The package he received was filled entirely with “high-tech” gadgets.
This time, Su Qiao had no intention of sending him food and snacks anymore.
Sugar-coated bullets might work well, but use them too often, and people would eventually develop “immunity.”
She wanted to give Gu Changfeng a surprise.
Sitting on the soft carpet, she sank her consciousness into her space.
Before her was a dazzling array of shelves, occupying an area comparable to a large military equipment depot.
Everything stored here was top-tier individual combat equipment that she had prepared for herself and the core members of her team during the apocalypse.
She wanted to choose several things for Gu Changfeng that could plausibly appear in this era while also genuinely helping him.
Her gaze first landed on a row of military boots.
She picked up a pair of black high-top combat boots.
They were custom-made for a special forces unit of a certain country before the apocalypse, using the most advanced composite materials available at the time.
The uppers were made of specially treated microfiber leather that was waterproof, scratch-resistant, and exceptionally durable.
The soles had a multilayer structure with a layer of Kevlar fiber as thin as a cicada’s wing embedded inside, giving them outstanding puncture resistance. Stepping on broken glass or nails felt almost like walking on flat ground.
Most importantly, they weighed only one-third as much as the bulky leather military boots of this era.
For a soldier like Gu Changfeng, who underwent high-intensity training year-round, a good pair of boots was more important than anything else.
Su Qiao nodded in satisfaction and took the boots out.
She had already measured Gu Changfeng’s shoe size with her hands that night.
She had touched and enjoyed every inch of his body. Thinking about it, the tips of her ears involuntarily turned red.
Next, her attention was drawn to a row of watches.
She skipped over the models with functions so advanced they were practically miniature computers and chose a military electronic watch with the simplest, most understated design.
The watch face was black, with only the basic functions of time, date, stopwatch, and alarm.
But its crystal was sapphire glass, making it scratch-resistant and durable.
The case was made of titanium alloy, making it lightweight yet sturdy.
Its most advanced feature was the battery—a miniature nuclear battery with a theoretical lifespan of up to fifty years.
In an era when even quartz watches had yet to become widespread, this thing was practically alien technology.
It had to be disguised properly.
Finally, she went to a shelf filled with various medicines and took out several dark glass bottles containing liquid.
This was a highly concentrated energy supplement.
It was a product developed by scientists during the apocalypse. Just a few drops could rapidly replenish the body’s depleted sugar and electrolytes, restoring physical strength quickly. Its effectiveness was dozens of times that of glucose.
This could not be sent directly either.
Once she had finished selecting everything, Su Qiao began her “disguise” work.
First, she repeatedly scuffed the brand-new combat boots with fine sandpaper and dirt, making them look like a pair of high-quality leather boots that had been worn for a long time but carefully maintained.
Then she carefully dismantled the electronic watch, removed its core mechanism and nuclear battery, wrapped them tightly in a thin layer of oiled cloth, and tucked them into the hidden compartment beneath the combat boots’ insoles.
That way, unless someone completely cut open the insoles, no one would discover them.
As for the energy supplements, she poured them into several ordinary cough-syrup bottles she had bought from the supply and marketing cooperative and sealed the bottle mouths with wax.
They looked no different from the traditional medicinal concoctions sold in ordinary pharmacies.
After finishing everything, Su Qiao found a large army-green canvas bag and stuffed everything inside.
Finally came the letter.
She took out a sheet of paper. This time, her handwriting was no longer deliberately soft and delicate. Instead, she returned to her original style, with a hint of sharpness and casualness in every stroke.
“Changfeng:
I heard that training is very tough for your border defense unit, especially in the bitter cold of winter. I asked a distant uncle of mine in Nangang to obtain some unusual things from overseas. I don’t know whether they’ll be useful.
I heard those leather boots were made using some kind of new technology. They’re lightweight and durable. Try wearing them during training. If they’re comfortable, or if they break, let me know, and I’ll ask him to find a way to get you another pair.
Also, there’s a little gadget hidden inside the insole. It’s for telling time. I thought it looked more accurate than that old mechanical watch of yours.
The other bottles contain medicine. My uncle said it’s a highly concentrated syrup extracted from sugarcane somewhere overseas. When you’re exhausted from training, drink a little. It can quickly replenish your strength. Try it first. If you find it useful, I’ll ask him to send more next time.
The source of these things is a little unusual. You know what to do. Just keep it to yourself.
—Su Qiao”
In the letter, she casually fabricated a “distant uncle” in Nangang who had connections overseas, pushing the source of all these “high-tech” items onto this nonexistent relative.
This explained where the items came from while subtly demonstrating her own “connections” and “capabilities.”
There wasn’t a single word of concern in the letter, yet every line showed consideration for his training and daily life.
She didn’t offer any unnecessary explanation either, merely telling him, “You know what to do.”
Su Qiao admired her handiwork and happily tucked the letter into the package.
Once this letter was sent, she refused to believe Gu Changfeng would be able to sit still.
A rigorously trained military officer with meticulous logic would inevitably have his curiosity and desire to investigate overwhelm everything else when faced with things so far beyond his understanding.
After sending the package, Su Qiao’s life returned to normal.
Her black-market business became increasingly smooth with the help of the square-faced man.
She became his sole supplier, responsible only for providing the goods. He handled all the other sales channels and risks.
Money flowed into her pocket like water.
In just over a month, she had gone from a penniless transmigrator to a “near ten-thousand-yuan household,” with almost ten thousand yuan in savings.
Meanwhile, thousands of miles away at the border military district.
Gu Changfeng received the heavy package.
After closing the door and taking everything out one item at a time in his dormitory, his expression slowly changed from confusion to shock and finally froze completely.
He picked up the boots first.
As a seasoned military officer, his familiarity with equipment was practically ingrained in his bones.
The moment he touched them, he sensed something was wrong.
The boots were far too light!
And the leather felt tough and elastic, completely unlike any kind of cowhide he knew.
He put them on and tried them.
The size fit perfectly, while the sense of enclosure and support was far superior to any military boots he had ever been issued.
He walked around the room a few times and even jumped.
The sensation of lightness, as though the boots had almost no weight at all, shook him to his core.
Then he saw the letter.
The moment he read the words “hidden inside the insole,” he immediately grabbed a dagger and cut open the insole without hesitation.
When the electronic watch mechanism, wrapped in oiled cloth and gleaming with a metallic sheen, appeared before his eyes, his breathing stopped for a second.
He spent several minutes reassembling it, relying on the instinctive understanding of precision machinery he had developed as a soldier.
When he pressed a button on the side, a row of crystal-clear scarlet numbers suddenly illuminated across the black watch face.
He felt as though his entire worldview had been shaken to its foundations.
What was this thing?
He had never seen a watch like it!
No winding was required. There were no hands. It kept time accurate to the second, and it could even illuminate itself in the dark!
Finally, there were the bottles of “cough syrup.”
Skeptical, he opened one and smelled it.
It had a purely sweet scent.
That afternoon, after a five-kilometer weighted cross-country training session, everyone was sprawled on the ground like dead dogs.
Gu Changfeng returned to his dormitory, feeling as though his throat were on fire.
Almost as if possessed, he picked up the bottle of “syrup” and took a small sip.
A warm liquid with an intensely sweet flavor slid down his throat.
A few minutes later, a strange warmth rose from his stomach and rapidly spread throughout his limbs.
His muscles, which had been aching and weak from the intense exercise, seemed to be infused with new energy. His fatigue disappeared at an astonishing rate.
He stood up and moved his body around.
The exhaustion that normally followed such strenuous exercise had actually disappeared by seventy or eighty percent!
Gu Changfeng was completely stunned.
He sat on the edge of his bed, staring at the three things on the table—the combat boots as light as feathers, the electronic watch that could illuminate itself, and the miraculous “syrup” that could rapidly restore physical strength.
A distant uncle in Nangang?
Unusual overseas goods?
That kind of story might fool a three-year-old!
The craftsmanship, technology, and even design philosophy behind these things were all far beyond his understanding.
He picked up the electronic watch and stared at the red numbers ticking across its face, his brows knitting into a deep frown.
Su Qiao…
How many secrets was his wife hiding?
She was like a mystery.
A powerful urge to investigate began growing in his heart.
He could no longer sit still.
He had to solve this mystery himself!
He abruptly stood up, grabbed the military cap from the table, put it on, and strode toward the only communications room in the camp.
He was going to make a call.
He needed to hear her voice.
Immediately.