Chapter Thirteen: Divergence

Chen Diwen suddenly felt his hands and feet turn cold, his grip on the machete trembling slightly. At that moment, he realized he had made a grave mistake.

As a commander, before things were clear, he had failed to stop Bear from hunting the golden leopard, and his own recklessness had caused his squad to scatter. If not for Chen Cao’s quick thinking distracting two leopards, they would surely have suffered casualties.

“Captain, what do we do now?” Bear wiped the blood from his face and asked.

Bear’s question made Chen Diwen feel powerless; his once-handsome face turned pale in an instant. In this endless jungle, he could barely guarantee his own survival, let alone search for others.

But this brief moment of weakness passed quickly. Chen Diwen’s gaze regained its steadiness and wisdom. He lightly weighed the knife in his hand and said, “Let’s find Zhou Hongye and the others first. They’re our main force. We’ll make plans after we regroup.”

Bear had no objections, but Bao Li’s eyes flashed as he spoke, “But what about Chen Cao? He’s in the most danger right now!”

Chen Diwen looked at Bao Li coldly. “You must understand, Zhou Hongye’s team has three people. I can’t trade one life for three. That’s not something I can do.”

“Then let’s split up. At least we can ease the pressure on Chen Cao’s side.” Bao Li reached for Bear’s machete.

“No!” Chen Diwen vetoed Bao Li’s suggestion again, and Bear turned his body, refusing to let Bao Li take the knife.

“What’s the matter, Chen Diwen? I don’t know what grudge you have with Chen Cao, but I owe him nothing. He saved our lives, and now his fate is uncertain. Don’t forget, he’s our comrade. I must save him, no matter what!” Bao Li didn’t mind Bear refusing him the knife. Instead, he picked up his own pack, gave Chen Diwen a cold, contemptuous look, and said, “You’ve tried so hard to lead this team out of the jungle, but you lack experience. You haven’t truly grasped the essential qualities of a professional soldier.”

“Without me, you won’t get out of this jungle. Besides, you don’t even know Chen Cao’s position. If you go in alone, you’re courting death!” Chen Diwen’s gaze grew colder at Bao Li’s words, his face seeming to freeze over, but he didn’t stop Bao Li.

Life and death is my decision, Bao Li thought as he slung his backpack and strode into the jungle.

“Wait, wait!” Zhou Hongye suddenly burst out from the jungle, calling after Bao Li.

“Zhou Hongye, you…” Bao Li’s stern eyes, nearly frozen, flickered with color when he saw Zhou Hongye.

Zhou Hongye, carrying his pack, smiled at Bao Li. “How could I take two women anywhere? I know my own limits. If I tried, we’d all die. So I stayed nearby, and when the noise here quieted down, I came over.”

He glanced at Chen Diwen and Bear, still wearing a sincere smile. “My father told me that if you abandon your lifesaver in the business world, you’ll never make friends again!”

“Alright, let’s go together!” Bao Li patted Zhou Hongye’s shoulder, nodded, and smiled.

“We’ll go too!” Yu Hongxiu and Wu Lanqian said in unison.

“Fine, everyone goes!”

Deliberately, everyone looked at Chen Diwen.

Facing their gazes, Chen Diwen remained calm and said quietly, “Alright, we’ll look for Chen Cao. Completing the mission doesn’t matter; we must find him.”

“I don’t think you need to look anymore!” At that moment, a rustling came from the jungle. Two well-camouflaged special forces soldiers emerged, carrying a stretcher.

The speaker was the one in front: Guo Qianshuang, now in full military gear, her face painted for camouflage.

“Chen Cao!” Seeing the person resting on the stretcher, it was none other than Chen Cao.

“Hey, everyone’s here! What a crowd!” Chen Cao waved at them with a smile from the stretcher.

“Brother Chen!” Everyone except Chen Diwen and Bear rushed forward.

“Brother Chen, your leg…” Yu Hongxiu saw the thick white bandages on Chen Cao’s leg and couldn’t help but tear up.

“It’s nothing. I just fell into a pit while running, haha…” Chen Cao chuckled, patting Yu Hongxiu’s head.

Zhou Hongye asked, “Brother, where did those two leopards go? How did you escape?”

“I kept running and dropped meat as I went, then fell into a pit. Turns out the instructors were hiding all around, so they rescued me. That’s all!”

Everyone responded with an “oh” and looked toward Guo Qianshuang and the instructors.

“What are you staring at? Assemble!” Guo Qianshuang commanded the group of youngsters.

By now, everyone had learned their lesson. Knowing this beautiful woman was no pushover, they quickly lined up on the grass, except for Chen Cao, whose injured leg kept him out of formation.

“Well, due to unforeseen circumstances, your wilderness survival training ends here.” Guo Qianshuang took a green folder from her pack and addressed the line of rookies, chest out, “Now, I’ll begin the evaluations!”

Hearing “evaluation,” the rookies, who had just relaxed after surviving the ordeal, immediately tensed up.

Guo Qianshuang opened the folder and looked at Chen Diwen. “Chen Diwen, after our days of covert observation, we found your leadership to be organized and your military qualities and wisdom to truly display the authority of a commander. However, your reckless actions led to the team’s dispersal. Since this was your first time commanding, your achievements offset your mistakes. Your score remains unchanged.”

“Yes!” Chen Diwen smiled slightly; this outcome was already quite good.

Yu Hongxiu and Wu Lanqian contributed little to the team; their scores remain unchanged.

“Yes,” Yu Hongxiu sniffled as she spoke.

Zhou Hongye did well in logistics support, plus one point. Bear showed excellent military qualities in the field, plus one point. As for Bao Li, you refused to follow orders at a critical moment. If we hadn’t intervened, you would’ve split the team. Chen Diwen’s decision to prioritize the greater good was correct, so you lose a point. However, considering your care for Chen Cao, you should continue to improve. Any objections?

Bao Li smiled faintly. In his mind, as long as he could continue to study at the academy, losing points didn’t matter.

As for Chen Cao, Guo Qianshuang looked at him with narrowed eyes. “You’ll recover at school for now. No evaluation.”

“What? Instructor, I’m seriously injured, you see?” Chen Cao lifted his leg with effort. “This qualifies as a second-degree disability! I’m not fit for special forces; I should be transferred to logistics to raise pigs!”

Such words, devoid of any sense of honor, made everyone roll their eyes, Guo Qianshuang included. She replied, “Whether you raise pigs isn’t your decision; that’s up to the school!” Then she turned to the others. “Dismissed! Return to school!”

“Hey, hey, this is a violation of human rights!” Chen Cao shouted from the stretcher, waving his fists.

“Alright, Brother Chen, stop yelling. I really don’t get it—so many sons of famous generals want to join unit 0611, and you’re so against it!” Zhou Hongye walked up to the stretcher, blinking.

“Ah, brother, I’m not cut out for the military. To be honest, I was forced here. Just a few days ago, I was chatting up girls at a bar! Look at this godforsaken place—how is it my scene?” Chen Cao sighed, prompting another eye roll from Zhou Hongye, who had intended to persuade him.

Bao Li said, “Chen Cao, don’t you want to make your mark here, become a professional soldier, fight on the battlefield, or improve yourself? That’s far better than chasing pleasure. Look at everyone here; they’re all sons of military families, all aiming to inherit their fathers’ legacy. Don’t you have any passion?”

If he hadn’t seen it himself, it would be hard to believe these words came from Bao Li, who was a year younger.

Chen Cao was momentarily stunned, then quickly replied, “Ah, brother, I’m just hopeless. I’m really not suited for the military!”

Zhou Hongye, impressed by Chen Cao’s move to lure the leopards away, wanted to say something, but Chen Cao promptly lay back. “Guys, I’m a serious patient. Just treat me as a fart and let me go!”

Meanwhile, walking beside the group, Guo Qianshuang had another thought: “This guy, letting you go is impossible. To kill two adult leopards with a single dagger, without any help—that’s something even I can’t guarantee. He’s truly formidable!”

…

Three days later, on the school’s athletic field, all students and instructors were present except for the fifth-year students on duty.

In the principal’s office, Cao Fox carefully straightened the collar of his uniform in front of the mirror. He suddenly noticed a few strands of white in his neatly combed hair.

A stack of evaluation reports lay on the desk.

He sighed, and spoke to his reflection, “Seems I really am getting old. I should retire from this stage. I wonder if Chen Cao can be forged into steel under my guidance. That would finally give an answer to my departed sister, and let Chen Fusheng and Chen Fugui—the arrogant brothers—see that a child of the Cao family will always bear the name Cao.”

Flame King 13—Flame King Full Free Reading—Chapter Thirteen: Divergence [Seeking to be Favorited] Updated!

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