Chapter 58 Special Supply Tea

Xu Chen stared at the photograph, his gaze seemingly welded to it, unable to move a fraction.

He only felt himself growing minuscule, sinking downward, sinking!

He heard the roaring of the wind whistling past his ears, and the high-altitude chill began to wrap incessantly around him!

Looking around to his sides and then downward, he saw two airplanes soaring over a tawny expanse of land!

Plump barley was sown across this earth, and the scent of harvest drifted through the air.

In the distance stood an ancient city forged of bronze and iron, gleaming brilliantly beneath the bathing sunlight!

He heard a murmuring, whisper-like phrase in English, yet he understood its meaning with absolute clarity.

"...And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth..."

As the murmur faded, an ink-like darkness spread toward the ancient city, and that ancient metropolis ceased to glow.

He felt himself still sinking. Raising his gaze, he saw those two airplanes flying right above him.

Spotted wisps of cotton-like material crawled like living things on the ground, undulating like the sea and dotting the layers of wheat waves.

Those wisps drifted with the wind toward the walls of the ancient city, sharing in the clamor within with Xu Chen, and then ascended triumphantly on the wind with a grim smile!

It wantonly scattered its spores, and its progeny would fall upon the crowds and the heart of the waters with the air currents.

The crowd coughed and walked in haste, completely unaware that this place was ultimately doomed to destruction!

Xu Chen screamed, releasing his grip on the photograph, along with the documents he had just signed.

Coming back to his senses, he realized he was still inside the Commander’s office, covered in a cold sweat.

When his eyes fell upon the photograph lying face down on the floor, they were filled with deep apprehension.

The Commander looked at Xu Chen in utter perplexity, having no idea why he had reacted so violently.

Meanwhile, Xu Chen began to wonder what on earth he had just seen.

When he looked at that photograph, his consciousness seemed to have been dragged into a very bizarre space.

Those wisps that seemed to possess life... were they perhaps some kind of fungus, and did they appear to be infecting some massive city? Even the various crops planted around it could not escape this calamity?

"Xu Chen, what is wrong with you?"

"Oh, oh, nothing." Thinking deeply, Xu Chen squatted down to gather his scattered documents, remaining in a daze even after finishing.

The Commander looked anxiously at Political Commissar Wang, then back at him.

"Are you certain you are fine? Were you frightened by this photograph?"

Xu Chen suddenly froze. Recollecting the moment, he realized he had been so caught up in the sensations that he hadn't even looked at the actual content depicted within the photograph.

Suppressing the apprehension in his heart, he forcibly flipped the photograph over and took another glance.

Then, his brow furrowed deeply.

The photograph showed an aerial view of a massive pit piled densely with black, humanoid objects. To use a crude comparison, it looked like a gigantic landfill specifically designated for inflatable dolls—specifically the kind that hadn't been deflated yet.

Because these humanoid figures were not shriveled at all, appearing merely a size "fatter" than a normal human being.

Immediately afterward, Xu Chen noticed something amiss. Some of the mannequins didn't seem quite that fat, so he looked more closely.

This build... this posture... and this color...

Then he realized, why did they look more and more like actual living people? Or rather, dead ones? Were they just covered in something on the surface that made them look a size larger?

After confirming this multiple times, Xu Chen's expression turned grim.

Though he couldn't recognize what was wrapped around these corpses, he was certain it was nothing good, most likely that same fungus again.

However, if these really were human corpses, holy hell, there were simply far too many of them here!

A conservative estimate would be over a thousand.

"This... where was this photo taken?"

Seeing Xu Chen calm down, the Commander also let out a sigh of relief. "This is in Bharat."

Xu Chen instantly recalled the inexplicable sensation he had just experienced and instinctively asked, "Is it the ancient city with vast wheat fields?"

The Commander was extremely surprised. He exchanged glances with Political Commissar Wang.

Political Commissar Wang caught his meaning and slowly shook his head, indicating that he had not leaked the information.

"Hmm? How did you know that?"

Now it was Xu Chen's turn to scratch his head in confusion. He looked at the photograph. "Um... I could tell just by looking at the picture."

He felt rather puzzled as to what had just happened to him.

The Commander took back the photograph and glanced at it. It showed nothing more than a mass grave pit, without the slightest trace of an ancient city. He began to suspect that Xu Chen possessed some very special attributes.

Sighing, he patted Xu Chen's arm, took the documents from his hand, and handed them to Political Commissar Wang.

Xu Chen jolted slightly from the pat, snapping out of his train of thought.

"Very well, Comrade Xu Chen. You have already signed those documents and submitted your application, and on behalf of the organization, I welcome you.

Now, stand at attention!"

Xu Chen involuntarily snapped to attention.

"Face the flag, raise your right hand and make a fist!"

"Huh?" Xu Chen was momentarily stunned.

Seeing the solemn expression in the Commander's eyes, he once again found himself complying instinctively.

"As your superior officer, I will lead you in reciting the oath. Follow closely."

Still somewhat bewildered, Xu Chen nodded.

"I voluntarily..."

"I voluntarily..."

...

"Oath-taker: Zhao Yixin!"

"Oath-taker: Xu Chen!"

The Commander lowered his arm, looked solemnly at Xu Chen, and said, "Now, we are comrades. Do not fail the organization's expectations; go give 'Him' a taste of our power."

"Yes!"

Although Xu Chen still wasn't quite sure how he had ended up finishing the oath, he had indeed intended to join the organization back in his university days, and he hadn't expected his wish to be fulfilled today.

Having taken the oath, Xu Chen felt flooded with strength and devoid of all fear.

Cthulhu? What the hell was that? If "He" were to appear right now, Xu Chen would dare to greet "Him" with a worker's sledgehammer.

"The project you are joining still lacks one component, which is currently in production, and your files also require time to be archived. Do you plan to return to school, or wait here? If you stay here, the military region will request leave on your behalf, and you can also make some preparations in advance."

Xu Chen suddenly thought of his parents.

"Neither. Since I am not needed at the moment, I would like to go back and stay with my parents first."

"Hmm... I see." The Commander nodded. "Your mission is indeed dangerous, and this is a reasonable request. I will have someone deliver your items to you afterward... Do you have any other requests?"

Xu Chen thought for a moment, and just as he was about to shake his head, a thought struck him.

He looked gravely at Commander Zhao. "Recently, the pressure on domestic medical services has reached a critical threshold, and many hospitals can no longer accommodate patients..."

The Commander nodded, pulled two sheets of paper from the file on his desk, and handed them to Xu Chen.

"Regarding this situation, the national health commission and various hospitals have already issued early warnings to us. We have already issued orders; these two copies are backups of the response action plans. Guiding directives have been dispatched, and all units are responding accordingly."

Xu Chen took them and looked them over.

First was interviewing domestic pharmaceutical enterprises to increase production capacity while stabilizing drug prices. Second was initiating emergency medical protocols, breaking the rules to promote doctors to increase their numbers, and then setting up field hospitals outside permanent medical facilities with tents provided by the military region, alongside the establishment of cabin hospitals.

Following that were more detailed measures, many of which cited their origins, including nuanced suggestions proposed by professional physicians and relevant experts.

For instance, assessing the degree of urgency for patients to determine the conditions of treatment they would receive, and altering resuscitation protocols in emergency departments.

Essentially, it aimed to cure as many patients as possible with limited medical resources.

Many of these measures truly opened Xu Chen's eyes.

He silently evaluated them in his mind: if his own mother were coughing up blood again, this mechanism, if properly implemented, would certainly ensure she received timely treatment.

Only then did Xu Chen look at the Commander and nod.

He approved of this plan.

"Good, pack up all the files we compiled earlier and give them to him." The Commander looked at Xu Chen. "Right, also give him a pound of tea leaves as a token of the organization's regards."

...

And so, Xu Chen walked back out through the main gates with three or four top-secret yellow paper file folders tucked under his arm, carrying two bags of tea leaves.

He looked somewhat distressed at the tea leaves in his hand, wondering what to do with them.

After all, he didn't drink tea himself.

After a brief thought, however, an idea struck him. He planned to give these tea leaves to his old man and tell him they were special reserves supplied exclusively to the military region.

At least the packaging looked impressive, and the goods themselves were genuine—he wasn't lying.