Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 723 - 716: Return to the Academy_1

Chapter 723: Chapter 716: Return to the Academy_1

Growing angrier by the second, Lin Wei suddenly swept everything off the table in front of him onto the floor. He then leaned back in his chair, his resentment making his breathing ragged and hurried.

Wang Xu and Li Si exchanged a look, silently communicating. For now, they didn’t plan on openly questioning any issues regarding Luo’er’s team, as this would make Lin Wei feel as though they are taking pleasure in his misfortune. Therefore, they patiently waited for Lin Wei to speak on his own accord.

With his eyes half-closed and arms folded, Lin Wei sat in silence. After about ten minutes elapsed, his rapid breathing finally began to slow down. His assistant quietly picked up the items Lin Wei had knocked onto the floor. Lin Wei then picked up a pen on the table and jotted down a few notes. He then looked up with a stern face and said, "Our plans have changed; the recalling of the advance team will be put on hold for now. Our primary focus should now shift on finding a way to open the Otherworld Gate. Failure to do so may significantly delay our next steps."

Upon hearing his words, Wang Xu and Li Si exchanged glances without showing their amusement. It seemed that even Lin Wei, too, was now being forced by the situation. The front-line command, being the main combat force of the headquarters, had always been working diligently for the development of the headquarters. Without them, relying solely on the daily discussions of a handful of strategists would not bring about any significant achievements in years.

"But, they..." Canmou He mustered the courage to speak.

"In principle, Luo’er’s team should not be involved in tasks that are too dangerous," Lin Wei looked at Wang Xu and let out an involuntary sigh, "but suppose we let them embark on the mission to find a way to open the Otherworld Gate."

"Understood!" Wang Xu nodded slightly, his face not revealing much emotion.

Upon leaving the meeting room, Wang Xu breathed a sigh of relief. He was not only glad to breathe the fresh air of Earth but also delighted that Luo’er’s matter had been resolved.

"That was nerve-wracking," sighed Li Si, joining Wang Xu at his side and looking back at the just vacated room.

"Good thing you’re able to keep your cool, otherwise we’d be in trouble." Wang Xu laughed, patting Li Si on the shoulder.

"Boss, are we going back to the Otherworld right away?" Li Si asked.

"No need to rush. Since we’re already here, let’s go and take a look at the academy. It’s been a long time since we returned." sighed Wang Xu.

The two men then boarded a helicopter and flew toward the Haiya Academy a few kilometers away. Looking down from high above, Haiya Academy was still bustling with activity, as many of the subspecies were still living and studying here.

Ever since the adjustment to the Mingming Plan, the Shenghua Academy located near the Otherworld Gate had become the primary responsible academy for the plan. Meanwhile, Haiya Academy continued to provide education to the remaining subspecies.

By now, the principal of Haiya Academy had also changed, as Luo Qishan was getting too old. Even though medical advancements still allowed him to handle his duties, his health was deteriorating, making him step behind the scenes gradually.

The helicopter set down on the helipad of the academy building. The two men exited the helicopter and took the elevator to the first floor. Taking a stroll along the familiar school paths, they slowly headed toward the faculty dormitory.

"Li Si, this is your first time here, isn’t it?" Wang Xu asked suddenly.

"Well, it’s not my first time per se," Li Si surveyed his surroundings before replying, "But, I have had very little interactions with this place. It’s always been a launchpad for me to go to the front-line command in the Otherworld."

"I lived here for over ten years." Wang Xu reminisced.

"Boss, when did you first meet Luo’er?" Li Si inquired, turning to look at him.

"Well," Wang Xu looked up, thought for a moment, and then answered, "At that time, I was the Chief’s guard. You can’t imagine how astonished I was when I first saw Luo’er. He was tiny and short, standing there with his huge innocent eyes gazing at you, his black hair falling all the way down to his waist."

"I’ve seen the photos, he was indeed adorable." Li Si nodded in agreement.

"Because of Luo’er, back then, I had the first and only encounter with the opposite sex in my life, be they old ladies or young girls, officers or nurses, everyone came looking for me, just to catch a glimpse of Luo’er," Wang Xu looked up at the sky and reminisced, "The vigilance of today is the result of that first eye-catching encounter."

"Boss, what does Luo’er mean to you?" Li Si asked, unable to rein in his curiosity.

"His position, you ask?" Wang Xu pondered for a moment, then responded, "To be honest, I have always thought of him as my own son. Although I have never married, I am genuinely content with the time I spent as a father. Even though I often remind myself that Luo’er is the Chief’s grandson, every time I see the sadness on his face for losing his father, I inevitably regard him as my own son."

"Watching him fall out with his grandfather step by step, and then seeing the ultimate resolution of their strife, I must admit, to me, starting my own family or not is not of much importance. I am already contented with the way things are because Luo’er has grown up..." Wang Xu ruminated.

"Boss!" Li Si didn’t respond to his sentiment but tugged at Wang Xu’s arm and pointed at the garden located at the foot of a nearby building.

Just there at the edge of a flower bed below a staff dormitory sat an elderly man with white hair. He was wearing tidy casual clothes, propping himself up with a walking stick, squinting as if dozing off, seemingly waiting for someone.

Li Si was about to approach and greet him, but was stopped by Wang Xu. The two of them stood quietly in place, watching the unwilling old man.

When the school dismissal bell rang at noon as expected, students began to flood out, some heading to the cafeteria, others back to their dormitories.

After perhaps more than 20 minutes, a tall girl dressed in a school uniform appeared in their line of sight. She had striking light-colored hair and a pair of very striking, drooping pointed ears, a characteristic of a Wood Elf.

Her most striking feature was her skin, her skin was extraordinarily fair, even glowing under the bright sunlight, making people turn their heads to look.

As she walked, she holding a thick book, reciting from it. From its hard red cover, it could be recognized that it was a Chinese dictionary.

"You, why, by cannon, you come out..." As soon as the girl saw the old man, she angrily put her hands on her hips and huffed at him. Her Chinese level was in shambles, and she misread several words in just one short sentence.

"I’ve made a few dishes, waiting for you to come home and eat." The old man showed a pleasing smile without embarrassment at the girl’s words, and shakily stood up from the flower bed.

"I remember how many roads!" The girl strained to say, it could be seen that she had tried hard, but still could not speak well.

Seeing the difficult communication between the two, Wang Xu and Li Si exchanged a glance, then moved to greet them with a smile.

"Luoya, your brother told you to treat your grandfather nicely!" Greeted Wang Xu in fluent Tasta language.

"It’s you!" Seeing who had come, a flash of joy crossed Luoya’s face, which was quickly replaced by her previous stern expression.

"Ah, Wang Xu, haven’t seen you for a while." Seeing Wang Xu, Luo Qishan immediately showed a happy smile.

"Hello chief!" Wang Xu saluted.

"Hello chief!" Following suit, Li Si also saluted.

"There’s no need to be so formal, I retired a long time ago." Luo Qishan waved his hand, speaking calmly.

"I made the effort to come back for the day, so I made a special trip to visit you." Wang Xu said warmly.

"Has Luo’er come?" Luo Qishan asked excitedly.

"Uh, not yet, he’s still at the station." Wang Xu replied.

"Is he okay, wasn’t he injured?" Luo Qishan asked further.

"Er," Hearing Luo Qishan’s question, Wang Xu exchanged a glance with Li Si and shook his head, "He... he’s fine, not injured. They’ve just completed a big mission and are now resting at the station."

Of course, Wang Xu dared not tell Luo Qishan that Luo’er was injured, otherwise he would be scared into a heart attack. At Luo Qishan’s age, Wang Xu’s principle was to report good news, not bad.

"Then, when will they come see me?" Luo Qishan asked expectantly.

"Er, I, I’ll ask him, when the time comes..." Facing Luo Qishan’s expectant expression, Wang Xu was somewhat at a loss.

"I see..." Luo Qishan showed a slightly disappointed expression, then happily said, "Well, as you’ve already come, come in and have a meal before you leave!"

"Then we do as commanded." Wang Xu and Li Si shared a glance, saying with a smile.