boyutpedia Chapter 163 New Year’s Day
Chapter 163 New Year’s Day
On December 30th, Li Chenglong arrived at Military Region 12 in the morning. He had a friendly exchange with the two combat regiments stationed there and inquired carefully about their difficulties. Wu Gang saluted and said, "Team Leader Li, we do have some difficulties. Could you give us a few hundred more Type 20 assault rifles? Hehe."
Li Chenglong said with a smile, "Now, all six combat regiments, plus the Military Discipline Department, the Young Pioneers, the Special Forces, and the City Security Department, need to be equipped with new weapons. This is a huge gap. Fortunately, the Type 20 assault rifle only requires orange crystals, and we have plenty. I estimate that in another month, everyone will be able to be equipped. In addition to the rifles, crystal grenades and crystal bombs will also be distributed."
Wu Gang was overjoyed upon hearing the news, as weapons are the lifeblood of an army. Good weapons not only enhance combat effectiveness but also significantly reduce casualties. Li Chenglong later observed the soldiers' training and was very satisfied. As he was leaving, Wu Gang pulled Li Chenglong aside: "Captain, do you still have any of those Flame Fruits?" Li Chenglong asked in surprise, "Didn't we give you a few back then? You've run out, haven't there been any major battles recently?"
Wu Gang then explained in detail that during the previous battle, a level 4 water-type ability user had been injured. Since she happened to be the strongest healer, Wu Gang gave her a Flame Fruit to save her life. Li Chenglong wondered, "I remember the research department distributes some crystal recovery potions to each combat battalion every month. Don't be stingy in situations like this; just use them." Wu Gang said embarrassedly, "I definitely won't be stingy; I just ran out."
Li Chenglong's eyes widened: "Use it sparingly. Our science and technology department only produces about 100 bottles a month." But after saying that, he took out five Flame Fruits and three bottles of Crystal Recovery Potions and handed them to Wu Gang. Wu Gang looked around and quickly stuffed them into the inside pocket of his military overcoat.
He had originally planned to visit Shen Menghua, but suddenly received a call from Chu Kexin. Li Chenglong unlocked his crystal phone with his fingerprint, and Chu Kexin's pretty face appeared on the screen. Chu Kexin said excitedly, "Captain Li, we finally got it done! Come quickly!" Upon hearing this news, Li Chenglong quickly walked towards a renovated building next to the Shuguang Building.
Above the entrance of this six-story building hung several large characters: Dawn City Broadcasting and Television Bureau. Indeed, this was the bureau established by the Dawn City Committee at Li Chenglong's suggestion. It was responsible for news dissemination, social education, cultural entertainment, and information services, serving as Dawn City's news and public opinion agency and ideological and cultural stronghold. At the same time, the Organization and Propaganda Department was formally separated, becoming the independent Organization Department, responsible for personnel appointments in Dawn City. The Propaganda Department was merged into the Dawn City Broadcasting and Television Bureau. The Dawn City Broadcasting and Television Bureau was on the same level as other departments, with Chu Kexin as the director, Liu Qingqing as the deputy director, and Jiang Hui as the division chief.
Li Chenglong entered the building and saw that it had been completely renovated, with all sorts of equipment already moved in. As soon as Chu Kexin saw him enter, she rushed over and began to introduce the place to him. Li Chenglong inspected each floor, spoke with the staff on each floor, and finally said with satisfaction, "Very good. This department must be vigorously developed. By the way, how are the arrangements for the New Year's Eve party going?"
Chu Kexin said, "After more than a month of hard work, the gala is all set up, and the third rehearsal was held yesterday. The gala will be held at the Shuguang City Grand Theater, which was completed last month. It can accommodate 20,000 audience members and has heating and air conditioning, so it will definitely provide a comfortable environment for the audience and performers. In the past two weeks, under your instructions, Captain Li, we have distributed free internet TV to many families of martyrs and the elderly, infirm, and disabled, and we have also assigned people to help them connect to Crystal TV."
Li Chenglong nodded in satisfaction: "We've acquired quite a few internet TVs before, but it's really impossible to distribute one to each person. We can only distribute them to the families of martyrs and vulnerable groups first. Now they're also sold in the commercial street, and you can redeem them with points or buy them with crystals. However, the number of points required is not very high."
At this moment, Liu Qingqing also came upstairs. She first exchanged pleasantries with Li Chenglong and then said, "We conducted tests on Crystal Network and Dawn TV this morning, and everything is normal so far. On New Year's Eve, we are sure that every viewer watching on TV will be able to enjoy a wonderful program." Li Chenglong smiled and said, "Then the New Year's Eve gala is up to you."
During lunch, Li Chenglong told Yunlan the good news. Yunlan said happily, "This way, the residents of Dawn City will have a great entertainment option. Not only will there be the Dawn Gala, but they can also watch the live broadcast of the gala at home. I can say with certainty that we will definitely be the first in all of China."
Li Chenglong took out a large piece of stewed meat from his psionic space and placed it in Yunlan's bowl: "Try it and see how it tastes." Yunlan carefully examined the meat in the bowl, but couldn't tell what kind of animal it was. After taking a bite, she exclaimed in surprise, "What kind of meat is this? It's delicious!" Li Chenglong then told her, "This is the meat of that level 10 mutated beast, the Golden Leopard. I borrowed a pot from the canteen at the agency to cook it while you were sleeping in the early morning. This meat weighs several hundred pounds. I only stewed ten pounds this time. Starting today, you'll eat one pound a day, and I'll change the dishes for you later."
Yunlan hugged Li Chenglong tightly: "Darling, you're so good to me! This stew is so delicious, you must not have slept all night." Li Chenglong hugged Yunlan tightly, afraid she would fall: "I set a time in the middle, so I did get some sleep. What are you planning to do this afternoon? Shuguang TV is rehearsing for its fourth New Year's Eve Gala. You could come with me to inspect the Dawn Army, or go to the Special Forces. Or we could go to the shopping street; they've added a lot of new things there."
Yunlan asked curiously, "What did you add?" Li Chenglong explained, "It's things like crystal phones and internet TVs. Crystal phones are quite expensive because you need a level 4 yellow crystal to redeem one, so you need at least a level 4 crystal or the corresponding points to redeem it. There are also clothes made of exotic beast silkworm silk, which are even more expensive, but there's no way around it, the cost is very high."
Yunlan nodded, and after thinking for a moment, said, "Let's go see the special forces team together. I haven't been there in a long time." Li Chenglong agreed. Before going to the special forces team, Li Chenglong accompanied Yunlan to a barbershop in the commercial street to get her hair done. The barbershop owner was quite excited to see the couple. Hearing that Yunlan wanted a haircut, he carefully studied the hairstyle before starting. More than an hour later, Yunlan looked at herself in the mirror and felt that her demeanor had changed. She said to the barber with satisfaction, "Your hairdressing skills are quite excellent. Thank you."
Seeing that everything was finally settled, Li Chenglong took out five white crystals to pay. The barbershop owner said, "It's because of your efforts that we have this stable environment, and I'm able to open a barbershop here. I can't take your money." At this moment, the owner pointed to a notice hanging prominently in the barbershop. It clearly stated that children under 12 and seniors over 60 were free. Dawn Army soldiers received a 5% discount.
Li Chenglong was somewhat pleased, but he quickly added, "Having enjoyed the service, it's only right to pay the bill. No matter his status, power, or wealth." With that, he placed the crystal in the shopkeeper's hand and left with Yunlan. The special forces' dormitory was only about 300 meters from the Dawn Building and 500 meters from the commercial street where the barbershop was located. Li Chenglong and Yunlan observed the development of the commercial street as they walked towards the special forces' dormitory.
As soon as the two arrived at the special forces training location, Yang Liu spotted them. They were stretching and resting, and everyone came over to greet Li Chenglong and Yun Lan. Wang Shuang and the others hadn't seen Yun Lan for a month. She took Yun Lan's arm and said, "Sister Yun Lan, we thought you'd forgotten about us special forces members. It's been so long since you've come." Yun Lan smiled and said, "My belly is getting bigger, and it's really inconvenient. Plus, I've been a bit lazy and haven't wanted to move, so I haven't been able to come."
The girls were all chatting around Yunlan. Li Chenglong gathered the five male special forces members—Jiang Cheng, Jiang Dali, Liu Chuanfeng, Song Yuchen, and Dong Meng—together and started chatting with them as well. Currently, the special forces team has 20 members, and these five are the only men. Except for Song Yuchen, who is a level four ice-type user, the others are all level five ability users. Liu Chuanfeng, in particular, has been with Li Chenglong since the First People's Hospital of Jinghai City. However, because the special forces team didn't have many combat missions in the early stages, his leveling up was much slower.
Subsequently, under Yang Liu's command, the special forces members conducted individual combat training and team confrontation training, which earned praise from Yun Lan. Li Chenglong expressed his satisfaction and gave them full recognition.