Back in the living room, the five of them sat down on the sofa. Wang Zhu had already gotten a set of resistance army uniforms for Fan Chengying. It was only when she put on the military uniform that Fan Chengying's heroic aura became aggressive.
However, when he faced Ding Meng, his expression was much gentler. "Brother Ding, you're really young and capable. You're so young, but your cultivation level is quite rare."
Only now did Ding Meng find out that Fan Chengying was actually the deputy commander of the Dawn Army. He had joined the Dawn Army when he was 20 years old. From an ordinary soldier on duty, he had climbed up the ranks step by step to become the commander of the army. He was deeply respected and loved by everyone in the army. Fan Chengying was now 198 years old and was a mid-level Origin Energy General. At this level, he would be considered an expert on Blue Moon Planet.
After the rebellion, the Dawn Army had split into three factions. Fan Chengying was the leader of the Resistance Army. Most of the soldiers and higher-ups were on his side. This was because the Dawn Army had always regarded protecting the residents of Planet Immortal Weaver as their God. It was also because of this that they were too independent and refused to accept the Federation's establishment. Therefore, they were not on good terms with the military.
Ding Meng now understood why Zhang Jian had taken such a huge risk to snatch the materials. Fan Chengying's role to the Resistance Army was as important as Silman's role to the refugee camp on Planet KV303. They were both the main star bones and the core members of the army.
Ding Meng opened his mouth and said, "Elder Fan, I don't understand. Since the Dawn Army's purpose is to protect the people, why did you split up?"
Fan Chengying picked up his teacup and took a sip before sighing. "This is a long story."
Ding Meng lowered his head and said, "I'd like to hear the details."
Fan Chengying let out a long sigh. "The leader of the Resistance Army is called Quan Jinwei. He joined the army at the same time as me. Like me, he is very respectful to his subordinates and superiors. He is very passionate and loyal. Before the army split up, he was the commander-in-chief. We have worked together for more than 160 years. I'm afraid no one knows better than me what kind of person he is."
Ding Meng listened quietly. Fan Chengying continued, "Half a year before the rebellion, something was wrong with him."
"Is there anything wrong?" Ding Meng asked.
Fan Chengying seemed to be trying hard to remember. "He was often silent and seemed to have a lot on his mind. Sometimes, when you called out to him, he would only wake up after a few calls."
Ding Meng and the others understood the meaning behind his words. It was impossible for an origin ability user to lose focus, unless that person was in extreme fatigue.
"At first, I thought that he had ulterior motives, but gradually, he changed. He became irritable and easily angered. He would yell and beat people up for no reason. You should know that he never scolded his subordinates, let alone beat them up."
Fan Chengying showed a puzzled expression. "When he was at his worst, he often talked to himself in the room alone. Sometimes he smirked, sometimes he was silent. Sometimes you looked into his eyes and felt that they were empty and confused. Brother Ding, since you are a doctor, you should know what's wrong with him …"
Ding Meng understood. That Quan Jinwei must have been infected as well, because these symptoms had slowly turned from mild to severe.
Fan Chengying continued, "During that time, he was not the only one who had this abnormal mental state. Many of our brothers had the same problem. The worst thing was that these people had mysteriously disappeared."
Ding Meng asked, "Did you find out the reason?"
Fan Chengying sighed. "Actually, a few years ago, the Immortal Weaver Star showed signs of abnormalities. If I remember correctly, it should be three years ago. Our patrol team ran into an energy exploration team from the Sacred Splendor System."
Zhang Jian frowned. "Energy exploration team?"
Ding Meng could understand his doubts. A habitable planet like the Immortal Weaver Star had been repeatedly studied and verified by various experts on the Federation's fleet before it was developed. Was it suitable for habitation?
To put it simply, how this planet was to be developed and used had been planned in advance. If you wanted to do energy exploration, you should go to an unfamiliar planet in outer space.
Fan Chengying explained, "At that time, Old Quan and I didn't pay much attention to it. This team didn't have any armed personnel, and they were all ordinary humans. Furthermore, they were in the outskirts, so they wouldn't affect Heavenly Dream City. However, after a few months, this team mysteriously disappeared. We sent many people to look for them, but they couldn't find them."
Ding Meng asked, "What's the identity of this team?"
Fan Chengying said, "They are from a company called Flower Language, but the investment company behind the exploration is Tianhang International."
Tianhang International was the third largest business group in the Holy Grail Federation, second only to Shenghao and Xinhong. Tianhang International's main business was manufacturing, especially the research and development of various mechanical technologies. It was the most powerful company in the Holy Grail Federation. At the same time, Tianhang International had a considerable amount of authority in the entertainment industry. It could be said that they were the biggest company, and the celebrities under them were the most dazzling existences in the entertainment industry.
This could not be helped. For example, the new models of battle armor, new aircraft, and spaceships. These things were endorsed by various big stars as soon as they hit the market, and their sales were surprisingly good.
However, energy exploration was not Tianhang International's area of expertise. In this aspect, Xinhong International was the leader. Therefore, this Tianhang International's exploration team did not smell right. There might be another explanation for it.
Fan Chengying continued, "Actually, after our search, Tianhang International also sent a search team. However, after more than a month of searching, they still did not find anything. After that, they withdrew."
"Did they abandon their own people?" Ding Meng did not understand.
Fan Chengying said, "I don't know the reason, but I'm guessing that they couldn't do anything about it even if they wanted to."
Ding Meng thought to himself that the radiation zone might have been created by Tianhang International. Sure enough, Fan Chengying continued, "After Tianhang's people withdrew, our people did not give up and are still searching for them."
Ding Meng asked in a low voice, "Then, did you find them?"
"We still haven't found them, but we did find something very unusual."
Fan Chengying answered as she turned on the screen on her wrist device. The screen switched to a series of images, all of them showing the desert outside Heavenly Dream City. The desert was originally made up of fine sand and gravel, but when the screen zoomed in, one would find that many of the ground were stained with some strange substance. It looked like black paint, but it also looked like traces left behind by flames.
Ding Meng asked, "What is this?"
Fan Chengying shook her head and said, "We don't know either. However, this is the location where the exploration team was active during the past few months. The coordinates of these substances perfectly match their route. After that, a riot broke out in the refugee camp on Planet Thorn. After that, the entire Federation knew about the death of Dragon Horse Media's reporter. Thus, the Sacred Alliance jumped out. It was also at that time that Old Quan and I had different opinions. I thought that it would be enough to protect Heavenly Dream City, but he wanted Dawn to join the Sacred Alliance …"
Ding Meng nodded. It was probably at that time that the Dawn Army was completely divided.
Fan Chengying suddenly stood up and paced back and forth in the room with a teacup in her hand. "Brother Ding, since you're a member of the military and can enter the riot zone, I believe that you should know some inside information, right?"
Ding Meng hesitated and said, "Are you referring to the radiation zone?"
Fan Chengying asked in return, "The military defines these places as radiation zones?"
Ding Meng nodded and said, "Yes!"
Fan Chengying said, "It doesn't matter what they're called. The key is that they do exist. Furthermore, according to my secret observations, these coordinates are the exploration team's route. They're no longer on the surface, but underground. There are no longer any traces of them on the surface, and the traces have been converted into random underground locations …"
He paused for a moment, then finally said something shocking, "Quan Jinwei goes in every once in a while, and there's a pattern to this. On average, he goes in every ten days or so. However, every time he goes in, a large number of people will disappear, and the riots on the surface will become more frequent."
Ding Meng hesitated and said, "Elder Fan, are you saying that this disease, these disappearances, and the riots are caused by your old partner?"
Fan Chengying waved her hand. "I don't have any evidence. It's just a simple suspicion. After all, the timing is too coincidental. Of course, from my personal point of view, I don't want these things to be caused by him."
Ding Meng understood. "So, you followed him alone?"
Fan Chengying's expression was a little ugly. "I also contracted this strange disease after I came back. If it weren't for you, Brother Ding, I would still be in the nourishment chamber."
Ding Meng sighed. "This is not a disease!"
He knew that these people were going to ask why, but things like infectious telekinesis were not something that could be explained in a few words. Thus, he changed his tone and said, "I came to the Immortal Weaver Planet specifically to investigate this matter."
Fan Chengying was silent. Then, she said, "If Brother Ding insists on going, I can go with you."
Zhi Yao and the others were shocked. "Elder Fan, you've just recovered. It's best if you rest for a while. We can't do without you."
"I know!"
Fan Chengying sighed. "I have a feeling that our biggest enemy is not the rebels, but the radiation zone. I'm afraid that the riots in Linda's faction were caused by them."
Ding Meng pondered and said, "Elder Fan, since you've been to that place, can you describe it to me? What kind of people are they?"
Fan Chengying couldn't help but look at him. "I can't describe it to you, because I can't. As long as you enter that place, all signals will disappear. You'll only understand if you go there yourself."
Ding Meng said, "Then, when do we leave?"
Fan Chengying said, "Brother Ding, whenever you want to leave."