"Hey! Kid, are you feeling alright? Tang Yuan told about your situation. I’ve been too busy these days, so I haven’t been able to visit you in the hospital. You won’t bla for that, will you?"
Hearing Qiao Zhen’s familiar and warm voice on the other end of the line, Ling Chen smiled and said, "Old General, look at what you’re saying. Am I that kind of person? Besides, it’s just a minor injury, no need to trouble you to visit . If it weren’t for you sending Old Tang and Colonel Pang to help , I might not have made it through this ordeal."
"There’s no need to say anything else, as long as you’re fine. You calling today, surely it’s not just for a chat?"
"Old General, you truly understand . To be honest, there’s sothing I want to discuss with you." Thus, Ling Chen explained about withdrawing the charges against Zhu Hong. After listening, Qiao Zhen’s tone beca serious, "Kid, you should know the cris Zhu Hong and Yi Haisheng committed. Even executing them would be too kind. Stealing state secrets and selling them for profit is sothing the governnt absolutely won’t tolerate."
"Old General, please calm down. Of course, I’m aware of how severe Zhu Hong’s cris are. However, Yi Haisheng is already dead, and Zhu Hong is abroad, his whereabouts unknown. What can we do about him? Moreover, Zhu Hong still holds so many military secrets. Given ti, who knows if he might sell all those secrets. We don’t have ti to waste."
Ling Chen said, "The reason I want the military to withdraw the charges isn’t to exonerate Zhu Hong. You know very well the kind of relationship between Zhu Hong and ; only one of us can survive. But Zhu Hong is abroad, and no matter how capable we are, we can’t do anything about him. However, as far as I know, Zhu Hong is in a difficult situation now, with Yingtai Group sending many rcenaries to hunt him down. Because of this, he wants to return to the country for asylum. Once the military withdraws the charges, Zhu Hong will imdiately co back. As long as he’s within our sphere of influence, isn’t capturing him just a matter of ti? Old General, what do you think?"
Qiao Zhen was silent for a mont, then replied, "You do have a point there. Alright, I’ll discuss this matter with higher-ups and ask for their opinion. I’ll get back to you then."
"Okay."
After hanging up the phone, Ling Chen smiled quietly to himself. He believed there wouldn’t be an issue on the old General’s side, and the military higher-ups would definitely agree to his suggestion. Since the military is more eager than he is to capture Zhu Hong, only by letting Zhu Hong return to the country would they have the opportunity to apprehend him.
Life in the hospital was leisurely, lying in bed all the ti, occasionally watching lodramatic love dramas, or he would just go to sleep out of sheer boredom.
Fortunately, Nanrong Wanqing had already made arrangents with the hospital. The next morning, after completing the discharge procedures, a business vehicle took Ling Chen from the hospital to a relatively quiet villa on the outskirts of Beijing. According to Nanrong Wanqing, this was her property in Beijing, mainly chosen for its good environnt, and the surrounding area was very peaceful with excellent greenery.
"You should rest first; I have so work to do at the company. I’ll co back in the evening to have dinner with you."
"Go and do your work. I can take care of myself." After watching Nanrong Wanqing’s convoy leave, Ling Chen went to the bedroom and gazed out of the window. If he rembered correctly, the Martial Arts Tournant venue was in that direction and not too far from the villa. This was convenient since before the tournant, there would inevitably be running back and forth. Living close by made things much easier.
In the afternoon, Ling Chen found ti to call Tong Zhentian, who happened to be at the Martial Arts Tournant venue. They set a ti, and Ling Chen sent him his location. An hour later, Tong Zhentian and Su i arrived outside the villa by car.
"Elder Tong, Master Su." Ling Chen stood at the door, smiling as he greeted them.
"Ling Chen, when did you get discharged? I’ve been so busy these last few days; I was planning to visit you in the hospital in a couple of days."
"I just got back today. This is Wanqing’s villa. She liked the tranquility, so she set it up for to recuperate here. Please, both of you, co in!" Welcoming Tong Zhentian and Su i into the living room, Ling Chen poured two cups of tea for them and then took a seat across from them.
"Master Su, is the venue setup complete?"
"The main construction is finished. According to this progress, we should be completely done in a week."
Ling Chen smiled slightly and said, "Master Su’s efficiency is indeed fast. However, so things may be beyond our expectations."
Hearing this, Su i asked curiously, "What do you an?"
"We all underestimated the appeal of the Martial Arts Tournant. Yesterday I spoke with Wanqing, and she said that many people are interested in the tournant and want to witness it in person. We’ve roughly estimated that at least fifty thousand people will attend the tournant, which is half more than we anticipated. Additionally, people from abroad will also co. So, I’m afraid our venue is too small."
Su i and Tong Zhentian exchanged a glance and asked, "Then what should we do? If it’s really as you say, we might have to expand the scale by twofold."
"Master Su, is there enough ti?"
"There are still more than twenty days until the opening of the Martial Arts Tournant. If we employ more construction teams, it shouldn’t be too big of a problem. However, if there are so many people attending, security might be a big issue."
"Right!" Tong Zhentian nodded and said, "Even if we deploy everyone from our three factions, we can only barely manage a venue for twenty to thirty thousand people. If the number doubles, where can we find so many people to maintain order on short notice?"
Ling Chen smiled and said, "That’s not a problem. I’ve already thought it through. Master Su, don’t you have a cooperation with the military? Why don’t you talk to the military higher-ups and ask them to dispatch troops to help maintain order? There are several military units stationed around Beijing, with tens of thousands of people, plenty enough. If they agree, I believe security won’t be an issue."
"That’s a good idea." Tong Zhentian agreed.
"Alright, I’ll contact the military later. As long as they agree, I’ll imdiately assemble construction teams to expand the venue." At this point, Su i changed the subject and said, "Ling Chen, in addition to visiting you, there’s another matter Elder Tong and I want to discuss with you today."
"What is it?"
"Since it’s the Martial Arts Tournant, we have to arrange so interesting segnts for everyone to participate in. As people from the Martial Arts world, a martial arts competition is essential, and it’s the highlight of the tournant. We have to make it perfect. However, we haven’t figured out the rules yet."
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