For no other reason than to save face for her own son!
A middle-aged man sneered, "He's just relying on your father."
Qingyi glanced at them sideways: "It's only natural for a son to rely on his father. What, don't you have a father? Get out of here, all of you."
Among the crowd, some people looked at each other in bewilderment before making way.
Someone asked, "Does your father know you're coming at this time?"
Qingyi sneered: "The airship that brought me here was sent to City 10 by him. Do you think he knows that? Tonight, every word I say can represent him."
This means that Qingkun's faction is about to publicly take sides.
Strangely enough, Qingyi was only 14 years old, yet Qingkun was willing to let him make the decisions.
It's rare to see a father who dotes on his son so much.
Everyone fell silent, except for Qing Chen, who greeted them with a smile: "Why are you here? Didn't I put you in charge of the intelligence system in City 10? Are you hungry? Come and get something to eat."
Qingyi approached Qingchen, accepted the pastries from her master, and said with a smile, "Master, Li Ke just found out it's your birthday, so he couldn't make it. He asked me to pass on his blessings, wishing you a speedy advancement to demigod and the annihilation of all villains."
Suddenly, many people in the banquet hall held their breath.
Everyone knows that Qing Chen is already an A-level. If he were to cross the threshold of demigod, everyone would have to relive the days when they were suppressed by the shadow.
A demigod can disregard many rules, just like Chen Yu in the Chen family.
"You must have made this up on the spot. Li Ke would never say something so murderous," Qing Chen said, both amused and exasperated.
Qingyi smiled shyly and said, "Actually, what he meant was that since the master can live for another two hundred years, one more birthday won't make a difference. But I could tell that he also wanted to come over."
Qingyi's shyness when facing Qingchen was completely different from his fierceness when facing others.
Qingchen is growing up, and so is Qingyi, but the only thing that hasn't changed is Qingyi's feelings when he sees his master.
“Come on, open all the gifts,” Qingyi said with a smile. “Sir, the gifts are all from my dad’s place. They’re not expensive, so please don’t mind.”
As they spoke, the people behind Qingyi opened all the boxes, revealing eight boxes containing eight complete sets of gene serums, ranging from F-grade to B-grade...
Countless people in the banquet hall gasped in shock.
This isn't considered valuable?
As everyone knows, Qingkun's military industry mainly consists of gene-based pharmaceuticals, accounting for 30% of the total output of Qing's gene-based pharmaceuticals.
But no one expected that Qingkun would give such an expensive gift to celebrate his son's master's birthday!
It should be noted that Qingkun's Faceless Men unit only has about forty B-level gene warriors.
Moreover, even if Qingkun was able to produce gene serums, he couldn't keep them all for himself; they had to be supplied to the family. He could only accumulate them little by little, and it took him countless years to finally build up a Faceless Army.
Now, they've brought out all their best-kept secrets!
Looking at the contents of the box, Qing Chen thought to himself that Qing Kun must have told Qing Yi about his situation, and Qing Yi had specifically asked his father for the most valuable items to support his master.
He smiled and said, "The items are very valuable, I'll accept them. But since you're in charge of the Secret Service, I'll give you the right to use these gene serums for your trusted confidants."
Qingyi smiled and said, "Thank you, sir. I have selected eight Silver Family members from Luo Wanya's subordinates to be incorporated into the Secret Service. They are all quite capable, but unfortunately, their aptitude is not good, which makes them suitable for using gene serums."
"Hmm," Qingchen reached out to pat Qingyi's head, but realized the occasion was inappropriate and quickly withdrew his hand.
Qingyi went to the side and moved a chair for him: "Sir, please sit down. Let's hear what other nonsense these people have to spout."
As he spoke, he stood beside Qing Chen and coldly surveyed the surroundings.
Someone in the crowd said, "No matter who comes today, they can't change our doubts..."
Before he could finish speaking, footsteps sounded outside again.
Everyone looked outside in confusion. The person who had arrived was actually the ambassador of the Li Group in City 5. Several people followed behind him, each carrying something...
Kamishiro Unro teased from the side, "You've turned a perfectly good young person's birthday into a 'birthday celebration.' This is basically what it's like when the Kamishiro family head celebrates his birthday—people keep coming to visit, bringing rare and precious treasures..."
Qing Chen sighed, "I didn't want to either."
At this moment, Ambassador Li walked in and said with a smile, "Good evening, everyone."
Someone frowned and asked, "What are you doing here?"
The Li family's ambassador was short and stout, with an exceptionally kind appearance, like a Maitreya Buddha. He said with a smile, "Mr. Qingchen is an independent director of the Li family. On his birthday, of course I have to represent the Li family head, Li Yunshou, and Li Changqing to present a birthday gift. The gift is not expensive, but it contains clothing that Chief Changqing carefully selected for him. It is a small gift but carries great sentiment."
Everyone pondered, realizing that the phrase "fitting the size" was too profound, even ambiguous.
How familiar and knowledgeable must Li Changqing be with Qingchen to be able to select clothes that fit properly?
Moreover, when it comes to gift-giving between conglomerates, the emphasis is usually on something that is both valuable and appropriate; giving clothes as a gift is simply too cheap.
But it is precisely this inexpensiveness that reflects the closeness of their relationship: the price of the gift is no longer something they would consider.
Qing Chen smiled wryly. To be honest, he hadn't expected the Li family to join in the fun.
He could even imagine that Li Changqing's ambiguous smile was as he waited with great interest for Ambassador Li to gossip about people's reactions after he returned home.
This is absolutely something she's capable of doing.
The Li family's ambassador smiled and looked around. "If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave. I hope you all have a good time tonight."
Before he could leave with his men, another group of people in military uniforms walked in. The leader was a major general, Qing Chi, a general under Qing Yu.
This time, the people in the banquet hall could no longer remain calm, simply because the military was currently on the front lines, and Qing Chi, as one of the commanders of the group army field division, should not have appeared here at all!
The people in the banquet hall didn't even know when Qingchi had returned!
But the soldiers of the Qing clan had dark, resolute faces, and everyone made way for them, allowing them to walk to the very center.
Someone asked, "Is there no fighting at the front? Why would Qing Chi, one of the front-line commanders, suddenly return?"
Qing Chi looked over and said, "The fighting on the front lines has subsided a bit, so I've come back for my rest."
"Hey, didn't they say the front lines were dangerous just a few days ago? Doesn't Commander Qingchi need to stay there? Also, didn't they say the Chen family is also eyeing us covetously?"
Qing Chi calmly said, "What I'm about to say is related to this matter. A few days ago, under the command of Commander Qing Chen, my Qing Clan's Secret Service, in cooperation with Shen Dai Yunluo and Shen Dai Yunxiu, carried out a night raid on City No. 20. During the raid, my Qing Clan's Secret Service's Shadow Force bombarded the Mind Realm Dojo, resulting in the deaths and injuries of hundreds of people from the Shen Dai Qieshe Imperial Lineage, and the dojo was reduced to ruins."
At this point, everyone noticed that Qing Chi, a major general in an army group, addressed Qing Chen, who was also a major general, as "commander," the meaning of which was self-evident.
Qing Chi continued, "Subsequently, the Shadow Force escorted Shen Dai Yunluo and Shen Dai Yunxiu to safety. Under the command of Commander Qing Chen, they piloted a Class B airship and crashed into the residence of the Shen Dai family patriarch, turning it into a sea of fire."
Everyone looked at Shendai Yunluo, Yunxiu, and Kongyu. Most of them had not yet taken sides; they had just been led astray by someone with ulterior motives.
They never expected that Qingchi's return would bring such shocking news.
Bombarding the Mind Realm Dojo and crashing into the Clan Head's residence—what terrifying feats! And all of this was accomplished with the help of Kamishiro Unro and Kamishiro Unshu.
Qing Chi continued, "There are two more confirmed pieces of news. The first is that Li Yunze, the next head of the Kashima family, was killed by Commander Qing Chen in the outer world before he could take over the position."
"The second piece of news is that Commander Qingchen used special means to attack the Kingdom Organization's air fortress. We have confirmed that the head of the Kamishiro family died in the air crash, and his body has been taken into custody by the Forbidden Tribunal. The Kingdom Organization's air fortress has retreated to the north and should not return anytime soon."
At this point, the banquet hall was completely silent.
With Li Yunze dead and the head of the Shendai family dead, strictly speaking, it's equivalent to Qing Chen killing two family heads in one go.
If you were to say that Kamishiro used the lives of Kamishiro Yunhe and Kamishiro Jingcheng to help Qingchen deceive everyone, that would be plausible.
After all, it's just an A-level expert and his own son; Shendai is capable of doing such a thing.
But surely the head of the Kamishiro family wouldn't risk his own life to fulfill Qingchen's wishes?
Everyone looked at Qing Chen in shock. They recalled what had just happened, but found that even in the face of so many questions, he did not mention these achievements.
Normally, everyone boasts about even the smallest achievements, but when it comes to something worth mentioning, no one does it.
That's incredibly low-key.
Many people's impression of Qing Chen is still that of "the ruthless guy who broke out of Base A02," but compared with what he is doing now, his previous deeds are insignificant.
However, Qing Chi didn't intend to stop there: "There's another matter. Just a few days ago, when we were deploying our forces in the north, the Chen Group Army, led by Chen Yu, suddenly attempted to cross the Forbidden Zone 008 and try to encroach on our southwestern territory. As a result, they were intercepted by Commander Qing Chen, who killed one of their field regiments and one field brigade, destroyed a Class A airship, and cost two of Chen Yu's paintings."
The crucial point is that 'two of Chen Yu's paintings were consumed', which means that Qing Chen had a close encounter with Chen Yu and escaped unscathed.
If such a record were reported, it would be enough to make Qing Chen the most dazzling A-level expert in the entire Federation, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call him the number one person below demigod.
Listening to Qing Chi's report, everyone finally understood why he addressed Qing Chen as "commander"—Qing Chen was about to receive a new rank and medal, at which point he would be a lieutenant general…
Chapter 778, The Ruthlessness of the Qing Clan Head
On the northern front, Qingyu sat calmly in his command tent, his fingers tapping incessantly on the table.
He was waiting.
Judging by the time, Qing Chi should have arrived in City 5 by now, right?
As the commander-in-chief of the frontline army group, Qingyu is now second only to the emperor and above thousands of others.
Only the identity of the head of the family and chairman of the board of directors would warrant such a large-scale mobilization from him.
Therefore, Qingyu's attitude was very clear: in his heart, Qingchen was already the person who would take over the Qing family in the future, and he was willing to serve him wholeheartedly.
That's the most important thing.
Inside the command tent, an adjutant looked at Qingyu and said, "Boss, with your position, there's really no need for you to take sides so early. You can use this opportunity to plan Qingxing's future."
It's not that we don't want to take sides, but there's no need to take sides so early.
Politics is a game of deals. Even if Qingyu has already pledged allegiance to Shadow, Qingchen will still have to make more promises to gain his support, such as promising that Qingyu's son will be fortunate enough to obtain certain positions after this reshuffle.
Qingyu's position is too important; it's not a position that can be replaced with a single order.
He could have easily held out for a higher price, but he didn't.
Qingyu stopped tapping his fingers on the table and looked up: "In my whole life, I have only stood on the side of the Qing family's interests. Whoever is good for the Qing family when they go up, I will support them. This is the promise I made to that person on Ginkgo Mountain."
The adjutant was taken aback. This statement revealed that Qingyu and the family head seemed to have a hidden relationship, but no one had heard of it before.
Qingyu's behavior is somewhat strange. Within the Qing Group, he is like a lone wolf, neither forming cliques nor engaging in private activities. He controls half of the Qing Group's air force and doesn't have good relationships with anyone.
But this person with such a bad temper gradually became the commander-in-chief of the Qing Clan Army Group.
"Actually, it's not a huge secret," Qingyu smiled. "When I was young, I looked down on everyone. I always thought I was the best in the world, the top student in school, and had no rivals in chess. But because I was so arrogant, I didn't have any friends. Qingkun was my classmate at school, and he would gather a few cronies to ambush me after school every day. My parents passed away early, and no one helped me, so I could only let them bully me."
The adjutant was stunned. This was actually an embarrassing incident from his commander's past?
Qingyu continued, "When the Huozhong Military Academy started recruiting, I really wanted to go. I even got the highest score in the written test. But during the interview, the principal of Huozhong Military Academy said that my personality wasn't suitable for military service because I was too independent. I was depressed about this for a long time. Even Qingkun got in, but I didn't. Everyone else had their parents helping them with connections, but I didn't."
The adjutant asked in surprise, "Your military command ability is among the best in the Federation, so why didn't you pass the interview? Besides, didn't you end up going to the Fire Seed Military Academy?"