On the highway, a large long-distance coach brimming with passengers was headed in the direction of Tianhai City.
Zheng Yuan, seated on the left side in the third row, was leaning on the window and gazing dazedly at a cloud in the distant sky.
He was thinking about his comrades, a group of interesting characters.
Recently, he had returned home after serving in the military.
He initially did not wish to discharge so soon, but since he couldn't join the Warwolf Special Forces Team and become the legendary Soldier-King, he had no choice but to leave the service.
“Da Niu, Monkey, I hope you guys can make a name for ourselves in the Warwolf and win some honor for our Seventh Platoon," sighed Zheng Yuan.
At that moment, due to a traffic jam, the coach came to a halt.
Coming back to his senses, Zheng Yuan stood up and looked at the dense traffic up ahead, instantly hit by a wave of inexpressible frustration.
He had already arranged to meet Company Commander's wife, Li Ruping, at the bus station at three in the afternoon.
It was already half-past-two.
Any more delays like this, and it wasn't certain if he could even make it by four.
It would be an inconvenience to have Ruping waiting for him for so long.
Being the decisive man that he was, Zheng Yuan didn't hesitate any longer. He grabbed his luggage and asked the driver to open the door before stepping off the bus.
He planned to run all the way to Tianhai City.
Back in the army, he was a scout, adept at long-distance running.
And now, Tianhai City was merely ten kilometers away.
For most people, a distance of ten kilometers could seem quite far, but for a soldier like Brother Bing, it was a breeze.
After running for over forty minutes, he finally reached the Tianhai City Bus Station.
Besides breaking a little sweat, he didn’t feel particularly tired.
One of the biggest perks of being a soldier is having a robust body.
Just as he was about to head towards the waiting hall, he unexpectedly collided with an old man dressed entirely in black who emerged from the inside. The old man had a mysterious look, extremely frail, skin and bones, and emitted a dark aura.
Right after, Zheng Yuan felt a great rebounding force emanating from the elderly man's body. Unable to withstand it, he was pushed back three steps and ended up sitting on the ground.
He was utterly taken aback.
Logically speaking, considering his strong physique, the old man should've been the one to fall after the collision.
However, what surprised him more was the swift disappearance of the odd old man.
“Could I have seen a ghost?” Zheng Yuan puzzled as he stood up, scratching his head.
Suddenly, he felt stepping onto something. He looked down and saw a skull claw no bigger than a thumb and extremely exquisitely antique-looking.
"Huh, what's this?"
He stooped over to pick it up.
Just then, he felt an indescribable chill, as though he was languishing in a graveyard under the severe cold of the winter lunar month.
If it were someone else, they would surely pee their pants in fear right now.
However, Zheng Yuan, who had been a soldier for several years, has seen all sorts of creepy and horrifying scenes. So, he quickly calmed down.
He muttered to himself, "This thing is a bit odd, it is likely dropped by that eerie old man."
Initially, he wanted to investigate it further, but suddenly realized it was already past three o'clock.
So, daring not to delay any further, he casually put the little skeleton hand into his pocket, then sprinted into the waiting hall at the fastest speed.
Very soon, he saw the battalion commander's wife, Li Ruping.
Li Ruping was nearly forty years old, but she looked as if she were in her early thirties. With a beautiful appearance and fashionable office attire, her face was sharp and full of maturity.
To Zheng Yuan's surprise, standing next to Sister Ruping was a young girl.
The girl was about seventeen years old, bright-eyed and white-toothed with smooth, fair skin. A pair of charming and slender long legs added to her striking beauty. She bore a striking resemblance to Li Ruping and was exuding youthful vigor. She appeared to be an adorable little angel.
Zheng Yuan guessed that she must be the commander's only daughter, Zhao Keqi. "She is quite pretty indeed. No wonder the commander kept her a secret from us."
He couldn't help but laugh at the thought.
Because it occurred to him that if his comrades knew earlier that the commander had such a beautiful daughter, they would surely vie to curry favor, aiming to become the son-in-law.
At this moment, Zhao Keqi seemed impatient, "Mom, why hasn't the soldier Dad assigned to us arrived yet? It's already half past three. If he wasn't coming, he should have informed us earlier to prevent us from waiting in vain."
She was very unhappy about being asked by her mom to pick up the retiring soldier brother.
Although she liked soldiers, she only had eyes for the free-spirited special forces soldiers, just like those depicted in webnovels.
If she were to pick up the King of Special Forces, she would not mind waiting, not just half an hour but even half a day, without a hint of impatience.
Li Ruiping said, "Qiqi, don’t hurry. We may be stuck in traffic, so let’s wait a bit longer."
"Alright, but if he doesn’t arrive by four, I will have to leave. I have a pile of work to attend to,” Zhao Keqi said.
Li Ruiping sound exasperated, "You child, it's summer vacation, what could be so urgent for you?"
Zheng Yuan, without any further hesitation, walked over and said apologetically, "Sister-in-law, my apologies for the delay. I encountered a few issues on the way."
Upon seeing Zheng Yuan, Li Ruiping seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, "Xiao Yuan, it's alright, you’re here now."
She paused, then continued, "Come, let me introduce you to each other. Xiao Yuan, this is my daughter, Zhao Keqi. Keqi, this is Uncle Zheng Yuan, one of the soldiers your father respects the most."
Zhao Keqi scoffed internally, “He's not the King of Special Forces, what's there to admire.”
Zheng Yuan greeted her nicely, "Hello, Keqi."
Zhao Keqi responded curtly, "Hello."
Zheng Yuan sensed Zhao Keqi’s coldness but decided not to mind it; after all, he didn't plan to pursue her.
Li Ruiping said, "Xiao Yuan, you must be hungry, let’s get something to eat first, then head home."
Zheng Yuan replied, "Sister-in-law, no need, I've already had something to eat in the car."
Li Ruiping said, "Alright, let’s go home then, it's almost time for dinner."
Thus, the trio left the station and headed towards the parking lot.
In no time, Li Ruping and her daughter led Zheng Yuan to a blue sedan and got in.
About an hour later, Li Ruping brought Zheng Yuan to a three-story villa.
Though the villa wasn't particularly luxurious, it was finely decorated and elegantly arranged, thus very tasteful.
"Mom, I'm a little tired. I'm going to rest in my room for a while."
Zhao Keqi walked up to the second floor alone.
Li Ruping nodded, "Okay."
Then, she asked Zheng Yuan to wait in the living room while she brought two bottles of water. She gave one to Zheng Yuan.
After drinking a couple of sips of water, Li Ruping said, "Zheng Yuan, your room is on the third floor. I'll take you up now."
"Thank you, sister-in-law," Zheng Yuan nodded and walked upstairs with Li Ruping.
Shortly, Li Ruping led Zheng Yuan to a very clean room: "Zheng Yuan, this is your room. You can take a shower and rest now. I'm going to prepare dinner."
Zheng Yuan expressed his gratitude, "Sister-in-law, thank you for your trouble."
Li Ruping laughed, "You're calling me sister-in-law, so what's the trouble? Haha, just feel at home here."
"Understood."
After Li Ruping left, Zheng Yuan took out a suit from his bag, went to the bathroom for a shower.
Not long after he finished the shower, Li Ruping called him down to the dining room for dinner.
After dinner, Zheng Yuan retreated back to his room, lying down on his bed.
Finding himself utterly bored, he decided to take a closer look at the small skeletal hand he'd found.
"What on earth is this?"
However, after examining it thoroughly, Zheng Yuan was none the wiser.
Gradually, due to exhaustion, he couldn't help but fall asleep.
The small skeletal hand, which Zheng Yuan hadn't put away, remained tightly clutched in his hand.
Slowly, very slowly, a wisp of black energy began to emanate from the small skeletal hand.
In a blink of an eye, the black energy had enveloped Zheng Yuan's entire right palm.
