Taking the Long Way

Ratatatatatata!

A shower of bullets rained around Yang Chen, but oddly none of which seemed to have affected him. Every bullet fired at him was flattened on an invisible shield. Soon enough, there was a pile of wasted metal at Yang Chen’s feet.

The American soldiers were stunned at what they saw. When their ammunition finally ran out, they saw something which only existed in the movies. This feat should not be possible by any mere mortal. A deep panic erupted from their hearts, causing them to stumble and fall back.

Yang Chen smiled warmly, greeting them kindly. “Good evening, working the night shift is pretty tiring. I’m sorry I didn’t bring supper for you guys. Else I could’ve let you try my barbeque mutton skewers. I’m good at making those.”

The soldiers’ minds blanked at this weird opening line.

An ear-piercing siren started to blare on the army base. All the spotlights were frantically swiveling around in search of the issue. Soldiers from all different directions surrounded Yang Chen in an attempt to stop him from progressing any further.

Yang Chen did actually hope that this would happen. It’d take too much time to find their commander. He might as well show himself to the crowd and trigger the alarms. Their commander would naturally emerge this way.

Lo and behold, when the soldiers found the target, they immediately surrounded Yang Chen, placing him in the middle.

More than a hundred guns were aimed at Yang Chen. The disheveled, half-dressed soldiers had on dark expressions as if facing their biggest enemy. They had just witnessed this man emerge unscathed from a heavy rain of bullets. Needless to say, they were reeking with fear.

Yang Chen surveyed them and asked a question with an American accent. “Where’s your commander? I’m not here to fight, just here to talk.”

A hoarse voice boomed from the back. “I am whom you seek. Your actions have angered us from United States Navy. I hope you have a good explanation.”

A middle-aged white man in full uniform walked out. The two subordinates behind him obviously didn’t want him to show himself, because the enemy looked very much ‘abnormal’.

Yang Chen squinted at his medals and asked smilingly, “Colonel?”

“You can call me Colonel Jimmy,” Jimmy said solemnly. “I am in charge of all affairs of this base. What is it you wish to discuss?”

Yang Chen directly made his request. “I want An Zaihuan. I know he’s here. Bringing him back to China is my only goal.”

“So what you’re saying, Sir, is that you’re from the Chinese army?” Jimmy asked.

Yang Chen shook his head. “I’m not. I have a few private problems I have to sort out with An Zaihuan, and I don’t feel like discussing further with you.”

“When did I mention that you had a say in this? I’ve come to personally ask you because I don’t feel like killing everyone here. I’m not your enemy anyway,” Yang Chen said.

Jimmy, not extremely infuriated, shouted, “Sir, you have disrespected and underestimated the navy! Although you have proven to us that you are powerful, it is still not enough for us to surrender!”

Yang Chen sighed a little. “Really, no?”

“Comrades, tell him our answer!” Jimmy roared.

The crowd of American naval soldiers roared, “Glory to battle!”

Yang Chen shook his head pitifully, loosening his spine. “They might be loud, but that’s all they’ll ever be.”

When the cry faded, Yang Chen pointed a finger at a resting F22 battle plane in front.

Boom!

While the soldiers were trying to figure out what the Asian man was going to do, the resting plane suddenly erupted in flames!

An explosion?!!

With the explosion, all the soldiers, including Colonel Jimmy, had their jaws on the floor—they were speechless!

Yang Chen nodded, satisfied. He had been looking for a chance to test his capabilities ever since the breakthrough. By manipulating the True Yuan around him, he had punctured the fuel tank of the plane. The high temperature along with the friction, caused the fuel to ignite, leading to the explosion.

Compared to the gods who manipulate space laws, Yang Chen’s cultivation was more focused more on the precision of force. It might not be enough to move mountains, but when used correctly could cause serious damage.

Of course, Yang Chen was still aware that although he possessed all this power, he had only scratched the surface of this realm. There was so much more to learn. Once he mastered karmic connection with all sentient beings, he’d be able to manipulate much more power.

Unfortunately, he did not have a teacher to teach him how to progress further. The most powerful beings from ancient times, as Yan Sanniang mentioned, were not in this world anymore. The only way he could learn was from trial and error.

The flames lit the faces of the soldiers. They felt a chill down their spine, falling back in fear.

This was a human weapon!

Jimmy’s face darkened. “Sir, if you claim you aren’t our enemy, then why are you doing this? Even if you are powerful, what makes you think you can go up against the entire American army?!”

Yang Chen replied impatiently, “I don’t have time for small talk. I have made my point clear, give me the man or I will destroy one of your assets every few seconds. I’ll start with the planes, then your warships out at sea. I’ll end when I have destroyed your nuclear aircraft carrier. Trust me, it won’t be any trouble. Of course, if you still don’t want to give him up, I’ll start killing your men. One by one, until you give him up.”

Yang Chen finished, then pointed again.

Boom!

An armed helicopter exploded into bits in flames and smoke! A few crumbs of the metal arms fell from the sky, causing the soldiers to panic again!

Both of Colonel Jimmy’s legs gave out, clumsily leaning on his two subordinates. The usualy dominant soldiers finally had a taste of helplessness…

It was one thing to suffer helplessness, it was another to suffer it from the hands of one man!

“Shall I continue? When are you going to give him up?” Yang Chen asked again.

Jimmy’s face reddened. He was so embarrassed he didn’t know what to do.

However, when Jimmy saw Yang Chen’s expression start to turn sour, and about to lift his arm again, Jimmy finally gave up!

“Stop! Stop! We’ll give you what you want!”

Jimmy shouted, aiming only to please Yang Chen. He glared at the two soldiers behind him, “Bring that An Zaihuan out now!”

The soldiers were secretly relieved too. They were obviously not a match for this enemy. They were lucky the colonel knew when to surrender or they’d all be in line to die!

Soon, two soldiers dragged An Zaihuan out. The disheveled man was very confused, but when he recognized Yang Chen, his face lit up!

“Yang Chen?!” An Zaihuan exclaimed. “You’re finally here! Did An Xin send you to get me? You know how to save me right? You’re so powerful, the army will definitely let me go with you here. So I’m safe now, right?!”

Yang Chen approached him expressionlessly. His cold gaze left An Zaihuan increasingly confused.

“I have to say, you really make me disgusted. At this point, I don’t even want to talk to you,” Yang Chen said, bored.

An Zaihuan was more confused, smiling stiffly.

Yang Chen shook his head, then hit the back of An Zaihuan’s neck to knock him out. Now he didn’t have to look at the man’s face.

With one hand grabbing An Zaihuan’s collar, Yang Chen dragged him like an object across the floor. He turned to Colonel Jimmy. “Alright, although it didn’t exactly go to plan, nothing serious had happened. However, as a person who currently lives in China, I’d like to remind you of this. What you do at sea is none of my business, but please do not disturb my daily life or I will sink your nuclear aircraft carriers…”

Without waiting to look at the soldiers’ expressions, Yang Chen had already disappeared with An Zaihuan!

Jimmy’s face turned green, then white. Grinding his teeth in anger, he told a staff officer, “Contact The Pentagon immediately! Immediately!”

The base was left in chaos, but Yang Chen wasn’t bothered.

During the journey back, although he had to carry An Zaihuan, it didn’t trouble Yang Chen much.

However, before leaving the Filipino archipelagos, Yang Chen suddenly recalled something. He thought for a moment, then concluded that it was necessary. Thus, he circled other islands for a bit before returning home.

Approximately an hour after he’d left, the soldiers led by Yang Pojun and the An clan gathered to wait at the living hall.

When Yang Chen opened the door and threw An Zaihuan down like a dog’s carcass on the ground, both the soldiers and the entire An clan were shocked!

“Elder Brother?!”

“You still call him brother?! This motherfucker is an animal!” The An clan erupted into several conversations while staring at Yang Chen in disbelief. No matter how they approached the topic, they couldn’t figure out how Yang Chen managed to do it.

Yang Pojun sat at the dining table, solemnly drinking the tea An Xin served. He didn’t think Yang Chen would bring the man back in such a short time!

“The man is here. Bring him away,” Yang Chen said casually.

Yang Pojun scoffed, then gestured for the soldiers to bring An Zaihuan to the prisoner transport vehicle. He stood, then said, “I am only in charge of capturing the man. As for the rest, I don’t care.” He led the soldiers out without a goodbye.

The clan members and servants sighed in relief. No matter what, they were saved. All eyes on Yang Chen were filled with gratitude and respect.

However, when An Xin saw how the unconscious An Zaihuan was immediately dragged out, her emotions were a mess. She stood in her spot while her mind flipped between grief, hate, pity, and bitterness. Finally, she gritted her teeth and walked to stand by Yang Chen, forcing a smile. “You didn’t get into any trouble, did you? Are you hurt?”

Despite everything that happened, it was still her father who was dragged out. Yang Chen’s heart ached to look at his girl attempting to hide her pain. He gently patted her cheek, smiling. “I’m not hurt, but I did meet some trouble on the way back so I had to take the long way home."