RMM -Chapter 146 The Rising Generation Is Formidable

Before coming over, Xi Yuechen had already informed Zhou Tingzhang, so Zhou Tingzhang didn’t go to the military base and instead waited for him at home.

There wasn’t anything urgent going on at the base anyway. Besides, very few people knew about this plan. If Xi Yuechen went looking for him at the base, all the coming and going would inevitably arouse suspicion. For safety’s sake, Zhou Tingzhang had always chosen to meet Xi Yuechen at home.

Even if others happened to see Xi Yuechen visiting, it wouldn’t mean much. Zhou Tingzhang could easily say that he appreciated this junior and had some private interactions with him—his personal affairs were none of anyone else’s business.

“Xiao Xi, you’re here. Come in, come in and sit down.”

Hearing the doorbell, Zhou Tingzhang guessed it must be Xi Yuechen. He happened to be standing already, so he hurried over to open the door.

Sure enough, the person outside was Xi Yuechen.

Zhou Tingzhang’s attitude toward Xi Yuechen now could be described as exceptionally warm. After such a long period of contact, he had grown increasingly satisfied with him. Truly worthy of his reputation—young people these days were not to be underestimated.

After entering, Xi Yuechen sat down on the living room sofa with Zhou Tingzhang, and the two began chatting casually.

Or rather, Xi Yuechen was being chatted at. If given the choice, he really wouldn’t want to rush over early in the morning only to be subjected to a long bout of small talk.

“Xiao Xi, do you know how to play chess?” Zhou Tingzhang asked with a smile.

“A little,” Xi Yuechen nodded. “I wouldn’t dare embarrass myself.”

As if he only knew a little. From a young age, he had played chess with the old man. With his astonishing learning ability, it was far more than “a little”—he could at least thoroughly defeat someone who had immersed himself in chess for most of his life.

Zhou Tingzhang laughed heartily. “Stop being modest. Come on, play a couple of games with me.”

He said it lightly—how could he not see through it? The expression on Xi Yuechen’s face was pure modesty, without the slightest trace of the bewilderment or nervousness of someone who didn’t know how to play. Zhou Tingzhang was actually a little curious now. Was there anything this Xi Yuechen couldn’t do?

Helpless, Xi Yuechen followed Zhou Tingzhang to the chessboard that had already been set up. He sat down, back perfectly straight, posture impeccably upright.

At a glance, Zhou Tingzhang could tell that everything about military life had long since seeped into Xi Yuechen’s bones, becoming second nature. Every casual movement carried a strong military bearing.

Strict with himself. Neither arrogant nor impetuous. Calm in both favor and disgrace. Zhou Tingzhang felt that Xi Yuechen was truly the most promising junior he had ever seen. Given time, he would surely achieve great things.

Xi Yuechen and Gu Jiawei were often mentioned figures among the Beijing elite circle—both positive role models, practically paragons among their peers, inspiring a mix of admiration and resentment in the young people constantly compared to them.

Given Zhou Tingzhang’s temperament, he had never really interacted with Gu Jiawei. Besides, the Gu family was a perennial force in politics; as a mere general, there was no need for him to curry favor. Having ties with the Su family alone already carried enough weight in the military.

Thus, among all the juniors Zhou Tingzhang had encountered, Xi Yuechen naturally became the most dazzling pearl. He had even once sighed in regret that such an outstanding young man had been snapped up by the Su family, becoming their son-in-law.

Thinking of his own daughter, still waiting to be married, he couldn’t help but feel rueful—why hadn’t he met Xi Yuechen earlier? He had let such a perfect son-in-law slip away. What a pity.

A daughter as beautiful as Yun Zhen should have been matched with an outstanding man like Xi Yuechen! That Su family girl was indeed good—but his own daughter wasn’t any worse, was she?

In that sense, Zhou Tingzhang and Zhou Yunzhen truly deserved to be called father and daughter—their tacit understanding was identical.

“You little rascal, you weren’t honest at all!” After finishing one game, Zhou Tingzhang glared at Xi Yuechen with mock displeasure, though his eyes were full of praise. “You said you couldn’t play, yet you let me win without a single flaw showing.”

How could Zhou Tingzhang not see that his quick victory was because Xi Yuechen had deliberately held back? Such skill—if he hadn’t been careful, he really would’ve been fooled.

“You flatter me. Your chess skills are exceptional,” Xi Yuechen replied.

Thinking that Xi Yuechen was holding back out of consideration for his status, Zhou Tingzhang felt a hint of displeasure. Since when did playing chess have anything to do with rank or position? It took all the fun out of it.

In truth, Zhou Tingzhang had completely misunderstood. Xi Yuechen wasn’t concerned about his status at all—he simply wanted to finish quickly and get down to business.

The image of the little woman gazing at him eagerly that morning still lingered in his mind.

“Come on, another game! This time you’re not allowed to play tricks—show me your real skills! I want to see just how good you really are!”

Seeing Zhou Tingzhang’s eager expression, Xi Yuechen’s face remained calm, though inwardly he was helpless. With Zhou Tingzhang in high spirits, there was nothing he could do but agree.

And so, amid Xi Yuechen’s silence and Zhou Tingzhang’s constant exclamations of admiration, the game dragged on for quite a long time.

Zhou Tingzhang didn’t mind carrying the conversation alone. After all this time, he already knew Xi Yuechen’s personality—cold and taciturn. For this minor shortcoming in such a talented individual, he was more than generous enough to accept and tolerate it.

No one is perfect. Who doesn’t have one or two flaws? Besides, this wasn’t a major issue. A person’s innate temperament was something even his parents couldn’t change—what could an outsider hope to do? As long as he was capable, that was enough.

Xi Yuechen had no idea that Zhou Tingzhang viewed him with such “broad-minded indulgence.” But he didn’t much care how outsiders saw him anyway—knowing or not knowing made little difference.

After the game ended, Zhou Tingzhang stared at the board in silence for a while. At length, he let out a long sigh.

“The rising generation is formidable. Truly formidable.”

Xi Yuechen set down his piece and said modestly, “I was just lucky. You flatter me.”

As unexpected as it was expected, Xi Yuechen won. It hadn’t been easy, but it was still impressive—after all, he hadn’t properly touched a chessboard in a long time. Being able to defeat Zhou Tingzhang, who played almost every day, was already remarkable.

“When I say you’re good, I mean it!” Zhou Tingzhang glared at him sternly, then broke into a wide smile the next second. “You really are something, kid. I lost fair and square.”

He conceded readily, without the slightest embarrassment. “Both cultured and martial—perfect in every way! Hahaha!”

Xi Yuechen stopped being modest and simply smiled faintly, saying no more.

Thankfully, Zhou Tingzhang didn’t suggest continuing, but instead proposed moving to the study. This allowed Xi Yuechen to finally breathe a little easier—who knew how long they might’ve kept playing otherwise?

The two stayed in the study for a long time, talking continuously. Xi Yuechen was no longer silent; most of the time, he was the one speaking while Zhou Tingzhang listened.

As he listened to Xi Yuechen’s clear and logical analysis, the smile on Zhou Tingzhang’s face deepened, though inwardly he was full of emotion. Fortunately, he hadn’t replaced Xi Yuechen back then—this task truly couldn’t have been carried out so far by anyone else.

He had already infiltrated the interior of Yanmen and met Bai Xiong. If that was the case, was there really any fear of not being able to get close to Bai Xiong?

The original plan had been for Xi Yuechen to gain Yanmen’s basic trust and become a long-term partner, gradually lowering their guard. Then, step by step, evidence would be gathered until they could be wiped out in one decisive move.

But things were different now. The initiative might fall to their side—how could they let such an opportunity slip by?

“Xiao Xi, you must pay close attention to Bai Xiong. Try to have as much contact with him as possible. Gaining his trust is the most important thing. Staying by his side for one day is worth more than a year of maneuvering within Yanmen.”

Xi Yuechen nodded in agreement. How could he not understand? If he were still circling the outer layers of Yanmen, not to mention large-scale ‘shipments,’ even gaining the trust of Yanmen’s upper echelons would be uncertain.

This chance encounter—being “summoned” by Bai Xiong and even earning his favor—was nothing short of a gift from the heavens. No matter what, he had to seize it firmly.

Once he gained Bai Xiong’s trust, everything else would be a different story. At that point, everything would hinge on a single word from Bai Xiong.

But with such a rare opportunity at hand, using it merely to secure shipments would be a waste. This plan aimed to purge cross-border crime throughout the entire D Province. Yanmen was merely a test case—a warm-up. Eliminating Yanmen didn’t mean the mission was complete.

Now, with developments taking an unexpected turn, the original plan would have to be adjusted.

The ultimate goal was to strike at all criminal activity across D Province. Rather than painstakingly dismantling each group one by one, why not use Bai Xiong as a breakthrough point—lie low, wait patiently for the best opportunity, and wipe out the border crime syndicates in one decisive strike?

Catch them off guard. Throw them into chaos. Then, when they were in complete disarray, the net could be drawn tight.

Of course, this was the best-case scenario. It didn’t rule out the worst. But given the chance, one had to give everything to push things in the most favorable direction.

Yanmen wielded considerable influence in D Province, even extending into the border regions of neighboring countries. They were certainly not acting alone—they must have colluded with other drug trafficking forces. Otherwise, they couldn’t have grown so rapidly and remained unscathed for so many years.

If he could gain Bai Xiong’s trust and stay by his side, he would sooner or later encounter these other forces and obtain valuable information about them, allowing preparations to be made.

“Yes. I’ll do everything I can,” Xi Yuechen replied.

His tone was resolute. Though no trace of confidence showed on his face, his firm words inspired trust all the same.

“Good. When the time comes, act as you see fit. Some matters you can decide on your own—there’s no need to report every detail to me.”

Zhou Tingzhang nodded, clearly satisfied.

Some things simply couldn’t be predicted in advance; much depended on one’s ability to adapt on the spot.

“Yes, sir.” Xi Yuechen stood and gave a solemn salute.

From those words, Xi Yuechen understood that he had been granted a certain degree of decision-making authority—in other words, part of the command authority for this operation had finally been placed in his hands.