7: Chapter 7: Shen Qing's Citation

Xinghuo Scrap Processing Plant, Basement Level 3, Gravity Training Room.

Shen Hongyuan sat on an iron chair, rotating two Super Gold Walnuts in his hand.

The walnuts weren't large, their surfaces shimmering with a faint golden luster, yet each weighed fifty kilograms.

An ordinary person wouldn't even be able to lift them, but in his palm, they were like toys, whirring as he spun them with two fingers.

Standing at 190 centimeters tall, his shoulders were as broad as a wall.

Though he had been retired for years, his military aura hadn't faded in the slightest.

But today, this military heavyweight, whom everyone in the Imperial Capital circles called "Master Shen," couldn't stop grinning.

His daughter was coming home.

She had been admitted to the Federal Central Military University last year, and he hadn't seen her for an entire year.

They had done plenty of video calls, but every time, the girl couldn't go three sentences without mentioning training or five sentences without mentioning exotic beasts.

By the end, every chat turned into a tactical seminar.

Even though he was used to great storms and waves,

the thought of his precious daughter not having been home for a year left him feeling incredibly excited.

Tap, tap, tap—

Footsteps echoed in the corridor. Neither fast nor slow, the rhythm was steady, each step landing firmly.

A standard military stride.

The door opened.

Shen Qingci stood at the doorway, still wearing that black combat suit.

But the moment she saw Shen Hongyuan, all the cold hardness on her face vanished.

"Dad!"

With a shout, she had already lunged forward.

The 178-centimeter tall girl hung directly onto Shen Hongyuan.

Shen Hongyuan caught her in one go, patting his daughter's back while grumbling with feigned disdain.

"How old are you now?"

Shen Qingci nuzzled into his chest.

"I missed you."

Shen Hongyuan's nose twitched with emotion, and he quickly tilted his head back to look at the ceiling.

Fortunately, there were no cameras installed in the training room.

If that bunch of roughnecks at the plant saw this, his reputation would be ruined for life.

"Alright, sit down and talk."

He pressed his daughter into a chair and looked her up and down.

The contours of her cheeks were more defined than last year, and her chin was sharper.

But her spirit was excellent, and her eyes were frighteningly bright.

"You've clearly lost weight. Is the school food bad?"

"No, it's just the heavy training load."

Shen Qingci took the water and gulped down a large mouthful.

"Our instructor is a lunatic. We have field combat drills at least twice a week. The furthest one took us to the gray zone on the outskirts of a B-rank city."

Shen Hongyuan's brow twitched, but he didn't respond.

There was a massive difference in training intensity between military martial arts universities and ordinary ones.

Those who could get in were one in ten thousand; only those who could graduate alive were considered to have truly passed the test.

After two seconds of silence, Shen Hongyuan suddenly changed the subject, his tone sounding as casual as possible.

"At school... are you seeing anyone?"

After saying this, he unconsciously straightened his back a little.

This was the contradiction of every father.

If his daughter said no, he would feel at ease.

His daughter had ambition and wouldn't be led astray by those stinky brats.

But he also harbored a faint worry—was this girl really planning to grow old alone?

But if his daughter said yes...

That would be even worse.

The hand Shen Hongyuan used to rotate the walnuts unconsciously sped up.

Shen Qingci looked at her father's face—which pretended to be calm but was actually on high alert—feeling a bit helpless.

She really couldn't figure out what this old man meant.

Every time they video chatted, he would ask if anyone was pursuing her. Were all those boys blind?

But last time, when she casually mentioned a male classmate helping her block an exotic beast's sneak attack, Shen Hongyuan's face had darkened on the spot.

He had interrogated her for twenty minutes about the boy's name, student ID, place of origin, and family relations within three generations.

Did he want her to date or not?

Shen Qingci decided to simply tell the truth.

"No."

Shen Hongyuan's walnuts stopped for a moment.

"I came back this time because I took a mission with a teammate. We're stopping by home on the way."

She leaned against the back of the chair, her gaze calm but firm.

"I don't have the heart to think about those things right now. My goal is the peak of martial arts."

Shen Hongyuan felt greatly relieved.

Good! As expected of my, Shen Hongyuan's, bloodline!

Then he caught another keyword.

"Teammate?"

"Yeah, a two-person team mission."

Shen Hongyuan rotated the walnuts with feigned indifference.

"Male or female?"

"...Male."

"Did he come to Jiang City with you?"

Shen Hongyuan put down the walnuts, his body suddenly leaning forward.

His gaze switched from 'kind father mode' to 'interrogation mode'.

"What exactly is your relationship?"

Shen Qingci rolled her eyes.

"We're just classmates! My mentor arranged for me to do a training mission at the entrance of the Southern Source Abyss. He also has an exotic beast mission to do, so we just traveled together!"

"On the way?" Shen Hongyuan snorted coldly. "The Imperial Capital is in the North, and Jiang City is in the South. What kind of 'on the way' is that?"

"Dad, don't worry," Shen Qingci reassured him again. "We're just going to the Abyss entrance for a tempering mission. I don't have time for romance right now."

Shen Hongyuan stared at his daughter for several seconds.

He knew his daughter's character well.

She had been a martial arts fanatic since childhood. While other girls were playing with dolls, she was in the courtyard practicing saber strikes.

Her head was filled with nothing but cultivation and combat.

But her beautiful face and devilish figure were also full of temptation.

One didn't just fear a thief stealing; one feared a thief constantly plotting.

He would have to check out that kid's background another day.

He frowned and leaned back, looking at his heroic-looking daughter.

Nineteen years had passed in a flash.

Shen Qingci had possessed extremely high martial talent since she was young, and her personality was just like her mother's.

Stouthearted, decisive, with bones harder than a blade.

It was precisely this temperament that allowed her to awaken the SS-rank Metal-type talent [Geng Metal Blade Bone].

But the more she was like this, the more his heart ached for her.

This flower of his family—who would be the one to carry her away, pot and all, in the future?

Whoever dared to become his son-in-law would first have to be beaten to within an inch of his life.

"Let's not talk about that." He stood up, his expression changing. "I've prepared a gift for you."

"What is it?" Shen Qingci's eyes lit up.