Chapter 359

Chapter 359: The Wrong Pot

"Okay, alright."

The young soldier seemed to realize his rudeness at that moment and quietly retreated behind the crowd.

Lin Qingliu paid no attention to it and continued to appear approachable, making the soldiers feel valued and trusted.

For such a large-scale battle, cleaning the battlefield alone would take at least two to three days, not to mention repairing the walls damaged by explosions and extraordinary beasts and fixing the destruction within the city…

It was clear how anxious these guys were to start the award live stream after just one day.

Did they really want to know their standing so badly?

With a smile on his face, Lin Qingliu, who had stood up from near the injured soldiers, walked towards his next destination.

—

A thin sheet of pure gold was sent into the machine, and after cutting, polishing, stamping, and plating, it transformed into more than a dozen pure gold medals.

Among these medals, one stood out—it was larger and thicker than the others, with the front engraved with the double-layered ring wall representing Hope City and the central spire, and the sides featuring a knurled texture for a good grip.

As for the back, it was engraved with a small line of silver letters:

"Year 52 of the New Era, November 13th, Defense Battle of Hope City."

The format of this inscription was different because this medal was exclusive to one person; it was a custom version, and therefore, there was no need to engrave a name on it.

Of course, the main reason was that the craftsmen did not know the name of the savior.

Wearing protective gloves, he picked up each medal, carefully checking for any rough edges and verifying the names engraved on them.

Once everything was checked, each medal was placed into a wooden box emitting a unique aroma, as these rare woods in Hope City were almost as valuable as precious metals.

One hand picked up the specially made medal from the top of the pile and entered the elevator.

Two minutes later, he stepped into a deep and intimidating conference room where a curse was heard:

"Look, look at this guy, he even went to show concern!"

The council members had been in the conference room for two full days.

They seemed like a new kind of powder added to Lin Qingliu, eager to scrutinize his every move, while a certain blonde-haired member acted like a performer, becoming bolder in this situation.

Knowing that everything he did was under the surveillance near the walls, he enjoyed showing his friendly side as if Hope City belonged to him alone.

Seriously, did he even consider who he was?

Amidst the heavy and oppressive atmosphere, the man holding the wooden box hesitated several times before finally calling out softly,

"Mr. Kande."

An elder council member, his face shrouded in the hood, pressed a button on the armrest, and his chair quickly rotated to face the man.

"What is it?"

The elder’s voice was harsh and gravelly, tinged with anger, as if feeling embarrassed at being seen in his current state.

The man with the medals quickly bent his body at a ninety-degree angle, his eyes glued to the floor as he presented the box with both hands.

A good subordinate doesn’t need to be asked by their leader; after showing the standard gesture, the man sincerely and humbly spoke:

"Sir, we received your personal order for the medal’s production. Since this particular one required a separate mold, I brought it to you for your review. Do you think any changes are needed?"

At this moment, although the man’s tone was humble and sincere, he truly felt he had touched a nerve with Councilman Kande.

Such matters did not usually need to be brought for review, but since it was a newly made mold and they had just heard the announcement in their department, they could roughly guess who this medal was to be awarded to.

That person was the favorite in front of the council members; from this perspective and considering how he had truly saved Hope City, everyone wanted to make this presentation a spectacular one.

Thus, the current scene of "offering a treasure" unfolded.

Fearing that Councilman Kande might not see clearly, the man raised his hand slightly again, unknowingly bringing the medal closer to Kande’s mouth.

Councilman Kande silently observed this scene, aware that such silence could not last long, yet he still wanted to delay facing it as much as possible.

He had never disliked these golden items so much.

That was all his gold, his own!

Did they really have to award such a large piece to that blonde?

What a bitter pill to swallow.

After a long moment, watching the medal box gradually approach his mouth, Kande reluctantly lifted his dry palm and opened it to take a quick glance.

"Let’s just go with this."

There were no praises or criticisms; his tone was flat as he gave his evaluation.

The man holding the medal felt as if a great weight had been lifted off his shoulders; in truth, he had sensed something was wrong as that unusual silence began.

But his actions felt like a one-way street, with no possibility of retreat.

So, he could only continue along this path until the other party spoke and granted him forgiveness.

Was what he did not in line with the other’s wishes?

The man dared not speculate further and bowed out of the conference room.

With the door tightly closed, Kande turned his body and pulled up a window on his private screen.

A command reached his department faster than the man did, and an unfortunate soul lost their job today.

The council members present had all witnessed the earlier scene; some empathized with Kande’s feelings at that moment, while others covered their mouths and chuckled softly.

Councilwoman Nia was one of them.

The lightly glint had just reflected in her eyes, reminding her of several months ago when she conducted an appraisal for a young girl.

In truth, that required no observational skills; as a councilwoman, she knew many secrets, one of which was—

In Hope City, aside from various medals, there were no true precious metals.

And those with medals were quite limited; naturally, they would not remelt those symbols of honor into jewelry, so the so-called "appraisal" had already concluded in Nia’s mind as soon as she saw those items.

Nia concealed her smile and thought of the clueless girl who had come for the appraisal, now grown into her heir, undergoing evaluation and training. She couldn’t help but sigh at the unpredictable nature of life.

Now, Shi Jin seemed like a reflection of her from a decade ago, both chosen at roughly the same age, the only difference being whether they had superpowers.

As Nia reminisced about the past, she performed actions similar to Kande’s.

However, what emerged from her terminal was not a notice of dismissal, but rather a new schedule for Shi Jin.

After all, many were to receive medals tomorrow, and her safety also needed protection.

Before this goal, all arrangements had to make way.