Everyone's hunting for treasure: I'll give you 100 times the loot and hand it over to the

"Wei Xinghe is dead, but the city has been saved."

His voice was hoarse, as if he had swallowed a handful of sand.

The staff officer's hand, holding the official document, froze in mid-air, his posture still ramrod straight.

At this very moment, a top-secret urgent dispatch is being sent straight to Beijing via the red special line.

Inside the operations room of the Supreme Command in Yanjing, several printers were frantically spitting out live reports stained with blood.

The report included photos of the remains of the Unseen Envoy and the fractured core of the earth's veins, which stung everyone's eyes.

At the end of the long table, several deputy chiefs of staff who had strongly advocated for signing the purge order for the first squad stood pale-faced.

A muffled thud!

The heavy doors of the conference room were forced open, and several military police officers wearing top-grade riot locks strode in.

The cold, metallic handcuffs snapped onto the wrists of the high-ranking officials, leaving them no chance to defend themselves.

The Supreme Command's top-level order was subsequently disseminated throughout the entire army.

The unit numbers of all members of the first squad were immediately restored, and their highest access and mobilization privileges in the war zone were fully unfrozen.

The square in front of the Xichuan City Defense Building was filled with the pungent smell of ozone and rotten mud.

Dozens of logistics soldiers in white protective suits were spraying neutralizing agents on gravel.

The remaining silvery corrosive liquid reacted with the medicine, producing a fine hissing sound and releasing large plumes of acidic mist.

Two grass-green military supply trucks were parked on the side of the road, their cargo beds piled high with first-aid kits and marching rations.

Pei Zhendong, his right arm in a cast, bumped into the car door and stumbled as he ran toward the ruins of the altar.

"Captain Lu!"

Pei Zhendong's eyes were red-rimmed. He raised his only remaining left arm and was about to give a standard military salute.

Lu Yan reached out and pressed down on his wrist, forcefully pushing his arm down.

"Alright, you're still injured, stop with the nonsense."

Pei Zhendong sniffed his red nose, pursed his lips tightly, and swallowed hard before holding back his tears.

"The General Staff sent a special plane to wait at the military airport in the southern suburbs."

Pei Zhendong pointed to the end of the road. "General Wei has personally hosted a victory celebration banquet and invites you to attend."

"I'm not going."

Lu Yan turned and walked towards the curb, casually tearing off the dirty bandage wrapped around the back of his hand.

"A bunch of old men sitting in offices, all you'll hear is nonsense."

Zhao Leiguang landed hard on the spare tire of the overturned heavy truck, the rubber tire squealing under the pressure.

He grinned and roughly pried at the deformed and cracked metal arm armor on his forearm.

The buckle was stuck fast, and with a sudden burst of strength, he tore off a small piece of flesh, skin and fur.

"Ouch... Damn it, that hurts like hell!"

Zhao Leiguang threw the blood-stained scrap metal shell on the ground, rubbed his bruised wrist, and cursed loudly.

"My stomach is already empty. I'd rather be killed than be forced to drink that cat-piss liquor now."

He patted his round belly, making his breastplate clang loudly.

"I'm so hungry I could devour a whole cow! I need to find somewhere hot to eat!"

Xiao Qianyu retracted the Dragon King Halberd with her backhand, her cold and beautiful eyes revealing an unyielding weariness.

"This place doesn't even have electricity, so how can any decent restaurants open?"

Lin Chuxue followed behind, dragging the Blood Pool Staff, looking as wilted as a frostbitten eggplant.

"I want to eat meat... big chunks, fatty ones are fine too..."

The little girl's stomach rumbled loudly at just the right moment, drawing everyone's attention.

Lu Yan sheathed the Void Sword and stepped over the rubble and broken stones.

"Let's go, let's stroll along the main road, there will always be people cooking."

……

Most of the shops lining the street had their iron gates shut, and broken glass littered the ground.

A cold wind swept in along the empty street, swirling up the charred flyers scattered on the ground.

After turning the second intersection, a faint wisp of smoke from burning firewood suddenly drifted out from the sheltered street corner.

It was a small noodle shop on the street with a makeshift awning made of thick canvas.

A huge cast iron pot was bubbling with white noodle soup, and the steam made the old plastic roof bulge slightly.

The middle-aged boss behind the stove, his face covered in soot and his apron stained with grease, was hunching over as he added firewood to the stove.

Hearing the approaching, heavy sound of military boots, the boss was so startled that his hand trembled, and the firewood stick rolled to the ground.

"Sirs...sirs, our shop only has noodles, nothing else of good quality..."

The boss stole glances at the two terrifying heavy shields in Zhao Leiguang's hands, his voice trembling.

"Don't worry, the defense troops will still get paid for their noodles."

Lu Yan bent down and crawled into the low windbreak, pulled out a long wooden bench covered in oil, and sat down.

"First, six large bowls of hand-pulled wide noodles, with plenty of chili and vinegar."

Zhao Leiguang squeezed into the shed, the wooden frame creaking under his massive size.

"Boss, make the noodles thicker, and add two fried eggs to the bowl!"

Upon hearing that it was time for a proper meal, the fear in the boss's eyes subsided.

"Alright! It'll be ready in a minute. Please have a seat!"

The boss grabbed two dough balls that had been rested, and with a flick of his wrist, the thick, white noodles were tossed into the boiling water like a waterfall.

Thick white steam rose from the large iron pot, and the aroma of flour mixed with wheat instantly overpowered the smell of gunpowder on the street.

Before long, six large, coarse porcelain bowls were neatly arranged in the center of the wooden table.

The wide noodles, cooked until translucent and chewy, lie at the bottom of the bowl, topped with a layer of bright green chopped garlic sprouts and a thick layer of red chili powder.

The boss grabbed a scorching hot, long-handled iron ladle, the cooked rapeseed oil inside sizzling and emitting blue smoke.

Sizzle—!

Boiling oil was fiercely poured onto the bright red chili powder, causing white foam to surge and burst with a series of pleasant popping sounds.

An extremely strong and intense aroma of caramel and spiciness suddenly exploded in the cold shed.

Lin Chuxue, who had been drooping her head, suddenly raised it, her two round eyes shining brightly.

The little girl grabbed the rough porcelain bowl, which was bigger than her face, with both of her small hands, picked up the chopsticks, and stuffed them into her mouth.

Snore!

She slurped the noodles, coated in a tempting red chili oil, into her mouth, her cheeks bulging.

"Cough cough... It's so hot! So spicy!"

Lin Chuxue choked until her face turned red, stuck out her tongue, and frantically fanned her mouth with her chubby little hands.

But she couldn't bear to move the pair of wooden chopsticks in her hand even an inch from the bowl.

Su Yunqing sighed helplessly and patted the little girl on the back.

"Swallow slowly, no one's going to take it from you. Don't you want to ruin your stomach?"

Su Yunqing reached into the inner pocket of the medical first aid kit, pulled out a small carton of pure milk, tore open the seal, and inserted a straw.

She held the milk to Lin Chuxue's lips. "Take a couple of sips first to calm down, you're in such a hurry."

Lin Chuxue bit the straw and took a big gulp, making two muffled hums before lowering her head to eat the noodles.

Shen Xinglin sat in a corner, the joints on his armor still faintly warm.

He took off his mud-covered helmet and placed it on his knees, then pulled out a rough tissue and slowly wiped the goggles.

After thoroughly wiping the gunpowder residue off the lens, he broke apart a pair of disposable bamboo chopsticks.

Shen Xinglin picked up a strand of noodles and put it in his mouth, chewing very softly, his back still straight.

Xiao Qianyu used chopsticks to pick up a fried egg soaked in red oil from the bowl and took a small bite to break the crispy edge.

The rich aroma of egg yolk spread across her tongue, and her previously taut jawline gradually relaxed.

"It's always more comforting to eat something hot."

Xiao Qianyu muttered something under her breath and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

Wen Yue leaned against the rough wooden pillar supporting the shed, holding half a bowl of noodle soup in her hand, not in a hurry to eat the noodles.

She swipes open the tactical terminal with one hand, the screen's pale blue light reflecting off her expressionless profile.

The list of fallen soldiers on the Nishikawa defense line is being updated page by page, densely packed with familiar names.

Wen Yue lowered her head and swallowed a mouthful of scalding hot noodle soup. The heat rushed into her throat, and a faint mist rose in her eyes.

She didn't say anything, but simply reached out and turned off the terminal screen, placing it face down on the rough tabletop.

"That feels great! This is the kind of life a human being should live!"

Zhao Leiguang had already finished his second bowl, the soup dripping down his stubble.

He smeared his mouth with chili oil, picked up the third bowl, and slurped it down without even chewing.

With a loud thud, he slammed the large bowl down on the table, leaving the bottom so clean that not even a single scallion remained.

The burly man let out a satisfied sigh, leaned back in his chair, patted his belly, and revealed his first silly grin since arriving in the city.

"I've been stuck in that godforsaken place for so long, I've been dreaming about this chili oil all the time."

The rain outside the shed had stopped sometime ago, and the sunlight was gradually dispelling the thick, leaden clouds.

Lu Yan ate quickly, and the wide noodles in his hand were already empty.

He picked up the cup of cheap tea that had long since gone cold from the corner of the table, gulped it down, and suppressed the spiciness in his mouth.

Then, he reached into the inner pocket of his training uniform and pulled out several crumpled but neatly folded banknotes.

Lu Yan stood up and neatly pressed the banknotes under his rough porcelain bowl.

"Let's go, it's time to get to work."

Lu Yan tightened the collar of his tactical windbreaker and stepped out of the awning.

Zhao Leiguang grabbed two large shields, a toothpick clenched in his mouth, and swaggered out after them.

Xiao Qianyu and Wen Yue neatly packed up their weapons and stood guard on either side of the flanks.

The morning light tore through the heavy gloom over Xichuan City, casting several long, dark shadows onto the long, ruined street.

The group strode across the broken rubble towards the lingering dark red sky in the east.