Chapter Twenty-Nine: Gathering Supplies!

Fan Si spent a full ten minutes reading through everything. When he finished, he was stunned—but above all, his heart blazed with burning patriotism.

His wife, Jia Banxiang, had received the same message and immediately began to curse and rant, “No! Why should we just give up our shop? Absolutely not!”

Fan Si went over to her, his expression grave, startling Jia Banxiang.

“Why are you looking at me like that? You nearly scared me to death!” She patted her chest, trying to calm herself.

“Don’t curse yet. Read it all first.” Fan Si said in a low voice. He knew that once his wife finished reading, she wouldn’t be so quick to complain; in fact, she might be even more enthusiastic than himself.

Jia Banxiang frowned and opened the link. Her initial impatience shifted to surprise, then shock, and finally transformed into passion and emotion. The changing expressions reflected the turmoil within her heart.

After a long moment, Jia Banxiang calmed herself. Her clear eyes turned to Fan Si. “The nation is now in dire straits. We must do what we can, whatever is within our power.”

Fan Si nodded hurriedly. “Yes, alright! I’ll follow your lead. Let’s go to the shop entrance and greet the officials.”

“Good!” Jia Banxiang took Fan Si’s arm, and together they went to open the shop’s door to welcome the officials.

When they arrived, military trucks lined the street, and many suited staff stood at the entrances of every shop. Fan Si’s small store was no exception.

“Hello! I am Fan Si, the owner of this shop,” he said to the unfamiliar man before him.

Chu Xiao nodded, “Alright. Please open the door. The Nine Provinces will be grateful for your contribution.”

Chu Xiao had come himself to oversee the operation, wanting to observe the people’s reactions. Seeing such enthusiasm, he felt reassured.

“Alright!” As soon as Fan Si finished speaking, Jia Banxiang had already opened the shop door.

Suddenly, loud voices erupted nearby. Fan Si looked over—it was Wang Er from next door.

“I won’t! I refuse! Why? This is my property, you have to respect my rights!” Wang Er shouted, blocking the doorway and refusing to let anyone enter.

The officials looked to Chu Xiao for help.

Chu Xiao’s expression remained unchanged.

“Hello. I am Chu Xiao, the chief coordinator of this operation,” he said politely to Wang Er.

Wang Er scoffed and ignored him.

“You may feel this is unfair, but our decision is compelled by circumstances. You may be dissatisfied, but this must be enforced. If you don’t comply, in two months’ time, the nation will not have the resources to protect you.”

“You are free to take your supplies and leave the city, seek shelter elsewhere.”

At these words, Wang Er’s face turned ashen, as if he’d swallowed a bitter pill. Without the country’s protection, surviving in chaos became even more hopeless.

“Alright, I understand. Go ahead,” Wang Er replied, forced by necessity.

“Thank you for your contribution on behalf of the nation,” Chu Xiao said, offering no further words. At that moment, he seemed almost like a machine programmed for patriotism, immune to any other emotion.

His adjutant, Hao Jie, muttered quietly, “This guy—just let him take his supplies and go. We don’t need his little stash anyway.”

Chu Xiao turned to Hao Jie, his expression unreadable.

“Focus on your duties. Our responsibility is to protect the Nine Provinces. Anyone who contributes, we will protect.”

Hao Jie’s pupils widened at Chu Xiao’s words. Meeting Chu Xiao’s cold gaze, he lowered his head and fell silent.

Fan Si, watching Wang Er’s behavior, snorted, barely refraining from looking down his nose at him.

Jia Banxiang felt the same. Nothing disgusted her more than men who cared only for petty profits when the country faced disaster.

By day’s end, the supplies collected in Mingzhu City alone amounted to tens of thousands of tons.

Yet Chu Xiao realized another issue: now there were many vacant rooms and extra manpower.

If these were put to good use, the struggle against the Lord of the Underworld would gain another advantage.

Allocation of manpower and unused resources was crucial at this time.

Chu Xiao’s mind kept spinning, searching for the best way to make use of them. Those empty rooms could house displaced citizens, and the manpower could be assigned to build bases or help manage the massive stores of supplies.

At dawn the next day, Chu Xiao found Number One and brought up the issue.

Number One nodded, “Good thinking, very thorough. I’ll have the relevant departments draft measures and get them out quickly.”

“Alright,” Chu Xiao replied, his face as expressionless as ever.

Number One had noticed the changes in Chu Xiao. He was not the same as when they first met—back then, Chu Xiao would sometimes smile or show other expressions. Now, the only thing left was a constant tension.

“Chu Xiao, I need to talk to you,” Number One said, worried that Chu Xiao would eventually break under such strain.

“What is it?” Chu Xiao looked at him, his eyes devoid of emotion.

Except for the slight furrow of his brow, Chu Xiao showed no sign of being a normal person.

“Chu Xiao, I hope you’ll take care of yourself. Don’t place so much pressure on your shoulders,” Number One said with heartfelt concern.

Chu Xiao suddenly stood up, silent, and strode toward the door. When he reached it, his voice drifted back.

“The responsibilities I bear mean I can only think of the Nine Provinces—nothing else.”

“If a man has witnessed his nation’s ruin, the death of family and friends, the loss of his beloved, then all that remains in his heart is the resolve to do everything possible to protect what still exists.”

“I used to hold some illusions, but after returning from the States, I understood: only by fighting with our backs to the wall can we defeat the Lord of the Underworld and protect the Nine Provinces—protect those we love.”

Chu Xiao’s words were spoken as much to himself as to Number One. The pain he had suffered, he never wished to endure again.