86 Northern Frontier (2/2)

”Who is the Qing Consortium going to war with? But if they're really going to war, surely they can't just be mobilizing such a small force, right?” someone said in doubt. ”I think it was Boss Luo sitting in the off-road vehicle just now? That guy hasn't left the base in two years, so what could've alarmed him this time?”

But the person most shocked was still Wang Congyang. This was because he saw Luo Lan jump in panic when he received Zhang Jinglin's identification from him.

Shortly after, the entire military base seemingly entered a wartime state as sophisticated machines of war were deployed in an instant.

It was at this moment that Wang Congyang could confirm that Zhang Jinglin might be the person he guessed he was!

If he really was that person, what made him appear in this place?!

The Qing Consortium's convoy headed straight for the stronghold gate. Yan Liuyuan and the others were still waiting in the schoolyard. He suddenly turned his head to Zhang Jinglin and asked, ”Teacher, what did you do before you became a teacher?”

Yan Liuyuan also understood that Mr. Zhang's identity was scarily important.

Zhang Jinglin smiled and said, ”I was a soldier.”

Yan Liuyuan was stunned. It didn't occur to him that Mr. Zhang Jinglin would be any kind of soldier he knew. Curious, Yan Liuyuan asked, ”Then why didn't you continue being a soldier?”

Zhang Jinglin went silent for a long while at the question. He was apparently perplexed as well. Zhang Jinglin finally answered after thinking about it for a long time, ”Because war will not save humanity.”

”Are you leaving?” Yan Liuyuan asked.

”That's right.” Zhang Jinglin nodded. ”There are still people waiting for me in the Northern Frontier.”

All of a sudden, Yan Liuyuan realized Zhang Jinglin had chosen Ren Xiaosu to be the substitute teacher as he had really wanted him to become the school's new teacher, because Zhang Jinglin had planned on leaving. Even without tonight's incident, Zhang Jinglin would probably not have stayed much longer.

”Why do you want to go back to the Northern Frontier?” Yan Liuyuan asked.

”Because this world… is starting to get a little different. I need to be with those who are waiting for me,” Zhang Jinglin explained.

”What's in the Northern Frontier?” Yan Liuyuan kept asking questions. He and Ren Xiaosu had never been to the place before, and it was said to be far off in the northwest.

Yan Liuyuan recalled the time Mr. Zhang got distracted in class. On that day, Mr. Zhang was looking out of the window at the sky and saying, ”The spring snow and ice in the Northern Frontier has yet to melt, so there isn't any greenery, only sandstorms and yellow earth. The snow in the Northern Frontier is vast and white, and humanity is very lonely.”

At that time, although Mr. Zhang had described the Northern Frontier as a bleak and desolate place, Yan Liuyuan could sense his yearning and nostalgia for it. It was only upon recalling this that Yan Liuyuan understood those feelings. So it was because Zhang Jinglin came from there.

”What's in the Northern Frontier? There's cigarettes to smoke?” Zhang Jinglin said with a smile. ”Don't be afraid. They wouldn't dare do anything to me. They won't be able to try anything funny and will only send me back to Stronghold 178 in the end.”

”Mhm.” Yan Liuyuan nodded. He thought to himself how Ren Xiaosu would not be able to nag him to do his homework in the future. The town wouldn't even have a teacher anymore.

However, Yan Liuyuan didn't feel as happy as before when he thought about not having to do any more homework in the future.