Chapter 61

Chapter 61

They didn't return until much later.

The nanny was at her wit's end. After playing to his heart's content, Li Chongyi started fussing for Lin Ze, working her into a sweat.

Lin Ze, in his brand-new clothes, and for some reason, his face was also covered in sweat, flushed red.

Li Xiujin, on the other hand, seemed perfectly normal.

The next day, as soon as Li Chongyi fell asleep, Li Xiujin took Lin Ze to that hotel again. During their last visit, they had discovered that this place had special themed sets, such as a simulated subway...

Lin Ze, dressed in a uniform and riding the subway, suddenly felt a hand slip into his clothes, groping his skin. Realizing he was being molested, Colonel Lin reached for his gun.

But to his surprise, the other person was more agile than him. The man pulled off his tie and tied his hands together with it.

Then the man's actions grew even bolder.

In the end, Lin Ze lay disheveled, his uniform hanging open, revealing his snow-white skin as he lay on the ground, his body twitching...

Li Xiujin took in the scene for a few seconds before tucking a few bills into Lin Ze's hand, deliberately humiliating him: "Thanks for the hospitality, Colonel Lin."

Sated, Li Xiujin quickly scooped Lin Ze into his arms and took him to bathe. While bathing, remembering that Lin Ze had often performed in cultural shows in the past and had many years of dance training, making his body extremely flexible, Li Xiujin made him do the splits...

The experience was even more stimulating than at home, so Li Xiujin began taking Lin Ze there on a regular basis...

*

Lu Mo took off his safety helmet and came out from the extraction site. At the helicopter pad, he saw several people.

These people were dressed in local mountain villagers' clothing, crowded around the aircraft, inspecting it.

Lu Mo: "What are these people doing?"

"They all know about our mining operation. Some came to ask if we need workers, while others are just curious and came to take a look."

"Don't get complacent. Stay sharp."

"Yes, Mr. Lu."

Lin Ze had given Lu Mo the highest authority. Everyone here treated his orders as if they came from the Colonel himself. After saying this, Lu Mo planned to dispatch more men the next day.

However, that night, a loud explosion rocked the night. It wasn't their mining site that was bombed, but their command base.

Lu Mo, who was pulling a late shift with the workers, saw a fireball in the distance and realized what had happened. He ordered the others: "Secure this perimeter. Absolutely do not let what happened last time occur again." After giving the order, he shucked his gloves and helmet and raced back. By the time he arrived, the entire command base was consumed by fierce flames. Some soldiers had managed to escape, but they were badly burned, while more were trapped in the sea of fire, screaming in agony.

Even Lu Mo, who wasn't official military, was filled with deep sorrow and fury.

Lu Mo barked orders to put out the fire and rescue survivors, while he reported the situation to Li Xiujin.

Worried that the warehouse where they were storing and decomposing the extracted methane hydrate might also be bombed, Lu Mo hurriedly took a few soldiers and rushed over.

However, halfway there, their convoy was suddenly ambushed by a band of masked men.

*

"General, bad news!" Yang Yu, after receiving the message from the snowy mountains, rushed to Li Xiujin's office. Ignoring that he was in a meeting, he pushed the door open and burst in.

"The command base in the snowy mountains was bombed, and Lu Mo is missing."

Li Xiujin abruptly stood up, had everyone else leave, and asked coldly, "What happened?"

"It happened suddenly last night," Yang Yu said. "We always thought the enemy's main target was the mining base, so while the command center had soldiers guarding it, the defense was relatively weaker. Combined with assistance from local mountain villagers, they managed to exploit this weakness again... Lu Mo went missing on his way to check the energy storage warehouse..."

"What audacity," Li Xiujin said, a ruthless glint flashing in his eyes.

"We captured their leader, yet this group still dares to act so recklessly. Aren't they afraid we'll just kill him?" Yang Yu asked.

Judging by the situation, the other side clearly wasn't afraid. Then he remembered what Zhou Dingshan had said: the Lei Wen they captured wasn't their real leader.

"Send a team to hunt them down," Li Xiujin said with a grim expression. "Once located, everyone except Lu Mo can be killed on sight."

"Yes, General."

Li Xiujin was tied up with work until very late before returning home.

When he arrived, Lin Ze was sound asleep, holding Li Chongyi.

He took Li Chongyi from Lin Ze's arms, then lay down in his place, opened Lin Ze's shirt, and began to suckle at his chest.

The sleeping Lin Ze felt a familiar, tingling sensation, opened his eyes, saw him, and felt a flush of shame.

"Xiu Jin, are we going to the hotel tonight?" Lin Ze asked.

Li Xiujin shook his head.

"I'm tired."

He was a man of boundless energy. Even after working late, he could usually continue upon returning... This was the first time Lin Ze had heard him say he was tired, indicating how hard he had been working recently.

"Then you should get some sleep quickly."

"Mmm."

Li Xiujin pressed his face against Lin Ze's chest. Lu Mo had someone notify him instead of Lin Ze, likely to avoid worrying Lin Ze. For now, he didn't plan to tell Lin Ze directly, intending to wait until the situation became clearer.

*

Yang Yu had been by his side for many years. It didn't take long for him to track down the enemy. The two sides exchanged fire, and the enemy, unable to hold their ground, fled in haste. Since they weren't in their own country, Yang Yu couldn't go in guns blazing and could only pursue them closely.

Not long after, they sent a negotiation request.

"General, they demand we release Lei Wen, and in return, they will release Lu Mo," Yang Yu reported hastily after rushing back to Li Xiujin.

Li Xiujin sneered, "Fine. Ask them where and when to meet?"

The other side quickly responded.

"They said we just need to leave Lei Wen and his wife and child at the port. Once they confirm the three are safe and healthy, they will release Lu Mo."

"But how do we know they'll actually release him after we let Lei Wen go?" Yang Yu said angrily. "Aren't they just playing us for fools?"

"Do as they say," Li Xiujin ordered instead.

Yang Yu was stunned for a moment. "Alright."

However, news of Li Xiujin's plan to release the prisoner reached the Prime Minister's ears. Li Xiujin was summoned to the Central Headquarters.

"The enemy has attacked us repeatedly, showing they have no respect for us. We cannot release him. Not only should we not release him, but we must also teach them a lesson."

"Since they care so much about this Lei Wen, there's no need to keep him imprisoned any longer. Execute him directly."

"We can't execute him. They still have one of our people," Li Xiujin said.

"Given their viciousness and cunning, the person is probably already dead," the Prime Minister added. "I usually don't interfere in these matters, but this time, you must follow my orders."

"Alright, I'm tired."

Without giving Li Xiujin a chance to speak, he began ushering the guest out.

As he stepped out, he happened to bump into Liu Cheng.

Liu Cheng had a handsome, gentle face, was usually always smiling, and he spoke in a warm, reassuring way.

"General Li, the Prime Minister called you in because of the matter with the overseas gang, right?"

"It seems the Prime Minister has already discussed it with you," Li Xiujin said, his gaze sharpening.

"Yes, last night, the Prime Minister spoke with me. Actually, what the Prime Minister is doing is understandable. The other side has attacked us repeatedly, clearly showing they don't take us seriously. At this point, agreeing to a prisoner exchange would only make us seem too easy to push around."

"Moreover, the person might already be dead. The other side could be bluffing. Even if the person is alive, as a soldier, he should be prepared to sacrifice for his country. If I were in his position, upon realizing there was no way out, I'd have put a bullet in my own head rather than give the enemy any opportunity to threaten us."

Li Xiujin sneered and mocked, "Spoken like the Prime Minister's most trusted officer. I and others feel deeply ashamed after hearing your words."

Liu Cheng smiled. "You flatter me."

"General Li, if the person captured by the other side were just an ordinary soldier, would you still go to such great lengths to rescue him? Please don't show favoritism just because he is Colonel Lin's subordinate!"

"You, I, and even the Prime Minister—the highest goal of our positions is to make this country more prosperous and powerful. Dying for that ultimate goal should be their greatest honor."

Li Xiujin had rarely interacted with Liu Cheng before. His impression of him was merely that of a person who often wore a smile and appeared gentle. He hadn't expected this person's mindset to be so distorted and fanatical.

Li Xiujin said calmly, "Then I can only hope you, General Liu, are granted the honor of that ultimate sacrifice."

Yang Yu, who was waiting outside, was fuming after hearing his words. "Lu Mo isn't even part of the military. He worked hard there just to help Colonel Lin. Now that he's been captured by the other side, they're still spouting lofty talk about honor in sacrifice... Do these people even see ordinary lives as lives? It's downright chilling."

Seeing that Li Xiujin remained silent, he asked, "General, you're not really planning to follow the Prime Minister's orders and write off Lu Mo, are you?"

Li Xiujin stared out the car window and simply said, "Let's not go home first. Go see Zhou Dingshan."

Yang Yu took a secret detour to the villa where Zhou Dingshan was holed up.

"The Prime Minister said not to release the hostage and to have him executed outright?" Zhou Dingshan asked.

"Does Liu Sheng think the same way?"

Li Xiujin nodded.

"Strange... Those overseas gang members went to such great lengths to capture Lu Mo just to ransom Lei Wen. It's clear they value Lei Wen highly. If Lei Wen is executed, isn't Liu Sheng afraid that the gang members, out of sheer rage, might expose that he's been in cahoots with them?"

Li Xiujin concentrated. "Unless he has already devised another plan to protect himself and is using this opportunity to eliminate those who pose a threat to him."

Zhou Dingshan nodded. "So, what do you plan to do?"

"The Prime Minister has issued a direct order."

"The person captured is someone Xiao Ze trusts. If we don't release the hostage and even execute him, the other side will likely do the same to us. How could Xiao Ze accept that? He'd only just had the baby..."

Li Xiujin fell silent.

"No matter what you plan to do, you've got to tell Xiao Ze about this. You absolutely cannot keep it from him," Zhou Dingshan said.

After leaving the villa, Li Xiujin sat in the car and gave Yang Yu a secret order.

After hearing it, Yang Yu's eyes lit up, and he immediately replied, "I'll go take care of it right away."

Li Xiujin returned home a little earlier. Lin Ze and Li Chongyi were still up. He watched as Lin Ze sat kneeling, gently rocking the cradle, his handsome face soft and filled with affection.

While surrounded by this warmth, a surge of deep-seated rage rose in Li Xiujin's heart.

His wish from the beginning had always been to live a good life with Lin Ze, but there were always people making trouble and ruining it for him.

When Lin Ze turned around and saw him standing motionless at the door with a grim expression, he was startled.

Thinking that Li Xiujin was angry again because his attention was solely on Li Chongyi and he was being neglected, Lin Ze hurried to explain in a soft voice, "Xiu Jin, I just wanted to get him to sleep quickly so it would be easier when you came back..."

Seeing that he didn't respond, Lin Ze added, "Xiu Jin, I love you very much, even more than I love Chong Yi..."

Li Xiujin simply buried his head in Lin Ze's neck.

Picking up on his dark mood and realizing it wasn't about Li Chongyi stealing his attention, Lin Ze stroked his head. "Did something go wrong at work again?"

Li Xiujin shook his head. Telling Lin Ze now would only make him worry.

"Is it because of Li Tingyuan? Did he make you angry again?"

"No."

Since it was neither, Lin Ze thought for a moment, feeling slightly embarrassed. "Xiu Jin, do you want to go to the hotel tonight? This time, I can dress up as a nurse for you..."

Li Xiujin's Adam's apple bobbed but he still said, "Another day."

Even his favorite role-play scenario was refused. Although he said nothing was wrong, Lin Ze still felt worried.

As he watched the sleeping Li Chongyi, he pondered with a heavy heart.

"Sir, there's someone outside who wants to see you."

"See me?" Lin Ze asked. "Who?"

"He's wearing a military uniform, with as many shoulder insignias as a general."

Also a general?

Lin Ze followed her downstairs.

At the door, he saw a man of general rank accompanied by two soldiers.

The man was very handsome, exuding an air of refinement. Before even speaking, he smiled, making Lin Ze instinctively want to let his guard down even before getting to know him.

"Colonel Lin, hello. My surname is Liu, and my given name is Sheng. I came to disturb you today because the Prime Minister wishes to see you."

Hearing this, Lin Ze became alert.

Seeing his reaction, Liu Sheng produced the Prime Minister's transfer order.

After verifying it and confirming it was genuine, Lin Ze followed him into the car with confusion.

Upon arrival, Liu Sheng directly took him to the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister set aside his work, warmly shook hands with him, greeted him, and asked some questions about the work of the Regeneration Plan.

Lin Ze still respected him and answered each question in turn.

After replying, the Prime Minister addressed the real purpose: "I came today mainly to talk this through with you, so you can help persuade General Li too."

Talk this through?

Lin Ze grew even more puzzled.

"The command center was bombed, that young soldier was captured—his fate is unknown—but we must not let his accomplices get away..."

The command center was bombed?

Why didn't he know about such a major incident?

A wave of intense unease washed over Lin Ze:

"Who was captured?"