Chapter 89 Compensation

Chapter 89: Survivor Benefits

By the time Zhu Shinian got home, as usual, the night had already grown late.

He'd gotten word on how the negotiations went and knew he'd be heading back to the front soon.

Zhu Shinian wasn't afraid of battle, but after mulling it over, he couldn't shake the feeling that he was... ditching his new spouse and kid right after tying the knot.

He'd meant to pick out gifts for Jiang Huaiyan, Tingting, and Grandma after work, but after so many days of nonstop grind, he'd completely forgotten that by the time he clocked out, most stores would already be shut.

Zhu Shinian silently called himself an idiot, but there was nothing he could do about it. He could only head home empty-handed.

When he opened the door, Jiang Huaiyan was sitting in the living room, the TV on but muted, its shifting images casting flickering light.

By this hour, Grandma and Tingting had been asleep for a while.

"Why aren't you watching TV in the bedroom?" Zhu Shinian asked quietly. There was also a television in there. "How'd the negotiations go? Did the Empire folks say anything that got to you?"

"No, they wouldn't dare." Jiang Huaiyan replied casually. "Here, I can see you the second you walk in."

"This is for you."

He pulled out an exquisite velvet box and handed it over. When Zhu Shinian opened it, there was a gorgeous ring inside.

Zhu Shinian didn't know much about gems, but he could tell the stone was dazzling. This ring was definitely no cheaper than the one from Jiang Huaiyan and Gu Zhen's engagement party that the media had called priceless.

A ring like this couldn't have been a last-minute buy. Jiang Huaiyan must have been preparing it for ages, never knowing if he'd ever get the chance to give it.

He was about to leave Jiang Huaiyan for a long time. He'd wanted to give him a gift but hadn't managed to, and yet Jiang Huaiyan had given him one instead.

Zhu Shinian was stunned for a moment, hit by a wave of guilt and gratitude.

"Is this... a couple's ring?"

"It's just for you," Jiang Huaiyan shook his head. "Stones like this are hard to come by. If you want a matching pair, I'll order one when I get the chance."

Jiang Huaiyan lowered his head and slid the ring onto his finger. "When you're at the front, think of me, okay?"

He was standing so close. Zhu Shinian stopped looking at the ring. He rarely got to look at Jiang Huaiyan this quietly, this closely.

The first time he'd seen Jiang Huaiyan, he'd thought he was handsome.

He wondered how there could be someone as wonderful as Mr. Jiang in this world—so good-looking, so smart and capable, so patient and kind to him.

Zhu Shinian leaned in and gave Jiang Huaiyan a peck on the cheek, saying he got it.

Jiang Huaiyan opened his mouth like he wanted to say more, but Zhu Shinian leaned in again and said seriously that he loved it and would wear it every day.

He took Jiang Huaiyan's hand and put it on his own waist, whispering something in his ear. But Jiang Huaiyan suddenly stood up and shook his head firmly.

"Go to bed. Get some rest."

A hint of hurt flickered in Zhu Shinian's beautiful chestnut eyes. His eyes naturally slanted down at the corners, and when he looked at someone like that, he seemed even more pitiful and endearing.

"We've got plenty of time ahead of us," Jiang Huaiyan gave his head a light tap. "Go to sleep first. Why are you thinking about all that now?"

Was Zhu Shinian reluctant to part with him too? Looking at the man in front of him, Jiang Huaiyan spaced out for a second.

.......

Three days after the ceasefire talks wrapped up, Zhu Shinian quietly arrived at the western front.

From a distance, the Federation soldiers at the outpost looked lazy and sluggish. Going on observation and experience alone, even Zhu Shinian couldn't have predicted they'd launch a surprise attack a few days later.

Luckily, they now knew how to respond.

They'd defend their homeland once more, just as they had countless times before.

The day after Zhu Shinian left, Jiang Huaiyan, way over in District 29, got an unexpected email.

"Your application has been auto-approved by the system. Since your spouse is a Resistance member, your case has been fast-tracked."

...What application?

Jiang Huaiyan was stunned. He'd never submitted any application.

And he didn't have any... registered spouse in the Resistance system either.

His heart suddenly started racing. He had a guess what it was and immediately kept scrolling down the email.

"If your loved one meets with misfortune during their service, you'll receive survivor benefits as usual. Download the marriage certificate. For the exact amount and how the benefits will be paid out, see the attachment."

Jiang Huaiyan's heart pounded even harder—whether from anger or excitement, he couldn't tell.

Knowing Zhu Shinian as well as he did, Jiang Huaiyan didn't need to think twice to know what kind of nonsense was running through his head.

Zhu Shinian was a very traditional guy. He wouldn't marry someone just to make them happy.

For him, marriage meant truly spending a lifetime with someone—sharing honor and shame, weathering storms together, through good times and bad, rich or poor, sick or healthy, until death did them part.

That idiot Zhu Shinian was probably thinking that if something happened to him, at least Jiang Huaiyan would get his death benefits after marrying him.

Zhu Shinian, you idiot. Who the hell wants your survivor benefits?

........

Unlike District 29 and the southern Resistance zone, the western Resistance territory bordering the Federation hadn't seen any direct fighting in a long time.

Unlike the war-torn regions elsewhere, this area seemed relatively peaceful. Seeing Zhu Shinian show up in person, a lot of soldiers looked surprised.

Every young person who joined the Resistance wanted to make a name for themselves. When they got assigned to guard the western line, a lot of them felt pretty bummed.

Now that they had a chance to see real combat, they were all itching to go.

A knock came at the door. Zhu Shinian looked up from his paperwork and said, "Come in."

The person who came in was a young division commander named Huang. Zhu Shinian remembered him.

"Commander, shouldn't we be reinforcing the defenses? Didn't they say the Federation's about to attack? These defenses were built by the Empire back in the day—those guys always cut corners. If the Federation really comes at us, these won't hold for long. I'm not trying to rush you, but we're all really on edge, so they sent me to ask..."

"Take a seat first," Zhu Shinian looked up at him with an easy smile, gesturing to the chair in front of him. "No need to stand while we talk."

Commander Huang had been a bit anxious, but after seeing Zhu Shinian, he inexplicably felt a sense of calm wash over him.

"Commander, our divisions have been stationed here for years. We know pretty well how to strengthen the defenses. If you're not sure, you can have the engineers look at the plans I sent you earlier. Just give the order, and we can start right away."

Zhu Shinian shook his head. "Let's not rush into reinforcing the defenses."

Commander Huang was taken aback. If they didn't reinforce the defenses, what were they supposed to do when the Federation attacked?

He stared at Zhu Shinian in disbelief. He couldn't believe the Zhu Shinian he'd always admired would actually cave to the Federation and give up the land they'd fought so hard to win.

Seeing that Commander Huang had nothing more to say, Zhu Shinian lowered his head, tapped a few keys on the telegraph machine, and sent the message he'd just typed up.

The communicator at his side beeped. Division Commander Huang picked it up and saw that the sender was Zhu Shinian, who was sitting right across from him.

"You want me to launch a flank attack from the right wing?" He couldn't help but pause, taken aback. "But—but if we strike first, aren't we violating the ceasefire agreement? Sir, isn't that a bad idea? We could face economic sanctions..."

If the Federation attacked them, they'd be justified in fighting back. It was the Federation that started the war, and if they struck first, they'd be the ones invading another nation's territory.

The Resistance was still on shaky ground. Wouldn't this be... too risky? If the Federation got furious and decided to fight to the bitter end, they'd be squeezed from both sides.

Zhu Shinian smiled. "We're not the ones who signed that ceasefire with them. As for economic sanctions—do we even have diplomatic ties with them? No economic ties, no sanctions—where would they even come from?"

He stood up, walked to the sand table, and picked up the command pointer, tapping the spot marked with a red circle.

Once that position fell, the Federation's entire supply system on the western front would collapse, setting them back at least ten days. And ten days was enough for the Resistance to do a lot—and then force the Federation to back off.

The Federation would never expect them to have allied with the Empire so quickly. If they got cold feet and just played defense, they'd blow the advantage they'd worked so hard to gain.

"The Empire calls us bandits, right? If you could reason with bandits, they wouldn't be bandits, would they?"

When Zhu Shinian smiled, his eyes crinkled slightly, giving him a gentle, composed look.

The Resistance's first Chancellor had a refined, handsome face, so when he said "we're bandits," it felt a little off.

Division Commander Huang was briefly stunned, then let out a hearty laugh as well.

"Alright, I'll follow your orders. I'll go get ready and catch those Federation bastards off guard."

The year 788 was destined to be a landmark year in Resistance history—it was the first year leadership shifted from Tao Juan to Zhu Shinian, and also the year the Empire began to waver from within.

In Imperial politics, the voice of the dove faction grew louder. The war's economic toll and casualties had reached a point they could no longer stomach.

To sustain the war, tax rates had skyrocketed, and labor had become increasingly expensive. The folks in the Resistance zones had nothing to lose—barefoot and fearless—but the Imperial nobles were a different story.

They feared their assets shrinking, feared losing their comfortable lives, and of course, genuinely worried that if they lost the war, they'd be sent to the gallows by those rioters.

Many of them began advocating for peace, for giving civilians job opportunities, for allowing commoners into the parliament alongside nobles. And it was precisely at this moment that the Federation began to stir, forcing the Empire and the Resistance to reluctantly ease their tensions.

In the autumn of 788, Gu Zhen held secret negotiations with the Resistance's high command, agreeing to a temporary ceasefire to jointly face the external threat.

In early November, Zhu Shinian ordered the 16th, 15th, and 17th Divisions to launch a pincer attack from the front and both flanks under cover of night, catching the Federation completely off guard.

By dawn of the third day, the battle report had reached headquarters—the Resistance had won their first victory, capturing a key resource city in the eastern Federation.

On the same day, Gu Zhen personally led the Empire's elite Royal Navy in a surprise assault on a Federation naval base, coordinating operations with the Resistance.

The next day, the Federation did not abandon their planned amphibious landing, but because the Empire was on high alert, the landing operation was ineffective and cost them many lives. They only managed to land after the Empire pulled back on its own.

A month later, however, because their supply lines had been stretched too thin, Gu Zhen recaptured that territory.

The month of intense fighting made the Federation want to back out. They had only wanted to grab some easy benefits in the chaos, not to truly sacrifice so many warships, fighters, and soldiers' lives.

In December 788, under the mediation of a neutral nation, the Empire, the Federation, and the Resistance held a joint ceasefire negotiation in District 29, the capital of the Resistance zone.

Author's note: