Lan Jue took a deep breath. "Can I not do this?"
The Wine Master extended a hand. "Look, let me do the math. Ever since you joined Skyfire Avenue, you've caused us a lot of trouble. Let's start with the kidnapping!"
"Stop!"
Lan Jue hurried to stop him. "Don't say anything else, I'll agree to this. I can see that if I don't, you won't let me off the hook.
But let me get this out of the way first. Since I'm in charge of this army, I'll be the one calling the shots.
You said it yourself, Skyfire Avenue will provide whatever resources you need, right? "
The Wine Master nodded in agreement. "Of course, we'll pay the money, you do the work.
Whatever you need, we'll do our best to accommodate. "
Lan Jue nodded. "Very well. Since we're going to organize this army, we can't have a leader that can't be intimidating.
Otherwise, we won't be able to control these people.
Am I right? "
The Wine Master shrugged. "You see, I can't do anything about this. My old bones … oh, I mean, I'm over sixty years old."
Lan Jue huffed. "I'm not counting on you.
The Keeper and Bookworm are out of the question. You'll be in charge of logistics.
The Gourmet isn't even sixty, I need him to work with me.
He'll be my second in command.
And the Pharmacist.
With those two, I'll do it. "
The Wine Master nodded. "I'll be in charge of convincing the Gourmet.
As for the Pharmacist, you'll have to do it yourself. She's a special case, and I can't do anything about it. "
Lan Jue nodded. "Alright. Get ready to convene the committee.
We'll need to confirm this. "
The Wine Master looked at her innocently. "In the time you were gone.
We've confirmed it many times.
Don't worry.
Everyone agreed that you'll be in charge of Star Division. "
Lan Jue's eyes widened. "So you've been plotting against me while I was gone?"
"Don't make it sound so ugly," the Wine Master retorted. "How is it secretly calculating against you?
We didn't hide anything from you. "
Lan Jue stood up abruptly. "I'm leaving first!"
The Wine Master nodded. "We'll send you all the information in a moment. Everyone's here. You can pull in your ARC class as well.
After we are reorganized.
Then we can start training! "
Lan Jue stumbled. He suddenly realized that he shouldn't have come today.
Or perhaps, he shouldn't have returned from the Ziluo planet!
These old and cunning fellows were really ruthless in their calculations!
The smile on the Wine Master's face faded as he watched Lan Jue leave. He sighed. "Silly boy, you are the Clairvoyant's chosen one. We will help you shoulder this burden."
Lan Jue walked out of the Gothic Winery.
His heart was in a mess.
He wasn't in the mood to go find Zhou Qianlin. The Wine Master had suddenly given him such a heavy responsibility.
For a moment, he felt as if his body had become heavy.
It wasn't going to be easy to deal with this!
As he mulled over this, Lan Jue made his way forward. Before long, he came upon a familiar shop. It was Endiang.
Without thinking, he approached. The door was closed. This was how it was, only by appointment.
He knocked on the door a few times.
It wasn't long before the Seamstress emerged. When she saw it was Lan Jue, her pretty face lit up with surprise. She opened the door. "When did you get back?"
Lan Jue smiled wryly.
"Just now, is the Driver here?"
The Seamstress nodded. "He is. Come in."
They entered the shop and passed through the outer rooms.
The Driver was seated inside, sipping whiskey with a cigar between his fingers. His expression was one of contentment.
"You're back?"
As he spoke, the Driver pulled a glass from under the table and placed it in front of Lan Jue. He opened the bottle and poured Lan Jue a glass.
Lan Jue downed the whiskey in one gulp. "I shouldn't have come back.
Why didn't any of you guys tell me?! "
The Driver chuckled. "Of course you would've come back if we'd told you.
You can't blame us, it was the Wine Master who ordered us to keep quiet.
Besides, I think it's a good thing.
It'll help you take over Skyfire Avenue in the future. Isn't that good? "
Lan Jue's eyes widened. "Good?
I joined Skyfire Avenue because I wanted to be free. I've got this much responsibility on my shoulders, and you're telling me it's good? "
The Driver poured him more whiskey. "Alright, alright, calm down.
It's not as hard as you think.
You've been on Skyfire Avenue for a long time.
Don't forget, everyone saw what you did in the Great Adept Tournament.
It's not just us, it's every Skyfire Avenue Adept.
Think about it, ever since the tournament, the number of people joining our Star Division has increased by thirty percent. Who are they after?
You, of course!
You've forgotten how much influence you have on Skyfire Avenue. "
The Seamstress placed a glass of ice water in front of Lan Jue. She nodded. "He's right, you've misunderstood.
The council voted unanimously for you to be Star Division's commander. No one objected.
That means everyone approves of you.
Your performance in the Great Adept Tournament was clear for all to see. You showed strength close to that of a Paragon, and what you did on Taihua.
Whether it's your strength or your character, you've earned our respect.
So it won't be as hard as you think. You'll be in charge of Star Division.
Besides, the council has your full support, and we're all here to help you. With enough people on your side, no matter what problems you face, we'll help you solve them. "
Lan Jue wasn't convinced by the Driver's words, but when the Seamstress said the same, he calmed down.
Lan Jue was a smart man, and his brain began to analyze the situation.
It was true. Skyfire Avenue was full of adepts, but he was familiar with the strongest of them. The Paragons would support him, and there were also the Star Alliance's god-ranked mecha pilots.
Although there would still be problems managing the Division, it wouldn't be as difficult as he'd first thought.
The Driver shook his head. "Alright, what's done is done, there's no point in thinking about it.
Don't worry, we'll all help you manage the Division.
I think the most important thing right now is to decide on the direction we're going to fight.
We're not the same as a regular army, but that doesn't mean we don't have our advantages.
Ability users under the age of sixty had more or less come into contact with mechs, and a large portion of them were Mech Pilots themselves, and their strength was extraordinary.
It'll take time, but I'm sure you'll be pleasantly surprised.
However, you can't use military rules to keep everyone in line. If you do, it won't last long. "
Lan Jue's brows furrowed. "So you're saying we'll have our own special way of fighting?"
The Driver snapped his fingers. "Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying."
Lan Jue's eyes flickered, and her mind began to work. Yes!
There were advantages to being loose.
Individually, Skyfire Avenue's Adepts couldn't be compared to a regular army.
In terms of training, they couldn't fight in groups like they did on An Lun.
It would be difficult to get these Adepts to work together. After all, everyone had different abilities.
But what if they fought individually?
It wasn't like this hadn't happened in the history of interstellar warfare.
The most common example of a loose army would be …
A light flashed in Lan Jue's eyes. He had an idea.
"Let's drink." The Driver raised his glass and clinked it against hers.
Lan Jue took a sip of the whiskey. It warmed her chest, and the unique aroma of the drink wafted through the air.
"We'll have to think this through. Let's have a drink later.
Call some of the Star Alliance's people. "
The Driver nodded. "No problem, we'll all be here.
The Clairvoyant is coming out of seclusion, we'll wait for him. "
The Driver's eyes darkened. Compared to Lan Jue, the Clairvoyant's influence was far greater.
Lan Jue sighed. He knew he couldn't avoid this.
If the Clairvoyant had been healthy, Lan Jue would have tried his best to refuse. But now he had to shoulder the responsibility.
The Clairvoyant's schemes didn't feel good, but in Lan Jue's heart he didn't hate the Eye of Tomorrow.
Under the Clairvoyant's control, everything was for his own good. It wasn't a pleasant feeling, but the Clairvoyant's actions were never detrimental to him. It was for the sake of Skyfire Avenue, and perhaps even the future of humanity.
The Driver saw Lan Jue's expression change, but he didn't say anything else.
Half an hour later, Lan Jue left the boutique. He hopped on his bicycle and made his way to Tianshan Mountain.
He knew he'd be busy, but before that he had to deal with the most pressing issue. He had to talk to Zhou Qianlin and clear up any misunderstandings. Otherwise, how could he work in peace?
This time Lan Jue didn't try to sneak up to the top of the mountain. Instead, he walked straight up. None of the checkpoints stood in his way. Lan Jue called the Wine Master along the way, and told him to take care of the situation.
Then Lan Jue received an official authorization.
It was an advanced code for interstellar communication.
He scanned the code and made his way to Tianshan Mountain.
As he pushed his bicycle, Lan Jue's heart calmed. In his mind, two figures intertwined.
One was Hera. The other was Zhou Qianlin.
— —
Sorry, I'm out on business today. I'm late.
Three o 'clock tomorrow.
(To be continued …)