Red Sparrow was taken aback as well.
“Xiao Qin, What brings you here? I thought you are back at Yan Jin with your family for the new year.”
“Well, I am General Chen’s coordinator. Chief General Li is looking for General Chen, so here I am.” Yu Qin covered her mouth to stifle a giggle while beaming from side to side.
The two girls did look very much alike, especially when they had the same haircut. It was difficult to tell one from the other at once.
Yu Qin ran toward Red Sparrow and held onto her arm.”Sister, you haven’t been home for so many years, Ma and Pa and everyone in the family misses you so much. They were very close to call Director Xiao and request your leave for you many times.”
“Humph! I am our nation’s super soldier and do not have as much time as you do. If I leave home, my department would suddenly be 20% weaker. There are more crazy people around during the new year and I need to be on duty all the time. Are you really that naive to think that everything is fine and dandy in our world? Without my department weeding out the bad guys from the underground world, those martial artists were going to wreak havoc in China. Plus, I don’t want to go home and see that man again.” Red Sparrow flung back at her sister. Her gaze grew soft as she spoke.
Chen Fan listened on.
From the two girl’s conversations, he learned that Red Sparrow’s name is Yu Nan and she was Yu Qin’s half-sister. She was from a military family in Yan Jin. Red Sparrow’s family discovered her gift since she was a young girl and sent her to the Special Case Departments. Since then, she rarely saw her family.
Li Wuchen came over to Chen Fan and greeted him with a broad smile.
“Congratulations General Chen.”
He reached out a large hand and shook Chen Fan’s hand vigorously while his face beamed from side to side.
“It’s a gratifying battle for us Chinese. After this battle, I wager the Japan Self-Defense Forces would never dare to poke around in our territory. The Japanese government is trying to reform its self-defense force, but the Americans are not going to let that happen. They would be in a very bad spot for the next decade at least. One of my comrades praised your ability and compared you to an entire division of soldiers!”
The divisions stationed at the Jinlin Military Region was mainly responsible for defending China against invading Japanese. Their rivals included the Japan Self-Defense Forces as well as the American’s pacific fleet.
Aside from Chen Fan, Li Wuchen was the biggest winner after Chen Fan’s victory. Pressure on his shoulders was suddenly relieved.
“Thank you for your praise, Chief General Li.”
Chen Fan cracked a smile.
“Uncle Li, don’t be so nice to him, he is already full of himself. He should know that without the support of the Chinese military, the Americans would have already captured him and kept him in one of their secret labs for experimentations.” Red Sparrow grunted.
Despite Chen Fan’s calm appearance, the mentioning of the American military made him furrow his brows.
Chen Fan had expected the American to intervene while he was in Japan. They were the protector of Japan and the world police. As the most powerful nation in the world, the Americans would never allow a rogue power such as himself to exist for too long. However, much to his surprise, the American didn’t directly come after him, instead, they pressured the Chinese government.
“Be rest assured General Chen. China is not going to cave into their bully tactics.” Li Wuchen pounded his chest and promised. “However, we do suggest that you exercise caution when you are abroad and try to stay away from powerful nations such as the USA. You are on the most wanted list published by the CIA. If they figure out your whereabouts, they would come after you.”
Chen Fan nodded.
If he didn’t want to be seen, none of the surveillance cameras that the United States of America had installed around the world would be able to pick him out. That being said, the fact that he was on the United States of America’s most-wanted list also meant that his power was growing.
After all, not everyone could make it to the most wanted list.
Chen Fan wagered that the American’s animosity toward him would make him a highly sought after ally to the Russians and the Chinese. The century-old logic applied here as well: the enemy of my enemy is my friend.
Lo and behold, Li Wuchen praised Chen Fan again.
“When I saw you for the first time, I took you as an outstanding member of the younger generation, but a normal Grandmaster nonetheless. However, in less than a year, your name spread across the globe and instilled fear into the leaders of nations, including the president of the United States. It happened too fast for me to fully comprehend how you have done it.”
Li Wuchen’s words were filled with respect and admiration.
His words also caught everyone’s attention.
Yu Qin was shocked by what she heard.
She knew Li Wuchen’s high standards and scant approval of others first hand. She had never even heard Li Wuchen praise Ye Nantian with so much respect. It was evident that Li Wuchen held Chen Fan with higher regard than Ye Nantian.
Li Wuchen was a Chief General in China, one of the top twenty most powerful men in the Chinese military and had over a hundred thousand soldiers at his disposal. Meanwhile, Chen Fan was just a teenager all by himself.
Tang Yifei and Tang Yuanqin were amazed by Chen Fan as they watched the young man talk and laugh with the Chief General with as much confidence as there was casualness in him.
Even Red Sparrow suddenly felt the development had pulled the rug from under her.
In less than a month, Chen Fan had transformed from an ordinary Grandmaster to a living legend, the most powerful man in the Dark World. By now, his personal strength had lent him enough weight to be taken seriously in the political realm. Even the president of smaller nations or powerful military leaders had to treat him as their equal.
“I think he is quickly catching up to the old man. Azure Dragon has already fallen behind him.”
Red Sparrow thought to herself.
Chen Fan chatted with Li Wuchen without having to hold back anything. He knew the China government desperately needed him to be on her side. They harbored the ambition of surpassing the United States of America and become the next superpower of the world. To do that, she would need Chen Fan’s help.
On the other hand, the United States of America had already secured the seat of power. She treated any rouge elements such as Chen Fan as a thorn in her side and only wanted to get rid of him.
Chen Fan talked with Li Wuchen until dusk was about to break.
Before Li Wuchen left, he cracked a smile and said to Chen Fan.
“General Chen, the Headquarters has decided to dedicate a small squad of soldiers for your safety. I will draft those soldiers from the Cang Dragon unit. I know you won’t need the protection, but your family and friends would need it.”
“Perfect, thank you.”
Chen Fan nodded.
Everyone looked at Chen Fan enviously.
It was evident that the Chinese government had spared no expense at winning Chen Fan over since they had committed the most powerful unit in China to safeguard Chen Fan’s family.
Seeing Chen Fan had accepted his offer, Li Wuchen cracked a smile and started off.
Once Li Wuchen was gone, Red Sparrow gave Chen Fan a sarcastic look and said in a cold voice: “You are the man of the moment, so it appears. We have sweat and bled for our nation for decades, and only got one assistant. Yet, you have gotten an entire elite squad. I wager that the government is going to assign you a personal butler soon.”
“Sister, why do you talk to General Chen like that?” Yu Qin tugged Red Sparrow’s shirt and said.
Chen Fan linked his hands behind his back and said as he paced back and forth in the room.
“Red Sparrow, what do you think Director Xiao would do to me if I get rid of your power right now?”
Red Sparrow’s face suddenly flushed red.
The color quickly drained from her face as she started trembling uncontrollably. She wanted to say something but found out that words were caught in her throat.
Chen Fan was a different person now. Just as Li Wuchen had said, he was as powerful as an entire division of soldiers. He packed even more political clout than Li Wuchen, much less Red Sparrow. Even if Chen Fan killed Red Sparrow on the spot, the Special Case Departments would have to swallow down the insult and remain quiet.
With that thought in mind, Red Sparrow turned into a bundle of nerves. All the disrespect she had harbored toward Chen Fan evaporated.
By now, Chen Fan wielded so much authority and power that they only benefited the most powerful man in the Dark World.
Once Chen Fan had ironed out a few details regarding the transferring of the Cang Dragon unit, Chen Fan returned to the Chen family residence at the foot of the East Mountain. Since it was close to the Chinese new year, the East Mountain Villas was packed with members of the Chen family across China.
His Grandpa, Chen Huaian, Great Uncle Chen Zhenxin, Second Uncle Chen Huaian, mother Wang Xiaoyun, Sister An and all of his cousins such as Chen An, Chen Xu, and Chen Guoguo had already arrived before him.
Chen Fan’s treatment was drastically different than last year.
Although the Chen family still knew very little about Chen Fan, they were extremely impressed by many of his titles such as the Master Chen of Jiang Bei, and the General Major of Cang Dragon. Those two titles would have made him the most successful heir of the Chen family by far. In addition, thanks to Chen Fan’s influence, the Chen family had also risen to prominence and became one of the most powerful families in Jinlin City. Even the Qiao Family, Hua Family, and the Song Family had to treat the Chens with respect.
“Xiao Fan, Your Great Uncle has been promoted this year, all thanks to you. The leaders of the province had hinted at him that they will let him be a major next year.” Great Aunt came over the Chen Fan and said joyfully.
Great Uncle Chen Zhenxin stood behind his wife and smiled at Chen Fan.
He was the deputy mayor of Jinlin City and to become the real mayor at another city was a huge step up in his career.
“Oh? Did they tell you which city?” Chen Fan asked
“Director Xue talked to me a few days ago, and he seems to suggest that it will be Chu Zhou City.”
Chen Zhenxin said fearfully. Director Xue was the personal assistant of Boss Lou, and he would never have imagined that Director Xue would get involved in his promotion. He could tell that Chen Fan’s influence was at play here.
“OK.”
Chen Fan nodded. He knew that the promotion was Boss Lou’s gesture of goodwill.
The rest of the younger generation of the Chen family stood around Chen Fan and the elders. Chen Ning and Chen An watched as everyone attended to Chen Fan with such jarring respect that they felt they were slowly losing grip on reality.
Just a year ago, they felt they were way ahead of Chen Fan, treating him as one of the poor relatives from the backward countryside.
A year later, Chen Fan had already become the backbone of the family, and even the elders of the family had to get on his good side.
A wave of complicated feelings rose inside of Chen Ning. Meanwhile, Wang Xiaoyun and An Ya looked at Chen Fan with great pride.
Chen Huaian beamed from side to side as he poured one cup after another wine down his throat.
After the banquet was over, Chen Ning came over to Chen Fan and asked under her breath.
“Hey, little brother, my friend is having a party, would you like to come?”