Blood Ties

"Five hundred soldiers? That’s no problem. I, Old Li, may not have much in the way of weapons and equipment, but when it comes to manpower, I’ve got plenty."

With just five hundred troops, Old Li’s men could easily fill the quota. The soldiers in the regiment had long been itching to see Old Li pilot his mech and take on Little Japan. Now that they had a chance to get armor, those boys would definitely go wild.

"This armor can’t be worn by just anyone. Only those who are loyal to their country and willing to save the nation in its hour of peril are qualified to wear it."

Chen Mu paused, then continued to Old Li:

"I already gave you Thor’s Spear. Anyone who can lift that spear can wield Thor’s lightning power. And only those who can lift it are qualified to wear the Kirin Armor."

The Kirin Armor was weaponry meant to defend the homeland. Naturally, anyone not acknowledged by Thor’s Spear was not qualified to wear it in this war.

"Anyone who can lift Thor’s Spear can wear this armor?"

Old Li scratched his head and said curiously, "Can’t everyone lift it?"

"Those little brats were playing with Thor’s Spear last night. Hell, every single one of them could shoot lightning. Damn, it was exciting. I figured putting Thor’s Spear with this armor was kind of a waste, so I left the spear with the regiment."

The Kirin Armor’s firepower had already left Old Li dumbfounded. In his view, pairing it with Thor’s Spear was somewhat wasteful.

It would be better to place Thor’s Spear in someone else’s hands and create another powerful warrior.

That way, they would have a better chance of driving Little Japan out of their country.

"…"

That made sense. In this era, soldiers possessed the strongest convictions. Which soldier had not taken up arms to defend their homeland for their people?

So wasn’t it perfectly normal that all of them could lift Thor’s Spear?

"All right, then. Arrange it however you see fit. We’ll head to your unit first and hand these armors over to you. You can distribute them yourselves."

"By the way, this batch of armor is my personal contribution. Later negotiations, exchanges, and even trade will be handled by others."

After thinking it over, Chen Mu decided it was best to tell Old Li in advance.

Cooperation between nations could not consist entirely of handouts.

Perhaps China in the Main World would be more than willing to give these things to China in 1943, but doing so outright would not be appropriate.

Besides, these predecessors would not be able to accept them with a clear conscience.

When it came to nations, cooperation was still the best choice, even if this world was home to the Main World’s predecessors.

"Hehe, as long as we drive every last one of those Little Japanese bastards out of China, I, Old Li, will be happy!"

Old Li had no other concerns. The most important thing now was to drive the invaders out of China. He simply did not care about anything else.

Besides, there was no need for Old Li to worry about those matters. Someone would come specifically to handle them. He had already reported the full situation to his superiors, and before long, people responsible for this matter would arrive.

Old Li only needed to remain a soldier in peace.

"Grandpa Li, don’t be so polite with Chen Mu. These armors are nothing to him."

Xu Jia stepped forward with a smile. "Chen Mu developed the Kirin Armor himself. His industrial base can produce huge quantities of Kirin Armor every day. To him, five hundred suits are not particularly valuable at all."

"…"

This time, Old Li was truly convinced. He had never imagined that Chen Mu was the one producing the Kirin Armor.

"You’re incredible, Brother Chen! You’re a damn genius!"

"But girl, why are you calling me Grandpa Li?"

As he spoke, Old Li looked curiously at Xu Jia.

"In the future, you established an orphanage and raised many children."

Xu Jia smiled. "I grew up in the orphanage you founded. Back then, you often told us stories about the War of Resistance against Japan."

"?"

Both Chen Mu and Old Li were full of question marks. Neither had expected Xu Jia to say such a thing.

Old Li was completely baffled, while Chen Mu could not help sighing at how fate truly worked in mysterious ways.

Good grief, could there really be such a coincidence? Was this a direct reunion with her ancestor?

Chen Mu was speechless.

But thinking about it, it made sense. It was now 1943, while the era Chen Mu and Xu Jia came from was only 2009. There were merely sixty-odd years between them, so finding someone they knew in this world did not seem all that strange, did it?

Perhaps this was fate.

"So I, Old Li, suddenly have a granddaughter?"

Old Li looked awkward. He was only in his thirties now. Though harsh conditions had made him appear older, he only looked to be in his forties. Heaven knew, he was not even married yet. Xu Jia suddenly calling him Grandpa Li left him utterly at a loss.

Xu Jia and Old Li stared at each other, neither knowing what to say. Chen Mu, on the other hand, began to laugh.

"Say, even in different worlds, the blood ties between our people cannot be severed. That’s why I’m willing to help you without asking for anything in return. Our ancestors endured the same harsh conditions as you, suffered the same hardships. I don’t want those hardships to happen again."

That was also why Chen Mu was willing to help China in this world.

Their blood was connected. Even across different multiverses, that bond could not be broken.

Some might think Chen Mu was being foolishly generous by helping China in another world for free, that expecting nothing in return made him a saint, and that such a person simply could not exist.

But when one thought about it, the Kirin Armor truly was not anything valuable to Chen Mu.

Huaqiangbei had originally been built to produce Kirin Armor. It produced hundreds or even thousands of sets every day. To Chen Mu, these things were practically sold at cost. Each set cost less than five hundred thousand, even including ammunition. At five hundred sets, even at five hundred thousand each, how much could that be?

Two hundred and fifty million!

To ordinary people, that was indeed an unimaginable fortune, but to Chen Mu now, it was nothing much.

Not to mention the profits generated by the Kirin Armor produced in Huaqiangbei, the wealth Chen Mu’s Xiao Mu Phone had brought him alone was already beyond calculation. Two hundred and fifty million truly was not that much.

And this was not just true for Chen Mu. If, in the real world, someone could spend two hundred and fifty million to give another China trapped in 1943 the power to drive the invaders out of China, surely quite a few people would be willing to pay that sum.