The Ultimate War Of The Apocalypse
Chapter 299 - 292 Microwave Oven

Chapter 299: Chapter 292 Microwave Oven

The officers’ mess and the soldiers’ mess were adjacent yet independent of each other, and Gao Yuan and his party took a separate passage.

Cahill greeted Spark Squad at the door, but Andrew was not there to meet them at the entrance.

Cahill had even donned his dress uniform rather than battle or service dress, putting Gao Yuan and his team at a disadvantage because it would have been impossible for them to bring ceremonial uniforms on this expedition.

"Welcome, please come in."

The welcome ceremony was brief, but when Gao Yuan and the others entered, they found the officers’ mess quite crowded, with ranks ranging from second lieutenant to Colonel Andrew Marshall—thirty-six people in total, all in dress uniforms, though their attire made it clear that the officers came from various countries.

Colonel Andrew, in the uniform of an American Army officer, stood at the front of a long table and smiled, "Welcome, welcome to our guests who have journeyed from afar."

The officers even gave a round of applause, and as Panxin’s team halted at the door, Li Yang whispered, "Salute, no need for the captain."

Gao Yuan was also in military attire, but his uniform bore no rank insignia, whereas Panxin and his comrades, though in combat camouflage, had all donned their rank insignia at this point, meaning no Shenzhou soldier present outranked Colonel Andrew.

Gao Yuan walked up to Colonel Andrew, extended his hand, and smiled, "Thank you."

Andrew seemed a bit surprised, as he thought he was manly enough, yet Gao Yuan appeared even more so.

Andrew and Gao Yuan shook hands, then moved apart, facing the group including Panxin.

Panxin and the others had already dispersed, standing casually before Andrew, for standing in formation at this point would have seemed like presenting themselves for his inspection.

Panxin gave a salute and said loudly, "Hello, Colonel Sir."

There were four people without rank insignia—Gao Yuan, Xinghe, Li Yang, and Yu Shunzhou—so they didn’t need to salute, but Panxin had to, as a soldier with rank, it was international etiquette to salute a higher-ranking officer first.

Andrew returned the salute and then reached out to shake hands with Panxin, even giving Panxin a friendly pat on the shoulder, coming off very hearty and relaxed compared to the serious and formal Panxin and his team.

Just last night these people were partaking in a desperate hedonistic celebration of the end times, yet today they had taken on a formal air.

"Today is a special day; all NATO officers stationed at Kandahar Air Base are here, including soldiers from America."

Twelve Americans grouped together, their uniforms indicating various branches of military. After Andrew finished speaking, they saluted as a unit.

Of course, Panxin and his team had to return the salute.

"There are also soldiers from England."

Again, they saluted and received salutes in return.

"Soldiers from Canada."

For each nation’s soldiers introduced, there was a salute and a responding salute.

"And from German Will, Holand, Belgium, and Denmark."

The variety among the soldiers was truly diverse, though Andrew made it clear who were close allies and who were less so, putting several non-core countries together for a collective introduction.

After the introductions, Andrew warmly said, "Please take your seats, today we have a special treat from my hometown for you, Texas steak."

Both parties were seated, with Gao Yuan and Andrew sitting together, and not long after, chefs in military uniforms and chef’s hats began serving plates.

Huge slabs of grilled steak with fries piled on the side, and there was also ketchup in the plates.

However, supplies were clearly tight here; the ketchup must have been in short supply, otherwise there should have been a bottle on each table, rather than the small dollops provided on the plates.

"Please."

Andrew even spread a napkin on his lap, and tried to appear very civilized while eating, but Gao Yuan had seen enough hunger to know this meal was extremely rare and precious for Andrew.

Especially when eating fries dipped in ketchup, one could tell by Andrew’s manner that this was a great indulgence for him.

Occasionally glancing at the other officers, one could gauge the quality of the food here.

They weren’t starving, but the food was definitely not great, that was Gao Yuan’s conclusion after observing.

A big steak was not even an appetizer for Gao Yuan; since he was used to being hungry, he could eat quite relaxedly. After all, it wasn’t enough to fill him up, so it was just like tasting a bit of flavor.

After eating the steak, Xinghe expressed her surprise: "It’s really delicious!"

Taking another bite, Xinghe nodded continuously: "It really is good. What is this? Texas steak, right? I have to remember that, I like it."

Andrew didn’t understand what Xinghe was saying, but seeing her amazed look while eating made him happy.

After Xinghe finished, she lifted her head and said to Andrew very seriously, "Any more?"

How embarrassing!

Gao Yuan nudged Xinghe with his leg from below, and she immediately realized she had said something wrong.

This time, however, Andrew understood because Xinghe had spoken in English.

"Uh, we have arranged for pizza, pizza, delicious Italian pizza."

After finishing with a smile, Andrew turned around and said, "Bring this lady a pizza."

The steak surely wasn’t enough, so they had prepared pizza as backup. After Andrew spoke, a person wearing a chef’s hat came in with a sealed dish and then stood in front of the microwave oven in the dining room, tore open the plastic bag, and put a frozen pizza inside.

Gao Yuan looked at the microwave oven, surprised that the base even had frozen pizza, but he already knew about the electricity supply from using medical equipment the night before.

Seeing Gao Yuan’s stunned expression, Andrew smiled subtly.

With a "ding," the chef opened the microwave and brought over a large pizza to the table.

Andrew laughed, "That is a microwave oven."

Although Gao Yuan’s English wasn’t very good and he didn’t understand the term "microwave oven," he more or less understood given the context before and after.

"Haven’t seen one before? Microwave oven, very quick and convenient, just takes a few minutes, and with a ding, it’s heated up."

Gao Yuan could hardly believe there was someone so ignorant in the world, but Andrew pointed at the pizza and said, "This is pizza, very delicious. It’s processed, frozen, and then put into that box..."

Andrew turned to point at the microwave, smiling: "Just three minutes, and it’s ready. Isn’t that amazing?"

As Andrew spoke, Li Yang translated. It was apparent from Li Yang’s expression that he was translating reluctantly, while Gao Yuan was simply annoyed and helpless.

Thus, Gao Yuan said to Li Yang with great surprise, "Holy shit! Are you kidding me? Telling me all this? Haven’t they used a microwave before? Otherwise, is it worth bragging about? Seriously? Does America not have microwaves?"

After speaking, Gao Yuan said to the people at the next table with an astonished tone: "Damn, did you see that? Americans actually treat microwaves like treasures. Oh my God, I won’t say anything about serving us frozen pizza, but they treat microwaves like treasures too; this dumbass is killing me."

Panxin and the others laughed along politely, their laughter restrained and courteous, then they gently looked at Andrew with the kind of gaze one reserves for someone mentally challenged.

Someone next to Andrew quickly whispered something, and Gao Yuan, as if he had just realized that Andrew had a translator with him, immediately turned back and coughed lightly twice, saying, "Sorry, I didn’t know you could understand, I thought you couldn’t. Uh, my apologies, I couldn’t help it just now."

Andrew looked surprised, and then he waved his hands at Gao Yuan repeatedly, saying, "No, no, no, it’s not like that, we have microwaves, we have had them for a long time. Don’t you not have them? You shouldn’t have seen one before."

The translator looked as though he bore the discomfort of not wanting to say it, and Andrew still looked completely astonished; he seemed genuinely innocent, so Gao Yuan chose to believe he wasn’t trying to provoke, just truly ignorant.

Andrew turned and pointed both hands toward the microwave, then said with a bit of panic, "I don’t think microwaves are rare. In fact, microwaves were invented in the United States. I just... I just thought you hadn’t seen one before."

Gao Yuan coughed lightly twice and said, "That, that microwave is produced by our country, almost all home appliances are produced by us, so I thought you weren’t familiar with it, I’m really sorry, it seems there has been some misunderstanding on both sides... "

Just then, Gao Yuan heard someone roaring from behind: "Fuck You! Bitch! Mind your language, do you want to get beaten up?"

Gao Yuan turned back to look and saw a Black officer glaring at him furiously.