233: Chapter 233 Queen Jiang Suffers Torture Military Training

Beijing, the August First Building.

The dome lights of the grand auditorium shone onto the red carpet.

Li Li, wearing a pure black custom-made haute couture suit that Jiang Rumu had spent six figures on, stood among a row of stiff, upright military officers.

Surrounded by green uniforms covered in medal ribbons, he stood out like a sore thumb in his haute couture suit.

The top leader walked up to Li Li.

An aide followed behind, carrying a tray.

The top leader picked up the heavy August First Medal and personally pinned it to Li Li's chest.

Afterward, he patted his shoulder heavily twice.

"Comrade Li Li, well done. The country will not forget your contribution."

Li Li clicked his heels together and stood at attention.

"Serve the people."

The award ceremony concluded, but the top leader didn't rush off; he pulled Li Li aside to a lounge area on the side of the auditorium.

"Little Li, it's good for young people to have drive."

The top leader reached out and straightened Li Li's suit lapel.

"The burden ahead may be even heavier; you need to be mentally prepared."

"The country needs talent like you. Keep up the good work; there's an even bigger stage ahead."

Li Li nodded repeatedly on the surface, but in his mind, he was quickly translating this official jargon.

The translation: Don't think you'll be idle, kid; there's a life-threatening job coming up right away.

He agreed promptly and decisively.

"Guarantee to complete the mission."

Walking out of the auditorium, there was someone standing at the end of the hallway.

General Jiang Zhan.

Wearing a crisp general's uniform, the gold stars on his shoulders dazzled under the hallway lights.

"Hello, Uncle." Li Li walked over to greet him.

General Jiang Zhan looked him up and down.

"Did Mumu pick this suit out for you?"

"Yes. It cost quite a bit of money, and I'm just trying to figure out how to expense it from the orphanage's account."

General Jiang Zhan snorted coldly.

"If you dare touch the orphanage's money, I'll break your legs."

The two walked to a reception room in the middle of the hallway.

General Jiang Zhan pushed the door open and pointed to the single sofa opposite him.

"Sit."

Li Li sat down, hands on his knees, back straight.

"How is Mumu doing in Chengdu lately?" General Jiang Zhan asked.

"Very well. She eats and sleeps well every day, except for occasionally complaining that my cooking is a bit bland."

General Jiang Zhan stared at Li Li.

"I have something to ask you."

"If there were an extremely dangerous project right now that required high physical and mental stamina."

"It requires a male and female pair to participate."

"Do you have anyone suitable in mind?"

Li Li leaned back slightly.

"Uncle, I run an orphanage. Besides Mumu, where would I know any other female comrades?"

"But I absolutely cannot let Mumu participate in any dangerous project."

"She can even cut her hand while slicing potatoes; sending her to a dangerous project is basically just feeding the enemy."

General Jiang Zhan ignored his snarky comment and tapped his knuckles on the table.

"The country strongly opposes a solution to the global crisis proposed by the West."

"They want to use their racial advantage to squeeze us out."

"But given the current international situation, this project will likely pass."

"Once it passes, you are our first choice."

Li Li pointed to his own nose.

"Me? I don't even have an official position."

General Jiang Zhan intensified his tapping on the table.

"The US and Israeli leadership are well aware of your background."

"They will strongly oppose your participation."

"But if they can't override us, they'll likely play dirty."

"For example, forcibly binding Mumu to your team."

Li Li's back instantly left the chair, his muscles tensed.

"They dare?"

"In the face of absolute interests, there is nothing they wouldn't dare to do."

General Jiang Zhan stood up and looked down at him.

"Go back and put Mumu through physical training."

"She was a tomboy when she was little, having grown up rough-and-tumble in the military compound; she has a foundation."

"Be strict with her; don't go soft."

"This is for her own good."

After saying this, General Jiang Zhan strode out of the lounge.

Li Li sat on the sofa and rubbed his brow.

What on earth is all this?

A global crisis? A solution proposed by the West? And it has to be a male-female team?

What kind of shady business are these people planning?

Two days later.

Chengdu, behind the orphanage on Mount Qingcheng.

The scorching sun beat down on the yellow earth without obstruction.

Li Li relayed General Jiang Zhan's words to Jiang Rumu exactly as they were.

Jiang Rumu, wearing a tight yoga outfit, was doing leg stretches; she stopped immediately upon hearing this.

"My dad never speaks nonsense."

"Since he gave instructions like that, it means things have already reached an irreversible point."

Jiang Rumu stood up straight and rotated her ankles.

"How should I train? Running laps or lifting weights?"

Li Li picked up a military green tactical backpack from beside his feet and tossed it at her feet.

"Start with basic physical training."

"A ten-kilometer mountain cross-country run with a 15-kilogram load."

Jiang Rumu looked at the bulging backpack.

"Li Li, if you want to murder me, just say so!"

"Uncle said being strict with you is being responsible for you."

Li Li kicked the backpack.

"Put it on. If you don't finish, you don't get to eat today."

Jiang Rumu glared at him, but in the end, she dragged the backpack up and fastened the chest and waist straps.

Li Li pressed the stopwatch in his hand.

"Run."

Jiang Rumu started running along the winding dirt mountain path.

For the first two kilometers, she could still maintain an even breath.

After three kilometers, her footsteps became increasingly heavy.

At five kilometers, sweat had completely soaked through her yoga outfit, and her hair was plastered in clumps against her forehead and neck.

Li Li rode a beat-up old bicycle, lazily following beside her.

"Adjust your breathing! Two steps inhale, two steps exhale!"

"Don't look down! Keep your eyes on the road ahead!"

Jiang Rumu panted heavily, turning her head to shoot him a glare.

"You… sure talk big… while standing still!"

Li Li steered with one hand and pedaled once.

"When I was moving bricks on the construction site, I carried 50 kilograms up and down stairs 200 times a day."

"You're barely doing anything compared to that."

Jiang Rumu shut her mouth, gritted her teeth, and continued to move forward.

Ten kilometers completed.

Jiang Rumu immediately took off the backpack and collapsed onto the grassy slope.

Li Li stopped the bicycle, walked over, unscrewed a bottle of light saltwater, and handed it to her.

"Your performance was poor. Extra training tomorrow."

Jiang Rumu didn't even have the energy to curse him; she snatched the bottle and downed half of it.

At night.

Li Li lay on the hard bed in his dormitory, scrolling through his phone.

State media had just released a news story.

The headline was in bold red text: [The Central Military Commission held the August First Medal Award Ceremony].

The attached photo was a group shot of the top leader presenting awards to several soldiers.

Li Li, wearing his black suit, stood in the middle of a row of green uniforms; even his canine tooth was clearly visible.

The comment section exploded.

[Holy crap! Is that Li Li in the black suit in the middle?!]

[It's definitely him! I'd recognize him even if he were reduced to ashes!]

[A non-celebrity from a Dating Reality Show, an orphanage director—why does he deserve the military's highest honor, the August First Medal?!]

[What on earth did he do? Save the world?]

[Is this photo photoshopped? Can an official account get hacked?]

Self-media marketing accounts jumped on the news, and all sorts of ridiculous speculations flew everywhere.

[Shocking! Li Li's true identity exposed—he's actually a secret weapon of the East!]

[In-depth analysis: From Dating Reality Show to the August First Building, Li Li's path to promotion!]

[Director Li isn't pretending anymore; he's showing his cards—actually, I'm a super agent!]

Someone posted in the comment section.

[Brothers, do you remember that F-35 that went missing in Okinawa last month? Do you think he really flew it back?]

Less than ten seconds after this comment was posted.

It disappeared.

System prompt: [This user has been permanently banned].

Netizens went even crazier.

[Holy sh*t! Someone's account is gone! That means the guess was right!]

[The Strategic Deception Bureau's script has failed! The 'Zero-Dollar Purchase' boss is him!]

[President Trump: Give me back my plane!]

[The official move is too slick—openly protecting someone while simultaneously sticking it to the Americans.]

Li Li watched the comments, tossing his phone aside.

This official move was indeed ruthless.

Issuing an August First Medal was equivalent to declaring to the whole world: We've got this guy covered.

Even if the US and Israel were gnashing their teeth in hatred, they could only stare helplessly.

Li Li picked up his phone again and browsed the international news section.

Beneath the trending topics of the collapse of Ala Country and the soaring oil prices, there was an extremely inconspicuous short message.

The poster was an overseas news aggregator account with only a few hundred followers.

[The UN Security Council held a closed-door meeting to discuss a response to the global energy crisis, proposing to launch a survival challenge reality show with global participation, where the final ranking will determine the rights to global oil export shares for the next ten years.]

There were only a few comments below.

[Is this blogger crazy?]

[Using a reality show to decide oil shares? Do you think this is child's play?]

[If you're going to spread rumors, at least make them believable. Reported.]

[Stupid blogger, chasing clout without any logic.]

Li Li stared at this short message.

The cold light of the screen shone on his face.

A global crisis.

A solution proposed by the West.

A male-female team.

General Jiang Zhan's words flashed through his mind.

All the clues connected.

This was also what Fahd meant in the phone call when he said, "A global internet reality show is about to usher in a feast."

It was this.

Li Li sat up.

These politicians really treat the Earth like a massive amateur production.

Determining national destiny with a reality show?

They really thought of that!

He clicked on the poster's homepage.

The account had already been deleted.

Li Li exited the interface, opened WeChat, and found Jiang Rumu's profile picture.

His fingers tapped rapidly on the screen.

"Tomorrow morning at six, increase the load to 20 kilograms."