Chapter 200: Bai Yu [Wu Yue]
—So dull!
Bai Yu felt a bit happy, yet also a bit sad.
Wu Yue was capable and had earned his merits, so after General Lin’s retirement, it was natural for him to take over as the defense officer. Actually, everyone had gone through life and death together and weren’t opposed to him at first.
But…
After he took office, everything he had shown before started to crumble, leading to widespread dissatisfaction now.
And though he sensed it, he made no efforts to unify or arrange things…
In wartime, people need a strong leader—someone who can lead everyone forward bravely and command all in key moments.
But during a peaceful transition, people need a softer, calmer leader who still has rallying power.
Unfortunately, Wu Yue disappointed everyone.
Bai Yu exchanged glances with the secretaries; though their eyes sparkled, it wasn’t true happiness.
As defense officer, the three secretaries under him should have been his trusted aides, but he neither arranged things properly nor trusted them with responsibilities. For months after taking office, they were stuck in the office doing clerical work…
It took tremendous effort over six years of disaster to become a political secretary in the defense force.
If not for that, as a newcomer to the defense army, even if she was strong, there was no shortage of powerhouses in the team—how else could she have gained support so quickly?
Bai Yu stood under the corridor, looked down at the recommendation form, and gave a bitter smile.
If only General Lin were still here…
She stepped out, and someone she recently befriended at the training field whispered, “Did it work?”
Bai Yu replied bitterly, “It worked.”
But she would have rather it hadn’t.
When General Lin was around, there were 18 defense leaders in total, 7 of whom were female, and they never shied away from the front lines.
But after General Lin retired for just over two months, the average number of missions per female defense leader was only one.
Because General Wu would say: “Let’s look out for the female comrades. This mission is risky—let so-and-so go instead.”
And if a female defense leader fought for the task, another defense leader would be added to the team.
Thoughtful?
No, it felt like an insult.
The defense force’s task system was designed for maximum wartime efficiency, with top-level tasks directly arranged by the defense officer. Now, everyone just felt frustrated.
Bai Yu was frustrated too.
Every time she stepped into Wu Yue’s office, her heart surged with ambition, her eyes shone with a desire for power that she couldn’t hide.
Because it seemed so easy to get.
Yet that very “ease” made her angry. Her face smiled, but her cheeks flushed with hidden rage.
But she didn’t need to hide it, because Wu Yue couldn’t see her thirst for power—“woman” was her biggest label.
And now that the higher-ups planned to decentralize power and establish deputy commanders under the new Defense Order, to be honest, everyone not only eagerly vied for it but also felt relieved.
In these two-plus months, it wasn’t just the female defense leaders who felt uncomfortable—the men did too!
Going on missions together was fine, but if a water-type and a fire-type were sent out as a pair, their combined combat power could only be seen as one.
Wu Yue only saw the brilliant feats achieved during their cooperation but never considered that some of these abilities needed stronger catalysts to succeed.
In any case, Bai Yu took a deep breath: “Everyone, keep working hard!”
The other person smiled wryly: “My recommendation letter still isn’t signed yet!”
Though slightly weaker than Bai Yu in combat, he was especially good at coordination. But ever since General Lin left, he had no place to put his talents to use…
“It’s fine,” Bai Yu’s eyes gleamed with determination. “Now that the higher-ups are arranging deputy commanders, they’ve obviously noticed the problems—our chance has come!”
Her eyes burned with the fire of wanting to become strong: “Come on, let’s practice that wood-fire combo you mentioned!”
…
Huai Yu’s anger came fast and left just as fast. By noon, she finally let out a long breath and mercifully said to Zhou Qian: “After finishing planting these sweet potato vines, I’ll work on growing the potatoes this afternoon. Brother Zhou Qian, you’ve worked hard—go get some rest.”
Then she added, “Really, aren’t you afraid of getting sunburned? It’s so hot, and you don’t take a break. Are we eating meat for lunch? I’ll stew some wild chicken!”
Zhou Qian: … She says it all—what can he even say?
But hey, there’s chicken!
So he smiled and replied, “Digging a bit of ground like this is nothing for me—I’ll go take a shower first and then come back for lunch.”
Lunch was braised chicken with potatoes.
The potatoes were freshly grown using her power—each as big as two of Huai Yu’s fists and almost pushing out of the ground.
If you let them sprout for a few days and then try to grow them, they wouldn’t get bigger—they’d just sprout.
The wild chicken was spicy dried chicken that had been sun-dried earlier. Without a fridge, this was the best way to store it. But when braised with potatoes, the meat might not be so tender.
Still, for Zhou Qian and Huai Yu—one rarely eating food with zero mutation value and the other rarely eating meat—they were perfectly satisfied scarfing it down with big bowls.
But speaking of which…
“If you bring Lin Xuefeng back, are you planning to slap Wu Yue in the face?”
Huai Yu was stunned for a moment, then looked annoyed: “Why didn’t I think of that!”
But she soon shook her head: “Nah, forget it! Wu Yue is already the defense officer, and who knows if Lin Xuefeng is even healthy now. It’s not about that—just being alive is enough!”
When she wasn’t talking about her ex, she looked innocent and carefree.
But this innocence, paired with someone headed to die in the wilderness, felt brutally cruel.
Zhou Qian really feared she’d act impulsively, so he warned her in advance: “You do know you can’t just walk into the wilderness, right?”
There were layers of guards on the outskirts.
Unless you had an explorer’s license, or like them, had a mission, you couldn’t just pass—too many reckless people tried every year, and the country couldn’t afford that kind of waste.
If not for that, Lin Xuefeng wouldn’t have tried to sneak around via the Rose Corridor during a rainy night.
Huai Yu nodded, stretching lazily: “I know, I’ll figure it out when it’s time. There’ll be a way.”
She thought about the Rose Corridor, looking confident.
Zhou Qian paused, then asked again: “And you know once a mutation value crosses the threshold, a person… is basically beyond saving, right?”
Huai Yu nodded again: “I know.”
“But Brother Zhou Qian, you’re too pessimistic! People need hope. Just think—Lin Xuefeng is so capable, what if he survives?”
“After all, it’s only been six years since the disaster began. Everything we think we know still needs more time to be truly confirmed.”
