The Dragon God Guard Squad base of the Northern Region Army was quiet at noon.
In fact, it had been quiet like this every day since the Dragon God Squad was formed.
This was because Gu Tianlong, the captain, never organized joint training for the squad members; instead, he let everyone cultivate on their own.
Furthermore, Gu Tianlong ultimately did not organize the entire squad to watch and learn from the combat videos of the Battle Dragon Squad.
At ten o'clock, an off-road vehicle with Northern Region Army plates arrived at the base.
Cang He, the Elder of the Dragon Gate and the vice-captain, received the visitor—the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Northern Region Army!
At ten ten, the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Northern Region Army left the base without meeting Gu Tianlong.
To be precise, Gu Tianlong did not show himself; he had been in seclusion cultivating in his residence.
At ten fifteen, Cang He arrived at Gu Tianlong's residence.
"Elder."
In the room, Gu Tianlong opened his eyes and greeted Cang He without getting up.
"The Deputy Chief of Staff from the legion was here just now," Cang He said.
"I sensed his presence," Gu Tianlong replied.
"Then why didn't you go out to meet him?" Cang He frowned.
Although Gu Tianlong was the eldest young master of the Gu family and the senior disciple of the Dragon Gate, he was also the captain of the Dragon God Squad of the Northern Region Army.
The arrival of the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Northern Region Army at the base was equivalent to an inspection visit. Gu Tianlong, having sensed the visitor's arrival, not receiving them was unacceptable, both in terms of propriety and reason.
"I was at a critical juncture in my cultivation and did not want to be disturbed. Besides, Elder, you were here."
Gu Tianlong gave his reason and then asked, "By the way, Elder, what did he come for?"
"Two things. First, to convey the scores given by the Military Department Headquarters to the five Guard Squads..." Cang He began.
This time, before Cang He could finish, Gu Tianlong's pupils widened, and he stood up to interrupt, "What was our Dragon God Squad's score?"
"9 points."
Cang He said expressionlessly.
"We had zero casualties and completed the mission the fastest, why only 9 points? What about the other squads?"
Gu Tianlong was somewhat displeased, as he believed the Dragon God Squad should have received full marks.
"Battle Dragon Squad 10 points, Blade Squad 8 points, Loulan Squad 8 points, Snow Mountain Squad 6 points."
Cang He first stated the scores of the other four Guard Squads, then explained the reason for the Dragon God Squad's deduction,
"The Military Department Headquarters believes that only I participated in the battle for the Dragon God Squad, and the squad's overall cohesion is insufficient."
"Heh... what do you mean by insufficient cohesion? Are we supposed to have the entire squad participate in combat if we encounter an extraterrestrial enemy at the five-star martial artist level? In my opinion, those people at the Military Department Headquarters are deliberately favoring and biased towards the Battle Dragon Squad!"
Gu Tianlong said indignantly.
Cang He remained silent. He had already communicated this issue with Gu Tianlong before, but his communication was ineffective—Gu Tianlong had refuted him with the reason of achieving the objective at the minimum cost!
"Elder, what is the second matter?" Gu Tianlong asked with a dark expression.
"The Military Department Headquarters has distributed benefits to the five Guard Squads: gene-enhancing drugs, qi and blood pills, and healing medicine for each person."
As Cang He spoke, he handed the box in his hand to Gu Tianlong.
"Elder, these medicines should be distributed by head count. I don't want mine; the extra portion will be a reward for the team member who improved their strength the fastest." Gu Tianlong pondered for a moment and said.
"Alright, I don't want mine either."
Cang He nodded, agreeing to Gu Tianlong's proposed distribution plan. He also knew that Gu Tianlong wanted to win over people's hearts in this way, but in his opinion, this alone would not be enough to unite the squad members.
"Ding—"
As Cang He finished speaking, Gu Tianlong's phone suddenly rang.
Gu Tianlong picked up his phone and saw that it was a call from Long Yongjie, the Grand Elder of the Dragon Gate. He answered in front of Cang He: "Master."
"The Sect Master is very dissatisfied with your performance in the Dragon God Squad and demands that you must lead the entire squad in combat in future missions!" Long Yongjie reprimanded in a low voice.
With a swish!
Gu Tianlong's expression changed slightly, and he argued, "Master, the squad has just been formed, and we are not familiar with each other yet. Our coordination is not yet tacit. Overall combat might lead to casualties, so I..."
"Enough! Tianlong, don't give me those high-sounding excuses! I watched you grow up, and I know what you're thinking!
I can tell you clearly that with your current mindset and style of conduct, even if you become the strongest person in Dragon Country in the future, you will not be able to become the Marshal of Dragon Country's Military Department. The Sect Master and Qi Wufu will not agree! As for the reasons, think about it yourself!"
After Long Yongjie finished speaking, he hung up the phone angrily without waiting for Gu Tianlong to reply.
At this moment, besides annoyance, his face also showed a hint of regret.
He somewhat regretted strongly supporting Gu Tianlong to become the Senior Disciple of the Dragon Gate and cultivating Gu Tianlong to lead the Dragon Country's Military Department in the future!
Because Gu Tianlong was not cut out for it!
If he had another chance to choose, he would definitely not choose Gu Tianlong.
However—
Once the arrow is released from the bow, it cannot be recalled. As things stood, even if Gu Tianlong was disappointing, Long Yongjie could only grit his teeth and bear it, and try every means to support Gu Tianlong—they were in the same boat; they would prosper together and suffer together!
"Damn it, it's all that bastard Jiang Wuming's fault! If he hadn't been so arrogant and refused a protector, how would all this have happened?!"
Just as Long Yongjie was regretting, Gu Tianlong gnashed his teeth in hatred.
"Heh... as the saying goes, a tall tree in the forest will be destroyed by the wind. Now that he has become a public enemy of the extraterrestrial forces, I'd like to see how long he can jump around!"
"—"
Cang He was speechless upon hearing Gu Tianlong's words and then silently left Gu Tianlong's residence.
A long time ago, he knew that Gu Tianlong was a narrow-minded person.
He also knew that Gu Tianlong hated Jiang Wuming to the bone.
But he did not expect that Gu Tianlong would blame Jiang Wuming for this matter instead of reflecting on himself.
This was a stubborn and extremely calculating egoist!
To put it bluntly, Gu Tianlong only had eyes for Jiang Wuming, while Jiang Wuming had eyes for the entire world!
...
Meanwhile.
Zhu Shengxian, the Chief of Staff of the Eastern Region Army, arrived at the Battle Dragon Squad base.
"Greetings, Chief!"
Jiang Wuming led the entire squad, lined up to welcome him, and saluted Zhu Shengxian.
"Hello, comrades."
Zhu Shengxian returned the salute to Jiang Wuming and the other four, then said, "The Legion Commander originally wanted to visit you personally, but he has urgent matters to attend to temporarily, so he entrusted me to come."
Zhu Shengxian paused at this point and looked at Qin Xiaozhi intentionally or unintentionally.
At this moment, he clearly saw a hint of disappointment in Qin Xiaozhi's eyes.
But that disappointment vanished instantly!
This discovery made Zhu Shengxian sigh inwardly, feeling that Qin Yuanzheng was somewhat harsh on this young man who had amazed the martial arts world of Dragon Country and even the entire globe!
After sighing inwardly, Zhu Shengxian continued, "Today, I am here not only to visit you but also to personally inform you of the headquarters' score for your last mission and to bring the benefits that the headquarters have sent you.
Given the outstanding performance of the Battle Dragon Squad in the Putuo Temple mission, the Military Department Review Committee has unanimously decided to award them a perfect score of 10 points!"
"Yeah!"
Upon hearing Zhu Shengxian's words, Huangfu Weixia was the first to jump up excitedly, her chest heaving impressively.
Not only her, but Xing Tian and Dongfang Xiaoyao were also quite excited.
This was because they both knew that Jiang Wuming was competing for the top ranking in the squad, laying a solid foundation for Qin Xiaozhi to compete for the position of Chief of Staff of the Military Department Headquarters in the future!
Jiang Wuming and Qin Xiaozhi remained relatively calm.
"As for the benefits, I will communicate with Wuming first. The specific distribution will be decided by Wuming."
Zhu Shengxian said, looking at Jiang Wuming.
"All hands, dismiss!"
Jiang Wuming understood implicitly. He first ordered the dismissal and then walked towards his residence with Zhu Shengxian.
"Wuming, the Military Department has distributed five sets of gene-enhancing drugs, five sets of qi and blood drugs, and five bottles of healing medicine to the Battle Dragon Squad this time. Among them, the gene-enhancing drugs are the latest developed, and their effects are better than before, even being the best in the world in terms of efficacy!"
Zhu Shengxian paused here and then said mysteriously, "One portion per person, which is the standard from the headquarters. However, your Battle Dragon Squad is special, so you get double portions!"
"Why?"
Jiang Wuming was stunned. When the Military Department Headquarters distributed benefits, they surely adhered to the principle of fairness. Even if the Battle Dragon Squad performed excellently, they should not receive double portions.
After all, this was not a reward!
"Because the latest gene-enhancing drugs were developed by Longteng Pharmaceutical, a subsidiary of the Li family, and the qi and blood drugs were provided by a joint venture company of the Li family and the Su family, which is the company you set up for your sister—these are special benefits from Li Lianyi to your squad!" Zhu Shengxian said with a smile.
He had heard about the relationship between Jiang Wuming and Li Lianyi and also knew that they had broken off their engagement. However, it was rumored that their relationship had not become estranged because of this but had instead become even closer.
"Uh..."
Jiang Wuming looked dazed. He had not expected that Li Lianyi was the one 'causing trouble' behind the scenes.
"Since you don't know about the special benefits Li Lianyi gave to your Battle Dragon Squad, you probably don't know about the major event she did these past two days!"
Zhu Shengxian said mysteriously, as if he were fishing.
As expected, Jiang Wuming took the bait and blurted out, "What major event?"
"In the name of the Li family, she called upon experts in gene and pharmaceutical fields in Dragon Country to lead the establishment of a drug research institute called 'War God,' dedicated to researching better gene-enhancing drugs and improving the overall strength of Dragon Country's martial artists! As far as I know, this drug research institute is located in Hanghu."
Zhu Shengxian revealed the answer and then looked at Jiang Wuming with a smile,
"Wuming, with your relationship with Li Lianyi, your Battle Dragon Squad can get preferential treatment!"
Hmm?
Jiang Wuming's heart stirred, and he couldn't help but recall the girl in the white dress, exuding an ethereal aura.
At this moment, he did not know that the girl had chosen Hanghu as the location for the War God Drug Research Institute to be closer to him!
...