The job change is a bizarre and calamity; the nation begs me to tone it down.

Gu Xu became more and more enthusiastic as he spoke, his eyes shining even brighter than those demigod materials.

"I haven't had a chance to thoroughly examine the contents of these rings yet; there might be even more valuable treasures inside. Those seafood vendors have been surviving in the deep sea for thousands of years; how could they be poor?"

Su Qiong looked at the pile of priceless spoils on the hospital bed, which would make the entire Shenxia leadership envious, and then at Gu Xu's face, which was as white as paper but was smiling brightly.

She was stunned for several seconds.

Then, an involuntary "pfft" escaped from her mouth.

The heaviness and fear that had been weighing on his heart for days were completely shattered at this moment by Gu Xu's money-grubbing face.

Su Qiong wiped her eyes, feeling both annoyed and amused, and then slapped Gu Xu on the forehead.

"You're such a money-grubber! You almost lost your life, and all you could think about was this junk!"

"What do you mean by 'junk'? You call demigod-level materials 'junk'?"

Gu Xu clutched his spoils with a pained expression, as if Su Qiong's slap had landed on these treasures rather than on his forehead.

"Take these things back to the headquarters, and they should at least convert them into cash, right? With military merits, bonuses, and spoils of war, I, Gu Xu, will have enough to live on for the rest of my life, even if I retire early."

"You're only eighteen, why are you retiring!" Su Qiong rolled her eyes at him, annoyed.

But she couldn't suppress the smile on her lips.

That bastard always manages to say the most absurd things at the most heart-wrenching moments.

But you really can't do anything about him.

Jiang Shu listened with shining eyes and craned her neck to get closer to the pile of spoils.

"Your Highness, Your Highness! Can't you share some of these things with me? My whip is worn out, and I'm worried about not having any good materials to replace it with a new one..."

"Dream on."

"Your Highness, you can't be so stingy! I've been guarding your bedside for three days and three nights!"

"You've been guarding me for three days and three nights, and you're still drooling on my hands. Your drool has made my hand sore, and you're talking to me about your credit?"

"That's different!"

"Tell me what's different!"

The two were arguing fiercely.

"Bang!"

The door to the ward was kicked open from the outside.

Immediately afterwards, the door frame shook three times.

This caused Gu Xu to instinctively shrink his neck.

He looked up and saw a group of people pouring in like dumplings being dropped into a pot.

Li Weiguo was leading the way.

The image of this de facto leader of the Supreme Command can be described in four words at this moment—a scene of utter devastation.

The wrinkles on his military uniform were so numerous they could trap a mosquito, and the dark circles under his eyes were so thick they looked like he was wearing smoky makeup.

The stubble on his chin indicated that he hadn't shaved for at least two days.

He looked more like a patient than Gu Xu, who was lying in the hospital bed.

Following closely behind him was Zhang Daoxuan.

This number two figure in the Sherman military was in slightly better condition than Li Weiguo, but not by much.

The collar of his once impeccably tailored Zhongshan suit was askew, and his hair was disheveled, as if he had just woken up.

Following behind was a string of high-ranking military officers, some of whom were generals.

Many of them were people Gu Xu knew.

At this moment, they were all peeking and squeezing into the ward, just like spectators at a zoo, only missing the chance to take pictures with their phones.

Gu Xu's lips began to twitch uncontrollably.

It's not because too many people came.

It was because Li Weiguo's kick to the door had truly awakened a deeply unforgettable memory for him.

He clearly remembered that when he had just awakened his profession in Tianqi Province, Su Qiong was ordered to pick him up, and she kicked open the principal's office door in the same way.

That kick was powerful and forceful, so powerful that it startled even the principal.

Now, Li Weiguo, the top leader of the General Staff, personally demonstrated the same operation.

So kicking the door is an old tradition of the Supreme Command?

He was just chatting and laughing with Su Qiong and Jiang Shu, the atmosphere as relaxed as if he were eating sunflower seeds in his own living room.

As soon as these big shots arrived, the air in the ward instantly froze.

Su Qiong immediately released Gu Xu's hand, stood up, and bowed slightly in greeting.

Jiang Shu jumped up, knocking over the chair, and hurriedly wiped the drool from the corner of her mouth before standing properly to the side.

Li Weiguo walked to the bedside in a few steps.

He first looked down at Gu Xu, then at the huge pile of demigod-level materials and storage rings on the hospital bed, and his lips twitched visibly.

There was a silence of about three seconds.

"You little brat—"

Li Weiguo opened his mouth, hesitated for a long time, and finally managed to utter only three words.

But those three words contain more complex emotions than an 800-word essay.

There was anger, resentment, heartache, helplessness, relief, and even a hint of inexplicable pride.

Gu Xu quickly put on what he thought was a harmless smile and took the initiative to break the deadlock.

"Minister Li, Minister Zhang, you've arrived! Perfect timing, I just woke up and haven't even had breakfast yet—"

"Stop grinning at me!"

Li Weiguo slammed his hand on the iron railing of the bed, causing the pile of spoils to bounce.

Gu Xu instinctively reached out to protect his precious child.

Li Weiguo took a deep breath and forcibly suppressed his anger. It wasn't that he didn't want to curse, but he was afraid of upsetting this newly awakened troublemaker.

He has lived most of his life, spent decades in the military, led troops, fought battles, scolded people, and been scolded by others.

What storms haven't I weathered? What polite words haven't I uttered?

But at this moment, facing the young man on the hospital bed whose face was as white as if he had just been pulled out of a pile of flour, he found that all the words he had prepared in his mind—such as "You were too impulsive," "Don't do this again," and "The General Headquarters will give you an explanation"—were stuck in his throat, and he couldn't utter a single word.

He wanted to swear.

But he couldn't bring himself to curse.

How can you criticize someone who just single-handedly took on four demigods plus a source-level projection and pulled an army of hundreds of thousands back from the brink of death?

You're calling him reckless? He may not be reckless, but he's risking other people's lives.

You call him reckless? His recklessness resulted in victory, a complete and utter victory.

You're criticizing him for disobeying organizational arrangements? Please, in that situation, the organization was barely able to protect itself, so what's the point of making any arrangements?

Li Weiguo mentally reviewed his prepared lines three times, but ultimately rejected them all.

Forget it.

No matter how profound the reasoning or how earnest the advice, it all seems pretentious at this moment.

Some things don't need to be said.

Li Weiguo remained silent for a few seconds, then did something that surprised everyone present.

He extended his right hand and gave Gu Xu a thumbs up.