"Escape was impossible; I was released," Li Nannan said softly.
Jiang Ye stared at her blankly.
According to her previous report, the Mil prisoner-of-war camp was an eternal prison where captives were tortured to death arbitrarily, and death itself was a release. Some had been imprisoned for twenty-eight years. Why was Li Nannan released after only a few days?
"The Mil have an organization called the Salvation Society. This organization is defined as a cult and terrorist group in Mil society, but in our official documents, it's a glorious humanitarian organization we can win over."
"The Salvation Society does only one thing: it saves intelligent beings enslaved by the Mil."
"In their various cosmic expansions, the Mil have captured and conquered many races, forcing these captives to become slaves or test subjects. The Salvation Society rescues these enslaved captives through violent means. There is very little information about this organization; it is quite mysterious. It possesses great power and has launched many major events over the years, enjoying considerable notoriety in Mil society. However, it never appears in public, and even its membership numbers are unknown."
"Like the White Lotus Society in ancient times?" Jiang Ye asked.
Li Nannan looked bewildered; she had never heard of it.
"It's alright, continue," Jiang Ye said. "Are the members of the Salvation Society all Mil?"
"That's right, all Mil. It's an organization formed by the common folk in Mil society," Li Nannan replied. "The prisoner-of-war camp where I was held was violently breached by the Salvation Society. They killed some of the guards, forced the rest to surrender their weapons, and then, with great efficiency, released all of us captives, treated our injuries, and put us into drift bottles."
"Drift bottles?" Jiang Ye was taken aback.
"Small spacecraft, not much larger than a car. People lie inside, enter hibernation, and are then launched at high speed into space. Theoretically, one can sleep inside for a hundred years and travel across several star systems. They have no steering function; once launched, they go wherever they please, as fate dictates, much like ancient drift bottles at sea," Li Nannan explained. "Drift bottles are cheap. The Salvation Society prepared hundreds of thousands of them, packed us all in, and launched them."
"After drifting for an unknown amount of time, most of these drift bottles were intercepted by the Galactic Empire's air force. I was awakened, my identity verified, and then I received treatment. Finally, I was sent here to recuperate temporarily," Li Nannan said. "Of the four planets I visited, Hal was too noisy, Leng'an was too oppressive, and the cities on Binglv were under glaciers and the sea, which made me uncomfortable. Your place is more normal, and Isabel is here too, so I came."
"If you survive a great disaster, you will have good fortune," Jiang Ye said.
"It doesn't matter; fortune and misfortune are both destiny," Li Nannan sighed, looking out the window. "Am I starting to get old? I never believed in fate before, but now I do."
Jiang Ye remained silent, watching her quietly. Li Nannan's body had indeed recovered, but her expression always carried a hint of age, like a spirit that had lived for hundreds of years, basking peacefully in the sun.
...
At six o'clock, the first rays of sunlight pierced through the gap in the curtains.
Jiang Ye got up, drank a cup of hot tea, and went to Li Nannan's bedroom. She was supposed to leave today, perhaps needing help packing. Jiang Ye naturally went to assist.
As he reached the bedroom door, about to knock, he paused.
The door was not closed, but ajar. Li Nannan always closed the door tightly when she slept inside.
Pushing the door open, he was so surprised his mouth fell slightly open; he almost didn't recognize the room!
The bedroom, which had been messy and dirty in the past few days, was completely renovated. The clutter on the desk was arranged with obsessive neatness, the bedsheets were as smooth as stone slabs, and even the quilt was folded into sharp, clear cubes. Ever since Li Nannan had violently broken the cleaning robot, the bedroom floor had gotten dirtier day by day, but now it was clean to the point of shining, even slippery, so much so that a fly would have to spread its legs to stand on it.
In the center of the bed was a small note.
Jiang Ye picked it up and read it. It was Li Nannan's handwriting.
"I've returned to the unit. Contact me by phone if needed. Continue to keep my recovery a secret, especially don't mention it in the star network groups."
"Around 6:30, you will receive a small gift from me as thanks for taking care of me these past few days. This gift should be very useful to you."
"P.S.: Isabel was talking about you. She was so proactive and didn't ask you to take responsibility, so why did you reject her repeatedly? Isabel is quite beautiful, isn't she? You don't want that either, you must have some kind of problem. A man who doesn't stray is like a dog that suddenly stops eating shit."
"P.P.S.: As Isabel's best friend, I have to advise you to give in to her. However, putting aside that identity, I greatly admire your composure. Dogs can indeed refrain from eating shit."
Jiang Ye almost spat blood. Li Nannan was Li Nannan; even writing a note was so unpleasant.
This person's tongue was too venomous, more so than the poison of a crane's head.
He took out his phone to check the time. It was 6:10, and the gift would arrive in a while.
Jiang Ye went downstairs to cook. The food printer whirred to life, quickly preparing a table full of breakfast.
While eating, Jiang Ye kept looking up towards the door.
He was very curious about what gift Li Nannan would send and in what form it would appear. A delivery person? An airborne gift box?
Neither was the case. He finished eating at 6:30 when his phone vibrated, and a notification popped up:
[You have obtained the military special approval project: Global Unmanned Bomber System]
[Please open the Military Factory function to browse details]
Jiang Ye clicked on [Military Factory] and scrolled back vigorously. Two new unlocked types appeared.
[Factory Type: "Harrier" Unmanned Bomber Manufacturing Plant]
[Factory Description: Occupies an area of 80,000 square meters, includes a "Harrier" unmanned bomber assembly line. Requires 330 workers. Simple operation; workers can be on the job after brief training. Can produce 5 Harrier bombers per week.]
[Weapon Parameters: Harrier unmanned bomber, capable of vertical takeoff and landing, excellent stealth performance, possesses high-altitude penetration and ultra-low-altitude penetration capabilities. Maximum payload of 42,680 kilograms. Combat range up to 62,000 kilometers, capable of reaching the entire surface of most planets. It is a cheap and effective global strike weapon. Can be remotely controlled or operate autonomously via onboard AI. Can fly unmanned or carry two crew members.]
[Construction Cost: 3.58 billion yuan]
Jiang Ye excitedly slapped his thighs!
With this, the entire planet would essentially be under his control!
What were poisonous moth-frogs compared to this? They would become live targets on the plains; a bomber's salvo would annihilate everything!
The factory cost less than 3.6 billion. While the price was expensive, Jiang Ye found it completely acceptable; it would just take a few more days of saving.
However, the other unlocked projects below were not so optimistically priced.
They were practically daylight robbery!