When Jiang Ning and the others hurriedly arrived, they saw more than a dozen soldiers rushing in as swiftly as the wind, instantly controlling the situation. 

“Damn, they didn’t even give me a chance to show off.” Rong Sanshao couldn’t help but complain, “I still want to make some contribution.” 

Jiang Ning didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “You’ve already done well at the hospital; maybe you can ask Jiang Guanshan for a reward later.” 

The Hospital? Rong Sanshao almost covered his face. 

Forget it; it’s embarrassing to ask for rewards in front of his sister and brother-in-law.  

Sharp-mouthed monkey’s eyes brightened. “Sister, are there rewards for meritorious service?” 

“I don’t know, but there should be.” 

“Okay, I’ll talk about it later and try to get some rewards.” 

With his silver tongue, he was confident he could manage it effortlessly. 

There are more than a hundred pirates caught red-handed, but there are still a few individuals who stubbornly raised their voices and refused to admit it. “We’re civilians! How dare you treat us like this?” 

It was actually not the first time they tried to pretend to be civilians to sneak into the base, but never on such a large scale. Once inside, they only targeted ordinary survivors. 

This time it was a pirate group, and they came to kill people and steal supplies. 

They came prepared, taking advantage of changing sea weather—a brutal, cold-blooded plan.  

But the base has an interrogation department, so they had no chance to deny anything.  

Jiang Guanshan was too lazy to argue with them, so he had them all taken away and locked up, waiting for the relevant departments to interrogate them tomorrow. 

Seeing Jiang Ning and Huo Yishen coming in, he hurriedly asked, “How is it over there?” 

“It’s quite brutal,” Jiang Ning said bluntly. “Fortunately, it was discovered in time; otherwise, not to mention the supplies, I’m afraid even the medical staff would not be spared.” 

Same skin, same language; when their boat docked, they had already gained some initial understanding, but they hadn’t expected the enemy to be so fully prepared. 

If they had succeeded, it would have been a disaster for the base.  

Jiang Guanshan hurriedly thanked them. “You two are really bold and meticulous. This time you have definitely made great contributions. I will report it to the higher-ups…” 

“Leader, this isn’t just about a matter of making contributions…” 

In terms of shamelessness, Rong Sanshao is a regular soldier after all, and didn’t have a thick face as Sharp-mouthed monkey. He doesn’t care whether he has made some great contributions or not; rewards are the most practical. 

In order to make the life-and-death struggle more realistic, Sharp-mouthed monkey even wiped some blood on his face. “Leader, you don’t know how dangerous it was just now…” 

Jiang Ning, afraid of embarrassment, deliberately distanced herself a bit. 

As expected of a middleman, he held Jiang Guanshan and talked for more than ten minutes and refused to let him go. He said that he had a narrow escape from death. 

Jiang Guanshan repeatedly assured that he would apply both for commendation and rewards from the higher-ups. 

A man who had been engaged in administrative logistics for decades was no match with a middleman. 

In the end, Jiang Ning couldn’t bear it anymore and cleared her throat. “Director Jiang has something to do.”  

Only then did the Sharp-mouthed monkey let go.  

The bodies of the pirate group were cleared out, and the others were all transferred and detained. 

The wind and waves were getting stronger and stronger, chilling people to the bone. 

Several people returned to the hospital and found Wang Meili waiting anxiously with her child. 

The bodies and bloodstains had been cleared, and although the director and medical staff were still shaken, they sighed in relief upon hearing that the pirates had all been captured, and they did not forget to highly praise Jiang Ning and others. 

Jiang Ning asked the dormitory manager for the keys to two rooms and took Sharp-mouthed monkey and others to rest. 

Back in the room, they quickly put on more clothes and drank hot water. 

The three of them, along with the dog, took turns bathing in the space, and when they came out, they added a sofa bed and took out a thick blanket to keep out the cold. 

Life on the base had been unchanging for a long time, but situations like this in the future were likely to repeat.  

What happened tonight would definitely not be the last. 

With the scarcity of supplies, the living environment at sea would become more and more cruel. 

In the face of life and death, even if the pirates were given another chance to choose, their answer likely wouldn’t change. 

The vigilance and patrols at Huacheng Base would need to be strengthened. 

Of course, this wasn’t something Jiang Ning needed to worry about. What she was contemplating was how to discreetly return those screws.  

Creating something from nothing was easy; the challenge was that everyone in the military district didn’t believe in miracles, and surviving an investigation was the real skill. 

But eventually, the boat will right itself when it reaches the bridge.  

The cold weather made for good sleep. Jiang Ning was a bit afraid of the cold, but with Huo Yishen holding her like a warm furnace, she was perfectly comfortable. 

She slept until dawn. The wind and waves had passed. The sea surface was shining under the rising sun, though the temperature had dropped considerably. 

After breakfast, Huo Yishen went to work, and Doudou, Wang Meili, and others took the ferry back to Area B. 

As for the result of the handling of the pirate group’s invasion, it was both surprising and expected for Jiang Ning. 

The threat came with the violent wind and waves on the sea, only to disappear overnight as if nothing had happened. 

Jiang Guanshan privately informed Huo Yishen that it needed to remain confidential.  

The base would show no mercy to pirates who harmed their compatriots. So, they need to kill a chicken to scare the monkeys.  

After a decade of natural disasters, only a few humans remained, and humanity should ideally unite. 

But who would really expect a group of ruthless pirates, who killed without hesitation, to repent? 

They had no sense of basic humanity. The base didn’t lack workers, and keeping the pirates around would only make their already scarce resources even scarcer.  

And letting them out will only cause more survivors to suffer. 

Moreover, the base does not want to be accused by other countries or the survivors from a humanitarian perspective. 

So, they dealt with it quietly, without making it public. 

That’s why most survivors were entirely unaware of the incident. 

Sharp-mouthed monkey received a reward of 10 kilograms of food and six months of free rent, which left him grinning from ear to ear. 

Sure enough, good things came from sticking with his sister. 

Rong Sanshao also got a reward, although he was new to the base; he received a rank promotion. 

However, Jiang Ning and Huo Yishen’s rewards hadn’t arrived yet.  

It’s not that the higher-ups are stingy, but Jiang Guanshan is ready to make a move again and wants to enlist the two in the military. 

His task is to dig out outstanding talents to serve the base. 

Jiang Guanshan had sharp eyes and found that Jiang Ning was the one who had the final say. 

So he approached her again and offered any conditions. 

Jiang Ning didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Director Jiang, military discipline is very strict, and we’re used to being free. If we had wanted to join the military, we would’ve done so back in the Southern Military District.” 

“Though we don’t plan to enlist, rest assured that our loyalty and dedication have never wavered.” 

“If anything happens in the future and it’s within our ability, we’ll step up without hesitation.” 

Her words were beautiful, but her attitude was unwavering. 

Jiang Guanshan couldn’t find a breakthrough, but thinking about what the two had done, he recognized their actions as truly commendable and admirable. 

He completely gave up the idea, but the reward was quite generous—a half box of canned food. 

There were canned fish, pork, and even rat, with a total of fifteen cans.  

They were all produced in the factory of the Eastern Military Base in the past and were still within the shelf life. It was a valuable reward for the two people. 

These items were rare and would be highly valuable if traded for other supplies. 

Jiang Ning thanked him and accepted it, and returned to the dormitory to put it into the space. 

In the evening, Rong Sanshao came over with a playful smile. “Sister, brother-in-law, the soldiers from the southern military base want to hold a party in Area B. Are you going?”