A single step to the heavens.

Right. For reasons beyond comprehension, that absolute fool of a young man insisted that either Wang Ke leave with him or he would stay behind. Wang Ke, of course, was the very girl who had fallen gravely ill and nearly turned into a zombie, only to be dragged back from the brink of death by sheer force of vancomycin. Chen Chong had taken a severe beating from Fang Qiang over this, and now, for the sake of this girl, Chen Chong was even refusing to board the helicopter.

Perhaps, to ordinary civilians, this did not seem like a case of choosing a beauty over one's life. After all, apart from a shortage of heavy firepower, the Peninsula Outpost was well-stocked with guns and ammunition; the outpost had acquired and utilized most of the light equipment from a motorized infantry regiment, making it relatively safe to stay behind. In truth, only the special operations personnel and the few armed civilians who had been to the processing plant knew that the outpost was far from as safe as it appeared on the surface. Those elusive, slender-bodied skull-bursting rats had not yet had their habits fully mapped out, and no one could guarantee that after nightfall, packs of skull-bursting rats wouldn't surge into the outpost, squeezing through every available crack!

Viewed from that angle, Chen Chong that absolute idiot was actually quite magnificent.

Choosing a girl over one's own life.

The plot twist that followed was dramatic enough to fuel gossip among the outpost's young women and wives for a solid week. Upon receiving the definitive news that due to flight range and fuel restrictions, combined with the fact that Big Fatty and Old Tian Si were considerably overweight, the payload capacity had to be strictly controlled, allowing only either Chen Chong or Wang Ke to be taken away, the great romantic made a split-second decision and let Wang Ke board the helicopter. The two parted in a tearful farewell that was deeply moving to witness.

Yet everyone except Chen Chong was groaning inwardly: if you really loved her, wouldn't you stay and share adversity together? Now this girl's eyes were wide, blinking against the wind and shedding a few perfunctory tears, floating aboard the chopper without even leaving behind a promise, and you still think you're some kind of real man?

Some illnesses are incurable, just like being a hopeless romantic fool.

Without room for objection—or rather, before he could even react—Fang Qiang had only a few minutes to hurriedly bid farewell to Joanna. It wasn't until after the helicopter took off that he reined in his turbulent emotions, raised his eyes to look diagonally across from him at Wang Ke, who had dried her tears and was gazing out the porthole at the scenery with an utterly serene expression. He shook his head slightly; she was young indeed, and her ability to change her expression on a dime was truly impressive. She didn't even stop to think that the seat she was occupying belonged to Chen Chong. Who knew if someone else in this cabin was watching her, ready to report her demeanor back to Chen Chong's father? A high-ranking provincial official might disdain crushing an ant that had stolen his son's path to survival—after all, another path could always be found—but if Chen Chong were to come to any harm in the meantime, and this little girl, having milked his son for all he was worth, turned her back faster than turning a page the moment she got on the plane, it would be the most natural thing in the world for him to vent his wrath and make her wish she were dead.

Of course, Fang Qiang was not Wang Ke's biological father, so he had no reason to teach her how to be clever. Seeing Wang Ke notice his scrutinizing gaze and look back, he deliberately forced a flattering expression on his face, which predictably earned him an eye-roll from her.

This girl really thought her beauty could conquer the world? I'm someone who got here on true merit—well, mostly Wang Chen did the work and I just rode on his coattails, but it still earned an audience with the top leader. If someone like that gives you a smile and you don't even understand what it means, I hope you're ready to see how hard you fall when they prop you up like an absolute idiot!

Fang Qiang speculated with a touch of dark amusement, before deciding that plotting against a young girl was beneath him. He settled his mind and began pondering why the top leader wanted to summon him. Zhu Jie had said the supreme leader wanted to understand the situation regarding the skull-bursting rats, but surely there was no need to specially summon a minor figure like Fang Qiang to headquarters for a face-to-face talk. Did the skull-bursting rats involve some crucial matter he hadn't anticipated? Would it have any adverse impact on the outpost or his own future?

Tu Hongye, the prospective father and head of the forward base, was entirely clear on the reasons, even if Fang Qiang was completely in the dark. At that moment, Tu was sitting before Chen Hanxin with a furrowed brow, studying a short video clip over and over again, zooming in on several high-definition images to examine key areas repeatedly. Only when his eyes grew aching and sore did he finally put down his tablet, raise his head, and open his mouth to speak, only to be amusedly cut off by Chen Hanxin. The sharp-featured, monkey-faced research academician was currently sipping hot tea with great relish.

"Hey, I must say, how can you be acting like nothing's the matter and not worry in the least?" Tu Hongye reached over, grabbed the nearby teapot, poured himself a cup of Tuo tea, and sighed.

"What is there for me to worry about? I never wanted to be this deputy director in the first place. Putting on bureaucratic airs all day long, do you have any idea how exhausting that is?"

"Come on, in times like these, without a bit of real power, life is miserable. Can a deputy director's rationed supplies compare to an academician's? Besides, your senior brother here is about to become a father. You can't just stand by and watch my little nephew come into the world while I have to run back and forth between two places, can you?"

"Oh, cut it out. We don't even know if it's a boy or a girl yet." Knowing full well that Tu Hongye was playing the emotional card, and knowing that this old fox held a tight grip on an impregnable forward base, Chen Hanxin ultimately had thin skin. He put down his teacup and sighed, "Alright, out with it. What do you want me to do?"

Tu Hongye chuckled slyly. "Simple. We don't take sides; we just cling tightly to the coattails of the highest leadership. Right now, too many people are making a fuss over the mutated rats, and the top brass can no longer keep a lid on it. Naturally, we need to help relieve the leadership's worries. I want you to immediately draft an expedited research application and submit it upwards..."

"A research application? You're not asking me to lead the team, are you?"

"Of course not. How could I stitch up my own junior brother? I want you to recommend me to lead the team. That way, once the research results come out, I guarantee that you, sitting safely in rear command, can get promoted by another half-rank and squeeze out that parachute appointee who was sent here on temporary duty. As for me, I'll finally have a chance to step into your current position, concurrently serving as the deputy director of the Capital Rim Base and taking charge of the forward base operations. Once your little nephew is born, I can properly handle both sides instead of being constantly hounded by that parachuted guy demanding I return to the forward base..."

"Even with him hounding you, I haven't seen you leave," Chen Hanxin retorted with a curl of his lip. He casually grabbed the tablet beside him and activated the voice input. "Fine, fine, I get it. First, tell me the location for the external field research."

"Thirty-four degrees north latitude..."

"Thirty-four degrees north latitude... Seriously, wouldn't it be simpler to just name the place? Wait, that location—are you out of your mind?! Even if I agree, Ruxi will never let you go!"

"Alright, don't get so worked up. It's just an epidemic investigation; nothing's going to happen." Tu Hongye wore an expression of complete nonchalance, this time taking a gentle sip of his Tuo tea to savor the aroma.

"What do you mean nothing's going to happen! You saw the photos yourself—over two hundred people died without a sound! How can you call that nothing?"

"That's precisely why we need to go and perform autopsies—to confirm whether these people died because alcohol poisoning left them completely unresponsive when the skull-bursting rats attacked them. Though I deeply doubt that conclusion, I think... well, to be frank with you, our actual trip is to prove that the skull-bursting rat outbreak isn't nearly as terrifying as people think, so the top leadership's decision-making doesn't need to change. Understand? This is called catering to instructions! There are definitely good rewards in store for this. Stop nagging and get it done! Ruxi's walking time is almost here!"

"You... fine... But you have to promise me one thing." Chen Hanxin turned rare and serious, the muscles on his face—which was a size smaller than average—tightening, his gaze sharp.

Tu Hongye put down his teacup and nodded with utmost formality.

"Investigate truthfully. There must not be the slightest falsehood. That is the most basic principle for a scientific researcher!"

"Rest assured, I give you my personal guarantee, Junior Brother!"