78: Grand Competition Opening

Jiang Feifei chimed in at the perfect moment, her voice carrying a hint of playfulness and pride. "Officer Jiang Xin said it perfectly! Like all the residents here, Jiang Feifei is also looking forward to our Red Alert Legion reclaiming Lujiang as soon as possible! Also, everyone might not know yet..." She paused deliberately, building suspense and successfully capturing everyone's attention. "Our Officer Jiang Xin is not only an outstanding Commander, but he himself is also an extremely powerful Evolver!"

Her words were like a massive boulder dropped into a calm lake, stirring up a thousand waves once again!

"An Evolver? Officer Jiang is one too?"

"For real? How strong is he?"

"My god! The Commander is also an Evolver?"

Watching the curiosity and anticipation explode below the stage, Jiang Feifei asked loudly with a bright smile, "So, does everyone want to see our Commander's heroic bearing and his strength with their own eyes?"

"YES!!!"

A mountain-shaking, tsunami-like response erupted from the crowd in unison! The wave of sound almost blew the roof off the Training Ground!

Jiang Xin looked at the boiling crowd below, feeling the fanatical anticipation that was almost tangible. The corners of his mouth curled up slightly. He took another step forward and spoke into the microphone, his voice steady and powerful:

"Thank you for your anticipation. Although the protagonists today are the heroes about to take the stage for the tournament," his gaze swept over Major Zhang Lei and the others, "since everyone is so enthusiastic, I am willing to give a small demonstration so that everyone can have even more confidence in the future of the Red Alert Legion!"

His words were like the final spark, pushing the atmosphere of the scene to an unprecedented climax! Everyone craned their necks and held their breath, their eyes burning as they stared at the rostrum, waiting to witness the hidden power of their supreme Commander!

"Next, let us welcome the guardian deity of the base, our acknowledged strongest—Major Zhang Lei!" Jiang Feifei's voice was as clear as a silver bell, carrying just the right amount of excitement and reverence, instantly igniting the crowd's expectations.

As soon as she finished speaking, a figure on the rostrum stood up abruptly like a spear!

Zhang Lei!

He was dressed in a crisp, dark military uniform, the star insignia on his shoulder straps glinting with a cold, hard light under the lamps. Standing at 188 centimeters tall, he was like a green pine rising from the ground. The body beneath the uniform was sleek and full of explosive power; every muscle contained a mountain-like sense of strength, robust and majestic. His face looked as if it were carved from the hardest rock, with sharp angles and sword-like eyebrows slanting toward his temples. His eyes were deep like cold pools, but at this moment, they were as sharp as lightning. As he scanned the crowd, he seemed to pierce through people's hearts, carrying an aura of natural authority and disdain for all under heaven.

"Hello everyone, I am Zhang Lei." His voice was deep and resonant, like a great drum beating in his chest, clearly reaching every corner through the microphone. His opening was extremely concise, without any superfluous pleasantries. He knew well that Jiang Xin's words had already encouraged the people; what he needed to do now was use absolute power to inject an unshakeable dose of confidence!

"ice fire divine lord!!!"

"Major Zhang Lei!!!"

"Guardian Deity!!!"

Almost the instant he stood up, earth-shattering cheers erupted from all directions! The sound wave was like a physical hurricane sweeping through the Training Ground! Every time he returned from a rescue mission, Zhang Lei's figure—soaring over the base with ice and fire wings like a god, or his heroic bearing as he returned riding the clouds on the fierce Fire Qilin—had long been deeply etched into the hearts of countless survivors. More importantly, more than half of the survivors present had personally experienced the moment he saved them from a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood! He was the representative of strength and the symbol of hope! His popularity at the base had long reached the summit!

"Haha!" Jiang Feifei smiled like a flower as she watched the near-insane worship below. "It seems everyone's passion for Major Zhang Lei is about to blow me away! However, everyone's judgment is spot on! Major Zhang Lei is indeed the undisputed number one expert of our Lujiang Base!" She winked playfully, her voice full of pride and a sense of security. "He not only controls peerless dual-element Superpowers of ice and fire, but also possesses an extraordinary divine beast summon, the Fire Qilin! With him stationed at the base, Jiang Feifei sleeps very soundly!"

This introduction was like pouring oil on a fire, completely detonating the people's passion! Below the stage, the waves of people shouting "Zhang Lei" grew higher and higher! Young girls were flushed with excitement, screaming abandonedly and waving their arms, as if a celebrity fan meet from before the apocalypse was reappearing.

Feeling this tsunami-like worship and trust, a trace of hard-to-detect softness appeared on Zhang Lei's resolute face. He didn't say much, but calmly raised his right hand and pressed down lightly toward the huge open space in the center of the Training Ground!

Buzz—!

In an instant, the winds and clouds changed!

In the center of the Training Ground, the air distorted violently! Half of the space suddenly froze as if a polar abyss had descended; deep blue ice crystals condensed out of thin air and spread, forming a slowly rotating, deep blue oceanic vortex that emitted a bone-chilling cold! Meanwhile, the other half of the space was like a volcanic eruption; crimson flames leaped up out of nowhere, burning fiercely and turning into a violent, blazing sea of lava that also rotated incessantly! Ice and fire, two diametrically opposite extreme powers, were perfectly interwoven at this moment, forming a massive and magnificent Ice-Fire Yin-Yang Diagram! The blue and red were like two entangled dragons, slowly rotating and merging in the center, emitting heart-palpitating waves of majestic energy! A strange sensation of alternating cold and heat instantly filled the Training Ground; the audience in the front rows could even feel one cheek being icy and the other scorching!

"My god—!"

"A miracle! This is a miracle!"

"So beautiful! So powerful!"

"ice fire divine lord! He truly lives up to his name!"

Exclamations, praises, and the sound of people catching their breath rose one after another. Everyone was deeply shocked by this display of power that surpassed the imagination! With just this display of ice and fire phenomena, Zhang Lei pushed the atmosphere of the scene to another peak! He nodded slightly and slowly sat down amidst the deafening cheers and worshiping gazes, his steady posture making it seem as if he had just brushed away a speck of dust.

Jiang Feifei watched Zhang Lei sit down, her eyes also full of wonder. Then she smiled playfully and spoke into the microphone, "How was that? Isn't Major Zhang Lei incredibly cool? And, let me tell everyone a secret," she deliberately lowered her voice, but just enough for the microphone to catch it, "Major Zhang Lei is still single! If it weren't for the fact that my heart already belongs to someone else, I might have joined the army of pursuers myself!" After saying that, she playfully stuck out her tongue. That beautiful smile was so bright and moving it could make a hundred flowers lose their color.

However, this joking self-revelation was like dropping a depth charge into a calm lake!

Boom—!

The crowd below instantly exploded!

"What?! Lady Attendant has someone she likes?!"

"My goddess! My heart is broken!"

"Wuwuwu... Officer Jiang Feifei! Even if you have someone you like, I will love you forever!" some male fans wailed, beating their chests.

"Who is it?! Who on earth is so lucky?!"

"Is there even a need to guess? It's definitely Officer Jiang! Look at her eyes when she was introducing him just now!"

"It's over, it's over. The Commander and the Attendant... this... we don't stand a chance!"

For a moment, wails, sounds of breaking hearts, and gossip intertwined, and the scene briefly went "out of control."

Jiang Feifei couldn't help but laugh at the reaction below, but she quickly regained control of the scene, her voice returning to its previous solemnity. "Alright, alright, Jiang Feifei has felt everyone's passion! However, let's continue to focus our attention on our heroes! Next, I want to introduce the pillar of our base, Officer Jiang Xin's most capable right hand, the Chief of Staff who devises strategies and wins battles from a thousand miles away—Lord Zhang Long!"

The cameras and gazes immediately turned to Zhang Long, who stood up steadily. He was wearing a crisp staff officer uniform, his face calm and his eyes wise. He bowed deeply to the entire audience. No words were needed; the stories of his many led cleanup operations, meticulous deployments, and rescues of countless survivors had long spread among the officers and survivors. That mountain-like sense of reliability earned him countless silent respects.

"Lord Zhang Long not only possesses outstanding strategic wisdom, but also carries a rare Aura Superpower that can provide powerful buffs to all soldiers on the battlefield! Jiang Feifei admires Lord Zhang Long from the bottom of her heart; he is the pillar that holds up the sky and the beam that stabilizes the sea for our base!" Jiang Feifei's introduction was full of sincerity.

After introducing Zhang Long, Jiang Feifei's voice took on a hint of mystery and admiration. "Next, Jiang Feifei wants to introduce to everyone a female goddess of war who combines both beauty and strength! Let's focus on—Major Tanya!"