224: Qin War is still Qin War

"Some things, once you reach a certain age and a certain position, you don't need to be taught; you learn them slowly on your own. Because things will come at you one by one and force you to."

Just like now.

Qin Zhan fell silent.

He could not refute it.

Because what Zhong Huai said was the truth.

He paced back and forth in the workshop irritably, finally stopping and looking at Zhong Huai.

"Then what do we do now?"

He threw the question back.

"Are we still going ahead with that entrance threshold for Lin Yu?"

"Do it! Why wouldn't we!" Zhong Huai answered immediately, decisive and firm. "Not only are we going to do it, but we're going to do it even more seriously and grandly than we originally planned!"

Qin Zhan: "?"

"Brother Zhan, you still haven't wrapped your head around it." Zhong Huai had an expression like 'you are beyond help.' "Our goal has changed now!"

"Before, we wanted to just go through the motions to help him 'gild' himself."

"Now, we are going to use this 'threshold' to figure out the bottom line of this little ancestor! Let's see who exactly he is!"

Zhong Huai's eyes became sharp.

"The big shot who wrote the script has already set up the stage, and the actors are in place. We can't just be a silly supporting role; we need to know exactly how capable the main character is!"

"Brother Zhan, they are using us, but they are also helping us..."

"The focus of this mission is no longer escorting supplies."

Zhong Huai held up one finger, enunciating each word.

"The focus is on protecting Lin Yu. No, it's not even protecting..."

He paused, seemingly searching for a more accurate word.

"It's to cooperate with him. Actively create opportunities for him to show his strength. Even... actively help him when he needs it!"

"We need to see where the upper limit of this guy really is!"

Qin Zhan's heart sank.

Actively help him?

Tusk Squad, the sharpest blade of the military, has to go and be a sparring partner, or even a nanny, for a high school student?

If this got out, it would be... truly... stifling.

"Among the people I know..." Zhong Huai suddenly said softly, "those with heaven-reaching backgrounds and immense power—I won't say they are as numerous as crucian carp in a river, but I have seen quite a few."

"But those who dare to pave the way to this extent, using the Ministry of Education, the Special Operations Department, and our Tusk Squad as chess pieces..."

He held up three fingers.

"There are no more than this many."

"Every one of them is a figure who, if they stomp their foot, the whole world would shake."

Qin Zhan felt the sweetness of the lollipop in his mouth had completely turned bitter.

Getting entangled with such big figures is never a good thing.

It means endless trouble, it means every step you take could land you in a bottomless trap.

"Brother Zhan, welcome to the real card table."

Zhong Huai looked at Qin Zhan's grim expression, grinned, and revealed a mouthful of white teeth.

"We thugs finally have a chance to get to the table and take a look."

Qin Zhan ignored his teasing; he just stared fixedly at Zhong Huai and asked the most critical question.

"Among the people you mentioned, is there anyone with the surname Lin?"

Zhong Huai's smile froze instantly.

He was stunned for a full dozen seconds, then, as if thinking of something extremely terrifying, he gasped sharply.

"Damn... no way, right?"

Qin Zhan did not speak.

He just watched his teammate quietly, watching this guy who feared nothing, who dared to tease the big shots of the military to their faces, show an emotion called "fear" on his face for the first time.

As expected.

There wasn't.

Among the heaven-reaching big shots Zhong Huai knew, none had the surname Lin.

Then this matter became even more complex, and even more terrifying.

A surname that was not on the known map of power, yet could mobilize such massive resources and set up such an astonishing chess game.

This only meant one thing.

The other party's level was far beyond what Zhong Huai, or even the family behind him, could reach.

That was a true behemoth, hidden beneath the surface of the water.

"I... I'll go back and ask the old man in my family."

Zhong Huai's voice was dry. He licked his pale lips, his devil-may-care attitude completely gone. "He has lived a long time and seen much; maybe... maybe he knows something."

This was the first time he had taken the initiative to suggest using his family's power in front of Qin Zhan.

Qin Zhan spat out the plastic stick in his mouth, which had been chewed to a pulp, making a soft 'pop' sound.

"No need."

Zhong Huai was stunned: "Huh?"

"I said no need." Qin Zhan repeated, turning around to look at the wooden door he had kicked into pieces, rotating his shoulders.

"This matter ends here."

"Brother Zhan, what do you mean?" Zhong Huai was a bit anxious. "This isn't child's play! What if it really is one of those families..."

"I said, it ends here." Qin Zhan interrupted him.

"I accept the script of that big shot."

"He wants to carry out a god-making project and pave the way for this kid named Lin Yu, fine."

Qin Zhan's tone was very flat, as flat as a pool of stagnant water, but beneath the surface, monstrous waves were brewing.

"But."

He turned around and looked at Zhong Huai again.

"His people must first pass my test."

"I will handle that so-called entrance threshold myself."

Zhong Huai was completely dumbfounded.

He opened his mouth but couldn't say a single word.

He finally understood Qin Zhan's meaning.

Accept this setup, acknowledge this favor, and help that mysterious big shot complete his "god-making project".

But Qin Zhan was not a pushover that anyone could manipulate.

He was going to use his own methods to add an insurance policy of his own to this big drama.

Regardless of whether that Lin Yu was a genius carefully nurtured by a big shot behind the scenes or a lucky fool.

He must first earn Qin Zhan's approval.

Let him know that Tusk Squad is not a playground where anyone can come to get gilded.

Let him know that he, Qin Zhan, is certainly not a chess piece that can be manipulated at will!

"Brother Zhan... you are..." Zhong Huai's Adam's apple bobbed. "You are challenging that big shot."

This was no longer a simple matter of setting a threshold.

This was testing, this was a demonstration of force.

It was telling the behemoth hidden behind the scenes: I can cooperate with your plan, but your people must follow my rules.

In this way, the favor Qin Zhan had painstakingly accumulated with this mysterious person behind the scenes by "cooperating" would likely plummet, and this opportunity that had been handed to him would be lost.

"Challenging?"

Qin Zhan tugged at the corner of his mouth; it wasn't really a smile.

He fished the last lollipop out of his pocket, tore open the wrapper, and popped it into his mouth.

"I am just a soldier."

"My mission is to lead troops in battle, not to accompany a prince in his studies."

"If his people can't even pass my test, then they'll just die once they reach the Abyss Domain."

"I am helping him filter them out, so his people don't die without knowing why."