Inside The Black Mist

Xun left.

Looking at the neatly packed and categorized items in the boxes, as well as the markings on the boxes, Kaidi once again marveled at the girl's diligence. He then occasionally hinted to Tianyang to seize the opportunity and not miss out on a good match.

The young man felt a headache; if possible, he really wanted to kick Kaidi out.

After the personnel from the household registration office came to take away the packed items, Tianyang could finally rest. However, Kaidi started incessantly advising him. He mentioned building good relationships with neighbors, interacting more with superiors, and maintaining friendly relations with colleagues, almost like an overly concerned old mother.

"...and also, that girl is really nice. You should put in more effort, young man."

"Kaidi!"

Tianyang finally couldn't help but interrupt him, "Can you say less? It sounds like we won't see each other again in the future, non-stop talking."

Kaidi stopped, looked at him, took a sip of wine, and said, "Well, we might not see each other again."

Tianyang was startled. "Are you ill?"

"Get lost!" Kaidi retorted. "I'm in good health. Ill? Do I look like it? It's just... I'm leaving, Tianyang."

The young man couldn't believe his ears. "Leaving? Where to?"

Kaidi raised his hand and gestured, "Leaving this place, going to another city, maybe continuing to run a bar, who knows?"

Tianyang opened his mouth, but in the end, he didn't ask the three-word question, "Why?"

He knew the reason.

"The wilderness is not peaceful, and you alone..."

Kaidi slapped the back of the young man's head. "What are you thinking? I'm not thinking of dying. How could I leave alone? In a few days, a trade convoy is heading to High Mountain Fortress, and I'm going with them. Don't look at me like that. I can cook quite well. I showed off my skills to the convoy leader a few days ago, and they asked me to be their temporary chef."

Tianyang covered his head. "Can the things you cook be eaten? You're not buying ready-made and pretending, are you?"

"Get lost!"

Tianyang chuckled, but as he laughed, he fell silent again.

"Kaidi... forget it."

The man took a sip of wine and asked, "Can you forget her?"

"That's different; she's my mom."

"She's a woman I loved," Kaidi pointed to his chest. "Engraved here, unforgettable."

"...Cheesy."

"You don't understand a thing!"

Putting down the wine bottle, Kaidi staggered to his feet and said, "I'm leaving; there are still many things to pack. Unlike you, I don't have such a diligent good friend."

"Well, I won't come to see you off, so you don't cry."

Kaidi laughed. "Who knows who might cry, but two grown men crying is indeed unsightly. It's better if you don't come."

Walking out of the door, the man turned his back to the young man and said, "Tianyang, don't die; otherwise, your mom will be heartbroken. The last time you went on a mission, I saw her hiding in the kitchen crying. A brat who makes his own mother cry is truly a wimp!"

"Well, rest assured, I won't let her cry again." Tianyang picked up the wine bottle, took a sip, and coughed a few times. "It's terrible, like horse urine."

Kaidi burst into laughter and said, "You'll understand its goodness later on."

Patting his butt, the bar owner left, leaving the young man staring at a spider in the corner, spinning its web.

Finally, he was alone.

|Qingtian Fortress, Inner Ring District|

This area was not open to residents; only personnel with specific permissions could enter.

The Inner Ring District was the heart of Qingtian Fortress, housing the Military Command Hall, various Legion Headquarters buildings, the Weapon R&D Center, the 3D Armament Assembly Plant, and other important facilities.

On Tianyang's first visit, he thought the atmosphere in the Inner Ring District would be serious, with guards every few steps.

However, as he drove his electromagnetic motorcycle along the main road, he realized it was more comfortable and peaceful than the Upper District.

Almost every building had a large public activity area, and the greenery and landscaping were excellent. Even the air seemed exceptionally fresh.

Passing by an outdoor training ground, he could see soldiers from the Legion system undergoing training. Around the training ground, there were retractable canopy structures. During the rainy season, opening the canopies would allow training to continue.

Finally, Tianyang arrived at the Night Walkers' headquarters building.

The exterior of the building was painted deep black, and the straight-edged structure looked like a black blade thrusting into the sky!

At the top of the building hung the emblem of the Night Walkers, a silver-white emblem that shone brightly against the black walls.

Tianyang parked his vehicle in the underground parking lot behind the building and took the elevator to the hall. Coming out of the elevator, various holographic projection screens adorned the hall, dazzling the young man.

Just as he felt a bit lost, a gentle female voice sounded, "Hello, do you need help?"

Tianyang turned around, realizing that a tall woman stood behind him. She was dressed in the Night Walkers' black uniform, but the insignia on her shoulder indicated that she was just a soldier.

Tianyang handed over his identity card and said, "I'm a member of the Raven Squad, here to report today. Can you show me the way?"

Taking Tianyang's identity card, the woman inserted it into a reader on her wrist, and the screen immediately displayed Tianyang's information.

She saluted, "So, you're Lieutenant Tianyang. If you don't mind, I can guide you."

After handing back Tianyang's identity card, she led the way.

Using the elevator to go to the upper floors, the female soldier briefly introduced the Night Walkers' quarters. The squad dormitories were generally located between the second and fifth floors, but each squad's dormitory was not fixed.

Because the Night Walkers used a ranking system, every year they would tally the contributions of all squad members.

Then, based on the total contributions, each squad would be ranked, and the highest-ranked squad could use the best rooms on the fifth floor. This continued downward, with lower-ranked squads assigned to dormitories on the lower floors.

Every squad in the Night Walker made every effort to advance to the fifth floor, as resource allocation within the organization was also based on this ranking.

Ding.

The sound of the elevator arriving echoed, and Tianyang entered the fourth floor of the building. It seemed that the Raven Squad had a relatively high rank, at least in the upper-middle range.

"You can move freely between the second and fifth floors in your daily activities. However, starting from the sixth floor, you won't have access without permission."

Saying this, they arrived at a large door. On the black double doors was a raven emblem.

The female soldier saluted again, "This is the Raven Squad's dormitory. If you don't have any other business, I'll head down now."

Tianyang nodded and said, "Thank you."

"Not at all."

After the female soldier left, Tianyang raised his hand to knock on the door but suddenly caught a short vibration near his ear.

Instinctively, he slid backward and raised his arm to block. Subsequently, a heavy collision transmitted through his arm, causing Tianyang to retreat repeatedly. Finally, he pressed his hand against the wall to stop.

"What the heck? I thought someone attacking the family residence should be skilled, but you didn't even block my punch. Kid, didn't you eat breakfast this morning?"

A loud and arrogant voice sounded.