Shi Lang stood in the control room with his hands behind his back. Crystal stood behind him with a fangirl expression evident in her eyes. She was impressed by his judgment and ways of handling the situation. Not even a single bullet was fired, all he did was to make the people aware of themselves.

Shi Lang looked at Aran and said, “Get their networks unlocked, let the entire world see what is happening.”

Aran nodded and replied, “Yes, boss.”

Aran was working on the computers and the system was translating the code automatically in the language of Cega. His skills were the best after Milo. Jill said, “Aran, it is your time, Milo will be burned if he knows that you took over his place.”

Aran smiled but Shi Lang said, “He did not snatch anyone’s place, he just made his own. I am hungry.”

That said, he left the control room heading to the kitchen. Crystal was confused while Aran was shivering slightly, and then his hand speed took off. Jill shook her head with a smile and said, “Crystal, what happened?”

The girl asked, “Big sister, do we have to meet with the Variant leader today?”

Jill nodded and said, “Boss will go there and we will follow, also, where is your gear? Go get ready. Only take it off when you shower, we are on duty the whole time when we are not at the base. Okay?”

Crystal nodded, then rushed back to her room and changed into her battle suit. Shi Lang was also walking out of his room wearing a crimson battle suit. These suits were unlike the combat suits they had. These were just like kevlar and the tactical gear put on by someone. The young man looked at Crystal and asked, “How are your martial skills?”

Crystal nodded and said, “I have been training since I was five, I can protect myself in close combat.”

Shi Lang nodded and said, “Come with me, I will lower my realm to yours, and then we will see how much you need to improve. This is a battlefield, here protecting yourself is not enough. You need to kill people too.”

Crystal was surprised and asked, “Kill people?”

Shi Lang nodded as he walked ahead of her, “I was also like you, but that was a long time ago. The first day I stepped on the battlefield, I had made up my mind, that if I did not kill the enemy, I will die. It is not as if I did not try to avoid it, but once your enemy is set out for blood, he or she does not care about anything and only wishes for your life.”

Crystal gulped and Shi Lang led her to the sparing room on the ship, Sparrow caught this scene and sent out a message to everyone that the boss was going to introduce Crystal to the world of pain. The whole team moved and came to the sparring room to watch the action. This place was big enough for all of them to stand around Shi Lang and Crystal when the two of them fought.

They formed a square, standing stuck to the wall. Shi Lang and Crystal stood in the center. The latter looked around with some anxiety in her eyes. The young general said, “Calm down, and look at me only.”

Crystal followed his advice and looked at him, but her heart was anything but calm. Shi Lang said, “Circulate your spirit energy inside your body.”

The snow fox followed his instructions and then she gradually calmed down. She looked at Shi Lang after calming down and the man said, “You can sense them but you need to ignore them. Your opponent is me. If you focused so much on the things around you, you will die. Gradually when you have enough experience, you might be able to help those around you, but as a newbie, focus on killing your enemy fast.”

Crystal nodded and Shi Lang said, “Attack me with your best move, and make sure to come at me with the intent to kill.”

The girl nodded and she rushed forward with a punch, Shi Lang sighed and flicked his finger at her forehead. The movement was so fast that none of the people could catch it, and Crystal stopped in her tracks and her hands rubbed her forehead which had a slight bump.

Shi Lang said, “Why did you swing so wide, make the punch compact, but your back into it. Also, do you intend to break your hand by going at such a rigid fist? Look at it all pale. Loosen up. Here I will show you how to punch.”

Crystal nodded and took three steps back. Shi Lang assumed his stance and then he shot out a punch. The air vibrated, he said, “Did you see it properly?”

Crystal nodded with her eye sparkling, and then she assumed a stance. Just when she was about to punch, Shi Lang said, “Stop.”

Crystal looked at him and the young man said, “You are a girl, this stance is not the optimal one. The body of a female is much lighter and more flexible. Narrow the legs, relax the shoulders, and remember to lock your hips once you step in, keep the fist as closer to the body as possible.”

The girl nodded and the class began. After ten minutes, Crystal was lying on the ground unconscious. Shi Lang had drained her of stamina and beaten her blue. While leaving the sparring room, he said, “Jill, get her to the med bay, and when she wakes up, we are going to the Variant city.”

Jill nodded and Sparrow said, “This girl sure is something, she lasted for seven minutes in combat.”

Ajax sighed and Sonic said, “You think too much. Boss only flicked her forehead. She did not make him even use one hand. Given her realm, she is lagging in martial skills. She will have it hard. Sister Jill, you need to lend her a hand.”

Jill nodded and said, “Do not worry, I will get her up to par.”

…

Shi Lang was sitting in front of Salve, and his face had no expression. Salve was surprised to see the leader being someone so young and said, “What can we do for you today, Sir? Do you want to know the death rate in the city till they have stopped the water supply?”

Shi Lang waved his hand and said, “You guys have not been checking your network feed. I guess they did not allow you to have access to the network to learn about what is going on outside. Jill.”

Jill nodded and passed a tablet to Salve, and the man was shocked to hear the things being described on it. However, he lacked education and could not understand the words written on the screen. Shi Lang said, “I would like to offer you access to the network, and if you have any cigs in the city, who are willing to help you. You can check the authenticity of this news.”

Salve looked at Jill, who smiled and nodded as she said, “I told you, Mister Salve, we came with good intentions, do not worry.”

Salve stood up from his chair and bowed to Shi Lang and said, “I would like to get these things verified first, but you have our gratitude, and if you can, please provide us with more information. We really do not have any intention to go to war.”

Shi Lang nodded and said, “I understand this all, however, I also need to confirm a few things. Please allow me to go inside the city with you. I assure you, this will only make things easier for your side. You need to let the people see what they have done to you. They need to understand you more, only when the people know that you are not that much different from them, will they be able to accept you completely.”

Salve was surprised by this sudden demand, at this moment, he asked, “Sir, this..”

Shi Lang said, “You can take away all my weapons and have your gunners aim at me from all sides. This way you can rest assured, that I do not mean you harm. However, you need to come out of your shell. The walls you put around you may protect you, but they also keep the rest of us outside. Try to understand, Leader Salve.

You can go in and talk to your brethren while I wait here. They all can come and check on me if that makes you satisfied. However, if you do not let people know what you are, they will not trust you.”

Salve thought for a bit and then said, “I will give you an answer sooner, please wait while I go in.”

That said the man rushed away and Jill asked, “Boss, why do you want to go in?”

Shi Lang rolled his eyes and said, “How else do I get a sense of their weapon, just in case? Never put all eggs in one basket. Crystal you will follow me. You will play the role of my blind sister. Do you understand?”

Crystal replied, “Hoorah.”

Shi Lang and Jill were surprised and then they laughed out loud.