Everyone's eyes turned to Tianxiao and Chen Wuling.
Indeed, it was obvious to everyone that the relationship between Tianxiao and Chen Wuling had not been as close in recent days.
However, no one dared to point it out directly, as they were all comrades and brothers. Despite Chen Wuling's efforts to remind himself of Tianxiao's kindness—how he had saved his life during the meteorite crater incident—the tension lingered. He could not ignore the fact that Tianxiao's talents and instincts were far superior to his own, justifying Tianxiao's appointment as deputy leader of the base's security team.
Still, Tianxiao had only joined the team a month ago.
Chen Wuling, on the other hand, had been loyally following Luo Fei for over half a year, earning the trust and admiration of the entire security team. To them, he was the obvious successor to the deputy leader role.
Recognizing the growing rift, Luo Fei decided to address the issue head-on. He saw this as an opportunity to mend the relationship between Tianxiao and Chen Wuling and to strengthen the unity within the team.
Luo Fei broke the silence with a bold declaration:
"Wuling, you will remain the deputy leader of the base's security team. But before that, I plan to train Tianxiao to reach G-level proficiency and prepare him for greater responsibilities."
Old Lu paused mid-sip, his eyes widening in shock. Lin Hu and Liu Xuesong were equally stunned.
"Why?"
"Tianxiao is our key asset! Sending him away doesn't make sense!"
"Wait… what exactly does 'sending him away' mean?" asked Qiao Dazhi, who was nursing an injury.
Chen Wuling looked at Luo Fei, his face full of confusion and suspicion.
Luo Fei took a swig of his drink, his eyes gleaming with conviction. "This is an opportunity Tianxiao earned for himself. When I became the leader of the security team, I leveraged my connection with Zhang Lian. Tianxiao's exceptional performance during the escort mission not only earned Zhang Lian's recognition but also caught the attention of the company's top executives. He has the potential to achieve what I never could—to become the highest-ranking official of a base."
Everyone was stunned. They never imagined that Luo Fei held Tianxiao in such high regard, nor that he intended to pave the way for Tianxiao's rise to the top.
Tianxiao himself was slightly surprised but quickly understood Luo Fei's intentions. By publicly sharing these plans, Luo Fei was not only binding everyone's interests together but also inspiring the team to work harder and stronger.
Of course, Luo Fei had another goal in mind: to motivate Chen Wuling, Liu Xuesong, Qiao Dazhi, and Lin Hu. Only by improving themselves could they keep up with Luo Fei's vision and join him on his future journey.
Tianxiao surveyed the room. Apart from Old Lu, everyone seemed electrified, their fighting spirit ignited as if they were ready to take on any challenge. The only anomaly was Zhu Xiaotian, who sat quietly with her cheeks puffed, seemingly lost in thought.
Meanwhile, Chen Wuling's internal conflict dissolved. If even Luo Fei admitted that Tianxiao's talents surpassed his own, there was no reason for him to feel any resentment.
At that moment, Tianxiao picked up a carving knife and deftly tossed a steaming piece of roasted meat into Chen Wuling's hand.
"Ah! Hot, hot, hot!" Chen Wuling exclaimed, trying to juggle the meat without dropping it, much to everyone's amusement.
The group erupted in laughter.
"Come on, let's drink!" Lin Hu stood and raised his glass.
"To Leader Luo's goal of becoming a ship captain!"
"And to pushing Tianxiao to greater heights!"
"To the future Deputy Leader Chen!"
Lin Hu's loud and exuberant cheers brought the room to life, and everyone joined in enthusiastically.
"Cheers!" they shouted in unison.
Luo Fei grabbed a bottle of strong liquor. "Drink up!"
Zhu Xiaotian raised her glass, her gaze subtly drifting to Tianxiao, who was already downing his bottle with impressive speed.
The atmosphere grew increasingly lively and celebratory.
After the festivities, most of the team members were incapacitated by alcohol and had to be carried away by bio-robots. Tianxiao, however, remained unaffected. Taking a deep breath, he expelled the alcohol through his pores, steadied himself, and headed down to the fifteenth floor to start his workout.
This was a skill he had mastered during his time with the Earth Sky Forces.
In the Sky Forces, there were legendary drinkers capable of consuming ten kilograms of hard liquor in half an hour. Tianxiao later discovered that one of them had used their chip's computational power to develop a breathing technique that expelled most of the alcohol through their pores. The remaining alcohol was neutralized with a special spice, leaving no adverse effects on the body.
From then on, Tianxiao not only mastered the art of grilling meat but also became unbeatable at the drinking table.
Two hours later, Zhu Xiaotian appeared on the fifteenth floor and stepped onto another weighted running machine.
"Not bad. You recovered quickly," Tianxiao said with a smile.