Chapter 1321 - 273: Funeral

Time returns to the present, and Wen Yu, facing Lin Haifeng’s smart mainframe, doesn’t mention the matter they hadn’t resolved a few days ago. Instead, he shifts the topic to the still uncompleted plan.

"So, what should we do next?"

Upon hearing Wen Yu’s question, the screen flickers with light and shadow. After a moment, Lin Haifeng emits an electronic synthesized voice.

"Promote Fang Yuqiong as the Commander of Yanjing."

"Should I support him?"

"No, you don’t need to say anything. If you speak, it’ll show a flaw. Just say nothing, and someone will step up to push Fang Yuqiong as the Commander of Yanjing... Moreover, I’ve already prepared for this."

"What preparation?"

"Fran, I didn’t tell Fran about this, but I think once Fran arrives on the scene, he should be able to perceive the truth and understand my intentions. You can go back and discuss with Fran. Also, Fran has my will... I informed Fran to write it up before you decided to confront the Demigod. Initially, Fang Yuqiong’s performance was quite impressive and suitable to succeed my position... Looking at it now, it turned out to be a lucky coincidence..."

(See Chapter 227, Expulsion!)

"So, what do I need to do?"

"Observe... observe who among Yanjing’s higher-ups is an insider for the Demigod..."

"That’s impossible."

"There will be, otherwise the Demigod wouldn’t be confident in pushing Fang Yuqiong to power."

"And after my death, heh, I imagine many people will be restless inside, won’t they?"

Wen Yu remains silent, then chats briefly with Lin Haifeng and turns to leave.

...

By the time Wen Yu returns to the District 8 Outpost Base, everything has reached its conclusion.

The four Soul Puppets that assassinated Lin Haifeng have been slain by the Yanjing experts who arrived later, and Lin Haifeng’s body has been covered with a white cloth, prepared for an honorable burial. Fran, meanwhile, just stands amidst the remnants of the Supreme Command Headquarters, eyes closed, lost in thought.

When Wen Yu walks to Fran’s side, Fran finally opens his eyes, looks at Wen Yu, and merely nods, showing an obvious expression of grief.

"Condolences..."

Wen Yu simply pats Old Man Fran’s shoulder, speaks these two words, and then falls silent.

But deep inside, Wen Yu suddenly realizes—Old Man Fran has the ability to manipulate time; he could totally rewind time to find out the truth.

Yet until now, nothing has changed.

Perhaps the Demigod cleared away any such traces, or possibly there was an understanding between Old Man Fran and Lin Haifeng, but it seems more likely to be the former.

The Demigod wouldn’t leave such glaring flaws.

"Next..."

Wen Yu just opens his mouth to say something, but Fran waves his hand to interrupt him, merely shakes his head gently and speaks.

"You should find somewhere to rest for now. I’ll hold a funeral for Commander Lin this evening and have someone notify you then."

Wen Yu remains silent and just nods, then turns to leave.

...

Wen Yu randomly finds a hotel outside to stay in, eats a simple meal, and takes a nap. Then the door is knocked upon. Wen Yu opens the door to see Old Man Fran’s silhouette slipping into the room with a "whoosh."

"Who did it?"

Though his abilities didn’t reveal the truth, Fran still keenly notices something amiss.

"Who did it isn’t important; what’s important is that this was indicated by Lin Haifeng."

"So is he really dead?"

"From my perspective, he’s truly dead, but he seems to believe otherwise."

Wen Yu starts to elaborate, but Old Man Fran waves a hand to stop him. He sits thoughtfully on the chair for a moment, then sighs.

"That’s enough. I understand now."

Then he gestures for Wen Yu to follow, and the two leave the hotel in sequence. Soon, they reach the largest conference center at the District 8 Outpost Base in Yanjing.

...

Within a few hours, the auditorium has been arranged in black and white, outfitted with wreaths, salutes, and etcetera. Servants and soldiers stand in ranks, creating an atmosphere of solemn dignity throughout the venue.

Old Man Fran leads the way, with Wen Yu following closely. As they cross through the door decorated with white ribbons, they are greeted by Lin Haifeng’s large black and white photo and the grieving Lin Clan members in front of it.

Fang Bai, Lin Tianxue, and Fang Yuqiong stand on the left of the coffin, while Lin Que is on the right; their eyes are red as if they have just cried.

Fran gives Wen Yu a gentle push, and Wen Yu understands. He takes the white flower handed by a servant, steps forward, bows three times to Lin Haifeng’s body, and places the flower on the coffin.

Afterwards, Wen Yu walks to Lin Que, pats his shoulder, signaling him to handle his grief.

The eldest differs from the enemy; the grandchild handles everything at the funeral—but unfortunately, Lin Que’s age ensures he cannot bear this heavy task.

Lin Que only weeps, without any reaction to Wen Yu’s actions, rendering Wen Yu slightly awkward, but Fang Bai steps forward to smooth out the situation for him.

After the ceremony, Wen Yu steps aside, quietly observing Fran and the rest of Yanjing’s high-ranking officials present their respects one by one.

The entire process appears solemn yet tedious—in fact, that’s what so-called happy and mourning events are generally like...

Until about three hours later, the entire process ends, and Fang Bai steps forward to invite everyone to dine in the adjoining hall—not that it’s time to feast and celebrate someone’s death, but eating and drinking is part of Cathay-style funerals.

With nothing better to do, and realizing that what follows will be the main focus, Wen Yu follows Fang Bai into the adjacent hall where he is seated at the top position under Fang Bai’s arrangement, with Lin Haifeng’s massive portrait behind him.

On the portrait, Lin Haifeng smiles, eyes piercing and energetic. At this moment, Wen Yu truly feels an indescribable pressure—it’s not that the portrait is scary, but Wen Yu realizes that Lin Haifeng might be hiding behind some monitor, watching intently at the proceedings below...

This is called the gaze of the deceased...

As Wen Yu takes his seat, Yanjing’s high-ranking officials enter the dining room one after another. Once everyone is seated, the dishes begin to emerge, but apart from Wen Yu taking a few bites, no one else moves their bowls or chopsticks...

Compared to before, the atmosphere seems even worse now.

...

Until about ten minutes later, Lin Tianxue, at Wen Yu’s table, finally speaks.

"Father is dead..."

It seems like an idle remark, but aside from Lin Que still sobbing quietly, the entire dining room freezes.

The main topic arrives...

"This is a sad event for us and the nation, but the country cannot be leaderless for even a day..."

"Aunt!"