“Old Yuan, Old Zhang, long time no see.”
“Yeah, General My-Foot, long time no see.”
“Piss off!”
Chen Ang laughed and clapped Mr. Yuan on the shoulder before finally looking at Yin Yang.
“And who is this young man?”
“Oh, this is Zheng Yang, my student,” Mr. Yuan spoke up first. Mr. Zhang and Mr. Yu glanced at him speechlessly, but neither of them spoke up to contradict him.
“Hello, General Chen. I’ve enjoyed hearing stories about you since I was a child.”
“Oh? My stories? Like what?” Chen Ang’s expression seemed to say, 'You’re definitely just being polite, kid; watch me expose you!'
To his surprise, Yin Yang began listing them off with ease.
“For instance, the Bear God Plains Campaign, where you personally led eight hundred Imperial Guards and slaughtered over five thousand enemy troops!”
“And in Wanfeng Forest, you...”
Yin Yang recounted one feat after another until Chen Ang was left dazed. When the general finally snapped out of it, he looked at Mr. Yuan with a face full of gratification.
“Old Yuan, this student of yours is all right! Hahahaha!”
Mr. Yuan looked immensely proud as he replied, “Of course. His talent in medicine is even more impressive. His future achievements will definitely surpass mine!”
“Oh? That’s quite something then.”
Chen Ang nodded at Yin Yang with a smile before turning to the others, his expression turning serious. “Regarding the transcendent diseases, how many medical protocols have you developed?”
Seeing his serious expression, Mr. Yuan stopped joking and had his assistant prepare the reports. “We’ve currently developed six, with seven others showing progress. Out of those seven, three should yield results in about a week.”
Chen Ang frowned. Seeing this, Mr. Yu asked, “Is the situation at the front that urgent?”
“Yes.”
Chen Ang took a deep breath, his expression grim. “The Shadow Lotus Church and the True Knowledge Society have both entered the fray. Even the Idealist Society is showing signs of restlessness.”
“The Idealist Society? Those lunatics want to stick their noses in too? Don’t they always just do whatever they want? Why would they help Great Qi? What kind of benefits did Great Qi offer them?”
Chen Ang shook his head. “If I could understand how they think, wouldn't I be a lunatic too?”
“However, there are some theories. Not long ago, Wu Ji, the City Lord of Huangshan City, captured the Black Silk Lolita and a Marquis of Theft from the Idealist Society.”
“Word is that the Marquis of Theft held a fairly high position within the Idealist Society. That might be why they chose to assist Great Qi.”
Mr. Yuan curled his lip. “Position? Since when did those psychos in the Idealist Society have an organizational structure? Isn’t it always just whoever has the biggest fist calls the shots?”
“In my opinion, Great Qi must have promised them something!”
Big Beard Zhang waved his hand dismissively. “Aw, who cares about that? Even if they didn’t join the war, wouldn’t we still have to beat them up if we ran into them?”
“I say it’s better that they joined. We can wipe them all out at once!”
Chen Ang laughed at those words and then led the group toward the conference room.
Yin Yang followed along, but he was stopped at the door.
The soldier’s expression was stern. “I’m sorry, you cannot enter.”
Mr. Yuan turned, wanting to say something, but Yin Yang decisively stepped back.
“Mr. Yuan, I’ll wait for you outside.”
Mr. Yuan looked at Chen Ang, but seeing the general shake his head, he finally said, “All right.”
“Okay.”
Yin Yang replied and turned to walk away.
Mr. Yuan turned back, looking dissatisfied. “Old Chen, my student can’t even listen in?”
Chen Ang’s expression was solemn. “I’m doing this for your own good, and for his.”
“Things are that urgent?”
“Yes. To tell you the truth, we are the disadvantaged side in this war on the front lines!”
“Right now, there are even voices at the Wannian Platform calling for peace talks.”
Mr. Yuan’s eyes widened. “What did you say? Peace talks?”
Mr. Yu, standing nearby, was also stunned. “But we’ve only just started the war. The main army hasn't even arrived yet, and they want to sue for peace?”
“What do they think war is? Child’s play?!”
Chen Ang sighed. “Those grand lords have stayed in their comfort zones for too long—so long that they don’t want to come out and look at the world. They aren't willing to bear even the slightest bit of risk.”
Big Beard Zhang let out a cold snort. “War means a reshuffling of the deck!”
“The cake in Central City was carved up long ago. If this war creates a few new upstarts, what will the old guard eat? Who would be willing to give up what’s already in their mouths?”
“Since that’s the case, they’d rather pretend nothing ever happened!”
Mr. Yu didn't even look back as he spoke. “It’s useless. They’re just a bunch of clowns. Don’t forget who it was that declared the start of this war!”
At those words, the others began to smile. In Great Wei, there could be countless voices of discussion, but there was only one voice that truly made the decisions.
Wan Tianqing!
...
Yin Yang stood in the open space, basking in the sun with a look of pure comfort.
He had been in the lab for so long that it felt like forever since he had felt the sunlight.
“Zheng Yang, so this is where you are.”
Liu Hong walked over, carrying a plastic bag containing several apples.
“Have an apple.”
He took one out and handed it to Yin Yang, who thanked him and took it.
“Where are Mr. Yuan and the others?”
“General Chen is here. They’re in a meeting with him.”
“General Chen? Which General Chen?”
“General Chen Ang.”
“Huh?” Liu Hong was stunned. “Isn’t General Chen Ang at the front? Why is he here? Has Great Qi invaded?”
“I don’t know.” Yin Yang took a bite of the apple, appearing completely unconcerned.
“Aren’t you afraid?”
“Afraid of what?”
“The war.”
“What about it? Didn’t we come here precisely because of the war?”
Yin Yang took another bite, his voice slightly muffled. “To be honest, I’d actually prefer to go to the front lines. With so many soldiers on the battlefield, people are bound to get hurt. I think I could save a lot of people if I went there. That’s what I really want to do.”
“But by researching transcendent diseases here, you can also save many people.”
“Because of you, the research is moving very quickly. Isn’t that much faster than saving people one by one on the battlefield?” Liu Hong couldn't quite understand.
He had come here to pad his resume. Even if he wanted to go to the front, they wouldn't let him. He would stay in a safe place, doing safe work, and eventually leave a distinguished mark on his record.
Since Yin Yang’s ‘status’ was even higher than his, he couldn't understand why Yin Yang would have such thoughts. Did the big shots from Central City really not fear death?
Yin Yang smiled and took another bite of his apple. “Because I know very well that I’m not a genius. When it comes to researching transcendent diseases, Mr. Yuan and the others are the experts. I’ve only provided a few ideas.”
“The teachers are willing to let me tag along because they’re being generous. But I have to know my place. Do you understand?”
Liu Hong remained silent for a moment. Two seconds later, he spoke.
“If you keep humblebragging like this, you better spit that apple back out.”
Rate on N.U.
