A male and female announcer appeared on television, both dressed in dark red striped suits, quite festive.
"Good evening, everyone, and welcome to the evening news!"
"Today's main news includes the following reports:"
"The army has gone to Crane Star to rescue civilians from the epidemic zone, having saved thousands, with Commander Jiang Ye personally leading the team!"
"The epidemic on Birong Star has been largely eradicated, and a new round of development is underway!"
"The Alien Colonization Investment Bureau will soon release its first round of investment projects!"
"Xu Yan, the general agent for White Ant Real Estate, revealed that the first space station on Jiang Ye Star will be constructed soon!"
"The Binhai City Ring Road Marathon is actively being organized!"
"An explosion occurred at Oil City's No. 16 oil extraction unit, with no casualties reported so far!"
"A sex scandal has broken out at Shale City's wood carving factory, involving 16 employees!"
"Dai Zong Motors is holding a major sale, sparking a new wave of car sales..."
Jiang Ye watched, dumbfounded. He thought there wouldn't be much news to watch, but he didn't expect there to be quite a bit! The brief reports alone took three minutes.
Ju Lanlan beamed, "Look! My news is the third item!"
"I don't understand what you're so proud of, I'm on the first item," Jiang Ye spread his hands.
Ju Lanlan hit him, "I'm on screen myself! Are you on screen yourself? Just you wait and see!"
Although the first news item was long, it had no interview footage, just the announcers reading scripts.
The second news item featured footage of the Birong Star camp. It looked quite beautiful on television, with sunlight shining on the fortress, giving it an almost sacred feel. Soldiers in mechs bustled in and out of the fortress. Jiang Ye knew that soldiers weren't usually this busy, nor did they need to run around in such a hurry. It was likely they were deliberately moving around for the news recording to create a better visual effect.
The third news item was Ju Lanlan's!
Ju Lanlan, dressed in a dark purple suit, sat at a table for an interview, her eyes smiling, exuding a professional and noble aura.
Reporter: "Can you reveal the specific details of the first batch of investment projects?"
Ju Lanlan smiled, "The first batch of investment projects totals about ten items, with both low and high-value investments. Specific project details will be announced in the coming days. Our staff is still intensively discussing the feasibility of the investment projects, aiming to release the most profitable ones and withdraw those with high risk and low returns. I believe everyone can find projects that interest them."
Reporter: "Where can people purchase and view the investment projects?"
Ju Lanlan: "Currently, there are three offline purchase points: the 12th floor of the Macroeconomic Building in Binhai City, No. 123 New Street in Shale City, and the Investment Bureau office at the intersection of First Avenue and Dilong Road in Oil City. In addition to offline purchases, our app is also being fast-tracked, so you can also choose to purchase via mobile, and you can view the real-time returns of your investments, which is very convenient."
After seven or eight questions, the news segment ended.
Jiang Ye gave her a thumbs-up, "Your camera presence is excellent! You look the part! Honestly, with a beauty like you talking on TV, I'm tempted to buy a few investment projects!"
"Not selling to you!" Ju Lanlan smiled and stood up, "I'm leaving, back to work. The sooner we start, the sooner we earn."
"I'll see you out," Jiang Ye stood up.
After seeing Ju Lanlan off, Jiang Ye went back to finish watching the news and then fell asleep.
He woke up feeling refreshed and entered the remote control cabin to head to Crane Star!
The rescue couldn't stop; the more people they could save, the more good deeds they would accumulate.
Waking up at the Crane Star base, Jiang Ye found that it was raining strangely outside.
Green rain, not intensely green, only a slight hint detectable upon close inspection, similar to weak tea.
Acid rain? Acid rain doesn't look like this.
Jiang Ye got up, opened the window, and reached out to catch some rain. There was no burning sensation. He brought it close to his nose and sniffed; it smelled like normal rainwater.
The plain outside was thoroughly soaked by the rain. The originally yellow soil had turned green, a light green similar to matcha cake. He remembered that more than ten hours ago, there hadn't been such a large area of green. Could it be that the rain had caused some plants to sprout?
Jiang Ye put on his gear, slung his rifle over his shoulder, and went downstairs.
At the door, he met Che Zhen, who was returning, soaked. He looked exhausted, with a cigarette dangling from his lips.
Upon seeing Jiang Ye, Che Zhen quickly spat out the cigarette, stood at attention, and saluted, "Commander! I've just returned from rescuing people in the city and plan to go offline to rest."
"What's with the green outside?" Jiang Ye asked.
"It's the environmental vaccine."
"Environmental vaccine?"
"It's a type of fungus that can resist the happy flu virus. The Air Force created a fungal cloud, and after a period of reproduction, it rained. It started four hours ago and has already covered more than half the planet," Che Zhen said. "This fungus is only auxiliary, to ease the spread of the happy flu. We still need to take this opportunity to rescue more people."
"Alright, I understand. Go back and rest," Jiang Ye nodded.
In the garage, he swiped a rescue vehicle and, without taking anyone else, drove off alone.
The car windows were constantly soaked by the fungal rain, like layers of tea. The wipers swung wildly. The rescue vehicle's wipers were vertical lines that swung left and right, covering the entire windshield. After driving for a short while, the hood began to show a thin green layer, looking like copper rapidly rusting.
Soon, he arrived at the outskirts of the city.
The previously dark, derelict cars were all covered in green, the asphalt roads were also green, and the buildings in the distance glowed green. The entire world seemed to have a light green filter.
Evening was approaching, and the sky completely darkened. The rescue vehicle automatically turned on its headlights, the yellow light illuminating the emerald green streets.
The entire city seemed empty. Jiang Ye drove through several streets without seeing a single living person, not even stray cats or dogs.
There were no bird songs either. The surroundings were eerily silent. The sound of the car tires rolling over the wet ground was exceptionally clear, along with the patter of rain. The sound of rain, paradoxically, made the vicinity seem even quieter.
He drove straight to the hospital. The hospital building was dark, its windows like caves with no light, clearly completely abandoned.
There was a shop by the roadside displaying a globe. It was likely a shop selling miscellaneous small goods and should have a map of the city.
Jiang Ye parked the rescue vehicle by the roadside, got out with his assault rifle, and turned on the flashlight attached to the gun.
Stepping onto the wet, soft road, he entered the shop.
It seemed to be a shop specializing in maps, with maps of all sizes hanging on the walls, including global and regional maps. The shape of the Crane Star continent was quite unfamiliar, resembling an octopus. On the counter, there were many exquisite boxes, which, when opened, also contained maps.
Jiang Ye searched for a long time and finally found a map of the city.
He picked up a pen from the counter and marked the map.
Three blocks from the hospital, there was "City Third Middle School," and opposite the middle school was "Inkwell Elementary School." Both were quite large, and there might be many people there. He drew two circles with the pen, planning to check these two places first.
Jiang Ye exited the shop, got into the rescue vehicle, and drove forward, honking the horn. In the silent city shrouded in fine rain, the sound of the horn felt particularly lonely.