223: Chapter 223 Thoughts

(Note: I haven't played the Donkey Party route, so the Omniscient One route might differ from the game. My apologies.)

"What we did has been discovered."

DC District, White House.

In the meeting room, several people in suits sat around a circular table, discussing current events.

"Honolulu is already under the control of the Chinese people, and now they are prepared to draw their blades against us."

A rare, heavy silence fell over the meeting room.

"Regardless, we must do something now," the old man sitting at the center of the table said. "Our plan cannot end here; at the very least, it must not be destroyed without value."

Seeing that no one was speaking, the old man continued, "How many nuclear weapon reserves do we have left?"

"They're all used up, Mr. President," the Secretary of Defense replied. "The strategic arsenal under our control no longer has any nuclear warheads. As for the other depots, we either can't find the launch keys or they've already been sabotaged."

"Then... where are the launch keys?"

"According to the intelligence department, they are held by the Know-it-all King, the Democratic Front, and the Mediation Force, Mr. President," the Secretary of Defense answered. "Obtaining them would be extremely difficult."

"..." The old man closed his eyes. "Then, what do you think? Regarding what comes next."

The middle-aged man beside the old man thought for a moment and spoke up, "General mobilization, gentlemen."

"Tell me the specifics."

"Arm every civilian we can organize. The weapons don't matter; what matters is buying time... and using sufficient numbers to overwhelm the remaining remnants, facilitating our integration of domestic resources."

"Then let it be done, gentlemen. Also, can our... Masterpiece work once again?"

"Mr. President, it is not very stable... but theoretically, it can be launched again."

"Then prepare it."

——————

Li Ming sat up.

He touched his face; the deformity on his left cheek had vanished, and his bones no longer felt as if they had been severed.

So, his current self was in a complete, peak state.

Checking the time, it had been no more than half an hour.

He picked up the G36C again; fortunately, it was still functional.

...He'd maintain it later and then give it a coat of paint.

Li Ming thought of A6; her equipment and combat suit were in 'dark warm tones' of crimson and gray.

It has to be painted crimson, Li Ming thought, if I can take this gun back with me.

After collecting the core parts of the signal tower, Li Ming turned and saw a piece of somewhat dirty gauze hanging from an exposed rebar, still stained with a bit of blood.

He took it down and re-wrapped himself with it.

After tidying his clothes, Li Ming returned to the ground using the still-sturdy zipline.

"Li! What are you doing here?!"

Maria appeared before Li Ming, an AK74M slung over her back. "This place was just bombed; it's dangerous!"

"Yeah, I know."

Li Ming replied, "It's a pity, my water purifier has been blown up now..."

"...Are you okay?" Maria almost choked on her breath. "Forget the water purifier for now! What just happened?"

"Right, a Donkey Party loitering munition," Li Ming answered.

"Huh? Why would a loitering munition come here? What did you do?"

"I don't know either; heaven knows what they're up to," Li Ming lied.

Maria's gaze held a hint of scrutiny, but it was quickly withdrawn. "Then let's head back."

"Okay."

They called back Elsa and Kate, who were on Alert at the perimeter, and the three of them returned to Kate's garage together.

Having lost the mood to keep playing, Elsa soon took her leave.

Before leaving, she made sure to remind Li Ming to change his bandages.

Maria and Kate exchanged a look, then turned to Li Ming.

"? What's wrong?"

"Li Ming, you..." Kate reached out toward his head, but Li Ming stepped back slightly to avoid her. "Your gauze seems to be wrapped a bit differently."

"Is it?" Li Ming instinctively reached for his gauze but quickly lowered his hand. "I might have adjusted it when the wind blew."

"Hmm..." Kate pouted as if she wanted to say something, but she sat back down.

"Li, I think... um..." Maria's eyes darted around. "How about moving you over to Kate's place?"

"Huh?" Kate turned her head away.

"Eh?" Li Ming narrowed his eyes. "Why?"

"It's more convenient for cooking." She pointed to the uncleaned stove. "You can't be running back and forth with ingredients all the time; that's too dangerous."

"...I have no objection," Li Ming shrugged. "But what about Kate?"

"Me?" Kate thought for a moment, seeing Maria constantly winking at her. "...I'm fine with it, as long as you don't do anything crazy."

"I'll try my best," Li Ming spread his hands. "Then should I go to your side first to move my hammock over?"

"I have a hammock here," Kate said. "And it's a bit more comfortable than your DIY one."

"Alright then." Li Ming placed the G36C in his hand onto the weapon rack against the wall, next to Kate's M4.

Kate squinted at him, then curled up on her small sofa, picking up her handheld console to continue playing.

"Well, I'm off then!" Maria smiled at him and then turned to leave.

"Yeah, see you tomorrow." Li Ming nodded and began cleaning up the large iron pot and the dishes left after the meal.

Water was slightly scarce, but Li Ming still finished the cleaning task.

After finishing the chores, Li Ming relit the stove and began boiling water.

"What are you doing?"

Kate looked up at him.

"Boiling water to kill the fungi in it."

"...Does that really work?"

"In the 1950s, United States planes crossed the Green River to drop biological weapons. This was the method passed down from back then. Do you think it's effective?"

"...Boring."

"Yeah, I am indeed quite boring."

"..." She looked at him deeply.

He was like a moving statue. After the water boiled, he took a thermos from his bag and poured it in. As for the rest, he looked at her.

"Do you have a larger cup? Or a kettle would work too."

"In the bathroom over there, go get it yourself."

"Okay."

After doing all this, he took the hammock Kate had thrown to him and set it up between two load-bearing walls. Only then did he look up, take off his chest rig and light body armor, then remove his jacket, place it on the armor, and lie down.

Looking around, Kate's garage was quite spacious. The left side was slightly lower, a place for parking tanks and storing tools, while the right side was two meters higher than the left, serving as the living area.

Not bad at all; she knows how to pick a place.

After thinking this, Li Ming closed his eyes.

Kate turned off her game console and glanced up at him.

Weirdo.

...

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