Chapter 711: Arrangements

Watching these four grown men get sentimental in front of him, Feng Mountain understood.

While there might have been a bit of theatrics, the sincerity in their words was genuine.

After all, when Jenny and the others had been kidnapped, these four hadn’t hidden away. Instead, they had actively participated in the rescue mission.

“Fack!” Feng Mountain’s voice rose slightly as he cursed with a laugh, a gratified smile on his face. “If you want to stay, then put the money away. I never take back money I’ve given out.”

He paused for a moment before adding, “As it happens, I have a job for you.”

With that said,

Feng Mountain fell silent, his gaze fixed on the envelope on the table.

Gordon hesitated for a moment.

His eyes flickered between the envelope and Feng Mountain.

Finally, he reached out and took the envelope from the table.

A satisfied smile spread across Feng Mountain’s face. “You’ve seen it for yourselves,” he continued. “The plantation was hit hard by the cold snap, and now we need to get production back on track as quickly as possible. Your job is to find and buy well-established vegetable plants that are almost ready for harvest, as well as fruits like strawberries that can be harvested quickly over a large area.”

‘Find vegetable and fruit plants that are almost ready for harvest?’

‘Can fully grown plants like that even adapt to the climate in Crown Territory?’

Gordon couldn’t quite wrap his head around it.

He had been working the fields on the plantation for over a month, after all. He and his brothers had planted the strawberry patch themselves.

He knew a thing or two about crops.

Crown Territory had a rather unique climate; not all plants could thrive there.

However, Gordon quickly stopped dwelling on it.

‘The boss always has his reasons. As long as I do what he says, I can’t go wrong.’

He shot to his feet and declared, as if taking a military oath, “Boss, we’ll head out right now! We guarantee we’ll bring back the vegetable and fruit plants in the shortest time possible.”

Seeing this, Feng Mountain also rose from his chair and walked over to Gordon.

He reached out, patted Gordon on the shoulder, and said earnestly, “Go on. Call me if you need anything. Don’t be afraid to spend money. The plantation is counting on you.”

Hearing his boss entrust him with such a great responsibility,

Gordon was so moved that his body began to tremble slightly.

At that moment, he wished he could sprout wings and immediately bring back all the plants the plantation needed.

“Boss, I’m leaving right now. I guarantee I’ll complete the mission within three days.”

With that,

Gordon led his three brothers away, turning and leaving without a single look back.

The four men’s figures quickly vanished from the warehouse entrance.

Only the sound of their hurried footsteps was left echoing in the warehouse.

「On the other side.」

Yves and Paine walked into the bar side by side.

The bar was dimly lit, filled with the faint scent of alcohol and tobacco.

In a corner, a group of veterans sat around a table, happily smoking, leisurely drinking beer, and chatting contentedly with smiles on their faces.

Who would have thought that these strong men had all once been patients suffering from PTSD?

These were wounds they had received in service to their country.

Yet, the military had failed to provide them with the effective treatment and proper care they deserved.

Citing various reasons, the military medical board had deemed them permanently unfit for service and forced them into retirement.

When these veterans returned to civilian life, their hardships were far from over.

Their disability compensation was held up again and again due to rating disputes, and the income they eventually received was less than half of what they had earned in service.

This financial strain…

…forced them to abandon ongoing treatment. These men, once warriors on the battlefield, were now struggling to get by under the heavy pressure of daily life.

Not only that,

the veterans also faced misunderstanding and rejection from the general public. They were seen as dangerous elements and deliberately ostracized by society.

This unjust treatment…

…only made their PTSD worse.

Broken marriages were quick to follow.

Since the veterans were so deeply afflicted by their condition, they struggled to maintain family relationships like a normal person could. Their partners, often overwhelmed, would choose to leave.

Child custody battles only poured salt on the wound,

further exacerbating their psychological distress.

Under the weight of these mounting hardships, their mental defenses gradually crumbled, until they broke down completely.

They couldn’t bear to look at anyone in a uniform.

Every glance would send a wave of panic through them.

Even hearing the word “order” would make them tremble uncontrollably.

They could only shut themselves away at home, trying to create an illusion of safety, thinking they could hide from the harm of the outside world.

But loneliness followed them like a shadow, making it feel more like being buried alive, suffocating them.

The sound of a car horn or any jarring noise would instantly make them feel the impact of a shockwave, smell gunpowder, and even experience the phantom pain of a blasted limb.

Even seeing a desert on the news would make them suddenly hold their breath. A hand would uncontrollably reach for a phantom helmet, their hearts would pound as if to burst from their chests. They knew they were safe, but their bodies were still in the fight.

However, the moment they set foot in Crown Territory, a miraculous change quietly occurred.

The veterans felt as if they had entered a whole new world, experiencing a peace they had never known before.

It was a peace that settled deep in their bones, as if they had never had PTSD at all.

Their minds, once shrouded by the shadow of war, had finally found a safe harbor.

Even when they recalled the battlefield, the brutal images were still there, deep in their memories, but now they were like faded old photographs, lacking their former searing intensity.

The scenes that had once filled them with terror and pain no longer tormented them like Satan himself.

Here, they were experiencing many things for the first time in their lives.