Zhou Jiuya, you’re this stingy!

The imperial‍⁠‌⁠‌⁠⁠⁠‍‍‌‍⁠⁠​⁠‌‍‌⁠​‍‍‍ army returned to Bright City to rest.

This unprecedented victory had nearly set the entire First Legion ablaze with excitement. The entire base was brightly lit, filled with celebrations. After consulting with the Emperor, Zhou Jiuya lifted the ban on alcohol, which was rare.

“Commander, lifting the alcohol ban… is that really okay?”

Lieutenant Li Ya, though unable to hide his excitement, still had some concerns.

“It’s fine; the new patrols are all arranged.”

Zhou Jiuya waved his hand dismissively.

Not to mention, the Zergs didn’t drink alcohol, and their patrol and reconnaissance teams were just as effective as radar.

“For nearly two hundred years, the Empire has been embroiled in conflict, with countless skirmishes, but most of the time, it’s been a case of hurting a thousand enemies while losing eight hundred allies. It’s normal to celebrate and relax a bit after achieving such a complete victory for the first time.”

“Yes!”

The lieutenant nodded excitedly. But after a moment, he noticed that Zhou Jiuya didn’t seem excited or joyful; instead, he appeared somewhat dazed.

“Is the Commander still worried about something?”

“…”

Zhou Jiuya was silent for a moment before waving his hand.

“There’s nothing to worry about. You don’t need to keep an eye on me tonight; go drink with them.”

“Yes!”

The lieutenant strode out, and as the door opened, the sounds of enthusiastic cheers from outside could be clearly heard. But once it closed, Zhou Jiuya’s office fell into silence.

“…It’s okay, Xiao Jiu.”

After a moment, Wan Jiang’s voice quietly came out and his steady and authoritative tone was tinged with a hint of sympathy.

“After this battle, His Majesty will issue bonuses. I just helped you apply for a new salary card; the bonuses will be deposited onto the new card, which should be enough for daily living, though… it might be a bit tight.”

Zhou Jiuya: “……”

The Legion Commander silently covered his eyes with his hand.

Zhou Jiuya had never used a single penny from the Jiang family, so he had been quite poor during his childhood. Later, after joining the military, all his living expenses were covered by the state, so he hadn’t had many opportunities to spend money. As a result, all his salary, allowances, and bonuses had been saved in that one card, which he hadn’t touched much. He had quietly saved for over three hundred years.

—But now it was all gone.

Zhou Jiuya had no house, lived in the military camp, had no car but he drove Wan Jiang, oh right, the ownership of Wan Jiang belonged to the Empire, so now he was essentially a person with nothing—no house, no car, and no savings.

Probably no one in the world would believe that the esteemed Commander of the Empire’s First Legion was now a penniless person with nothing.

But of course, he wasn’t reluctant to give Jiang Ci money, nor did he regret it.

It was just that first, the little cabbage had been eaten by Zergs, then they had split up, and now Jiang Ci was pregnant… with an egg. Following that, his savings accumulated for over three hundred years had suddenly vanished. Zhou Jiuya felt a bit empty inside, a kind of indescribable… sense of loss.

So while the entire legion celebrated, the Legion Commander was the only one contemplating life.

“Hey! Little Birdie Zhou—”

Ye Shu strode in, looking quite displeased.

Ever since the last incident, Ye Shu had been avoiding Zhou Jiuya. This time, the deployment for battle had been too rushed, and at that moment, Ye Shu was still digesting the fact that his stern and cold idol was actually a silly and goofy person. Since he wasn’t part of the First Legion’s military system, he hadn’t joined the front lines but had been notified to stay behind in Bright City. Therefore, he only had a rough idea of the battlefield situation.

“Um… I heard that Wen Xubai was sent to the battlefield by the Zergs?”

Every time the army went to war, there would be a dedicated medical team, but Wen Xubai had been sent directly to the battlefield by the Zergs, which could only mean that something had happened to Jiang Ci. However, when Wen Xubai returned, he immediately locked himself in his private medical room. Ye Shu couldn’t see him and didn’t want to go see Pei Changyun, and since he wasn’t very familiar with Jiang Ci, he could only come to find Zhou Jiuya.

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Zhou Jiuya: “…”

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“Ye Shu, do you have any money?”

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“Yes, why?”

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“Oh, it’s nothing major; it’s just that Jiang Ci has a child now.”

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That’s called nothing major?!!

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“What do you mean, ‘having a child’?”

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A! Clear! Bolt! Out of! Nowhere!

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“So… what do we do?”

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“…What do you mean, ‘what do we do?'”

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“This is my congratulatory gift, and His Majesty sent a detection space station as well, just for your reference.”

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Seeing Ye Shu’s shocked expression, Zhou Jiuya finally felt a bit better. After all, he couldn’t be the only one left as a poor fool. Ye Shu had received so many benefits from Jiang Ci, so it was only fair that he contributed something as well.

Don't scrape

“Pei Changyun is doing okay, but Zhou Jiuya, are you being too stingy?”

Ye Shu was utterly shocked and disgusted.

“You’re only giving this little bit???!”

“…?”

The Legion Commander was momentarily stunned and before his smile immediately disappeared.

This… little bit? 

This little bit?!! 

Zhou Jiuya began to question his life choices.

Wan Jiang was silent, feeling very, very sorry for its master.

Because the series of numbers Zhou Jiuya had just reported was not his entire salary; it was ten times his entire salary!!!

If this number seemed like a small amount to Ye Shu, then Wan Jiang could reasonably deduce that Ye Shu’s wealth must be a hundred times that amount. In other words, while they had both been equally broke back in the day, Ye Shu’s savings were now probably a thousand times greater than Zhou Jiuya’s.

This was probably the huge difference between continuing to serve in the military and starting a business after retiring.

If this were a comic book world, everything would be in color, while the Legion Commander would be black and white.

“Tsk tsk tsk, now I finally understand why Jiang Ci doesn’t get close to his uncle.”

Ye Shu leaned on the desk, looking down at Zhou Jiuya with a mocking expression.

“So you’re this stingy?”

Zhou Jiuya: “……”

The Legion Commander suddenly stood up, grabbing Ye Shu by the collar and dragging him toward the door.

“You can leave now.”

This heartless capitalist, get out of his office!!! 

However, before they reached the door, Lieutenant Li Ya suddenly walked in from outside. He hadn’t knocked because the door had been left open when Ye Shu came in. At this moment, Li Ya looked slightly tipsy and was visibly excited.

“Uh, Commander, do you want to…” join us for a drink?

But before he could finish his sentence, the lieutenant froze at the door, locking eyes with Zhou Jiuya, who was still holding Ye Shu by the collar. The rough and forceful action had pulled Ye Shu’s collar open.

“……”

Both sides fell silent for three seconds.

Zhou Jiuya struggled to explain, but just then, Li Ya suddenly snapped back to reality, the alcohol wearing off. He quickly took three big steps back,

“Right! Sorry! I didn’t mean to interrupt!!!”

The lieutenant stumbled, tripping over his own feet and falling with a loud thud, then scrambled to escape on all fours.

Ye Shu: “……”

Zhou Jiuya: “……”

The two exchanged glances, and Ye Shu immediately retched again,

“Damn it, Zhou Jiuya, why are you getting physical with me? Just talk!”

“……”

Without further ado, the two of them started fighting.