657 Victorious

"Finally going home."

On top of AS Order's steel deck, gazing at the rising sun from the edge of the apocalypse, Jiang Chen was eager to return.

He had been away for two and a half months, which was far longer than the originally-planned one month journey due to various troublesome problems. Of course, the rewards from this journey were incredible. Based on valuations from Sixth Street Bank analysts, this battle contributed at least five million credit points to NAC's economy.

But he didn't want to think about the losses and gains; he only wanted to enjoy this beautiful view.

"The weather is quite nice today." Sun Xiaorou came up from behind him. She gently tucked her messy wind-swept hair behind her ears. "There's no radiation dust; we just see pure blue and white… this is the sky's original color."

The rolling clouds were like fresh-picked cotton. Like waves, they swirled around the mountain range. The Order sailing between them was just like a small boat.

In contrast with the pristine blue sky, below the steel airship were ruins and shambles, broken highways and tree-covered skyscrapers, as well as occasional flames…

"How big is our territory now?" Glancing down from the edge of the airship, Jiang Chen abruptly asked.

"From the Sixth Street to Hucheng Federation, we have around 110 thousand square kilometers of area under control," Sun Xiaorou gently said.

Because Sun Xiaorou often helped her sister with taking care of affairs, she knew bits and pieces of information. There were lots of NAC inspection stations in Suhang Province, and some NAC outposts were also established to provide supplies and protect traveling merchants and local survivors.

On the other hand, Jiang Chen, the boss, didn't know how big his territory was at all.

"Just that much?" Jiang Chen muttered.

In almost two years, they only occupied around one-hundredth of the Huxia Region, not to mention the entire Pac Pacific Area.

Sun Xiaorou rolled her eyes at his greedy comment and started to giggle.

"We're doing very well. Even with 110 thousand square kilometers of land, only less than 10 thousand square kilometers are developed; zombies and mutants are present in the other areas. Civilizing the land is far harder than invasion."

"That's true…" Jiang Chen sighed.

Limited population growth was always the shackle limiting NAC's growth. Even with an expansive territory, invading the land was futile without enough people to build on it.

But without utilizing the strengths of both worlds, when the Harmony invaded, he didn't think he would have any odds of winning. One hundred years meant a lifetime for normal people; it meant the entire world to them. But for a civilization, one hundred years was just a tiny slice of time.

Jiang Chen took out the thumb-sized glass bottle and carefully examined it between his fingers.

The serum with an orange hue cast an irregular sheen. This genetic password that would make all the great powers envious was like a poison…

Sun Xiaorou got closer to Jiang Chen and gently whispered into his ear.

"Don't feel so rushed."

"Feel so rushed?"

"About your hometown."

Jiang Chen took a second to process that before a smile emerged on his face. He tousled Sun Xiaorou's head.

"You're like the bug in my stomach."

"You can't just touch a girl's head like that." Sun Xiaorou grinned. She put her own hand on top of Jiang Chen's head and didn't move away.

"Sorry… also, you're not a child anymore, right?" Jiang Chen laughed.

"… Minus ten points for that sentence." Xiaorou pinched him on the waist before she turned around.

Jiang Chen watching her figure leaving with a smile before he redirected his gaze back to the water's surface.

Taifu River past the treacherous mountain, across the bank of Dianshan Lake, was like a giant egg. The translucent graphene mesh reflected a colorful vibrancy under the high noon sun. Construction vehicles scattered across the construction sites, accompanying the thousands of workers building a groundbreaking piece of work.

The Garden of Eden laid there.

The steel airship flew above the Garden of Eden and arrived in the Songjiang Area in Wanghai. With the help of radar, it slowly descended and moved to the airship harbor of Sixth Street. The soldiers and civilians all showed their respect and cheered the "steel monster" returning from afar.

The reason why they chose to park at the Sixth Street harbor was to demonstrate NAC's military might to NAC citizens and travelers. Military power and environmental stability were the priority for survivors on their search for a new home.

Amidst the deafening cheers of the crowd, Jiang Chen, dressed in power armor, along with the thousand soldiers in kinetic skeletons, walked through the streets of the Sixth Street to the square in front of the Council Building.

People held flowers as they welcomed their heroes home. They tossed colorful petals into the air.

As the man in the black polyethylene armor bathed in the petals and applause, all the soldiers straightened their backs with pride on their faces.

Jiang Chen walked slowly purposely.

The soldiers had been away from their homes for two months and fought valiantly for NAC in foreign territory; they deserved all this glory as recognition for their hard work. A lot of the single girls present not only gave them flowers, but they also gave the warriors warm hugs.

It is human nature to praise heroes.

An adorable girl stopped in front of Jiang Chen. While she was hugging his power armor, she suddenly tiptoed and gave him a kiss in front of everyone.

Jiang Chen didn't know if it was her first kiss because the girl instantly buried her head and escaped into the crowd like a startled deer. Amidst the loud cheers of the crowd, Jiang Chen only hesitated for half a second before a delightful laugh came out. He raised the flowers in his hand and waved at his citizens.

Heroism and beauty were eternal crowd-pleasers.

The fleet stopped only momentarily before it continued forward.

Half a step behind Jiang Chen, Lv Ze whispered into his ear.

"Judging by her experience, she's probably someone who just came out of the fallout shelter. If General is interested, I can search for her name."

Because Lv Ze was uncertain about Jiang Chen's feelings toward that girl, he cautiously didn't use "Blue Skin" with a negative connotation.

"There's no need."

He recalled the purity in her pupils and shook his head with a smile. He placed the fresh flowers, still dripping with dew, on a nylon hook.

Lv Ze looked at Jiang Chen's back with an odd expression.

[Has the Sun risen from the West? The General's now a vegetarian?]