The wind whistled, and leaves fluttered.
Lucas Gray pulled his coat together and once again looked at the campground that he had long gotten familiar with, as well as the familiar faces. He clenched his jaw tightly.
"Let's go."
Lucas turned around and stepped onto the hatch door of the helicopter that had been waiting at the side for a long time.
Behind him were teams of tall, toned, and muscular men standing uniformly in neat rows. Despite having tears in their eyes, they were standing still with their backs straight in the cold wind and raising their hands in unison to perform a standard and reverent military salute.
"Farewell from the Assault Team, Captain!"
"Farewell from the Special Forces, Captain!"
"Farewell from the Logistics Team, Captain!"
…
Amid the sounds of the helicopter's propeller continuously rotating, the loud yelling sounded consecutively.
It was full of enthusiasm and pride!
"Captain, can you really bear to…" Jordan muttered with reluctance in his eyes as he wiped his tears and closed the helicopter's hatch door.
The wings of the helicopter rotated, and it ascended. The familiar campground and teams were gradually turning into tiny marks on the ground.
Lucas looked away and said with a faint smile, "Everything comes to an end someday. There's no longer a need for me to continue staying here."
He had stayed on this land for six whole years.
During these six years, Lucas was quickly promoted from a fresh recruit to a general who held great authority after various close shaves with death.
The invincible Falcon Regiment under his command firmly guarded the vast territory around the state of Calico.
And Lucas became the most powerful God of War in the eyes of the tens of thousands of members of the Falcon Regiment because of his excellent command ability and combat power.
No one dared to invade Calico anymore, as it was now well fortified.
Having achieved success, he could finally retire, even though he was only twenty-eight years old.
The helicopter flew south toward the nearest airport.
Lucas took out an antique pocket watch from his chest, in which was a slightly yellowed photo.
It was a photo of him and a young woman taken six years ago. Back then, he was still slightly immature.
The woman's face was beautiful, delicate, and exquisite. Her lips were pursed stubbornly, and her slanted, crystalline eyes seemed to be staring straight into Lucas's hand through the photo.
The scene that seemed like a farce at that time was still fresh and vivid in his memory.
Lucas smiled bitterly as he began to recall the events from six years ago.
At that time, Cheyenne Carter, who had just graduated from college, had already established the Brilliance Corporation with her outstanding bravery and wits, thus making her a gorgeous and famous female CEO.
However, her image was soon ruined.
The young and beautiful CEO with a glamorous appearance actually had a disgraceful private life, as she had had an affair with the company's chauffeur!
The media made a big deal out of it and released all sorts of malicious, speculative, and untrue reports.
Cheyenne's image was ruined overnight, and she fell to rock bottom together with her Brilliance Corporation that was thrown into jeopardy.
No one bothered to discover that the truth was that they had actually been drugged.
The masses were only interested in gossip, and the Carters just wanted to cover up the scandal.
In the end, the chauffeur married into the Carters and became her husband.
However, the marriage did not save the image of Cheyenne and the Carters.
Everyone mocked and criticized the greatest beauty of Orange County, who used to be the envy of everyone, and made remarks about the penniless chauffeur who was lucky enough to marry into a wealthy family.
The penniless chauffeur was Lucas.
Both of them were well aware of the truth of their marriage.
Soon, Lucas quietly left for the military camp and vowed to make a name for himself so that he would be worthy of the woman who used to be favored by God.
Six years had passed, and he finally returned after achieving success.
Lucas looked at the woman in the photo, his emotions mixed with inexplicable remorse and apology.
He wondered how she was doing after years of being away from her.
——
"Finally back!" Jordan stretched his back and looked at Lucas, who had a look of nostalgia.
The two of them passed through the crowded Orange County International Airport and casually ordered some fast food at the mall outside the airport.
"Captain… No, I mean, Lucas, your hometown is in Orange County, isn't it?"
Lucas casually nodded.
It had been a long time since they left Orange County, and now that they had just returned, there were many things for them to tend to.
"Mommy… I want Mommy…" All of a sudden, a puerile and crisp crying sounded near them.
Lucas stopped in his tracks.
For some reason, the tender crying was tugging at his heartstrings.
Lucas pushed aside the crowd and followed the sound.
There was a little girl standing below a billboard near him and weeping, her face stained with tears.
The girl was about four or five years old and was holding a stuffed rabbit in her arms. Her tiny face was as fine as jade, and tears were welling up in her large, dark eyes. Her small and delicate nose was sniffling because of her crying, and she looked particularly adorable and pitiful, making Lucas's heart scrunch up.
In particular, she seemed bizarrely familiar to Lucas.
At this moment, the girl saw Lucas as well, and she abruptly stopped crying.
Her eyes full of surprise, she suddenly leaped toward Lucas and hugged his thigh! "Daddy!"
Lucas was stunned speechless and at a complete loss for what to do.