CR CH18

Chapter 18: Old Friend

The translucent, crystalline energy wall shimmered with a faint luminescence. In the distance, it resembled a gray mist, making it difficult to peer inside.

The Z01 Base Mock Combat Zone was a semi-open-air structure shaped like an eggshell. It was divided into twelve sectors, with a defensive energy grid blanketing the sky overhead. Equipped with the latest simulation system provided by the Star Alliance, it was designed to replicate all kinds of real-world combat scenarios.

A massive, silvery-white metal screen displayed the latest information on mutated variants. Recently, the number of S-rank missions posted on the public bulletin board had multiplied several times over. Consequently, the frequency of appearances by Officer Zhao Hengyi and other Special Support officers dwindled, while Chief Ling’s presence at the Federation’s public conferences grew increasingly frequent.

Whether it was the Captain Ling immortalized in the Federation’s S-rank mission instructional videos or the stark, composed Chief Ling at the conferences, neither quite resembled the Ling Kongmiao that Jiang Tianji had encountered in person.

In S-rank missions, Ling Kongmiao’s decision-making was absolute and decisive; his leadership pushed his team members’ strengths to their absolute limits. Rare mental-type abilities almost always came at the cost of raw combat talent, yet this limitation was virtually undetectable in Ling Kongmiao. To that end, Jiang Tianji had found himself staring blankly at Ling Kongmiao’s face on the big screen quite a bit lately. He frequently questioned whether he had secretly altered his own memories simply because he disliked the man. In all fairness, Ling Kongmiao’s sheer strength was beyond dispute.

Jiang Tianji could find absolutely no reason for the man to target him.

Perhaps distance lent enchantment. At the very least, he could view the Ling Kongmiao on the big screen with an eye of appreciation and admiration.

The mock combat arena was a cacophony of voices. The ink-black training uniforms subtly outlined bodies packed with latent power. Sweat inadvertently slid into his eye, causing Jiang Tianji’s long eyelashes to tremor slightly as he raised a hand to wipe it away.

Blessed with excellent innate physical conditioning, he had quickly adapted to the daily training load. After a month, his muscle lines had streamlined considerably. However, when it came to actual hand-to-hand combat, he remained an absolute laughingstock. He had essentially risen to become a highly popular spectator draw, gaining a level of attention that rivaled the top-tier experts.

During the highly anticipated drawing of lots, Jiang Tianji waited for his result as usual. Suddenly, his right eyelid twitched several times in rapid succession, and a wave of foreboding washed over his chest. He looked down at his tray.

Sure enough, as the saying goes, you can hide for a while, but you can’t hide forever. This time, Lady Luck had skipped him entirely. Jiang Tianji stared at the name “Feng Huo” written in the opponent column and let out a soft sigh.

Ji Yandong felt uneasy. Massaging his temples, he stood up and walked over toward Feng Huo, looking as though he intended to give him a brief lecture.

The other teammates actively tried to ease the tension—excluding Huang Qi, of course.

“I must say, in a certain sense, you’re actually quite successful.” Huang Qi nudged his chin toward a specific direction. “That little… that Jia Yun guy. Usually, he’s so arrogant, but now, as long as it isn’t his turn, he specifically runs over to watch you fight. That’s a privilege even the number one rank doesn’t get. Who knew you’d be so good at gathering fans?”

“Gather your granddad,” Jiang Tianji muttered, currently consumed by worry. Following the direction of the nod, he looked over.

Seeing Jiang Tianji look his way, Jia Yun didn’t flinch or look away. Instead, he flashed a cold smile dripping with mockery.

Perplexed, Jiang Tianji turned back to his teammates. “Did I ever cross him?”

Qi Xiuyi stroked his chin, lost in thought. “It really is strange. He’s the type who retaliates for the slightest grievance. If you had offended him, he would have come straight for you to settle the score. This… feels like pure humiliation.”

“Speaking of which, he actually seemed to have asked around about you,” Li Cheng recalled, trying hard to piece it together. “I don’t know if ‘asked around’ is the right phrase. According to a friend of mine, that was the first time Jia Yun had ever initiated a conversation with him. He watched you fight like total crap, tilted his head, and asked, ‘Who’s that idiot?’“

The expression on Jiang Tianji’s face was a sight to behold. Just as he was about to speak, the instructor walked over.

“You two, over here.”

The group exchanged glances, each displaying varying degrees of nervousness. Huang Qi even tugged at him, whispering softly.

“Don’t push yourself too hard. If you can’t beat him, just cry. Big guys are soft-hearted; if you cry, he won’t be able to bring himself to hit you.”

Jiang Tianji gritted his teeth. “I truly thank you.”

Despite his words, once he actually lay down inside the simulation capsule and entered the combat zone—seeing Feng Huo standing before him with a frozen face—Jiang Tianji still wiped a bead of cold sweat from his brow.

“Brother, I really think there’s just a misunderstanding between us. Today’s a nice day, how about we make up—ah!“

The opposite side refused to communicate. An invincible iron fist swung straight toward him. Jiang Tianji ducked his head, executing a perfect dodge.

“Damn, he’s actually trying to kill him!” The teammates outside noticed something was wrong and immediately looked at Ji Yandong.

Li Cheng said anxiously, “Captain, didn’t you talk to him?”

“I did.” Ji Yandong seemed to realize something, his eyes flickering. “He said he didn’t want any drawn-out drama. He wanted to end it as quickly as possible.”

Everyone: “…”

Feng Huo’s strength was respectable, but because he had never participated in the arena tournaments, his upper limit remained unknown. The instructors had tried to talk to him about it, but he had explicitly declined every time, stating that he planned to return to his hometown in a few years and refusing to elaborate further.

Today, he was clearly harboring some resentment, and his strikes lacked restraint. Jiang Tianji felt it acutely. His brow furrowed imperceptibly, but unlike previous times, he didn’t yell or holler randomly.

“He actually managed to dodge that?” Huang Qi found it hard to believe. As he continued to watch, his gaze darkened. “This isn’t an arena match. Striking this hard… has Feng Huo completely lost his mind?”

The onlookers noticed that the atmosphere today was vastly different from usual and quietly began to gather around. The silver-gray metallic walls amplified the sense of oppression as a chilling aura circulated between the two combatants.

“Is he usually that good at dodging?”

Someone couldn’t help but voice their doubt. Dodging once could be brushed off as a fluke, but for the next few minutes, Jiang Tianji was moving like an eel, executing beautifully slick evasions. Although he still took a few hits, they all missed his vital areas.

Being repeatedly evaded ignited Feng Huo’s temper, and his strikes inevitably carried a bit of raw emotion. Unexpectedly, after receiving a heavy kick, Jiang Tianji doubled over to protect his abdomen instead of dodging. Caught completely off guard, Feng Huo’s expression froze for a fraction of a second, his fist noticeably pulling back its momentum.

Everyone held their breath, sweating on his behalf. Right at that exact moment—

Without a shred of hesitation, Jiang Tianji seized the opening. Borrowing the momentum of his opponent’s force, he threw himself into a theatrical fall and swiftly raised his hand to make the forfeit gesture.

The crowd whose hearts had jumped into their throats, along with Feng Huo: “…”

“Mock combat concluded.”

The emotionless mechanical voice announced the end of the farce.

Exiting the capsule, Jiang Tianji took a deep breath and looked toward Feng Huo, only to be met with the guy’s huffy, retreating back.

“Feng Huo, you stand right there!”

Huang Qi ran over in a fit of rage. Jiang Tianji wanted to pull him back, but Ji Yandong held his shoulder.

“He deserves a scolding. Let him go.”

“Fine.” Jiang Tianji let out a breath and said no more.

He turned and reported to the officer in charge, planning to use his rest time to go to the research institute for his suppressor injection. Given Feng Huo’s current highly explosive state, staying here would likely disrupt the peace of the entire squad. It was better to use this excuse to escape and find some quiet.

As he distanced himself from the crowd, his thoughts cleared up significantly. Jiang Tianji rubbed his neck.

“…Jiang Tianji?”

As he approached the research institute, a voice suddenly echoed from up ahead. The moment Jiang Tianji looked up and recognized the person, his expression shifted for an instant before quickly returning to normal.

His gaze lingered briefly on the Ability Squad badge on the other man’s shoulder before he let out a faint yawn.

“I really didn’t expect to run into you here.” Liang Chong’s eyes were dark and unreadable as he stood on the stone steps of the institute, looking down at him. “To be honest, you don’t look like an Alpha at all.”

The corners of Jiang Tianji’s mouth twitched slightly as he adjusted his tactical gloves.

“Then what do you think an Alpha should look like?” he asked airily. “Should they all look like a total prick like you?”

Liang Chong had clearly not expected such a blatant retort, and his face instantly turned an ugly shade of anger. “…You!”

Ignoring him entirely, Jiang Tianji bypassed him and kept walking.

“We go back a long way, at least show some regard for old times.” Seeing his dismissive attitude, Liang Chong let out a furious laugh. “To end up looking like this now… you sure are content.”

Jiang Tianji stopped in his tracks.

“What about you then? Are you still deeply discontent?”

Liang Chong froze, turning around to stare at him with a dark, brooding expression.

But Jiang Tianji didn’t look back. With his back turned, he simply waved a hand dismissively as he walked off into the distance.