It was already the afternoon of the second day.
Their comrades had fallen under the enemy's guns. The group of them passed through the rumbling streets and fired fiercely in the direction of the enemy.
Bang!
" Phew, phew…" A nightmare made the unconscious Qiao Bona…Mo. Darwin became more and more clear-headed. He slowly opened his eyes and found himself in the hospital.
He suddenly felt a sharp pain in his heart. In the blink of an eye, he saw his own electrocardiac device on the coffee table. The ripples on it were jumping randomly, which made him very worried about his physical condition.
He closed his eyes and remembered that he had been hit in the arm. It didn't hurt that much back then. It was just a feeling of being hit by a hammer. On the contrary, his entire arm was swollen. The wound was so painful that he wanted to cut his arm off.
The ear-piercing noise echoed in his eardrums, and he vaguely heard his wife's graceful voice. When he was fully awake, he realized that the person who called his name was not his wife, but one of his subordinates.
"Sir, are you awake?" Aston was agitated. He turned around and pushed Jack, who was dozing off with his head in his hands. Lavis.
"What's wrong?"
" Still sleeping? The officer is awake."
"Ah, that's great!" Lavis turned his excited gaze to Darwin. Looking at Darwin's pale face, his previous enthusiasm was gone.
Darwin breathed weakly. He placed his palm on his forehead and stared at the ceiling. "Phew-how long was I asleep, Aston?”
"From yesterday afternoon to this afternoon, you slept for a day, sir.”Aston got up and walked to the door. He opened the lid of the cup and prepared to pour some water.
"The doctor said that you're fine. You just need to rest well for the next few days…"
"I think my arm can be saved, Lavis.”
"Alright, I'll call the doctor.”Lavis nodded. He grabbed the hat on the coffee table and walked out.
The familiar figures of his comrades gradually blurred in his mind. The last scene was the tombstone with their names engraved on it.
Kalang, Janferno, and the others stood at attention, their faces full of contentment.
"Captain, we'll be leaving first."
“……”
Aston came back with a glass of water." Sir, get up and drink some water.”
Darwin took the glass of water from him and took a few sips, which made him feel better. There was a pillow behind his back, so that he could lean against it. Then, he sat up straight and turned his head to look at the scenery outside the window.
Aston's eyes were gentle. His skin was very fair and he had short black hair. He looked like an honest man.
"I heard that they are all dead?" The air was quiet for a while. Aston folded his arms and leaned forward, staring at the floor.
"Yes." Darwin nodded and placed the cup on the table.
Aston sighed and continued to ask,""Sir, what kind of mission did the higher-ups give you?”
" Search for the 49th element." Darwin's face didn't show much excitement.
"What's that?" Aston stared with his eyes wide open and his mouth agape. He looked up at Darwin.
Darwin shook his head. He knew nothing about Element 49 and could not answer.
Aston nodded and stopped asking. "As long as she's fine." Suddenly, he thought of something." Oh, right, sir. The federal cabinet has organized a temporary banquet. They said that all the officers in the parliament building can attend.”
"Banquet? Forget it, Aston." Darwin had an impatient look on his face, but Aston didn't notice it. He was still chattering about the banquet to Darwin.
"It'll only end at midnight tonight. We still have a chance if we go…Hmm, what's wrong?”
"Do you have rubber ducks?" Darwin asked him.
"Don't worry, there's no rubber duck this time-the Cabinet has prepared a cart full of good wine for us, sir.”
Darwin looked at him, and Aston's eyelids twitched in excitement. He blew out a breath and touched his arm that was cramping from the pain. A smile suddenly appeared on his face. " Yes," he said." We can go and take a look.”
.
Jobner. Mo. Darwin couldn't tell how long it had been since he last attended a banquet. Ever since the federal government began to actively implement the war policy to resist the northern valiant army, small banquets like today had become rare.
For most of the young officers, the tense state they had been in for years was already unbearable. Obviously, the government was holding a temporary banquet at this time to give them a short respite. Of course, this also meant that after the banquet ended, they would face an even more severe state of war.
"Ka…" Darwin pushed open the door and stuck his head out.
The decorations here were gorgeous. The venue was huge. It would be strange if it was small because there were quite a number of people.
The young officers with similar military ranks were gathered here. Aston had just accompanied Darwin through the door when he ran off somewhere to drink.
A man walked towards Darwin and greeted him. The two of them hadn't seen each other for a long time, so they stood there and chatted. In the end, when that person invited Darwin to the bar for a drink, he was declined. He patted the person on the shoulder and turned to leave.
There were rumors that the government might use even more top-secret military weapons. This wasn't a good sign, but Darwin knew that to a military officer like him, he was just a pawn of the government. What could a pawn do?
Thus, Darwin found a corner of the bar and sipped his red wine alone. The few months of commanding had also made this high-profile young officer a little tired. Right now, he just wanted to stay away from the crowd and think about some things. It was a pity that things did not go according to one's wishes.
"Good wine, hmm!"
"Hahahaha…"
"Sigh, have you heard? General Walter has retired.”A military officer who loved to gossip deliberately spread the news. Soon, the officers started discussing this topic.
Darwin pricked up his ears and shifted slightly.
A young female officer sat alone at a table in front of him. However, her military rank was two or three ranks higher than Darwin's, Lieutenant General.
She had long wavy hair, and under her handsome face was her charming appearance. She had long eyebrows, red lips, and a pair of peach eyes that were as big as crystal grapes. All of them made the hearts of the young officers race, but no one dared to approach her.
Her name was Joanna. Jacqueline was the new secretary general of the Cabinet of the Federation. To put it bluntly, she was Usain. Kuima's secretary.
Joanna realized that someone was sitting at the table in the corner, so she gently put down her glass and looked up to see Darwin huddled in the corner drinking with his head lowered.
Darwin raised his head to look at her, then turned his gaze to the side, listening attentively to the conversation of the officers.
"I heard that something happened to General Walter's wife.”
"Madam, that's impossible, right?"
"How is it impossible? The spies of the northern valiant army would do anything.”
" It's too scary. Sigh-stop talking. Let's drink, let's drink…"
"Come, cheers…"
The few of them talked very quickly, as if they were hiding something. After the clinking of glasses, the few of them dispersed and reorganized their conversation.
"Hey,"
Darwin was engrossed in listening until someone called out to him. He turned around inadvertently and saw Joanna sitting on the sofa opposite him with a glass of wine in her hand.
Surprised, Darwin tilted his head slightly to look at her.
.
Ka---(sound of door opening)
"Sir, I brought the doctor!”Lavis pushed the door open and walked in.
He stuck his head out and stared at the bed in confusion, but Darwin and Aston had disappeared.
"What happened?" He scratched his head and looked back at the doctor. The doctor was also staring at him blankly.
.
"Sir, can we have a drink together?”
Darwin was too embarrassed to reject her, and his face turned red. "Yes, sir…"
"What's your name?" Joanna gently put down her wine glass. She rested her chin on her hands and looked at Darwin sincerely.
" I, I…" Darwin's voice was not at all calm until Joanna interrupted him.
Joanna blinked and smiled sweetly.
Seeing her smile, Darwin heard his chest thump again.
She tilted her head slightly and said,""You're Darwin, right?"
She smiled as she spoke to Darwin, making him feel a little embarrassed. Logically speaking, she was his superior. However, here, at this banquet, all the officers ignored their military rank and power and were treated equally. But for Darwin, he was not used to it.
Darwin stared at her in surprise." Yes.”His expression was stiff and he didn't dare to speak casually.
"The hero who took back St. Mell's camp and the bloody battle in Free City was you, wasn't it?”Joanna's face was full of admiration for him, but Darwin couldn't see anything.
"I'm sorry, sir…I still have things to do.”Darwin stuttered. He could no longer sit still, so he got up and left Joanna and rushed straight to the door.
Joanna turned around to look at Darwin's back. She looked a little dejected. Looking at the empty wine glass that Darwin had left behind, her eyes fell into a daze.
"This person is really strange." she said to the empty glass that Darwin had left behind.
.
Darwin's heart was beating wildly. He couldn't remember the last time he had interacted with a girl. Only the scene of him meeting Juanxiu in the north after graduation was still fresh in his mind. However, that broken marriage was Darwin's deepest pain.
Thump!
"Aiya!"
At this moment, a familiar figure appeared at the entrance of the bar and walked in. Just as Darwin was about to leave, he bumped into him.
"Which brat isn't long-sigh? So it's Colonel Darwin."
"General." Darwin quickly bent down, his face turning even redder. "Hello!"
General Walter bent down to look at him, and his eyes lit up for a moment. He nodded and walked inside.""Come here, Darwin, sit with me.”
"Ah!" Darwin was stunned.
The two of them sat down at the same table by the window.
" Cheers." They clinked their glasses.
"Is your wife alright?" asked Darwin. At this moment, Darwin clearly saw a hint of worry on General Walter's face. "What's wrong?" Darwin frowned.
"She…something happened to her." General Walter's face was pale.
"What?" Darwin almost stood up.
"I'm fine. I'm fine now."
"Oh…" Darwin heaved a sigh of relief.
General Walter put down his glass and continued,""My granddaughter is born."
"You're going to be a grandfather. Congratulations." Darwin congratulated him, his wine glass still in his hand.
"But the child's parents are both dead.”
"What?" Darwin almost jumped up.
"The missile attack destroyed the entire hospital.”General Walter choked as he spoke.
Darwin lowered his head and felt sorry for General Walter. He pinched his fingers and pinched himself hard.
"By the way, the child's name is Hilda.”
General Walter was old, so he said whatever he thought of. Darwin cooperated very respectfully. "Hilda?"
"Hilda. Walter."
"Hilda. Walter, yes." Darwin nodded.
General Walter smiled. " I wanted you to see her, but unfortunately, time is really…"
The window was open and a breeze blew in.
They drank and chatted, talking about General Ward's family and about recent events in Darwin. General Ward praised his talent and even said that he would one day enter the cabinet, which pleased Darwin.
"I'm leaving soon, Darwin.”
"General, do you really want it?" Darwin didn't dare to speak bluntly.
General Walter lowered his head and placed the empty glass on the table. This was the last glass of wine he had ever drunk in the Federation.
"Darwin, this is our choice.”
Darwin lowered his head and thought about General Walter's words.
"Is your arm better?"
"Thank you for your concern, General. I'm much better now.”
General Walter stood up and looked at Darwin again. It was as if he could see his own shadow in him.
"General!" Darwin stood up.
"Darwin, you're a colonel now, right?”
"Yes." Darwin answered without hesitation.
"With your ability, you will soon be able to enter the cabinet.”General Walter placed his palm on Darwin's uninjured shoulder, full of confidence in him.
"Thank you for your concern, General." Darwin looked up at him and nodded.
" People are always like this." General Walter turned around and extended his hand, leaving Darwin standing alone. Vaguely, he heard General Walter's last words,""Hurried and busy."
By the time Darwin reacted, General Walter had already left silently. He turned his head and looked at a gray glass window. On it, he saw his blurry self in a colorful world.
Darwin sat back down and looked at the two empty glasses. He shook his head…
――
(To be continued)
This book is provided by FunNovel Novel Book | Fan Fiction Novel [Beautiful Free Novel Book]