"Report, the higher-ups have ordered us to return, but... they want to leave a warship behind!"

Lin Guozhong glanced at Shen Xiangtian and softly reported.

Long Jianfei's eyes darkened, and he roared in anger: "Nonsense! Our Dragon Tooth Special Combat Team's chief instructor hasn't returned yet. Who the hell gave the order to retreat?! Eh?!"

Lin Guozhong froze for a moment, then turned to look at the communications officer.

"It... it was Deputy Commander Li who gave the order personally!" The communications officer quickly responded.

"Li Jialiàng?" Long Jianfei frowned, pulled out a satellite phone from his pocket, and immediately made a call.

"Sir, Deputy Commander Li issued an unauthorized order to retreat the warship picking up Chief Instructor Jiang. Is this a directive from Headquarters?" Long Jianfei asked solemnly as the call connected.

"What the f*ck! Who the hell told him to retreat?! Don't pay attention to him! If you come back without picking up Young Jiang, I'll shoot him myself!" Zhang Zijian's furious roar exploded through the receiver.

"Yes, sir!"

Long Jianfei ended the call, turned to Lin Guozhong, and said, "Captain Lin, you heard that, didn't you? Surely, you can recognize Commander Zhang's voice?"

"Yes, sir! Hold the position. We will not retreat unless Chief Instructor Jiang is picked up!" Lin Guozhong, drenched in cold sweat, hurriedly stood at attention and saluted.

My god! Is Commander Zhang really going to send Deputy Commander Li straight to a court-martial? Is this for real?!

Who exactly is this Chief Instructor Jiang?! He must be more than just the chief instructor of the Dragon Tooth Special Combat Team, right?

Lin Guozhong shuddered internally, thoroughly shaken by Zhang Zijian's furious yelling!

"What's up with Li Jialiàng?" Shen Xiangtian frowned as he looked at Long Jianfei.

Long Jianfei spoke with a meaningful tone: "Do you still remember the mission the chief instructor carried out in the Southern Country? He was a potential suspect, but we didn't have enough evidence and let him go. Now, daring to abandon Chief Instructor Jiang? That court-martial is a given!"

Holy sh*t! A court-martial for real?!

Just because he ordered a retreat and left behind the Chief Instructor Jiang, they're actually dragging a deputy commander to court-martial?!

Holy sh*t! This, this is…

Lin Guozhong's legs gave out, and he almost collapsed to the ground. He quickly grabbed hold of the communications officer beside him.

Long Jianfei turned to look at Lin Guozhong and the communications officer, his voice dropping: "You're both clear on the confidentiality rules, right?"

"C… clear!"

The communications officer stammered, petrified, his whole body frozen as if unable to move!

Gulp!

Lin Guozhong swallowed hard and stammered, trembling: "Crystal clear, absolutely clear. I... I'm even clearer now. I didn't hear a thing!"

Long Jianfei and Shen Xiangtian exchanged a brief glance, then slightly smiled at one another. They simultaneously turned toward the sea, their eyes glimmering with anticipation.

At that moment—

Swish, swish—

Suddenly, two figures appeared abruptly in front of everyone. One of them was shrouded by layers of Inner Qi, making it impossible to see his face clearly.

"Young Master!"

"Young Master!"

"Chief Instructor!"

"Chief Instructor Jiang!"

Yan Hu and the others cried out in delight.

Lin Guozhong froze, looking back and forth several times, astonishment creeping into his heart:

This, this Chief Instructor Jiang is so young?!

The one who can fly even looked respectful toward him. How powerful must this Chief Instructor Jiang be?!

Wait a second!

How did they board the ship?! Around here…

Lin Guozhong scanned the surroundings but didn't spot any additional vessels. His face suddenly shifted, his expression turning incredulous as he looked at Jiang Chen and the other person. One thought flashed through his mind:

They flew here…

"Mr. Jiang, since there's a warship here to pick you up, I'll head straight to Fan Sheng," Dragon Saint said softly.

"Alright!" Jiang Chen nodded.

After treating Dragon Saint's Soul Devour wounds, Jiang Chen had shared his suspicions about the Pope. Dragon Saint also found it suspicious and decided to go and meet the Pope in person!

After that, the warship set off, heading back to the homeland.

...

Dingjing Airport.

After many twists and turns, Jiang Chen, Yan Hu, Ying Zi, and Cunshang Zhengye returned to Dingjing. During the journey, Jiang Chen had already healed Ying Zi and the other's injuries.

"Senior Cunshang, why don't you stay in Dingjing? I have a few elders at my place. When you're free, you can spar, play chess, or just chat!"

Exiting the airport, Jiang Chen smiled as he looked at Cunshang Zhengye.

"Very well!" Cunshang Zhengye smiled and nodded.

"Chief Instructor!"

A voice called out, and Jiang Chen and his group turned to see Spirit You walking toward them.

Jiang Chen smiled and led the group to greet him: "You brat, couldn't you spend more time with Zhu Yan? What's the rush to come back for?"

Spirit You scratched his head with a sheepish grin: "Zhu Yan returned to Jincheng Headquarters. Everything's settling down over there, so I figured I wasn't really needed and decided to come back!"

"Let's go. We'll talk more later."

Jiang Chen gently waved them along before turning and heading toward a parked stretch Rolls-Royce. Spirit You had walked over from the car's side.

Vroom...

Everyone got in the car, with Spirit You behind the wheel, driving toward Dingyun Lake.

Ring, ring!

A phone began to ring.

Jiang Chen pulled out his phone, glanced at it, and answered: "Hello, Jie!"

"Oh my, Boss! You finally turned your phone on! Do you know you've thrown the entire sect power structure into chaos?!" Zhang Wenjie's somewhat exasperated voice came through the receiver.

Jiang Chen paused, puzzled: "Huh? My phone broke while I was in Beihai National. I just bought a new one during an airport layover this morning but didn't turn it on since I was flying. What happened?"

"Boss, someone's placed a bounty on you—capturing you alive gets ten billion!"

"Ten billion?"

Jiang Chen blinked, surprised: "Who would undervalue me like this? If someone actually managed to capture me, would they even need the reward? The ransom alone should be worth more than ten billion, right?"

Yan Hu and the others sitting nearby furrowed their brows, glancing inquisitively at Jiang Chen.

"Boss, you're still in the mood to joke?! The sect powers are in an uproar!"

Jiang Chen looked genuinely confused: "Is ten billion really that big of a deal? Enough to cause an uproar?"

"I…"

There was a lengthy silence from the other end of the line.

Yan Hu and the others exchanged stunned looks.

They knew Jiang Chen well and were certain he wasn't pretending. After what happened to Yi Chen Group, the combined financial reserves of Yi Chen, Longteng, and Jiuzhou had never dipped below a trillion, as a safeguard against future attacks.

To Jiang Chen, ten billion really was nothing.

But… is this what you're focusing on?

"Boss, I know ten billion isn't much to you, but to the sect powers, it's an astronomical sum. You…"

Zhang Wenjie seemed to have realized something: "Wait, that's not the point! The point is someone put a bounty on you! Why aren't you asking who's behind it? You're fixated on the amount?!"

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