Chapter 55 Special Conscription Order

Xu Chen was completely dumbfounded at the moment. If he remembered correctly, this was already the fourth time someone had tracked him down, and he began to suspect that he was being targeted.

The leading driver grinned, revealing his white teeth, and smiled at Xu Chen. He was the exact same driver of the troop carrier who had come to fetch Xu Chen last time.

Then, he briskly called for his personnel to board, hopped into his troop carrier, and sped away, leaving only Xu Chen behind in the open lot to choke on the exhaust fumes.

Fortunately, not long after—while he was still having an existential crisis—two men walked out of the building: one was the Chief, and the other was the Political Commissar.

Xu Chen looked over and noticed that the guards stationed at the entrance of the building snapped to attention and saluted him in unison.

After returning the salute, the Chief walked briskly over to Xu Chen, shook his hand warmly, and looked him up and down. "You must be Xu Chen, right? Truly a man of exceptional talent and a pillar of the nation."

Xu Chen was still in a daze. He looked at the Chief, his mind racing with the thought that this man possessed an aura and presence even more formidable than the regiment commander he had met previously. He had just seen this exact person on a rebroadcast of the newly convened emergency preparedness conference on global public health emergencies on the news.

There was no doubt about his high status, yet here he was, praising him. Xu Chen wondered how he was supposed to respond.

The Chief patted Xu Chen's left arm in a friendly manner and gestured toward himself. "As for me, my surname is Zhao, and my duties involve executive affairs and military political work. I can't say much more, but you can just call me Chief Zhao. And this is Political Commissar Wang."

Xu Chen felt a jolt. He immediately began recalling the regime's power structure in this world and matched it against the titles the Chief had mentioned, realizing just how immense the man's influence was.

He possessed the power to turn the world upside down at a mere whim.

Literally speaking, that was also the case.

Back when moisture had first invaded the land, various operations could not have happened without his overall coordination and planning. The artificial rain used to intercept the moisture, spanning multiple provinces with organized logistics and material flows—all of that was orchestrated by him.

Xu Chen had seen his name in the documents he managed to unearth later on.

If not for the Chief's swift response, the drinking water Xu Chen consumed would have been laced with radioactive tritium, tainted by the fallout of the island nation's actions.

"Greetings, Chief!"

Chief Zhao was startled for a moment, but given that he was a man of vast experience, he quickly recovered and looked at Xu Chen. "Comrade, this is not the place to talk. Come with me."

The three of them crossed the steps, and Chief Zhao led Xu Chen through a maze of corridors up to a large room on the third floor.

Pushing open the double doors, Xu Chen was immediately greeted by a wall featuring a portrait of a great leader, alongside a carved oath beside it. There was also a blazing red flag and a grand emblem.

These were the most eye-catching items in the room.

The rest consisted of various filing cabinets and a large desk.

It was not as opulent as he had imagined—far inferior to the offices of the White House or the Pentagon.

However, it was impeccably neat, clearly showing signs of frequent organization and cleaning.

The Chief motioned for Xu Chen to sit on the sofa, then went over to use the hot water dispenser to brew a cup of tea for him, placing it on the table in front of him.

Based solely on this interaction, Xu Chen's mind could easily fabricate hundreds of thousands of words of novel details.

For instance, maybe he was actually the Chief's illegitimate son; perhaps there were moles lurking within the organization; or maybe the Chief didn't even trust the guards who poured water—just a stream of nonsensical thoughts.

Xu Chen subconsciously took the cup and took a sniff. *Wow... it's actually... it's actually...*

He originally wanted to compliment the tea brewed by the Chief, but awkwardly, he had no appreciation for tea whatsoever, let alone the ability to identify its variety. His only concept of tea was that if there was something foul or a strange taste in his mouth, he would drink a couple of sips to freshen his breath.

Normally, nothing would make him drink it.

Xu Chen took a polite sip and feigned praise. "Ah, excellent tea."

The Chief looked somewhat surprised, glanced at Xu Chen's cup, and nodded. "This was bought in bulk by Political Commissar Wang. Every office in the building has it, and you're the very first person to praise it. If you like it that much, I'll have Political Commissar Wang send you a few pounds."

What could Xu Chen say? He could only nod even more awkwardly.

He had expected the Chief to drink some rare, prestigious tea.

"Um, well, do you have something you wanted to see me about?"

Hearing this, the Chief immediately shifted into work mode. He nodded solemnly. "That's right, I do have official business. A comrade of mine asked me to personally invite you to join our agency."

"So that's why you received me in person?"

"Indeed." The Chief sighed, thinking of Captain Chu lying on the hospital bed. "He is a respectable comrade, and as for you, this is indeed necessary."

"Who?"

"Captain Chu."

Xu Chen was even more surprised. He thought back to his interactions with Captain Chu and felt they hadn't reached such a profound level.

"Why? I'm not even that close with him."

The Chief countered, "This isn't about personal closeness. He recognized your ability."

"Me? What ability do I have?"

"The ability to help us fight 'Him'."

Xu Chen's pupils dilated in shock. Why were these towering figures who supported the heavens coming to look for him? Were they at their wit's end?

The Chief sighed, walked over to a corner, raised his hand, and turned on the wall-mounted television. The best viewing spot for this television happened to be the center stage of the office—his desk, where the Chief usually worked.

The television broadcast was the news channel. Judging by the fact that it was tuned to the news the moment it was turned on, he likely kept this channel on most of the time while working.

Xu Chen hadn't understood why the Chief turned on the television just then, but he was immediately captivated by the imagery on the screen.

The scene was identical to Elder Ge's funeral—solemn and grand.

Only now did he realize that yet another national academician had fallen.

"...'He' did it?"

"Correct."

"Just like Elder Ge?"

"Yes."

The Chief picked up a stack of materials from his desk and placed them in front of Xu Chen.

"Regarding the lives of our two academicians and the hundreds of people in the small fishing village, we unanimously agree that this constitutes a grave provocation against our national dignity. Our previous measures are no longer sufficient; we must implement countermeasures and even strikes, and you are indispensable."

Xu Chen looked somewhat dazed as he stared at the documents before him. "Oh, what is this?"

"These are the materials you need to submit, or rather, a special mobilization order. It outlines your future benefits, obligations, and responsibilities. However, this has been handled as an exceptional case and simplified as much as possible. If you wish to join our ranks, you only need to sign."

Xu Chen looked at the solemn Chief before him, his thoughts swirling in chaos.

This Chief had no idea what he was facing, but Xu Chen did.

That was an ancient, powerful entity whose existence spanned a vast stretch of time, yet time meant nothing to Him.

He had witnessed the birth and extinction of species, as well as the rise and fall of civilizations. Nations on land had appeared and vanished like the tide, yet none of that could ever erase or shake even a fraction of His existence.

One only needed to softly whisper His name, and His consciousness and power would follow like a shadow.

What use could such a creature have for him? Was he supposed to lead military-industrial enterprises, act as a nuclear bomb supervisor, or build two boat-shaped missiles to bombard Him?

"Why do you need me?"

The Chief hesitated for a moment, then shook his head. "That is classified and cannot be disclosed unless you agree to join."

"Then... can I really join? What if my abilities aren't enough?"

The Chief nodded. "No need to worry."

"Can... can I think about it?"

The Chief thought for a moment and held up three fingers. "How about this? I can give you three days. These three days are the preparation period for a specific operation.

This order indeed came rather suddenly, and you are neither a civil servant nor military personnel. I will give you time to think."

Xu Chen also nodded. He hadn't expected this mobilization order to be quite so flexible.

The only question was: should he accept?