8: Chapter 8 The True Way of Survival

H City, Lin Ye's home.

On the living room TV, Lin Ye's livestream was playing.

Li Mei curled up on the sofa, her eyes rimmed with red.

Ever since she learned her son had been selected yesterday, she hadn't left the TV.

Watching him skydive, Li Mei's fingers, gripping the remote, had turned white.

She hadn't closed her eyes all night.

It wasn't until just now, seeing her son holding the roasted bird egg and stuffing it into his mouth ravenously, that she finally let out a breath.

"Eat slowly... no one is going to snatch it from you."

As long as he's alive.

As long as he's eating something.

"Ding-dong—"

The doorbell rang.

Li Mei froze for a moment, then walked over to open the door.

Two young people in uniform stood outside, a man and a woman.

Their name tags read: Disaster Prevention Administration - Task Force.

The two stood at attention and gave a standard military salute.

"Comrade Li Mei, hello. We are from the Disaster Prevention Administration Task Force, here under orders from our superiors to pay a visit to the family of Comrade Lin Ye."

Li Mei was stunned and quickly stepped aside to let them in.

"Quick... come in, don't stand outside."

After they entered, their gazes quickly swept across the living room.

It was clean and tidy, the furniture wasn't new but everything was kept in perfect order.

The TV was still on, showing Lin Ye's livestream.

Li Mei rubbed her hands together, feeling a bit embarrassed.

"It's just me at home. His father... Old Lin is in the west and rarely comes back, as I'm sure you know."

"Sister-in-law, do you have any difficulties at home?" the young man asked.

Li Mei paused, then waved her hands repeatedly.

"No, no! I have enough for myself, everything is just fine!"

"The country is having a hard time right now, you should leave these things for the front lines or give them to families who need them more."

The young woman stepped forward and said softly.

"Sister-in-law, Comrade Lin Ye uploaded the world's first Perfect-quality resource for Great Xia yesterday."

"This isn't just a resource; it has boosted the morale of the entire nation. He is a national hero."

"The country will not let its heroes shed blood and tears, and it will certainly not let their families suffer."

"Taking care of the families of our heroes is our duty."

As soon as she finished speaking, footsteps were heard in the hallway.

Logistics personnel carried several boxes of supplies into the room and stacked them against the living room wall.

Rice, flour, grain, oil, canned goods, drinking water, and some medicine.

After the goods were moved, the two saluted again.

"Sister-in-law, Comrade Lin Ye is bringing glory to the country in the Void Sea, so you must take care of your own health as well."

"If you need anything, just contact the community, and we will arrive immediately."

With that, the two turned and headed downstairs.

Li Mei stood at the door, watching them leave.

She looked down at the boxes in the living room, and her eyes turned red again.

...

Disaster Prevention Administration, Command Center.

Director Wei Tiejun pushed open the door, smelling of smoke; he had stayed up all night at the central hub.

Zhou Jianping, the head of the Intelligence Division, greeted him as soon as he saw him.

"Director Wei, these are the casualty and resource upload statistics from various countries from yesterday, as well as the intelligence reports."

Director Wei Tiejun took them.

Zhou Jianping lowered his voice and asked tentatively.

"How did the meeting... go?"

Director Wei Tiejun slumped into his chair and gave a cold snort.

"How could it go?"

"Those bastards, seeing our heavy casualties in the first round, they all swarmed in like vultures smelling blood."

He pulled a cigarette from the pack and tapped it twice on the table.

"The USA led the charge, bringing along seven or eight lackeys, trying to force us to sign some bullshit 'Global Resource Rebalancing Framework'."

"They put it nicely, but it's actually a modern version of the 'Plaza Accord', demanding we cede our strategic reserves and open up our resource channels."

Zhou Jianping clenched his fists involuntarily.

"And the higher-ups... what did they say?"

Director Wei Tiejun looked up and stared at him for three seconds.

"What do you think?"

Zhou Jianping didn't say anything.

"The higher-ups slammed the table right then and there!"

Director Wei Tiejun mimicked the tone he had heard last night.

"Great Xia will not bow to anyone. You want resources? If you have the ability, come take them yourselves; our warships and cannons are always ready."

Zhou Jianping let out a long breath of relief.

"However—"

Director Wei Tiejun smiled, which was a rare sight.

"It was a coincidence. Those people were just posturing yesterday when the broadcast sounded."

"Great Xia Challenger Lin Ye, Perfect quality, 100,000-fold critical strike."

"You should have seen their faces; they all looked like they'd eaten fly shit. The USA representative held his teacup, pretending to drink, but his hands were shaking."

Zhou Jianping's mouth twitched, unable to force a laugh.

"Has this kid's file been pulled up yet?" Director Wei Tiejun's expression turned serious.

"It was ready a long time ago."

Zhou Jianping handed over a kraft paper file folder and added,

"This kid is born and bred in the system, he can be considered half one of our own."

Director Wei Tiejun broke the seal and flipped through the pages one by one.

Lin Ye, 21 years old, registered in H City, a junior in the Archaeology Department at Great Xia University of Science and Technology.

Father, Lin Changshan, a Sergeant First Class in a unit of the Western Military Region, guarding the border for 24 years.

Director Wei Tiejun's hand paused as he turned the page.

24 years.

He had spent 8 years in the Northwest and already felt like he had left half his life in the desert.

This Lin Changshan had guarded the nation's gateway for a full 24 years.

He continued flipping.

Mother, Li Mei, a military dependent.

After Lin Ye was born, to make it easier to care for him, they settled in their hometown of H City, where she raised him alone.

He turned another page to the medical report.

[Left eye missing, equipped with a prosthetic eye. Vision level: Monocular.]

Director Wei Tiejun's hand stopped.

He closed the file and was silent for a few seconds.

"The Lin family father and son; the father has guarded the nation's border for over twenty years, and the son, with one eye blind, is still dragged away by the supreme will to fight for Great Xia's life."

"A whole family of loyal martyrs."

Zhou Jianping nodded and was just about to respond when Director Wei Tiejun continued.

"Personally, I admire them from the bottom of my heart, but the battle for national destiny concerns the survival of the nation. I cannot make judgments based on emotion."

He tapped the medical report.

"Missing half his field of vision is a serious handicap. He can barely get by on a Level 3 Floating Island, but as he moves up, he will face real threats on Level 2 and Level 3 Floating Islands."

Director Wei Tiejun's voice deepened.

"His performance on the first day was stunning, but the road ahead for this child is one of nine deaths and one life."

Zhou Jianping opened his mouth but didn't know how to speak.

After pondering for a long time, he suggested in a low voice.

"Director Wei, with Old Lin guarding the border at the front and Little Lin risking his life in another world, now only the sister-in-law is left at home..."

He weighed his words carefully.

"Could we consider sending his family to the Western Military Region to reunite with Comrade Lin Changshan? At least there would be someone to look after them."

Director Wei Tiejun nodded and stood up.

"You're right. The people at the front are shedding blood; we absolutely cannot let their families in the rear feel chilled."

"I'll make a call to the Western Military Region and see if we can arrange it!"

...

Void Sea, the rock forest on the Floating Island.

Lin Ye sat cross-legged on the ground, putting the last bit of egg yolk into his mouth.

Having eggs for breakfast—this life is comfortable!

"Screech—!"

Suddenly, a sharp cry came from the high sky.

Lin Ye was so startled that his whole body shuddered, and the egg yolk he had just swallowed almost got stuck in his throat.

Damn it! That feathered beast is back!

He immediately flattened himself on the spot.

No, just lying flat wasn't enough.

He grabbed a handful of wood ash from the campfire and smeared it all over himself.

His face, neck, clothes—everywhere he could cover, he covered.

He wasn't sure if the Rock Feather Kite had a sharp sense of smell, but the scent of the roasted egg definitely hadn't dissipated yet.

If that thing was tracking the scent, wouldn't he be finished?

He grabbed another handful and rubbed it into his hair.

Looking like this, he was a total savage crawling out of a stove.

...

Great Xia Live Stream.

In the frame, Lin Ye was lying on the ground, his face covered in gray dirt, looking extremely wretched.

But the audience could see clearly in the livestream.

That Rock Feather Kite was sweeping across the high sky from the northeast of the Floating Island and wasn't flying toward this side at all.

Furthermore, there was a rock forest in between, and it was still quite far from Lin Ye.

[Hahaha, he's too cautious! He dropped flat from eight hundred miles away!]

[This is the true Saint of the Way of Survival! The moment there's any movement, he plays dead!]

[Today's 'Voldemort' (2/2) achievement unlocked!]

[Ji Kun next door is even more ridiculous; the first thing he did when he woke up was fix his hair, it's been a full half hour.]

[Ji Kun: The hairstyle cannot be messy, this is dignity!]

[Brother Eye-Gouger: My life cannot be lost, this is the bottom line!]

In the frame, the Rock Feather Kite flew further and further away, eventually disappearing into the clouds.

Lin Ye waited for another two minutes before slowly pushing himself up.

Wood ash fell from his face in showers. He patted his collar and spat out the ash from his mouth.

A false alarm.

Who knew that just as he was about to stand up, his left eye suddenly twitched.

A strange palpitation came to Lin Ye's heart, and he immediately squinted his left eye slightly.

Eye of Destiny, activate.

On the ground, a thin red line was spreading out from a rock crevice three meters away from his feet.

His pupils constricted.

The red line was still branching out.

A second line, a third line branched off from the middle section...

Countless lines intertwined into a web.

Most importantly, Lin Ye felt that the Floating Island beneath his feet... was vibrating slightly.