Retired for A Hundred Years: Re-Employment for the Apocalypse Bigshot!-Chapter 459 - 454: Sprouted Potatoes Are Poisonous...
Qi Shixiao felt a sense of defeat, but there was nothing he could do.
He couldn’t win in a fight, and reasoning didn’t work either, so he could only watch Ji Ning leave with his nephew.
Even as they were leaving, Ji Ning threatened him with the subroutine in her hand: "If you don’t want all your hard work to be destroyed overnight, just be a good businessman."
Qi Shixiao suddenly had the feeling of lifting a rock only to drop it on his own foot.
...
All along the way, Lin Yuanyang remained silent, frequently casting glances at Ji Ning.
The expression of wanting to speak yet staying quiet was quite irritating to watch.
"If you want to ask something, just say it."
"Uncle said you are... the Commander himself..."
Ji Ning gave him a sidelong glance, "So?"
Lin Yuanyang looked conflicted, already past the initial shock, his feelings were extremely complex.
The events of today had almost shattered his worldview.
A person long said to be dead was actually alive, showing no signs of aging.
This was too unscientific. =. =!!
It was like a deity from a mythical story, a sage, a demigod suddenly appeared beside him.
Moreover, her personality was completely different from what historical records described.
She was practically a different person...
But before he could think further, Sister Ning’s eyes swept over.
He immediately asked his question: "Why did you pass away back then... no, I mean disappear? Was there really an assassination attempt, nearly blowing you up?"
Ji Ning was silent for a moment, not hiding the truth, "The assassination and explosion were real, but I was lucky and didn’t die."
Lin Yuanyang felt a wave of discomfort mixed with intense anger, "Did you find out who did it?"
Ji Ning thought of the thoroughly dead Joe Lane, and said lightly, "I know, but most of them are already dead."
Only then did Lin Yuanyang feel somewhat relieved.
But then he suddenly recalled the scene when they first met Ji Ning, asking confusedly: "Why did you suddenly appear at Mingfu Garden back then?"
"Hungry, came out looking for food, and ended up there."
Ji Ning did not reveal the matter of time travel, as it was too unbelievable.
However, the doubt in Lin Yuanyang’s eyes did not disappear, clearly not buying this explanation.
Just seeing Ji Ning’s demeanor indicating a reluctance to share more, he eventually chose to remain silent.
"Only you and Huang Ying know about this, so don’t tell... uh... them." Ji Ning’s voice was somewhat strange, her manner not quite natural.
If Ye Tong were present, she would surely tell Ji Ning that she had the burden of being an idol.
Lin Yuanyang nodded quickly, his eyes shining, feeling a sense of secretive delight in sharing a secret with Ji Ning.
"Sister Ning, during the chaotic times, was it really like history says, escaping doomsday every day?" Lin Yuanyang asked quietly, seeing no one around.
But Ji Ning kept looking at the sky and didn’t answer him.
Just when he thought Ji Ning wouldn’t answer, a faint voice seemed to drift in on the wind.
"It wasn’t just doomsday survival; every moment in the chaotic times was like being in purgatory."
"No one could escape, no one could get away."
"It was just a matter of whose fate was strong enough to survive to the end..."
The stars in the sky flickered momentarily, Ji Ning greedily enjoying the tranquility of modern times, unwilling to delve into past events.
Lin Yuanyang tightened his heart, looking at Ji Ning with a touch of distress in his eyes.
Suddenly he thought of the numerous comments online from later generations about her and the three commanders, suddenly feeling some anger.
The brutal events described in history books in such brief terms cannot convey even a fraction of what it was like, only those who personally experienced it have the right to recount the painful experiences back then.
Who are the people of later generations to stand on their shoulders and judge what they did as good or bad?
Such ignorance, like frogs at the bottom of a well.
***
On the sports field—
The lively activity continued, and the tired Bai Xiaotang finally remembered Ji Ning and Lin Yuanyang.
After looking around for a while, she finally spotted the two walking in from outside the field and shouted, "Sister Ning—Xiao Yang—come over here—"
The two, who were originally heading in another direction, turned towards where she was.
Bai Xiaotang jumped up while waving at them.
Under the firelight, her fair little face was tinted red, her eyes as bright as the North Star in the night sky.
Lin Yuanyang thought of Bai Xiaotang acting foolishly in front of her idol and felt somewhat unable to bear looking directly.
Fortunately, Sister Ning was tolerant of her; might this be what Sister Xiaotong often says about the idol’s tolerance and filter for their fans?
"Sister Ning, eat this..."
Bai Xiaotang mysteriously handed Ji Ning a potato she had just roasted.
Lin Yuanyang was astonished, "Where did you get it?"
Bai Xiaotang immediately "shushed" and lowered her voice, "Li Mu, they dug it out from the training camp’s vegetable garden."
Lin Yuanyang: ...
There is a large vegetable garden next to the training camp’s cafeteria, and most of the vegetables and fruits they eat are picked from there, green and healthy.
Sometimes Lin Yuanyang truly admired these people’s boldness.
Didn’t even check if the potatoes were mature and just went ahead and dug them up from someone’s garden?
And judging by the size of this potato, it seemed it hadn’t been planted long, still with sprouts growing on it.
Lin Yuanyang glanced around, well, no teachers were around.
No wonder these students dared to turn the bonfire party into an outdoor barbecue.
Ji Ning looked at Bai Xiaotang’s fingers, stained black from peeling the potato, and pressed her lips together.
With a stern face, she called all the students who had eaten the roasted potato to line up.
Everyone was puzzled, nervously glancing at Ji Ning, whispering their questions to similarly guilty Bai Xiaotang.
"Sister Ning, what’s the matter?"
Bai Xiaotang lowered her voice and said, "Sprouted potatoes are poisonous..."
Everyone was shocked, turning back to look at the culprits and furiously pointing at them with their fingers.
A group of audacious students, if Ji Ning hadn’t been around, would all end up with vomiting and diarrhea, utterly drained.
Compete tomorrow? What a joke...
In the end, the night passed without a real crisis; Ji Ning, with a darkened expression, led the group of students guilty of digging up and eating potatoes, apologized to the training camp director, conducted a thorough review, and compensated for the cost of the vegetables.
The bonfire party, although exciting at the beginning and even more thrilling at the end, was one of the most precious, unforgettable experiences of student life.
Just like those who lived through chaotic times were forged by the fires of war, the kids who grew up in greenhouses experienced the common human life.
All were memories that were hard to forget and etched deeply into their bones.
***
The next day.
The Huazhou High School Student Athletic Competition finally sounded the call to the finals.
Students from twelve schools stood in the open-air stadium, watching the large screen at the edge.
Nervously watching the competition timings and events.
The finals weren’t a round-robin, nor a one-on-one showdown, but a twelve-school melee.
A total of 8 events, held in 8 training zones within the camp.
The number of participants varied for each event, and schools could make adjustments based on the competition schedule and participants.
Schools were ranked by cumulative scores from the 8 events, with the top three schools being crowned the champions, first, and second runners-up of this Huazhou High School Athletic Competition.
Each school had initial points from their rankings in regional preliminaries.
Anhe Middle School currently sat at 22 points, ranking third from the bottom.
The schools trailing behind Anhe Middle School were only 2 points behind.
Lin Yuanyang used Smart Brain to quickly analyze data on students from each school and the scores needed for each project, matching strategies for Ji Ning and Huang Ying to consider.
For the 8 events, at least 6 people participated in each, with the competitions scheduled for morning and afternoon sessions.
Each school competed in two events per day, over 4 days, with results announced on the evening of the last day and a prize ceremony the following morning.
The first event, the gamer’s cabin, was the students’ favorite.
Ji Ning and Huang Ying, seeing all the students eager to participate, did not hesitate, immediately sending all 12 onto the field.
The more participants in each event, the easier it was to score points.
To balance the competition, some event difficulties needed increasing; such was the case for this game zone, combining reality and virtual, with task difficulty set at S-Class.
