The large door opened, and Helan Xue led us to the morgue. She then excused herself, saying she had something to attend to and would be back to pick us up later. It was clearly Shen Xingyue's instruction.
I took a look inside. It wasn't just the three enemies and Lu Qianyu's body. There were dozens of other bodies, all covered in white cloths. Some of the cloths bore the Shakespearean emblem, while others didn't. These were likely casualties from the outer skirmishes. Those with the emblem were Shakespearean personnel, and those without were from "Chi You."
I released the seal on the little alligator and pointed to the emblems, indicating what it could and couldn't eat. Then, Yao Yao and I went out. Before leaving, I glanced at the camera on the ceiling and made a "prohibited" gesture. Helan Xue was likely watching. A few seconds later, the red light beside the camera blinked out, and the lights in the morgue turned eerily dim, like a long corridor after a power outage, with only the green emergency exit signs at the base of the walls glowing, giving it a somber atmosphere.
Exiting the morgue, Yao Yao and I sat on a bench outside, smoking and waiting. From time to time, coarse growls could be heard from within...
The little alligator had a small mouth and ate slowly. It took about half an hour for the sounds from inside to completely disappear, followed by a distinct burp.
I guessed that Helan Xue couldn't resist turning on the surveillance video. Otherwise, how would she know to return at this precise moment? She had even thoughtfully brought a mobile shower truck (I deduced this from the sign on the side of the vehicle depicting a person under a showerhead). She opened the main door but didn't turn on the lights. In the dim green glow from inside, I only saw a scene of disarray, my nostrils filled with an indescribable odor.
Lu Qianxun emerged, her small belly visibly distended. Yao Yao led her to the shower truck. Worried that Qianxun might not know how to use the equipment and wouldn't be able to clean herself properly, they showered together. Perhaps, this was the first time in over four hundred years that Yao Yao had specially served someone by bathing them. Lu Qianxun was the first to be scrubbed by a former Qing Dynasty princess.
I aimed to be the second.
After showering, both of them changed into new clothes provided by Helan Xue. From head to toe, although they had no brands or labels and the styles were very ordinary, the unique, high-quality texture made me suspect they were specially procured, unbranded versions from some international luxury brand.
No wonder Shen Xingyue's salary was so high. I suspected she was being conservative with her numbers. Based on this underground office and the various equipment, one could infer that Shakespeare was indeed wealthy; the rumors were not false. Yao Yao's decision to forge an alliance with them was undoubtedly the right one, because wealth represented higher productivity and combat power. This is an unshakeable truth. While sometimes spiritual strength might play a role in boosting the morale of a combat group for a short period, in the long run, battles, or wars, ultimately boil down to the economic foundation. Here, "economic" is not limited to just money; it's a broad concept, encompassing all material production sectors and their activities within a group or region, including politics, culture, military, science and technology, and the sum total of the three industries.
This also explains why only one of the four ancient civilizations has survived and developed to this day: its economic foundation was too strong, so strong that any foreign invasion would be absorbed and integrated, eventually becoming part of it. Not just now, but even four hundred years ago, why did this princess speak Chinese and understand basic Han culture? It wasn't out of professional necessity, but because Han culture had been recognized by the Manchu ethnicity, who considered themselves part of Yanxia, albeit a minority ethnic group in the border regions.
I leaned close to Lu Qianxun's mouth and sniffed. She must have brushed her teeth; she smelled clean, free of the foul odor from the room.
After the meal, Helan Xue led us to the office area. Although it was late at night, many staff members were working overtime due to the recent battle and the need to handle matters outside the immediate combat zone. People were typing, making phone calls. We also passed a transparent glass conference room where several people in suits were studying a holographic map of the Jiangnan region. They were likely high-ranking officials from Jinling Shakespeare.
We were well acquainted with Shen Xingyue, but she was not a high-ranking executive at Jinling Shakespeare. She was merely the captain of one of the eight action teams, ranked first: captain of the Bordered Yellow Banner team, representing the strongest combat power. Moreover, she was so young, making it highly probable that she would one day become one of the suited executives in the Jinling Shakespeare conference room, or even a cadre at the General Bureau.