Jiang Ye's eyes lit up at the mention of "weapons."
He scrambled out of bed and rushed to the study, rummaging through a pile of paper documents in the corner.
Cen Yemeng followed, "What are you looking for?"
"Work matters. Go back to sleep, I need to go out." Jiang Ye pulled out a sheet of paper, examined it for a moment, and then a meaningful smile appeared on his face.
He folded the paper in half, tucked it into his coat pocket, quickly changed clothes, and hurried downstairs.
...
Military Base, Commander's Office.
Jiang Ye pushed the door open. Su Yueming and Sawada Mariann were already waiting. Su Yueming was still in a white shirt and black skirt, while Sawada Mariann was in military uniform.
"You can go out first," Jiang Ye said, glancing at Su Yueming. "Before Mariann leaves, no one is to come in. Say I'm not here. Don't record this meeting in the logs."
Su Yueming's eyes widened in surprise, "Delete all traces? Mariann swiped her face and voiceprint at the entrance when she arrived."
"Delete them. Upgrade the security system, and lose some data during the upgrade," Jiang Ye chuckled. "Do I need to teach you how to do this?"
"I wouldn't dare overstep. Since it's your order, I'll do it now." Su Yueming exited the office and closed the door.
Sawada Mariann stood beside him, looking flustered and uneasy, not understanding what was happening.
Jiang Ye tapped the screen of the desk. He pressed twice in the bottom left corner.
With a hum, the entire office suddenly changed.
The air conditioning stopped, the floor-to-ceiling windows went black, the overhead lights extinguished, and the dim emergency backup lights in the corner flickered on.
Sawada Mariann's pocket vibrated. She pulled out her phone to check:
[Signal not received. Please confirm you are in a signal area.]
"Your phone isn't broken. I've activated the office's secret room mode." Jiang Ye took out his own phone from his pocket, placed it on the desk, and the screen lit up with the same prompt.
Sawada Mariann put her phone back. "This place has become a small... big dark room?"
"What I'm about to tell you, do not mention to anyone, nor leave any written or electronic memos. If you need to convey details to subordinates, do so by word of mouth and instruct them to maintain strict confidentiality." Jiang Ye sat on the desk, pulled a chair over, and gestured, "Please sit."
Sawada Mariann sat down cautiously, her face full of nervousness.
An hour ago, she was in a meeting discussing Bi Rong Star's next steps. She was called out midway by an urgent message. A car was waiting for her outside the conference venue, a mysterious military vehicle with no license plates, driven by a mechanical soldier. She got into the car in a daze and was brought here shortly after.
Although Sawada Mariann was the head of the laboratory, her military rank was actually quite low, several levels below the commander. Before today, she had never been to the Commander's Office. She had always dreamed that if she gained ten more years of experience and got lucky with some merits, she might have a chance to meet the Commander close to retirement. She never expected this day to come so quickly, so quickly that it filled her with fear.
"The Coastal P4 Laboratory, are you in charge of it now?" Jiang Ye asked.
"Yes," Sawada Mariann nodded. "I'm concurrently the Head of Laboratory Security and Head of Production Quality."
Her appointment letter was signed by Jiang Ye, but she didn't expect him to remember her. The military had expanded rapidly in recent years, with too many officers promoted. She assumed the Commander signed them quickly without even looking.
"Your husband, Long Jiade, is a special police officer in Zhutian City, and you have a daughter who just started kindergarten, in Class 2 of the Third Municipal Kindergarten in Zhutian City, right?" Jiang Ye stared into her eyes, speaking fluently as if recounting information about his own relatives.
"Yes." Sawada Mariann was shocked. Why did the Commander know the family situation of an insignificant person like her?
"Zhutian City is over two thousand kilometers away, and there's no dedicated line yet. There are few flights at the civilian airport, making it inconvenient for family visits, isn't it?" Jiang Ye smiled. "And as far as I know, that kindergarten's facilities and teachers are average. Why not send your child to a military kindergarten?"
"Of course, I know the military kindergarten has better teachers and food, but... there's no other way." Sawada Mariann gave a wry smile. "I'm busy with work, and the P4 laboratory has a very high security level. I can hardly get out a few times a week, so I can't take care of the child. I can only let her father take care of her."
"You could have your husband change his job," Jiang Ye blinked. "Work in the military dependents' city, and then you can pick up and drop off your child at the military kindergarten."
"He tried to find a job in the military dependents' city, but nothing worked out. Private companies didn't have positions matching his major, and the special police force in the military dependents' city was also full. In the end, he only passed the special police exam in Zhutian City." Sawada Mariann was very helpless.
"That's easily done. I'll speak to the military dependents' city police department and have your husband transferred. He won't be a special police officer anymore, but a full-fledged police officer." Jiang Ye's tone was casual.
Sawada Mariann stood up excitedly, "Thank you, Commander! But... um..."
"But what?" Jiang Ye smiled.
"The military kindergarten enrollment is already full. There are too many children, and admission was by lottery at the time."
"That's easily done." Jiang Ye smiled, reached for a blank piece of paper on the desk, wrote a few lines with a ballpoint pen, and then stamped it with the Commander's seal.
Sawada Mariann received the handwritten order with trembling hands, filled with awe and disbelief.
[Why is the military kindergarten full? If the number of teachers or buildings cannot meet the local enrollment requirements, immediately submit a report to expand the teaching staff or the kindergarten.]
[Comrade Sawada Mariann's daughter, Long Caicai, meets the enrollment conditions. Please arrange her into a suitable class as soon as possible, without delay.]
[Jiang Ye]
"Thank you, Commander!" Sawada Mariann's eyes reddened with emotion, and she stood up, bowing repeatedly.
"There's nothing to thank me for. These are normal needs. Even without you, the expansion would have happened." Jiang Ye paused, then abruptly changed the subject. "There's the Mill plant virus outbreak on Bi Rong Star. You're aware of this, aren't you?"
"The genetic testing has been done. It's the 0061 Broad-Invasion Yellow Paper Virus, a plant virus weapon developed by the Mill troops very early on. This thing can consume most plant fibers, damage the sieve tubes, leaf veins, and root hairs, causing plants to wither explosively. The scene resembles burning yellow paper, hence the name Broad-Invasion Yellow Paper Virus. Because it's an artificial weapon, it has a special anti-mutation gene, posing no threat to animals, nor does it have variants." Sawada Mariann's expression shifted instantly as she spoke about her work, her tone becoming professional.
She paused and added, "This kind of weapon is not to be feared. Its structure is simple, and its characteristics are straightforward. There are already mature fungal eradication agents available, costing only ten thousand per ton. Air-dropping a hundred tons to the Bi Rong Star camp and spraying it comprehensively will eliminate the threat of plant epidemics."
"You just mentioned simple structure," Jiang Ye said. "So, this virus is relatively easy to modify, right?"
"Modify?"
Sawada Mariann froze. She thought the Commander was worried about the virus affecting Bi Rong Star's agricultural development, but she didn't expect to hear those words.