Chapter 569: People from the Bagua Sect Arrive!
A bet?
Upon hearing those two words, everyone couldn’t help but shudder. If Kong Ying lost, she had to clean the toilets for a month. If they lost, wouldn’t their fate be even worse?
However, Kong Ying said, "Let’s be clear first, what’s the bet?"
Lin Mu replied, "Simple."
"Xiao Tian, did you bring him?"
Lin Mu couldn’t be bothered to explain, nor did he intend to use force to make them obey. These people were the pillars of the nation, ready to shed their blood for the country. Lin Mu didn’t have the heart to make things difficult for them. They deserved respect, so he chose a gentler approach.
Of course, if it were anyone else, Lin Mu would have slapped them already, not caring whether they listened or not.
Soon, Shi Potian arrived with a teenager following behind him.
Upon seeing this person, everyone from the Divine Machine Camp was stunned.
Leng Feng!
The son of a former Divine Machine Camp Instructor!
His father had mysteriously disappeared. After the Divine Machine Camp searched fruitlessly, the higher-ups assigned a new instructor. However, the members of the Divine Machine Camp only recognized Leng Feng’s father and resented any replacement. Lin Mu, of course, was an exception.
What puzzled everyone was, why did Instructor Lin bring Leng Feng here?
"Leng Feng, are you willing to train with me?" Lin Mu looked at the somewhat timid boy and asked with a smile.
Leng Feng was already fifteen, but he was thin and small for his age, making him look two or three years younger than his peers. Moreover, his body was covered in scars, as if he had been in many fights.
Though Leng Feng was timid, his eyes were bright as he looked at Lin Mu and asked, "Are you even stronger than Brother Xiao Tian?"
"Of course," Lin Mu nodded with a smile.
"Then... can you help me find my dad? I haven’t seen him in a long time."
Leng Feng’s voice was timid and very quiet, but everyone present heard it clearly. Jiaolong, in particular, felt his eyes redden and his face fill with guilt.
Instructor Leng, I’ve let you down!
He felt he hadn’t taken good care of Leng Feng.
"I can’t," Lin Mu said earnestly. "But if you become strong enough, you can find him yourself."
"That said, are you still willing to train with me?"
Leng Feng’s small face furrowed as if he was hesitating. But when he saw the smile on Lin Mu’s face, for some reason, a glimmer of light appeared in his otherwise dim eyes.
"Mhm!"
Lin Mu nodded in satisfaction. "Good."
"I’ll give you all half a month. For this half-month, you will train using your own methods." He then pointed at Leng Feng. "And he will train using mine."
"After half a month, I guarantee he will be able to defeat every single one of you."
Upon hearing this, the expressions of Jiaolong and the others changed, and they were on the verge of objecting. It wasn’t that they didn’t respect Lin Mu, but his words were simply too humiliating.
One had to remember, Leng Feng was only fifteen. Furthermore, because he had been frail since childhood, he had never undergone any professional training. Instructor Leng himself had once said he only wanted his son to be an ordinary person. Lin Mu was going against the late instructor’s wishes.
"Instructor Lin, I object," Jiaolong declared. "Leng Feng is our former instructor’s son. He only wanted Leng Feng to live an ordinary life. Besides, even with half a month, could he really do it?"
"But have any of you ever asked for his opinion?" Lin Mu retorted coldly. "Since he is the son of your Instructor Leng, do you know about his current situation? Do you know where he lives? Do you know what he goes through every day?"
This barrage of questions left Jiaolong and the others speechless.
They truly didn’t know.
Guilt and embarrassment were evident on the faces of all the Divine Machine Camp members.
"Let me tell you," Lin Mu said calmly. "Every day, he has to fight with others over scraps. If he’s late, the rotten vegetables people throw away will be gone, and he’ll go hungry. He lives in a place you can’t even begin to imagine, a place even beggars refuse to stay. Every day, he has to fight at least three people, and that’s not including kids his own age."
"Just before Xiao Tian found him, he was being beaten by several men. If it weren’t for Xiao Tian, he would be dead by now."
Lin Mu’s tone turned colder. "So, what right do you have to make decisions for him?"
Everyone looked at Leng Feng. The boy was clenching his fists tightly, his eyes full of indignation. The look of determination between his brows was so similar to Instructor Leng’s.
The members of the Divine Machine Camp fell silent.
"Everyone, you don’t have to worry about me," Leng Feng said with a smile. "No matter how hard the training is, I will persevere. I’m not getting stronger for revenge; I just want to find my dad."
"Even if I can’t find him, I’ll become a qualified soldier just like he was. I’ll defend the country and protect children like me from being bullied."
Leng Feng’s eyes sparkled as if filled with endless hope.
Everyone was shaken, including Kong Ying.
"Instructor Lin, are you serious?" Kong Ying asked, frowning, still finding it hard to believe.
"Do I look like I’m joking?" Lin Mu returned.
"Instructor Lin, there are no jokes in the military!" Kong Ying reminded him again.
"Then let’s just wait and see," Lin Mu said, making his decision final.
The members of the Divine Machine Camp left, but Leng Feng was told to stay.
"Instructor Lin, can I really do it?" As soon as the others were gone, Leng Feng lowered his head, his voice stuttering slightly.
He didn’t know what the Divine Machine Camp was, but he knew that soldiers were the most powerful people in the world. Could a boy like him really do it? He was worried he couldn’t. If he failed, he wouldn’t be able to find his dad or become a qualified soldier.
"Don’t worry. Just listen to me and you’ll be fine," Lin Mu said, full of confidence. "Or were you just boasting earlier?"
"I wasn’t!" Leng Feng clenched his fists, his small face flushing red. "I don’t boast! I was being completely serious!"
Ever since he was young, Leng Feng’s father had been his hero, his role model, his goal. He had always wanted to be a man like his father, just like countless other children.
"In that case, what are you worried about?" Lin Mu smiled.
"But I heard from Brother Xiao Tian that the people in the Divine Machine Camp are Super Soldiers whose genes have been altered. Do I need that too?" Leng Feng asked curiously.
"You?" Lin Mu said with a smile. "You don’t need that at all."
"Then... when do we start training?"
Lin Mu patted Leng Feng’s head. "No rush. Come on, I’ll take you out for a good meal."
「」
"What on earth is Instructor Lin up to?" Monkey asked. "Can Leng Feng really do it?"
Jiaolong shook his head. "I don’t know. If it really comes to it, then we’ll..."
Just then, Mad Dog came running back, gasping for breath. "Instructor Lin took Leng Feng out to eat."
"What? To eat? No training?"
Everyone was stunned.
"Yes," Mad Dog said, wiping the sweat from his brow. "I overheard them. And Instructor Lin is also going to take Leng Feng to Suzhou for a few days of fun."
"This... this is utter nonsense!"
And just as Lin Mu was leaving the base with Leng Feng, people from the Bagua Sect arrived looking for them.