Chapter 270 - 12: News of Brother Hao, Golden Stone Dark Bead

"Junior Brother Lu!"

"Senior Brother Zheng!"

That day at noon, at the port.

Lu Chao picked up Zheng Wu.

The two martial brothers finally reunited after a long separation, their faces beaming with smiles.

"I heard the situation in Red Maple is complicated and you’re swamped with work. I must be troubling you today."

Zheng Wu said apologetically after they shared a hug.

He knew that Lu Chao was now a Superpower Captain and must be very busy.

"Don’t say that, Senior Brother."

"If it weren’t for your guidance back then, I wouldn’t be where I am today."

Lu Chao smiled and patted his shoulder.

He had received a message from him several days ago, which was why he had come here early to wait.

As the two exchanged pleasantries, Chen Xiao and Fang Xu greeted him as Brother Zheng and helped with his luggage.

During this, Lu Chao’s gaze sharpened, and he quickly noticed a subtle change in Zheng Wu’s aura.

Carbon-Based Human

Life Energy: 71

"Congratulations, Senior Brother Zheng."

Lu Chao cupped his fist and smiled. Through his intuition, he confirmed that Zheng Wu had broken through to the Elite Level.

He wasn’t surprised. Zheng Wu had been at the peak of the Professional Level for a long time, so this breakthrough was the result of his sustained effort.

"I knew I couldn’t hide it from you."

Zheng Wu smiled humbly. "To be honest, it’s thanks to you for inspiring me back then. Otherwise, I’d still be stuck at the peak of the Professional Level."

The two looked at each other and smiled.

While chatting, the group left the port. Lu Chao had already arranged a hotel for his temporary stay, so he drove him there, and they had lunch together.

"How is Master?"

Lu Chao asked during the meal.

He thought of Luo Qianshan’s old injury, which had nearly flared up during the fight against Lei Wanjun.

"He’s okay, no major problems."

Zheng Wu put down his chopsticks and shook his head. "As for the old injury, Master has long since gotten used to it."

"As long as he doesn’t duel with anyone, it’s not a huge issue."

Despite his words, the atmosphere grew a little heavy.

As his disciples, they both naturally wanted to heal his injury, but unfortunately, they still hadn’t found a good solution.

"Oh, right."

Noticing the change in atmosphere, Zheng Wu quickly took a small red box and a letter from his inner pocket.

"Master asked me to give these to you. He said you’d definitely need them."

’Oh?’

Lu Chao’s gaze focused as he accepted them.

Luo Qianshan had always been traditional; compared to communicators, he preferred to correspond via letters written in ink.

The red wooden box was only fist-sized.

Thinking of the Thunder Pearl, Lu Chao already had a good idea of what was inside.

In the ensuing chat, he learned from Zheng Wu about the current situation in Ring City.

It was much better than before. The threats from both warlords and Rebels had greatly diminished, the punitive expedition teams had been disbanded, and access control to the wilderness was not as strict as it used to be.

"But..."

Zheng Wu raised an eyebrow, recalling a rumor. "I just happened to hear that after Lu Shan returned to his military fortress up the Red River, he’s been holed up and hasn’t come out. Plus, after suffering such heavy casualties before, a lot of his territory has been vacated."

"Because of this, several new small and medium-sized warlord factions have recently appeared in the Red River Region, like the "Tiger Flame Army," the "Crusader Army," and so on."

Though spoken idly, the words caught Lu Chao’s attention.

’Tiger Flame Army?’

A flicker crossed Lu Chao’s eyes as he subconsciously thought of a certain figure.

The man who had left the Rhombus Ring City Circle due to gang conflicts and ventured deep into the wilderness.

Tiger Flame Fist, the former Hall Master of the Hongyi Society.

’Could it be... that the Tiger Flame Army was founded by Brother Hao?’

He quickly asked a few more questions, but Zheng Wu didn’t know the details.

In the end, Lu Chao pushed aside his distracting thoughts for the moment and changed the subject, asking about Zheng Wu’s future plans.

"After this, I plan to pay a visit to Master Ge and find a temporary coaching job at the Storm Club."

Zheng Wu smiled and answered honestly, "Master said that since you haven’t been in Red Maple for long, you might not have enough support."

"He wants me to stay in Red Maple for a while, so if anything happens, I can help share the burden."

Slightly stunned, Lu Chao once again felt a warmth in his heart.

He hadn’t expected that even after he had left, his master, Luo Qianshan, was still thinking of him, planning for him in every way.

He nodded, making a mental note. He had to find a way to heal his master’s injury in the future, no matter the cost.

After finishing lunch and getting Zheng Wu settled, Lu Chao said his goodbyes.

The day passed quickly. He finished his business with the Fifth Squad and returned to his apartment in the evening.

CLICK!

The door closed, the curtains were drawn.

Lu Chao sat down at the desk in the corner of his bedroom and took out the two items he had gotten from Zheng Wu during the day.

First was the letter.

Lu Chao opened it, and familiar, ink-brushed characters came into view.

It wasn’t long, only a couple hundred words.

But Lu Chao’s brows furrowed slightly as he began to feel a hint of pressure.

"Just as I thought..."

’Perhaps it’s because I left some traces when I killed Lei Wanjun.’

’Master Luo probably has his suspicions about my identity.’

’The letter didn’t say so outright, or even ask about it, but he did mention the Biotechnology Company.’

’Ever since Lei Wanjun died, the Biotechnology Company has visited Master Luo multiple times to question him and even launched several investigations into the destruction of the Thunder Extreme Martial Arts Hall.’

’On top of that...’

’"A Superpower Level expert was spotted near the apartment building where I used to live, and they happened to clash with people from the Biotechnology Company who were staking it out."’

’"They were even being hunted with a bounty on their head, which drew a lot of attention."’

He knew Master Luo wouldn’t tell him this for no reason.

’This is clearly a subtle warning. The Biotechnology Company must be suspicious of me again. Otherwise, they wouldn’t risk offending Ji Lixian just to put me under surveillance.’