Chapter 37

Sun Jintang retracted his large turtle spirit and held the small one. Sitting on the floor, he kept touching and inspecting the mountain-shaped part on the little turtle’s back. He then messaged his vice-marshal father: “Dad, I’m with Xiaoshan. Can you come over?”

The Sun family was a large clan. Sun Jintang alone had three full siblings, and there were even more nieces and nephews. After getting married, the four siblings each bought their own homes, with only Sun Fushan, who had a particularly unique spirit, living with their parents in their villa. Sun Jintang, after a busy day, came over to check after hearing the news.

Two or three minutes later, footsteps descending the stairs could be heard outside.

Sun Jintang stood up, holding the shell of the little green turtle.

The door was ajar. Sun Dagui pushed it open and walked in. At over eighty years old, the S-level powerhouse had a sturdy build like a mountain. His short hair was dense and black, making him look like he was in his fifties, or even more vigorous.

Sun Dagui first looked at the bed, seeing his little grandson still asleep, and frowned, “Why did you come over?”

Sun Jintang, with his hands behind his back, nodded towards the door, “Close the door first.”

Sun Dagui glared at his son but closed the door with a backhand.

Sun Jintang waved his hand, “Catch!”

Sun Dagui caught the flying little green turtle steadily, feeling its smooth, high-quality shell. He laughed, “The spirit can come out on its own now, seems like there’s no big issue.”

Sun Jintang was speechless for a moment, then muttered to the little green turtle, “You were just showing off your skills to me, why are you hiding now? Hurry up and show your grandpa.”

Under Sun Dagui’s puzzled gaze, the little green turtle finally kicked its legs, revealing the mountain covering its entire shell.

Sun Dagui’s hand shook, and the little green turtle fell to the ground with a thud, retracting its head and legs, leaving only its shell.
—-
After the echo died down, the little green turtle slowly stuck its head out, looking resentfully at its grandfather above.

Sun Jintang bent down to pick up the little green turtle, feeling a mix of emotions. “You went through so much trouble to think of good names for the grandchildren, and finally, one has worked out.”

Their names were relatively normal among the four siblings, although “solid as Jintang” (Jintang) seemed a bit odd on its own. At least it reminded people of the idiom, showing that their father had a bit more culture than their fisherman grandfather from the old era.

The next generation, however, had it worse. Their father, eager to have S-level descendants, named the children after mythical divine turtles.

The names Sun Xuan and Sun Wu for the first two were quite pleasant. However, Sun Bi and Sun Xi, the sons of the second brother, had protested and even gone on a hunger strike to change their names. Sun Luoshui, the niece from the third brother, was an odd name but unique. Meanwhile, Sun Baxia was quite satisfied with his name after witnessing the struggles his cousins went through.

Their youngest sister married Wei Jian, and when their eldest nephew was born, the grandfather hoped he would inherit Wei Jian’s S-level spirit, so he didn’t name him immediately. When the nephew’s spirit turned out to be an A-level turtle, the grandfather quickly named the niece Wei Tongtian. However, she was still in middle school and hadn’t awakened her spirit yet.

Sun Dagui took the little green turtle again and closely inspected the mountain on its shell. It looked grey and ordinary.

Remembering there was a spirit detection device in the space crystal, Sun Dagui immediately fetched it. He glanced at his sleeping grandson and directly threw the little green turtle onto his grandson’s stomach.

Before it collided, the little green turtle disappeared.

Sun Jintang quickly pressed his spirit down on his son.

The weight of “fatherly love” caused Sun Fushan’s chest to ache, and he finally opened his eyes in pain. Before he could understand the situation, Sun Jintang grabbed him by the shoulders and stuffed him into the detection device.
—-
The plug was inserted, the button pressed, and the device set to offline and low sound mode. The detection began.

Soon, a low electronic voice reported:

[Name: Sun Fushan]

[Spirit: Turtle]

[Power: Earth element]

[Level: B]

The last line was the most crucial. However, the “B” result was far below Sun Dagui and Sun Jintang’s expectations. One frowned slightly, and the other side in disappointment.
—-
Inside the detection device, Sun Fushan’s sleepy voice exclaimed with joy, “Ah, I also, I have a B!”

The child had always been quiet, and during middle school, he even developed a stutter. Now, Sun Dagui and Sun Jintang only took his broken speech as a sign of excitement.

The metal door opened, and Sun Fushan came out holding the little green turtle. His short hair was a mess from sleep, and his eyes shone brightly, just like when he first joined his teammates.

Sun Dagui relaxed his brows, patted his youngest grandson’s head, and asked, “Tell Grandpa what happened outside today.”

Explaining everything would take too long. Sun Fushan sat on the bed and quickly typed, praising his two teammates as the strongest in the C-level.

Sun Jintang asked, “How did you encounter A-level beasts twice in a row?”

As he spoke, he took out an S-level energy gun from his crystal.

Sun Dagui glared, “How many S-level weapons does the entire base have? Every S-level energy bullet must be used wisely. If he really dies in a low-danger area at the mouth of an A-level beast, then that’s his fate.”

Sun Jintang silently put away the gun.

Sun Fushan messaged his dad: “Don’t worry, Dad, my teammates are strong, and my A-level guns are enough.”

Sun Jintang also patted his son’s head.

Sun Dagui pondered for a moment, staring at his grandson. “I’m an S, and your dad is an A. If you were always a C, I’d accept it. But now, it seems your spirit just needs a push to upgrade. So, I’ll arrange for you to train with the military tomorrow. You might reach S by the end of the year.”

Sun Jintang: “…”

Sun Fushan looked highly resistant: “No, the Guard Corps doesn’t need me now. But if I leave, our team might disband. I can’t abandon them just because I’ve leveled up.”

Xu Qiao and Meng Li would definitely continue training their powers in dangerous areas. If he left, what would they do if they encountered another A-level beast?

If his spirit remained at B-level, he’d still be a lower-level turtle among higher-level ones. Going to the military wouldn’t change that. He’d rather continue training with his teammates.

If their spirits could rise further, Sun Fushan was willing to stay with his team until they all reached A-level.

Level A abilities are already high-level, giving one the ability to live outside the base for an extended period. By that time, he can leave the team and join the army.

Sun Dagui said, “Nonsense, you’re already at level B. Do you still plan to hang around in the level C danger zones?”

Sun Fushan responded, “We have our own plan.”

Sun Jintang, glancing between his wristband and his father, chimed in, “Dad, I think it’s best to keep Xiaoshan’s spirit upgrade a secret for now.”

Sun Dagui quickly understood, “You mean someone might not want Xiaoshan to continue advancing and might act against him?”

Sun Jintang replied, “People can be unpredictable. During a beast tide, the whole base works as one, but in peaceful times, some people love to vie for power.”

As long as the old man was around, Sun Jintang could serve as the Minister of Security, and their family could hold military positions. However, once the old man was gone and if the Sun family didn’t have a new S-rank member, other S-rank families would naturally vie for their coveted positions.
—-
The Sun family could step aside, but it must be for successors who prioritize the base’s and the public’s interests.

Sun Dagui nodded and then, looking at his grandson, advised, “You’re sensible enough to know what to do. Remember to keep your spirit under control and don’t show off its mountain feature to others. After all, it’s only at level B, nothing much to brag about.”

In a flash of green light, the little green turtle fell heavily onto the old man’s foot, only to be bounced far away by the S-rank turtle shell that appeared on the old man’s instep, landing belly up.

Sun Dagui said calmly, “It’s late. Go to sleep. Tomorrow, continue your work as a librarian.”

After saying this, he told his son to put away the detection device and left.

As Sun Jintang was about to unplug the device, Sun Fushan had a sudden thought and ran over to hug the detector, saying, “Dad, I… I want it.”

Sun Jintang turned his head: “You want the detector? What do you need it for?”

Sun Fushan blushed: “Once a day, to, to test. Maybe…”

Sun Jintang: “Maybe one day you’ll reach A or S rank? You really dare to dream.”

Sun Fushan lowered his head, continuing to hold the detector.
—-
After a moment, Sun Jintang relented: “Fine, take it. Anyway, this one was going to be scrapped. Your grandpa wasn’t willing to give up, so he had it overhauled and brought it back.”

On Monday, Xu Qiao got up early as usual to water the fruits and vegetables in the two small courtyards, and picked a new batch of celery, beans, eggplants, and cucumbers into a basket.

Aunt Liu from unit 202 also got up early and saw Xu Qiao below when she opened the window. She was surprised: “Xiao Qiao, you picked so much at once, can you eat it all?”

Xu Qiao smiled: “I’m planning to give some to friends.”

Aunt Liu smiled but didn’t believe him. She hadn’t seen Xu Qiao bring any friends home in the past two years; she thought he was likely planning to sell the vegetables at a higher price.

At that moment, an SUV drove up and stopped steadily in front of building five.

Aunt Liu watched curiously as Xu Qiao stood up from the vegetable patch, puzzled to see Sun Fushan and Meng Li getting out of the car.

Last night, Sun Fushan had sent a message around 8 p.m. saying he was safe and everything seemed normal. Why were they here so early today, and why did they bring Meng Li along?

Meng Li was usually quiet and expressionless, while Sun Fushan, though forced to speak less, always smiled warmly. He excitedly leaned against the fence of the small courtyard: “You, you’re picking, picking vegetables? I, I want to help too.”

The young master Sun, who had played with all sorts of expensive toys, had never set foot in a vegetable garden.

Xu Qiao: “…Then come and try?”

From the north came the sound of a curtain being drawn—it was Qin Chi, wearing the familiar white shirt.

Sun Fushan waved to him with a smile and then said to Xu Qiao: “Not now, let’s go inside first, we have business.”

It seemed related to the team’s secret. Xu Qiao looked at Qin Chi.

Qin Chi: “Come to my place.”

Xu Qiao, carrying the two almost-full baskets of vegetables, walked out of the courtyard. Meng Li and Sun Fushan each grabbed a basket.

Aunt Liu on the second floor: “…”

Xu Qiao brought his two teammates to unit 102.

Upon entering, Meng Li silently observed while Sun Fushan exclaimed in wonder and went to touch the flower basket on the light gold table: “Real, real flowers!”

Qin Chi smiled: “They’re not very fresh; I haven’t had time to order new ones.”

Xu Qiao and Meng Li: “…”

Qin Chi’s living room had only a single armchair and a lone dining chair. Luckily, he had a spare set in storage, so he temporarily brought out a double sofa for his teammates: “Have a seat.”

Meng Li: “No, thanks. After we finish the business, I still have to rush to work in the Fourth Ring.”

Sun Fushan quickly closed the curtains and set up the detector they brought along, excitedly saying: “I also, advanced to B rank. Do you all want to, test too?”

Although their strength had already improved, they still hoped for accurate evaluations.

Sun Fushan eagerly looked at his teammates, seeing surprise and eagerness on the faces of the two girls, while Qin Chi, at twenty-nine, remained composed.
—-
After connecting the power and setting the mode, Xu Qiao and Meng Li took their turns, and the results were as they expected: both their primary and secondary abilities were at B rank.

Qin Chi was the last to enter. The metal door lowered, blocking the teammates’ view.

After about ten seconds, there were suddenly a few loud bangs from inside.

The detector emitted an error sound, and the metal door lifted.

Qin Chi came out, clutching his right arm, revealing that the detector’s interior had been damaged with huge claw marks, causing sparks and flickering lights on the instrument panel.

He smiled wryly and explained: “As I said, my spirit beast is aggressive, even the detector got destroyed.”

Sun Fushan was stunned.

Qin Chi: “I’ll take responsibility for the repairs.”

Sun Fushan: “No, no need, I…”

Xu Qiao looked at his arm with concern: “Are you hurt?”

Only then did Qin Chi let go, showing a long tear in his shirt sleeve and blood marks on his fair, slender forearm.

Xu Qiao hurried forward to heal him.