Qin Feng’s gaze lingered on the name for a few seconds.
He remembered reuniting with Shi Potian outside the arena for the Canaan Newcomer Cup. He seemed to recall a familiar figure watching them from afar, but who in the end never came forward. That person was him.
He hadn’t thought much of it at the time.
’I can’t believe he’d actually add me as a friend.’
After a moment’s hesitation, Qin Feng pressed "Accept."
’More friends mean more opportunities. Even if they couldn’t become friends, there was no need to shut the door on someone from his hometown, especially one with whom he had no deep-seated grudge.’
[You have successfully added "Shi Dang" as a friend.]
However, after he accepted the request, the other party’s chat window remained silent. No new messages came through.
Qin Feng didn’t pay it any mind.
He decided to just ignore it and pulled his focus back to what was most important.
He took a deep breath to compose himself, then expertly found the number he had pinned to the top of his contacts, labeled "Father," and dialed.
The holographic projection traversed the endless Star Sea and spanned dimensions.
The next moment.
HUMMM—
Following a soft hum, a phantom image composed of countless motes of light slowly coalesced before Qin Feng’s eyes.
It was a figure both familiar and yet slightly unfamiliar.
It was his father, Qin Dahai.
His father was seated behind a large, neat desk.
He wore a crisp, dark-blue uniform, a silver insignia signifying his management position pinned to his shoulder.
On the wall behind him hung a plaque that read "Qiming-7 Resource Processing Plant." Below it, a line of smaller text said—Deputy Director’s Office.
His face was just as Qin Feng remembered, but the look of weariness and age in his eyes had been replaced by a quiet dignity and calm.
But what truly made Qin Feng’s gaze fixate, and his heart swell with warmth, was his father’s left arm.
The left arm he had once lost on the battlefield, the one that had left an empty, dangling sleeve, had now grown back completely, good as new!
It was a healthy, powerful-looking arm.
The skin tone was identical to his right arm; there wasn’t even a trace that it was newly grown.
His father was using that very hand to hold a teacup, flexing his fingers nimbly.
"Ah Feng."
Seeing Qin Feng, his father’s holographic image broke into an irrepressible smile, one filled with pride and joy.
"Dad."
There was a faint, almost imperceptible hoarseness in Qin Feng’s voice.
Father and son gazed at each other across the endless Star River, both momentarily at a loss for words.
Qin Dahai was the first to speak. He set down his teacup and studied his son’s holographic form, as if committing every detail to memory.
"Good, very good! You’ve gotten sturdier, more composed. Your uncle and I watched the live broadcast of the Canaan Newcomer Cup. You fought well! You really made the Qin Family proud!"
His voice trembled slightly with excitement.
Qin Feng just smiled and asked, "Dad, how does your arm feel?"
"Oh, this!"
Qin Dahai immediately raised his newly grown left arm, waving it excitedly. He even clenched it into a tight fist, his knuckles making a sharp cracking sound.
"It grew back a while ago! That potion you sent last time worked like a miracle! I got the injection, and it grew back in less than a week, exactly like the original!"
He marveled, his face beaming with a satisfied smile.
"That’s good."
Qin Feng was thoroughly relieved.
"Is everyone at home okay? Uncle and his family?"
"Great, everyone’s great!"
The mention of family opened the floodgates for Qin Dahai.
"Those two boys of your uncle’s, they’ve turned out great, too! They both went to your old high school, Qiming First High School! They graduated two or three years ago."
At this, the pride on his face deepened.
"What’s more, both of them got into a Starry Sky Martial Arts University! It’s not Canaan like you, they’re going to Chixiao Martial Arts University, but that’s still one of the Top 100 Star Martial Arts Universities. They’re both doing well, really well."
His father’s face was beaming with sincere joy.
He said emotionally, "The Lin Family and the Qin Family, for generations we’ve all just been ordinary people. I never imagined that in our generation, we’d produce three Starry Sky Martial Arts University students all at once! Back in the day, that would have been unthinkable!"
"Getting into a Starry Sky Martial Arts University means there’s a very, very good chance you’ll become a true Planet-level Strongman in this lifetime! Those are the real big shots, people who can travel the Star Sea!"
As he spoke, his gaze fell upon Qin Feng once more, his eyes filled with immense warmth and emotion.
"But Ah Feng, when you get right down to it, this is all because of you."
"If you hadn’t won all those prestigious honors back on Qiming—’Newcomer King,’ ’Qiming’s General Star’—our family never would have received so much prize money and resource support."
"To be blunt, most of the resources your two cousins used for their training came from your success. The honors you fought so hard for are what paved the way for them."
Hearing this, Qin Feng simply nodded calmly. "We’re all family. It’s only right."
He asked, "Dad, how are things with you now? I see you’ve even become the Deputy Director."
"Haha, it’s just a title!"
Qin Dahai waved his hand dismissively, though he couldn’t hide the proud look on his face. "The factory has brought in fully automated, intelligent assembly lines now, so there’s no need for old-timers like us to get our hands dirty. As Deputy Director, all I do is come in, drink some tea, look over reports... It’s a very relaxed job."