After venting his anger on the desk, Antonio’s temper cooled down. He folded the newspapers neatly and placed them on the newspaper rack.

  The phone rang.

  Antonio wasn't surprised at all. Calling before work hours was a way for the other party to show him respect—the commander didn't want to make things difficult for him in front of his subordinates.

  The only person who would do this was the Army Commander-in-Chief, Ricardo, the man who had promoted Antonio.

  “Commander! Good morning.”

  Ricardo’s tone was as flat as Antonio’s: “Come to my office.”

  The Army Headquarters was diagonally across from the Presidential Palace.

  After getting out of his car in the underground parking lot, Antonio took the elevator directly to the 9th floor. He knocked, received a response, and pushed the door open.

  Ricardo was already a thin, small man, and having just recovered from a major illness, he looked even thinner now. His pale, thinning hair looked as if it might fall out at any moment.

  There were no opening remarks or introductions. Once the door closed, Ricardo spoke calmly. “Explain. As detailed as possible. The matter of the mineral rights auction.”

  Antonio recounted the entire story from beginning to end, including his ex-wife from the National Security Bureau’s special task force breaking into his office with a gun, how he used sex to bait Bernardo into helping find his son, and how he sensed that Bernardo and Sebastian were conspiring to steal state-owned mineral assets—though, of course, he had no evidence for the last part.

  Ricardo’s eyes widened in total shock, his face practically saying, “You can actually do that?” It wasn't until he saw Antonio turning beet-red and breaking into a cold sweat from sheer embarrassment that Ricardo finally nodded with a slightly awkward smile.

  Antonio also let out a big sigh of relief. Since Ricardo hadn't lost his temper, it meant he trusted him.

  “You may go back. You won’t be dismissed, but for now, you have no command authority. You cannot mobilize any troops. You must undergo a corruption investigation.” Ricardo adjusted his glasses and continued, “However, by participating in the theft of state mineral assets at an ultra-low price, your reputation is already ruined. Perhaps you should make a public statement and apology in the media before the public discovers your 10% stake.”

  “No! I have more to report.”

  Antonio stood his ground stubbornly. Would a soldier who had crawled out of a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood care about something like reputation?

  Strictly speaking, he had died several times already.

  He didn't care at all!

  “Speak!” Ricardo remained calm.

  “I do not accept the removal of my command authority.”

  Antonio’s words gave Ricardo a start. What a guy, this Antonio—his independent streak hadn’t changed one bit. Now, he was directly defying military orders!

  Knowing that Antonio was hard to push once his mind was set, Ricardo continued to listen in silence.

  “I’ve had someone investigate. Yesterday, immediately after I met with Sebastian, his wife and children left for the United States. That means their hosting me at their home was a deliberate setup. Sebastian might be plotting more than just stealing 760,000 square kilometers of coal assets; he might want even more—more mineral rights, national reform power… Look…”

  Antonio pulled out a copy of Economic Reference and spread it on the desk in front of Ricardo.

  The military usually didn't read economic newspapers. Ricardo flipped through it casually and was about to toss it aside.

  Antonio turned it to the second page for him.

  On this page, a full-page report covered Sebastian donating $600,000 worth of food and supplies to countries on both sides. It talked at length about charity, how to exchange state minerals for development funds, international free trade, and the direction of economic reform.

  “Commander, I don’t understand economics, but Sebastian is clearly betting on both sides of the Rio Sangreza River. Additionally, his ideas are politically opposed to the President, who advocates for martial law, currency reform, land redistribution, and infrastructure development. Think about it—if farmland is distributed equally to peasants, can they still easily use dirty tricks to acquire the unknown minerals hidden beneath that land at low prices?”

  “Sebastian sent his wife and children to the U.S. last night. He must have anticipated a major move coming next; perhaps they planned it themselves. Combined with Bernardo’s collusion from the military sub-district, we can predict this move might involve the President's safety!”

  "Please don't forget, the President supports reconciliation between the two banks of the Rio Sangreza River," Antonio added gravely.

  Ricardo snapped his head up, his eyes shining as if he had just woken from a dream.

  “Therefore, I request that my military mobilization rights not be revoked. Someone must keep an eye on Bernardo while strengthening security around the President. The President should not appear in any public setting recently.”

  “Once they make a big move, I will be responsible for controlling Bernardo.”

  “And…” Antonio was about to continue when Ricardo took over:

  Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

  “We must find out who else is involved behind this mineral rights corruption case!”

  …

  At this time, Elena was also reading the newspaper.

  Every day at this hour, the mailman would come to the barracks. Elena would pretend she had a letter and go to the mailman to check, taking the opportunity to flip through the latest newspapers.

  The People’s Awakening, a newspaper that started by criticizing the bourgeoisie and the landlord class. Today’s front page actually read:

  "Patriotic overseas compatriot donates 1,500 tons of rice to the motherland." In smaller print, it showed the name of this compatriot was Sebastian. He’s a mineral trader—isn’t that just a capitalist? Elena felt a silent urge to laugh.

  There was a photo of Sebastian on the paper, but she couldn't be bothered to care what this "great philanthropist" and "major business owner" even looked like.

  A small box at the end of the page read:

  “Collectivism must be maintained without wavering.”

  Elena scanned two more newspapers; they were all the same. There was nothing about economic reform, which was exactly what she expected.

  While Elena was reading the paper, Lucy received a letter from her family. It told her that her father’s illness had eased and her younger sister, Nina, was getting more skilled at making matchboxes by hand, earning a full 500 pesos a month. Her mother told Lucy to just take care of herself and not worry too much about home.

  After reading it, Lucy stuffed the letter back into the envelope. She didn't believe it for a second. How could her father’s illness ease when they lacked medicine? Nina had some intellectual issues—could she really earn 500 pesos a month making matchboxes?

  Her mother was reporting the good news but hiding the bad.

  Lucy slowly calmed her emotions, not letting her worries show on her face.

  “Elena, a letter for you.” When the mailman said this, both Lucy and Elena were startled at the same time.

  “Who’s writing to you? Who would write to you?” Although Lucy was curious, she didn't feel right leaning in to look. She stood a short distance away, waiting for Elena to finish.

  To her surprise, Elena glanced at the letter and handed it directly to Lucy. “It’s from Octavia. She’s celebrating that Elias’s sister has broken up with her boyfriend. It’s quite interesting; you should read it too…”

  Lucy took the letter—it was three full pages long, all about how Daisy had picked up a man Octavia had thrown away years ago, only to be dumped by him.

  There wasn't a single word of concern from the family for Elena.

  Octavia did, however, ask how much salary Elena would receive at the end of the month and if she could send some money home to help the family.

  Lucy secretly felt a pang of heartache for Elena.

  Sienna also walked over to collect her mail, followed by five or six chirping female soldiers. Among them, Camila’s voice was the loudest:

  “Even though there will definitely be more delicious food, you all better be nice to Sienna. Otherwise, wouldn't you be ashamed of eating someone else's good stuff for free?”

  “You can look, but no touching! No one moves a finger on those snacks without Sienna’s permission. Do you understand? This is a matter of principle!”

  Sienna’s package was indeed massive; she couldn't even wrap both arms around it.

  While opening the package, Sienna deliberately showed the contents to Elena and Lucy. Good heavens—it was only August, yet thermal undergarments and cotton gloves had already been sent. Naturally, snacks took up the most space, along with a letter.

  “Is something wrong with my memories from my past life?” Elena began to doubt herself again.

  In her past life, Sienna claimed her family circumstances were in decline. But looking at it now, her family was clearly very well-off. A single pair of those exquisite cotton gloves alone cost more than the clothes on Elena’s back. Not to mention the thermal undergarments, which were worth a whole month’s salary for some.

  While Elena was lost in thought, Sienna mistook it for envy. She hugged her package, walked past Elena, and deliberately raised her chin with a huff.

  During the two-hour break at noon, Elena and Lucy went to Granny Agnes’s house to learn how to make chestnut pastries.

  Lucy now knew that Elena was learning to make these pastries to earn money, which made her heart ache even more. “Elena’s family would never send her money again. ”

  Lucy felt she had to help Elena learn to use these chestnut pastries to make a living, even though doing so might result in military punishment.

  Lucy even made a secret vow in her heart: “If there’s a punishment, let it fall on me alone. Elena is too weak; she definitely couldn't handle it. If the officers interrogate us, I’ll just say the idea to make money was all mine.”

  Seeing them arrive, Agnes brought out a pot and a mass of ground chestnut powder.

  Elena found it strange: “Granny, how is it already prepared?”

  “Oh, Roan came to learn this morning. This is the leftover chestnut powder he used.”

  Lucy’s eyes widened: “Is Roan trying to have a snack-making match with us to see whose is better?”

  Only Elena vaguely guessed Roan’s intention.

  He probably wanted to make money.