Chapter 46
Kimmastu Island is all about giving way to pleasure, and for most visitors, pleasure is inseparable from beauty.
To this end, Jinmastu Island has invested a lot of manpower and financial resources in the research of bionic humans, and their bionic technology is far ahead in the entire galaxy.
On the fifth day of Jiang Yun's stay at the Archipelago Hotel, a customized bionic man was brought into his suite by the butler.
"This is a one-to-one replica of Colonel Lu's appearance at the age of twenty-four," the butler said to Jiang Yun. "Take a look. Is there anything else that needs to be modified?"
The bionic man was placed in the center of the living room facing the balcony, and the sunlight gave his dark green military uniform a golden hue.
The waistline was neatly tucked into a black leather belt, the straight and smooth shoulders supported the cold epaulettes, and the discipline buckle at the neck drew two sharp cold lights.
The housekeeper, who is accustomed to artificial beauty, is always amazed by the most real brilliance.
Only a Colonel Lu who looks like this could make Foreign Minister Jiang wait for seventeen years.
The butler admired the technological achievements that Kinmastu Island was proud of, and hoped that the indifferent Alliance Foreign Minister would give them some sincere praise.
However, Jiang Yun, who came out of the cloakroom, just glanced at the android casually and said, "No."
"..." The butler hid his disappointment and smiled, "The android's system has opened up all permissions to you. You can give commands to the android through your brain-computer."
Jiang Yun raised his wrist to check the time, "Got it."
The butler bowed and left.
Not long after, Jiang Yun had a video conference with President Joe Hurd.
After landing on Jinmastu Island, Marcus repeatedly requested to meet with Jiang Yun, but was rejected by Jiang Yun without exception.
The president's chief secretary had no choice but to ask the president to come forward in person.
Jiang Yun did give the president the respect he deserved and agreed to attend the meeting.
There were still twenty minutes left before the meeting. Jiang Yun had intended to use this time to review the intelligence Gu Xingzhou had gathered on the island, but the presence of "Colonel Lu" in the living room was too strong, even with his phone turned off, inexplicably distracting.
Who made it wear Colonel Lu’s uniform, Jiang Yun thought.
Jiang Yun closed the information and came to the bionic man.
As the power-on command was given, the bionic man's eyes, which were looking forward, moved slightly and dropped in the direction of Jiang Yun.
Its eyes were like two dazzling light tracks, clearly reflecting Jiang Yun's face.
Jiang Yun looked into those eyes and slowly gave his second instruction.
…
Twenty minutes later, President Joe Hurd appeared in the holographic image on time.
The elderly president sat behind his desk, the Union flag behind him motionless. The ancient, heritage-inspired fireplace crackled, its flames illuminating the inscriptions on the wall: "The interests of the Union are above all else."
Qiao Hede did not address Jiang Yun by his position, but called him by his name, his brows gentle and relaxed: "Jiang Yun."
Jiang Yun stood straight, nodded, and said, "Teacher."
"How was your rest on Jinmastu Island?" A concerned smile appeared in the wrinkles at the corners of Joe Hurd's eyes. "If you've rested enough, go back to work."
Jiang Yun said: "I have applied for a one-month leave. I believe this is enough time for the Presidential Office to complete its investigation into my 'abuse of power'."
"Don't be silly, kid. The Presidential Palace has never made any accusations against you." Qiao Hede said with a smile, "A month is too long. I still hope you can take Lu Huai home as soon as possible."
"I don't understand." Jiang Yun looked confused. "I thought the task of bringing Colonel Lu back had been handed over to Speaker Gong and Mr. Marcus."
Qiao Hede said, "That should have been the case, but Prime Minister of Olin, Hiroshi Yamashiro, claimed that the Alliance had demanded the mining rights for the crystal core and the right to station troops on the Ice Wasteland Planet from the Olin side because of the unexplained disappearance of Lu Huai's body. Now that the Golden Archon has confirmed that Lu Huai is not dead, the case of the missing body is naturally no longer valid. Therefore, the Alliance should return the mining rights and the stationing rights to the Olin side."
Jiang Yun said: "Prime Minister Shancheng's remarks are logical."
"As the most outstanding diplomat since the establishment of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, you should know this better than anyone else." Qiao Hurd glanced at the carvings on the wall and said seriously, "The Alliance will never give up the benefits it has already obtained."
Jiang Yun said thoughtfully, "So, you want to take Colonel Lu home without losing your vested interests, and ask Prime Minister Shancheng to remain silent about this?"
Joe Hede nodded, "Yes."
"I don't think this is a difficult task," Jiang Yun said. "I believe that Speaker Gong and Mr. Marcus will be able to successfully complete the task you assign to them."
Jiang Yun and Qiao Hud both knew that if Miyazawa and Marcus could deal with Yamashiro Hiroshi, this conversation between teacher and student would not exist at all.
"These two aren't professional diplomats after all. Jiang Yun, I've always believed that you're the best person to lead the three-way negotiations between the Alliance, Olin, and Jinmastu Island." Joe Herd expressed great recognition of Jiang Yun's abilities, yet also expressed a sense of helplessness and disappointment. "Don't forget, it was you who suddenly requested a leave of absence."
Jiang Yun said casually, "What about Mr. Simpson? He's the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs appointed by you personally, so how can he not be considered a professional diplomat? How about you let Simpson come to the island to handle this matter, and I'll return to the capital to take over the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for him? What do you think?"
Having said that, Jiang Yun had implicitly informed him of all the conditions for returning to work. As his teacher, Qiao Hede certainly understood.
Qiao Hede was silent for a moment, then said, "From now on, all your actions on Kinmastu Island, including the dispatch of personnel and the movement of warships, can be carried out directly without reporting to the Presidential Office. I know you have always wanted Yi Laizhe to replace Simpson. I can also promise you that as long as you complete this mission, you will have supreme authority over personnel appointments and exemptions in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs."
Jiang Yun smiled, "I think you misunderstood me."
"Don't be so angry, kid." Qiao Hede said earnestly, "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Alliance can't do without you. Come back soon."
Jiang Yun said: "I never get angry with you."
Qiao Hede said with relief: "So, are you willing to take on this task?"
Jiang Yun stated slowly, "I can participate in the three-party talks between the Alliance, Olin, and Jinmastu Island, but not in the name of the Alliance, but in my personal name."
Hearing Jiang Yun's words, even the shrewd Qiao Hede couldn't help but be slightly surprised: "What?"
"I will bring my husband home as a wife," Jiang Yun declared calmly. "From now on, all negotiations I participate in, all agreements I sign—all my actions are my personal actions and have nothing to do with the Alliance."
Qiao Hede couldn't help but ask: "Jiang Yun, what do you want to do?"
"I want to continue my vacation, teacher." Out of sight of Joe Herd, Jiang Yun and "Colonel Lu" continued to look into each other's eyes. "Maybe it's because I've been spending more time with young people lately. I suddenly want to be like Colonel Lu when he was twenty, on Kinmastu Island, having a good time..." Jiang Yun's lips curled up slightly, his eyes gleaming like the Milky Way. "Let's have some fun."
Without waiting for Qiao Hede to speak, Jiang Yun continued, "Of course, if I succeed, I really hope that my deputy will be a senior whom I admire and who has outstanding abilities, rather than a political puppet who has no merits or faults and is good for nothing except listening to you."
Qiao Hede's expression suddenly turned serious. "Don't you think your words are too direct, Foreign Minister Jiang? Just because Lu Huai is about to return, are you going to become as high-profile and reckless as he was before?"
"You've misunderstood me again, Teacher. I always remember your teachings—'The interests of the alliance are above all else.'" Jiang Yun paused. "As for how I will safeguard the interests of the alliance, please don't ask me any more. This may be the best way for you and me to cooperate in the future."
——
"You didn't tell Jiang Yun that I arrived at Jinmastu Island a day early, right?" Lu Huai said, "I wanted to give him a surprise."
Gu Xingzhou followed Lu Huai into the elevator and pressed the button to the top floor. "No, it's true. But didn't you ask Foreign Minister Jiang for the travel expenses to Jinmastu Island? He could have easily checked the ticket information and found out that you arrived early."
"Speaking of this, I must be grateful for having you." Lu Huai glanced at the black card in Gu Xingzhou's chest pocket, which looked very familiar to him. "I've always worried about how to spend all the money I have. Now that I see you've spent so much for me, I'm finally relieved."
Gu Xingzhou pretended not to understand his idol's ridicule and said seriously, "It's only natural. Good brothers should share each other's worries."
"Okay." Lu Huai nodded lightly, "From now on, I'll ask Agatha to transfer half of your salary to me every month to help me out."
"Don't be like that, sir. Although I'm spending your money, I haven't forgotten you." Gu Xingzhou leaned close to Lu Huai and whispered, "I asked the butler to order a bionic man that looks exactly like Foreign Minister Jiang in your name. It's been sent to your room."
Gu Xingzhou thought he had given Lu Huai a great gift, but Lu Huai didn't show much interest and even sneered, "How boring."
Gu Xingzhou was startled: "Hey, don't you like it?"
"False substitutes are just props used by the weak to comfort themselves." Lu Huai said nonchalantly, "If you want to own something, then own the real thing. Otherwise, it would be so boring."
"Alright." Gu Xingzhou admitted that he had been fooled by Colonel Lu. He suddenly felt that his behavior of finding joy in the androids was not very strong. "Then I will help you withdraw."
Lu Huai thought about it and said, "Forget it, you've already decided."
Gu Xingzhou laughed angrily: "Fuck me..."
The two came to the presidential suite where Jiang Yun was staying temporarily. Just as they were about to knock on the door, Gu Xingzhou received a message from Jiang Yun.
"Foreign Minister Jiang is out. He asked me to invite Yamashiro Hiroshi to meet at the Moonlight Theater of the Archipelago Hotel tonight on his behalf." Gu Xingzhou read.
Lu Huai smiled and said, "Foreign Minister Jiang is going to treat us to a show."
Gu Xingzhou added: "He also asked me to give the android in his room to the Golden Archon."
"There's a bionic man in Jiang Yun's room?" Lu Huai couldn't laugh anymore. "Well, if that bionic man wasn't me, I'd probably be very unhappy."
Gu Xingzhou used the authority Jiang Yun had given him to open the door. Seeing the bionic man's familiar silhouette in military uniform, Gu Xingzhou teased, "Are you feeling refreshed now, Colonel Lu?"
Lu Huai's eyes darkened, and he whispered, "Unhappy."
"Why?" Gu Xingzhou asked curiously, "Isn't it obvious that it's you?"
Gu Xingzhou walked up to the bionic man and after seeing its appearance clearly, he understood why Lu Huai said that.
It was Colonel Lu, but not a twenty-four-year-old Colonel Lu.
If there had not been that heroic sacrifice seventeen years ago, Colonel Lu would have remained in this form, accompanying Foreign Minister Jiang and his two children.
Jiang Yun’s second instruction to the bionic man: Let me see what you will look like in seventeen years.
Jiang Yun couldn't help but think of a false "if" again.
Gu Xingzhou comforted Lu Huai: "At least you are still very handsome after seventeen years. Your aura is not as aggressive as it is now, but much more calm. Isn't it just right for the current Foreign Minister Jiang?"
"If you can't comfort others, then don't comfort them." Lu Huai withdrew his gaze from his own face, "Let's go and find the Golden Archon."
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