9: Meeting Xie Jinyuan

Shangguan Zhibiao's hand, gripping his gun, was trembling slightly.

It wasn't because of fear, but because of extreme shock and excitement.

He had watched with his own eyes as Nickname's bloody and mangled abdomen became as good as new in just over ten seconds.

Something like this had surpassed everything he had known about the world in his thirty years of life.

"An immortal..."

He murmured subconsciously, and the way he looked at Chen Xi had changed from his previous scrutiny and suspicion into a kind of near-fanatical awe.

It was as if the person standing before him wasn't a young man in strange clothes, but an immortal in human skin playing among mortals.

"Return his... no, return this gentleman's weapon to him!"

Shangguan Zhibiao turned his head abruptly and roared at the Soldier next to him, who was also standing there like a wooden chicken while holding the sickle.

His voice was somewhat distorted due to excitement.

The Soldier jolted, waking up as if from a dream, and hurriedly trotted over. He didn't dare use that tattered rag anymore; instead, he held the rusty sickle with both hands as if it were some rare treasure, respectfully presenting it to Chen Xi.

His head was buried almost to his chest.

"Sir, your... Dharma tool."

Chen Xi: "..."

A Dharma tool?

He looked at the sickle, which the system priced at only 10 contribution points, then at the surrounding Soldiers who looked like they wanted to kowtow to him on the spot. His mouth twitched, and for a moment, he didn't know what to say.

"Everyone get the hell up!" Shangguan Zhibiao kicked the backside of a Soldier who was still kneeling nearby. "What do you think you're doing crowding around here! Everyone get your asses back to your posts!"

The Soldiers felt as if they had been granted a great pardon. After casting a few more lingering glances at Chen Xi, they dispersed in a messy fashion.

The young Soldier named Nickname had already been helped up to a sitting position by his comrades. He looked at Chen Xi, opened his mouth, and with his eyes turning red, he prepared to kneel again.

"Sir's life-saving grace, I, Nickname, will serve you like an ox or a horse in my next life..."

"Alright, alright."

Chen Xi felt his head grow twice as large and quickly stepped forward to support him. "Just lie down and don't move."

He now only wanted to get as far away as possible from the center of this "miracle."

Shangguan Zhibiao took a deep breath, trying his best to calm his emotions. He walked up to Chen Xi, stood at attention, and with a crisp snap, gave an incredibly standard military salute.

"Mr. Chen! This subordinate is Shangguan Zhibiao. I offended you just now; please forgive me, sir!"

Chen Xi was caught a bit off guard by this sudden grand gesture and could only wave his hand.

"One who does not know is not at fault. I understand."

"Sir is truly magnanimous!" Shangguan Zhibiao's back was as straight as a poker. "Sir's unfathomable methods are no longer something this subordinate can handle. The Regiment Commander requests your presence. Please follow me, sir."

As he spoke, he made a "please" gesture, remaining half a step behind Chen Xi in a standard guard posture.

Seeing this dramatic turn of events, the viewers in the livestream began to stir again.

[Holy crap, Master Xi's treatment went straight from prisoner to honored guest!]

[The AI of these NPCs is too awesome. Their change in attitude is so natural. Look at those eyes—they're full of worship!]

[Nonsense, if this happened in front of you, you'd kneel too. This isn't technology anymore; this is immortal arts!]

[Regiment Commander? Is he going to meet the big boss?]

[Master Xi, ask him for an official position. Get a Brigade Commander spot first!]

Chen Xi was in no mood to pay attention to the banter in the chat.

When he heard the words "Regiment Commander," his heart skipped a beat uncontrollably.

He knew that he was about to meet the true soul of this warehouse.

Following behind Shangguan Zhibiao, he stepped into this war-soaked building for the first time in a meaningful sense.

The further they went in, the dimmer the light became.

The smell in the air also became increasingly complex.

The choking scent of gunpowder smoke mixed with the metallic smell of blood, the faint stench of rotting wounds, and... the aroma of food?

Yes, the aroma of food.

Chen Xi saw that in a relatively open corner, several Soldiers were gathered around a steaming pot.

Indistinguishable chunks of meat and vegetable leaves were stewing in the pot, and a Soldier was using a ladle to carefully distribute it into everyone's bowls.

In another corner, several Soldiers were leaning against sandbags, wiping their weapons. Their movements were slow and meticulous, as if the cold steel were their own lovers.

Further away, a young man wearing glasses who looked like a clerk was using the faint light coming through bullet holes to write something on a piece of yellowed paper. His pen tip stopped from time to time, as if he were thinking or perhaps listening.

Chen Xi walked past him and caught a glimpse of the words on the paper.

"...Sacrificing my life for righteousness, your son Jinyuan dies for the country with no regrets..."

It was a letter home.

Everyone was busy, but no one spoke loudly.

The entire warehouse was enveloped in an atmosphere that was oppressive yet possessed a certain strange resilience.

This was an atmosphere Chen Xi had never felt before.

It was different from the precise, efficient, and cold team atmosphere he experienced in the special forces.

Every person here had fatigue and confusion on their faces, but in their eyes, there burned a small, stubborn flame.

They knew they might die.

But they were not afraid of death.

Chen Xi's pace slowed down unconsciously.

Looking at these living faces and watching them do the most ordinary things, his heart felt as if it were being tightly gripped by an invisible hand.

These people weren't NPCs.

They were history.

They were the named or nameless heroes who should only exist in black-and-white photos and cold text.

And now, he was walking among them.

This feeling gave him an unprecedented sense of suffocation, a mix of awe and absurdity.

In the livestream, the playful comments had also unknowingly decreased.

They were replaced by more silence and reflection.

[I don't know why, but I suddenly feel like crying.]

[They look... so tired.]

[Does that young man writing the letter know he might not make it back?]

[Master Xi's expression is so serious... has he felt something too?]

[This game... it really seems like it's not just a game anymore.]

After crossing most of the warehouse, Shangguan Zhibiao stopped at a place that looked like a command post, built temporarily out of sandbags, tables, and chairs.

Two sentries with loaded rifles stood at the entrance, their eyes as sharp as knives.

Seeing Shangguan Zhibiao, both stood at attention.

"Company Commander."

Shangguan Zhibiao nodded, his expression becoming incredibly serious. He adjusted his military cap, took a deep breath, and reported to the inside.

"Reporting to the Regiment Commander!"

A steady, slightly hoarse male voice came from within.

"Enter."

Shangguan Zhibiao pushed open the door, which was temporarily patched together from wooden boards, and signaled for Chen Xi to enter.

Chen Xi stepped inside.

The command post was very simple.

A field desk, a few chairs, and a large military map of Shanghai hung on the wall, covered in various arrows and markings drawn with red and blue pencils.

Behind the desk sat a man.

He looked to be in his thirties, wearing a military uniform that was washed a bit pale but was pressed straight, with the collar hooks fastened meticulously.

His features were refined, even delicate, and with his gold-rimmed glasses, he looked more like a schoolteacher than a Soldier.

But when he looked up at Chen Xi...

His gaze was as sharp as an unsheathed sword, as if it could instantly pierce through the deepest secrets of a person's heart.

Chen Xi's heart skipped a beat.

He knew who the person before him was.

The supreme commander of the Eight Hundred Heroes.

The iron-blooded scholar-general who, with a scholar's body and a patriot's ambition, stood as the backbone of China during the nation's most perilous moment.

Xie Jinyuan.

Shangguan Zhibiao stepped forward quickly, saluted Xie Jinyuan, and then briefly reported everything that had just happened at top speed.

From how Chen Xi used a sickle to slay three Japanese Soldiers to how he used a bottle of "divine medicine" to save the dying Nickname.

Throughout the process, Xie Jinyuan listened quietly.

There was no change in expression on his face.

Neither shock nor suspicion.

He just looked at Chen Xi, his eyes behind the lenses deep like a bottomless lake.

It wasn't until Shangguan Zhibiao finished his report and stepped aside that he finally spoke.

His voice was very calm, betraying no emotion.

"Sir, please sit."

Chen Xi sat in the chair opposite him.

For a moment, neither of them spoke.

The air seemed to freeze.

In the command post, only the "tick-tock, tick-tock" of the old-fashioned wall clock remained.

One beat, then another.

Tugging at everyone's heartstrings.

Finally, Xie Jinyuan broke the silence.

But the question he asked left both Chen Xi and Shangguan Zhibiao stunned.

He didn't ask about the sickle that cut through iron like butter.

Nor did he ask about the bottle of divine medicine that brought the dead back to life.

He simply leaned forward slightly, fingers interlaced on the desk, and with those hawk-like eyes, asked word by word.

"Sir, just who are you?"