Hirugashita subconsciously wanted to push Heitao away, but when he caught a glimpse of Guy watching the show with a smile and Alex turning his head away embarrassedly, he immediately came to his senses.

As if he was shy, he lowered his head, turned his head away from Hei Tao's lips, and buried his head in Hei Tao's arms, resting his head on Hei Tao's collarbone.

Ri Liu's breathing was a little quick. He curled his fingers into fists and pursed his lips. When he spoke, his voice was already very calm.

"...Next time, tell me before you do something like this."

Heitao clasped his hands on Riyu's shoulders and hummed softly. Then, as if aware of Riyu's mood, he said belatedly, "Should I ask you first this time?"

"I'm sorry." He apologized sincerely. "Are you angry?"

Ri Liu suddenly laughed, he looked up at Hei Tao, his eyes made Hei Tao pause for a moment.

The heat hung in the dark eyes, bright and unclear. There was clearly a blurry self hidden in those eyes, and it seemed as if there was someone that Ri Liu was missing.

Ri Liu rested his head on Hei Tao's chest. He could still smell the lingering smell of blood.

He had just emptied two magazines at Spade and ripped his heart out.

The emotions that had been surging slowly subsided again.

Ri Liu closed his eyes and exhaled slowly, with that loose smile on his face: "You haven't changed in this regard. Apologize first for what you did."

The word Shetta used most often when she was with him was "I'm sorry."

This person has an inexplicable desire to survive. He can always keenly detect the signs of Ri Liu's anger and apologize in time.

——And then dare to do it again next time.

"Let's forget about it this time." Riyu got up from Spade's arms, smiled and nodded to Guy and Alex, glanced at Spade beside him, and smiled friendly, "But I hope there won't be a next time."

Spade: “…”

I always feel like I've done something wrong again.

The two followed Guy to the base camp at the rear, and they had to take a train on the way there.

But this was a very strange railway, only a few dozen miles long, and could only run between the front line and small towns in the rear.

Sitting in the carriage, Guy explained helplessly to Riyu and the others: "It's very strange, isn't it? It's rare to build a railway like this, but because the war has been going on for a year and a half, it has been stuck in this position and cannot be pushed forward. Later, in order to facilitate the transportation of soldiers and supplies, such a strange railway was built."

Ri Liu withdrew his gaze from the dense jungle outside the car window - building such a railway in such a humid area is not an easy task.

The fact that so much effort was spent on building such a line can only mean that the commander of this campaign had great ambitions.

Riyu looked at Guy and asked, "Why are you stuck here for a year and a half?"

Guy let out a long sigh: "Because there is a very important strategic location about 20 kilometers ahead - Pluto Lake."

Ri Liu raised an eyebrow: "Pluto, the god of the underworld in Roman mythology? Why is this lake called this name?"

Guy explained: "This place has a lot of rainfall in the summer. At its peak, the annual rainfall can reach tens of thousands of millimeters."

"In the summer, this lake, which is at the lowest point in the entire area, will quickly rise in water due to heavy rainfall, triggering flash floods that drown many residents living nearby every year. Therefore, the people here call this lake the "Angry God of Death in Summer" and name it Pluto."

"Not only that." Alex added seriously, "Once the water level of Pluto rises, its lake water will overflow and automatically fill many surrounding canals, automatically forming a crisscrossing river network with Pluto as the center in this dense rain forest."

Guy took a deep breath. "In this rainforest where it is difficult to build transportation routes, the river is a natural railway. Once whoever occupies Pluto before the rainy season, they can use the river and ships to transport a large amount of supplies, weapons, and soldiers to the surrounding areas of this area, gaining a strong war advantage."

Ri Liu said: "In other words, whoever occupies Pluto before the rainy season will have a chance of winning the war."

"But if that's the case, you've been here for a year and a half, and you've experienced at least two rainy seasons." Ri Liu asked thoughtfully, "Didn't you win or lose in these two rainy seasons?"

Guy smiled bitterly and shook his head: "We occupied Pluto two years ago, but there was not much rainfall during that rainy season, and the transportation range formed by the river was quite narrow."

"We lost our battlefield advantage during that rainy season and let the enemy occupy Pluto. Just in case, we expanded our conscription that year."

Guy looked at Alex with a complicated look: "...Alex came to the front line at that time."

Alex nodded, his expression gloomy: "Last year's rainy season was when the enemy occupied Pluto, and the rainfall was considerable... Their battlefield advantage continued until this year. We were defeated and just resisted. Every day we received more corpses on the battlefield than the day before..."

"Our superiors are constantly increasing the recruitment efforts to fill the front lines. We absolutely cannot lose and must win..."

Guy patted Alex on the shoulder and sighed, "It's not our turn to decide on this matter."

He smiled bitterly: "On the battlefield, the only thing we can do is die."

Alex lowered his head and said in a low voice: "Sometimes I think it would be nice if we lost the war..."

Guy's expression froze. He looked around and tapped Alex's head helplessly: "Don't say such things on the train. If someone hears you, you will be punished."

Alex still kept his head down, his fists clenched tightly on his knees, and said nothing.

Guy hugged his shoulders tightly, rested his chin on Alex's head, and said softly, "It's okay. The war will definitely end after this rainy season."

Alex squeezed Guy's hand wordlessly.

"The war will definitely end after this rainy season. Why do you say that?" Riyu looked up at Guy.

Guy was silent for a moment and said, "You will arrive at the enlistment point tomorrow."

After saying this, Guy looked out of the train in a trance, his arms around Alex tightening, the swaying green shadows and the flames of war reflected in his eyes.

"...There's a saying in my hometown that time spent with loved ones is more precious than gold." Guy murmured to himself.

He smiled and turned to look at Riyu and Heitao. The flames of war and green shadows in his eyes had faded, leaving only a moving and moist light like an old photo. The smile on his face was filled with envy and proud happiness that could not be concealed.

Guy laughed heartily: "When the four of us are together, aren't we the richest people in the world?"

After jumping off the train, Ri Liu and his companions saw the crowded recruitment point from a distance.

Some people were standing on the table holding loud speakers and shouting angrily, some were holding high recruitment posters and shouting to distribute them everywhere, and some were lying on the ground, filling out a stepped-on application form with a dirty ballpoint pen that they had picked up from somewhere.

The whole scene was as chaotic as a pot of porridge.

"It looks like there are quite a few new recruits reporting today." Guy clicked his tongue twice. "It's not easy to get two registration forms in this situation."

"It's time for us to show our hospitality as hosts." Guy pulled Alex's hand, whistled happily, and rushed into the crowd, "I'll get the registration forms for you!"

Ten minutes later, Alex, whose face was distorted by the squeezing, sat on the ground gasping for breath with his eyes blank. Guy excitedly waved the registration form to Riyu and the others: "I got it!"

Guy pulled out two pens from his pocket, placed the registration form in front of Riyu and Heitao, and guided them to register with a smile.

As soon as Ri Liu got the registration form, he noticed something wrong on it - there was an option that was already crossed out.

It's obvious who made this fork.

Riyu looked at Guy, who pointed at the cross with a pen: "What is this? Can't I choose?"

Guy's smile faded a little. "Well... this option is whether you are willing to join the commando team."

"Commando?" Alex's puzzled voice came from behind Guy. "Are there any organized raids recently? Why didn't I receive any notification?"

The man holding the loud speaker on the table suddenly raised his voice: "Everyone, our general has assembled thousands of heavy artillery and brought them to this town, and will continue to send them to the front line today."

This man was very excited, waving his arms and spitting:

"I believe we all know that if we lose this rainy season, we will be buried in the hands of Pluto, the god of death! The heavy rain in the past two days has already indicated that the enemy is likely to have a huge advantage in this rainy season."

The noisy crowd below quieted down, and everyone turned around to look at the person standing on the table.

He continued sadly: "Are we going to lose this glorious war and give our free land to the shameless and unsatisfied slaves on the other side of the lake?!"

"Have we not given them enough rights?!"

"We hired these people from poor and backward areas, paid them daily wages and provided them with three meals a day, yet they still demanded that they own property, exchange their labor for land, and become upper-class people like us!"

"These people who depend on us for food actually dare to say that these lands that were developed and prospered by us originally belonged to them and want us to give them back!"

"Shame on you!" the man shouted, his face full of anger. "They really need to have some backbone. Why didn't they ask us to get out when we just started to help them develop?"

"After we signed the agreement and obtained their consent to own these lands and made ourselves extremely rich from these lands, these greedy guys are going to drive us out in the name of ownership!"

Guy explained quietly to Riyu: "This rainforest has a lot of wood, minerals and water resources, but the residents living there are very poor. So the officials who found this land signed an agreement with these residents, giving them jobs and property for the next 100 years, so that they can have enough food every day, and they get permanent ownership of this land."

Ri Liu paused subtly.

He thought what he did was shady enough, but he never imagined there was something even shadier - he took other people's land in exchange for cheaper labor.

This is no longer a huge profit with a single investment; this is a huge profit with no single investment.

Guy sighed and said, "You can see that this is just a blank check, but the indigenous people didn't realize it at first, and they really couldn't even get enough food, so they all agreed."

"They built a lot of factories here and made a lot of wealth from the land and the labor, but the wages the factories offered to the residents were getting lower and lower, and the working hours were getting longer and longer. They took the residents less and less seriously, and even treated them as slaves to trample, humiliate and mock them, and disputes broke out."

"During the dispute, an Aboriginal resident killed a factory manager. To vent their anger, the factory manager's friends and relatives imprisoned all the Aboriginals who participated in the dispute in an abandoned factory and burned them to death."

Guy was silent for a long time: "A week later, the war broke out."

"At that time, no one thought that the war would last so long - these indigenous people knew the local terrain very well, and many international stakeholders were helping them, saying that this was a real war of liberation and freedom, and many volunteers from other countries joined them."

Guy smiled sadly: "Hey, you may not believe it, but I wanted to be their volunteer, but before I signed up, my family sent me here first."

Ri Liu's eyes stopped at the man who was still standing on the table and giving an impassioned explanation: "Is there another version of this story? The cause of the war that I saw in the recruitment advertisement was not like this."

"Yes." Guy looked at Ri Liu with admiration. "The version used by the domestic official propaganda is that they selflessly helped the residents here get rid of poverty and gain civilization, democracy and freedom, but they were attacked first by this group of greedy and backward indigenous people, and in the dispute they killed a factory director who had selflessly helped them."

Guy looked at the recruitment posters scattered all over the ground and exhaled: "Do you know what the most complicated situation is? This recruitment advertisement did not lie, and the factory director is indeed innocent."

"He was a very good man." Guy said with nostalgia, "Although he was born into a noble family, after coming here and seeing these situations, he wanted to help these people build their own factories and get away from the control of those so-called "superiors"."

"He mingled with these indigenous people and spent all his money to help them, even when his family and friends opposed him."

"But some natives did not believe him and thought that his hypocritical behavior was to further exploit them. So during the argument, this man was shot to death by a native who had always been resentful and suspicious of him."

"There was a lot of publicity in the country about this, and a lot of people came to this battlefield because of him - they were angry and angry, and felt that such a good person should not die like this, including Alex."

"They have good intentions, but are a little naive. They think they are here just to apologize, but war is far more brutal than they imagined."

Guy was silent at this.

Ri Liu glanced at him and said, "You know this factory manager, right?"

"I can tell you, but this is a little secret between us. You can't let Alex know, he will be jealous." Guy blinked and smiled, but there was a layer of sadness on his face that could not be covered by the smile. "He is my first love."

"I'm so lucky. Both of my boyfriends are so great."

The person on the table shouted loudly, drowning out Guy's voice: "In order to end this war that has lasted for a year and a half, and to punish those greedy and inferior enemy forces before the rainy season arrives, we organized a raid in two days. For this purpose, we selected the best veterans and formed an elite assault team."

"They will undertake the most dangerous assault after the bombardment in two days. Let us applaud the brave soldiers in these assault teams!"

He took out a long list, and every time a name was read out, a soldier would go up to the platform amid cheers and applause.

Guy looked at the list and waited quietly.

Alex seemed to realize something. He turned to look at Guy in disbelief, then turned back sharply and looked at the list with a look as if he wanted to burn through the list.

"Guy Davis!"

Alex subconsciously grabbed Guy's arm tightly. He looked at Guy with red eyes, his throat was dry and he couldn't say a word.

Guy smiled and pried open his hand one finger at a time, whispering softly in Alex's ear, "The war will be over soon, baby." Then, amid deafening screams and whistles, Guy walked through the bustling crowd and onto the commando platform.

Alex chased after Guy without thinking, but the cheering crowd blocked his way, making it difficult for him to move forward.

The people at the table applauded and said enthusiastically: "Next, let us welcome the general to commend these brave people!"

A dignified middle-aged man wearing a more splendid stand-up collar military uniform walked up to the platform, clapping and smiling sweetly.

He rewarded each of these soldiers one by one—hanging a medal worth less than a nickel around the necks of those who were about to die for him.

After hanging up, the well-mannered general turned around and said in a deep voice: "Please remember their faces. If they died, they died for the most just cause in the world. They are martyrs worthy of commemoration by all mankind."

"I called for this raid. I know it will have severe consequences, but it is to severely punish those inferior people..."

Alex gritted his teeth at the general who was talking nonstop: "He launched this sudden attack for his military achievements."

Ri Liu looked over and gave him a questioning look.

Alex took a deep breath and tried to stay calm as he explained to Riyu: "This general was born a commoner. He entered the military and political management by marrying the daughter of a high-ranking official. He was always looked down upon by the upper class who claimed to be aristocrats, but he secured his position through continuous wars."

"But I think he's better at politics than war."

Alex looked up at Guy on the platform, breathing heavily.

"The purpose of launching the raid at this time is just to make a good report after the defeat. After all, the raid caused casualties to the enemy before the defeat, and the tragic sacrifices of these veterans can be used for publicity to attract more angry people to join the army."

Alex's eyes were red: "They have fooled many people with this trick."

The general on the stage continued his speech:

"They are the assault team that undertakes the most important mission. Only the most elite soldiers can enter..."

Someone raised his hand and asked, "New recruits can't enter?"

The general laughed and said, "No, but your enthusiasm is commendable. You can join the second and third assault teams and be responsible for cleaning up the mess. Soldiers who join the first assault team must have very high comprehensive qualities."

Someone raised his arm and said in a quiet, steady and penetrating voice: "I think I have such qualities."

Everyone's eyes were focused on the past.

The man was very tall, a head taller than the other soldiers who had been screened for the military service. When he raised his hand, he was quite conspicuous, especially with the silver revolver in his hand that looked very expensive.

Tang Er raised his hands helplessly. He had just received an order from the Ri Liu family, asking him to join the assault team, so he had no choice but to take the risk.

Ri Liu smiled at him from a distance and raised her hand to make a "Come on, I believe you can do it!" gesture.

Tang Erda: "..."

This guy really seems to be looking for trouble when things get lively.

The general seemed unhappy that such a new soldier had challenged him. His voice and expression darkened. "—War is not a shooting game for the nobles. If you want to join the assault team, you must go through a lot of training. At the very least, you must master high-precision shooting skills."

He glanced at the silver revolver in Tang Erda's hand with a hint of contempt and dissatisfaction - only the children of wealthy families who had both free time and money would bring such a weapon to the battlefield.

"You hold a gun like this..." The general said sarcastically, holding up the medal in his hand dignifiedly, "Young man, I understand your desire for honor, but I think you might be more suitable to ride a mare and shoot at a fixed target ten centimeters away..."

Tang Er swung the gun and loaded it, pulled down the dark goggles on his head, then raised his hand with a cold look and shot the general on the stage, piercing the medal in his hand exactly.

The general on the stage froze in place, and it took him a long time before he let his trembling hands slowly loosen the pierced medal.

The medal fell to the ground, and the people around looked at the new recruit with superb marksmanship in amazement.

Tang Erda put away his gun nonchalantly: "Am I qualified to join the assault team now?"

"Of course!" Guy on the stage whistled in a cheering manner. He raised his eyebrows, scanned Tang Erda from head to toe with his sparkling eyes, and laughed, "Good boy, your figure is as dazzling as your shooting skills!"

Tang Erda was slightly at a loss for a moment, then calmly said thank you, and then heard the system prompt:

[System prompt: The main plot NPC Guy's favorability towards you has increased.]

[System prompt: The main plot NPC Alex's favorability towards you has dropped dramatically, and you have been excluded from the main quest]

Tang Erda: “???”

What happened??! Why was he excluded from the main mission?!

Tang Er turned around in confusion and looked at Ri Liu in the crowd. He pointed at himself and then shook his head, indicating that he could not enter the main mission.

Ri Liu's gaze slowly moved to Alex, who was staring at Tang Erda expressionlessly.

I was careless.

The author has something to say:

NPC Alex has a stress reaction to [Good Boy], please pay attention ()