Chapter 63

"Hard to say, over a hundred years have passed. Even if it's not, the time difference wouldn't be much."

"The damn war." Du Qian's face twisted in a curse. As a war orphan, he certainly didn't like war.

"No one likes war, but it will come eventually, right? We can't resist, we can only try to survive in the war." Gu Zhengdao took a sip of tea, his face calm, speaking like a philosopher.

"War isn't new. Actually, there are only two things we need to do. One, find a way to survive. Two, eliminate the enemy as much as possible."

It made sense, but neither of these things was easy. Surviving in a war is incredibly difficult, and even if you haven't experienced it, you know it. Even War Kings die in droves, and even if you're a War Master, you can't guarantee your survival.

As for eliminating the enemy, it's no easier. They want to survive too. On and off the battlefield, everyone fights to the death. Why should you be the one to survive?

"This is the meaning of war from an individual's perspective. As for the national perspective, you should have learned a lot in school, right?"

Du Qian looked up at Gu Zhengdao, his eyes unfocused. "Uncle, what's wrong with you? We're not that close, are we? I know you have a purpose for coming to see me, but you don't have to keep talking about these things."

First, he told me the Sixth Fleet had left port, making me feel the war was approaching. Then, he discussed the meaning of war from both personal and national perspectives. What a load of crap. I'm just a nobody, even if I join the Flying Tiger Team, I'm still a nobody.

"National strength is the prerequisite for winning a war. Combat power is national strength. A country can be poor, as long as people can eat. It can be underdeveloped, as long as people can wear clothes. But if the average combat power is too low, the consequences will be dire. At best, territory will be ceded; at worst, the country will fall. As for how many will die in the process, that becomes a minor issue." Gu Zhengdao seemed to ignore Du Qian's unfocused gaze and continued speaking.

"Alright, what do you want to say, Gu Manager? You didn't come here just to discuss the meaning of war, did you?" Du Qian was very busy. Making millions in a minute was a joke, but making a few dollars in a few minutes was possible.

After all, absorbing a spirit horn was worth a hundred dollars.

"This thing, do you recognize it?" Gu Manager was taken aback, a bitter smile on his face. Indeed, Du Qian was just a little orphan. The people above always think too much. They want to enlighten him with righteousness and move him with emotion.

He hadn't even finished his speech about the pain of war orphans, the loss of parents, and the glory of being a military child.

Forget it, saying these things wouldn't be as practical as giving Du Qian a few thousand dollars. Why go through such a roundabout way?

People are like that. Standing in different positions, they see different things and think about others based on their own thoughts.

But he had nothing to complain about. In the Pingchuan Snowfall Merchant Association, he was just a low-level manager. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been sent to the Fisherman's Wharf. With this opportunity, he naturally didn't want to miss it.

If this matter was handled well, he could leave the Fisherman's Wharf immediately, even be transferred back to headquarters.

"I recognize it." Another spirit component. Damn, another spirit component.

"Can you tell me who developed this process? Xiao Qian, this is very, very important, for you, for me, for the entire empire." Gu Manager said with a serious face.

He looked down on the people above for their blind command, but he wasn't much better. As a manager of a large merchant association, his perspective was different from Du Qian's, and he would naturally act based on assumptions.

Du Qian didn't like this. What does it matter to me if it's important to the empire? My parents have already contributed to the empire. What more do you want?

"It must be the Association. I used their spirit talismans and learned it." He answered reluctantly, but he did. The Gu Manager in front of him couldn't do much to him, but the Snowfall Merchant Association was a behemoth. The Pingchuan branch was just a part of it, with headquarters in Shangjing, the capital.

Even if his so-called backer was Sikong Yi, would they remember him? Even if they did, would they fight the Snowfall Merchant Association for a nobody? Wake up.

Since they were asking about these trivial matters, he might as well answer honestly. He was brought up by Uncle Feng, the honest one. From now on, he would be Du Lao Shi (Du Honest).

"These spirit talismans." He flipped his hand, revealing a storage box. Inside were the first type of spirit talismans Du Qian had used. Du Qian couldn't tell the difference between them and the other two. They were all spirit talismans, after all. How would he know without using them?

"Probably." Du Qian said uncertainly.

"Xiao Qian, can you describe what happened in detail?"

The Snowfall Merchant Association was far more meticulous and rigorous than Fei Xue. They not only understood the process clearly but also obtained the spirit components and the spirit talismans Du Qian had used.

The research results were inconclusive. The spirit talismans were still the same. The problem wasn't with them, meaning the spirit components and the process improvement didn't come from the Association.

The Association was vast, with branches in every city, but compared to the semi-official Snowfall Merchant Association, it was far behind. As long as the Snowfall Merchant Association was serious, getting the relevant information from the Association was too easy.

Du Lao Shi naturally answered honestly. "What do you want to know, I'll tell you. It's just ten dollars, right? Why are you all so focused on this? It's not easy to earn money. I just made a bit, and you're all after me."

It's not right for big companies to compete with the common people for profit.

Du Qian naturally wouldn't say this. He grumbled inwardly as he described the process in great detail. He learned it by using the spirit talismans, learning two processes. One was difficult, the other simple. Any fool would choose the simple one, so he made these spirit components.

After finishing, Du Qian realized he was pretty foolish. At the beginning, he had tried the difficult one, found it didn't work, and then switched to the simple one.

"Two processes? You mean, after using the spirit talismans, you learned two processes?" Gu Manager exclaimed in surprise.

The Association didn't have many of these spirit talismans. The Snowfall Merchant Association spent a lot of effort and only obtained three of each type. One had already been used, and it only taught one process. It was impossible to teach two unless Du Qian's was different.

"Yes." Du Qian said confidently, his eyes bright and unflinching. He wasn't lying; he had always believed this.

Using the spirit talismans, three nebulae appeared, teaching him things. That's how it was.

Before this, Du Qian had only heard of spirit talismans but never used them. Naturally, he didn't know what to expect. Through personal experience, he naturally accepted this phenomenon.

"I have two more spirit talismans. Try them." Gu Manager took out two spirit talismans and pushed them toward Du Qian.

Spirit talismans were toys to experts, who could identify them at a glance. Du Qian, a complete novice, held them and felt the vibrations for a while before realizing he had used them before.

"Gu Manager, I've already used these two spirit talismans."

"Used them?"

"Uh-huh."

"Who gave them to you?"

Du Qian was about to speak when the door opened, and Zhao Hui walked in with a stern face. "Du Qian, you have a mission immediately. Don't you know it's an emergency? You're actually chatting."

"Mr. Zhao, you—?" Gu Manager frowned, speaking. As a low-level manager at the Fisherman's Wharf, he didn't even have the right to enter the Flying Tiger Team, but today he was allowed in, thanks to someone's effort.

Zhao Hui, he knew, had low combat power but was Fei Xue's most trusted advisor. He could make decisions in Fei Xue's absence.

Under normal circumstances, Gu Zhengdao wouldn't dare to speak to Zhao Hui like this, but the timing was off today.

"Gu Manager, we don't have time for this. I know someone vouched for you, but the Flying Tiger Team is short-staffed. All personnel must be mobilized. Since you're here, you'll be temporarily conscripted into the Flying Tiger Team."

Without waiting for Du Qian and Gu Zhengdao's reactions, they were hurriedly pushed into a permanent fortress, becoming honorable ammunition handlers.

Boring, extremely boring. The fortress was small, with only two firing ports. A few square meters, unable to stand straight, three heavy weapons, ammunition boxes, and four people made it hard to turn around.

If it were a real battle, it would be better. At least there would be something to do, not just waiting. In fact, the Flying Tiger Team headquarters wasn't under attack, and the streets were empty. They could only wait.

Until the distant convoy returned, and it was almost dark, the emergency was lifted. Du Qian was allowed to return to his office, and Gu Zhengdao had already disappeared.

Fei Xue returned, didn't even drink water, and called Zhao Hui to his office.

"How is it?" Zhao Hui's pupils contracted, a bit nervous. He knew Fei Xue too well.

Fei Xue was injured.

"It's nothing, just a minor injury. I'll recover in a few days. Don't tell anyone." He took the cup and drank it dry, speaking in a low voice.

"Do you need—?"

"No, strategic reserves. Use a little, lose a little. There's too little of it, and even with money, you can't buy it. If we can avoid using it, we will." Fei Xue said firmly.

"Alright, not much is happening at home. The Snowfall people came to see Du Qian. The mayor's chief secretary called, in a private capacity. I didn't notice at first, but later I realized and sent them to the fortress." Zhao Hui said.

"Chief Secretary Zhu, the mayor?"

"Probably not." Zhao Hui shook his head. As the mayor of Pingchuan, Zhu Zhenqing was a public figure, thoroughly studied. His background was strong, but he was an outsider with limited control over the local area. This probably wasn't his order.

In Zhao Hui's eyes, the second mayor, Zhang Yu, was the real smart one.

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