Rebirth in the Dragon Kingdom: The Strongest Blade

When Lin Zhe returned to the Lin family villa, it was already past nine o'clock in the evening. His parents were in the living room, while his older brother Lin Feng and sister-in-law Chen Jing had already gone home.

"You're back?" Su Wan's eyes lit up when she saw her son. "How about having dinner at Xueying's?"

"Very good." Lin Zhe sat down. "The uncle and aunt were very welcoming."

Lin Guodong put down his newspaper and looked at his son: "I heard you got promoted again? Colonel?"

"Yes, it happened some time ago." Lin Zhe nodded.

"A colonel at twenty-three..." Lin Guodong shook his head. "Xiao Zhe, your promotion speed is too fast. You need to learn to restrain yourself."

"I know, Dad."

Su Wan didn't care about these things; she was more concerned about her son's marriage: "Xiao Zhe, when do you plan to settle things with Xueying? You're not young anymore, you'll be twenty-four soon. Xueying is already twenty-seven, we can't keep her waiting."

Lin Zhe thought for a moment: "Mom, I have seven days off this time. I want to use this time to finalize things. Also... I'll be working in Jinghua from now on, so I can spend more time with her."

"Working in Beijing?" Lin Guodong raised an eyebrow. "Which organization?"

"A military unit, I can't say specifically," Lin Zhe said vaguely, "but anyway, it's staying in Beijing."

Lin Guodong didn't ask any more questions. He understood the rules of the military: say what should be said, and don't ask what shouldn't be asked.

"Alright, your mother and I will visit Commander Zhang tomorrow," Lin Guodong said, "to finalize your marriage."

"Thank you, Dad."

The next morning, Lin Zhe contacted Zhang Dajiang. Upon hearing that the Lin family elders wanted to meet to discuss the marriage, Zhang Dajiang immediately agreed. The two families arranged to meet in a private room at a high-end hotel in Beijing.

The atmosphere was very amicable when they met. Although Lin Guodong was a politician, his rank was that of a minister, half a rank higher than Zhang Dajiang, a lieutenant general. However, both of them worked in Beijing and had met on various occasions before, so they were acquaintances.

"Old Zhang, let's get straight to the point," Lin Guodong said. "The two young people are in love, and we as parents support them. How about we finalize the marriage today?"

"That's wonderful!" Zhang Dajiang grinned from ear to ear. "Mayor Lin, to be honest, I've been looking forward to this day for a long time! I like Lin Zhe more and more every time I see him!"

Wang Hui and Su Wan got along very well, and the two mothers began discussing the wedding details.

"How about the end of the year?" Su Wan suggested. "There are still six months left, enough time to prepare for the wedding."

"Okay! Let's do it at the end of the year!" Wang Hui nodded. "Xueying, you don't have any objections, right?"

Zhang Xueying blushed like an apple: "I'll...I'll listen to you."

Lin Zhe sat to the side, watching this scene, his heart warmed. In this life, he had family, he had a lover, and now he was about to start a family.

The marriage was arranged. The two families agreed to hold the wedding at the end of the year.

Over the next few days, Lin Zhe took Zhang Xueying sightseeing around Beijing. Sometimes Zhao Keke would come along as a third wheel, but Lin Zhe didn't mind—he cherished this rare vacation time and every moment he spent with Xueying.

"Hey you two, can't you be a little considerate of how single people feel?" In the coffee shop, Zhao Keke rolled her eyes at the couple holding hands across from her. "I'm eating this dog food every day, I'm about to burst!"

Zhang Xueying laughed and pulled her hand back: "Okay, okay, I won't tease you anymore."

Lin Zhe also smiled. This feeling was wonderful—ordinary and warm, something he had never experienced in his previous life.

Just then, the watch on his wrist suddenly vibrated and emitted a red light—the most urgent communication!

Lin Zhe's expression changed, and he immediately answered the call: "Long Yuan received."

The voice of the dragon head came through the watch, clear as if speaking right next to my ear: "Emergency mission. A hostage situation has occurred on the seventeenth floor of the Blue Ocean Building in the central business district of Jinghua City. The hostage's identity is suspicious, suspected to be foreign assassins. The scene is under police control, but the hostage demands to meet with the media to create international impact. Orders: Proceed immediately, handle the situation independently, and eliminate the threat. Other team members are en route."

"Understood!" Lin Zhe hung up the call.

The whole process only lasted a dozen seconds, but everyone in the coffee shop heard it. Lin Zhe was speaking into his watch, and although his voice wasn't loud, the young people at the surrounding tables all heard the words "emergency mission," "hijacking," and "handling."

"What are you pretending for..." a young man with dyed blond hair muttered under his breath, "A broken watch, and you're actually using it as a walkie-talkie?"

But the person next to him tugged at him, gesturing for him to look at Lin Zhe's expression—serious, cold, with eyes as sharp as knives.

Zhang Xueying and Zhao Keke were also stunned. They saw Lin Zhe pick up the watch, heard the voice coming from it, and saw the instant change in Lin Zhe's expression...

"Lin Zhe, what's wrong?" Zhang Xueying asked worriedly.

"I have a mission, I have to go." Lin Zhe stood up. "You guys go back on your own, be careful."

After saying that, he strode out of the coffee shop, not even having time to pay the bill—Zhang Xueying quickly took out her wallet.

The people in the coffee shop were buzzing with discussion. The blond-haired young man was still stubbornly insisting, "He's definitely faking it, just a trick to fool his girlfriend..."

But before he could finish speaking, he saw the scene outside the window—Lin Zhe ran to a black SUV, opened the trunk, and entered the password. The trunk lid rose, revealing not an ordinary storage space, but an equipment cabinet!

Bulletproof vests, helmets, night vision goggles, grenades, and... assault rifles!

The café fell silent instantly. Everyone stared wide-eyed as the young man outside the window, under their watchful eyes, swiftly removed his civilian clothes, donned a black combat uniform, put on a bulletproof vest, donned a helmet, and checked his weapons...

"My God..." someone murmured.

"Is it true... he's in the special forces?"

"Call the police immediately! Special forces don't carry equipment in their vehicles!"

Some people have already called the police. Lin Zhe knew this would cause some trouble, but the urgency of the mission meant he couldn't worry about that and could only leave it to the police.

Zhang Xueying and Zhao Keke also ran out, and were stunned to see Lin Zhe fully armed. They knew Lin Zhe was a soldier, but they never expected him to be like this!

Lin Zhe didn't have time to explain. He checked his equipment, closed the trunk, and jumped into the driver's seat. The car roared to life and shot off like an arrow.

"Where...where did he go?" Zhao Keke asked.

Zhang Xueying recalled the address she had just heard: "Blue Ocean Building! In the city center!"

"Let's go!" Zhao Keke said without hesitation.

"No, that's too dangerous!"

"Watch from a distance!" Zhao Keke had already hailed a taxi. "Driver, to the Blue Ocean Building!"

Zhang Xueying hesitated for a second before getting into the car. She was worried about Lin Zhe.

The Blue Ocean Building is a high-end office building in the center of Jinghua City, standing 38 stories tall. At this moment, the area around the building has been cordoned off, with more than a dozen police cars flashing their lights, and special police officers already in position.

"What's the situation inside?" The on-site commander, Liu Zhigang, deputy director of the Jinghua City Public Security Bureau—the same Liu who was in charge of the last shopping mall incident—asked anxiously.

"The seventeenth floor has been taken hostage, with at least twenty people," the SWAT captain reported. "There are eight of them, all masked and armed with automatic weapons. They demand to see international media, saying they want to reveal some 'truth.' But we believe they are deliberately creating trouble to smear us internationally."

"Where are the negotiation experts?"

"We are in talks, but the other party is not discussing any terms; they are just repeatedly asking to meet with the media."

Liu Zhigang's face was grim. This kind of enemy is the most difficult to deal with—they have no demands, only a desire to create chaos.

Just then, a black SUV broke through the police cordon and drove directly to the building entrance. The door opened, and a fully armed figure jumped out.

"Who goes there?!" The police and SWAT officers immediately drew their guns.

Lin Zhe raised his watch; the screen displayed an authorization code. Liu Zhigang's pupils contracted upon seeing the code—this was the highest level of authorization!

"Leave this to me," Lin Zhe said calmly. "Have your people withdraw to the perimeter, control the media, and prevent any footage from leaking out."

"But..."

"Execute the order." Lin Zhe's tone left no room for argument.

Liu Zhigang gritted his teeth and waved his hand: "Do as he says!"

Although puzzled, the special police officers obeyed orders and began to retreat.

Lin Zhe looked up at the building. Seventeenth floor... He needed to break in quickly and resolve the issue before the other side could create more chaos.

He checked the equipment: assault rifle, pistol, dagger, flashbang, smoke grenade... that was enough.

"Dragon Head, I have arrived at the scene," he reported via his watch.

"The rest of the team will arrive in three minutes. Long Yuan, remember, the enemy is a suicide squad, don't hold back."

"clear."

Lin Zhe took a deep breath and rushed towards the building entrance.

This battle was his first domestic mission since becoming "Hidden Dragon." The opponents were foreign assassins whose goal was to create an international incident.

What he needed to do was to resolve the matter quietly before it escalated.

Zhang Xueying and Zhao Keke's taxi stopped two blocks away. They saw police lights in the distance, police tape, and that fully armed figure rushing into the building...

"Lin Zhe..." Zhang Xueying clenched her hands, praying in her heart.

Lin Zhe had already entered the building and begun his operation.