Beloved Country

Humans are not machines; they are sentient beings with emotions and moral boundaries. Some people are perceived as cold-hearted and lacking in moral principles, not because they truly lack them, but because their moral boundaries are invisible to people. As a result, people begin to condemn and fear them.

In fact, everyone has a bottom line and will have moments of fear. It takes certain skills to arrange things for these veterans.

Those with a certain moral fastidiousness, such as those who are unwilling to shoot at civilians, will be sent to work in Nagaril, where they will mainly be engaged in passive defense.

A small number of those with poor endurance will also be dispatched to the Amelia Region, since warehouses and similar places also need to be guarded.

People without much moral fastidiousness are often sent to the Amelia Region. Suppressing unrest in a region is not simply about killing those who start riots, but about suppressing a consciousness, which requires greater psychological resilience and execution capabilities.

Even the slightest hesitation during any mission can cause things to go awry in unpredictable ways, so these people have to appear ruthless.

If they can't even do these two things, then Lin Qi will assign them to Cook's side.

Cook's Transportation Company experienced a huge leap forward. At a time when most companies are on the verge of bankruptcy or have already gone bankrupt, no one is going to start a Logistics Company anymore.

This also means that most companies only have this limited transportation capacity, and once the demand for transportation exceeds their capacity, these companies' capacity collapses.

At this point, they had two options: one was to grit their teeth and spend a lot of money to buy some second-hand trucks and hire some Truck Driver to complete this occasional transportation task.

Secondly, they can spend a little money to hire a local Transportation Company to transport the goods, and it's really not expensive. Sometimes they calculate that the cost of hiring Transportation Company is only slightly higher than the cost of transporting the goods themselves.

As a result, more and more companies outsourced their transportation work to Cook's company, which was also Lin Qi's company.

The barely breaking-even shipping costs have kept the company from making any profit. Cook even discussed this with Lin Qi privately once, hoping to increase shipping rates so that Lin Qi could make some money instead of constantly losing money.

Yes, we've been losing money all along. It sounds terrible, but that's the truth. After paying the drivers' wages and fuel, there's not much left from the freight charges.

Cars need maintenance, wear-prone parts need frequent replacement, and there are also office building expenses, utility bills... As the General Manager of the Transportation Company, Cook is well aware of this. The company has been losing money, so appropriately raising freight rates, even if it doesn't make Lin Qi a profit, at least prevents the company from losing money.

However, Lin Qi rejected his proposal, which is also why people of that era couldn't see through the fog of history. You have to understand that people decades or hundreds of years ago would not only not make money but would also spend money like crazy to attract customers. Cook wouldn't think that way.

Moreover, Lin Qi was certain that he would make money in the future. By selling off the last of their fleets from some companies and laying off their Truck Driver, Lin Qi knew he would definitely make money.

Now all he needs to do is control the market, take over as much market share as possible, get more companies to sell their trucks and fire their Truck Driver, and then commission them to do the same.

The more dependent they are on the Transportation Company, the more Lin Qi will transfer to in the future! This also leads to a shortage of Truck Driver, and some of the people in front of Lin Qi will always stay.

"There are only five questions, gentlemen. Please answer them seriously and honestly, because to some extent, your answers will determine your future and what you will encounter."

"I don't want anyone to be harmed, and potentially fatally harmed, in their future work by forcing themselves to give wrong answers!"

The atmosphere was somewhat oppressive, and frankly, the questions Lin Qi raised were not very "humane."

The Federal education system and social values are actually quite positive and progressive. At least people always believe that hard work can create miracles and that truth, goodness, and beauty are important. With God's guidance, they are facing an absolutely difficult choice.

Ten minutes later, Lin Qi looked at the Second Lieutenant in front of him, "Please collect the people's answer sheets. I will read them before I leave..."

He immediately stood at attention, saluted, and showed obedience. It was clear that he had something he wanted to say to Lin Qi, but his obedient attitude prevented him from asking.

These items were quickly collected and handed over to Lin Qi. After letting them have free time, Lin Qi left with the questionnaires.

At this moment, the situation in the training ground suddenly changed. Many young people gathered with their close friends to discuss what had happened.

Some people had excited smiles on their faces, but after serving in the military for several years, they had long since become somewhat out of touch with society.

Indeed, the army is not as boring as the navy. Every now and then they can get some leave to go to the cities around the military bases. But overall they are still isolated from society and find it difficult to adapt to it.

It's like when you're traveling, the novelty makes every place seem wonderful, but once you actually settle down in an unfamiliar place, all sorts of problems will soon emerge.

Why are the Federal Military and Department of Defense pushing forward the Veterans Club program so quickly, and even allocating Military Expenditure to them to ensure that soldiers maintain morale?

It's actually quite simple. This is just a transitional place. Those who can truly adapt to society have already left. The remaining ones can be said to be... defective products to some extent. Their ability to reintegrate into society is relatively low, and they are also the ones who are more likely to make mistakes.

To prevent them from making mistakes in society or going to extremes, the Department of Defense can only provide them with a safety net for now.

Their excitement at this moment is understandable, because they don't need to worry about what problems they will encounter after leaving here. They can live like before, simply by obeying orders and carrying out tasks every day.

This is actually a very sad situation, but nobody cares.

Entrusted by some people, the Second Lieutenant, who was the highest-ranking officer here, found Lin Qi shortly after Lin Qi left.

"Chief..." he knocked on the door, "There are some things I don't quite understand, and I'd like to discuss them with you."

Lin Qi, who was in his office having Ferral and his wife's father process the questionnaires, did not look up immediately upon hearing this. He finished reading the questionnaires in his hand before getting up to open the door.

The Second Lieutenant maintained his upright posture outside the door. The moment Lin Qi opened the door, he stood at attention, saluted, and addressed him as "Chief."

Lin Qi raised his hand and left the room, following closely behind him.

The two men briefly left the office. He took out a pack of cigarettes, gestured to it, and then hesitated slightly before taking one from Lin Qi's hand. "Thank you, Chief!"

"You don't need to call me Chief, you can call me Lin Qi. If you think I'm worthy of respect, you can also call me Mr. Lin Qi," he said, taking out a lighter, lighting one for the Second Lieutenant, and then lighting one for himself.

The smoke that had been exhaled after circulating through his lungs danced wildly in the wind and eventually dissipated into the air. He asked a question, "Second Lieutenant, before we begin our conversation, I have a small question. With your rank, it seems you shouldn't be on the list for this round of troop reductions."

He patted the Second Lieutenant's arm. "Relax, you can think of me as your friend."

The Second Lieutenant's expression was still somewhat stiff. He held the lit cigarette between his two fingers and didn't take another puff after the first one. He simply wasn't used to smoking in front of his superior.

But at this moment, they had no choice but to do so; the cigarette was given by Lin Qi, and the fire was lit by him.

He took a drag of his cigarette, feeling a bit better, and then said softly, "All officers below the Lieutenant Colonel may be laid off..."

This round of troop reductions may cut between 100,000 and 200,000 army personnel. The military cannot simply cut ordinary soldiers and leave behind a group of senior officers. After the initial major moves, the next cuts will mainly focus on a small number of ordinary soldiers and officers.

Lin Qi nodded slightly. "What do you want to ask?"

The Second Lieutenant's train of thought didn't quite catch up. He paused for a moment before asking, "Mr. Lin Qi, if we meet your requirements, what will you have us do?"

He didn't say it explicitly, but he was still somewhat worried, seemingly afraid that Lin Qi would ask them to do illegal things, a choice that many soldiers were facing.

Some criminal groups are actively recruiting these soldiers, offering them better benefits and treatment because they are professional, but what they are doing is opposing the government, which is dangerous.

Only someone who is part of the state's violent apparatus can understand the terror of the state machine. He feared that Lin Qi was such a person—that harm to the state could happen not only domestically but also abroad.

Lin Qi also needed someone to help him convey some of his ideas to those young people, and even if the Second Lieutenant didn't come, he would take the initiative to contact him.

He answered the question with a smile, "You don't need to worry about anything. I am already a military partner of the Department of Defense. You can ask anyone you know about this. I just came back from the Department of Defense."

"As for your main tasks, they are actually quite simple: guarding and suppressing..."

"Second Lieutenant, do you love this country?" Lin Qi suddenly asked a question unrelated to their conversation, causing the Second Lieutenant to pause for a moment.

But he quickly nodded in agreement, "Yes, Mr. Lin Qi, I love this country and I am loyal to it!"

Lin Qi could tell that the Second Lieutenant was speaking from the heart because he used "she" instead of "it," which made his words more emotional and showed that he meant it.

Lin Qi nodded slightly, then turned and looked up at the blue sky and white clouds. "Me too. I love this country. I love its spirit of freedom, which never forces people to do anything. I love the equality it has given us. While people in other countries are still living under tyranny, and their lives and property do not belong to them, we already have everything."

"I want to protect this beautiful thing, and I believe you feel the same way I do right now. Anyone who dares to harm the National Interest will be our enemy."

"What we need to do next is to maintain this peace, preserve its beauty, and defend the interests and glory of our motherland!"

Lin Qi turned to look at him, the sunlight shining on him and making him look radiant. "Someone has to do something to make children's faces smile and to allow people to work and live freely here. Maybe people won't know what we've done, but we will find peace of mind for the Beloved Country!"

Suddenly I realized we have another alliance leader – Fu He Huan! Thank you so much, sir. The extra chapters will be scheduled for next month, so don't worry.

Also, everyone should just go with the flow...