The crowd, initially worried, breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this.

Because of Li Xing’s presence, the participants on the main battlefield also knew what was happening on this side.

Although it sounded like a short story spanning several thousand words, at its core, it was really just one sentence from the alien and a single stroke from Ma Ran.

The eternal nemesis is a farcical joke.

To the Extremely Effective Monarch, Ma Ran saw him as merely a chess piece that required slight polishing to be used better, nothing more.

The perspectives of the two sides differed vastly, with a gap so great that it eliminated any sense of fear toward the Extremely Effective Monarch.

Ma Ran’s composure and confidence added a touch of courage to everyone.

“Senior Wu Di, Senior Wan Haihao, please rest and recover well!”

It was Li Xing who spoke.

At this moment, his eyes burned with flames of battle intent, seemingly nothing like an Awakened with the ability of Extreme Cold, exuding with enthusiasm: “Leave the rest to us!”

“I believe that under Brother Ran and Sister Qiangwei’s wise leadership, we can definitely defeat all outer star invaders and send them packing back home!”

When Xiao Ming was gathering material in Lotus City, Li Xing temporarily took over the status of this “old senior.”

Though a newcomer in the second phase of the Grass Hut Academy, he quickly utilized his own advantages (personally sent to the Grass Hut Academy by Ma Ran), mingled seamlessly with other members, and established a good network of connections — essentially a well-informed source eager to share information.

Holding his phone with frostbitten hands, Li Xing embodied the spirit of “light injuries do not take you off the front lines,” running back and forth, interviewing and comforting, weak yet excited, making people worry he might faint on the spot.

Wherever there was news, he appeared.

“…”

At this moment, President Huang Weiguo stood at the ward door, and after finishing some flattery, Li Xing met his gaze, smiling somewhat awkwardly: “You all chat, don’t mind me, I just came over to provide some comfort.”

Saying this, Old Huang entered the ward and placed two large baskets of apples at the bedside.

The older generation had their ways when sending fruit to patients.

They usually gave apples, symbolizing peace and health, and never pears, because the homonym for “separation” in Chinese sounded ominous.

Looking at the two baskets of fruits, Ma Ran frowned slightly, feeling complicated.

As someone who returned from apocalyptic rebirth, he cherished food greatly, to the point of being pathological, unable to bear others wasting food.

Under his lead, the entire Grass Hut Academy developed the habit of finishing everything on their plates; no grain of rice was left wasted after meals.

Perhaps Su Qiangwei had a part in this?

In any case, to cut a long story short, in Ma Ran’s eyes, all fruits were exquisite delicacies, rare treats.

To supplement vitamins, they normally used composite tablets, two a day.

Vegetables were rarely seen.

Fruits?

Only after completing arduous tasks, during celebrations, could they get a share, sliced and evenly distributed, allowing team members to have a taste.

Except for apples…

Seeing them made Ma Ran feel stiff all over, goosebumps rising on his arms.

Once, he liked apples quite a bit.

Objectively speaking, they tasted good and were highly nutritious, rich in various vitamins, able to aid digestion, calm nerves, and rejuvenate the mind.

However…

In the first two years after passing the academy’s trials and becoming a Civilization Guardian during a time when resources weren’t excessively scarce, Ma Ran ate apples until he was sick of them.

Every time he was injured and hospitalized, a basket full of apples was always on the bedside table.

From a young age, his parents taught him that waste was shameful, and these fruits, imbued with gratitude, were not right to give away.

So…

Ma Ran would always take several days to eat all of the apples before they spoiled.

Eight thousand, or ten thousand?

In those unbearable days, Ma Ran truly ate apples until he was hurt.

His soul roared in resistance to this fruit!

Seeing them made him feel physically uncomfortable, his stomach churning.

Before his rebirth, sometimes when he slept, he dreamt of red apples swaying in front of him as if dripping blood.

The most profound and terrifying nightmare he never shared with outsiders wasn’t the bloody, smoke-filled, limb-scattered battlefield; it was those harmless-looking little apples.

“Hehehe…”

Su Qiangwei keenly noticed the change in Ma Ran’s emotions and, with a mischievous smile, picked out two plump, smooth, and perfectly shaped red apples from the fruit basket. With a swirl of steam in her palm, she cleaned off all dust, pesticides, and insect-resistant wax from the fruits.

Sizzling…

The girl took a crispy bite out of one-third of an apple and handed the other one over to Ma Ran: “Your brain power has been greatly depleted, you need some replenishment!”

“Don’t worry! I’ve washed it thoroughly, it’s very clean, you can eat it directly!”

Ma Ran looked at Su Qiangwei expressionlessly and took half a step back.

She was definitely doing this on purpose!

“As expected! I guessed right, you hate apples…”

“Hahaha, even someone like you has such a cute side!”

“Ow! Don’t flick my forehead! What if my hairline recedes!”

“Darn! I’m a patient! Is this how you treat a wounded person… Ow! It hurts!”

“Ouch ouch! Hiss… To be fair, let’s not use Inner Qi and only use Superpowers to duel, how about that?”

Post-battle daily little episodes, not needing further words.

The aftercare work was overwhelming; solely relying on President Huang Weiguo was insufficient in efficiency.

The participants in the Grass Hut Battle, after recovering from their injuries, all engaged in various tasks, executing what they could.

Wan Haihao was only slightly injured, primarily physically exhausted; after some simple treatment and nutrition replenishment, he was free to move about.

After this battle, this Sword Master’s Direct Disciple took on the significant “space gate relocation” mission right after merely a bit of treatment and hurriedly headed towards Fulan Academy.

Wu Di was in a rather miserable condition because of his bull-headedness, with three vital organs ruptured.

While others were running around, he could only lie in bed, quietly listening to medical workers’ instructions, unable to even speak a word.

Whenever he spoke, the hardly-stitched wound threatened to burst open.

Normally, Wu Di’s condition would take a long time to heal.

However, before leaving the ward with Ma Ran and others, Su Qiangwei employed the Healing ability.

A hand holding a white light-swirling surgical knife directly stabbed into Wu Di’s belly.

The severe injuries to his liver, spleen, and lungs healed ninety-nine percent on the spot; stitches didn’t need removing, and after a good sleep, he’d return to normal.

The day after the Grass Hut Battle concluded.

“Yesterday, when leaving the inpatient ward, I saw some severely injured comrades and felt they were miserable, so I healed them on the fly.”

When Ma Ran asked, “Why are you still so thin when the battle is over?” Su Qiangwei replied as such.

After receiving this response, Ma Ran silently pondered for a long time.

No matter how she usually acted, deep within Su Qiangwei’s soul lay that commanding and courageous Battlefield Valkyrie.

Sharp in discerning between right and wrong, resolute in killing decisively, cutthroat, yet kind-hearted with empathy.

In a previous life, before Dong Huaiming’s soul and body deformity due to the study of Enclosure Text, he had recommended a book to Ma Ran.

There was a sentence in that book that left a deep impression on him.

To this day, whenever he thought of it, it seemed like just yesterday.

That sentence was a variation on a line from Water Margin – “Peace was established by the general, not allowing the general to witness peace.”

Compared to the feudal monarch thoughts seeping through the original version, Ma Ran preferred the modified version – “Peace was established by the general, and the general should also witness peace!”

Putting in effort without reaping rewards is too foolish!

Ma Ran could not tolerate such a situation.

So…

The courageous and struggling Guardians will find glory and happiness.

The ugly, cowardly traitors will die in despair.

This was Ma Ran’s ideal blueprint for the world deep within his heart.

The reason?

Nothing else!

The word “fairness” is enough.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep