Chapter 639: Meeting the Press
"Actually, what don’t I go back inside to check what’s inside right now——"
"Not so fast. I need you to meet with Wuli and write a letter to Houqin to ask her to bug off with her questions."
As Yiming pulled onto his arm, Xiaoyun thought for a second before coming back out from the fog.
"Fine... But I’m not showing myself to Wuli with this look. I ain’t about to ruin her eyes by having her look at me."
---
When Xiaoyun and Yiming arrived back at the military base, they were a little surprised to see a whole crew standing right outside.
Alongside the crew were rows of soldiers, all seemingly blocking the way for the crew to go any further.
Several of them were all holding some sort of cameras, with a bullet-proof vest and a safety helmet that had the big letter word ’Press’ written on it.
"General Yiming! You’re finally back."
As Yan Lin quickly ran up to the entrance to meet the two of them, the entire crew instantly rushed up to them.
"What the hell is happening here? Why are all these cameramen for?" Yiming asked in confusion.
"Mrs.Yuqi had permitted us to interview the soldiers and the combat situation. Mr.Yiming, can you let us in?"
"Yuqi? When did she get the right to give that permission?" Yiming questioned as he looked over to Yan Lin.
"That’s the problem, sir. I haven’t let them in. Only Miss Houqin or Commander-in-Chief has the right to grant such permission."
"Mr.Yiming, please. We won’t distract too many of them from their work. We only need a few soldiers to interview and guide us.
We swear we won’t cause any trouble. Everyone in the town just wants to know how the situation is going in Shenzhen."
"General Yiming, I don’t recommend opening the floodgates... We had always only given the press report after the combat was over, not during."
Yan Lin’s point quickly changed Yiming’s decision as he was heavily leaning towards just letting them in.
"Sorry, I’m afraid I cannot——"
"Yiming, no need to block them off. This is a great opportunity to reassure the people and showcase the military’s strength."
As Xiaoyun spoke up in the hazmat suit, both the press and Yan Lin instantly realized who the person inside was.
"Commander Chen?"
"Mr.Governor!"
"Good afternoon, everyone. Have you all eaten lunch yet? Come on, no need to block the way anymore."
All of the soldiers immediately moved out of the way before Yan Lin replied for them.
"They are on their lunch break, sir."
"Then let them enjoy their lunch break... You all, feel free to take any pictures inside. Just don’t go inside the soldier’s tent for their privacy."
The camera crews all bowed down in gratitude as they started flooding into the base itself, taking pictures of everything inside.
"Yan Lin, go find a small squad to help guide the press... Make sure they don’t go to places that are too sensitive."
Xiaoyun whispered as he pulled Yan Lin over ot the side. Even though Yan Lin couldn’t see his face, the voice alone was enough to confirm it.
"Yes, sir."
With Yan Lin off into the distance, Xiaoyun turned back around to look over to Yiming, only to find him being interviewed by the Guangzhou Daily.
"Yuqi really got a little scared, huh..."
---
"Xiaoyun!"
As Wuli ran straight into Xiaoyun’s open arms, he suddenly felt a sense of nostalgia as Leyan’s face popped up.
"Hey Wuli... It’s been a while, hasn’t it?" Xiaoyun asked, shaking his head a little to get the image out of his head.
"Where have you been, you dummy! You know how scared I was when I saw you running in the opposite direction?"
Seeing her looking so angry, Xiaoyun nodded his head in acknowledgment as his hand froze near her head.
"I’m happy that you followed my order."
Watching him move his hand back down, she hesitated for a second before carrying his hand all the way back up to her head.
"You still didn’t answer my question... Also, what’s up with this hazmat suit you’re still wearing?"
"It’s a long story... All you have to know is that after tomorrow, I’ll go back to Luoping to explain everything."
Xiaoyun’s reassurance made Wuli a little angry as she pushed his hand aside, ending the headpat.
"You... You’d better keep your promise." Wuli warned.
"Of course."
As Wuli looked up to the face shield area on the hazmat suit, all she could see was a person wearing a gas mask underneath.
"Are you really Xiaoyun?" Wuli suddenly questioned.
"Of course I am. What makes you think I’m not? Can you not recognize my voice? Or do I need to prove it to you?"
"I... It’s just you’re wearing this hazmat suit, and you don’t even want to show me your face after how long it has been."
Seeing her face looking a little disappointed, Xiaoyun let out a sigh before speaking up again.
"Are you sure you want to see me right now? I’m just warning you... It might cause you to have nightmares when you sleep at night."
"I don’t care what you look like... I just want to see the real you right now." Wuli replied with a firm look in her eyes.
"FIne. I’ll show you a little."
As Xiaoyun slowly lowered his zipper, her eyes soon widened in disbelief when he unzipped the next layer.
She could see the reddness on his chest, looking redder than an apple as he zipped it right back up.
"Now you’re happy?"
"W-Why is your skin so red?" Wuli questioned.
"I already said, it’s a long story. I’m not even sure why it’s so red. But it probably has to do with being stuck in the fog for so long."
"Is it going to go away?"
"That’s what I’m hoping to happen... For now, I can’t really change it, no matter how I try to use my ability."
Hearing the issue Xiaoyun was facing, Wuli’s face looked more and more concerned until she suddenly ran up to his arms once again.
"I love you no matter what, okay? E-Even if you got third-degree burns, I won’t abandon you." Wuli whispered.
"I think you might be overthinking it. The thing on my skin isn’t that serious... I can feel it going away every second."
"Really?"
"Yes, really. Just wait a few days, and I’ll be able to take this off. Just trust your husband for once, okay?’
"Wait a moment, what do you mean, a few days? Aren’t you coming back with me to Luoping tomorrow?"
Seeing Wuli questioning the details in his words, Xiaoyun awkwardly scratched the back of his head.
"Well, about that... Yiming and I went to the new restricted fog area earlier. And it turns out I’m somehow perfectly immune to the pressure inside."
"Perfectly immune? How’s that possible?"
"I got as much clue as you... It’s probably something that has to do with the fog. But don’t worry, I won’t do anything stupid this time."
Wuli’s mouth opened for a second as if she was about to criticize him, but in the end, she could muster a few soft words.
"You’d better get home safely... Everyone is waiting."
A few minutes later...
When the back of the semi-truck closed, Xiaoyun stood still and watched as it exited the military base and into the distance.
"Why did you send her away?" Yiming curiously asked, walking up from behind.
"She has an important thing I need her to deliver to Tianci... Anyway, are you done with the press now?"
"What do you think? Who knows how long they are going to stay here... All thanks to you, by the way."
As the two stood at the entrance in silence, a thought suddenly popped into Xiaoyun’s mind.
"Yiming, wanna bet?"
"Bet what?"
"I bet they are going to leave by tonight... The loser has to pay for the next dinner." Xiaoyun dared
"That’s not big enough of a bet... How about the loser has to hold the press conference after all of this is done?" Yiming dared again.
"Deal."
"You’re going to lose, you know that, right?" Yiming warned as they began walking back into the base.
"Don’t get so cocky... Anyway, let’s go get a car. I want to get back into the fog before the redness on my skin disappears."
---
By the time the two of them made it to the heavily guarded fogged area, the sun was starting to go down on the horizon.
"Oh boy, looks like this place is pretty busy now."
Yiming murmured as right before their car was a bunch of cameramen in the distance, all taking pictures of the fog at various heights.
Some were high up in the buildings, while others took a more direct approach on the road for a wider shot.
"It’s fine... Not like anyone can see me when I’m inside the fog."
As Xiaoyun stepped out of the driver’s seat, Yiming followed right behind as they tried to sneak past the press.
"General Yiming! Good afternoon!"