Chapter 3412: Combustion (1)

Wow! Just one restaurant would pay 50,000 in taxes over six months, and there were others too!

Ning Shu was grinning from ear to ear on the inside, though her face remained impassive. So this was what it felt like to rake in money while doing absolutely nothing—it felt fantastic.

“How much do you think I should charge?” Ning Shu asked Shu Bai.

Shu Bai replied with reserve, “The city lord rules the City of Water. The tax rate is for the city lord to decide.”

“Oh, so what you’re saying is that collecting 18% wouldn’t be an issue? You all could handle that?”

Shu Bai: …

“Relax, I’m a reasonable person. I wouldn’t actually charge 18%. Let’s go with 10%.”

Shu Bai smiled. “That is indeed generous. Compared to before, it’s very generous.”

“I am only one person. Before, there were three of them. Even after splitting the profits, they wouldn’t have made as much individually as I will alone.”

After leaving the restaurant and returning to her system space, Ning Shu issued a new tax announcement notifying every shop. The tax rate was set at 10%, with no arrears allowed.

With that done, Ning Shu planned to just sit back and watch the money roll in.

It really was bliss.

Si Tian looked at the tax notice and raised an eyebrow. As it turned out, even his estimate of 13% had been too high.

He set down the notice. Whether the city lord wanted to establish a benevolent image or was simply a novice afraid to open her mouth like a greedy lion, the result was the same. They had come out ahead.

Si Tian hooked his lips into a smile.

After resolving the tax issue, Ning Shu stretched her back and exchanged points for some fasting pills and water.

Ning Shu checked with 2333 again and again, “Is my location blocked?”

She certainly didn’t want another task-taker popping up in the middle of her task, especially one specifically coming for her head.

“Blocked. Don’t worry,” 2333 said to her. “I wouldn’t dare be careless about something like that.”

Ning Shu becoming a target for certain people would also hinder 2333.

Ning Shu nodded. “Good. Right now my foundation is weak, but my wings will eventually grow full.”

“Then let’s go do a task.” Ning Shu smiled brightly. She was no longer doings tasks just for soul power. It was to find the world origin and sprint down the path toward constructing her own world.

Ning Shu felt her soul merging into a body. It felt incredibly stiff.

She tried to move, but someone was holding her down.

Ning Shu opened her eyes to the sight of dirt and grass. The sharp scent of damp earth filled her nose.

She watched, frozen, as a centipede-like insect crawled right past her face.

She was currently lying prone on the ground, radiating her spiritual consciousness outward. Her surroundings were a humid tropical rainforest.

A hand was pressing down on her head.

Besides her, there were several others wearing army green. Their faces were painted with camouflage.

Ning Shu turned her head slightly and saw a resolute profile with deep-set features. Even with the camouflage paint, she could tell from his bone structure that this man wasn’t bad-looking.

They were likely in the middle of some sort of mission.

Ning Shu tried to absorb the storyline details as quickly as possible. The atmosphere right now was incredibly tense.

In short, this was a sweet military marriage story.

But the lead character wasn’t the original host. It was the man beside her.

It was a romantic love story with a soldier, and this soldier was a high-ranking officer holding great power.

The original host was named Wu Jing, a qualified female special forces operative.

The man beside her was Wu Jing’s superior officer, Song Yi—the male lead of this story.

They were currently executing a special mission. International drug traffickers were moving narcotics through this area toward the border. Their objective was to neutralize this shipment and prevent the drugs from entering the country.

Song Yi was a principled, patriotic man with a strong sense of duty.

He was someone who embodied every admirable quality of a soldier. He was hardworking, resilient, willing to endure hardship and make sacrifices. He was disciplined, courageous, and deeply responsible.

He was a promising officer with a bright future ahead of him. He cut a striking figure in his military uniform. Wearing it, he stirred admiration in other young soldiers who saw him.

Wu Jing’s heart held both reverence and admiration for this commanding officer.

What moved her even more—what truly stirred her to the core—was how this leader led them into battle, shedding blood and risking their lives for the sake of the nation.

His patriotism ran in his blood. For the country behind him, he was ready to give his life.

He loved his homeland. Though the nation wasn’t perfect in every way, it was still the place that had made them citizens, had allowed them to stand tall with dignity.

They weren’t stateless refugees without a homeland.

They were born here, raised here, and would one day die here.

Wu Jing’s feelings for Song Yi were laced with faith and reverence.

She came from an ordinary family. When she first joined the military, she had unexpectedly been selected for special forces training.

Wu Jing understood perfectly well that there was no possibility for a romantic relationship between her and Song Yi.

Still, she deeply respected this commanding officer.

She had always believed that this leader of hers would continue to lead them forward, defending the honor and glory of their country.

Then, things changed.

Song Yi got married.

He married the daughter of his own superior.

That superior officer had seen Song Yi as a good young man, someone with great promise, and had decisively married his daughter off to him. He’d practically forced the match.

Song Yi’s wife, Wu Xianrou, was a fairly trendy, forward-thinking girl. Her father had suddenly married her off to a complete stranger, and a soldier at that.

This had left her full of resistance and complaints. She kicked up a huge fuss over it.

But in the end, she was still forced into marriage and became a military wife.

Song Yi was a gentle and accommodating man. He treated his new wife well.

However, everything started to spiral out of control, like a wild dog with a prolapsed rectum—utterly unmanageable.

Song Yi began a domineering path of spoiling his wife. Anytime Wu Xianrou suffered even the slightest grievance while out and about, military planes or off-road vehicles would appear at once to back her up.

These were resources that were supposed to belong to the country, yet Song Yi was now mobilizing them for personal reasons.

As his career advanced, the power he held also grew.

For the sake of one woman, it became routine for him to mobilize military forces.

When he was assigned a mission, if Wu Xianrou happened to run into trouble at the same time, Song Yi would reject the assignment and prioritize Wu Xianrou.

Wu Jing was left utterly speechless and dumbfounded.

She couldn’t understand how the upright, steadfast officer she had once admired had become this way—utterly transformed into someone who pampered Wu Xianrou without restraint.

He seemed to have lost all principles, all sense of right and wrong.

Wu Jing was both disappointed and heartbroken.

To her, it was as if her commanding officer had become nothing more than the perfect husband to Wu Xianrou. His entire existence now revolved around showing up for her, backing her up, and backing her up again.

He appeared wherever Wu Xianrou needed him.

All other military wives endured loneliness in silence. They understood the weight of a soldier’s duty, which their husbands bore.

Soldiers fulfilled their sacred purpose at the risk of their lives. Military wives endured solitude and longing to uphold that sacred purpose.

Soldiers protected the nation with their youth and blood. Military wives safeguarded the homefront with their strength and resilience.

Soldiers guarded the border with steel will. Military wives tended the hearth, the safe and warm homes that these soldiers would one day return to, with devoted hearts.

Even those who were lucky enough to live beside their husbands knew that, if duty called in the middle of the night, they had to wake up and help their husbands prepare for departure.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.