Meng Chao found himself filled with respect for this man.
He did not expect that Lin Chuan was not doing everything for himself, but for the children living in public renting houses in Blessed Heavenly Garden, Joyous Heavenly Garden, Longevity Heavenly Garden, and Happiness Heavenly Garden.
But it made sense too. Lin Chuan fought in the wild most of the time and did not use up a lot of money. Besides, because he was an internet celebrity, the weapons factories paid him to do marketing, which was enough to ensure that he could live a lavish life.
If he were not thinking about renovating Blessed Happiness Street Elementary School, he would have not needed to take the mine exploration mission from Sky Pillar Corporation.
But… Meng Chao had the feeling that Lin Chuan was going to be in great danger during this trip.
He did not remember Blessed Happiness Street Elementary School going through any large renovations in his past. There were also no ace lecturers and veteran fighters to teach the children.
Even though at that time, Meng Chao had been fully focused on taking care of his mother and practicing his harvesting skills, which meant that he did not pay attention to anything, Blessed Happiness Street Elementary School was right in front of his doorstep.
He saw it when he passed through Blessed Heavenly Garden on his way to the hospital. Sometimes, when he ate at the entrance of his house, he even ran into his teachers from elementary school.
If his elementary school had truly been renovated and even reconstructed, there was no way he would not remember it.
So, just where did the problem lie?
As Meng Chao pondered this, a deafening alarm rang out above their heads.
Meng Chao looked up, and his pupils shrank swiftly.
‘What a beautiful armored airship! No, it’s not an armored airship. It’s an aerial fortress. It might have sixteen propellers pushing it forward, but there aren’t any huge gasbags to provide buoyancy.’
Instead, circles of profound and complicated runic symbols were carved on the walls. They shone among the dark clouds and looked like light hoops that lifted it as if it weighed nothing.
“Maglev technology!”
Meng Chao knew that the University of Technology was researching maglev technology so that they could get rid of the large and clumsy gasbags on the armored airships. They wanted the normal people to also enjoy the pleasures of standing in the air, just like if they were Heaven Realm elites.
But this was the first time he saw an aerial fortress that used maglev technology in real battle. He felt as if a huge black mountain came down on him. The weeds in the area were blown to the sides by the raging wind stirred up by the propellers. Countless small pests fled in a panic, and goosebumps broke out even on Meng Chao’s skin, because the aerial fortress came with the might of an Apocalyptic Beast.
As it descended slowly, a picture of an arm stretching upward like a pillar to support the heavens and earth entered Meng Chao’s sights.
“That’s Sky Pillar Corporation’s emblem! It’s so domineering!”
Meng Chao thought of something. Sky Pillar Corporation was one of the greatest forces of power in Dragon City. There were plenty of powerful fighters in the corporation, and its elites were as numerous as the stars in the sky. Many of the higher ups were also leaders of various fields. Some of them were even part of the Survival Committee.
If he could get affiliated with them, it would definitely be beneficial for him when he wanted to learn about the political direction and possibly change it.
In an instant, the aerial fortress descended until it was about five meters above their heads.
When it was at that height, Meng Chao could tell just how big it was. If he had not seen it with his own eyes, he could not imagine that a steel beast like this could levitate in the air so quietly.
At that moment, a folding ladder slowly lowered from under the aerial fortress. There was even a thick, red carpet on it!
The first thing that entered Meng Chao’s sights was a pair of high heels that gave off a crystalline quality.
Then came a pair of long, straight, and perfect legs.
After that was a handmade suit the color of blood.
Finally, to finish the picture, came a matchless, beautiful face that gave off an incredibly aggressive feeling.
The woman was dressed in high heels and a red suit. She had a small sling bag, and her makeup was immaculate. All of this should not be things seen in the wild.
The young woman had a pair of eyes as fierce as those of a lion. With her aura, no matter what she wore and where she appeared, everyone would think that it was only logical for her to suppress all the creatures in the area.
“Lin Chuan!”
However, the moment she saw Lin Chuan, her aggressive presence faded away. A smile that could make half of the people in Dragon City fall for her bloomed on her face, and she did not even care about the mud. She just strode over and hugged Lin Chuan.
“…”
Meng Chao sighed rather gloomily in his heart.
He finally experienced the feeling that his classmates had when they saw Yan Feirou and Ning Xueshi squealing and charging at him before they were all to go through their mental strength tests half a year ago.
“Let me introduce you. This is Miss Lu Siya. She was my classmate during middle school and high school, and she is also my employer this time.”
Lu Siya hugged Lin Chuan passionately like an octopus for a long time before he managed to break free. With a slightly awkward smile, he introduced the both of them. “This is Meng Chao, my—”
“I know. Your young assistant!” Lu Siya winked at him. “I’m sorry. It’s just been too long since I last saw you, and I missed you so much. That’s why I had the urge to come to the wild to look for you. I didn’t interrupt you spending time alone with your assistant, did I?”
“Um…” Meng Chao murmured.
Lu Siya laughed boisterously. “I was just joking, Meng Chao. Don’t mind it. Right now, you’re almost as famous as Mr. Weeping Reaper over here. Even I hear about you occasionally at Sky Pillar Corporation. Hello, I am Lu Siya.”
She extended a hand to Meng Chao.
Her fingers were very tough, and her palm was very coarse. Her grip was strong, and it was in stark contrast compared to her pretty appearance.
“Lin Chuan, your introduction really hurt me, you know? You only remember that we’re classmates from middle school and high school, and you even mentioned that I’m your employer? Why didn’t you mention that I’m your best friend?”
Lu Siya was the type of woman who wanted to take reign over a situation no matter where she was. While she held Meng Chao’s hand, she turned her head and put on an angry expression.
“Of course, we’re best friends.” Lin Chuan immediately smiled. “My father was a normal miner working under one of the mining companies of Sky Pillar Corporation. At one time, the mine collapsed while he was working, and he unfortunately passed away. There were five children at home, and our father was our pillar, so our lives should have been really difficult.
“To our surprise, when Sky Pillar Corporation learned of our plight, Ms. Lu’s father, who was the person-in-charge of the mining company at that time, would personally come and visit us. He handled our living and educational expenses. Later, he discovered my talent and wrote a few recommendation letters for me. That’s why I was able to go to the same middle school and high school as Ms. Lu, and in the end, got into Agricultural University’s martial arts course.
“Without Ms. Lu’s father, I wouldn’t be where I am today. I’m eternally grateful to them.”
“You sound like a stranger when you speak like that, and you’re even calling me Ms. Lu? The more I hear it, the more I find it awkward.” Lu Siya pouted and pointed at them before she said, “From now on, you will call me Siya, and you will call me Big Sis Ya. If either of you dares to call me Ms. Lu, I’m going to turn on you!”
“Siya!” Lin Chuan immediately said.
“… Big Sis Ya.” Meng Chao frowned slightly and followed Lin Chuan’s cue to address Lu Siya.
“That’s more like it. Also, what do you mean by ‘Without Ms. Lu’s father, I wouldn’t be where I am today.’? At that time, I was the one who discovered your talent and pestered my father to cultivate you, get it? If you want to thank anyone, you should be thanking me! What does this have to do with that old man?!”
Lu Siya then waved her hand. “But it’s fine. We shouldn’t talk about those old things. I’ll send you both back to the base. I’ll also give you a briefing about the mission tomorrow.”
For some reason, Meng Chao felt that Lin Chuan had become wary.
In the beginning, he thought that his mind was playing tricks on him. But when he took a glance from the corner of his eye, he saw that goosebumps had broken out on Lin Chuan’s nape. It was only then that he realized: Lin Chuan and Lu Siya’s relationship was definitely not as simple as it seemed.
One of them was a talented but poor boy, and the other was a lady who could order people about. Could it be?
Meng Chao’s mind instantly came up with a plot worth thirty thousand words.
All of them were full of *censored*, *censored*, and *censored*, and some of them were even full of *censored*.
‘What about Meng Chao?” Lin Chuan frowned and said, “This is a trade secret. It will not be good if he hears it, right?”
“Why would it be? We’re not going to kill people. Besides, I trust your judgment when choosing an assistant. He’s definitely someone with good moral standing. Even if we were really going to kill someone, he wouldn’t snitch on us.” Lu Siya grinned and extended her hand. “Go on, Meng Chao.”
Lin Chuan took half a step forward. His expression was gloomy, and he wanted to stop him.
But Meng Chao had already made up his mind. He got into the aerial fortress.
Since it deployed maglev technology, it did not face the limitations imposed by the buoyancy of gasbags. The space inside the aerial fortress was much larger than in the pods of armored ariships, and it was set up in the manner of a command center. Dozens of military-grade computers were next to the walls, while the center had a huge sandbox. It formed the map of Shattered Starlake, Graveyard Forest, and Raging Waves. At the end of the sandbox was a large curtain which projected the complicated layout and alignment of the underground mines.
The people in the aerial fortress were dressed in a completely different manner compared to Lu Siya, who had immaculate makeup, was dressed in a business suit, and wore high heels. They were dozens of built men with gloomy eyes and bodies covered in tattoos and scars.
Even the women in the group had the sides of their heads shaved off. They had a tall mohawk at the center and toyed with guns thicker than their thighs, which made them really fierce.
When they saw Lu Siya bringing a young freshman, they did not hide their sharp stares, as if they were curious as to why she decided to bring a burden who was probably still sucking on his mother’s breast to such a dangerous mission.
But they only glared at Meng Chao for a moment before they lowered their heads and continued with their tasks. They were disassembling or modifying their guns, sharpening their weapons, reading military-issued maps, or toying with strange and rare-looking trinkets that Meng Chao did not recognize.
‘Who are they? They’re so fierce. Regardless of their realms, all of them look as if they crawled out from under a pile of corpses.
‘They shouldn’t be from the Red Dragon Army. They give off an even wilder presence than soldiers. Could they be the private army of Sky Pillar Corporation?’
He became even more curious about Lin Chuan and Lu Siya’s exploration mission.
“My brothers and sisters, all the people are here now.”
Once Lin Chuan entered the aerial fortress, the hatch slowly fell shut. Lu Siya walked among the burly men and women dressed in camouflage uniforms and clapped her hands as she spoke loudly. “Now, I’m going to tell you just what target we’re pursuing that requires so many experts from various fields to take action!”