In the kitchen.
Rong Heng had a serious look on his face. He recalled the kitchen guide he had read and followed the tutorial step by step, but he felt that he had been too hasty.
It was so easy to see Ruan Shiqing cooking, and the tutorial was very clear and detailed, but when I tried to cook it myself, it was completely different.
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince secretly felt that cooking was much more tiring than fighting.
He held the spatula as if facing a formidable enemy, and his mood was even more nervous than when he was fighting against the Zerg. Because he was too nervous, he didn't even notice the cubs peeking outside the door and expressing their concerns about his cooking skills.
After struggling in the kitchen for more than an hour, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was sweating profusely and looked more embarrassed than ever before.
But the result was finally pretty good, and I successfully prepared four dishes and one soup.
The Xiong brothers received an outside order and have already gone out. At this time, there are only the kids sitting around a table in the restaurant. 09 does not need to eat and just recharges in the restaurant.
Carefully bringing out the dishes and placing them on the table, Rong Heng's solemn expression eased a little, he exhaled, and greeted the kids in a gentle tone, "Dinner is ready."
The kid stared at the dishes that didn't look very good, with a heavy mood.
They looked at each other silently, and no one had the courage to make the first move.
Under the table, Harry secretly kicked Nota and signaled with his eyes: Eat,
Nota glared back: Why don’t you eat
After glaring, he looked at Ruan Yuebai who was diagonally opposite him: You are the older brother, you eat first.
Ruan Yuebai hesitated for a moment, then picked up the chopsticks with a fearless attitude and picked up a piece of meat.
The meat slices were cut too thick and a little undercooked. I guess it wasn't processed well. It had the fishy smell of meat. There was a bit too much salt, so it was too salty.
Ruan Yuebai didn't chew much and just swallowed it whole.
"How does it taste?" Rong Heng looked at her, seemingly calm on the surface, but actually a little nervous inside.
This was his first time cooking. Although it didn't look very good, he had followed the instructions in the tutorial and it looked pretty good. He didn't expect it to be very delicious, but at least it was edible? It should taste better than nutritional supplements... right
Ruan Yuebai nodded reluctantly and picked up another piece of vegetable with chopsticks: "Not bad."
Hearing him say this, Rong Heng breathed a sigh of relief: "You guys eat first, I'll go get the rice."
After he left, Heli and Nota couldn't help but whispered, "Is it really possible?"
After finishing the piece of vegetables with chopsticks, Ruan Yuebai opened her mouth and said "hmm" with a normal expression.
The kids believed what the owner said and picked up their chopsticks without hesitation and started eating.
He Li and Nota were both carnivores, so they naturally reached for the meat first. However, as soon as the meat entered their mouths, their brows furrowed. Rong Heng happened to bring out the rice at that moment, and they didn't know whether to spit it out or not. In the end, under Rong Heng's earnest gaze, they gritted their teeth and swallowed it without showing any abnormality.
Rong Heng put down the rice and served each of them a bowl of soup.
When Ruan Shiqing was not around, he learned to take care of the cub the same way he did in the past, and worked hard to become a loving father who could take good care of the cub.
The cubs had no choice but to drink the soup. Fortunately, although the soup tasted a bit strange, it was not too salty, so they could just drink it like water.
Ruan Jiao, who was the slowest, picked up his bowl only after everyone else had started eating.
Rong Heng picked up some meat for him: "Eat more meat."
Ruan Jiao smiled at him, then picked up a piece of meat. Then his expression became blank and his brows furrowed.
It was obvious that his superficial effort was not as good as the other kids. He first looked at Rong Heng, as if he had thought of something, and then he chewed slowly for a while and swallowed it with difficulty.
The meat slices were too salty. I wanted to drink some water, but I held back.
The tentacles on the forehead hung weakly.
Rong Heng noticed 's expression, frowned, and took a chopstick to taste it. He frowned as soon as he took a bite: "Why is it so salty?"
Looking at the cubs who were busy eating, they seemed a little disappointed: "Forget it, if it doesn't taste good, then don't eat it. Just drink the nutritional supplement."
Ruan Shiqing had been in a coma for more than half a month, and the cubs had become much more sensible. The house was no longer filled with the joy and laughter it once was. He had originally wanted to cook a meal himself to cheer up the cubs before they set out on the expedition, but the meal tasted... worse than a nutritional supplement.
Get up and prepare to clean up the food.
But he was stopped by the kids. He Li groaned and said, "It's a little salty, but it's not inedible."
Nota nodded in agreement: "Vegetables are also OK."
"Dad said we shouldn't waste food," said Ruan Yuebai.
Ruan Jiao, who was always a step slow, finally reacted. He nodded vigorously, picked up the bowl and took a big bite.
Rong Heng sat back hesitantly.
In the end, the five people finished the four dishes and one soup.
Rong Heng looked at the cub who kept drinking water, and his eyes softened. He looked at 09 who was standing beside him and said, "Teach me next time."
After learning how to cook, I can give Ruan Shiqing a surprise when he wakes up.
The cubs were so full after eating and drinking for dinner that they were walking around in the backyard to eat.
Rong Heng took this opportunity to tell his plan: "When the Yanjis garrison arrives and the team is reorganized, I may not stay on planet B3024 forever."
This was the news that the kids knew during the meeting, so they kept silent and waited for further news.
"I'm not going to take you with me this time. Yuebai, Heli and Nota, you will stay with Hector at the military base, and Ruan Jiao... will stay on planet B3024. Garland needs your assistance."
The place for the little ones has been arranged.
It was probably because of Ruan Shiqing that Rong Heng felt fear in his heart, and he was unwilling to let the cubs follow him to the front line battlefield. Interstellar rescue is an extremely dangerous thing, not to mention the current turbulent and chaotic situation, the unknown strength of the Zerg, and the danger is doubled.
It would be better to let them stay in the headquarters. Even if there is war outside, it will not affect here for the time being.
The cubs objected as expected.
He Li was the first to disagree: "We used to go to the battlefield together."
"We will never fall behind." Nota also raised his chin.
Ruan Yuebai vaguely guessed what he was thinking and whispered, "Even if you don't take us there, we can still follow you secretly."
Rong Heng choked up, knowing that Ruan Yuebai was right.
Both He Li and Nota are not obedient kids. Plus, it is not impossible for Ruan Yuebai, the military advisor he taught, to follow him secretly.
Rong Heng pinched his nose bridge in pain, and was at a loss for a moment.
After a moment of silence, he could only pick the weak ones and looked at Ruan Jiao who was listening to their conversation with his ears perked up: "Forget about the three of you, you have to stay."
Ruan Jiao:!!!
The cub opened its eyes wide in disbelief, its tentacles stood straight up, and it felt angry and aggrieved.
Feeling abandoned.
“I want to go too!”
"Garland's research needs your assistance, and since we're gone, someone has to stay to take care of Dad. 09 can't handle it alone."
Ruan Jiao was obviously much easier to appease than the other three cunning kids. He blinked his eyes and felt the heavy responsibility on his shoulders.
He responded hesitantly and nodded vigorously.
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince rubbed his little head with satisfaction and glanced at the other three bad boys.
Finally there is someone who can be coaxed.
The garrison of Yengeis arrived at star b3024 five days later.
Rong Heng transferred most of the troops here, leaving only a small number to continue guarding the front line.
Hector's cronies in the Ota region also arrived at about the same time, and the unknown garbage planet B3024 became more lively than ever before.
The military base on the neighboring unnamed planet was finally completed after having enough manpower and began the finishing work.
The entire military base covers a vast area and has complete supporting facilities, which is more complete than the B3024 star.
Ruan Shiqing personally designed the blueprints of the military base, and the core energy source used the latest antimatter reactor. Now that it has been completed, a protective shield has risen over the entire military base, isolating the severe cold outside. Through the weather system to simulate climate change, it can already ensure the normal work and life needs of humans.
Some of the soldiers and workers on planet b3024 were transferred to the military base.
The military base has a larger arsenal with better equipment. Inside, there is a separate fully automatic production line dedicated to the production of antimatter engines. This was an idea that Ruan Shiqing had completed when he was in Sikkim. The modification drawings of the fully automatic production line had long been passed to Mori, and construction was supposed to begin after he returned to planet B3024.
As a result, Ruan Shiqing met with an accident on his way back, and the war could no longer wait, so Mori could only gather people to rush to modify the production equipment according to his drawings.
Fortunately, Ruan Shiqing's drawings were very detailed. Mori had already asked someone to revise the first version. He and 嵣 had discussed it through communication. He had wanted to wait for 壎 to come back and personally review the improvements before putting them into production, but now he could only proceed according to the first version.
Just as the arsenal was working overtime to produce the first antimatter battleship, the news that the defenders of Yengeis had evacuated the front line finally broke out on the holographic network.
The withdrawal of the Southeast Region defenders meant the complete collapse of the Southeastern Defense Line.
This was the first time in all the years of fighting against the Zerg that the frontline defenders retreated. Moreover, so many defenders disappeared without a trace!
The people who saw the news were outraged and demanded an explanation from the government and the military, questioning whether they were ready to abandon their country and people.
However, the senior military officials who received the news were even more confused than the people.
We have never issued an evacuation order, let alone the Emperor, who is lying in the ward!
Just when the military was overwhelmed by questions from all sides, another planet in the Syracuse region was attacked by Zerg.
The attacked planet immediately sent a distress signal to the empire, but the military itself was already overwhelmed, and with various forces fighting for their own interests, no one was willing to lose combat power, and they blamed each other and delayed sending out rescue troops.
Rong Heng got the news first through Lucien.
He put on his military cap, buttoned up his collar, and went to say goodbye to Ruan Shiqing.
The man in a neat military uniform stood beside the bed, staring at him for a long time, and finally leaned over to kiss the corner of the sleeping man's lips, and whispered, "I'm leaving, wait for me to come back."