death of hope

Chapter 984 "Psionic Storm" (59) The Drunkard's Past

The next day,

As always, Pavel Korchagin got up early to start his morning exercise.
First, 100 push-ups, then 50 pull-ups while gripping the door frame, followed by 10 sets of bench presses while lying on the floor using the sofa as a barbell, and finally 100 jump rope repetitions to finish.

Taking off his sweat-soaked shirt, he looked in the mirror. His muscles, bulging with blood, were clearly defined, giving him a muscular physique reminiscent of an ancient Greek sculpture. He muttered to himself in the mirror:
"Abandon illusions, prepare for struggle... Be disciplined, strive unceasingly..."

At that moment, footsteps sounded outside the door:
"It's ready early! Come and eat in the living room!"

The girl in the apron pushed open the door and entered. She was stunned when she saw Paul shirtless, her eyes widening as she covered her mouth.

“Uh… I’m sorry, Ms. Takiya, I forgot to lock the door…” Paul turned his back.

Rimi Takiya blushed deeply, her eyes instantly turning into those of a lovesick fangirl:
"My bad~ Hehe~ I forgot to knock... Um... Let's make it ready early, come eat in the living room~"

"Thank you, I'll change my clothes and come right away."

Rimi Takiya rubbed her hands together with a grin, muttering to herself, "So handsome~ He's absolutely gorgeous~"

Donya glared at her, clearly annoyed and jealous.

·
A rather lavish 'Oriental' breakfast was laid out on the living room table:

Pork floss sushi, raw egg rice, curry bean paste, seaweed miso, natto, Kanto tofu and radish soup, bonito flakes, and vegetable salad.

Paul and Drizzt praised the food highly, commending Miss Takiya's excellent cooking skills. Although Tonya wore a sour face, her stomach was still very honest, and she ate just as much as she wanted.

"Where are those two bearded men? Why aren't they having breakfast?"

"He's not awake yet."

Sergei and Dmitry got completely drunk at last night's banquet and will probably need some time to sober up.

Ando Shuichi gently pushed open a crack in the door and immediately smelled a strong odor of alcohol. The two bearded men were fast asleep, embracing each other like lovers, their snores rising and falling.

"Haha! That's hilarious! These two old guys are actually quite a good match!"

“Indeed.” Paul smiled.

"Wake them up."

"Don't let this interfere with our business," said Nikolai, the head of the Shin-Sapporo branch. Ando Shuichi shrugged. "Shouting through the megaphone won't do any good; you're sleeping like a log."

"Hmph! No organization, no discipline!"

Nikolai rolled up his sleeves and stormed over, making a move to grab Dmitry, but Paul grabbed his arm.

"Alright, let them rest. We won't go scouting today. We'll just take a short walk around the streets to get a general idea of ​​the situation."

"Understood, sir."

Nikolai was old enough to be Paul's father, yet he treated this young man with utmost respect.
This young man is the perfect example of a Kang Youwei fanatic; sooner or later he will become the leader of the commune organization and lead the poor to prosperity, if he lives to that day.

·
Hideichi Ando drove a dilapidated Mazda minivan, carrying everyone to the city center.
Even though the morning rush hour was over, the traffic was still terrible, with impatient car horns and drivers yelling everywhere.

On the way, Paul explained why he tolerated Sergei's unruly drinking: the alcoholic didn't have many years left to live.
When Paul was young, the nuclear power plant in the base area had an accident. If it had exploded, the entire planet would have been buried in radioactive dust and become uninhabitable.

A group of engineers, led by Sergei, formed a suicide squad and infiltrated the underground facilities of the nuclear power plant, which had been flooded by fire-fighting water.

By shutting down all valves, turning on the water pumps to drain the water, and quickly pouring in quick-drying cement to separate the molten core from the water, a catastrophic secondary explosion was averted, saving the base planet.

The cost is the engineers' health.

All the suicide squad members were exposed to more than 20 roentgens of radiation. Two of them, who were most severely affected, died within a week from festering sores all over their bodies.

The others also suffered from radiation sickness and died one after another after a long period of torment.
Sergei was the only surviving member of the suicide squad after the nuclear accident.

Doctors at the base believed he had three to five years left to live, and the final days were particularly difficult, so they had to use drugs or alcohol to numb the pain.

The members of the New Sapporo branch were all moved and understood why Paul tolerated the bearded man's alcoholism. The atmosphere in the car became somewhat heavy.
The men sighed and groaned, while the two women, Tonya and Rimi Takiya, wept and sobbed.

“Your bearded man, Sergei, is the hero who saved the base,” Nikolai said.

"And our bearded Mr. Dmitri, he's got nothing to his name, just a simple, troublemaking, boastful drunkard."

"Hahaha!"

Nikolai's words made everyone laugh, making the atmosphere on the bus much more relaxed.