"Old friend, don't overthink it. We soldiers are here to defeat the Gante Army. Right now, we're no match for them on our own, but if we join Jiang Ye's forces, defeating the Gante Army will be a piece of cake," Old Zhao comforted him.
Yu Xiangyang was instantly relieved.
It made sense.
From a broader perspective, the only formidable enemy in the Leleliu region was the Gante Army. They were a dark cloud hanging over all Leleliu people, a shadow that had persisted for generations. Every Leleliu knew that the Gante Army could attack at any moment to massacre civilians, seize property, and occupy land.
Yu Xiangyang's decision to join the army back then was largely driven by the desire for revenge for his family's blood feud.
From the perspective of personal gain, in these chaotic times, those who wielded firearms had an easier time controlling social resources. Although Yu Xiangyang knew nothing about Jiang Ye's army the previous night, today, boarding Jiang Ye's warship, he was repeatedly stunned by the opulence. If he could join Jiang Ye's army, the money he would earn and the treatment he would receive would undoubtedly be much higher, not just a little, but several times over.
After much consideration, there seemed to be no reason to refuse.
The meal lasted a long time. Although it was breakfast, Yu Xiangyang and his subordinates ate with the gusto of a banquet.
After the meal, Old Zhao ordered a large batch of small yogurt cups.
"Put them in your pockets to take back and drink. This kind of milk is produced on Birong Star. A small cup from the local supermarket costs over ten yuan, it's incredibly expensive, a real delicacy," Old Zhao said, picking up a few cups and stuffing them into his pocket.
"Isn't that a bit much? It's fine to eat for free, but taking things too..." Yu Xiangyang hesitated.
"What's the big deal? If you don't attach too much importance to it, it's nothing. Jiang Ye's army doesn't care about this stuff at all. Their own soldiers also take some drinks back with them," Old Zhao said with a smile of opportunistic gain.
Yu Xiangyang still hesitated, glancing around. No one in the dining hall was looking their way; everyone was focused on their own meal.
"Look over there," Old Zhao suddenly pointed in a direction.
Yu Xiangyang looked. It was a triangular stand in the corner of the wall, holding a giant white porcelain plate, larger than a pot.
"Do you know what that is?" Old Zhao asked.
"A plate?" Yu Xiangyang replied, but immediately felt the answer couldn't be that simple. "A decoration? A call for 'eat it all,' so that when people see the plate, they finish all the food on their own plates, preventing waste?"
"Your thinking is completely off the mark. Jiang Ye's army's tradition isn't about saving; it's about having plenty, even if it goes to waste," Old Zhao revealed the answer. "That plate is usually used to hold apple towers or orange towers."
"Apple towers? Orange towers?" Yu Xiangyang couldn't understand.
"The plate is filled with apples, then another layer of apples is placed on top, narrowing layer by layer, until a spire of apples is formed," Old Zhao described. "Do you know what this apple tower is for?"
"Whoever passes by takes one to eat? A free apple benefit? That wouldn't cost much, would it?"
"Your perspective is too narrow. Anyone who goes over to eat an apple from the apple tower would be ridiculed. That's because the apple tower isn't meant to be eaten; it's for emitting fragrance. The faint, fresh scent of apples, you understand?" Old Zhao said. "Each apple tower is only displayed for three to four days. When the apples shrivel, they are taken away and all discarded, becoming garbage, completely unwanted. Then, fresh apples are brought to build another tower."
"Look at this dining hall. There are these large plates for apple towers along the walls. The apple towers discarded by this dining hall alone amount to a truckload each year. The entire warship might discard a trainload of apple towers. The annual yield of several mountain orchards is just thrown away like this," Old Zhao described vividly. "And these apples are all top-quality produce. I checked when I came for breakfast this morning. They are definitely good apples that are hard to find in ordinary supermarkets."
"Is that true?" Yu Xiangyang's worldview was shaken once again.
"Look, they're bringing one to build a tower," Old Zhao pointed towards the entrance.
A large catering cart was pushed in, followed by two black female soldiers. They stopped at the large plate in the corner and began placing golden pears from the cart onto the plate, quickly forming a tall tower of dozens of pears. They took out small spray bottles and misted them with water, then pushed the cart away.
A moment later, they returned and went to the second large plate against the wall, taking pears from the cart to build a tower.
"Holy hell," Yu Xiangyang was stunned.
"Pear towers, you've been proven wrong," Old Zhao chuckled. "So, think about it. A dining hall that can adjust the air quality with fruit, would it care if you took a couple of yogurt cups when you left?"
Yu Xiangyang silently picked up a small yogurt cup and stuffed it into his pocket without any guilt.
Leaving the dining hall, Old Zhao led Yu Xiangyang to find their dormitory.
A dormitory area was specifically designated on the warship for the evacuated Leleliu region defenders. They were all double rooms, and they could pick freely on a first-come, first-served basis.
Yu Xiangyang and Old Zhao claimed a room. Yu Xiangyang threw himself onto the bed and fell into a deep sleep, as if he were trying to catch up on all the sleep he had missed in his life. After all, the hysterical battle the previous night, followed by the sudden lifting of pressure and a belly full of rich food, meant he was bound to sleep deeply, both mentally and physically.
At noon, Yu Xiangyang was suddenly woken up by Old Zhao.
"Look down," Old Zhao squatted by the window. The dormitory window was a small pane close to the ground, about the size of a doggy door.
Yu Xiangyang also squatted down and looked out the small window, stunned by the scene outside.
Over a thousand small spacecraft were shuttling through the clouds, like a vast flock of migrating birds.
The spacecraft were bombing, pouring out dark bombs from their bays like a flowing river, so many they seemed endless. Some ships occasionally fired a string of missiles, which left white trails in the air, weaving countless spiderwebs, hitting targets on the ground that were attempting to ascend.
The ground was burning a fiery red. The visible landscape was entirely a sea of fire, unlike a planet, but more like a self-igniting star. Explosive smoke billowed incessantly, thick plumes of smoke reaching straight into the sky. Some flashing golden projectile trails danced across the ground, dense and fast, as if the earth's crust was tearing apart, spewing countless sparks.
Yu Xiangyang could see some armored vehicles, self-detonating dogs, and humans running frantically on the ground. They looked so tiny, like dust in the air, like fleeting illusions. The explosion's firelight cleanly engulfed everything that moved, and the surging earth seemed like countless souls startled into flight.
"Where is this?" Yu Xiangyang asked in great alarm.
"I just went out to ask. It's at the border between Leleliu and the Tropic Line. Below us is the Gante Army's Twenty-second Group Army. Jiang Ye's army is driving them out of the Leleliu region and back to their tropical territories."
"You call this driving them out?" Yu Xiangyang gasped. "This is annihilation! With this level of firepower that burns through the crust, how many people can escape? How many can leave behind intact bodies? The armored vehicles have melted into liquid iron!"