Chapter 971 Idealism, Dreams of the Future

"You seem quite leisurely. Do you know what happened outside?"

Seeing Gu Chen's leisurely look, Staff Officer Manabe narrowed his eyes and said in a dissatisfied tone.

"Yes, if I'm not mistaken, a monster must have appeared again, otherwise you wouldn't have driven over here to find me."

Gu Chen shrugged, put the skewers back on the grill and continued to grill them over charcoal.

"You're still so leisurely knowing that? You're almost scaring your teammates."

Staff Officer Manabe walked up to Gu Chen, took a look at Gu Chen's skillful grilling movements, and couldn't help swallowing.

Although he is now quite old and needs to be careful not to eat too much greasy and meaty food, but when he saw the skewers that Gu Chen was grilling, he inexplicably wanted to try some.

"Well, look at what you said. It's not like the ZAT team can't function without me. They are all qualified players. We should trust them."

Hearing what Staff Officer Manabe said, Gu Chen grinned, looking nonchalant, and then stretched out his hand and handed the grilled skewers to Staff Officer Manabe, "Here, Staff Officer, try my cooking."

"You kid..."

Staff Officer Manabe cursed with a smile, then reached out to take the skewer and started eating it.

"Here, happy water. I didn't expect you to come, so I didn't prepare anything you like to drink. Please make do with it."

Then, Gu Chen handed Staff Officer Manabe a can of happy water.

"You kid, you use these things to treat me, is that reasonable?"

As Staff Officer Manabe spoke, he sat on the beach chair where Gu Chen had sat before, eating skewers and drinking happy water in big gulps.

"I can't help it. I didn't expect you to come, did I?"

Gu Chen smiled and shrugged.

"Do you think I believe it or not?"

Staff Officer Manabe rolled his eyes at Gu Chen. He didn't believe that Gu Chen wouldn't have guessed that he would come to find him, otherwise he wouldn't have been so calm when he saw him.

In response, Gu Chen didn't say anything, but turned around and took a few more skewers and put them on the grill.

"Tell me, what are you doing here? Are you feeling depressed because of the giant turtle monster couple?"

When Staff Officer Manabe saw that Gu Chen didn't say anything, he took the initiative to ask.

"No, actually I have come to terms with it. I was too naive and conceited in the past. If I think about it carefully, my ideas are indeed too far-fetched. I guess my ideas were a little too ridiculous in your eyes before, right?"

Gu Chen shook his head and spoke in a flat tone.

"No, I never thought your previous thoughts were ridiculous."

Upon hearing this, Staff Officer Manabe's tone immediately became serious and he sternly retorted.

"Really? Don't you think my previous idea is too idealistic and ridiculous?"

Gu Chenmei turned around and continued to fiddle with the skewers in his hand.

“In fact, each of us is an idealist at the beginning, but as time goes by, we all become realists.”

"But in my opinion, the most valuable thing is the ideal we held on to in the beginning. Sometimes I feel that what we lack is the innocence we had back then."

Staff Officer Manabe looked at Gu Chen's back, his tone more serious than ever before.

"So this is why you let me serve as the Earth Defense Force's staff officer?"

After hearing this, Gu Chen was silent for a moment and then asked.

"No, I asked you to be the staff officer of the Earth Defense Force because of a dream I had."

However, Staff Officer Manabe shook his head and gave an answer that surprised Gu Chen again.

"Dream?"

Gu Chen paused what he was doing, then turned around and looked at Staff Officer Manabe with an expression that said, "Are you kidding me?"

"Yes, it was a dream." Staff Officer Manabe nodded, a look of reminiscence in his eyes, "It was a dream I had while I was in a coma, but even now I still remember it clearly."

"So what did you dream about?"

Gu Chen was a little curious at this moment, because he had never heard Staff Officer Manabe talk about these things before.

"It was a very beautiful dream. I dreamed that under your leadership, the Earth Defense Force has ushered in a peaceful era for the Earth."

Staff Officer Manabe looked at Gu Chen and couldn't help but smile brightly.

"Me? Leading the Earth Defense Force? Bringing Earth into an era of peace?"

Gu Chen just felt that Staff Officer Manabe was teasing him. Such an outrageous thing could happen? Just because of this, Staff Officer Manabe spared no effort to push himself to the position of the highest commander of the Earth Defense Force?

Isn't this a bit too trifling?

After all, it was just an illusory dream.

"Yes, I still remember it clearly."

Staff Officer Manabe nodded and said with certainty.

"..."

For a moment, Gu Chen didn't know what to say.

"Aren't you afraid that I might mess things up?"

After a long time, Gu Chen sighed slightly and continued to focus on the skewers.

"But it turns out that you did a pretty good job, didn't you? Give me another one, thank you."

Staff Officer Manabe patted Gu Chen on the back, then threw the empty barbecue skewer in his hand into the trash bag.

"Here." Gu Chen handed a roasted piece of barbecue to Staff Officer Manabe, "So, Staff Officer, how old was I in that dream you had? Was the era of peace you saw an era of peace among humans, or an era of peace between humans and monsters?"

Upon hearing this question, Staff Officer Manabe did not answer immediately, but just stood silently side by side with Gu Chen, his eyes fixed on the sea in the distance.

Gu Chen was not in a hurry and just fiddled with the skewers on the grill silently.

"It is a peaceful era among humans. I did not see any monsters in my dream."

After a long while, Staff Officer Manabe spoke quietly.

"I see... I am too naive after all."

Hearing this answer, Gu Chen raised his lips into a bitter smile.

Even in his dreams, he could not have imagined such a future. He took it for granted that humans and monsters would live in harmony.

"That's not the case. Perhaps in the distant future, your vision will be realized?"

Staff Officer Manabe smiled and comforted him.

As for how far away this future is, he couldn't say for sure.

"hope so."

Gu Chen replied with a chuckle.

"Well, we've said what we need to say, eaten what we need to eat, and drunk what we need to drink. It's time for you to get back to your post, right?"

After finishing another skewer and taking a sip of happy water, Staff Officer Manabe spoke.

"Counsel, don't be anxious. It's a rare opportunity to come to the beach, so why not relax and put your work aside for the time being?"

"As for the monsters, I think they've taken care of them properly, so there won't be any problems."

Through the light of the earth, Gu Chen knew clearly about the battle that took place on Hachijo Island, so he could have a barbecue on the beach so leisurely.