Chapter Seventy-Eight: Truth and Falsehood

“Oh, is that so? Then you’re here to help me. Are you also a natural-born psychic?” Chen Cao tried to focus, hoping to extract more information from this person.

“Psychic powers? Heh, those are just innate gifts—the key lies in training!” In the darkness, the man shifted, apparently sitting down, and began to speak at length: “No matter how much a soldier is trained, if he has never seen war, he’s not a true warrior. But you, you’ve just experienced it. Still, this was only the beginning—you need more tempering. Chen Cao, you are a masterpiece, a perfect work of art. It’s just that Old Duan Tianya didn’t know how to sculpt you!”

A work of art? A masterpiece of war? Chen Cao gave a cold laugh. “But what I want to know is, Guo Qianshuang is a woman of deep conviction. How did you make her betray us?”

“Guo Qianshuang? Betray? She never betrayed anyone—I simply found someone who resembled her. Are you familiar with disguise techniques? Ha!” The man in the darkness sounded quite pleased with himself. “Chen Cao, you really are quite inexperienced. I suppose your uncles never taught you these tricks, did they? What a pity. Still, it’s fine—you can learn from me in time.”

“What makes you so sure I’ll follow you, or work for you at all?” Reclining in the small room, Chen Cao shifted his body and spoke coldly, “Since you were trained by the Academy, you should know the code they set for students, and the principles of the Grand Dawn Republic’s soldiers!”

“Of course,” the man replied from the darkness. “It’s a foolish rule, but it’s also the Grand Dawn Republic Army’s secret to victory—when there are no weapons, fighting spirit and will are paramount. But don’t forget, the Army has a weakness: emotion.”

“Emotion?” Chen Cao blurted out, unable to help himself.

“Yes. Don’t forget, Bear is badly wounded. Don’t forget what Chen Diwen said before he died—he entrusted them to you. And you, Chen Cao, with your IQ of two hundred—your intellect far surpasses your emotional quotient. You wouldn’t just abandon your comrades, would you?”

“You... despicable!” Chen Cao clenched his fists in anger.

“All right, my hero, there’s no need to try contacting your Academy. Before you were even brought here by plane, your school suffered a great upheaval. You and your squad have been branded traitors to the Grand Dawn Republic. Now the entire intelligence network is hunting you. You have no way out—your only choice is to work with me!” The voice in the darkness sounded both consoling and mocking.

“Upheaval? What kind of upheaval?” Chen Cao asked.

“That, you’ll learn in time. For now, there’s an urgent task for you.”

“So after all this, you just want to use me as a tool to accomplish your mission,” Chen Cao thought to himself. Aloud, he said, “Fine. I’ll agree, as long as you treat Bear first.”

“Of course. That goes without saying.” The voice in the darkness became noticeably softer.

“But you must also agree to one thing,” Chen Cao paused.

“Oh?” The man in the darkness leaned forward.

With a snap, Chen Cao reached through the iron bars of the small room, and—guided only by his sense in the darkness—grabbed the man’s throat. With a slight squeeze, he could hear the crunch of vertebrae.

The thing I want you to agree to is for you to die! Chen Cao said coldly and squeezed hard.

He heard the man in the darkness choke out a gurgling noise, and then fall silent.

Did you think such cheap tricks could hold me? Chen Cao reached out through the bars, groped along the man’s body, and quickly found a piece of metal. It wasn’t a key, but for Chen Cao, it was enough to open the lock. He felt for the padlock, and with a click, it popped open. For him, it was almost too easy.

When he first woke up, he knew there must be a guard by the door. If he made a move, the guard would be alert. But if they were talking inside, it was different—the guard would leave, making it easier to deal with one person. Lock-picking was part of his special training, and during the conversation, he’d also used a hypnotic technique taught to him by Linghu Ruomu.

Still, if this person had received special training as a psychic like himself, he wouldn’t have been subdued so easily. Clearly, this was no leader. Chen Cao instantly realized—whoever could make Qiu Yu betray the Grand Dawn Republic was no ordinary person. This man was far too weak.

Chen Cao quietly pushed open the iron gate, slipped out, and hid by the wall in the darkness. He tapped lightly on the wall—a faint sound, but he was sure the guard outside would hear.

Sure enough, with a creak, the guard pushed the door open and entered.

Chen Cao lunged, leaped up, and grabbed the guard’s throat. With a twist, he heard a muffled crack, and the guard slumped down.

A falling body would make noise; Chen Cao wouldn’t let that happen. He caught the man, propped him gently against the wall.

Light now streamed in from outside, revealing the room. There was nothing inside, save the man he’d just knocked down, sprawled limply on the floor. On his belt was a communicator.

“Damn, this thing again!” Chen Cao recalled Sebastian’s double in Audru.

He knew he’d soon be discovered. Quickly, he searched the guard, finding two grenades, an assault rifle, and a military knife, then slipped out the door.

But as soon as he stepped outside into the blinding sunlight, he heard the sound of weapons being readied. There was Qiu Yu, with his centipede-scarred face, and a squad of guards behind him.

Qiu Yu kept his hands behind his back and said coldly, “Chen Cao, there’s no escape. Give up now. The reform of the Grand Dawn Republic Army is inevitable!”

“Just now, you tried to half-threaten, half-entice me into brainwashing—or maybe you just wanted to see what I was capable of.” Chen Cao held the assault rifle, a sly smile appearing on his face.

“Don’t forget—you still have people in my hands,” Qiu Yu said, unmoving.

“Since I’m in your hands, I doubt they’re still alive. Because I won’t do anything for you—even if I’m branded a traitor, I’ll never work for you.” Chen Cao set down the assault rifle, pulled out the two grenades, and pressed down the pins.

The atmosphere grew tense; Chen Cao could see the soldiers behind Qiu Yu trembling slightly. He smiled, relieved. “I don’t know how many spies you’ve planted around me, but one thing’s for sure: a soldier without belief or a nation is a soul with no master.” As he spoke, he moved forward, holding the two grenades towards Qiu Yu. “I’m confident that before I die, I can blow you to pieces. Do you believe me?”

“Go ahead, then! I’ve long wanted to test the results of your years of training. Come on!” Qiu Yu’s hands remained behind his back as he shouted, “Ready, aim!”

The moment Qiu Yu gave the order, Chen Cao suddenly sprang up, leaping over the armed guards and heading straight for Qiu Yu.

“Hmph, childish tricks!” Qiu Yu snorted, swiftly retreating several meters as Chen Cao smiled slightly in midair. With a click, he popped the safety off a grenade, swung it forcefully—its arc landing precisely where Qiu Yu had stopped, just as he’d calculated.

As Qiu Yu stepped back, his foot landed squarely on the grenade. He started, and then there was a sudden thud and a faint rumble beneath his feet.

Landing lightly, Chen Cao smiled as blue smoke billowed up from beneath Qiu Yu, staining his once-pristine camouflage, even tinting the serpentine scar on his face a deep blue, making him look oddly comical.

The soldiers behind Qiu Yu didn’t open fire; some of them even burst out laughing.

“Chen Cao!” It was Bear’s voice, strong and full, showing no sign of injury. Chen Cao looked over—there were only a few new bruises on Bear’s face, and behind him, Bao Li, Xiao Li, and Zhou Hongye all wore similar marks, but now their faces were bright.

“I knew it—there’s no way the elite of the Grand Dawn Republic could be infiltrated so easily!” Chen Cao got up, dusting off his face as he spoke—because he saw Duan Tianya, supported by Guo Qianshuang, slowly emerging from the forest.

“Boss Chen! You didn’t confess, did you?” Bear gave Chen Cao a shove, and somewhere along the way had started calling him boss.

“Screw you! You’re the traitor!” Chen Cao shot back, then hugged Bear tightly. He had to admit, that was a close call—if it had been real, his life would have ended right there.

Bear scratched his head and grinned broadly.

Duan Tianya looked at these young soldiers—the future of the Academy—with no expression, but walked straight over to Qiu Yu and said, “Old Qiu, you really worked hard.”

Qiu Yu’s face remained blank as he wiped the blue gunk from his uniform. “Don’t ever give me this kind of job again!” he said, then waved at the remaining soldiers. “You two useless lumps—get up! Still lying there?”

At his shout, the two soldiers who’d been in the small room came running out, clutching their necks and complaining, “Thank god we had neck guards and kept alert, or we’d have been done for!”

Qiu Yu shot Chen Cao a final cold glance, then led the soldiers into the forest. Soon, the roar of engines echoed from the woods as they drove away.

Flame King 78 – End of Chapter Seventy-Eight: Truth or Deception.