TL: Hua
[I haven’t even eaten dinner yet, and it’s already over? Can anyone who watched the live broadcast from Frontline explain in detail what happened?]
1L: Just like the title, I was going to buy some emergency supplies after dinner. As soon as I got dressed, my mother told me that the war was over and asked me to continue cleaning up the house. I feel so stupid!
3L: Is the poster just here to eat…
5L: Don’t say you’re stupid. I’m also stupid. People who watched the live broadcast in fear and were ready to hide in the air-raid shelter at any time are also stupid. If you want to know what’s going on, go watch the replay by yourself… I feel like this is not something we can explain clearly in a sentence or two. And you might not believe it if I tell you.
10L: Here, here, I’m here with the link. →The latest developments in the frontline war←, please go and watch it yourself. I think everyone who has followed the live broadcast needs to be quiet now.
20L: I’m back after watching it.
21L: Questioning my life right now? ? ? ? ? ?
22L: Isn’t it a little outrageous? ! Is this a new round of species mutation that has left me behind? ? ?
40L: Aha! I’m happy to see that I’m not the only one who’s questioning life!
…
501L: Watch my Luoyang shovel!
Mfn: Luoyang shovel (also known as the exploration shovel), which is a semi-cylindrical shovel equipped with a pewter pole with a handle. Because this tool was once used by grave robbers, it is also used on the Internet to symbolically indicate that someone is digging up someone’s ancestral grave, which is an insulting provocation.
513L: Huh? There was a war? When was the war?
514L: Those upstairs should check the posting time clearly before speaking! This is last year’s post!
521L: Huh? Was there a war at this time last year? ? ? Why don’t I have any impressions?
522L: Did you just get approved for Internet access this year? At this time last year, the sudden war between the Federation and the Empire caused a huge uproar. Who didn’t know that there was also a subsequent live broadcast that gave me a stomach ache for several days… I simply don’t want to mention it again.
550L: I can’t remember what I was doing last year. I was probably busy with school. So are there any records or videos? The video links on the previous floors have long since expired.
600L: You can just search on Starnet. Those live clips still pop up in video clips all the time….
650L: I’m back… F*ck, Is Director Ji that good at fighting? ? ?
661L: Hehe, our Jiang Jiang is the best. Not only is he good at fighting, but the Mermaid Center has also become very different under his management this year. Now those little mermaids basically have their own StarNet accounts. You can often see people posting comparison photos and so on. It’s not an exaggeration to say that they have been completely transformed!
680L: Get out of the way; this season is coming! Wherever there is Jiang Jiang, there is me! Let me inspect this old building to see if there are any comments that look down upon mermaids!
…
“Ji Mingjiang!”
The door of the office was suddenly pushed open, and a whirring sound accompanied by a biting cold wind blew in. It has obviously been almost half a year since he graduated from the military academy and formally joined the army for work training, but compared with Zhuang Zhiye, who has gradually become more stable and reliable, Lin Nan is still the same as last year.
Ji Mingjiang quickly pressed down the documents that were almost blown away. After putting all the scattered papers back into the folder, he raised his head, stared at Lin Nan with a smile, and squeezed out a few words between his teeth.
“Close the door first.”
“I know, I know.” Looking at his unhappy expression, Lin Nan blinked and quickly closed the door, taking great care not to make any sound. Then he suppressed the overly excited expression on his face and sat on the sofa opposite Ji Mingjiang. He advised very carefully: “You’re celebrating the New Year; calm down.”
“I was very calm originally.” Ji Mingjiang glanced at the light brain. There was still half an hour before the appointment he had made with Clarice.
Good, more angry.
“What are you here for?”
Ji Mingjiang looked at Lin Nan, feeling really puzzled now. “For army new recruits like you, the family leave given isn’t very long. Why didn’t you go home on the first day of your leave and come to my place instead?”
“…… “Lin Nan heard this and instantly gave him a very dumbfounded look before saying, “You didn’t read the message I sent you?”
He said it as if he wanted to run here.
“You haven’t read the Starnet post I forwarded to you an hour ago, the messages I sent you forty minutes, half an hour, and fifteen minutes ago, right?!” He accused him with righteous indignation.
“Ah…” The situation was reversed. This time, Ji Mingjiang touched his light brain while hiding his guilty conscience. He looked at the long list of messages and said, “It’s because I was too busy just now!”
Although it sounds like a quibble, this sentence is indeed true.
The not-too-archaeological post that Lin Nan forwarded to him made him recall the beginning of his busy life.
It was at this time last year that he first boldly took Grepa to the Federation and kidnapped Speaker Wilson on his own starship, and then went to the frontline battlefield to have a good time.
It was great, but the various problems that came after almost made him want to call the system back and escape to the next world. If it weren’t for the insightful help of veteran social worker Clarice, who handled most of the follow-up issues.
The first is the issue between the Federation and the Empire. Naturally, the war couldn’t go on since the Speaker had been caught. However, in the subsequent peace talks, the Federation persistently criticized Ji Mingjiang’s behavior and demanded that Clarice hand over Ji Mingjiang to their disposal. This almost caused Ji Mingjing to overturn the conference room.
The Federation’s use of mermaids for human experiments was also mentioned by Clarice at the time. The different expressions on the faces of several Federation people at that time still make Ji Mingjiang want to laugh now.
In the end, of course, the Federation could only swallow their grievance, reluctantly signing a lot of terms and agreements in exchange for the Empire not to reveal their dirty deeds.
Of course, it’s one thing for the Empire to keep their promise not to say anything, but it’s none of their business if they, the “Federation people,” choose to stand up for themselves because they can’t stand this kind of behavior.
The matter on the Federation side temporarily came to an end, and after everything became calm and stable, an uproar within the Empire was caused by Ji Mingjiang being exposed through live broadcast at that time.
At the beginning, people questioned Clarice about why he let a mermaid go to the frontlines to heal his spiritual sea. Then, when the reporter’s live broadcast was halfway through, the topic had turned to Ji Mingjiang’s physical fitness, whether he’s an exception or if it’s something that all mermaids are supposed to be like.
Of course, this change in wind direction was noticed by Ji Mingjiang, and then, under his guidance, Lin Feng and the mermaid center pushed the waves behind him, completely erasing the stereotypical impression that the mermaid had left in people’s hearts. In addition, using phrases like “everyone knows,” many people “speculate” about the truth of how mermaids have become what they are today…… Then those remaining old aristocrats who still have high self-esteem ushered in a new round of plummeting reputations. Even the courtyard of the dead Orfield family was busy with traffic—all specially ran over to scold them.
With such a racial experience, before the new generation of mermaids grew up, the labels of beauty, tragedy, and strength were firmly attached to them. As the most outrageous and human-like member of this race, Ji Mingjiang underwent a simple notarization and became the official director of the mermaid foster center.
He began a life of overtime that he hadn’t experienced for many years.
“Alas…” Thinking of this, Ji Mingjiang couldn’t help but sigh.
It’s the vicissitudes of life. How can a person go through such vicissitudes of life overnight? He is today! I just became an adult today! How is it that he’s already on the verge of being a corporate sl*ve for a full year?!
Ji Mingjiang, whose actual age is almost thirty years old, very shamelessly took the initiative to pick up this ex-underage status that he had previously almost disliked to death.
“…”
“Let me interrupt.”
Lin Nan saw that Ji Mingjiang fell into a depressed mood after saying what he just said. There was no sign of emotion on his face. After making some noises to attract Ji Mingjiang’s attention, he complained: “I’m not telling you that, Ji Mingjiang… Why don’t you reply to messages for over an hour because you’re too busy or something like that? You won’t be able to find a partner in the future!”
“I hope I don’t see the news about you—a mermaid dating a human in a few years.”
“You’d better worry about yourself first. I don’t have anyone on my side.” Ji Mingjiang stabbed back without any pain.
He glanced at the documents that he had neatly stacked on the table, feeling that what Lin Nan was worrying about could simply be described in two words: “Wildest Dream.”
“What on earth are you here for…Oh, right.” Halfway through his words, Ji Mingjiang remembered the message on his light brain and immediately changed his words: “To find your matching mermaid, right? Come with me.”
Ji Mingjiang pinched his brows and decided to finish Lin Nan’s affairs quickly. By then, it was just the right time to go back with Clarice. He should cherish the few days of vacation he finally had.
It can be said that the Mermaid Center has become completely different from before due to various major changes and fine-tuning made by Ji Mingjiang this year. Except for the office building where he is located and several other functional buildings, all the other buildings that house the mermaids have been torn down and rebuilt.
The outdoor swimming pool and access to the beach are the basics. There are countless other small modifications due to the separation of successful and unsuccessful transformations and then targeted cultivation.
The current mermaid center isn’t so much a foster center but more like a combination of kindergarten and middle school in Ji Mingjiang’s previous life, except that what distinguishes the two groups of mermaids now is not age but growth.
Driving Lin Nan expertly all the way to the “Middle School,” Ji Mingjiang saw Chen Ning helping to make dumplings at first sight.
Looking at Chen Ning, whose face had already faded from its juvenile state and whose figure was becoming more and more like that of a young man, Ji Mingjiang couldn’t help but sigh a little. Should he say that he deserved to be the first little mermaid to need something like a teething stick? It was clear that he was still a little guy with a fat and short tail last year, but in just one year, he has grown at a speed that shocked Ji Mingjiang and all the keepers—in a biological sense. Until now, no one would doubt that he was fourteen or fifteen years old.
“Chen Ning.”
Ji Mingjiang called out in his usual tone, and the little mermaid who was still helping out in front of the tabletops very keenly twitched his ears and turned his head with a surprised face. “Brother Jiang!”
Lin Nan never thought he would hear someone call Ji Mingjiang that. He didn’t react for a moment, but Chen Ning had already wiped the flour off his hands and ran over.
On the first day of the meeting, Chen Ning, who had a long confrontation with Ji Mingjiang over a plate, asked with bright eyes, “Brother, do you want to eat with us at noon today?”
Ji Mingjiang raised his hand and rubbed away a trace of flour from Chen Ning’s hair. His face appeared odd for a split second before he gave a small shake of his head and said, “No, His Majesty and the others are waiting for me to come back. You guys just eat by yourselves; I’ll be back in a couple of days.” Come back and continue working.
“Ah… okay.” After hearing this, Chen Ning lowered his head in disappointment, although it was expected.
“Hey, you two, are you completely ignoring me?!”
Looking at the two mermaids next to him, who looked like father and son, not brother and brother, Lin Nan’s eyes widened, and he cried out in dissatisfaction, “Xiao Ning, you have to see this guy in front of you clearly! If it weren’t for me, he would be squatting in the office now, and then he would leave directly after His Majesty came to pick him up! I was the one who mentioned coming to see you!”
“Listen to his nonsense.” After hearing Lin Nan’s accusation, Ji Mingjiang retorted without changing his expression.
“Brother Jiang, stop pretending; your ear fins are swinging back.” Having mercilessly revealed the fact that Ji Mingjiang was lying, Chen Ning wasn’t too angry and continued to say heartbreaking words: What Brother Lin Nan said is also the truth.”
Ji Mingjiang lives in the office every day. No one can drag him away except His Majesty’s presence. Which fish or person here doesn’t know this fact?
Gently patting Chen Ning’s head and sensing the vibration of the light brain at his wrist, Ji Mingjiang didn’t even look at it and directly said, “Then I’ll leave first; you can let Lin Nan help you wrap the dumplings piece by piece. It’s okay to just kick him out when you’re done; we have security guards on duty here anyway.”
“?”
“Ji Mingjiang!”
Lin Nan bared his teeth and claws and then was caught by the real underage fish, who urged him very coldly: “Brother Lin Nan, let’s go; there are still a lot of dumplings to make.”
…
As soon as he walked out of the door of the Mermaid Center, Ji Mingjiang saw Clarice waiting for him in a familiar position. He quickly jogged over and opened the door of the hover car. Although he wasn’t afraid of the cold or the heat due to his physical condition, the warm interior of the car still allowed Ji Mingjiang to unconsciously relax quite a bit.
“What are you thinking about?” After seeing Ji Mingjiang sit down, Leiden asked while starting the hover car.
“I’m wondering if the heavy work has confused my understanding of my age.” Ji Mingjiang analyzed his psychology with a heavy face, “It’s too unbelievable. When I brushed the flour off Chen Ning’s hair just now, I actually had a kind and amiable mindset!”
“And although Lin Nan didn’t say it, I’m sure that he definitely used the words father, son, and filial piety to describe my relationship with Chen Ning!!!”
Clarice let out a muffled laugh, causing Ji Mingjiang to turn his head and say, “You’re still laughing!”
“Ahem, my fault.” Leiden admitted his mistake very skillfully as the hover car turned another corner on the aerial track. “I told you at the time that you could let Oddo continue to be the boss for a while. If he were here, at least you could dump all the paperwork on him and only be responsible for command and supervision.”
“But anyway…” Like an annual practice, the sky that had been sunny all morning started to snow again at some point. Leiden slowly landed the car at the palace. His gilt-colored eyes reflected Ji Mingjiang’s figure, which had changed just as much compared to last year, and he said earnestly, “Happy eighteenth birthday.”
