Strongest Soldier King

At dusk, there was still no news of Tang Tian, but the General returned hastily, accompanied by his son. Luo Zheng led a group to greet them. General Liu's son exchanged a few polite words with Luo Zheng before hurrying upstairs. Luo Zheng knew he needed to handle family affairs — a wife's infidelity is something no man can tolerate. With a sympathetic smile, Luo Zheng introduced everyone to the General.

After the introductions, the celebration feast was set, and everyone indulged in eating and drinking. The General's return home signified the successful completion of the mission. Luo Zheng didn't see the General's son or other family members come out, and didn't mind, he fooled around with the others for a while, saw the General gave him a certain look, and got up to walk to the study, Luo Zheng understood the look and gestured to Lan Xue to follow.

Upon entering the study, closing the door, Luo Zheng saw the General leaning exhaustedly on a recliner, and sat down nearby, softly asking, "General, the brothers will be leaving soon, do you have any other instructions?"

"Thanks to you this time, I won't say more words of gratitude. I'm calling you over to hear your opinion about Liu Qingqing, feel free to express yourself." General Liu said somewhat tiredly.

"There's a matter I haven't had the chance to report to you yet." Luo Zheng spoke, recounting Liu Qingqing's case analysis and how she almost found Tang Tian, finally adding, "I can feel she has a talent for combat, and will be an excellent intelligence analyst in the future."

As a General, Liu knew well the importance of intelligence analysts. He looked at Luo Zheng in some surprise, not expecting such a response, and fell deep in thought. Luo Zheng did not disturb him, and after a while, Liu marveled, saying, "Your analysis is very objective and fair. It seems I don't know Qingqing as well as you do. I know a bit about your situation, if she joins you, can she be assigned to your squad? I don't trust others, but with you, I feel assured."

"This?" Luo Zheng responded with a wry smile, "General, I'm just a soldier, how can I have that authority?"

"Perhaps it's better to ask if you are willing to have her in your squad?" General Liu explained.

"I personally have no issue, having her around could save a lot of effort. But our team situation, as you should understand, is not open to just anyone. Obviously, her political review passed, but her skills aren't enough yet, requiring several years of training, by then I might not be around anymore." Luo Zheng smiled wryly.

"I've noted your attitude, and I have a clear idea of the rest. Alright, go busy yourself, I want to rest for a while. Once they're full and satisfied, you can withdraw first; Shi Tao and the others will stay behind for security. Don't worry, your mission is officially over, go on." Liu General remarked, closing his eyes slightly.

Luo Zheng responded affirmatively and gently left, closing the door and arriving into the living room. Seeing Lan Xue's inquisitive gaze, he nodded to imply everything was fine, and after eating some more, everyone dispersed, leaving the bustling scene suddenly quiet.

"Let's go too." Lan Xue suggested, seeing everyone had already left.

Everyone prepared for departure. Liu Qingqing came down, looked at Luo Zheng without speaking. Luo Zheng guessed Liu Qingqing wanted to ask about joining the team, so he nodded in understanding, giving her a reassuring look. Liu Qingqing smiled knowingly, nodded, and went upstairs. Throughout the exchange, neither spoke a word, but both understood each other's intent.

"What kind of riddle are you playing at?" Ghost Hand asked curiously.

"I'll tell you later." Luo Zheng whispered, giving Lan Xue a glance, who nodded knowingly, and everyone headed outside, getting into their respective vehicles.

Luo Zheng got into Lan Xue's car, saw Hong Meihua approaching, gestured to Lan Xue not to start the car yet. Hong Meihua came to the window, whispered, "I have avenged my great enemy, and fulfilled my wish, thank you again." Then she turned and went to her own car, quickly starting it and drove away.

"This is her hinting that she's willing to fight alongside us," Lan Xue said excitedly looking at Luo Zheng, "We must plan this quickly, others have snatched up all the talents, I need to visit grandpa tomorrow, inform him of our choice, and get him to prepare more personnel for us."

"Sure, that works." Luo Zheng replied with a smile, "If we could bring Tiger King over, that would be great, Tiger Girl is also good, young but skilled in knife techniques, mature and sensible, highly covert, ideal for assassination."

"She probably can't yet, needs three years of rigorous training to familiarize with modern special warfare skills and theories. Tiger King wouldn't agree to let her on the front lines so early, but recruiting Tiger King is right." Lan Xue laughed, "Where are you going? Back home?"

"Where else could it be? Hotel?" Luo Zheng retorted, with a hint of humor.

Lan Xue was momentarily stunned, then realized, her face flushed with embarrassment, and coquettishly said, "You've learned to be cheeky, go home and accompany your parents." Yet inside, she felt joyous, as she started the car, driving forward.

On the way, the two chatted about the integration matter when suddenly, the phone rang, Lan Xue took out her phone, quickly pulled over and answered, "Grandfather, are you looking for me?"

After listening for a while, Lan Xue agreed and hung up the call, resumed driving, and said to Luo Zheng, "Grandfather wants to meet, there's urgent business, we should go."

"Great, and talk about the integration matter too." Luo Zheng responded.

After ten minutes or so, the car arrived at the gate of a certain military restricted courtyard. The two rushed out of the car, entered the courtyard living room, and saw Mr. Li pouring and drinking by himself. They quickly walked forward, Lan Xue affectionately called out, "Grandfather, it's so late, aren't you sleeping? That's harmful to your health."

"You've come? Sit down." Mr. Li gestured for them to sit and talk.

Luo Zheng noticed Mr. Li seemed upset, knowing something must be wrong, he became alert. Meanwhile, Mr. Li continued, "This mission was accomplished beautifully, the organization is doing the final evaluation, once the results identify you qualified to become an elite soldier king squad, you'll be promoted, there's another matter to discuss."

The promotion evaluation is extremely stringent, Luo Zheng had heard about it. Not only involves political review but also military merit and personal combat ability, and personal combat ability isn't assessed at the training ground but analyzed through each battle encounter. Using a system for evaluation, for instance, how many shots taken to kill an enemy, where the hit location was, who was engaged in close combat, time spent fighting, etc. It's a comprehensive, all-encompassing data analysis and assessment, highly rigorous, nobody can find fault or pull strings, everything speaks through facts and data.

"What is it?" Lan Xue asked in surprise.