Chapter 413 - 203: Returning to Dongjiang, Mechanism Mission
Chapter 413: Chapter 203: Returning to Dongjiang, Mechanism Mission
[Host has reached the appropriate level and is facing a new challenge. A special mechanism mission has been issued!]
[Mission Objective: Defeat "Ye Wujiang".]
[Mission Rewards: 1,000,000 EXP, 7 Skill Points, Unlock New Mechanism: Command Reading!]
Lin Ye was stunned for a moment, then he felt a surge of excitement.
’A mechanism mission!’
Lin Ye already had a few guesses about the specific effects of "Command Reading."
For a moment, Lin Ye felt his resolve harden.
He slowly closed his eyes, pushing aside all distracting thoughts. He began to silently circulate the "Tai Xu Two Principles True Understanding" while visualizing the "Candlelight Illuminating the Nine Netherworld Map" in his mind to refine his Spiritual Power.
An unknown amount of time passed. When Lin Ye opened his eyes again, an announcement was playing over the train’s speakers, informing passengers that they were approaching the final destination: Dongjiang City.
He gazed out the window.
In the distance, the scattered lights of the city converged into a brilliant sea of light.
The expanse of lights gradually overlapped with the image in his memory, and a long-lost sense of familiarity washed over him.
A moment later, the train slowly came to a complete stop.
Lin Ye grabbed his luggage and followed the stream of people out of the station.
The cool night wind brushed against his face, carrying a unique scent.
He stood at the exit, his eyes searching through the bustling crowd waiting to greet arrivals.
Soon, he spotted two faces in the crowd that were incredibly familiar and deeply missed.
Li Wan’s eyes were a little red. She was standing on her tiptoes, looking around anxiously.
When she saw Lin Ye’s figure, her face instantly broke into a smile more radiant than ever before, and she waved her hand energetically.
Standing beside her, Lin Wei also broke into a happy smile and called out to him.
Lin Ye strode over, his voice raspy in a way he hadn’t even noticed himself.
"Mom, Sis."
"I’m home."
At that moment, seeing his family, all the exhaustion, anxiety, and pressure in Lin Ye’s heart were temporarily tossed to the back of his mind.
Those two words, "I’m home," said more than a thousand ever could.
Lin Wei rushed forward and, without a second thought, gave Lin Ye a tight hug.
She buried her head in the crook of Lin Ye’s shoulder, her muffled voice thick with emotion.
"Your sister missed you like crazy...!"
Letting go, Lin Wei took a step back, and with two fingers, habitually pinched Lin Ye’s cheek. It felt firmer than it had a month ago, making her unable to resist pinching a little harder.
"HISS..."
Lin Ye pretended it hurt, sucking in a sharp breath.
Only then did Lin Wei retract her hand, satisfied. She carefully looked Lin Ye over from head to toe, and when her gaze fell on his crisp military uniform and the epaulets with two bars and one star, her eyes instantly lit up.
"Little bro! You look so handsome in this uniform...!"
She didn’t hold back her praise, even circling around Lin Ye while clicking her tongue in amazement.
Li Wan also walked up then, the redness in her eyes not yet completely faded. She reached out, wanting to touch her son’s face, but then felt that Lin Ye was grown up now, and perhaps it wasn’t appropriate.
"Mm, you’ve gotten taller and sturdier."
His mother’s voice was gentle, with a faint, almost imperceptible tremor.
Just then, Lin Ye’s gaze went past the two of them and landed on a familiar figure behind them.
Chen Meng stood a short distance away. He hadn’t come forward, but his face was filled with genuine joy as he just watched him quietly.
Though they had only been apart for a little over a month, to Lin Ye, it felt like a long time.
He remembered how before he left for the selection, his teacher and Principal Wang Zhengguo had thumped their chests, promising they would take good care of his family.
A warmth surged up from the bottom of his heart, instantly dispelling all the fatigue from his journey.
He walked up to Chen Meng and said, "Mr. Chen."
Chen Meng grinned.
He didn’t say much, just reached out and very naturally brushed away some nonexistent dust from Lin Ye’s uniform.
Then he straightened the already-crisp collar of his uniform, his movements filled with a sense of earnestness.
After doing all this, he took half a step back, put his hands on his hips, and looked Lin Ye up and down again, his smile growing even brighter.
"Good kid!"
"Not bad, starting out as a major right off the bat!"
"You little bastard, your rank is already two levels higher than mine was before I retired! Does this mean I’ll have to salute you and call you ’Sir’ from now on?"
Lin Ye was amused by his words and quickly shook his head.
"Of course not, I wouldn’t dare. You’ll always be my teacher."
Chen Meng roared with laughter, clearly in extremely high spirits.
After the laughter died down, the expression on his face suddenly froze. His sharp eyes swept over Lin Ye as if trying to see right through him.
"You broke through?"
Lin Ye nodded, not hiding anything.
"Yes, I’ve reached the Gang Condensation Realm."
Even though he had already suspected it, Chen Meng couldn’t help but suck in a sharp breath.
"I knew I wasn’t wrong about you. Your rate of progress is monstrous, something I could never have imagined in my entire life."
"Back in the day, I prepared for a full three months just to break through to the Gang Condensation Realm, and I nearly crippled myself in the process."
He shook his head, his tone full of emotion, but more than that, it was filled with undisguised pride.
"Alright, this isn’t the place to talk."
"I’ll take you all home first. We can talk more later."
Outside Dongjiang Railway Station, the night breeze blew gently.
Chen Meng drove his beat-up old SUV and dropped the three of them off at the entrance to their apartment complex.
After getting out of the car, Lin Ye said to Chen Meng in the driver’s seat, "Mr. Chen, I’ll head back to school tomorrow for a visit."