"I met someone..." Zhong Yun seemed to fall into a memory, "The first thing he said to me was, please call me..."

He recounted in a gentle voice, telling the story of an ordinary youth who, through some chance encounter, met a mysterious, powerful, and almost omnipotent teacher, and gradually improved, growing stronger little by little.

In this story, ZER was a person of mysterious origin who became entangled with Zhong Yun due to an accident. This cold and indifferent alien visitor, however, looked upon the introverted and taciturn Zhong Yun with unusual favor.

After hearing his account, Zhong Pingjiang and Yun Rong both fell silent. The matter was stranger than any novel or film, yet the changes happening to their son were undeniable, and besides, he had no reason to fabricate such a fantastical lie.

After a long pause, Zhong Pingjiang finally asked, "Do you know where that ZER—this word is a bit awkward; it doesn't exist in the Davo language—your teacher, came from?"

Zhong Yun shrugged helplessly, saying, "I don't know either. I asked him, and he only said he came from a very, very distant country called Earth. Have you ever heard of it?"

"Earth?" Zhong Pingjiang frowned. He had never heard of a country with that name. He turned to look at his wife, saw her shake her head as well, and thought that it must be a powerful nation located far from the Omi Star System.

In his estimation, any entity capable of interstellar travel across domains must at least be a high-level civilization. Little did he know that although ZER could be said to be from Earth, he was not produced by Earth.

Zhong Pingjiang let that question rest. He then inquired about other details, such as whether ZER was his name, what he looked like, and how they made contact.

Zhong Yun was prepared. "He only contacted me through my computer. I have never seen him in person, so I don't know his name."

He answered what he could and claimed ignorance for what he couldn't. In any case, he had already synchronized his story with Xiao Ling, so even if they cross-examined her, no flaws would appear.

Finally, Zhong Pingjiang made a request. "Can I contact that ZER?" He still felt uneasy about this mysterious figure and wanted to speak with him personally.

Zhong Yun looked troubled. "I'll have to ask him myself. Wait a moment." Then he stood up and walked to the corner.

Zhong Pingjiang and his wife watched as he took out his computer, mumbled into it for a while, and then rushed back excitedly, "He agreed." Then he looked apologetically at Yun Rong, "But he only agrees to talk with Father."

"That's fine. Let's go out first then," Yun Rong didn't mind. Her husband was the same as she was.

Handing his personal data slate to his father, Zhong Yun followed his mother out of the office.

This "confession" to his parents was born of necessity. Since the officers of the First Fleet had discovered that he was piloting the Mars, some of his secrets would be hard to conceal.

He presumed the military command had already been notified, and it wouldn't be long before someone came to talk to him.

What he was doing now was preparing his parents, so they wouldn't be completely flustered if people from the National Security Agency or some other state institution showed up.

Of course, he wasn't foolish enough to reveal that he wasn't the original Zhong Yun, but a soul from Earth. If the truth came out, he was the very murderer of that son's soul.

Let this secret rot inside me forever, Zhong Yun thought silently.

Just as Zhong Yun predicted, the supreme leader of the Davo Republic, current President Shi Jinfan, was contemplating a recently transmitted file from the Ministry of Military Affairs in his presidential office in the capital, Vol.

After a long while, he connected the call to the secretary's office. "Have all cabinet members come over immediately."

Although it was already night, during wartime, his cabinet members had not yet left work. Led by the Minister of Energy, who set a good example, all cabinet members were staying at the Presidential Residence.

Soon, the cabinet members arrived at the presidential office.

"Your Excellency, has new intelligence arrived from the front line?" The Minister of Energy, who was the most impatient, asked as soon as he entered without even sitting down.

"Please, have a seat first," the President gestured to them.

Only after everyone was seated did he speak, "First, look at this document." Suspended screens appeared before everyone, displaying a top-secret file.

The Minister of Energy finished reading first and looked up. "Did you call us here because of this young man?" Judging by his expression, he seemed to think the President was making a fuss over nothing.

The President knew his temperament and didn't argue with him. After everyone else had finished reading, he spoke, "Have you all finished?" His gaze swept over everyone's faces, he shifted his body into a more comfortable posture, and a weariness crept into his tone, "Tell me, what are your thoughts?"

"What's there to say?" the Minister of Energy boomed, "Since he possesses a vessel capable of annihilating the enemy's most advanced warships, why not just requisition it directly?"

His words caused some people to frown. If it were that simple, the President wouldn't be so troubled. However, considering the forces this person represented, they quickly understood. This was purely a matter of standing; it would be strange if he didn't say something like that.

The President remained noncommittal. He certainly didn't take his words seriously. He turned to the round-faced elder seated at the far end. "Director Lin, what is your perspective?"

This Director Lin was not a member of his cabinet, but no one here would underestimate him. This seemingly affable old man actually controlled the most dangerous force in all of Davo and was someone absolutely not to be provoked.

However, he possessed very little political power; he was the type that needed to remain unseen. The only reason he was present was that the President needed the powerful intelligence-gathering capabilities of the Special Operations Bureau, and the President had specifically brought him into the temporary Operations Department.

"Is Your Excellency asking me to investigate his background?" Director Lin's well-maintained round face looked somewhat constrained.

The President's brow twitched almost imperceptibly. These people were all old foxes. Trying to get them to state their positions upfront was harder than ascending to heaven. Some pretended to be clueless, some played dumb, and others sat there like meditating monks, seemingly deaf to external affairs.

Situations like this almost occurred during every major meeting. He said, "We will discuss that later," then turned his gaze to his right-hand man, the Minister of Finance.

The Minister of Finance sat just below the President. He was not only the President's right hand but also the only person in the room who saw eye-to-eye with the President, and he served as the President's strategist.

In the short time that had passed, the Minister of Finance had already devised a plan of action. Seeing the stalemate, he spoke up, "May I ask Your Excellency, during wartime, if one completely annihilates an enemy's main fleet, how many military ranks should be awarded based on merit?"

The President tapped his fingers lightly on his thigh, pondered for a moment, and replied, "Hmm, annihilating a main fleet—the commander should be promoted by one star."

According to regulations, only an Admiral could serve as a Fleet Commander. Destroying a main fleet was a massive achievement that could promote a one-star Admiral to a two-star Admiral. Promotions for officers followed a strict calculation method; the higher the rank, the harder it was to advance, especially after reaching Admiral, unless one made an extraordinary contribution to the nation. Otherwise, promotion relied solely on military merits.

Just by accumulating seniority, unless one became the Minister of Military Affairs, the highest rank attainable was usually two-star Admiral (commanders of regional fleets or chiefs of staff).

No three-star Admiral had emerged since the end of the Patriotic War fifty years ago.

"And what if the person has no military rank at all?" the Minister of Finance continued to inquire.

"This..." The President was uncertain. "There really is no precedent for this." He turned to the man seated immediately to his right. "Marshal, what do you think?"

Due to certain historical reasons, the President did not wield direct military authority. Although the Ministry of Military Affairs was nominally under the jurisdiction of the Presidential Office, in reality, the military was completely independent. It possessed its own personnel, administrative authority, and even its own private treasury, which the Presidential Office could never touch.

In peacetime, the status of the Minister of Military Affairs already superseded that of other ministries, subtly holding equal footing with the President.

Furthermore, it was wartime. According to the Supreme Constitution of the Davo Republic, in the event of conflict, the Minister of Military Affairs automatically ascended to the rank of Marshal, commanding all the nation's forces.

In the newly formed temporary Operations Department, the Marshal issued the orders. The President had been reduced to the role of logistics coordinator, responsible for organizing and mobilizing all necessary resources and personnel for the war effort. The Minister of Military Affairs, now the wartime Marshal, was also Yang Yunrong's maternal uncle and represented the Yang family. The name Zhong Yun was not at all unfamiliar to him.

The first time he heard the name Zhong Yun was from his brother-in-law, whom he hadn't seen in twenty years, who specifically requested a spot for the youth in the inter-system martial arts competition.

The second time he heard it was from his niece, who cared about nothing. His niece, who had never proactively contacted him, made an unprecedented phone call to inquire about a person named Zhong Yun.

And clearly, both Zhong Yuns were the same person.

This sparked his interest in the young man named Zhong Yun. In a casual conversation, he unintentionally learned from his shrewd nephew that his niece was dating Zhong Yun.

This made him even more eager to meet Zhong Yun. He knew his niece's nature—so indifferent she was almost devoid of emotion. He was very curious to see the man who could capture her interest.

Unfortunately, he never got the chance. A few days later, he received news of the Tongguang Star's disaster, which caused him to feel deep regret for his niece. Unlike Zhang Xiao, Zhong Yun had appeared out of nowhere; it was truly bizarre and unbelievable.

Later, although explanations were offered, he always felt that Zhong Yun was hiding something. Moreover, looking at Zhong Yun's resume, too many elements defied reason. A teenager who scored an E on his intelligence test in middle school achieving a rank of level in just three years—that was beyond miraculous.

If it hadn't been for the sake of his niece, he would have ordered an investigation into Zhong Yun long ago.

These thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant. He felt dozens of needle-like gazes fixed upon him. After a moment of contemplation, he began, "Your Excellency the President..."

P: A new month begins. As customary, I request your base monthly votes. While monthly votes are not as crucial to me as they were last month, a very low ranking would still be embarrassing. The protagonist is approaching the center of the power vortex, and the following plot will be even more exciting. Please continue to support me.

For more novels, visit storyread.net.