Industrial Cthulhu doesn't believe in the end times.

Chapter 216 Awards
Often, when people talk about the sacrifices made on the front lines, they don't really feel it. They may have worries or sorrows in their hearts, but these worries and sorrows don't translate into real feelings.

This time, however, was different from before. The grand competition had an extraordinary impact, attracting everyone's attention.

Every person who stands out from tens of thousands of extraordinary individuals and makes it to the finals can be considered a household name.

They should have been shining brightly, and had a promising future, but they didn't even get to see the finals begin before they rushed to the battlefield, where they were seriously injured, went missing, or even gave their lives.

These messages were not concealed, and all the people truly felt what a dangerous world was outside the high walls.

We also truly saw what kind of people were protecting them.

Extremes beget their opposites. In fact, some people criticize the current champion Wu Qiwen for this reason, believing that his achievement lacks "substance" and is a "lucky break" or "reaping the rewards".

However, Wu Qiwen has always been humble, and he lost an arm on the battlefield. The Xinghuo Daily timely published his past deeds, which quickly drowned out these voices by a wider range of supporters.

Not only Wu Qiwen, but almost every one of the superhumans who made it to the finals had carried out arduous missions, and many of them honed their skills in battles against zombies, mutated beasts, and alien species.

Some civilian groups that used to look down on the extraordinary individuals in the military have now fallen silent—after all, let alone the finals, most of them only made it to the early rounds.

Judging from the competition itself, this event may have started strong but ended weakly, with some of the finalists absent and others replaced in the subsequent fourth stage.

However, if we look at the original intention and purpose of this competition, it has truly been successfully completed.

Through this competition, the military's extraordinary individuals truly demonstrated their strength and prowess to all sectors of society and the people of the base city.

They have the capability, and more importantly, the courage and determination to protect everything within the safe zone.

Even after becoming superhumans, they still fight for the base city.

As a result, the people of every base city were discussing everything about the grand competition. The change in atmosphere was obvious. They were full of longing for extraordinary abilities, which was clearly seen through the feedback from schools and armed forces departments in various places. The fact that so many people spontaneously went to the train station to welcome Wu Qiwen and others also demonstrated this point well.

Even the marriage rate has increased, since even if one doesn't have the chance to become a superhuman, one might still be able to have a child with superpowers.

Although this has not yet been verified, it is clearly recorded in the survival manual that Su Xun once wrote.

In this era, it may be difficult for an individual to advance further, but for a family as a unit, achieving upward social mobility is much simpler than in the past.

Although the collective system of the Production and Construction Corps is diminishing the importance of the family unit, it is, after all, a social structure that has existed for thousands of years and still possesses enormous inertia.

The train station and the square where the award ceremony was held were not far apart, since they were both within high walls. The construction of Xinfu Base City in the past was based on this station as an important support point, and both places were relatively close to the center of Xinfu.

Compared to the opening ceremony, there were far fewer people in the square. After all, the unexpected events had occurred and some urgent incidents had taken place in various places. Although the Daizong battlefield was relatively prominent, the pressure brought by the sea monsters was distributed throughout the entire coastline.

Under such pressure, production tasks in the base city also need to be accelerated, and many people have now returned to their jobs.

Even so, the enthusiasm of the crowd did not diminish at all. When Wu Qiwen and others entered, they waved red flags as if welcoming heroes.

He felt unworthy of the honor, but thinking of his comrades who couldn't come, he held his head high even more.

On the platform, Wu Qiwen saw Su Xun. Su Xun had indeed been quite busy lately, but since it was a pre-arranged plan, he still made time to come.

Therefore, Yin Danyi was completely unable to participate in the competition. He was accompanying Xu Huan, who had also just advanced to the fifth rank, to oversee the battle on Mount Dai, in place of Su Xun.

Of course, this guy is already at the fifth level. If he wants to participate in the grand competition, he can only fight Su Xun. Yin Danyi didn't even bother to shake her head at this suggestion and turned to leave.

Su Xun actually felt that Yin Danyi had a powerful background and that his strength was probably no less than his own, but he was unwilling to fight him, which Su Xun could understand.

After all, strength is strength. Losing to Yin Danyi would certainly be painful, but if he accidentally won, he might feel even more awkward.

The ceremony proceeded according to the established procedure and was not complicated in general. Soon, the awards ceremony began.

Upon seeing Wu Qiwen, Su Xun saluted him.

"We meet again, Comrade Xiao Wu. This must be our third time meeting?"

"This is the second time for me, Commander-in-Chief."

Su Xun nodded. The first time he met this young man was on the way to the Haiqu Secret Realm. The next time he heard news of him was when he, Chen Ming, Yin Danyi and others faced a fifth-order alien species and were seriously injured.

When I visited him in the hospital, Wu Qiwen was in a coma. He was the most seriously injured of everyone in the car and almost didn't survive. He barely survived, but he lost an arm.

Su Xun was very sorry at the time, thinking that he might be discouraged by this, but unexpectedly, this young man was quite persevering. He drew motivation from the hardship, not only cheered himself up, but also made it here step by step and won the championship of the third level of the Grand Martial Arts Competition.

"It must have been tough, right?" Su Xun looked at him, his eyes filled with relief. Chen Ming had once told him that Wu Qiwen was a good soldier, and he was right.

Wu Qiwen replied, "It's no trouble at all, Commander-in-Chief. Compared to those comrades who couldn't come, this is nothing."

"You all did a great job." Su Xun didn't say much, but took the prize that symbolized the champion. It was a military knife he had forged with his own superpower, modeled after the Tang Dynasty horizontal sword, and mixed with extraordinary materials. For a superpowered person, it was actually quite practical.

Similar swords were also found on other warriors of lower rankings, but the one belonging to the champion was naturally slightly different, which was enough to prove its honor.

"Don't feel guilty. A competition is a competition. As the champion of the grand competition, you deserve it."

"Yes, Commander!"

Wu Qiwen saluted and solemnly received the knife from Su Xun.

"So, is there anything you'd like to say here?"

This was a pre-determined process. The fourth-level competition had very few participants and a short duration, making it more of an exhibition match than a competition schedule. It was more like part of the closing ceremony. The third-level competition was the main event, and the champion received greater social recognition.

While the organizers need to confirm what to say on this occasion, it is mainly Wu Qiwen himself who proposes the ideas, as he has already prepared for it.

Meeting Su Xun's gaze, he nodded solemnly.

(End of this chapter)