Chapter 66

Chapter 66

"Dear, look over there... is that a person?"

In the rainforest, an elderly couple who were fishing as usual suddenly spotted an arm faintly visible in the rushing current.

They hurriedly pulled the man ashore and found he was a handsome man.

The fisherman placed his fingers under the man's nose, felt a faint breath, and quickly unbuttoned his clothes to press his chest until he coughed up water.

No sooner had they finished than two more soaking wet heads floated into view.

Two days later, in a village called Yilutu, Li Xiujin opened his eyes.

Seeing the exotic decor above him, he sat up, rubbing his temples.

Just then, a woman in a gray dress walked in, uttering a string of words Li Xiujin couldn't understand. He gestured for her to bring paper and a pen, then drew two people on the paper and added a question mark.

The woman quickly understood and motioned for him to follow her. Leaving the room, Li Xiujin saw a small courtyard where a boy of about three was playing in the sand. He deduced this was likely the woman's home.

Following her to another room, he saw Yang Yu and Li Wei still unconscious, and only then did he let out a sigh of relief.

Yang Yu and Li Wei, with slightly weaker constitutions, woke up a day later than Li Xiujin.

"I never imagined Liu Cheng to be so ruthless as to actually set a fire. Fortunately, there was a river and we were rescued. Otherwise, not only would we have been killed, but we wouldn't even have seen our wives and children one last time..." Yang Yu said angrily.

"General, I'm mostly recovered now. Let's hurry back and show the Prime Minister exactly what Liu Cheng has done!"

"We can't leave right now," Li Wei leaned against the doorframe, said lazily, "I just chatted with the lady of the house. She said her husband went out to sell fish and noticed several soldiers patrolling the nearby roads. They're probably here for us."

"It seems Liu Cheng really doesn't intend to leave us alive," Yang Yu said hatefully, pounding the table.

Li Xiujin asked, "You know their language?"

Li Wei: "A little."

Li Xiujin nodded gravely. Having someone who could communicate would make things easier for them going forward.

"Ask her when her husband usually goes out to sell fish."

Li Wei did so.

"General, what are you planning?"

"I'm planning to go check out the situation."

"Then I should go."

Li Xiujin: "You stay here and keep an eye on Yang Yu."

"General..."

"No room for discussion."

Yang Yu had no choice but to nod.

Li Wei soon returned: "She said he'll go tomorrow morning at eight."

The next morning at eight, Li Xiujin, wearing a black apron and black waders as a disguise, went with Mokan to sell fish at the nearby market.

Yesterday, Li Wei had already learned the names and background of the man and woman—an ordinary, hardworking family who made their living selling fish.

They, in turn, believed the three men were travelers who had unfortunately met with an accident.

About half an hour later, they reached the only road from the village to the market, and indeed saw two men who were clearly soldiers from their posture and gaze.

They guarded the intersection, checking everyone who passed. If anyone was uncooperative, they would start reaching into their pockets for their guns.

Li Xiujin glanced around; several more people were standing in the shadows.

Li Wei had taught him a few simple words. Li Xiujin now said to Mokan, "Let's try another road."

The other road was the same.

In the end, they had to take a very rugged and bumpy path to reach the market. This was a country even more backward than their own: the roads were dirt roads, many people still used horse-drawn carts for transportation, and the clothing was very old-fashioned. Someone like Mokan, who owned a truck for deliveries, was considered relatively well-off.

At the market, while Mokan was selling fish, Li Xiujin went to check the station. There were still people guarding it. After a look, he discreetly headed to a mobile phone shop.

Li Xiujin took off his watch.

Fortunately, the shopkeeper knew his stuff. Though they couldn't communicate verbally, he could tell the watch was valuable. Seeing Li Xiujin point at the phones, he immediately handed him one and even helped install a working SIM card.

Taking the phone, Li Xiujin returned with Mokan.

As soon as they arrived, Yang Yu ran over and asked, "General, how was it?"

"We can't leave for now. All possible exit points are guarded."

Yang Yu gritted his teeth in frustration, then noticed the phone in Li Xiujin's hand, his eyes lighting up.

"General, now that we have a phone, can't we contact someone from military headquarters, have them send people to rescue us..."

Li Xiujin placed the phone on the table, his expression darkening.

"How many days have we been missing?"

"Probably five days now."

"If we've been out of contact for five days, military headquarters would have noticed something was wrong and started searching without us needing to contact them. But right now, we only see Liu Cheng's men. Don't you understand why?"

"You mean Liu Cheng has already taken control of military headquarters?"

Li Xiujin said with a cold smile: "I suspect he's accused me of something like desertion, or worse, and had me removed from my post."

Yang Yu's face also turned slightly grim, because Li Xiujin's reasoning was sound.

"Then... can I at least call my wife?"

Li Xiujin's expression grew even more somber. In such a situation, it was hard not to speculate about worse possibilities.

"No calls. They are probably under surveillance now."

Yang Yu had thought Liu Cheng setting the mountain on fire was ruthless enough, but he never imagined he would go to such lengths to eliminate them completely.

Only now did he fully realize how dire their situation was.

*

Lin Ze couldn't leave the house, so he could only use his phone to make contact. However, after connecting a call, he heard a faint crackling of static in the receiver. With his military background, he quickly realized his phone was being tapped.

Pressing his lips together, he continued speaking to Lu Mo as usual: "I'm free this afternoon. You can come over to see the child."

After hanging up, that afternoon when it was time for Lu Mo to arrive, Lin Ze stood at the window, holding Li Chongyi, and soon saw a car pull up at the gate. Lu Mo got out, but the two soldiers at the entrance didn't let him in; they stopped and questioned him.

Carrying Li Chongyi, Lin Ze went downstairs, intending to use a prepared reason to get Lu Mo inside, but the soldiers didn't give Lu Mo much trouble and soon let him pass.

“Colonel.”

Lu Mo looked at Lin Ze with concern, noticing how much thinner he had become in just a few days and how pale his complexion was.

“General Li is so formidable—there’s no way anything could have happened to him. Please don’t take it so hard.”

Lin Ze smiled faintly. “Mm.”

“How is the baby?”

“He’s doing well.”

As he spoke, Lin Ze moved closer and began searching him.

Lu Mo was stunned for a moment but quickly realized what Lin Ze was doing. He continued chatting with Lin Ze about the baby until Lin Ze discovered a tiny listening device hidden on the inside of his upper arm.

Lin Ze didn’t destroy it. Drawing on past combat experience, he placed it in a sealed container and played a pre-recorded audio.

“No wonder they let me in without asking many questions—they planted a listening device on me. They must have slipped it on during the questioning when I wasn’t paying attention,” Lu Mo said.

Lin Ze hummed in acknowledgment.

“Colonel, how can I help you?”

Lin Ze told him his plan: “Go find Su Wang for me.”

“Su Wang?”

“You want Su Wang to help you?” Lu Mo didn’t understand why he would seek out Su Wang.

“Although Su Wang outranks Liu Cheng, he doesn’t have much real clout. Besides, Su Wang isn’t particularly tight with you or General Li. Right now, anyone can see that Liu Cheng is trying to finish you off. Would Su Wang really get involved in this mess?”

But Lin Ze replied, “He will.”

While it seemed like he was asking Lu Mo to find Su Wang, what Lin Ze really wanted was to reach Zhou Dingshan.

Lin Ze didn’t know why Su Wang and Zhou Dingshan were working together, but from things Li Xiujin had let slip, he could infer that Su Wang was loyal to Zhou Dingshan.

“Alright, I’ll go right away.” Hearing Lin Ze’s certainty, Lu Mo agreed immediately. Before leaving, he carefully placed the listening device back in its original spot.

Lin Ze watched him leave until Li Chongyi’s crying pulled him out of his daze.

Carrying the baby back to the bedroom, Lin Ze unbuttoned his shirt to nurse Li Chongyi. After feeding, Li Chongyi didn’t want to unlatch, wanting to keep nursing while sleeping. But because the milk wasn’t fully drained in time, the clogged ducts grew increasingly severe, causing painful swelling. Lin Ze couldn’t indulge him and had to gently pry open the little mouth to make him release it.

After soothing the baby to sleep, Lin Ze went to the bathroom…

Half an hour later, faint sobbing could be heard from the bathroom…

Following Lin Ze’s instructions, Lu Mo went to find Su Wang. Initially, Su Wang was standoffish, but upon hearing that Lin Ze had sent him, Su Wang secretly took Lu Mo to a villa, where they met someone Lu Mo didn’t recognize.

*

“This is Zhou Dingshan, the former Supreme Commander and also your Colonel Lin’s… father.”

Lu Mo understood why Lin Ze had been so certain.

“How are he and the child doing?” Zhou Dingshan asked worriedly.

“The colonel has lost some weight, but his spirits are still up. He doesn’t believe General Li is dead.”

Su Wang nodded. “I don’t believe it either. That guy's got nine lives—he’s definitely still alive. He’s probably lying low because Liu Cheng is still hunting for them.”

Zhou Dingshan nodded in agreement.

“What did your colonel ask you to come to us for?”

“He wants you to help draw away the soldiers Liu Cheng posted to guard his home.”

“Commander Su and I were already planning to do just that,” Zhou Dingshan said.

“Liu Cheng may appear friendly and smiling, but he’s scheming and cunning. It would be difficult to approach him directly. The withdrawal order I issued—Liu Cheng’s men definitely won’t obey it. Only the Prime Minister can issue it personally,” Su Wang explained.

“The Prime Minister has fallen ill for some reason, and Liu Cheng is currently taking care of him. Can you find an opportunity?” Zhou Dingshan asked.

“Liu Cheng hasn’t suspected yet that I’m aligned with Li Xiujin, so his guard against me shouldn’t be too high.”

The next day, Su Wang went to the Central Headquarters. At the Prime Minister’s residence, he saw Liu Cheng in the outer room, handling official duties while also tending to the Prime Minister.

“Commander Su, what brings you here?” Seeing him, Liu Cheng stood up to exchange pleasantries.

“I heard the Prime Minister is ill, so I came to see him.”

“I’m afraid you’ve come at a bad time. The Prime Minister hasn’t been well these past few days, and his mood isn’t good—he doesn’t want to see anyone.”

Su Wang put on a deeply concerned expression. “General Liu, you must understand—the Prime Minister personally promoted me. I respect him deeply. Now that he’s ill, I truly can’t rest easy without seeing him. I’ve been having nightmares every night lately.”

Liu Cheng stared at his face for a few seconds, then nodded.

“Don’t stay too long.”

Su Wang entered the sickroom and walked straight to the bedside. He found the Prime Minister in a deep sleep. Su Wang called out tentatively, and when there was no response, he quickly began searching the room quietly for the official seal. After about twenty minutes, he finally found it in a cabinet under the desk. As he pulled it out, he accidentally brought out some documents inside. Just as he was about to quickly stuff them back, Su Wang noticed it was a paternity test report.

The Prime Minister was never married and had no children—why would he have something like this? Unable to suppress his curiosity, Su Wang looked closely and saw a very familiar name.

Li Wei.

Discovering such an earth-shattering secret made Su Wang’s scalp tingle.

At that moment, Liu Cheng’s voice sounded from outside: “Commander Su, it’s time for the Prime Minister’s medicine. Are you finished?”

Footsteps grew closer. Su Wang hurriedly stamped the pre-prepared withdrawal order with the Prime Minister’s seal and swiftly closed the cabinet.

When Liu Cheng entered, he found Su Wang sweating profusely.

He asked with concern, “Commander Su, are you feeling hot?”

Su Wang wiped his brow with a handkerchief. “A little.”

He then casually asked a few more questions about the Prime Minister’s condition before leaving.

After leaving, he didn’t waste any time and rushed to Li Xiujin’s home. He presented the withdrawal order stamped with the Prime Minister’s personal seal to the soldiers. After verifying it, though somewhat suspicious, they left their posts.

As soon as they left, Su Wang immediately took Lin Ze, the baby, and the household staff to his villa.

Zhou Dingshan and Lu Mo were both waiting outside. Seeing Lin Ze step out of the car holding the child, they finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Zhou Dingshan looked at Lin Ze, wanting to say something but not knowing how to start. Finally, he just asked, "What are your plans next?"

"Commander Su, please arrange a helicopter for me."

"We actually already have a team out secretly searching for General Li by air," Su Wang replied.

Zhou Dingshan added, "Don't worry. Xiu Jin is a good kid with a strong sense of loyalty. He's saved you so many times; we won't abandon him."

"This place is safe. Liu Cheng's men won't be able to find it anytime soon. For now, you and the child should stay here and wait for news."

Holding Li Chongyi tightly in his arms, Lin Ze shook his head. "I have to go look for him myself."