Epoch of Twilight

Chapter 365: Meeting Xu Zhiqiang Again

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

It was 10 in the morning and Luo Yuan walked into the Firearms Bureau like a robot. He bumped into Fang Peibin who had just arrived like he did.

‘Ah! Master, you’re back!" Fang Peibin spoke energetically. He was just about to yawn before seeing him.

"Did you not get enough sleep?" Luo Yuan asked while nodding in response to his statement. He was controlling his speed and trying to match Fang Peibin’s. It made his speech a little weird even though it was clear. It sounded robotic but he knew that it was only temporary. As soon as he got used to the new time dimension, everything would be back to normal.

Fang Peibin noticed that something was strange but he did not dwell on it and spoke honestly, "It was already midnight when I got back from my mission last night. I was still wide awake so I didn’t sleep at all. Nothing unusual though."

"Was the mission completed?" Luo Yuan asked.

"I’m nothing compared to you, master. It was only a level-5 mission. It should have been nothing but it sure was tricky. I had to wait half a day for the chance to attack." Fang Peibin chuckled in reply to Luo Yuan’s question.

"That’s great. Come to my office!" Luo Yuan said.

Fang Peibin knew that he had something to ask. He nodded and followed Luo Yuan to his office. After shutting the door, knowing that Fang Peibin was a straightforward person, Luo Yuan asked directly, "How well do you know about Chen Xinjie’s family background?"

"Chen Xinjie? Captain Chen? Which part do you mean? I only remember that she has her mother around. Her mother is a demure woman. She used to make us soup but she hasn’t been visiting lately." Fang Peibin spoke in a puzzled manner.

Luo Yuan’s blood was boiling inside him. Looking at his apprentice who was usually smart, he said, "No, I mean does she have a partner or kids!?"

"I’m not sure. I’ve never seen any before." Fang Peibin suddenly understood what he meant and responded. His mouth was wide open and he spoke in shock, "Ah! Master, don’t tell me you’re in love with Chen Xinjie! Don’t be fooled by her friendliness towards everybody, she’s actually very arrogant."

"Vice-Captain… No, I mean master… I’m not talking about you. The Vice-Captain who died used to go after Captain Chen. That guy was a Casanova! He knew his way around women and he bought her flowers and other stuff every day. After a few months of trying, he did not even manage to hold her hand. There’s still chance if you want to marry her. But to make her your mistress, I don’t think it’s possible."

Fang Peibin had seen Luo Yuan’s women before when he was staying at the hostel during the time when Luo Yuan was on the mission to save Wu Qianru. The number of women he had was enough to form a basketball team. Luo Yuan gave an awkward smile. Fearing what he would do to him, Fang Peibin had chills in his bones. He then quickly spoke, "But of course, that Vice-Captain who died was nothing compared to master, your looks alone…"

"Alright, stop your nonsense. Check and let me know if she has a husband!" Luo Yuan interrupted him. He thought for a little while and said, "Never mind, you don’t have to check anymore."

It would be an easy task for Luo Yuan to get someone to tell him the truth as long as the timing was right. Even a hint would work. He was not interested in anything else. He was not greedy and never had the intention of betraying the Reconstruction Area. However, not knowing if Chen Xinjie had a husband or not bothered him.

Suddenly, a knock on the door interrupted his thought.

"Come in!"

The door was slightly opened and a small-sized person’s head was looking around the office. She was blushing when she saw Luo Yuan and started speaking, "Vice… Vice-Captain… Co… Colonel Fang. The captain asked me to inform you that there will be an emergency meeting in the conference room."

"What time?" Luo Yuan asked. He thought it was odd that Lin Feiyan hired such a timid secretary.

"Right… Right now!"

"Alright, I’ll be there in a minute. Excuse yourself!"

"Okay, okay!" She left immediately and closed the door softly."

"Something major must have happened, let’s go for the meeting." Luo Yuan said.

Fang Peibin had a strange expression. He thought to himself… as Luo Yuan had just arrived not long ago, he would not know that the Captain did something like this.

Both of them left the office and bumped into Chen Xinjie along the corridor who was closing her door.

"Master, I think I forgot something. I’ll go first." Fang Peibin spoke and left them alone. Looking at Fang Peibin leaving, he tried to say something so that it was not awkward.

Chen Xinjie avoided eye contact while combing her hair with her fingers. She seemed nervous. After a few steps with Luo Yuan, she was glancing at the toilet nearby and said, "Excuse me. I’m going to the toilet!"

Without waiting for Luo Yuan to respond, she quickly made her way to the toilet.

Watching his new crush leaving and avoiding him was utterly disappointing. He started to feel lost as he was not sure if she was acting or if it was real. Too bad he did not get the opportunity to use his abilities on her sooner.

There were a lot of people at the conference room when he arrived. Apart from those who were on missions, the rest were there. Since there was still time before the meeting, Luo Yuan was making small talk with the people around. He looked at Chen Xinjie when she walked in. Their eyes met but Chen Xinjie quickly looked away.

Soon, Lin Feiyan walked into the conference room. She was wearing her iconic loose armored suit. She looked as cold as ice and was holding her meeting notes in her hand. She walked up to the podium quickly. As she was up there, she glanced at everybody in the room and paused when she saw Luo Yuan. When Luo Yuan noticed she was looking at him, she immediately looked down and pretended to look at her notes.

"Lin Feiyan, please be still! You should not let him sit on you. You were the Captain, and he is only the Vice-Captain. As soon as you finish reading your notes, he will be the one who is anxious." She said to herself.

She calmed herself down, looked up and stared at Luo Yuan again. She cleared her throat and then looked down to read her notes, "I know this meeting was called on very short notice but it is necessary. Although the Firearms Bureau is still standing tall after a year, there are some clear issues here. The issues may seem minor but that doesn’t mean we should not contemplate them. Chairman Mao once said, "The house should be cleaned often, otherwise it will collect dust." Same goes to your face, "You should wash it often or else there would be dirt on your face…"

Luo Yuan was puzzled by all this! It sounded like a high school essay. He looked at Fang Peibin and Li Dong who were next to him and he noticed that although everyone was sitting upright, none of them were paying attention. It seemed like they have gotten used to such speeches.

"As a team that is strong in the battlefield, one of our fellow comrades has started to lose his integrity and his arrogance is starting to show. He comes in late and leaves early, but far worse than that, he does not follow our rules. Especially this particular comrade, who does not act like a leader and does whatever he feels like doing without respecting his leader and also without respecting women…"

Luo Yuan was confused. He looked around him and noticed that everybody was looking at him! He tried to recall what happened lately but he could not think of any way that he could have offended Lin Feiyan. Moreover, what she said was inaccurate. What did she mean by doing whatever he wanted? Since when did he do whatever he wanted? And, not respecting leaders and women? That was even more confusing!

The more she read, the more fun she was having. Lin Feiyan was in her own zone and was reading her notes without noticing the awkward atmosphere she created in the conference room.

A sudden knock on the door broke her momentum.

She was upset but looked up at the door. It was her useless secretary!

She said in a serious tone, "What’s wrong? Can’t you see that I’m in a meeting?"

"It’s… It’s Minister Ren from the municipal department. He’s here and he wants to see you." Her secretary said softly.

"Let him wait. I’ll see him after this meeting is adjourned." Lin Feiyan waved with power.

"He’s the senior officer in Hope City. It’s bad to let him wait. Since I know him, you carry on with the meeting while I speak to him." Luo Yuan said while standing up.

The Captain had always given him a strange feeling. He sensed that her mentality was immature but she pretended to be an adult. She reminded him of the pretentious female class leader he had when he was in junior high school. Putting her mature face aside, her real age might be much younger than he thought. Luo Yuan did not want to pick a fight nor did he want to be misjudged by her.

Without waiting for Lin Feiyan to respond, Luo Yuan stood up and walked towards the door. Lin Feiyan held her breath. She moved her lips but she could not say a word until Luo Yuan walked out the door.

The power that she mustered earlier now came to nothing. Looking at her meeting notes, there was still a long way to go and she suddenly realized that she was overreacting.

…

Luo Yuan walked to the hall and saw that there were two people there.

The coincidence was - he knew both of them. Looking at Luo Yuan walking towards them, Minister Ren was relieved. The two men stood up. Minister Ren smiled and said, "Vice-Captain Luo, we meet again. I knew you were going to climb the ranks! You have been promoted in less than a month. Come, let me introduce you to Colonel Xu Zhiqiang. He’s a highly recommended staff in Hope City who used to be in the military special team."

"Minister Ren, there’s no need for introduction. We’re old friends!" Luo Yuan shook hands with Minister Ren while smiling at Xu Zhiqiang, "How are you? Why did you come?"

"It’s a long story!" Xu Zhiqiang shook his head while forcing a smile. It was obvious that he did not want to tell his story in front of Minister Ren.

"Let’s have a meal together later. We need a good talk. I’ll introduce you to my teammates in the Firearms Bureau." Luo Yuan said.

Xu Zhiqiang nodded.

Looking at them being on such good terms, Minister Ren was relieved, "No wonder Desert City looked familiar on the file. Since both of you know each other, everything is much easier."

The procedure was much easier with Luo Yuan’s help. He signed and stamped the document and waited for Chen Xinjie who was still in the meeting. As the Vice-Captain, he had the right to approve access. During the time when he had just arrived, the documentation approval took a while as the Captain was away and the Vice-Captain had died on a mission.

Luo Yuan could sense that there was a major change in Xu Zhiqiang since the last time they met in Desert City. He had no idea how big he would become when he turned into a giant this time but he was very interested in such pseudo-four-dimensional creatures.