Chapter 69 Serving the Country

With a click, the iron door opened, and General Chang stood on the threshold. Behind him were two doctors in white lab coats, carrying medical kits. Without waiting for General Chang's order, they walked over to the two men in black and began examining their injuries.

General Chang looked at the two injured men, his expression placid and unreadable—neither pleased nor angry, concealing whatever thoughts were passing through his mind. After the doctors had carried the two men out, General Chang finally spoke: "It seems you are still in one piece. Come with me, we need to have a proper talk."

Zhuo Nan cursed inwardly, *That son of a bitch only wants to talk after a beating. Why didn't you say that before?*

Suppressing the throbbing pain in his left shoulder, Zhuo Nan followed General Chang through another door into a different room. Two soldiers stood guard beside a suit of steel armor. General Chang pointed at the armor and said to Zhuo Nan, "Put it on."

Zhuo Nan stared blankly at the metal suit, thinking, *You aren't trying to make me Iron Man, are you?* He wanted to refuse, but seeing General Chang's expression, he reconsidered. Since he was injured, trying to fight his way out now was suicide. He would just have to swallow his pride for the moment. Once he recovered, he'd see if this man dared to use that tone with him again.

Zhuo Nan walked over to the armor. The two soldiers standing nearby opened the suit and began helping him strap it on. The design of the armor was not ancient; rather, it closely resembled a modern robotic exoskeleton.

Wearing the armor felt extremely awkward, and more importantly, it was immensely heavy. Just lifting his legs to take a step required significant effort, let alone fighting in it. Clearly, this suit was not designed for combat; instead, it seemed meant to restrain him.

If only his super brain hadn't been temporarily unable to scan others, he wouldn't have allowed himself to be pushed around so easily.

Once suited up, General Chang led Zhuo Nan to yet another room, which resembled a reception area complete with a sofa and coffee table. Zhuo Nan, however, was in a miserable position; encumbered by the armor, he couldn't sit down at all and had to stand awkwardly while General Chang lounged on the sofa and spoke to him. The feeling deeply irritated Zhuo Nan.

General Chang pulled a pack of white cigarettes from his pocket and tapped one against the other in front of Zhuo Nan. Zhuo Nan nodded, and General Chang pulled one out, handed it to him, and flicked his lighter to spark it. Zhuo Nan took a drag, finding the tobacco rich, mellow, and deeply satisfying. Smiling, he remarked, "Good smoke. What brand is this?"

General Chang lit one for himself and chuckled, "Special supply..."

Zhuo Nan nodded, understanding. He took another deep, appreciative drag. General Chang watched him with a faint shake of his head, reached out to toss a thick file onto the coffee table, and without looking at Zhuo Nan, said coldly, "Let's keep this brief. Zhuo Nan, age 15, native of Deqing, K Province. Enrolled in Deqing No. 1 High School this summer. Owner of an entertainment company, an internet company, and an investment company. The underground boss of Deqing, though to outsiders, you are merely a middle school student. You have two girlfriends: Lan Qian, daughter of Deqing Municipal Party Committee Secretary Lan Zhenghao, and another named Fu Xinxin."

Throughout this revelation, Zhuo Nan remained completely calm, standing there smoking as if the details concerned a total stranger. Inwardly, however, he was cursing the bastards of the Ministry of State Security from head to toe. He wasn't surprised that State Security had uncovered his background; what pissed him off was having absolute zero privacy in front of these ghouls.

Seeing Zhuo Nan's reaction, General Chang knew the boy was silently acknowledging the facts. What puzzled him, though, was why Zhuo Nan remained so unperturbed. Ordinarily, someone in his position should have been utterly shocked.

Waiting for Zhuo Nan to speak first, General Chang found the kid far too relaxed. With no other choice, he continued, "Zhuo Nan, let me introduce myself. My name is Chang Xiong, leader of the Ministry of State Security's Special Operations Group—what the outside world calls the Dragon Team. Our unit was originally designated as 206, as you likely already know, and received its official designation after the reorganization in '84. I brought you here because I want you to join our Special Operations Group and serve your country."

***

Chang Xiong delivered his pitch in one breath and waited for Zhuo Nan's reply. A corner of Zhuo Nan's mouth curled into a smile; Chang Xiong's objective was exactly as he had guessed—nothing more than recruiting him to work for the state.

Flicking away his cigarette butt, Zhuo Nan said playfully, "Unit 206 is full of top-tier martial artists. What kind of service can a kid like me offer the country?"

Expecting this response, Chang Xiong smiled and said, "Zhuo Nan, don't sell yourself short. The two operatives who fought you just now are among the finest in our Special Operations Group, yet even fighting together, they only managed a draw with you."

Zhuo Nan blinked, skeptical of Chang Xiong's claim. "Impossible, surely? Rumor has it that the Dragon Team consists entirely of people with superhuman skills and special abilities."

A trace of a smile crossed Chang Xiong's face as he pulled out another cigarette, handed it to Zhuo Nan, and continued, "I'll be honest with you. When Unit 206 was founded, it indeed had 206 members—190 masters of ancient martial arts and 16 espers. But fifty years have passed. Those people have died, been wounded, or defected. For instance, Pei Zhenhai, locked away in the military prison, is a defector."

Zhuo Nan quickly interrupted, "His senior martial brother was the real defector..."

Chang Xiong paused, then chuckled, "It seems you spent just one day inside and already became fast friends with him." He went on, "Indeed, his senior brother was a defector as well. Later on, we considered mobilizing ancient martial artists to capture him again, but we never succeeded. That fellow went completely into hiding, vanishing as if he'd evaporated, with not a trace of news for decades."

Realizing he had strayed off topic, Chang Xiong redirected, "Due to the severe loss of ancient martial arts traditions, the number of genuine martial arts masters left in this world can be counted on one hand, and younger ones are rarer than phoenix feathers and unicorn horns, let alone espers. Currently, our unit has only ten masters of ancient martial arts and one esper."

Zhuo Nan cared little for ancient martial arts, but the mention of espers instantly piqued his interest. He quickly asked, "Who is the esper? Introduce us."

Chang Xiong glanced at him. Suddenly, a fierce, fiery glint flashed in Chang Xiong's eyes. Zhuo Nan, weighed down by the four-hundred-pound suit of armor, inexplicably lifted off the ground and hovered in mid-air. Zhuo Nan gasped in shock. *Holy shit, so this Chang Xiong is the esper!* He immediately blurted out, "Alright, alright, put me down!"

Once he landed steadily on his feet, Zhuo Nan asked calmly, "Aside from controlling metal, can you control anything else?"

Chang Xiong was startled. How did Zhuo Nan know his ability was metal manipulation? He demanded, "How did you know this is metal manipulation?"

Zhuo Nan desperately wanted to say, *Big brother, I'm a futuristic warrior. Concepts like espers were beaten to death in 21st-century internet fiction long ago. Your metal manipulation is just entry-level. Other people can control electricity, summon fire, walk through walls to peep at girls, use X-ray vision, and race fighter jets in the sky. Your trick is small potatoes.*

"General Chang, the reason you made me wear this armor was so you could control me, wasn't it?" Zhuo Nan asked with a smile.

Chang Xiong didn't answer immediately; instead, he smiled and said, "You entered Unit 206 and walked out unharmed, which already proved your prowess. Those two just served as confirmation. Well then, are you interested in serving your country?"

Zhuo Nan offered a forced smile. "General Chang, if I refuse, does that mean I'll never leave this place, and my businesses will be promptly confiscated by the state?"

***

General Chang chuckled. "Since you already know..."

Zhuo Nan nodded thoughtfully and said, "I find it strange. There are four martial arts masters locked away in Unit 206; why didn't you ask them to step up instead of coming after me? Shangguan Lingfeng may be a woman, but her martial arts are formidable. Lei Tian's mechanical arm can unleash immense destructive power instantly, not to mention Mad Monkey or senior Pei..." At this point, he deliberately refrained from revealing that old Pei was his grandfather.

Chang Xiong waved a hand dismissively. "True, all four of them are immensely powerful. However, for various reasons, they are either unwilling or unable to serve the country. Do you really think that broken prison could hold them? They simply chose not to leave. Compared to them, you are younger, have greater potential, and the nation needs talents like you."

This was a classic carrot-and-stick approach: first threatening to confiscate his assets, then praising him as a talent and urging him to serve the motherland.

From the bottom of his heart, Zhuo Nan felt no aversion to serving his country; on the contrary, it would be an honor. What he refused to do, however, was to become a shadow agent kept hidden away or reduced to a mere tool.

"General Chang, spare me the honeyed words. Let someone who can actually call the shots come and talk to me..." Zhuo Nan said indifferently. To Chang Xiong's ears, however, this sounded utterly audacious—where on earth did the kid get the confidence that the supreme commander would grant him an audience?

"Zhuo Nan, don't toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit," Chang Xiong warned, staring intently at him with cold eyes.

Zhuo Nan chuckled. "General Chang, dressing me up like this isn't just about showing off your esper ability, is it? More importantly, it's to restrict my movements so I can't launch a sudden attack, thereby ensuring the safety of whoever is going to meet me."

Zhuo Nan's words felt like tearing away General Chang's fig leaf, bringing a flash of awkwardness to the general's face. But as a seasoned veteran, Chang Xiong quickly recovered his placid composure. He said calmly, "Wait here for a moment. I'll be right back."

With that, he stood up from the sofa and headed toward the door. At that moment, Zhuo Nan called out to him, "General Chang, do me a favor and bring me some paper and a pen. I need to write something down."

Chang Xiong paused slightly. *Is this kid about to write a confession or a pledge of allegiance?* Still, he reached into a cabinet by the wall, handed a notepad and pen to Zhuo Nan, gave him a final look, and walked out of the room.

Left alone in the room, Zhuo Nan looked at the paper and pen, then surveyed his surroundings with a helpless shake of his head. With no other choice, he pressed the paper against the wall, raised the pen, and began to write.