CH 203

After a long time, Rode's consciousness returned from chaos.

The final image still lingered in his mind, but before him was a completely unfamiliar room.

"Where... is this?"

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Rode lowered his head, looking at his hands.

The skin was delicate and crystal clear, like that of a newborn baby, without any dirt, bloodstains, or wounds.

The terrifying tearing sensation in his soul was also gone, but his spiritual power was depleted, not a drop left.

The "Chilling Green" was slowly recovering spiritual power, spreading a cool breath throughout his soul.

However, with his current depth of spiritual power, the recovery of the "Chilling Green" was completely insufficient.

There was no doubt that the Resurrection Stone had taken effect, and he had been revived.

This was a new him.

The mission was completed, and the aftereffects of "Awakening" had completely disappeared, just as he had expected.

But, where was this?

Rode stood up and surveyed the room.

Simple, bright, clean, filled with the atmosphere of a fighter.

This style should belong to a room in the secret base.

"I didn't set the resurrection point in my private residence, did I? This isn't my room, is it?"

Rode walked out the door and immediately saw Mina, the young lady from the research institute.

She was half-kneeling on the ground, drawing something, and the high-raised white coat made her posture less than graceful.

Rode raised his hand and greeted her, "Hey, Mina, long time no see."

When Mina turned her head and saw Rode, her pretty face quickly turned red, and the blush spread from her fair skin to the collarbone on her chest.

Rode took a step towards her, and a certain indescribable part of him trembled.

"What...?"

Smack!

A writing board was thrown at him, hitting his handsome abdomen. It was then that Rode realized he was completely naked, not wearing anything.

"Ah ah ah ah ah ah!"

The piercing scream echoed through the research area of the secret base.

---

When Rode sat in the office of the secret base with a swollen face, he looked somewhat unhappy.

So what if he made a little joke? Mina, you used to invite me to your house every day, and now that I'm here, this is your reaction?

Not only are you not honest, but you also hit me?

If it weren't for the fact that you helped me before, I would definitely have beaten you to the ground.

Vera and Soren, who had just returned from the war zone, looked at Rode with serious expressions.

"Aren't you supposed to be undergoing an inquiry from the investigation team? Why are you in the restricted area?" Soren asked, his face darkening.

Rode snorted, not wanting to speak. These two obviously didn't know that he had gone on a mission.

Soren's face turned black, and he suddenly slammed the table and stood up, angrily shouting, "Do you know what you've done? Trespassing in the restricted area, exposing yourself to harass a female researcher, is enough to get you locked up in the dungeon for three years!"

Mina, who had been secretly wiping her eyes, immediately looked up and said softly, "This... Instructor Soren, Rode didn't mean it, did he?"

Soren gave her a dissatisfied look. Can't you cooperate with me to scare this kid?

Dean Vera coughed heavily and asked, "Rode, what's going on? Tell us."

Rode didn't know what was going on, and he didn't know what he could say. After hesitating for a moment, he replied, "Your Excellency Dean, please inform the High Military War Department that I am here. I don't know anything else."

Vera nodded. It was the High Military War Department that had taken him away before. Perhaps something unexpected had happened, and it was best to inform them.

But little did she know that this would stir up a hornet's nest. A fleet of spirit vehicles flew down from the upper city area, and a large group of people in red military uniforms rushed into the secret base.

Leading them was the First Commander, Herman.

As soon as he saw Rode, he rushed up and hugged him tightly.

"He's alive!"

He announced loudly.

Cheers rang out through the base.

Everyone rushed up to hug him, shake his hand, or just touch him.

For a moment, Rode was surrounded, and Vera and the others were pushed aside.

He grabbed someone and asked, "What's going on?"

The person had a big smile on his face. "Dean Vera, congratulations on raising such a good student!"

With his explanation, Vera and the others finally understood what had happened.

A feeling of great joy rose from the bottom of their hearts. Vera was so excited that she couldn't contain herself, tears streaming down her face as she murmured, "Chief Dean, did you see? Did you see? Rode is a hero, he saved us."

Soren and Mina were also overjoyed, but the former's joy was mixed with pride, and the latter's joy was mixed with regret.

Rode was quickly taken away by the crowd, leaving only one person here to understand the situation.

"So, you just saw him walk out of the restricted area?" the person asked.

Mina nodded slightly.

"He wasn't wearing anything?"

Mina's face turned slightly red, but she still nodded.

"Describe his physical features in detail."

"Do you need that?" Mina hesitated.

"Of course, it's necessary!" the person said seriously. "This is a very important matter. Please cooperate with our investigation."

"Okay, okay... In the unengorged state, the length is... the width is... according to scientific calculation, after engorgement..."

Smack!

Everyone covered their faces.

"Miss Mina, I'm asking about his body features! Physical features!"

Mina's entire face turned red, and she said softly, "Why didn't you make it clear..."The investigation concluded swiftly, revealing nothing out of the ordinary except for the absence of an item from the sealed room. It was an unknown object seized by the expeditionary legion from some ruins, its purpose a mystery, hence it was handed over to the Mechanism Research Institute for identification.

Mina had placed it in the restricted area as per regulations.

"Eh? Where did it go?"

They searched the entire restricted area but found nothing.

"Miss Mina, do you remember what that thing was?"

Mina hesitated before replying, "It was a silver spherical object, about the size of a fist, possibly a relic from the Second Era, with an unknown use."

The man sighed, "It probably has nothing to do with young Rode; he's got nothing on him, no place to hide anything."

Mina hesitated again, wanting to suggest there might be a place to hide it, but her lips quivered and she remained silent.

Vera, the chief, said, "It might have been lost, or perhaps stolen by someone. We will investigate thoroughly and get to the bottom of this."

The man nodded indifferently, not particularly concerned about the matter.

---

Meanwhile, in the main hall of the Supreme Military Department, Rode received an unprecedented welcome.

Not only the military department's defense chiefs, the king's envoy, the elders of the Supreme Council, the bishops of the Holy Church, and the executive officers of the Administrative Office were all present.

Under the gaze of everyone, Rode recounted the events in detail, altering only a few details related to the dream.

For the inexplicable parts, Rode consistently excused them as "I don't know" or "Perhaps it's a secret spell left by the Headmaster."

This tactic never failed; everyone had a high tolerance for the miracles the Headmaster could create.

After the recount, everyone observed a moment of silence for the fallen Toman and Dmitri.

The First Defense Chief, Dalin, said solemnly, "Molly, double the compensation for the two fallen, allow their direct relatives to reside in the upper city district, and secure a respectable job for their children."

A female dispatcher with a cold demeanor spoke, "Lord Dalin, Dmitri's only son has already fallen at the Giant Stone Lighthouse, and Toman's parents have long passed away; they have no relatives."

The First Commander, Herman, exclaimed, "Impossible, Toman always talked about his compensation; how could he have no relatives?"

The aloof female dispatcher said, "When we were preparing to carry out the compensation, we discovered that the family information Toman registered with the military department was false. The 'daughter' he mentioned was actually the name of a dog he bought three years ago from the Life Cult, a mistaken resurrected species with nine tails."

An unspeakable silence permeated the hall.

It took a while for Dalin to recover before he sighed, "Engrave their names on the Thalorian Monument, may the heroes be immortal."

Everyone chanted in unison, "May the flame burn eternal, may the heroes be immortal, may the torch be passed on, the spirit continue, and humanity never perish."

Rode murmured along with them, feeling as if something intangible within his spirit had risen.

It swelled like a balloon, heating his soul.