Chapter 1115: Parting Ways Under Pressure

“Where does your team rank compared to the others?”

Huo Zhun gave a sly grin, his thickset face twisting with mischief. “That’s classified—core secrets of the combat team. You two aren’t members yet, so you don’t have clearance. But I’ll tell you this: Aside from me, every member of our team stands at the very pinnacle of Blue Star. As for the combat rankings? Heh, don’t even ask.”

After that, Huo Zhun turned on his heel and left.

“Like hell I believe you!”

Wu Lianmin, fuming, hurled a shoe at him. But Huo Zhun, clearly expecting this, launched himself more than five meters away. The shoe sailed out the door and landed on the ground, quickly attracting a swarm of flies.

Cursing under his breath, Wu Lianmin hopped outside on one foot, pulled his shoe back on, and headed for his own little house.

“Pinnacle of the pyramid, huh?” Di Ming rubbed his temples, trying to make sense of it. Was Huo Zhun talking about Zhang San, or… one of those Evolved Wolves from the Northern Wolf Pack?

Huo Zhun lingered in his own room for over half an hour, waiting for Li Ziyan to come out and do the laundry. When she finally did, he walked over and handed Zhang Yi the seahorse with the broken tail.

He couldn’t find the words, so he just handed it over in silence.

Zhang Yi stared at the seahorse for a few seconds, stunned. Then, with trembling hands, he pulled out a homemade Evolution Smoke, lit it, and took deep drags, one after another.

Huo Zhun stayed quiet, simply sitting beside him.

After finishing the cigarette, Zhang Yi finally rasped, “When we got here, your sister-in-law already seemed unsettled. I thought it was just because she was leaving her official job at Hui One. At lunch, she mentioned wanting to go to the Ninth Center to Xia Qing. Back then I actually felt relieved. I thought she was growing attached to this place…”

“She’s only doing it for the kids, you know,” Huo Zhun said gently.

Zhang Yi nodded. “Yan Zi, come here.”

Li Ziyan, the auditory evolutionary who’d been washing clothes outside, quietly stepped into the house.

Now that everything was out in the open, her mood seemed calmer. “I was going to wait until the person from Territory Seven came to treat your injury before telling you, but apparently Captain Yan found out first. It was Captain Jiang’s wife, Wen Xiaohong, who reached out to me—she told me the Ninth Center is a great place. Working there would be good for both me and the kids.”

“And that’s all she said? Nothing else?” Huo Zhun asked.

“If there was anything else, she’d hardly leave me with evidence, would she? Didn’t Captain Yan only give you a seahorse with a broken tail? That was enough for you all to figure it out, right?”

She’d really had enough of this broken world.

After days of holding it in, Li Ziyan’s emotions finally burst free. The moment tears welled up she turned away. “As long as our kids are safe and sound, I don’t care where I am or what I do.”

With that, Li Ziyan left the house, squatted beside the water basin, and started scrubbing clothes even harder.

Huo Zhun began to analyze aloud. “Orders from the top, I’d guess. They want to use your abilities to keep an eye on the Ninth Center and Territory Seven.”

Zhang Yi nodded. After lighting another cigarette, he pulled out his phone and tapped a few times. “Hammer, do me a favor and find a vehicle to take us to the Hui Three Safe Zone. I’ve booked flights to Lan Yi for six o’clock.”

Huo Zhun’s voice was strained. “Yi, I…”

Zhang Yi patted him on the shoulder. “I know. Lan Yi is my hometown. The plan was always to get my injury treated here and then go home, claim a patch of land, and live a simple life. You know what kind of person Jiang Fei is. If we stay here, the moment the kids step out of the territory, they’re at risk. It’s better to go now.”

Huo Zhun clenched his teeth. “I’d love to wring his neck!”

“He’s just the higher-ups’ lapdog. Killing him wouldn’t change a thing.” Zhang Yi forced a smile and stretched.

“Don’t worry about us. I’ve still got connections back in Lan Yi. The three of us can lay low there for a while. If the reform works here in Hui Three, it’ll spread nationwide soon. Lan Yi will also get a planting center and new schools, so the kids’ studies won’t be on hold for long.”

Huo Zhun stood as well, passing Zhang Yi a slip of paper. “This is a health tonic prescription from the leader of Territory Seven. You can take this long-term—just remember, the better the quality of the herbs, the stronger the effect. I’ll send what I find as soon as I get my hands on any. We’re far from the Safe Zone, so you and your family start packing. I’ll head to Territory Two and borrow a car.”

“Hammer.” Zhang Yi stopped Huo Zhun and, after a brief pause, added, “Stick with the leader of Territory Seven and Xia Qing. There’s a bright future ahead for you.”

Huo Zhun nodded, then quickly drove Tang Huai’s flashy off-roader back.

It was over two hundred li from Section One of the North to the Safe Zone, and all sorts of trouble could pop up on the way. Huo Zhun borrowed a few guns from Tang Huai and had Wu Lianmin and Di Ming tag along to escort Zhang Yi’s family to the airport.

Li Ziyan packed the freshly washed but still-damp laundry in a separate bag, grabbed all their bags and bundles—still unopened since they’d unloaded the car that morning—and set out again.

Last to get in the car, Zhang Yi walked up to Wang Man, who stood off in the distance, cold and silent. After more than two months, he finally managed to say what he’d been holding in. “Man Snake, can you let Electric Ray know… July 6th was my…”

“I hate trouble, and I hate being a messenger even more.” Wang Man cut him off coldly.

Zhang Yi’s mouth opened and closed a few times before he simply sighed and climbed into the car.

Only after watching the plane carrying Zhang Yi’s family take off did Huo Zhun finally ask, “So what really happened on that mission in early July?”

On July 6th, in the area where Gui San Base once stood before it was swallowed by the sea, massive sea creatures clashed with the airborne giant raptors. The Jiao Dragon Special Forces were on the front lines, fighting to stop the sea beasts from ramming the cliffs—a breach that would have flooded Gui Five Safe Zone.

During that mission, a Jiao Dragon team member named Electric Ray got his lower leg and foot crushed by a huge rock tossed up by a giant octopus.

Wu Lianmin sighed. “That day, Electric Ray was paired with Zhang Yi. With his skills, Zhang Yi could’ve held back the boulder from the octopus, so Captain Yan didn’t send any backup.”

But for whatever reason, Zhang Yi didn’t put his full strength into pushing the boulder aside. A corner smashed into Electric Ray, who was in the middle of a sniper mission.

After that, Yan Long spoke with Zhang Yi and told him it was time to retire.

“…We all thought Man Snake would beat him up, but she never laid a finger on him.”

Man Snake and Electric Ray were close. After Man Snake retired, she left half her credits for Electric Ray’s recovery and treatment.

Di Ming picked up the story. “Man Snake doesn’t see Zhang Yi as a teammate anymore. If she ever did confront him, she’d kill him.”

Now Huo Zhun finally understood why nobody called Zhang Yi by his codename anymore.

Anyone who holds back on the battlefield doesn’t deserve a place in Jiao Dragon Special Forces. No wonder Jiang Fei was targeting Zhang Yi’s family. Whatever his reasons, the moment Zhang Yi didn’t put everything into saving his comrade, he was changed forever.

Di Ming rotated his neck, rolling the topic over. “While the Safe Zone gate’s still open, how about we hit the road tonight?”

“Of course! Opportunities like this don’t come often.” Night driving always risked highway robbers, but that just meant a chance for some payback.

Now that they were retired, it was time for a little windfall.

Huo Zhun reminded his two buddies. “I’m driving a luxury car today—one scratch will cost thousands of credits.”

“Then let’s keep it pristine! Let’s roll!”