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墨書 Inktalez
"Is this my fault? That wasn't my intention!" Peng Hao said, covering his head and feigning grievance.
Peng Hao's words only fueled Chen Rui's anger. He hadn't planned to dig deeper into the matter, but being provoked by Peng Hao made him instinctively unwilling to let it go.
"Hmph! I already told you to come directly to the conference room, yet you went back to sleep like a dead pig! I called you several times, but there was no response! Did I have to come here in person to get you?" Chen Rui retorted angrily, as the events from half an hour ago were still fresh in his mind.
Half an hour earlier:
Chen Rui counted the number of people present and realized they were short one person. He immediately thought of Peng Hao. Scanning the crowd, he indeed did not see that somewhat round face, so he quickly dialed Peng Hao's number on his phone.
The nearly hundred people in the conference room seemed to hold their breath; it was unusually quiet inside, with only the faint busy signal coming from Chen Rui's phone.
No one answered. Chen Rui immediately redialed... After a long wait, still no one picked up.
Seeing the veins bulging on Chen Rui's forehead, the others below had almost guessed who was absent. Li Xue raised her hand and stood up, saying, "I'll go call him."
Chen Rui paused for a moment, glanced at everyone, and coldly replied, "No need. Let's start the meeting..."
Now:
"Well, you can't blame me entirely, can you? Who told you not to remind me to set an alarm?" Peng Hao said with a smile, trying to placate Chen Rui, showing no signs of guilt whatsoever.
"Ah..." Chen Rui sighed lightly, shot Peng Hao a glare, and chose to ignore him. He tossed a few printed documents onto his bed and said helplessly, "Just read it yourself; I'm too lazy to explain."
Peng Hao picked up the documents and quickly skimmed through several pages of printed content. With an awkward smile, he said, "What exactly do you want me to look at? This is just an introduction to the competition."
"I want to ask you, do we need to make an appearance three days before the competition?" Chen Rui got straight to the point. In fact, this was a topic they had just discussed in a meeting with everyone.
Although they were staff members of the Organizer, their involvement was limited to the fourth segment; the first three segments had nothing to do with them. Therefore, attending as spectators or judges during those first three segments wouldn't pose much of a problem.
As for any potential speculation from those with ulterior motives... if someone truly wanted to stir things up, even if Chen Rui and the others tried to distance themselves, they would still find something to talk about. After all, the entire workload for the fourth segment was entrusted to Chen Rui Group, making them the controlling party from China.
Thus, Chen Rui wanted to decide whether or not to attend the first three competitions based on everyone's opinions.
"There's no harm in going to take a look. If you're worried about what others might say, then skip it. But you should know that those who want to create rumors will find a topic regardless of how we try to distance ourselves. After all, we are responsible for the entire fourth project," Peng Hao provided an answer that satisfied Chen Rui. His original thoughts were similar; he was seeking everyone's input to consider all angles and identify any gaps in his reasoning.
"Since you feel that way, let's settle on it this way: during the first three rounds of competition, I won't restrict your freedom of movement," Chen Rui generously granted everyone more freedom, but this made Peng Hao furrow his brow.
Peng Hao pondered for a moment and shook his head. "If you do that, it might give others something to latch onto. Even if you're watching from the audience, how can you be sure what your subordinates are doing during that time? They might think you're using this as an excuse to support your country's special forces from the outside."
"Still, as I said before, if others want to find fault, no explanation will suffice. It’s better to be more natural and carefree; let their logic fall apart," Chen Rui explained. If others wanted to attack them on this point, their own logic would be shaky. If Chen Rui and his team were truly planning something covertly, why would they openly allow free movement? Wouldn't that just give others ammunition?
"Do whatever you want," Peng Hao replied as he tossed some documents onto the bedside table and snuggled back into his warm blanket with a blissful expression, which irritated Chen Rui.
Chen Rui shot Peng Hao a glance before silently leaving the room and stepping out of the hotel.
Since Chen Rui Group's workspace was located within the hotel, Zhang Jun hadn't taken Chen Rui or any other team members anywhere else. As a result, Chen Rui found himself unsure of where to go and could only leisurely follow a staff member from another Organizer as they walked ahead.
Chen Rui's plan was quite clever; after all, other Organizer staff members would directly interact with the special forces' base, competition venue, viewing platform, or award stage—all of which were unlikely to be far apart.
So as long as he followed this Organizer staff member, he would eventually find traces of special forces from various countries.
Sure enough, after about ten minutes, Chen Rui followed him to a tent area, where most of the tents were occupied by Special Forces from various countries, their faces painted with jungle camouflage. Outside the tent area was a market set up by members of these Special Forces, filled mostly with medals, trophies, and honors. The market operated on a barter system, meaning no one could purchase these honors with money; they could only be exchanged for items of equal value.
In this market, Chen Rui quickly spotted Tiger and approached him with a smile, giving his shoulder a friendly pat.
Tiger turned around in surprise. After all, ninety-nine percent of the people he had seen in this area had their faces painted with Four-Color Camouflage; it was the first time he encountered someone with such a fair complexion as Chen Rui.
"Hey! What brings you here?" Tiger asked, setting down an American Paratrooper Medal and greeting Chen Rui with a grin.
Chen Rui chuckled lightly. "I thought I'd come by, so here I am."
The American Big Guy glanced at Chen Rui, feeling displeased that his business was being interrupted. He awkwardly attempted to speak in Chinese. "We... are discussing business... related... to military honor..."
Seeing the American's clumsy attempt at Chinese, Chen Rui struggled to suppress a laugh and quickly explained in English, "Sorry, I know this friend and just wanted to say hello. I didn't mean to disturb you."
"But your presence has completely disrupted my business. I was just about to complete an exchange of medals with this brother here, but your arrival has introduced uncertainty into the situation. Moreover..." The American Big Guy looked at Chen Rui's physique and fair face with suspicion. "You're not a competitor, are you? Why are you here?"
Chen Rui laughed heartily. "I'm not a competitor; I've been invited to be in charge of the fourth event of this competition. I'm just here for a stroll, nothing more."
"The person in charge of the fourth event?" The American Big Guy was somewhat taken aback. He already knew from the competition materials what the fourth event entailed and understood its significance in the overall scoring.
It was surprising that such an important role was not held by someone from a neutral party. The American Big Guy felt a twinge of annoyance but recognized that this was ultimately the decision of the Organizer's leadership, and as a participant, he had no right to interfere.
"Even so, you've still messed up my business. I see this friend has lost interest in exchanging now," the American Big Guy lamented.
Indeed, ever since Chen Rui arrived, Tiger had completely lost interest in the Airborne Medal he had previously been considering.
Chen Rui laughed heartily as he pulled out a remarkable brooch from his pocket. The brooch was golden, with a massive pentagram at its center, flanked by wings that rose upward. The cross-shaped base was engraved with the character 'Te' and adorned with two golden ears of wheat, shimmering brilliantly in the sunlight, offering an irresistible allure to all the soldiers.
"What is this?" the American Big Guy asked, somewhat surprised. He could clearly tell from the Chinese characters on the pentagram that this brooch came from the People's Liberation Army of China, but he had never seen such an exquisite and striking piece before.
"The Aviation Master Pilot Medal..." Tiger recognized it at a glance. Even for someone like him, a member of an elite special forces unit, such medals were rarely seen. They were exceedingly rare, and in this peaceful era without war, earning a first-class pilot medal purely through skill was almost a one-in-a-million achievement.
Fixed-wing pilots were already a rarity; thus, the holders of this medal were—one in a hundred million!
"Oh! My friend, although I know my medal is not as prestigious as yours, I still wish to request an exchange. This would mean as much to me as receiving the Outstanding Service Cross. No! It would be comparable to receiving the Honor Medal!!! So!!! I implore you!" The American Big Guy clearly recognized the uniqueness of this medal. From his previous interactions with the Chinese Special Forces member he had been preparing to trade with, it was evident that this medal was also quite rare in China.
Chen Rui shrugged and placed the Aviation Master Pilot Medal in the palm of the American Big Guy's hand. "Honor is priceless; why should we rank honor into tiers? As long as it is earned with dedication and effort, even the most unremarkable honor is worth being proud of."
The American Big Guy was overjoyed and quickly offered his Airborne Medal, feeling that his medal lacked value. He even handed over another Bronze Star Medal to Chen Rui.
After exchanging medals, Chen Rui left the booth with Tiger, while the American Big Guy excitedly waved his arms behind them.
"Where did you get that medal?" Tiger glanced at Chen Rui and asked curiously.
"I don't know; I've had it for a while. It seems like it belonged to a predecessor," Chen Rui pondered for a moment but couldn't recall the specific origins of the medal, settling on what seemed to be the most plausible guess.
Tiger fell silent and followed closely behind Chen Rui, stealing glances at his back. The Aviation Master Pilot Medal had been awarded six years ago. If it had been earned by his father, grandfather, or great-grandfather, it certainly wouldn't be one of the latest designs! Moreover, if they had received such a medal, it would not have ended up in Chen Rui's hands; after all, those kinds of things were typically kept alongside retirement certificates for a lifetime!
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