Chapter 103: Photograph

Chapter 103: Chapter 103: Photograph

Before leaving, Captain Li told them to prepare well, reminding them not to bring shame upon the Logistics Department.

They all agreed. Only after Captain Li’s retreating figure had vanished did Lin Jingjing let go of Gu Kaiwen.

"Sister Lin, why were you covering my mouth?" Gu Kaiwen asked in confusion.

Lin Jingjing turned and shot him a glare. "If I hadn’t, were you going to hype me up to the heavens?"

"I just think you can do it," Gu Kaiwen said with a grin.

Lin Jingjing raised a hand and rapped him on the head, and she didn’t hold back.

Gu Kaiwen let out a pained "OW!" and clutched his head, looking at Lin Jingjing with a wounded expression.

"Sister Lin..."

"Shut up!" Lin Jingjing hissed. "Don’t say such unrealistic things anymore."

With that, they left the assembly hall. As they walked out, they found themselves being watched by the surrounding soldiers. Everyone had just seen Lin Jingjing’s face on screen, and now that they saw her in person, all eyes were on her and her companions.

Whispers rippled through the crowd.

"They’re the ones picked to be the military cooks? Tsk, with spiritual power like that?"

"Heh, you think they won’t just starve themselves to death when they get on the field?"

"The Logistics Department is nothing but a bunch of gofers."

"What’s so great about knowing how to cook? It’s all just for show."

But for every detractor, there was a supporter who not only praised them but also argued back against the slander.

"Isn’t the food you all cry about wanting to eat made by them? You eat the meals they cook, and now you’re cursing them? Have you no shame!"

"If you’ve got what it takes, you go do it! If you’re so great, you could be up there as a military cook too!"

Listening to these whispers, filled with both disdain and defense.

Their pace quickened.

Only after they were away from the crowd did they breathe a sigh of relief. They hadn’t expected people to have such strong opinions.

"This is unbelievable," Feng He grumbled. "Do they really have it out for us that much?"

"This is perfectly normal," Lin Jingjing replied, stretching lazily. The snow outside had gotten thicker; a single step sank them knee-deep.

Thankfully, they were wearing long, black, non-slip boots that were warm and stylish.

This much snow was nothing to them.

But huge flakes of snow still drifted down from the sky, and robots worked tirelessly amidst the blizzard.

Lin Jingjing looked up at the somewhat gloomy sky, stopped walking, and reached out a hand to catch the falling snowflakes.

The other four stopped as well. The snow was coming down hard; after just a short walk, their shoulders, hair, and even their eyelashes were dusted with flakes.

It was such a light dusting that they hadn’t even noticed it accumulating.

"What’s wrong?" Feng He asked, also looking up and catching a snowflake in his palm.

"It’s nothing, I just find it amazing," Lin Jingjing said with a smile, brushing the snow from her hand. "We were all supposed to die together. I never imagined we’d end up crossing over together instead."

Shi Feng chimed in, "That’s because we were always inseparable."

They had grown up together, and even though they later chose different paths, their hearts were always united.

For the people, for the nation.

That’s why they were, in essence, one and the same.

"That’s right. We’ll be together, always and forever," Lin Jingjing said with a smile. As she looked up at the gloomy, gray sky, she felt an inexplicable sense of oppression weigh on her heart.

They parted ways near the dormitories. After Lin Jingjing and her female roommate returned to their room, they changed out of their white uniforms and into casual clothes.

Since they would soon be cooking for the King of the Empire, the two of them discussed what dishes they should prepare to welcome him.

They had ample time and a wide variety of dishes to choose from.

Gathering in the back kitchen, the five of them conferred and decided to prepare a meal of the highest standard.

An eighteen-course meal.

The ingredients were available in the kitchen’s walk-in cooler, and using what was on hand, they immediately got to work.

At one point, Gu Kaiwen even dragged Mo Xuan over to the chicken coop to catch a fresh chicken; everything had to be as fresh as possible.

Braving the heavy snow, Yun Yiyou and his entourage toured the First Corps, inspecting their training, research, and manufacturing facilities.

Only after seeing everything did Yun Yiyou return, satisfied.

Captain Li did not accompany them. He was holed up in his office playing his favorite game, Star Soul.

Sometimes he would even drag Lin Jingjing in to play with him, as she could always come up with combat strategies he would never have imagined.

After playing against Lin Jingjing so many times, Captain Li had more or less learned most of her tactics.

His perpetually stagnant ranking had slowly started to climb after he began adopting her strategies.

Yun Yiyou dismissed his followers and made his way to Captain Li’s office.

Upon entering, Yun Yiyou saw him: the great captain of his Personal Guard Team, a man who always appeared so distinguished and composed in public, now had his legs propped up on his desk, game controller in hand, cursing up a storm as he played.

"Damn it, so sneaky! They actually launched a sneak attack."

"Good thing I held a trick up my sleeve, or I would’ve really lost that one."

"Ohoho, look who’s getting tilted. If your guard is broken, just surrender already!"

Captain Li, still in the uniform he wore to the opening ceremony, was leaning back in his chair, fingers mashing the controller buttons while a steady stream of trash talk poured from his lips.

Perhaps because he was too engrossed, or perhaps because Yun Yiyou was being deliberately quiet, Captain Li failed to notice that someone had entered his office.

After finishing the match, Captain Li reached for the cup on his desk to take a drink.

Inside was a concoction of dried lemon and sugar that Shi Feng had prepared for him. It was refreshingly sweet and sour, a perfect appetizer.

It was only then that he noticed Yun Yiyou standing in his office, looking around. Captain Li’s eyes went wide. He scrambled to get his feet off the desk, shot to his feet, straightened his uniform, and then offered Yun Yiyou a formal knight’s salute.

"King."

"Mm," Yun Yiyou said, closing the book in his hands. His gaze met the captain’s, a slight smile playing on his lips. "It seems you’ve had a lot of fun these past few years."

Being asked such a question by Yun Yiyou sent a chill down Captain Li’s spine.

He answered hastily, "King, I have not."

Yun Yiyou walked over and sat down unceremoniously in the captain’s chair, his eyes scanning the desk.

Captain Li didn’t keep much on his desk: a small decorative scale, a Mecha model, and a transparent vase holding some unfamiliar fresh flowers.

On the right side of the desk sat a photo frame. In the picture, several people stood with Captain Li at the center, and every face was lit up with a huge smile.

Their joy seemed to spill out of the photograph.

Yun Yiyou knew who these people were. They were the five he had seen earlier today.

He hadn’t expected his captain to be on such good terms with this group of people.

He picked up the photo frame, looked at Captain Li’s smiling face in the picture, and said, "It seems you truly have been living comfortably."

"King, I have not," Captain Li said, not daring to meet Yun Yiyou’s eyes. After all, his primary mission for joining the corps had been to improve his own strength so he could better protect the King.

At first, he had been incredibly diligent, working harder than anyone. But for the last three years, Captain Li had simply been slacking off.