Chapter 199: Ryan's Retirement Life

sorry for the late update, my internet was down all day yesterday

Ryan and Mei discussed things into the night, until Mei had to attend the monthly summary meeting, and Ryan slept until noon. When he opened his eyes, he still felt a little sleepy.

Recently, he had become increasingly lazy.

He sat up, scratched his messy hair. He used to be a workaholic, sometimes staying up for several days in a row. But as the world became more and more corrupted, his life seemed to have gotten easier.

"Hmm, everyone's grown up. There's no need for me to stress myself out and worry about everything."

Now, at headquarters, there's Mei, and for research, there's Mobius and Vil-V. In battle, Kevin and others share the burden. If something happens, there are plenty of people to discuss it with.

So it's only natural to be idle.

He got up, washed up, and walked into the living room in his pajamas. He found breakfast on the table with a note attached.

"Senior brother, I'm off to work. Please heat up the breakfast and eat. For lunch, there's leftover food in the fridge, or you can go out to eat. I've marked the restaurants with a decent standard around here."

"The second drawer when you enter has money. I told you I'd cover your expenses in Tokyo. Now that I'm working, it's my turn to take care of you."

Ryan silently smiled, unable to describe the exact feeling. It was a warm feeling, despite the cold summer.

He placed the breakfast in the microwave, then stood by the window, staring at the dense snowfall, and couldn't help but yawn.

"Why does it feel like I'm really on vacation this time? I just can't get into the mood."

Ding—

The microwave beeped, and he went over to take the buns and soy milk. He wandered around the room aimlessly for a few circles before returning to the couch and grabbing the remote to turn on the TV.

It was Tokyo TV's morning news, but Ryan didn't really pay attention, just using it as background noise while eating. When a certain news segment came up, he glanced up.

"This morning, the Administration Bureau held its regular meeting, where Director Takeuchi announced plans for the second half of the year. The focus will be on improving material support, addressing unemployment, and apologizing for the Herrscher Beast invasion."

Ryan raised his head and saw a group of politicians bowing in front of the flashing cameras.

Private Red Bean Mash.

"Truly traditional entertainment," Ryan chuckled as he looked at the politician in the center of the screen.

The man appeared to be in his late forties or early fifties, with graying hair, a well-balanced physique, and a stern face. His triangular eyes made him look somewhat sinister.

The concept of pre-civilization countries was vague. After the third Herrscher event, power was reorganized. The Fire Moth branches were responsible for military matters, while the Administration Bureau, based on its jurisdictional size, became various levels of government agencies. The two mutually infiltrated and balanced each other.

In other words, this Takeuchi was somewhat like a prime minister, his position higher than Edwyn of the Far East Branch, because he might be a member of the Fire Moth Council.

"Should be a very strong possibility. This conglomerate controls Neon's economic lifeblood, so it can almost be considered a private territory. Sigh, sometimes Herrscher energy is such a useful tool."

Herrscher energy could do anything—no need to assassinate political rivals. Just launch a Herrscher energy warhead, and there's a chance that Herrscher Beasts would show up. Rescue teams could be a bit slow, and it'd be easy to collect the bodies.

"Leave these annoying matters to Mobius. I'm not in the mood to deal with them." Ryan flipped through the channels. All the TV stations were covering this meeting, so he turned it off in frustration.

The room once again fell silent. Ryan glanced out the window at the snow and quickly went over what needed to be done in his mind, then realized there wasn't much to do.

The Herrscher hadn't shown up yet, and in his vacation state, there was no need to report back to the Far East Branch. While thinking, he noticed the footprints on the floor, which Carol had left after not changing her shoes yesterday.

Well, since I have nothing to do, I might as well clean up.

Ryan stood up, reigniting his motivation, and went to the bathroom to grab a mop. He scrubbed the whole house until the floor was shining, then started tidying up the kitchen.

Picking up the trash, straightening photos, cleaning the coffee table, and making the windows spotless. Finally, when he started to remove the sofa covers to throw them in the washing machine, he noticed something under the cushion.

Hmm? What's this?

Ryan lifted the cushion and saw a purple item underneath. He picked it up and froze.

Purple lace, sheer material, the parts that should be exposed were fully revealed. With his extensive experience, Ryan immediately recognized what it was. But then the problem arose.

Why is this here? Is it Fu Hua?

Impossible. She's not like Mobius, deliberately playing tricks on me. And with this size, if she wore it, it would be like wearing hollow armor!

The problem came back to square one—whose is it, and why is it here?

Ryan immediately thought of Carol, but that girl's size wasn't this big either. He went through the people at the Far East Branch in his mind and quickly found a potential target.

Only Himeko. That woman is so bold. She came here to drink, got drunk, and even dared to go home in a vacuum state. But why would she take it off?

"Why do I always find other people's big secrets lately?"

Ryan didn't fully understand, but when it came to Hua, Ryan decided he had to give her a good talking-to.

...

The Far East Branch had already moved from Changkong City to Tokyo, where there was a large military port. From the shore, the dense battleships gave a strong sense of security.

At the airport, armed helicopters kept taking off and landing, the cabin doors opening to send in maimed soldiers, and doctors rushed in. They had no sympathy for the screams, just numbness.

The high-intensity battles had been going on for more than a year, and frontline personnel had already rotated out. Fortunately, the Far East Branch, as a base for the younger generation, was still strong enough to hold on.

"The North of Shinmu City has been designated as a no-go zone. The third team sent to cover the evacuation suffered heavy losses."

"Didn't the higher-ups say there's no need to evacuate people?"

"If we don't protect the people, why are we fighting? Are we going to be like Europe, just pack up and leave?"

"But the population in the protected areas is growing. Eventually, there will be a food shortage."

"So we need support from headquarters."

Various voices penetrated Hua ears as she walked through the crowd. Her black-and-gold uniform set her apart from the regular soldiers, and as she passed, the discussions immediately stopped.

The soldiers didn't care about her youthful appearance, immediately standing at attention and saluting.

"Good morning, Lieutenant Hua."

"Lieutenant, please instruct us."

If Ryan had seen this scene, he would have been surprised. The little girl he knew had gradually become a hero, admired by everyone.

Like all Fire Moth branches, the regular forces formed the base, and the fusion warriors were the sharp edge. Their title, "monsters," was earned through the slaughter of corpses.

After the Fusion Warrior plan was fully implemented, the Far East Branch had three Fusion Warrior squads, and Hua, as the only senior-level Fusion Warrior, naturally became a key figure.

Hua returned the salutes, then looked toward the transport planes landing, some of them unloading five- to six-meter-high robots.

"Just arrived from Mu Continent?"

"Mm, the second batch of GAX02 manned mechs. Headquarters was very pleased with our previous test results, so they sent us the latest batch." A soldier flipped through the inventory list, then continued, "The third batch is on the way, and I heard it's equipped with an autonomous computer, capable of unmanned combat."

With Vil-V's involvement and the already established technological foundation, Fire Moth saw this as a good method to counterbalance the fusion warriors and increased their investment.

"What's with those trucks? Shouldn't they be delivered to the hangar for debugging?"

"They're from the Defense Department of the Administration Bureau. There was a meeting this morning. They said we're responsible for the outer defenses, and they'll handle the internal cleanup to avoid another crisis like last time."

Hua nodded slightly, not finding any faults. Fire Moth was built on military foundations, but it couldn't take all the military forces. The various administrative bureaus also held military power.

They couldn't touch the Fusion Warriors, but these mass-produced combat mechs could still be equipped.

"Go lend a hand. With them holding the inner circle, we'll have less trouble."

"Yes, Lieutenant."

A group of people who had just been chatting hurriedly got to work, and Hua entered the base's main entrance. After passing the ID check, she pressed the elevator button to go underground.

Her work wasn't particularly urgent. She usually just did some training, simulated battles, and stayed in the break room. Only when encountering senior Herrscher Beasts would she be called to fight.

In the room, there were about a dozen people, all Fusion Warriors. Most of them were new faces, recently assigned from headquarters.

She glanced at a blond young man in the middle. He was handsome, and when he noticed her gaze, he flashed a sunny smile, only to be ignored.

Hua, who wasn't a particularly enthusiastic person, casually looked away and turned to her friend.

Carol was a mental-specialized Fusion Warrior, able to communicate with teammates within a certain range and ignore Herrscher interference. This support role was quite rare.

"Where's the captain?"

"She's in her room, skiving off and drinking. Isn't that how she always is? Come on, take a look at my new nails." Carol waved her purple-red nails.

"Pretty." Hua replied perfunctorily.

"You're such a bore," Carol rolled her eyes and quickly moved closer to Hua, elbowing her flat chest. "By the way, did you use that thing? You didn't do anything last night, did you?"

What could I do?

Hua thought back to being struck by the luck of a lucky player the night before, feeling frustrated all night. Suddenly, her face turned pale.

Right, that thing is still under the couch!

She suddenly remembered this deadly issue and turned to run.

"You've killed me!"

She moved so fast that Carol didn't react in time. She only scratched her head after Hua ran out of the break room.

How did I kill you?

This was a little morning interlude. The newly arrived Fusion Warriors looked at each other, watching the young girl's hurried figure.

Is this the Far East Branch's trump card? Is this the one the Intelligence Department is keeping an eye on?

Aren't they being too careful?