he had suffered at the ninja’s hands that day still hadn’t fully healed. He didn’t seem nearly as relaxed as his face made him out to be, which made Qing Niao feel a pang of shame…
This ocean liner was huge, and the crew was numerous, but for Xu Ze and Qing Niao, avoiding detection was far too easy. The only thing was that the ship’s cook would occasionally notice that the stored food seemed to have dwindled a little, but he didn’t think much of it—just cursed whichever gluttonous crew member had snuck in to steal a bite again.
Following Number One’s prompt, Xu Ze finally stopped cultivating. They had now entered Chinese territorial waters—only now could they be considered truly safe…
“Number One, connect me to the Operations Command Room of the General Staff… Connection code 063854120…”
“Yes, Medic Xu Ze… Connecting now…”
“This is the Operations Command Room of the General Staff. Please confirm your identity…” About half a minute later, a middle-aged man’s voice came through. But Xu Ze could clearly hear the barely suppressed joy in his voice.
“I am Xu Ze, deputy director of the Special Operations Division, code name ‘Xu Fu.’ The mission is now complete. We have entered our country’s territorial waters…”
As soon as Xu Ze finished speaking, a faint cheer came through from the other end, followed by the middle-aged man’s excited voice: “Welcome back, Senior Colonel Xu Ze. Please hold on—someone will be coming to welcome you home shortly…”
After ending the call, Xu Ze glanced at Qing Niao, who was still sound asleep, and slowly stood up, walking out of the cabin.
He stepped onto the deck. By now, the sky was gradually beginning to brighten, but aside from the duty crew in the control room, no one else had appeared on deck.
Xu Ze looked at the gently rolling sea around him and let out a soft sigh. Finally, he was going home…
Today was already the twenty-seventh day of the lunar month. In three more days, it would be Chinese New Year’s Eve. Traveling without stop, he had finally made it back… His parents hadn’t been able to reach him—they must be worried sick by now…
“Number One, connect me to my home phone…”
“Beep… Beep… Beep… Beep…” The phone rang for a long time before Xu Hao’s anxious and somewhat nervous voice came through: “Hello…?”
“Hello, Xiao Hao, it’s me…”
“Ah… Mom… Dad, it’s Brother… Brother’s calling…” Hearing Xu Hao’s excited and surprised shout from the other end, warmth welled up in Xu Ze’s heart. It seemed the family had been worried for a long time.
“Mm… Dad, I just got back from a mission. Right… two more days. I’ll definitely be back for New Year! Mm hm…”
“Mom… I’m fine, I’m fine… Right, I was just abroad for some training for a few days. Mm… it was completely sealed off, couldn’t make any calls or anything… Sorry for worrying you… Mm hm… I’m already on my way back now. I’ll definitely make it back by the thirtieth…”
By the time Xu Ze ended the call, Qing Niao had at some point come to stand beside him. Looking at the black earpiece on Xu Ze’s ear, a hint of envy flickered in his eyes. He said softly, “Your family was worried, huh…”
“Mm… I haven’t been in the military long. I could usually stay in touch, but now with New Year approaching and no news from me, I really did make them worry…” Xu Ze nodded gently. Seeing the tears that had begun to glisten in Qing Niao’s eyes—he didn’t know when they had appeared—a sudden, deep sadness welled up in his heart. He took off the earpiece and handed it over, saying, “Call your parents…”
Seeing the earpiece Xu Ze held out, a flash of surprise crossed Qing Niao’s eyes. But just as his hand reached out, he hesitated. He slowly withdrew his hand, gently wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes, and turned toward the distant sea. He said softly, “I can’t make calls yet. I have to report to headquarters first. Only after getting approval can I make a call… Besides, I don’t even know if my family’s phone number has changed…”
“We’ll see…” Qing Niao narrowed his eyes and looked into the distance, then said calmly, “We can consider ourselves back home now, right?”
“Mm… This is already our country’s territorial waters…” Xu Ze nodded.
Qing Niao gently lifted his head, slowly took a breath, then shook his head with a sigh: “Ten years… Ten years. I’ve finally come back…”
The two fell silent, saying nothing, just gazing at the distant sea and the half of a red sun slowly rising above the horizon behind them…
By now, crew members had gradually appeared on deck. Seeing two strangers suddenly on deck, they were all startled—especially since one of them wore combat gear and even appeared to be carrying a weapon. Several crew members couldn’t help but cry out in alarm. The captain was alerted too, and came over with a group of people. Looking at the two with suspicion, he asked, “Who are you people?”
Xu Ze turned around and looked at the captain with a smile: “Chinese…”
Seeing Xu Ze in his tattered combat uniform, with a large patch of dried dark blood on his chest and what appeared to be a pistol at his right leg, the captain couldn’t help but exclaim: “You… you’re the ones the Self-Defense Forces were looking for!”
Hearing the captain’s words, the other crew members remembered: before setting sail from Yokohama, the Self-Defense Forces and the Metropolitan Police Department had searched the cargo and crew extremely thoroughly. Could these be the two they were looking for?
At that thought, everyone’s expressions turned somewhat grim. Although the other party was Chinese and seemed connected to the authorities, their ship would still need to sail to Yokohama in the future… If the Japanese side found out…
But after the captain’s expression shifted a few times, he turned to the crew behind him and said, “It’s fine. Everyone go back. Remember this, all of you—there were never these two people on our ship, understood?”
The crew all understood the captain’s meaning and nodded one after another. They were just about to disperse when the sound of helicopter rotors came from the distance…
A gray helicopter rapidly approached, and on the sea horizon ahead, a warship gradually appeared, sailing toward them.
Seeing this, everyone’s expressions changed. Then the helicopter quickly drew near, hovered above the ship, and dropped two fast-rope lines. Four fully armed soldiers quickly slid down…
The three of them neatly positioned themselves around the two people by the ship’s rail, driving away the crew members surrounding them, and said in a deep voice: “We are the Marine Corps of the East Sea Fleet, conducting a mission. Please stop the ship immediately and cooperate with our work…”
Meanwhile, another officer with the rank of captain on his shoulder stepped toward the two. Looking at the two of them in their ragged clothes, he snapped a salute and said, “I am Captain ** of the Marine Corps, East Sea Fleet, here to welcome you two… Thank you for your hard work!”
Xu Ze solemnly raised his hand and returned the salute. Beside him, Qing Niao’s hand trembled as he returned a salute full of emotion, extremely non-standard. These days, he had been tortured by the Japanese Defense Agency until he was barely human. Now, finally seeing his own country’s military, it was only natural that he couldn’t help but get emotional…
As for the captain behind them, he had originally been full of unease, but seeing that officer salute the two, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. As long as it was confirmed that these were people on their side, then his ship and his crew would be fine… And although it hadn’t been intentional this time, by carrying the two back home, they had done a good deed for the country…
Soon, the warship pulled alongside. After a gangway was set up, the two were welcomed aboard…
The captain of this warship was also a senior colonel. Although he didn’t know what mission the two had returned from, the fact that the General Staff had ordered them to come welcome them meant it was no simple task. So he had personally come up on deck to receive them.
Seeing Xu Ze walking in front—though he looked extremely young, wore a tattered black combat uniform, and had a large bloodstain on his chest—the captain couldn’t help but feel deep respect. The person behind him didn’t look to be in great spirits and clearly didn’t seem to be military. He quickly asked Xu Ze, “Are you Senior Colonel Xu Ze?”
Xu Ze nodded. The senior colonel quickly saluted and said, “I am Yang Qijun, captain of the Xiongshan missile frigate, ordered to come welcome you two…”
“Sorry to trouble you!” Xu Ze raised his hand and returned the salute.
Yang Qijun escorted them inside and arranged for them to rest in the lounge. Then the Xiongshan set off at full speed toward the Binhai base.
More than an hour later, the Xiongshan entered the Binhai base. Captain Yang Qijun conveyed the welcome of Base Commander Major General Li Jinay, and informed them that the base had prepared a rest area. After they washed up, a military aircraft would fly them back to the capital.
Xu Ze and Qing Niao naturally agreed to this arrangement. After all, although it wasn’t hot on the ship, they hadn’t showered in five days. Taking a shower and changing clothes here before heading back to Yanjing was naturally a good thing—otherwise, it would be really uncomfortable…
Xu Ze was actually fine. Aside from his hair being a bit dusty and his face a little dirty, he was otherwise okay. But Qing Niao was covered in dust from head to toe… Given the chance to shower, he certainly wouldn’t pass it up.
After disembarking, a captain led them to the rest area to shower and rest. But halfway there, Number One reminded him again: “There’s a communication from the General Staff…”
“Put it through…” Xu Ze said as he walked, pretending to press his earpiece.
“A Ze… are you alright?” Hearing Elder Li’s tense voice, warmth filled Xu Ze’s heart again. He quickly responded, “Grandpa Li, I’m fine… I’ve already arrived at the Binhai base…”
“Oh… good, good that you’re fine…” Elder Li hesitated for a moment, then said, “Um… you should still come back to Yanjing as soon as possible… There’s something you need to…”
Hearing Elder Li’s words, telling him to hurry back to Yanjing, Xu Ze was puzzled. What could be so urgent that he needed to rush back to handle?
“Grandpa Li… what is it? I’ll take a shower and rest a bit, then head back right away…” Xu Ze asked, confused.
“Um… forget the rest. Just come back first…” Hearing Xu Ze say he wanted to shower and rest, Elder Li quickly said.
Hearing the gravity in Elder Li’s voice, Xu Ze’s heart began to panic. He said in a low voice, “Grandpa Li… just tell me what it is… Something about your tone doesn’t sound right to me…”
Elder Li hesitated on the phone for a moment, then said, “Um… um, don’t panic, alright… Um… the Sun family’s little girl is getting engaged today…”
“What?” Xu Ze blinked. Without realizing it, he had stopped walking, causing Qing Niao, who was behind him, to pause in surprise.
“Grandpa Li… what did you just say?”
Qing Niao listened to Xu Ze’s voice ahead and sensed something was off. Although the voice was still clear, it seemed to carry a faint tremor. This alarmed Qing Niao. Throughout the journey, Xu Ze had been killing left and right, and he had never seen him like this. Now that they were back home, with everything fine at home, everything fine—how had his voice started trembling?
Xu Ze, at this moment, was completely unaware that his face had instantly turned ashen. He simply continued asking Elder Li on the phone in a low voice.
“Um… Xu Ze, don’t panic. I’ll head over in a bit… News came from over there. That bastard Sun Rui recently latched onto the Zhang family. The news just came out two days ago—the Sun girl is getting engaged to the Zhang family’s boy, and it’s today…” Elder Li was already cursing on the other end.
“Why?” Xu Ze’s face was ashen, and his words now carried a hint of gnashing teeth. Even the captain leading the way ahead had noticed something was wrong and quickly stopped, waiting cautiously to the side.
