Chapter 231: Mr. Chen, Please Shut Your Mouth

A slightly bloated Support Aircraft flew over.

This type of aircraft does not fly fast, is cheap to manufacture, and can carry combat squads or transport supplies; some are also equipped with a certain amount of firepower, allowing them to cooperate well with ground forces in combat, and they are flexible to use, essentially serving a role similar to helicopters from a past life.

A few minutes later, the group boarded the aircraft.

The Support Aircraft hovered and rose again, retracted its landing gear, and rapidly accelerated to leave the area.

Almost simultaneously—

The air a dozen kilometers away rippled, and a fighter jet, already outlined by the rain, revealed its form. It hovered silently in the air; its frame was heavier than an air-superiority fighter yet lacked no sense of fluidity, appearing only more robust, with a grey-black paint job all over. It was one of Lan Country's most advanced Hunter Aircraft.

"The last few people have also left..."

"Their identities have been confirmed!"

"Dream Nightmare can pursue at any time!"

"Dream Nightmare, return to base!"

"Hm? Why? Why not pursue?"

"I don't know either, don't ask me, this is an order from the General Command."

"They wiped out our entire squadron."

"Wrong! It was the Mercenary squadron! That bunch of murderers treated this place like a playground; they should have been prepared for their own deaths long ago. The higher-ups have already noticed what this bunch of buddies did in Duqin, just wait, someone is going to be facing a military tribunal soon..."

"Dream Nightmare preparing to return to base!"

"Very well."

The Hunter Aircraft turned invisible again, slowly turned around in place, and then suddenly accelerated, crashing through the curtain of rain.

"Boom!"

A deafening sonic boom.

Besides the two pilots, only Colonel Song was on the Support Aircraft.

Seeing that Chen Shu had brought an extra person, Colonel Song only asked about the situation and was not overly harsh. He knew of Chen Shu's relationship with the Spirit Sect, and he also knew the weight of people like Zhang Suannai and the Gate of All Wonders who were with Chen Shu. He naturally assumed Ning Qing was much the same, so he only confirmed Ning Qing's identity, nationality, and how she came to Duqin, then felt satisfied and stopped worrying about it.

"We are going to Anti Harbor in Dan, there is a Frigate docked there, specifically left waiting for you," Colonel Song said to him.

"What about the other teachers?"

"They already evacuated yesterday."

"Are they alright?"

"Of course they are alright, even if something happened to us, we couldn't let anything happen to them," Colonel Song said, "It's just that they were all very concerned about you. Having spent so much time together, it seems they have developed some feelings for you. Especially Professor Shi and Professor Liu, they asked about you many times."

"Haha, I gave them some extra tutoring several times when I was at Leche and the camp."

"It seems you had quite a comfortable time these past few days." Colonel Song glanced at him, and seeing him in such a disheveled state yet still able to laugh, he couldn't help but smile as well.

"I was miserable to death."

"But you are quite happy."

"Aftereffects, aftereffects, I took that so-called Ascension Pill, and now I'm extremely hyper," Chen Shu said, then asked, "How are the cultural relics?"

"Rest assured, we took everything we had decided to take at the time. As for the ones we hadn't decided on, because of this attack and the chaos in Duqin afterward, we took those temporarily as well, for protection."

"That's good!"

Good! Protection is good!

Chen Shu was happy again.

He still cared about this quite a bit.

Because by the time Cao Ci arrived, their inventory work on the cultural relics was basically finished, and they had already made a preliminary decision on which relics must be taken away. Chen Shu was very interested in some of the small items and books among them, feeling that they could explain some things about his fellow countrymen.

They must be well protected.

In itself, Dayi is the successor to the Central Huaxia civilization created by Shengzu; logically speaking, these cultural relics should belong to Dayi.

Ah no, they should belong to me!

Chen Shu became sad again, and after a few seconds, he asked:

"What about the Heavenly Human Mirror?"

"You know about the Heavenly Human Mirror?"

"I can guess! Who do you think I am!"

"..." Colonel Song glanced at him again, "What does the Ascension Pill do?"

"Briefly enhances Spirit Sea capabilities."

"Oh."

"What's wrong?"

"I can tell you are indeed quite excited."

"Haha..."

Chen Shu laughed a few times before he realized and asked again: "You still haven't said what happened to the Heavenly Human Mirror."

"It's gone."

"Gone?"

"Yes, after the fighting ended, we went back in, and the Heavenly Human Mirror was already gone."

"What about the other things?"

"Not a single piece missing."

"I see..."

Then it must have been Cao Ci's doing.

Colonel Song continued: "Currently, our country has already mobilized most of the military forces near the West Great Zhou Ocean, and together with Lan Country, we are blockading the vicinity, continuously tracking and searching for the traces of the person who took the Heavenly Human Mirror."

"Is it effective?"

"I don't know either. I only heard that there were a few skirmishes in the past two days and some movement on the sea surface, but in the end, he should have escaped."

"Oh..."

Chen Shu fell into deep thought.

So Lanya has also joined in the blockade and pursuit.

Is this the reason they dared to invade Duqin?

However, if a Ninth Stage expert deliberately hides, even with the capabilities of a superpower like Dayi or Lanya, it would be very difficult to track them, right? But according to an anonymous source, it seems a Secret Sect bigwig is cooperating with the Dayi Imperial Family and the military...

My mind is so messy.

The mental excitement brought by the Ascension Pill does not have the effect of eliminating fatigue. This kind of excitement is like drinking strong tea late at night; you cannot sleep, but it does not mean you possess the same agile thinking as when you are full of energy. On the contrary, your mind is very chaotic, and nothing you think about feels right, but you are just very energetic.

Chen Shu then stopped talking to Colonel Song and instead focused all his attention on Qingqing.

He sat with Qingqing, and although both were wearing seatbelts, it did not stop him from grabbing Qingqing's hand and playing with it carefully in his palm. When Qingqing expressionlessly pulled her hand away, he would grab it back again. After repeating this several times, Qingqing couldn't be bothered to pay attention to him anymore.

"Qingqing..."

"..."

"Qingqing?"

"..."

"Qingqing!"

"Speak!"

"I miss you so much!"

"Shut your mouth."

"Why?"

"..."

"You are so cold!" Chen Shu frowned and stared at her, "You heartless woman!"

"..."

Ning Qing sat expressionlessly, inwardly thankful that her younger sister was not here; otherwise, if she had heard this, she would have had new things to accuse her of in the future.

"Why aren't you talking? You don't miss me!"

"Talk after your excitement passes."

"Why?" Chen Shu, completely oblivious to the strange looks from the few old soldiers in the vehicle, continued to hold Qingqing's hand, "I would say the same even when I'm calm. Especially these past few days without a signal, I missed you to death."

"..."

"You're not talking again."

"Where is my desert poplar?"

"What?"

"My desert poplar."

"What desert poplar."

"The branch."

"Oh, I forgot." Chen Shu scratched his head, "I forgot to break one off."

"Swish!"

Ning Qing pulled her hand back, tucked it into her pocket, and turned her head to look at the continuous rain clouds outside the window, signaling she would no longer speak to him.

The old soldiers finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Dan, Anti Harbor.

This is a coastal city in the south of Duqin.

A pure white Frigate was docked here. This warship had a displacement of about 4,500 tons. Compared to the warships of his previous life, it was relatively short and thick. On the ship, one could see a huge shield generator and numerous offensive and defensive weapon systems, as well as a silver-gray Hunter Aircraft, giving people a strong sense of security.

Duqin has been at war for over a year, and expatriates and travelers had long since been evacuated; this Frigate was specifically waiting here for him.

It seems the air route is no longer viable.

After Chen Shu and Qingqing passed through security, they began to board the ship.

The warships of Yiguo pay quite a bit of attention to living quarters, and the accommodation environment is considered first-class among the warships of various countries; it was not as chaotic or crowded as imagined.

Considering they were a couple, the captain of the Frigate arranged a mid-level officer's cabin for them. It was a two-person room with bunk beds. Although the space was small, it had an independent bathroom, a comprehensive counter, and a wardrobe, while under the bed were storage lockers; it was much better than the sleeper berths on the green-skinned trains of his previous life. Zuo You and the other two were staying in a junior officer's cabin with Colonel Song, which was a six-person room.

After sitting in the room for a while, Chen Shu began to feel exceptionally bored due to his mental excitement, and because fatigue led to chaotic thinking, for a time, the only way to consume his energy was to pester Qingqing beside him.

"Qingqing."

"Speak."

"We are living together again, please deliver an eight-hundred-word statement."

"..."

"Ignoring me again."

Chen Shu, however, did not care at all, sat down beside her, and pulled her hand: "Did you beat Xiaoxiao at home these past few days?"

Ning Qing was helpless, but she still answered him:

"I did."

"How could you do that?"

"So?"

"Before you left, did you tell Xiaoxiao not to eat potatoes every day?"

"I did."

"That's good then."

As Chen Shu spoke, he placed his hand on Qingqing's leg again.

"Slap!"

Qingqing said to him with an expressionless face, "If you are bored, I suggest you take advantage of the internet while it's still available to scroll through the news from these past few days and look at your female internet celebrities; once we reach the sea, you'll only be able to watch satellite TV."

"That's true!"

Chen Shu immediately took out his Mobile Phone and asked, "Are you sleeping on the lower bunk or the upper bunk?"

"Upper."

"The lower bunk is so much more convenient!"

"You will take advantage of me."

"?"

Chen Shu looked at her in disbelief: "We've known each other since we were five, it's been nearly seventeen years now, and you don't even have this much trust in me?"

"You talk too much."

"Tch..."

Chen Shu held his Mobile Phone and began scrolling.

Ning Qing stood up and moved away from him, pulled out the fixed stool in front of the desk, sat on it, and watched him with a calm expression.

The warship slowly left the port.

Chen Shu held his Mobile Phone, watching intently.

Battle of the Ninth Stage;

Lanya invades Duqin;

Tracking the gang that stole the Square Body artifact;

Listing the Mengyue Sect as an evil cult;

Investigating the inner circle Cultivators of the Mengyue Sect;

Light Sword transformation;

Precision timing;

Sensing that the gaze coming from ahead was gradually changing, Chen Shu quietly put away his Mobile Phone and said to Qingqing, "It feels like witnessing history."

"Witnessing the birth of a ten-million-follower female internet celebrity."

"Emmm..." Chen Shu scratched his head, "My thinking seems a bit muddled, I've overlooked many things."

"Get some sleep."

"That's fine, call me when it's time to eat."

"Mm."

Ning Qing took out A Book and read a few pages; once she noticed that Chen Shu's breathing on the lower bunk had become steady, she pursed her lips, pondered for a few seconds, stood up to push the pull-out stool back, then walked over to Chen Shu's side, sat down, and continued reading.