Chapter 94 Chapter 94 Ecological Education Day
Long Qi's breathing paused, then became light and long. He had never imagined that Ye Ning would specifically mention him in such an occasion.
But in the past, he never participated in such occasions.
Ye Ning always had a smile on her face, but when the two looked at each other, he could clearly feel that the smile on Ye Ning's face was more sincere.
It's like the rising sun in winter, warm and gentle.
The camera of the live broadcast robot followed Ye Ning's line of sight and fell on Long Qi.
The people around him also looked at him at the same time.
But Long Qi completely ignored the gazes around him and just stared at Ye Ning on the stage.
Ye Ning continued, "Although some people have always been intimidated by him because they don't know him well enough, he has never stopped protecting the Xisha Islands. He has contributed far more to the region than people realize."
"I've always believed that strength isn't just about outward force, but also about inner resilience and kindness. Long Qi, through his actions, has shown us the perfect combination of strength and responsibility within the Dilong clan."
"So, here, I hope that everyone will be more open and inclusive in their approach to everyone around them, reduce prejudice and misunderstandings, and work together to create a better and more harmonious world."
Like a lake gently touched by a spring breeze, the ice was rapidly melting. It was as if a warm current slowly seeped into his body.
His face remained expressionless, but in his usually cold eyes, a hint of warmth flashed across his face, an emotion that he himself had not even noticed. It was an emotion that was extremely unfamiliar to him.
After Ye Ning finished her speech, thunderous applause broke out again around her.
Ye Ning walked away amid applause.
Today was clearly a military commendation meeting, and Le Song, Gu Yu, Shao Yu and others were commended, but Long Qi was the only one who was ignored.
Ye Ning knew that he didn't care about these things at all, and he was even used to this indifference.
This kind of psychology is very contradictory. He clearly did nothing wrong, but he was hated and feared by everyone. In this situation, he can only block and reject other people's comments about him and keep a sufficient distance from everyone to achieve inner balance.
But since everyone has benefited from his efforts, they should give him the respect and recognition he deserves. Whether Long Qi cares or not, the choice should be in his hands.
Tsuruo was also clapping on the side, and if you look closely, you can see that her eyes are slightly moist.
Among the people present, she was probably the only one who knew how Long Qi had persisted for so many years.
She had always felt that the affairs of the Emperor Dragon Clan were very strange, and she firmly believed that Long Qi had inherited the excellent qualities of the Emperor Dragon Clan. However, the pure humans represented by Yan Gang were extremely disgusted with Long Qi, and as a result, others were also filled with fear and terror towards Long Qi.
So the only thing she could do was to let Long Qi stay quietly in the Xisha area.
The appearance of Ye Ning changed the Xisha District, changed Long Qi, and even changed everyone present.
She was the only one who could change everyone's opinion of Long Qi with just a few words. So after Ye Ning came down, He Yang immediately asked Lu Chuan to pursue the victory.
Lu Chuan continued, "Thank you very much, Master Ye Ning, for your affirmation, encouragement, and expectations of us. Long Qi has indeed made great contributions to the Xisha District in the past few years..."
Lu Chuan began to recount Long Qi's contributions.
He only remembered some major events, and when he brought them out one by one and described them in detail, it made the soldiers under him feel ashamed and reflect.
Lord Ye Ning was right. They knew that Long Qi was the greatest guarantee for the Xisha region. Without him, who knows how many people would have died.
But Dilong's past and the hostility he exuded made everyone feel only fear and dread when facing him.
Moreover, Long Qi usually stayed out of sight, appearing only when a wave of pollution hit or a major mission was underway. Lately, the Xisha region had been so peaceful and prosperous that everyone had almost forgotten about him.
It was only now that everyone discovered that Long Qi was not on today's commendation list.
Just as Ye Ning expected, Long Qi really didn't care what others thought of him. Even when Lu Chuan mentioned his name on the stage, he didn't react at all.
Because his attention was all on Ye Ning.
His gaze was too focused, and Ye Ning noticed it and whispered beside him, "Are you touched?"
The next second, she seemed to see the corner of his mouth, a fleeting, almost imperceptible upward curve.
But when she wanted to confirm again, Long Qi regained his usual coldness.
He just nodded slightly.
Just for a moment, without any hesitation, the atmosphere around him softened completely.
The two stood side by side. Long Qi stood tall and straight, exuding a calm and resilient air unlike any before. Ye Ning was graceful and lively, as gentle as a spring breeze, yet radiating a vibrant vitality.
The two people form a sharp contrast, but they also complement each other invisibly, creating an inexplicable harmony.
Gu Su handed the kettle to Ye Ning and said, "Master Ye Ning, your speech just now was very good."
The atmosphere seemed to be broken inadvertently.
Ye Ning was indeed thirsty. She took the kettle and said, "You don't have to use honorifics for me. Just call me the same as everyone else."
Gu Xun was the only one around her who always addressed her with respectful titles, so every time she suddenly heard it, she would feel a little uncomfortable.
A smile appeared on the corner of Gu Su's mouth, and the word "Ye Ning" that was about to come out lingered lightly between his lips and teeth, as if with a hint of barely perceptible hesitation and shyness.
He paused slightly, as if savoring every syllable of the name, and finally, in a gentle tone, he called out sincerely, "Ye Ning."
Ye Ning suddenly realized that he was quite good-looking. And from certain angles, he looked a good deal like Gu Yu, even his voice.
Ye Ning smiled back at him, then took a sip of water and continued to watch the proceedings on stage. "Is it almost over?"
Gu Su nodded and said, "In half an hour, there will be a group photo session. After taking the photos, you can leave."
"If you want to rest first, you can go and rest next to it."
Ye Ning shook her head. She was in the main seat, and all the officers in the Xisha District, including He Yang, were seated behind her.
If she were gone, she would still be quite conspicuous.
She handed the kettle back to Gu Su. She wouldn't touch any food from outside. She also brought her own cutlery.
Gu Su immediately put away the kettle.
After Ye Ning went out, Le Song was in charge of keeping the food. He was a dog and had an extremely keen sense of smell. After training, he could tell the difference in the taste of food.
It was just that Le Song had just gone to the other side to receive an award, so he gave the kettle to Gu Su. Before leaving, Le Song also repeatedly emphasized to Gu Su that such ingestible things must not leave his sight or be touched by others.
They were willing to entrust him with such an important thing, and Ye Ning was willing to drink it without hesitation. Gu Su intuitively felt their trust and acceptance of him.
This trust and acceptance were hard-earned, and he had to fulfill his duties well so as not to let Ye Ning down.
However, just when Ye Ning thought that the morning activities were about to end.
A special segment was added temporarily - special recognition for Long Qi.
When the host announced the news, the audience immediately burst into warm applause and cheers.
Ye Ning was also applauding him.
Long Qi was originally reluctant to go on stage, but under the expectant gazes of Ye Ning and He Yang, he still accepted this sudden special recognition.
He never thought he would receive these honors, nor did he ever feel that he needed them.
But when the badge and honor fell into his hands and Ye Ning applauded him, he did feel a sense of affirmation after being recognized.
At this moment, he realized very clearly that this feeling of being recognized came only from Ye Ning's affirmation of him.
Long Qi stood behind Ye Ning again.
Ye Ning glanced at his badge and said, "Not bad, not bad. Although it's just a temporary commendation for you, it looks good."
Gu Su explained, "That's a medal of honor for exceptional military merit, awarded only to individuals or groups with significant achievements and contributions. Today, only Long Qi received this honor."
Ye Ning nodded, admired it for a moment, and then returned it to Long Qi. "Keep it well, and you can take it out and admire it later."
Long Qi paused slightly, put the badge away again and put it in his pocket.
Half an hour later, Ye Ning took a group photo with all the leaders at the main seat.
She wore a burgundy protective suit today, mainly because she was afraid of accidents happening outside, so she chose a color that would be more eye-catching in the crowd.
The officials around them were all dressed in neat military uniforms, standing tall and straight with serious expressions. However, when they saw Ye Ning approaching, they all smiled, some kindly, some softly.
He Yang invited Ye Ning over and asked her to stand in the middle.
Eighteen-year-old Ye Ning took her first photo at the Xisha District Military Headquarters.
Hou Lin immediately had the photos developed. Although there were a large crowd of people, Ye Ning was still very eye-catching.
In the car, Hou Lin handed the photo to Ye Ning.
"Look, it's a pretty good shot."
"I'll develop all your photos of the event so I can look at them anytime later."
He actually felt a little sorry that he didn't take more photos of Ye Ning when she was a cub.
So, now that he could take photos freely, he paid special attention to them. He also carefully selected and printed out a lot of photos from the visitor day that Ye Ning had held last time.
Probably for the sake of clarity, the photo turned out to be huge.
Hou Lin didn't hear her response, so he turned to look at her, "Are you not satisfied? If you're not satisfied, you can ask them to replace it with something you like."
Ye Ning shook her head. "I was thinking, I should get a haircut. It's getting a little long."
Her hair used to be just below her chin, but now it reaches her shoulders.
Hou Lin: "I'll help you cut your hair at noon. This is not an easy task."
Ye Ning didn't believe it: "I refuse, your hair doesn't look very good."
Hou Lin: "Of course my hair doesn't look good because I didn't cut it myself. My haircut is pretty good, okay?"
…
In the end, Ye Ning let Hou Lin cut her hair.
Anyway, just cut it shorter.
I don't know how he did it, but he cut it in just a few strokes. Not only did he shorten her hair, but he also gave it a layered look. It was really good, and Ye Ning felt refreshed instantly.
After lunch, Ye Ning went to take a nap.
While she was sleeping, Cang Chen and Gu Su were guarding the outermost door.
The weather is very good today. It is not so hot at noon and there is a slight breeze.
Gu Su looked up at the sky and felt that the sky in the Xisha area had become much bluer.
Gu Su glanced at Cang Chen and asked, "Are you from the Wandering Orc Alliance?"
Cang Chen nodded silently.
Gu Su laughed, "I didn't expect you to cooperate with Ye Ning before us."
Cang Chen still didn't say anything. Perhaps seeing his character, Gu Su also stopped talking.
Although he had been with Feng Yue before, he would only follow her when she went out. He usually had many other things to deal with.
It can be said that an orc of his spiritual level would not be on duty 24 hours a day with a pure human unless he was out of the house. But every orc around Ye Ning was very powerful. Long Qi and Xiluosi were not to be mentioned. Cang Chen, Hou Lin, and Gu Yu were also quite strong.
There are also orcs guarding the periphery, whose strength should not be underestimated.
If he was not from the Tiger Tribe and was not Gu Yu's cousin, he would definitely not be so close to Ye Ning.
But he didn't feel bored, uninteresting, or a waste of time just staying by Ye Ning's side. Even if he was just guarding the door like now, he felt a sense of tranquility and peace in his heart.
This feeling was very special, as if he had regained the ability to perceive the outside world.
Ye Ning only took a 20-minute nap, but a 20-minute lunch break was enough.
She took the time to check the progress of the game.
As soon as the event was announced a few days ago, it immediately attracted a lot of players to participate.
In the past few days, some people have found some plants, such as strawberries, sunflowers, potatoes...
The treasure hunt maps were opened one by one, but the biggest prize had not yet been discovered.
She placed a pitcher plant in the Emperor Dragon's territory.
Nepenthes is a unique perennial vine and a typical carnivorous plant.
It will secrete a sweet nectar near the mouth of the insect trap to lure insects. Once the insects want to absorb the nectar, they will fall to the bottom of the bottle and be digested by it, becoming its nutrition.
She chose this one because it's an endangered plant species and few people have seen it. Finding it later would likely spark curiosity. And, coincidentally, the pitcher plant is well-suited to the climate there.
There's no rush anyway. The treasure hunt will last for 10 days in total, and only three days have passed.
Ye Ning washed her face and prepared to go out.
Because the Xisha District had already announced that she would be at the Botanical Garden in the next few days, the tickets were sold out early. The rest of the people who didn't buy tickets waited at the entrance of the Botanical Garden.
Before Ye Ning and the others got close, they saw that the place was completely blocked. Except for the entrance passage specially reserved for her, both sides were crowded with people, making it impossible to move.
Hou Lin: "There are so many people, are all the people from Xisha District here?!"
Gu Yu: "People from Xisha District and other places who came here, everyone knew that Ye Ning would be coming today. Some people even lined up here two days in advance."
Ye Ning looked out the window. "This won't work. There are too many people and it's easy for something to happen. Besides, I see there are little cubs inside. Even if they want to see me, there's no need to waste so much time and energy."
"Is there any other place that can accommodate so many people?"
Gu Yu pondered, "Central Square."
"That's a newly built recreational area that should be able to accommodate them."
Ye Ning: "Then tell them that there are too many people here and it's not safe. I will meet them in the central square this afternoon. The time of appearance is uncertain, but I will definitely go there."
Gu Yu nodded and immediately contacted the person in charge.
They should have thought about this in advance, but if they did, Ye Ning would have to go to another place. The activities in the past few days were already very tight, and they didn't want Ye Ning to be too tired.
Everyone came here specifically to see her, so Ye Ning still hoped to satisfy them.
So after some discussion, Ye Ning changed the car to a sightseeing bus. However, safety was the most important thing, so the sightseeing bus was surrounded by a transparent protective shield with a high safety factor.
"It's Master Ye Ning!"
Someone shouted, and the crowd instantly became excited.
The cheers and excitement of the people around all rang out at the same time.
Fortunately, there is this transparent protective cover, otherwise her ears would definitely not be able to bear it.
Ye Ning quickly adjusted her mood and expression and greeted everyone happily.
The route in was about one kilometer long. It was actually very fast if they drove, but Ye Ning specifically asked them to drive slowly. In the end, it took ten minutes before they finally drove into the botanical garden.
After entering, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Ye Ning finally sat back in her seat.
Hou Lin: "These people are so enthusiastic. It's really scary. Fortunately, nothing happened."
He was really afraid that someone would drop a bomb.
But think about it, even if it was the rebels, they wouldn't kill Ye Ning. But after experiencing the previous crisis, Hou Lin could no longer control his terrible fantasies.
Le Song nodded, "Some of them were so excited that their eyes were red."
Gu Su chuckled, "Because this is the first time Ye Ning has truly met with the public."
After the last visit, many people of status and position praised Ye Ning lavishly in various public occasions and interview programs. Especially when they mentioned the rich plant fragrance on her body, everyone's eyes lit up and they were very excited.
In addition, the fact that she has grown so many plants has long aroused the public's curiosity about her.
She's simply too seldom out. We don't know when we'll meet again, and it just so happens that Xisha District is undergoing a thorough reform due to urban development. Consequently, the number of people visiting Xisha District has skyrocketed.
Ye Ning: "I understand that they may have placed some spiritual hope in me. But I still feel that rushing over to see me like this is a bit of a waste of time, and it doesn't seem to have much meaning."
Gu Su: "Seeing you in person is the greatest meaning."
Gu Yu also said: "Many people are visiting Xisha District for the first time. After meeting you, they can also take the opportunity to travel and relax."
Ye Ning could understand what Gu Yu said. Maybe everyone's core purpose was to see her, but in the process of seeing her, they would also meet other people and be exposed to other new environments and new things.
If I can still see her after this process, it would actually be quite meaningful.
The botanical garden strictly controls the number of people, so there are not too many people inside.
They have been playing there for a whole day. In addition to various plant display areas, there is also a special activity area.
Ye Ning’s task in the afternoon was to interact with everyone in the activity area.
The games in the activity area are quite interesting. One of them allows them to choose a plant that represents themselves, and then write their names on the plant. Together, they form a super large plantation.
Everyone else has already selected and uploaded it in advance, Ye Ning needs to choose on the spot, and then they will be the first to upload it.
There are flowers and grasses inside, and you can choose any kind of plants you want.
The first page is full of beautiful little flowers, and just when everyone was guessing what flowers Ye Ning would choose.
Ye Ning chose a big tree.
It was a super large banyan tree, more than ten meters high, with a dark green and dense crown, winding branches, and a body so thick that several people could not hug it. The roots spread down from its branches and extended into the soil.
The host asked Ye Ning why she chose such a big banyan tree and whether it would have a better ecological effect.
Ye Ning: "In fact, in an ecosystem, every plant is very meaningful. We are all plants, but our ecological niches and functions are different. There is no distinction between high and low."
"For a seed to grow into a towering tree, it takes decades, even centuries, of hard work. Virtual plants can transcend time and space and directly become what we want, but real plants need to overcome these difficulties. It may seem difficult now, but people a hundred years from now will look back on this period of history and see that we successfully overcame these difficulties, and they will have a completely different experience."
"I hope that one day, we, or our descendants, will be able to see such towering trees on the Sea Dust Planet with our own eyes."
Plants chosen by others were also put up.
A blade of grass, a flower, a tree soon filled the entire picture, and Ye Ning's tree was still the most conspicuous.
This plantation will be uploaded by the Xisha District to the "Source of Life" system as a historical check-in point in the Xisha District, and others can visit it online in the game.
The big banyan tree with Ye Ning's name on it immediately became a popular check-in spot in the game.
Many players ran over specifically to check in and take photos with the banyan tree.
Ye Ning had agreed to go to the central area, so after the event here ended, Ye Ning rushed over.
The visit to the planting area on the other side also went smoothly.
Because Ye Ning suddenly discovered that his gold coins began to increase at a speed visible to the naked eye.
The number of students in the school, plus the publicity she conducted at the event in the afternoon, has far exceeded 1,000.
Not bad, not bad. With so many gold coins, her promotional activities today are worth it.
Moreover, this type of publicity has a long-tail effect; even after it ends, online publicity will continue. The system does not set a maximum reward for the number of people who promote it, which means that she can continue to earn gold coins through publicity. This way, she will never have to worry about running out of gold coins again.
The square was crowded with people and the atmosphere was still very lively, but because she expressed her concern for everyone's safety at noon, everyone was now very restrained and did not dare to do anything excessive.
Ye Ning interacted with everyone for a while before ending today's itinerary.
After running around all day, Ye Ning was still a little tired, so on the way back, she lay in the car and didn't want to talk much.
Hou Lin felt very distressed. "If you don't want to go, if you don't want to laugh, forget it. This is too hard, even harder than planting."
She kept a smile on her face all day today.
Ye Ning: "It's just a hard few days, it's okay."
She completed Task 3 and earned a lot of gold coins, so it was well worth it.
She is also very conscious of being a public figure. People have come so far just to see her in person. She must satisfy this simple wish of theirs.
Le Song felt very distressed. "Let me massage your legs. Go back and have a good rest later. Then take a hot bath. You will feel much better."
Ye Ning: "No, I'm not tired."
Long Qi didn't say anything, but he covered her with a blanket. He even tried to use his mental power to help Ye Ning relieve her fatigue, but the slightest hint of his aura made the others in the car feel the pressure.
In the end, Ye Ning used her own special abilities to cover him.
"Ye Ning poked Hou Lin's shoulder," I really want to hear you sing now."
Hou Lin: ...
"Sing, I'll sing now."
Hou Lin sang at the top of his lungs, but he really had no singing talent. Ye Ning couldn't stand it after just two lines.
But she recorded it.
Hou Lin: "It seems that you are not tired at all. You can train for another two hours when you go back."
In fact, it is possible to train. Ye Ning is a little conflicted about whether to take a break and rest for a day.
After they go back, Ye Ning won’t have to worry about it anymore.
The Xisha District came into being because of the Deputy Governor of the Federal Territory.
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