Chapter 65

Chapter 65

"Are you sure we can get out of this hellhole?"

Yang Yu looked around at the mountainous forest where the grass grew taller than a person, towering trees blocked out most of the sky, the sun was barely visible, and a faint layer of mist hung in the air. He asked seriously.

"Do you think I just randomly picked this path? I've tested it many times. Once we cross this forest, there's a mountain village. As long as we see people, everything will be easier." Li Wei impatiently pushed aside the grass blocking the way, only to find a bug landing on his shoulder. He flinched and quickly brushed it off.

Yang Yu snorted. "You seem quite confident."

"Believe it or not. If you were in a helicopter, you'd realize how vast this rainforest is. If you don't have a planned route, you'll definitely get lost once you enter. And once you're lost, you're as good as dead..."

Seeing that he didn't seem to be boasting, Yang Yu believed him and then said, "Might as well talk. How did you hook up with Liu Cheng?"

Li Wei began to play dumb. "What are you talking about? I don't understand."

"Stop pretending. Do you believe I'll blow your brains out?" Yang Yu said coldly.

"If you kill me, you won't be able to get out of here either."

"Is that a threat?" Yang Yu grabbed him by the collar and yanked his head up to look at the sky, where several vultures with fierce eyes were circling. "After I shoot you, before you're even dead, they'll come to tear into your body, peck out your eyes, your face, then your stomach. Your intestines will spill out, bloody, onto the ground, it'll be crawling with maggots and flies..."

Yang Yu's voice grew more and more menacing as he spoke. "You're so beautiful. Can you accept dying such a gruesome death?"

Li Wei smiled. "Actually, Liu Cheng came to me. He said you had newly discovered energy sources and that we could work together, him on the inside and me on the outside, to take it for ourselves. He made it sound easy, so I agreed."

Yang Yu glanced at Li Xiujin.

Li Xiujin was walking at the very back, keeping an eye out for anyone on our tail. He was listening to their conversation. When Yang Yu looked over, he signaled for him to continue.

"He also smuggled us a bunch of weapons. But I didn't expect your defenses to be so tight. At first, I wanted to capture that Colonel Lin as a hostage, but I didn't succeed. Lei Wen was even captured by you." At this point, Li Wei showed a sad expression. "Lei Wen was my late husband's favorite subordinate. After my husband died, he's been helping me out."

"Your husband? You mean your old boss?"

Li Wei nodded. "Yes, he saved me."

"That's why we captured that man named Lu Mo..."

"We didn't kill Lei Wen," Yang Yu told him bluntly.

Li Wei laughed softly. "Doesn't matter who killed him. He's dead anyway."

Yang Yu had initially thought he was quite arrogant, but hearing the defeat in his voice now, he felt a bit sorry for him.

"Did Liu Cheng say what his purpose was in cooperating with you? Was it just for money?"

"He must've had another angle, but he didn't tell me," Li Wei said.

"Then how do you know he had other purposes?"

"Because after we failed, he wasn't angry or disappointed. He just calmly said, 'I see.'"

"General, what do you think Liu Cheng is up to?" Yang Yu grew even more puzzled. "Too bad we can't look into it now. We'll have to wait until we get back."

Remembering something, Yang Yu added, "I haven't called home in three days. My wife and daughter must be worried sick."

Li Xiujin looked at the darkening rainforest and thought of Lin Ze at home, his spirits sank.

Liu Cheng brought such a big force; he must have had two plans. One was to smoothly take Li Wei away. If Li Wei fell into Liu Cheng's hands, the matter of Liu Cheng colluding with foreign gangs could stay buried. But now that the first plan failed, then...

Liu Cheng wouldn't let them live.

*

"General Liu, there's an underground tunnel here. They escaped through it."

After discovering the tunnel in the house, a soldier hurriedly called Liu Cheng over.

Liu Cheng composed himself and ordered, "Go down."

Passing through the tunnel, they saw a small stream, and on the opposite bank was a vast mountain forest.

"Fan out."

"Once found, don't leave a single survivor."

Liu Cheng said, his voice flat.

"But the Prime Minister only said to capture Li Wei alive. General Li and Colonel Yang..."

A colonel spoke up hesitantly.

Liu Cheng smiled, pulled his gun and fired.

With a bang, the colonel lay on the ground covered in blood.

Liu Cheng wiped the gun barrel and said to the others, frozen in shock, "You all saw it. General Li tried to kill me first. After failing, he fled with the important prisoner. Capturing all three of them would be ideal, but if we can't capture them, killing them is also the correct move."

"Understood?"

"Understood."

"Now begin the search."

After searching for the better part of a day, someone hurriedly reported, "General, it seems they had an escape route. Not only can we not find any trace of them, but many soldiers have gotten lost."

Liu Cheng looked at the sky and noticed the wind was starting to pick up. His face wore its usual smile. "Then we burn it."

As night fell, barrels of gasoline were poured onto the ground. Soon, flames shot up, slowly spreading. Fanned by the wind, the fire grew fiercer, and the burned area rapidly increased, quickly becoming a crimson sea of flames.

Liu Cheng sat in a helicopter, quietly admiring this awe-inspiring yet terrible sight.

The fire burned for a full day and night. The once lush, green mountain forest turned ashen gray, emitting thick smoke.

"General, even if they weren't burned to death, they would have been suffocated by the smoke," a soldier beside Liu Cheng said.

Liu Cheng retorted, "Is that so?"

Three days later, the thick smoke completely dissipated. Liu Cheng ordered the soldiers to search the forest again.

The forest was covered in ashes everywhere. Occasionally, they could find a few bones burned black. There wasn't a single sign of living plants or animals.

However, perhaps they had been burned to ashes, as no human remains were found. Although Liu Cheng's subordinates were convinced they were dead, Liu Cheng still couldn't be completely at ease. He ordered them to guard all the villages around the rainforest.

Then he returned.

The first thing he did upon returning was to rush to the Central Headquarters to report to the Prime Minister.

"I followed your orders to capture Li Wei. Unexpectedly, General Li not only disobeyed but also fired shots trying to kill me. Then, along with his trusted aide, he fled into the rainforest with Li Wei. Unfortunately, due to drought and wind, the forest caught fire. The three of them are probably... dead."

The Prime Minister was shocked. "Dead?!"

"Li Wei is dead too?"

"I originally intended to bring Li Wei back to you, but I didn't expect Li Xiujin to take him, which led to this tragedy..."

The Prime Minister clutched his chest, his face pale and lips purple, having aged instantly.

"This General Li... disobeying your orders is bad enough, but now that you finally found Li Wei, for him to get himself killed in the fire is one thing, but to personally send Li Wei into the flames as well." Liu Cheng seized the opportunity: "And his spouse Lin Ze—it's unimaginable that someone who killed his own teacher and teammates could continue serving as a colonel. I hope the Prime Minister will also strip both of their positions."

The Prime Minister, deeply shaken, murmured, "You handle it..."

*

"What's the situation over there?"

As soon as the soldier sent to investigate returned, Lin Ze hurried to ask.

"When I arrived, I was stopped by the soldiers the General had taken with him."

"What do you mean?"

"Somehow, the soldiers following the general started obeying General Liu's orders. They said, they said..."

Lin Ze: "What did they say?"

"They said the general defied the Prime Minister's orders and escaped with Li Wei."

Escaped...

How could it be escaping with a criminal?

Li Xiujin went to capture Li Wei. Why would he escape with Li Wei?

How could he possibly escape without regard for me and our child?

Remembering that Liu Cheng was also there, something must have happened between them, forcing Li Xiujin to leave with Li Wei as a last resort.

Lin Ze's expression turned extremely grave: "Prepare a helicopter for me. I need to go see for myself."

"Yes, Colonel Lin."

However, after contacting the transportation department, the soldier became evasive.

Lin Ze asked him, "What's wrong?"

"They said that you and General Li are no longer part of the military, so they can't provide you with a helicopter."

Lin Ze didn't understand at first—what did he mean?

Until Liu Cheng showed up with a large contingent: "Colonel Lin—oh, no, I can't call you colonel anymore. The Prime Minister has just issued an order. Because your husband fled with a criminal and ultimately perished in the fire along with the asset we still needed, and in consideration of his past merits, both you and your husband have been relieved of your duties."

Lin Ze stood there, his mind buzzing, then mechanically opened his mouth to ask, "What do you mean, 'perished in the fire'?"

Liu Cheng patiently explained to him: "Li Xiujin and Yang Yu fled into the mountains with Li Wei, unfortunately encountered a wildfire, and all three were burned to ashes..."

It was like a thunderbolt striking him on the head. He was completely stunned.

Perished in the fire...

Burned to ashes...

Lin Ze's vision went dark, and he lost consciousness.

"The shock was too great, causing a temporary fainting spell. His body is otherwise fine. Try not to stimulate him too much during this period..."

Lin Ze groggily heard someone speaking by his ear. He slowly opened his eyes and saw the crystal chandelier in the bedroom. As his awareness returned, he abruptly sat up, pushed back the covers, and began putting on his clothes and shoes.

The servant said anxiously, "Sir, you're not well yet."

Lin Ze said nothing. After dressing, he hurried downstairs to the gun room and took a pistol.

The servant, holding Li Chongyi, followed him. Li Chongyi wailed pitifully in her arms, but Lin Ze paid no heed. He tucked the gun into his waistband and headed straight for the main gate.

But he was stopped. The villa was heavily guarded.

"Mr. Lin, your husband is now a fugitive, but since he is dead, you bear responsibility for his crimes. General Liu just gave the order: you and your child are not to step foot outside here."

Lin Ze's tone was icy: "Step aside."

"Of course we can step aside." The two soldiers smirked, then aimed their guns at Li Chongyi and the servant holding him. "But if you dare take one step out of here, you'll soon lose not just your husband, but your child too."

"Mr. Lin, with your looks, you can always find another husband. But the child, after all, is your own flesh and blood. So for the child's sake, just stay quietly at home."

Immense rage and hatred replaced Lin Ze's grief. His usual gentleness gone, he stared coldly at the smiling soldier.

The soldier shivered under his gaze.

"Sir, let's go back first, if only for Chong Yi's sake." The servant walked up to him and placed the wailing Li Chongyi into his arms. As soon as Li Chongyi was in his embrace, his cries softened into pitiful whimpers.

Lin Ze held him tightly, his body beginning to tremble.

Holding Li Chongyi, he returned to the room in a daze. Lin Ze unbuttoned his shirt to breastfeed him, but Li Chongyi didn't feed. Instead, he nuzzled his head forcefully into Lin Ze's chest. Lin Ze froze for a moment, then hugged him tightly, burying his face in the swaddle as tears slowly streamed down.

That evening, Liu Cheng came to see him.

"Mr. Lin, how are you feeling? Are you better? You fainting suddenly really scared me." Liu Cheng said with great concern.

Lin Ze's expression remained indifferent.

Liu Cheng sighed: "I know you're heartbroken. After all, since being with you, he always did everything he could for you. I heard before that he even took a bullet for you. This time, going to capture Li Wei was also because of you. If he hadn't married you and gotten tangled up in your past, he wouldn't have come to such an end."

After speaking, Liu Cheng seemed to remember something and quickly apologized: "I'm not saying General Li died because of you, just that he loved you so much, that's why... sigh."

"It's just that he was so young. It's truly a pity." Liu Cheng sighed again.

"He didn't leave any last words before he died, but since we were colleagues, if you ever encounter any difficulties in the future, feel free to ask me. I will definitely help you and your child." Liu Cheng paused, then added with apparent sincerity: "I'm not married yet. If you don't mind, you could remarry me and bring the child along..."

Lin Ze slowly shifted his gaze to Liu Cheng's face and said coldly, "Get out."

Liu Cheng smiled, unoffended: "I'm not joking. You can think about it. I'll take my leave now."

After he left, Lin Ze's eyes grew slightly warm.

Although he knew those words were deliberately said by Liu Cheng to provoke him, they weren't without truth. If not for him, Li Xiujin wouldn't have gotten involved in the Regeneration Plan, wouldn't have crossed paths with Li Wei again, and wouldn't have...

But beneath the grief, Lin Ze couldn't believe that Xiu Jin was really dead...

He had survived so many dangerous situations before. How could he die so easily this time?

He forced himself to calm down.

He needed to find a way to ensure the child's safety, then get out of here and personally go to the place where it happened...