Those "big shots" did not put on any hypocritical sightseeing show until the dinner started. After everyone was seated, they stood up together to play the national anthem and observed a moment of silence for their compatriots who died, and that was the end of the ceremony.
Then a spokesperson from the Political Work Department gave an opening speech. Jiang Ling didn't remember the specific content, she just figured out a few numbers.
"135,000"—that's the military death toll in the seventy-plus days since the beginning of the post-nuclear era. It might not seem like a lot, but if we use a normal death-to-injury ratio, the actual toll is probably over 500,000. And that's just military statistics. If you include ordinary civilians... And remember, the first wave of deaths from radiation sickness has only just begun.
"Over 13,500"—that's the total number of casualties from the attack, which has just been tallied. The military lost roughly two regiments, most of them in the initial stages. This number hasn't been reported yet, reportedly because some of the victims haven't been identified.
"Sixty-seven"—that's the number of people who survived the attack, most of whom were rescued by Jiang Ling and his team. When the spokesperson mentioned them, they stood up and saluted their comrades. Jiang Ling counted them and found only about thirty of them. The rest were probably injured and retired.
The spokesperson did a pretty good job, delivering a serious yet inspiring speech. He first laid out the current high-pressure environment, then used a few gentle transitions to make the audience feel their sacrifices were meaningful. His speech was generally objective, but it also left some things out. For example, he didn't reveal the actions of Jiang Ling and the others, but Zhou Xiangyang's rank was increased by two levels.
This was good, as it gave Jiang Ling the feeling of being the boss behind the scenes. However, it was mainly due to the confidentiality level of her file. She only knew that her file was top secret, and she didn't know what the two red words meant.
After the speeches, the highlight of the banquet began—dinner, a buffet-style affair. Jiang Ling's ingredients provided a few specialties, but the side dishes were a bit odd. Fortunately, they'd given a generous amount of synthetic seasoning this time, so the food tasted quite good.
She waited in line for a moment, taking a look. There were dishes like pork stewed with vermicelli noodles, spicy lamb heads, fried lamb legs, stir-fried mutant vegetables with mushrooms, and some food synthesized from a food processor. Overall, it was quite varied. She only wanted to sample the flavors, so she didn't take too much. In the past, she would have stayed away from such a big pot meal.
There are two main dishes here: one is noodles from the east, and the other is a local specialty - a tuber. This tuber is somewhat similar to sweet potato, but its woody shell is black and its interior is blue. If you ignore its color, the taste and texture are actually quite good.
They call this a "blue potato," but it doesn't actually come from a tuber. Sweet potatoes are eaten as roots, but this one is the stem. So it's clearly a mutant, and its relative is probably some kind of sugarcane.
After Jiang Ling had served the food she had picked, she immediately spotted a white-haired creature in a far corner. It looked nervous, as if it was afraid of something. So she quietly approached and sat across from it.
"Isn't this the Son of God? Where is your guardian?" Jiang Ling teased, touching her calf with her foot.
"Ah!" The guy was frightened. After seeing who it was, he covered his mouth and asked in a low voice, "Are you really from the military?"
"Do you think I look like her?" Jiang Ling shook her head.
Ruan Danxin stared at her for a while, and finally mustered the courage to answer: "You really don't look like them... Hey, can you do me a favor later?"
"What can I do for you?" Jiang Ling peeled off a piece of blue potato. The outer shell was baked very crispy, and with a "crack", the soft and fragrant interior was revealed.
Ruan Danxin fell silent. She stared at the stick-like object in Jiang Ling's hand with a bit of envy. After hesitating for a while, she replied, "Well, I lied to her before and said this thing is poisonous. Can you explain it to me later... Also, can you give me some to try?"
"Is it about Bai Wu? What happened to her?" Jiang Ling took a careful bite. It was still a little hot.
Ruan Danxin clenched her hands and replied, "She...she's a little special, so it's better if you don't ask about her."
"Don't you trust me?" Jiang Ling took out a shorter piece from the plate and handed it to Ruan Danxin in front of him.
"Okay, she is an animal transformed into a human." Ruan Danxin said this quickly, and then took the blue potato from Jiang Ling's hand.
"What?" Jiang Ling paused, and asked uncertainly, "Isn't she a human?"
"Neither you nor I are human!" Ruan Danxin curled her lips, "Why do you care so much about this~"
"Wait, I remember you said you often erased her memory? Is this the reason?" Jiang Ling felt that she had grasped the key point.
"No, no, no!" Ruan Danxin shook her head like a rattle. "I only changed some of her bad memories. I'm not really good at this... This child suffered a lot in the past. Most of the time, it was Sister Xiao Ming who helped her."
"Who is Sister Xiao Ming? And is 'this child' someone you can talk about?" The information that came out of this guy's mouth was so confusing that Jiang Ling was almost dizzy.
"The second-in-command of Sister Xiao Ming's cult!" A familiar and gentle voice came from beside Jiang Ling. It should be Bai Wu who returned.
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