Monster Dismantling Company

Chapter 40 Souvenirs

"That's quite strange." Commander Xia looked at him as well. "That's good... Perhaps we can become comrades-in-arms in the future."

The defense force recruits directly from the local population. If Li Lin stays in the local area, he may join the defense force in the future.

"Well then... consider this a formality." He patted Li Lin on the shoulder. "Since it's our first meeting, I don't have much to give you. But since you're the son of an old friend, I've prepared a small gift."

He took a tag out of his pocket, a blank tag, somewhat like a dog tag.

"The Defense Force's identification tag—everyone has one, usually with their name, number, and blood type drawn on it. There's generally no other way to obtain one, but I can make an exception and give you one; consider it a little toy. If you ever actually join the Defense Force in the future, use this as your identification tag."

"Wait a minute..." The colonel noticed the pattern on the tag. "What's this tag? This isn't a soldier's identification tag, is it? This is an officer's identification tag?"

Even colonels don't have this style of badge; his silver-edged badge is for officers of the rank of colonel.

"They're all the same, just with a gold rim. This is my spare card. Anyway, there are no words on it."

Although the material and pattern are unique, the most important aspect of an identification tag is still the information it contains. A blank tag is like a blank postcard; it has commemorative value but serves no practical purpose. After all, it's impossible for someone to forge an officer's information and enter it into the defense force's system.

"Ah, thanks." Li Lin accepted the gift. "You're such a kind person."

"Young man, why are you suddenly giving me the 'friend zone' card... Oh well, just consider this an experience. We're operating within the army, you won't be in any danger."

After a brief conversation, Li Lin returned to his seat with the souvenir.

Lin Zhiqing, who was standing next to him, was stunned when she saw this:

"This is...this isn't...isn't this a general's identification badge?!"

How did you know?

"My aunt has one. When she first got it, she even made a special trip home to have a gathering with us. But that was many years ago, when I was still young. She's only come back two or three times in all these years... How did you get the plaque?"

"It seems to be a souvenir—precious but not very useful, but it can still serve as a souvenir."

Lin Zhiqing's eyes suddenly lit up: "Hey, do you think we could carve words on it?"

"You're very cunning."

"Oh dear... how can you describe me as cunning? I'd rather call it self-actualization. Hey, how about we give it a try?"

"No way." Master Wang happened to be returning from outside and passed by the two men. "They're really like newborn calves unafraid of tigers, actually trying to engrave words on an officer's ID badge..."

"Ah, I'm sorry." Lin Zhiqing lowered her head. It was her own suggestion, and she hadn't involved Li Lin. "But really, it can't be engraved?"

"No, it's technically impossible to engrave them. The badges of the defense force can only be engraved on specialized equipment, especially those of general-rank officers. Don't think that just because they look the same, it's enough. You can print a banknote with a printer and it will look the same, but you can't handle other anti-counterfeiting measures."

"Oh...that's a real shame. But we've practically got the acid-free paper sorted out, right? All we're missing is the color-changing ink!"

Master Wang blinked. "No wonder Li Lin was interested in you... You really are different from him. I advise you not to do anything reckless. Holding this sign is already a bit against the rules, it's fine as a souvenir. But if you actually carve words on it, you'll be court-martialed if you get caught! I'm not kidding. Understand?"

He didn't look at Li Lin, because Li Lin usually wouldn't do that.

Lin Zhiqing, on the other hand, is a noteworthy and unstable element.

"Okay!" Lin Zhiqing raised her hand and saw Master Wang off.

When she turned around, she saw that Li Lin was observing the sign.

"Huh? Did you see something?"

"Color-changing ink might not be too difficult to handle... I just saw Commander Xia's brand. It seems there's some attention to detail in the cutting; certain characters have specific angles and indentations. There are also some anti-counterfeiting marks around the edges."

"Did you take a picture?"

Li Lin nodded.

He could actually know the information without taking a picture.

"Hey, hey..." Lin Zhiqing tugged at his sleeve, "Don't mess around... I was just kidding."

"I know, and what's the point of us forging a brand? The information on the brand is the most important thing."

The defense force's system is networked. Unless he directly writes information into the system, forging a sign is useless.

"Hmm..." Lin Zhiqing nodded. "That's true. But, did you take any pictures of the mechs when you were taking photos?"

"Mecha? I took the picture. Is there anything I can help you with?"

"My younger brother really likes these mechs, but he can never touch them. I was thinking... since you took these photos, could you share them with me? These are exclusive photos, and I'd like to print them out and send a copy to my brother."

"Oh, okay." Li Lin nodded. "Please wait a moment."

He stood up and looked around—the silver dragon's figure immediately appeared at the connecting point between the carriages:

"Your Majesty the Dragon King! What are your orders?"

"I want to develop some photos, can you develop them for me?"

"Ah, this..." Silver Dragon hesitated.

"Why can't it be rinsed?"

"Yes, we can, but our process is a bit complicated. To be precise, it's not just a photo developing machine; it just has that function. Are you really going to develop them? Ah, I see, you're doing it to find a mate, right?"

"Just take it as that."

"Then please follow me!"

This seemed like a very important decision. But for Silver Dragon, loyalty was paramount; he wanted to remain completely loyal to his Li Lin.

Upon reaching the connecting area between the carriages, she looked around to make sure no one was there, then reached out and closed the doors on both sides to ensure no one else was coming in.

Then, she disappeared from Li Lin's sight—a screen hidden in the wall opened, along with a space the size of a delivery box.

"Welcome to the Editor System!" A silver dragon's avatar appeared on the screen. "You can use the editor to print photos. Please scan the QR code on the screen and send me your photos."

Li Lin operated in this way—

A rainbow of light flashed, and the thin photograph materialized out of thin air.

"Alright." The silver dragon jumped out, accompanied by a burst of colorful light.

She handed the photo to Li Lin: "Please take this! I'll be going now if there's nothing else..."

"Wait a minute." Li Lin grabbed her shoulders. "What were you using just now?"

"A plotter. Ah... it's a printer, a printer."

"I see the same light on you... So this machine can [create] many things, right? So the food you feed me is created from this [creation]? And your ability to solidify into form also relies on this?"

"Ah...this..." The silver dragon hesitated, only a little bit.

Li Lin looked at the sky. "Whether you tell me or not is up to you."

Silver Dragon jumped up immediately: "Yes! That's it! This is the reason I was able to get out!"