Acai's Sky

Chapter 932: Inspecting the Troops on the Battlefield in Wangyou City

Wangyou City·Huaxia Military Camp·Comprehensive Building

The last few wisps of tea smoke rose from the enamel pot on the cabinet.

Director Xu's fingers tapped out rapid drumbeats on the keyboard. The personnel lists of the 28 copy teams on the screen were like a school of swimming fish, shining in the fluorescent light, making his temples throb.

"Old Liao, do you really think we should let them go solo?" He turned abruptly, the back of his chair banging against the pile of documents. "Twenty-eight teams with nearly three hundred people, all the backbones we personally trained, are just being deployed to the regional battlefield like this..."

Political Commissar Liao's cigarette butt sparked in the ashtray. The second button of his uniform was undone, revealing a bronze clavicle scar. "Do you remember last winter? The inviter used a one-way teleportation array to send us cold-weather talismans across numerous planes. Two thousand pieces of ice silk armor smashed directly into the advanced plane, burning holes in the snow."

He knocked on the table, his knuckles rubbing against the grain of the spiritual wood. "Now, warriors at level 60 can live in Forgetful City. Time flows at a speed of 1:365. They've even managed to pry open a loophole in the system for us~"

"That's right. Minister Yan checked the warehouse the day before yesterday and found that he had accumulated 50,000 [Superior Spirit Gathering Pills] alone."

Minister Zhou pushed up his glasses, which had slid down to the tip of his nose. His notebook was filled with drawings of the military camp reconstruction. "Let's give the 2,000 vacant spots in Wangyou City's military camp to the research team. Those materials scientists who were brought back from the United States can do a day's research in Wangyou City that's equivalent to a year's research outside."

He traced the proposal for "Converting the Third Basement Floor of the Complex Building into a Laboratory," his ink creating a faint halo on the paper. "I heard that Mr. Yuan has grown glowing wheat in this dungeon, and the yield per mu is 50% higher than what Mr. Yuan achieved back then."

When the door lock made a light click, old men in cotton shirts came in under the setting sun.

Old Xiao's jujube wood cane knocked on the ground, startling the dove dozing on the windowsill; Old Liu's reading glasses hung on his chest, with medicine residue still stained on the lenses; Old Qiu held a tin candy box in his hand, which made a "clattering" sound wherever he went, and it was filled with fruit candies that he had taken from somewhere.

"What are you worried about, Boss Xu? Your face is longer than the wall of Kunlun Pass."

Old Xiao took the list from Director Zhou. When his presbyopic eyes moved closer, his nose cast a small shadow on the paper. "Back in the Long March, we traveled the world on foot. Now we have system copies as straw sandals. What's there to be afraid of?"

He suddenly laughed out loud, pointing his finger at the names on the list: "Wolf Fang Special Forces," "Canglang Offensive Group," "Iron Blood Painting Team," and "Mountain and River Painting Group." He laughed heartily, "Even the kitchen squad has the audacity to call themselves 'Manchu-Han Banquet Battalion.' Look at these youngsters, their names are even more exciting than when we put up big-character posters back in the day."

"Old Xiao, please don't be so mean," said Elder Liu, pulling out a leather booklet from his canvas bag. "Regional Battlefield Rules Summary" was neatly written on the cover. "I saw a system announcement saying the portals to the Penglai Temple and the Kunlun Temple are three thousand miles apart, separated by a sea of ​​fog."

He pushed his glasses, the faint scent of ink wafting through the pages as he turned them. "Our dungeon team followed the inviter and took the Penglai route. Although we weren't included in the main team, the system gave us the 'Allied Assistance' buff—"

"Come on, Old Liu, don't bother with these flowery things." Old Qiu suddenly knocked the candy box onto the table, and the hard candies bounced and scattered on the porcelain plate. "To put it bluntly, we won't hold them back. Let the young people make the breakthrough. We old guys—"

He picked up an orange-flavored candy and twirled it between his fingers. "Be responsible for guarding the rear and providing them with supplies in time!"

Old Bai and Old Li remained silent. The former stared at the map on the wall, his fingers gently rubbing the boundaries of the area - where the coordinates of the battlefield in this area were marked; the latter held a thermos cup, his eyes fixed on the plan on Political Commissar Liao's desk. The four golden characters "Serve the country with loyalty" on the cup lid glowed faintly in the twilight.

"Actually, the biggest headache is the inviter." Old Xiao suddenly looked out the window. The outline of Wangyou City in the distance was gilded in the sunset glow, and the wind chimes on the top of the city were sending out crisp sounds. "What are four hundred of us here? I heard that there are thirty thousand indigenous people in Penglai Temple alone, and they all know how to draw talismans. Last time, Little Leo found a broken talisman in a dungeon and brought it back to the research institute for testing..."

He suddenly lowered his voice, a smile etched in the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes. "Wow, it's actually the Quanzhen Sect's mountain-guarding talisman from the Song Dynasty. It's two hundred years older than the treasures in our warehouse."

Political Commissar Liao put out his seventh cigarette, stood up and opened the window. The evening breeze brought in the aroma of food from the kitchen, mixed with the smell of gunpowder from the training ground in the distance.

He looked at the glittering epaulettes in the queue downstairs, and suddenly felt that those figures marching in the twilight looked very much like his comrades who had trekked through the snow-capped mountains back then - the same backs, the same determination, but the only difference was that they were carrying rifles on their shoulders instead of psychic weapons that flashed with spiritual light.

"It's settled." Director Xu's words were concise and decisive, as if there was no room for negotiation.

His hand turned off the system screen as quickly as lightning, and the screen went dark in an instant, as if the warm fire had been extinguished by an invisible big hand.

However, at the moment the screen went dark, Director Xu's attention was attracted by a subtle movement.

He saw Mr. Xiao putting the last candy into Mr. Li's hand. It was a crystal clear candy, emitting a faint light in the darkness.

Mr. Li smiled like a child, his lips pursed. That smile was so pure and contented, as if he was holding not just a candy in his hand, but the sweetness of the whole world.

As the lights came on, everything in the conference room was clearly displayed.

There is a banner with the words "Serve the Country with Loyalty" hanging on the wall. Although the edges are a little worn, the bright red color is still as dazzling as a flame, making it impossible to ignore its existence.

The door of the conference room was pushed open again, and the sound of new recruits throwing talismans came in. The sound was crisp and powerful, like the cry of youth.

Suddenly, a reckless person's paper talisman accidentally hit the voice-controlled light in the corridor. Immediately, a series of crackling golden sparks bloomed in the air, as dazzling as fireworks in the night sky.

Director Xu quietly watched the backs of the elderly people as they left, supporting each other. Their steps were a little unsteady and their backs were slightly hunched, but at this moment, Director Xu felt that those hunched backs were more upright than the temple statues in the holographic projection.

Perhaps, this is the heritage of Chinese soldiers.

In the gap between reality and copies, in the symphony of runes and guns, there are always people who can bravely face the word "impossible" and use their actions to write it into a "try it" with a sense of fireworks.

This kind of inheritance is not only a transmission of spirit, but also a continuation of life. It flows in the long river of time and will never dry up.

When the first star climbed up the eaves of the complex building, hundreds of transfer orders with the Chinese military seal were flying to various teams through the system email.

In addition to the battle map, the attachment also contained a short note written by Political Commissar Liao himself: "If you encounter a strong enemy, do not forget your family; if you have an opportunity, do not let down the passion of youth."

At the signature point, the pen ink spread out a small ink ball on the paper, which looked very much like the full moon about to rise over the Forget-Your-Sorrow City.