Chapter 1

Hua District, an antique-style mansion.

It was late autumn, and the leaves around the courtyard had fallen, leaving the trees bare. However, the high walls of the mansion, coupled with the sentries patrolling outside the gate, still exuded an indescribable sense of solemnity.

Around ten o'clock in the morning, several military vehicles pulled up in front of the vermilion gate of the mansion. A burly young man with a crew cut stepped out of one of the vehicles.

The young man was about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, wearing a loose-fitting tracksuit and carrying a simple travel bag on his back, looking travel-worn as he walked towards the courtyard.

"Snap!"

The guards standing outside the gate saw the young man and raised their hands in salute.

"Creak—"

At the same time, the courtyard gate was pulled open, and a mild-mannered middle-aged man walked out of the mansion to personally greet the crew-cut young man.

The crew-cut young man saw him and greeted him politely, "Uncle Feng!"

Uncle Feng smiled and said to him, "You're back? It must have been a tiring journey?"

This middle-aged man was the manager here, having worked for more than a decade. He took care of all the internal affairs of the courtyard, big and small.

The crew-cut young man waved his hand and said, "It's okay, I came back on our military's special plane. I slept the whole way, so I didn't feel tired."

"Young people have good health." Uncle Feng pointed to the courtyard and said, "But first, find a room to rest for a while. The old man is in a conference call right now and will probably be busy for a while. But the kitchen has prepared a meal, and the old man specifically instructed you to stay for dinner together."

"Perfect, I'll take a shower first." The crew-cut young man tugged at his clothes and said, "I rushed back as soon as I got the call. I've been traveling all this time, and I'm all sweaty."

"Okay, I'll take you to your room to rest." Uncle Feng nodded and led the crew-cut young man into the courtyard.

...

Nearly an hour later, Qin Yu was sitting in his study, having just finished a conference call. He was wearing cloth clothes and shoes, with a gentle demeanor. Apart from being relatively burly, he looked no different from an ordinary old man.

Uncle Feng stepped forward, skillfully took the Zisha teapot, poured a cup of fresh tea for Qin Yu, and said, "Commander, Xiao Yuan has arrived and is waiting in his room."

Although Qin Yu had retired to the second line, Uncle Feng still addressed him by his original position.

Qin Yu immediately said, "Hehe, quickly call that kid in."

"Yes." Uncle Feng gently put down the Zisha teapot, turned, and left the study.

Qin Yu slowly got up, stretched his muscles, and then walked to the center of the study. A large map was spread on the floor, a detailed military map of the Lao Mo region based on The Dragon City Rises, with very detailed recorded data.

Qin Yu put his hands behind his back, stepped barefoot onto the map, and looked down at it, seemingly pondering something.

A few minutes later, Uncle Feng walked in with Xiao Yuan, who had changed into clean clothes.

Seeing Qin Yu looking down at the map, the crew-cut Xiao Yuan stepped forward and immediately called out, "Godfather!"

"You're back?"

Qin Yu looked up at him, waved his hand, and said, "Come, come, take off your shoes and come up."

At this time, Qin Yu was wearing reading glasses. Although he was still very hale and hearty, he still showed some signs of old age at this age.

Xiao Yuan nodded, neatly took off his shoes, and walked barefoot onto the map.

Qin Yu sat down on the ground with his legs crossed, smiling and asking with concern, "Was the journey smooth?"

"It was smooth. I came back on our transport plane." Xiao Yuan sat opposite Qin Yu and casually asked, "Godfather, what are you studying?"

Qin Yu couldn't help but sigh, "Studying a heartache."

As he spoke, Qin Yu slowly reached out and gently pointed to the location of The Dragon City Rises beside him: "This place has been giving me a bit of a headache lately."

As soon as Xiao Yuan heard this topic, his eyes lit up and he echoed, "Yes, the First District has mobilized warships and they have already set sail. I estimate that the situation will soon become more severe..."

"Yes."

Qin Yu, wearing his reading glasses, stared at The Dragon City Rises and said with mixed feelings, "The people in this place are having a hard time. Charging at the enemy from within your own trenches and firing a gun in the enemy's lair are completely different situations."

Xiao Yuan thought for a moment, pointed to The Dragon City Rises and said, "I think, from a military point of view, the main problem here lies with the local garrison..."

The two of them sat on the map and began to talk softly.

...

Time passed quickly. Around one o'clock in the afternoon, several more military vehicles parked outside the gate of the residence.

Jiang Zhou, along with Su Tianyu, had traveled day and night to Yanbei and arrived at the Qin residence with a special escort.

At this time, Su Tianyu was still too weak and could only travel in a wheelchair. In fact, the doctor didn't recommend him to travel at all, but there was no other way. The situation in The Dragon City Rises was too critical, and time was of the essence.

Therefore, Su Tianyu had been rushing here with Jiang Zhou ever since he finished his injections and check-ups last night, almost without stopping.

The group pushed the wheelchair through layers of courtyard gates and arrived in the living room.

After receiving the news of their arrival, Qin Yu and Xiao Yuan had already moved to the living room to wait. There was no one else in the huge hall except for them two and Uncle Feng.

As soon as he entered the room, Jiang Zhou immediately shouted at Qin Yu, "Dad!"

Su Tianyu, in the wheelchair, felt a burst of emotion in his heart when he heard this "Dad," feeling that he hadn't called this older brother for nothing all these years!!

Although Su Tianyu had roughly guessed Jiang Zhou's identity through various channels before heading to Hua District, he still couldn't help but get goosebumps when he heard this "Dad."

How to describe that feeling? In two words... secure!

With big brother around, everything feels secure!

Jiang Zhou turned his head and saw the crew-cut young man beside his father, his eyes lighting up: "Brother Yuan is here too."

Xiao Yuan stood up and nodded to them: "Little brother, you're back too!"

The Qin family had three children, two sons and a daughter, in addition to two adopted siblings! Five in total!

After the two brothers exchanged greetings, Jiang Zhou pointed to the disabled person in the wheelchair and formally introduced him: "Dad, Brother Yuan, this is Su Tianyu from The Dragon City Rises."

Qin Yu's gaze fell on Su Tianyu, and he walked over, taking the initiative to extend his large palm: "Little Su, I've heard about you for a long time. It hasn't been easy for you..."

As he spoke, he looked Su Tianyu up and down and couldn't help but praise, "A promising young man!"

Su Tianyu's body was weak, and he supported himself on the armrest of the wheelchair, trying to get up.

"Sit, sit!" Qin Yu slightly pressed down his palm: "There are no outsiders here, just relax."

Hearing this, Su Tianyu still insisted on standing up and gave Qin Yu a formal military salute, saying in a sonorous voice, "Su Tianyu, Deputy Commander of the The Dragon City Rises People's Army, reporting to you!"

"Hello."

Hearing this, Qin Yu also shook hands with Su Tianyu solemnly and then said, "Sit down."

This almost exhausted all of Su Tianyu's strength, and he sat weakly in the wheelchair.

At this moment, Uncle Feng, who was standing to the side, stepped forward and asked softly, "Shall we serve the dishes, Commander?"

Qin Yu said happily, "Serve them up, and let's have a drink!"