Chapter 124 Chapter 124 (Part 2)
In the kitchen.
Rong Heng had a serious look on his face. He recalled the beginner's guide to cooking that he had read and followed the tutorial step by step, but still felt that he had been too hasty.
Ruan Shiqing looked so easy in the kitchen and the tutorial was clearly written in detail, but when I tried to do it myself, it was completely different.
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince secretly felt that cooking was much more tiring than fighting in a war.
He held the spatula as if he was facing a powerful enemy, and his expression was even more nervous than when he was fighting against the Zerg. Because he was too nervous, he didn't even notice the cubs peeking outside the door and expressing concerns about his cooking skills.
After struggling in the kitchen for more than an hour, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was sweating profusely and was more frantic than ever before.
But finally the result was not bad, he successfully prepared four dishes and one soup.
The Xiong brothers received an outside order and had already gone out. At this time, there were only the kids sitting around a table in the restaurant. 09 didn't need to eat and just recharged in the restaurant.
Carefully bringing out the dishes and placing them on the table, Rong Heng's solemn expression eased a little, he exhaled, and tried to greet the kids in a gentle tone: "Dinner is ready."
The kid felt heavy-hearted as he stared at the dishes that didn't look very good.
They looked at each other in silence, and neither of them had the courage to make the first move.
Under the table, Herri secretly kicked Nota and signaled with his eyes: Eat,
Nota glared back: Why don’t you eat?
After glaring, he looked at Ruan Yuebai who was sitting diagonally opposite him: You are the older brother, you eat first.
Ruan Yuebai hesitated for a moment, then picked up the chopsticks with a fearless attitude and picked up a piece of meat.
The meat slices were cut too thick and were a bit undercooked. I guess they were not processed at all. They had a meaty smell and too much salt.
Ruan Yuebai swallowed it whole without chewing it.
"How does it taste?" Rong Heng looked at him, seemingly calm on the surface, but actually a little nervous in his heart.
This was his first time cooking. Although it didn't look very good, he followed the instructions in the tutorial and it looked pretty good. He didn't expect it to be very delicious, but at least it was edible? It should be better than nutritional supplements... right?
Ruan Yuebai nodded reluctantly and took another bite of vegetables with his chopsticks: "Not bad."
Hearing him say this, Rong Heng breathed a sigh of relief: "You guys eat first, I'll go get the rice."
After he left, Heli and Nota couldn't help but whispered, "Is it really okay?"
After eating the vegetable with chopsticks, Ruan Yuebai opened his mouth and said "hmm" as usual.
The kids believed him and started eating with their chopsticks without hesitation.
Heli and Nota were both carnivores, so they naturally picked up the meat first. However, as soon as the meat entered their mouths, their brows wrinkled. At this moment, Rong Heng happened to bring out the rice. They didn't know whether to spit it out or not. In the end, under Rong Heng's earnest gaze, they gritted their teeth and swallowed it without showing any abnormality.
Rong Heng put down the rice and served each of them a bowl of soup.
When Ruan Shiqing was not around, he took care of the cubs the same way he did in the past, and tried hard to learn how to be a loving father who could take good care of his cubs.
The cubs had no choice but to drink the soup. Fortunately, although the soup tasted a bit strange, it was not too salty, so they could just drink it like water.
Ruan Jiao, who was the slowest, picked up his bowl only after seeing that everyone had started eating.
Rong Heng picked up some meat for him: "Eat more meat."
Ruan Jiao smiled at him, then picked up a piece of meat. Then his expression became dull and his brows wrinkled.
It was obvious that his superficial effort was not as good as that of the other kids. He first looked at Rong Heng, as if he had thought of something, and then he chewed slowly for a while and swallowed it with difficulty.
The meat slices were too salty and he wanted to drink some water, but he held back.
The palps on the forehead hung limply.
Rong Heng noticed his expression, frowned, and took a chopstick to taste it. He frowned as soon as he took a bite: "Why is it so salty?"
Looking at the cubs who were busy eating, he felt guilty: "Forget it, if it doesn't taste good, then don't eat it. Just drink the nutritional supplement."
Ruan Shiqing had been in a coma for more than half a month, and the cubs had become much more sensible. The house was no longer filled with the joy and laughter it once was. He had originally thought of cooking a meal himself to make the cubs happier before going out on the expedition, but the taste... was worse than a nutritional supplement.
He stood up and prepared to clean up the meal.
But the cubs stopped him, and He Li groaned, "It's a little salty, but it's not inedible."
Nota nodded in agreement: "Vegetables are OK too."
"Dad said we shouldn't waste food," said Ruan Yuebai.
Ruan Jiao, who was always a step slow, finally reacted. He nodded vigorously, picked up the bowl and took a big bite.
Rong Heng sat back hesitantly.
In the end, the five people finished the four dishes and one soup.
Rong Heng looked at the cub who kept drinking water, and his eyes softened. He looked at 09 who was standing beside him and said, "Teach me next time."
I have learned how to cook, so I can give Ruan Shiqing a surprise when he wakes up.
The cubs were so hungry after having both food and drink for dinner that they walked around in the backyard.
Rong Heng took this opportunity to tell his plan: "When the Yanjis garrison arrives and the team is reorganized, I may not stay on Planet B3024 forever."
This was the news that the kids knew during the meeting, so they all kept silent and waited for his next words.
"I'm not going to take you with me this time. Yuebai, Heli, and Nota, you will stay with Hector at the military base. Ruan Jiao... stay on Planet B3024. Garland needs your help."
He arranged the places for the cubs.
It was probably Ruan Shiqing's incident that made Rong Heng feel fearful. He was unwilling to let the cubs follow him to the frontline battlefield. Interstellar rescue is an extremely dangerous thing, not to mention the current situation is turbulent and chaotic, the Zerg's strength is unknown and they are eyeing them covetously, the danger is doubled.
It would be better to let them stay at the headquarters. Even if there is war raging outside, it will not affect here for the time being.
The cubs' expected opposition.
He Li was the first to disagree: "We used to go to the battlefield together."
"We will never fall behind." Nota also raised his chin.
Ruan Yuebai vaguely guessed what he was thinking and whispered, "Even if you don't take us there, we can still follow you secretly."
Rong Heng choked up, he knew Ruan Yuebai was right.
Heli and Nota are not obedient kids, and with Ruan Yuebai being the military strategist he trained, it is not impossible for them to follow him secretly.
Rong Heng pinched his nose bridge in pain and was at a loss for a moment.
After a moment of silence, he finally gave up and looked at Ruan Jiao who was listening to their conversation with his ears tilted up: "Forget about the three of them, you must stay."
Ruan Jiao: !!!
The cub's eyes widened in disbelief, its tentacles standing straight up, and it felt angry and aggrieved.
Feeling abandoned.
“I want to go too!”
"Gallan needs your help in his research, and someone has to stay to take care of Dad after we all leave. 09 can't handle it alone."
Ruan Jiao was obviously much easier to coax than the other three cunning boys. He blinked his eyes and felt the heavy responsibility on his shoulders.
He responded hesitantly and nodded vigorously.
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince rubbed his little head with satisfaction and glanced at the other three troublesome guys.
At last there is someone who can be coaxed.
The Yengeis garrison arrived at B3024 five days later.
Rong Heng transferred most of the troops here, leaving only a small number to continue guarding the front line.
Hector's cronies in the Ota region also arrived almost at the same time, and the unknown garbage planet B3024 became more lively than ever before.
The military base on the neighboring unnamed planet was finally completed after having enough manpower and began the finishing work.
The entire military base covers a large area and has complete supporting facilities, which is more complete than the B3024 satellite.
At the beginning, Nguyen Si Thanh personally designed the blueprints of the military base, and the core energy source used the latest developed antimatter reactor. Now that it has been completed, a layer of protective shield has risen above the entire military base, isolating it from the severe cold outside. Through the weather system simulating climate change, it can guarantee the normal work and life needs of humans.
Some of the soldiers and workers on Planet B3024 were transferred to the military base.
The military base has a larger arsenal with better equipment. Inside, there is a separate fully automatic production line dedicated to the production of antimatter engines. This was an idea that Ruan Shiqing had completed when he was in Sikkim. The modification drawings of the fully automatic production line had long been passed to Mori, and construction was supposed to begin after he returned to B3024.
As a result, Ruan Shiqing had an accident on his way back, and the war could no longer wait, so Mori could only gather people according to his drawings to quickly modify the production equipment.
Fortunately, Ruan Shiqing's drawings were very detailed. Mori had already asked someone to revise the first draft and had a round of discussions with him. He had wanted to wait for him to come back and personally review the improvements before putting it into production, but now he could only proceed according to the first draft.
Just as the arsenal was working overtime to produce the first antimatter battleship, the news that the Yengeis garrison had evacuated the front line finally broke out on the holographic network.
The withdrawal of the Southeast Region garrison meant the complete defeat of the Southeast defense line.
This was the first time in all the years of fighting against the Zerg that the frontline troops retreated. Moreover, so many of them disappeared without a trace!
People who saw the news were furious and demanded an explanation from the government and the military, questioning whether they were ready to abandon their country and their people.
However, the senior military officials who received the news were even more confused than the civilians.
They had never issued an evacuation order, let alone the Emperor, as he was still lying in the ward!
Just when the military was overwhelmed by questions from all sides, another planet in the Syracuse region was attacked by Zerg.
The attacked planet immediately sent a distress signal to the Empire, but the military itself was already overwhelmed, and with the various forces fighting for their own interests, no one was willing to lose combat power, and they blamed each other and delayed sending out rescue troops.
Rong Heng got the news first through Lucien.
He put on his military cap, buttoned up his collar, and went to say goodbye to Ruan Shiqing.
The man in a strict military uniform stood beside the bed, staring at her for a long time, and finally leaned over to give the sleeping man a kiss on the corner of his lips, and whispered, "I'm leaving now, wait for me to come back."