Genius Club
Chapter 1178 - 40: Dabble (Extra Chapter for Monthly Votes!)

Under the immense disparity in military capabilities, the power imbalance was stark. Lin Xian’s mercenary corps overwhelmed the local indigenous armed forces like a father disciplining his child, forcing them into a series of defeats, retreating desperately, with an unstoppable momentum.

Night fell, and the moon rose.

The mercenary corps lit fires for the elderly, children, and disabled left behind in the village, providing drinking water and food for everyone to eat.

Professional medical teams checked the villagers’ health, offered basic treatment, and prepared to transport this group of refugees to a safe zone during daylight hours tomorrow via transport vehicles.

By the stone block at the village entrance, Lin Xian and Du Yao sat, holding steaming self-heating meals in their hands.

"I didn’t know Tang Xin had passed away until half a month after it had happened."

Du Yao spoke while eating:

"The situation in South Sudan is extremely chaotic. While we’re conducting peacekeeping missions, we also have to aid the wounded and refugees. Often, we’re so busy for days on end that there’s no time to sleep, so my contact with Tang Xin was on and off."

"It was only later when I managed to get in touch with Tang Xin’s younger brother that I learned of her death. But by then... her funeral had been over for many days."

"At the time, I was devastated, but in a place like this, you don’t even have time to grieve. Every day, you brush past bullets and artillery shells, and every day countless civilians and children lose their lives."

"When I finally had the time to process this, I realized... I had witnessed too much death and separation here. I couldn’t even shed tears anymore."

Du Yao put down her bowl and chopsticks, shaking her head:

"Peacekeeping and rescue missions are like this, racing against life, snatching people from the hands of death. It’s not some game you can come and go as you please."

"Especially not long after, when my boyfriend was also killed in a clash. It broke my heart and left me numb."

"My condolences."

Lin Xian said softly:

"So... the reason you initially chose to come to South Sudan as a peacekeeping volunteer, it was because of your boyfriend, wasn’t it?"

Listening to Du Yao’s explanation, Lin Xian gained a rough understanding of her situation.

She and Tang Xin graduated from the same university, and after graduation, they both entered the same research institute. But something must have happened later, prompting her to follow her boyfriend to Africa for peacekeeping and aid work.

Lin Xian couldn’t fully grasp this kind of spirit.

But he respected every person who made selfless sacrifices.

"I really admire your actions and spirit."

He continued:

"However... you’ve already done your best and made sacrifices. Can’t you return to China now? Your boyfriend has passed away. What’s the point of you staying here alone?"

Du Yao raised her head.

She glanced at the war orphans devouring their food by the fire in front of her:

"Isn’t this the point?"

She smiled:

"At first, I couldn’t understand either why my boyfriend chose to come here as a volunteer. I argued with him countless times."

"I said, there are so many remote mountain areas in China, so many children who don’t have enough to eat. If you want to do charity, why don’t you go to the mountains in China to teach? Why not help rural development in those areas? Why come to this war-torn place?"

"My boyfriend was very stubborn. At the time, he said..."

"If no one comes to war-torn areas as volunteers, then what will happen to the children in war zones?"

"It’s true that the children in China’s mountains also need help, but at least in the mountains, there’s no war, no risk of being reduced to ashes in the blink of an eye while eating."

Du Yao pulled the hair tie from her braid and shook out her hair:

"At the time, I thought he was foolish, impossible to reason with. But after actually coming here, I realized... this place is hell, a hell that people living peaceful lives can’t even imagine."

"It’s true that I came here for him, no doubt about it. But this place needs me, needs more people to help. Yes, in the past year or so, we’ve lost many comrades, and many people couldn’t hold on and left."

"But I can’t leave. I don’t want to leave."

She closed her eyes:

"My boyfriend died on this land. He didn’t desert, and I don’t want to desert either. I just want to save one more person, preserve one more life, and continue the work he didn’t finish."

"Honestly, I was pampered growing up, but now, I’ve never felt that life here is hard. When life is constantly under threat, when death is ever-present, you truly realize, there’s no such thing as suffering. Being alive is already a blessing."

Lin Xian listened quietly to Du Yao’s story.

He nodded gently:

"You loved him deeply."

"Of course, I loved him."

Du Yao smiled:

"But now, it’s no longer just about love. He’s already become a part of my life, a compass for my spirit."

With that.

She stood up and walked toward a nearby mercenary smoking a cigarette:

"Can I have one?"

She placed the cigarette in her mouth, lit it with a borrowed lighter, and sat back down beside Lin Xian.

She took a deep drag.

Exhaled a puff of white smoke:

"He was a very serious person, exceptionally upright."

Du Yao’s voice softened:

"So he couldn’t stand frivolous girls with exaggerated attire and a flashy demeanor."

"I used to deliberately annoy him by dressing hip-hop style, dying my hair, getting piercings, and wearing heavy makeup... Every day, I’d send him photos, thinking that he’d come back just to scold me, argue with me, or lecture me."

"I even learned to smoke, something he hated most—girls smoking. But even so... he still didn’t come back. In his eyes, perhaps ideals and beliefs far outweighed one girl, one love."