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At this moment, Lu Zhao looked like a soldier dedicated solely to his duty. He dared to step forward and face the wrath of the Special Counter-Terrorism unit, defusing the tension for Lin Zhiyan while defending his immediate superior, Lü Jinshan. To the Special Counter-Terrorism operatives, this was undoubtedly pouring oil on the fire. Xu Zhenhua's entire face turned the color of pig liver with rage. "Say that one more fucking time!" A hotheaded young operative from the unit stepped out, closing the distance in two swift strides with clenched fists, and threw a punch straight at Lu Zhao. *Smack!* The fist never reached its mark. Instead, it was caught firmly in Lu Zhao's hand, locked tight like an iron vise. Only two people present possessed a higher degree of life-force development than he did: Lin Zhiyan and Xu Zhenhua. The application of divine power determined the ceiling of one's attack power, while life force set the baseline for physical capability. The Fangnan City Special Counter-Terrorism unit required twenty points of life force, and most members rarely exceeded thirty points. Once past thirty points, one could transfer to far better units. An ordinary Special Counter-Terrorism fighter stood little chance against Lu Zhao, and this sudden move caused the atmosphere to instantly spin out of control. Over a dozen Special Counter-Terrorism men swarmed forward in an instant. The key personnel of the border defense station were slightly slower to react, but refused to be outdone, gathering behind Lu Zhao. A heated shouting match erupted between the two sides. "What, you want to throw down?!" "Bring it on! You think we're afraid of you?!" Just as the situation was on the verge of turning into a brawl, a crisp, chilling voice rang out, infused with psychic power. "Enough!" Except for Lu Zhao, everyone felt their heads buzzing violently, swaying on their feet as though they had downed bootleg liquor. Lin Zhiyan said coldly, "Fangnan City First Special Duty Rapid Response Unit, return to base and report in at once. If you have any objections, submit them to the organization in writing." Xu Zhenhua and the rest of the fighters had acted in the heat of anger, but they had not completely lost their minds. Once they cooled down, they snapped to attention, saluted, and turned to leave with lingering resentment. Lin Zhiyan cast another glance at Lu Zhao, then led her people away as well. Only Lu Zhao and the border defense fighters remained on the scene, while further in the distance, the police and firefighters were busy clearing the aftermath. With the outsiders gone, an awkward tension settled over them, steeped in an unspeakable discomfort. At this border defense station, Lu Zhao had long existed behind an invisible boundary of isolation. The vague hints from higher-ups, the blocked promotion channels, the deliberate exclusion from crucial missions... all formed invisible barriers separating him from most of his peers. The border defense fighters who had joined this mission all had at least twenty points of life force. These first rank superhumans were virtually all lieutenants—the junior officers of the station. Nearly all of them were present now, and they were among the very people who had taken part in isolating him. It was not that they genuinely wished to shun Lu Zhao. Revering the strong was second nature to soldiers; no one would refuse to be friends with a formidable warrior. Yet within the Federation's establishment, avoiding picking the wrong side was practically an instinct. Today, this Lu Zhao, tacitly regarded as an outsider, had dragged them back from the gates of hell with nothing more than a rifle. Had Lu Zhao not intervened, the consequences would have been unimaginable. Deprived of their firearms, they were utterly incapable of matching that metal-nature superhuman. Lu Zhao had saved their lives. This heavy truth carried far more weight than any subtle hints from their superiors. The military might not be an unblemished sanctuary, but it was forever the place where interpersonal bonds were simplest, and where solidarity formed most easily. "What are you all standing around dawdling for?" Zhang Like stepped out, giving Lu Zhao a gentle nudge toward the front of the group. "This is Lu Zhao. Everyone knows him, and if anyone doesn't, take a good look today and get to know him again." His voice deepened as his gaze swept across the crowd. "If it weren't for Old Lu today, at least three or four of us would be lying on the ground, or maybe every last one of us would have died right here. There are things I can't say out loud, and I'm not asking you to do anything extreme—we're not bandits. But I hope we'll all look out for one another and pull together when danger strikes. "After all, Lü Jinshan isn't the one who'll be standing on the front line with you." The men exchanged glances. Then, in unison, every one of them snapped to attention and raised a crisp salute. No words were spoken, yet a profound change had quietly taken hold. *** Yulin Public Security Headquarters. At the very moment Lu Zhao engaged the safety on his sniper rifle, word had already reached the prefecture. "Reporting! The Fangcheng special investigation team's joint mop-up operation has succeeded! Lieutenant Lu Zhao of the border defense station successfully rescued the front-line combatants, eliminated the enemy's effective forces, and confirmed the neutralization of high-risk targets!" The communications officer's voice carried an excitement he could hardly contain. Tonight, with distress calls echoing along multiple points of the Nanhai West Circuit border and good news scarce, the Fangcheng special investigation team had encountered trouble latest of all, yet had become the very first to send word of victory. Commander Liang Chengyun showed a look of surprise. "So fast?" He checked his wristwatch. From issuing the emergency dispatch order to the mission's completion, merely thirty minutes had elapsed—a window that included relaying the orders and reaching the battlefield. Even with the Ant Ridge border defense station's rapid response, traveling to the site would have taken roughly half an hour. In other words, Lu Zhao had resolved the entire engagement within mere minutes of arriving. Whether in response speed or combat capability, he proved himself an outstanding soldier. "This young fellow is an exceptional soldier. Wasting away as a platoon leader at Ant Ridge is a sheer waste of talent." Liang Chengyun rubbed his chin, a desire to foster talent stirring within him. He turned to his chief of staff. "Can we find a way to work things out and transfer him to our headquarters?" He had just glanced through Lu Zhao's file in his spare moments. Two factors had kept him pinned down at the border defense station: the Chen family, and his status as a local commissioned-training student. The latter was actually the root cause. As a commissioned-training student, Lu Zhao had chosen to return to his relatively backward hometown and start from the grass roots. That was how he had fallen into the hands of the Chen family; his own conscience had turned into a gun pointed right at him. Yet his four-year service record was impeccable, showing immense competence—so much so that he had managed to earn promotions even under pressure from all sides. With his own footing in Nanhai West Circuit not yet fully established, Liang Chengyun needed to promote capable people, and working with someone of exceptional ability would be a great asset. The chief of staff lowered his voice in warning. "This man was singled out by the Chen family." Liang Chengyun said, "Would Martial Marquis Chen really keep his eyes on a mere lieutenant? I'd only be taking him under my command for assignments. Down the line, he might even be posted elsewhere." "The Martial Marquis naturally wouldn't bother watching him, but doing this would cross everyone who had a hand in it back then." The chief of staff spoke pointedly. "If you try to promote him now, you'd be slapping them in the face. Do you think they would admit their mistake just for a lieutenant?" The spark of appreciation in Liang Chengyun's chest was extinguished instantly. Suppressing a small figure was effortless; within their authority, even Lu Zhao's title as an outstanding Dijing graduate meant nothing. Martial Marquis Chen knew nothing of this, nor did the prominent figures in the Nanhai Circuit Politics Bureau. The heads of various prefectural departments were aware of it, but would not bother keeping constant watch. Perhaps it had begun with nothing more than an informal phone call, or perhaps a mere nod of agreement. Trifling, insignificant matters. Yet the moment anyone tried to help Lu Zhao turn his fortunes around, they would have to confront a whole network of people—an entire faction. Liang Chengyun did not dare gamble. Before the Martial Marquis, he too was merely a nobody.