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Chapter 433 The Stunning Man in Red Underpants, Recommended by the Affairs Officer
As the distance gradually closed, this sense of oppression became increasingly intense.

Wei Zheng even developed an even more absurd illusion.

What he saw was not a person, but a sun walking through the rain.

That seemingly normal body seemed to contain energy like a volcano, ready to erupt at any moment.

The bare muscles, reflected in the rain, seemed to faintly glow with a pale golden sheen.

That was an invisible aura emanating from the extremely vigorous power of blood and qi.

Wherever it passed, even the cool rain seemed to evaporate some of its chill.

It's raining, but it feels inexplicably hot...

Wei Zheng was so stunned that he didn't even notice the cigarette ash between his fingers falling onto his pants.

The man stopped in front of the jeep.

"Excuse me, could you please move your car?"

The man's voice was calm.

"what?"

Wei Zheng came to his senses and realized that his car was blocking the entrance to the mountain road.

My first instinct was to shift gears, but as soon as my hand touched the gear lever, I paused.

He abruptly turned his head, his gaze returning to the strangely behaving naked man, his eyes instantly filled with vigilance.

Just as the other party opened their mouth, that oppressive feeling, as intense as the sun, vanished without a trace.

It was as if it had never happened; it really was just an illusion.

Standing in front of the car at this moment was just a handsome young man with an incredibly good physique.

But Wei Zheng dared not relax in the slightest.

Based on his intuition honed through more than a decade of life-and-death experiences in the Special Search Party, he could clearly sense that the man in front of him was incredibly strong, ridiculously strong!

Beneath that seemingly restrained aura lurked a ferocity that sent chills down his spine.

This kind of person is very likely to have killed someone!

Wei Zheng was filled with suspicion and uncertainty. His hand had already stealthily reached for the pistol at his waist, while he repeatedly asked:

"Who are you? I'm a police officer. Show me your ID!"

Upon hearing this, Fang Cheng's expression turned somewhat speechless.

He then shrugged, his eyes seeming to say:
Do I look like someone who can carry an ID card?
Wei Zheng was slightly taken aback, but he did not let his guard down.

His eyes were fixed on the muscular man in front of him, and his mind raced.

Which aristocratic family's scion is this?
Or is it... a humanoid monster deliberately hiding in a rural village?

Fang Cheng was also sizing up the middle-aged man in front of him who claimed to be a policeman.

The other person's expression was tense, and the seriousness in their eyes seemed genuine; they clearly regarded him as some kind of dangerous individual.

He remained calm and stood quietly, waiting for the other party's next move.

One person was inside the car, and the other was outside.

The two faced each other across a thin veil of rain, and the atmosphere became somewhat tense for a moment.

Just at this awkward moment, a loud, boisterous voice came from not far away.

"Brother Wei, I've bought the wine, two bottles of Wuliangchun! Come on, let's go home and try my cooking!"

Ma Donghe came running over excitedly, carrying two bottles of liquor.

When he saw the man standing in front of the car, his eyes widened in surprise.

"Hey, Fang Cheng, why are you out of seclusion today?!"

In an instant, the frozen atmosphere was completely shattered.

Wei Zheng stared blankly at Ma Donghe, whose face was beaming with joy.

Then, he turned his gaze to the "red underwear hunk" in front of the car who looked helpless.

My brain momentarily went blank; I opened my mouth, but couldn't utter a single word.

Ma Dong-hyuk had no idea what had just happened.

He glanced at the dumbfounded Wei Zheng, then at Fang Cheng, who was showing off his muscles in broad daylight.

Finally, his gaze fell on the familiar red underwear, and a lewd smile that said "I know" appeared on his face.

....................................

By noon, the sky had completely cleared up.

The bluestone slabs in the courtyard were half-dry from the sun, with only a few damp marks remaining in the shadows at the base of the wall, proving that a sudden downpour had occurred that morning.

The door to the main room was open, and inside, a large round table that could seat ten people was laden with a dazzling array of dishes.

The braised pork knuckle with its rich, savory sauce, large chunks of stewed lamb chops, golden and glistening roasted chicken, and a whole pot of steaming hot boiled beef.

Eight or nine out of ten of them were main dishes, almost filling the entire table, making it an incredibly lavish spread.

However, at this moment, the three men sitting at the table all stopped eating and stared at the other person eating.

Opposite them, Fang Cheng was engrossed in a pile of bones.

His eating habits are hard to describe in words.

That wasn't eating; it looked more like they were performing some kind of high-speed disassembly.

In his hands, a roasted chicken was reduced to a pile of clean skeletons in less than half a minute.

A huge pork knuckle was quickly separated from the bone.

He grabbed and stuffed food into his mouth with both hands, chewing at a speed comparable to an industrial shredder.

Every now and then it makes a crisp "crunch" sound, which is the sound of even the bones being chewed up.

In the trash can next to the table, various food scraps piled up into a small mountain at a visible speed.

Ma Jianguo stroked his beard, trying to maintain his dignified and otherworldly master demeanor, but the slight twitching at the corner of his eye betrayed his inner turmoil.

Ma Dong-hyuk, on the other hand, looked very proud and regarded him as a close friend.

It was as if Fang Cheng wasn't eating food, but rather the exquisite culinary skills he had honed over many years.

The most shocked person was Wei Zheng.

In the special search team, he had seen those modified humans who had undergone "digestive system enhancement" by the experimental department.

But even they couldn't eat nearly as much as this young man.

What truly alarmed Wei Zheng was not only the exaggerated amount of food consumed, but also the terrifying digestive capacity and energy conversion rate it represented.

He's finally come to his senses.

After all that, it turns out that the tough guy who came down the mountain wearing red underwear was the "martial arts genius" that Ma Donghe always boasted about.

Recalling how he had just questioned someone about their ID and almost caused a major misunderstanding, Wei Zheng felt his face burning with embarrassment.

However, given his exaggerated eating habits, he couldn't blame himself for misunderstanding.

This isn't human; it's more like a prehistoric beast just released from its cage.

"cough."

Ma Jianguo coughed lightly, picked up his wine glass, and explained with feigned composure:
"Xiao Wei, please don't be offended. A-Cheng has been in seclusion in the cave for five days and five nights without eating a single grain of rice."

"Moreover, he cultivated the 'Thunderfire Cauldron' visualization method of my Ma family, which consumes a lot of qi and blood. Now that he has completed his cultivation, he should replenish his body."

Ma Donghe immediately started boasting:

"I think it's mainly because my cooking skills are good, otherwise Acheng wouldn't have been able to eat so heartily."

Before she could finish speaking, she was met with a glare from her father.

Wei Zheng took a deep breath, suppressing the turmoil in his heart, and forced a smile:
"What my senior uncle is saying is true... Junior Brother Fang's talent, oh no, his appetite is truly remarkable."

Just then, Fang Cheng finally raised his head from the pile of bones.

"Hey, why aren't you eating?"

He still had a piece of beef in his mouth, his cheeks bulging, and he spoke indistinctly:

"Don't be shy, there's so much food, I can't possibly finish it all by myself."

After saying that, he grinned, revealing a gap between his teeth with a few strands of meat hanging from them. "Oh, oh, eat, eat!"

The three of them snapped out of their daze and immediately grabbed their chopsticks, burying their heads in the food, as if afraid that if they were a step too slow, not even a drop of soup would be left.

Seeing this, Fang Cheng shook his head helplessly.

Actually, I've already been very restrained.

If we really let ourselves eat freely, this table probably wouldn't be able to support us.

After all, it can even digest the flesh and blood of the Crimson Eyes, so mere mortal food is no match for the True Fire of the Sun.

....................................

After a satisfying meal, the messy table was cleaned up and replaced with teaware.

Boiling water is poured into the teapot, and the rising steam, mixed with the fragrance of tea leaves, fills the air.

The three of them, each holding a teacup, sat idly in the main room, chatting casually.

Over the course of this meal, Wei Zheng's impression of Fang Cheng changed from a "dangerous man in red underwear" to a "unfathomable young master," and they became somewhat acquainted.

Ma Jianguo took a sip of tea and inquired about the important matter with concern:

"Acheng, how was your retreat? You said you've mastered the visualization method, did you try the shaping of the realm?"

Fang Cheng nodded, then replied truthfully:
"Thanks to my master and the cultivation environment of the water dungeon, I have now successfully established my intention and visualized a sun, and have also begun to construct my inner world."

"Moreover, in constructing the inner world, I vaguely touched the threshold of condensing my true self, but it seems that something is still missing."

"what?!"

Ma Jianguo's hand trembled, and the scalding tea spilled out, but he was completely unaware and stood up in shock.

Ma Donghe and Wei Zheng, who were standing nearby, were also dumbfounded upon hearing this.

"Acheng, I told you you could do it!"

Ma Donghe was the first to react, excitedly slapping his thigh: "I didn't expect it to progress even faster than I thought."

Wei Zheng looked completely incredulous.

The junior brother Fang in front of me looks to be only in his early twenties. At such a young age, he has not only achieved his goal, but has even begun to shape his realm and has touched the threshold of "true self".
As far as he knew, in the entire history of the Special Investigation Team, the only person who could achieve such a perverse level of skill was probably the legendary first commander, Li Guizhen.

I started learning martial arts in elementary school, and in my twenties I came into contact with visualization techniques. Now I'm forty, and I'm still struggling at the "establishing the intention" stage.

But he didn't doubt that Fang Cheng was bragging.

Because not long ago, he had personally witnessed the terrifying oppressive feeling of someone whose vital energy was so strong it was overflowing, as hot as the sun.

"No wonder, no wonder!"

Ma Jianguo suddenly realized what was happening and paced back and forth excitedly.
"I was wondering why the weather changed so suddenly today, with a sudden downpour. It turns out it was a interaction between heaven and man that triggered the celestial phenomenon."

“It is recorded in the Ma family’s records that on the day our ancestor achieved his goal, there was lightning and thunder and dark clouds over the area within a ten-mile radius.”

"When Senior Li Guizhen secluded himself here to break through his cultivation, he caused the peach blossoms all over the mountain to bloom overnight in winter!"

He looked at Fang Cheng, and said with a mixture of relief and regret:
“Acheng, your opportunity has arrived, but because your physical body and blood reserves are insufficient, you cannot support the consumption of that step, so you are forced to stop.”

"It's alright, you're still young and have a solid foundation. With a few more seclusion sessions, you'll definitely achieve great success!"

As he spoke, he sat down again and began to explain to Fang Cheng, in the capacity of a theoretical master, the various things that needed to be paid attention to after condensing one's true self.

Fang Cheng listened attentively, asking questions from time to time.

In particular, it is about the secrets of how to start by "uniting the true self" and gradually achieve "inner vision manifesting outward".

Although Ma Jianguo felt that the question was asked a bit too early, considering Fang Cheng's talent, it might actually be possible to achieve this within a few years.

So he patiently explained:
"The true self is the master of the inner landscape. The inner landscape manifests outward, which means allowing the power of the inner world to interfere with the present world. The key lies in the unity of the inner and outer worlds."

"You need to constantly 'nourish' your inner vision with your own true energy to make it more solid. At the same time, you also need to constantly verify your own path in reality to make the will of your 'true self' more and more firm."

"In the early stages of this process, you will feel an invisible aura around you, and ordinary people may think you have a strong presence. What you need to do is to continuously cultivate and strengthen this aura, and be able to control it at will."

"When your inner world is as stable as a mountain and your true self is as firm as diamond, you can release the power of your inner world with a single thought, turning this invisible aura into an external landscape that others can see and touch, or you could say a 'domain'."

"That's 'inner landscape manifesting outwards'..."

Fang Cheng listened attentively to the instruction and nodded thoughtfully.

Listening to their conversation, Wei Zheng felt increasingly that the young man before him was unfathomable, and couldn't help but ask:
"Junior Brother Fang, has your Qi cultivation reached the 'True Essence Forging Cauldron' level?"

"More than that!"

Before Fang Cheng could answer, Ma Donghe had already started praising him:

"Senior Brother Wei, let me tell you, A-Cheng is absolutely a once-in-a-century martial arts genius. His true energy is so abundant and powerful, it's like it's free!"

After boasting, Ma Donghe's face showed a look of deep regret, and he sighed deeply.

"Hey, Cheng, it would be so great if you could also take the Special Search Team exam. Then we brothers could fight side by side, and I could benefit from your success."

Wei Zheng's eyes lit up instantly, and he immediately replied:

“That’s right, Junior Brother Fang, you should definitely consider it. A strong person like you can only maximize your value in the Special Search Team.”

Fang Cheng did not give a direct answer, but instead asked with a puzzled look:

"Wasn't the Special Investigations Team's preliminary test over a long time ago?"

"The preliminary test is only for non-professional individuals from the general public."

Wei Zheng then explained to him in detail:

“Our special search team also has a subordinate special police school, which has a fixed number of enrollment slots every year.”

"Donghe and his team passed the preliminary screening and obtained the official qualification to take the exam. Next, they will participate in the second round of testing together with these elite police academy students."

"During this period, if any members of the public whose abilities have been proven want to participate, they can directly enter the second round of auditions as long as they have a guarantee and recommendation from the team's affairs officer."

After speaking, he looked at Fang Cheng with burning eyes and great eagerness:

"With your abilities, I'm confident you'll have no problem. Junior Brother Fang, I'm now formally inviting you to participate in this selection exam as a Level 2 Affairs Officer of the Special Search Team."

Fang Cheng thought for a moment and then politely declined using the same reason as before:

"Forget it, I like to be free and can't stand those rules and regulations. Fighting and killing are not for me."

"Senior Brother Wei."

Ma Donghe immediately chimed in from the side:

"Even if you're willing to be a guarantor, Acheng's family situation is rather special, and he might not pass the background check..."

"Donghyuk!"

Fang Cheng's voice wasn't loud, but it successfully shut Ma Donghe up.

Upon hearing this, Wei Zheng nodded slightly, a look of understanding flashing in his eyes, and did not ask any further questions.

As a seasoned veteran within the system, he knew all too well the weight of the words "background check".

As if he had forgotten what had just happened, Wei Zheng continued to drink tea and chat with everyone, talking about some interesting stories from the special search team.

This also gave Fang Cheng some new insights into the country's most mysterious violent apparatus.

Before we knew it, the sun was setting in the west, and it was already dusk.

Wei Zheng glanced at the sky and suddenly got up to say goodbye.

Ma Donghe quickly tried to persuade him to stay:
"Senior Brother Wei, didn't you say you were going to stay at my house for a few days? Why are you leaving so soon?"

Ma Jianguo also advised:

"Yes, Xiao Wei, it's rare for you to come all this way, stay a couple more days and let Donghe treat you to a few drinks."

"No, Uncle Ma."

Wei Zheng smiled and said, "I suddenly remembered that I have some urgent matters to attend to at home, so I have to rush back. I'll come to see you again in a couple of days."

As he spoke, his gaze lingered on Fang Cheng for a few more seconds, his expression somewhat complicated.

He then turned and went out, driving his dark green Jeep slowly towards the village entrance.

Inside the main room, Ma Donghe apologized to Fang Cheng somewhat embarrassedly:
"Acheng, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought up your family matters."

Fang Cheng waved his hand, indicating that he didn't care.

Ma Jianguo suddenly spoke up:

"Ah Cheng, about joining the Special Search Team, you should really think about it. Don't worry about how this old man feels."

(End of this chapter)