In the room, more than a dozen pairs of eyes turned to look.
"President, what is your choice?"
Chen Fan did not rush to answer, but instead asked a question in return.
"Us?"
Sun Wei and others exchanged a glance.
"Brother Chen, to speak without fear of you laughing, we’ve discussed for so long, yet we still don’t know what the best course of action is," Xu Jie, who was sitting by the door, said with a bitter smile.
"Yes, if we stay, it’s probably a dead end. The President received news that this time, the beast tide is more ferocious than before. Anshan City, being a small city, likely cannot hold out," Tu Yue said, glancing at Sun Wei.
"That’s correct," Sun Wei nodded, "The email we received from headquarters particularly emphasized this point, suggesting we prepare for the worst, and if possible, it’s best to head to a safer place."
"Heading to a safer place is easier said than done," someone interjected, "I heard that a lot of Awakeners have already left the city by car, which indicates the situation may indeed be bleak. But even if we decide to leave, where to go is another question entirely."
"Yes, yes."
Many voices echoed in agreement.
"Alright."
Chen Fan nodded slightly. He could tell that everyone actually wanted to leave, but were helpless because they had no way out.
"Brother Chen, what about you?" someone asked, "Are you staying or leaving?"
The room immediately fell silent.
"I will stay."
Chen Fan replied without hesitation.
"?"
Everyone was shocked.
They were not only surprised by the answer but also by his tone, which was so decisive and without the slightest hesitation.
"Brother Chen, you, you’re going to stay?" Xu Jie gaped.
In private, some of them had mentioned to Sun Wei that Chen Fan had quite a close relationship with the President. If Chen Fan went to the headquarters, it wouldn’t be much of an issue.
Could they possibly hitch a ride with him?
When Sun Wei heard, he could only shake his head with a bitter smile, saying the matter wasn’t as simple as they thought.
Yet Chen Fan’s words now were far beyond their expectations.
"That’s right."
Chen Fan nodded slightly; he had already told Chang Fei and the others in the morning, so it was natural to repeat it to Sun Wei and the rest.
After listening, Sun Wei and the others held him in high regard.
After all, if they were in Chen Fan’s place, they probably would have left a long time ago.
At the same time, they were all somewhat curious about what realm Chen Fan had reached. Meridian Refining Realm? Or True Essence Realm?
If he was only at the Meridian Refining Realm, shouldn’t he lack the confidence to say such things?
"Brother Chen, what if one day Anshan City falls?" Sun Wei couldn’t help but ask.
"I hope that day never comes."
Chen Fan showed a bitter smile.
If it truly came to that, besides his own family, he could only save a few if he could.
"Yes, I really hope that day never comes," Sun Wei sighed.
If possible, who wouldn’t hope that Anshan City could hold out? It would be best if the beast tide never happened at all.
"Since Brother Chen is staying, I will stay too."
Gao Shan said, "I was here during the last two beast tides, so there’s no reason not to be here this time."
"Yes, and since we don’t know where else to go, we might as well stay."
"I’ll stay too. Let’s all protect Anshan City together."
Voices rose one after another.
Because for most of them, Anshan City was already the best place they could find.
Seeing this, Chen Fan smiled slightly and said, "Then let’s work hard together."
"Yes, work hard together!"
Everyone nodded heavily.
Because they were protecting not just their own lives, but also their families.
If they did not resist with all their might, when the city fell, they might be able to escape, but it wouldn’t be so easy for their parents and wives to leave.
"Alright, this meeting has lasted long enough; everyone should disperse and start preparing,"
Sun Wei coughed.
"Don’t overthink it. Thinking too much is useless. We’ll find out what happens when the time comes."
"Yes, President."
"President, we’ll head back now."
"My wife has been calling me all afternoon. I need to go back and comfort her."
"Yes."
Everyone got up to leave.
"By the way, Brother Chen, there’s something I forgot to tell you," Sun Wei suddenly remembered and called out to Chen Fan, who was also about to leave.
"What is it, President? Please speak,"
Chen Fan showed that he was all ears.
"Someone came to challenge us this morning."
Sun Wei smiled wryly.
"Someone came to challenge? Here?" Chen Fan was taken aback, pointing to the ground.
"Yes, it was a woman, quite pretty, and no one in our whole association knew her.
However, despite being a woman, her strength is not ordinary, especially her body technique. Even I couldn’t see through her. She claimed to be a True Essence Realm Martial Artist.
I feel that even if she’s not in the True Essence Realm, she has at least opened six or seven of her Eight Extraordinary Meridians and is only a step away from the True Essence Realm." Sun Wei said seriously.
"I see."
Chen Fan had a strange expression on his face.
A strange young woman claiming to be in the True Essence Realm.
A person came to mind.
Could it be Wang Lingling? After borrowing the Longevity Technique from him and getting bored, she came here to stir up trouble?
"Yes, Brother Chen. After hearing the comments around, she learned about you and said she would come tonight to have a match with you."
"..."
Chen Fan was speechless.
At a time like this, she still had the mind to spar?
No, even if the beast tide wasn’t imminent, he had no interest in sparring with her.
"President! President!"
A rush of footsteps could be heard.
"President! Brother Chen!"
Xu Jie hurried over, pointing to the hall downstairs, "That woman is here again, asking if Brother Chen has returned and wants to spar."
"This..."
Sun Wei looked at Chen Fan.
From a selfish perspective, he hoped Chen Fan would face her and defeat her to regain some reputation for their association.
However, he knew he had no right to ask Chen Fan to do so.
"Let’s go take a look."
An idea formed in Chen Fan’s mind.
In one afternoon, nearly half of the members of the Awakened Association had left.
The remaining members were generally of average strength.
If he wasn’t in the city and something unexpected happened, these people might not be able to handle it.
But with Wang Lingling, a True Essence Realm Martial Artist, it would be much easier.
He had been thinking all along about how to get this woman to agree.
Now it seemed, the opportunity had arrived.
...
"Where is he? Why hasn’t he come out yet?"
In the hall, Wang Lingling, wearing a clean set of clothes, stood with her hands on her hips, imposing in presence.
"Didn’t they say he was back? Why doesn’t he dare to see me? Could he be scared?"
She squinted her eyes and sneered, "In the morning, I heard you all praising this Chen so highly, heaven above and earth below, and this is it? So disappointing.
Well, admitting defeat isn’t that bad. After all, I’m too strong. It’s normal for your people not to be my match. But hiding like a turtle with its head withdrawn into its shell is quite disgraceful, isn’t it?"
Everyone present dared not speak, each lowering their heads.
They had experienced her strength firsthand.
"Who is hiding like a turtle, not daring to come out?"
A voice echoed.
"It’s Brother Chen!"
"Brother Chen is here!"
Everyone turned to see a group of people walking towards them.