Chapter 67

Chapter 67

"It's so dangerous, how can you go yourself?" Zhou Dingshan said, his voice low. "And what about the child? He's so young. Are you taking him with you, or leaving him here alone?"

"That's right, Colonel Lin. Putting aside the danger for a moment, if you go, what will happen to the child?" Su Wang added. "Don't worry, I've already sent people to search. We'll let you know the moment we find anything."

Lin Ze's expression remained unchanged, his tone steady. "Commander Su, please prepare a helicopter for me."

"Xiao Ze..." Zhou Dingshan's voice softened, pleading. "Just listen to me on this."

Lin Ze pressed his lips together and looked out the window, his gaze unusually resolute.

Knowing he wouldn't change his mind, Zhou Dingshan sighed and said to Su Wang, "Do as he says and prepare it as soon as possible."

After Su Wang left, Zhou Dingshan said, "It's already late. You and the child should rest first. I've had a room prepared."

"Colonel, let me show you to your room," Lu Mo said.

In the prepared room, there was a crib, along with formula and diapers. A servant took Li Chongyi from Lin Ze's arms to change his diaper.

Lu Mo watched the servant finish and then spoke up. "How come Zhou Dingshan is your father?"

Lin Ze didn't know how to explain it to him. "I'll tell you after all this turmoil is over."

"Can he be trusted?"

Lin Ze was silent for a moment. "Yes."

Lu Mo nodded to show he understood, then asked, "If you go looking for General Li, what about the child? He's so small, and you don't know when you'll be back..."

"Actually, there's something I wanted to ask you. You're the one I trust most right now. I hope you can take care of Chong Yi for me," Lin Ze pleaded.

"Colonel, don't worry. I definitely will."

"Thank you... really, thank you..."

Lu Mo didn't disturb him for long before leaving.

After the servant finished changing Li Chongyi's diaper and handed him back to Lin Ze, she went to rest in another room.

Lin Ze sat on the edge of the bed, unbuttoned his shirt, and watched as Li Chongyi, blissfully unaware, smiled while suckling. His heart felt as if it were being sliced by a knife.

He couldn't just sit here doing nothing, waiting for news. Every second without knowing Li Xiujin's whereabouts was pure torture...

"Chong Yi, Mommy is going to find your daddy. You stay here and be good, don't cry, don't fuss. Mommy and Daddy will come back together soon..."

Li Chongyi didn't understand what Lin Ze was saying, but he responded with indistinct sounds when Lin Ze spoke to him.

Lin Ze buried his face in the baby's blanket and held him tightly, trembling.

Liu Cheng, who was handling official duties on behalf of the Prime Minister, saw the men he had sent to monitor Lin Ze return. His expression changed abruptly. "Who told you to come back?"

The subordinate was startled. "It... it was the Prime Minister... Commander Su had a release order personally stamped by the Prime Minister."

*

Liu Cheng went to the Prime Minister's room and found that the cabinet where the official seal was kept had been disturbed, along with the paternity test report.

He gave a short laugh.

Su Wang went to the military headquarters and found the officer in charge of aircraft dispatch, telling him to free up a plane immediately.

"Commander, General Liu just gave orders that anyone using military transportation must state their reason for use."

*

Hearing this, Su Wang feigned anger. "Who is the commander here, him or me? Do I need his permission to use a plane for official business?"

"Commander Su, please don't be angry. We have no choice."

Su Wang could only make up a reason on the spot.

The plane was parked on the vast training ground of the military headquarters. Su Wang found a soldier he trusted to be the pilot. However, just as he was about to board the plane to leave, Liu Cheng arrived hurriedly with a large group of men.

"Commander Su, how could you do this?" Liu Cheng put on a hurt expression. "I trusted you so much, letting you see the Prime Minister. And what did you do? You misappropriated the Prime Minister's official seal."

Su Wang played dumb. "How could I do such a thing? Maybe your subordinates were negligent in their guard, letting someone escape, and now you're trying to pin it on me?"

Liu Cheng turned to ask his subordinate. "Is what Commander Su said true?"

"If it were true, I'd shoot myself right now! It was Commander Su who showed the release order, and that's why we let them go!" Liu Cheng's subordinate said.

Seeing he couldn't hide it anymore, Su Wang said, "I don't know why General Li would want to do such a thing, but Colonel Lin and his child are innocent. Moreover, Colonel Lin contributed greatly to the Regeneration Plan. I just felt sorry for them..."

"Sorry for them?" Liu Cheng laughed. "I never thought Commander Su was such a compassionate person. Then why don't you feel sorry for the teammates and teacher who were killed because of Colonel Lin?"

"That matter hasn't been concluded yet. Blaming it all on Colonel Lin is a bit unfair," Su Wang argued.

Liu Cheng, however, didn't debate the matter further. He narrowed his eyes, looking at the plane behind Su Wang. "Commander Su, where are you planning to go on this plane?"

"A few days ago, there was a major forest fire in a small country, causing many casualties. To prevent such a disaster, I plan to patrol the nearby forests and eliminate potential hazards."

"Is that so." Liu Cheng nodded. "I thought you were going to look for General Li, or that this helicopter was prepared for Colonel Lin, so he could go find his husband?"

Cold sweat broke out on Su Wang's back. "How could that be?"

"If it's not possible, then tell me, where have you hidden Colonel Lin?"

"After I released them, I didn't keep track of them anymore. I don't know where they went. They probably went back to their hometown to hide," Su Wang said after a moment's thought.

Liu Cheng stared at Su Wang.

His expression was composed, yet it made Su Wang feel deeply uneasy. "If there's nothing else, I'll be going now, General Liu."

But Liu Cheng said, "Take him into custody."

Soon, two soldiers had Su Wang's arms pinned behind his back. Su Wang looked incredulous. "Liu Cheng, what are you doing?"

"Misappropriating the Prime Minister's official seal is against the law. It's only out of our past friendship that I've been speaking to you so politely. Since you refuse to tell the truth, I have no choice but to deal with you according to the law, Commander Su."

"I really don't know anything..."

Liu Cheng smiled with seemingly good temper. "If you remember something while in prison and tell me, I'll consider letting you go free in light of your cooperation."

"It's been a day. No matter how slow, it should have been ready by now," Zhou Dingshan paced back and forth in the study.

Lin Ze held Li Chongyi, his expression grave.

*

Soon, Lu Mo came back with news. His face didn't look good. "Commander Su has been arrested on charges of misappropriating the Prime Minister's official seal."

"The plane probably can't be readied."

Although Lin Ze had guessed this outcome from Su Wang's prolonged absence, hearing it confirmed still made his expression even more grave.

"Colonel, what do we do next?"

"We'll have to drive to the port and take a private vessel."

"But if we drive..."

"Liu Cheng has already circulated your photo in the military's internal system. Once you step outside, whether by car or on foot, as long as you're caught by a security camera, he can quickly pinpoint your location."

Lin Ze was well aware that as long as he was caught on camera within the country, Liu Cheng would swiftly locate him. That was exactly why he had initially asked Su Wang to prepare a helicopter.

"There's no other way," Lin Ze said.

"We'll leave at night. I'll disguise myself thoroughly. Once we're out of the country, my movements won't be restricted anymore, and things will be much easier."

"Then I'll take you," Lu Mo offered.

Lin Ze shook his head.

Deep into the night, Lin Ze put on a cap and mask, then handed the sleeping Li Chongyi to the maid. After taking one final, reluctant glance, he left the villa. When he opened the car door, Zhou Dingshan was sitting in the driver's seat.

"I'll take you," Zhou Dingshan said.

Lin Ze replied coldly, "No need."

Zhou Dingshan lowered his voice. "I've never done anything for you. Please, let me help you this time, okay?"

Lin Ze got into the car.

Zhou Dingshan tried to take as many back roads without surveillance as possible. When they encountered unavoidable cameras, he would tell Lin Ze to duck down. They managed to evade detection all the way to the port, only to find it was also guarded by Liu Cheng's men.

Zhou Dingshan pushed open the car door. "I'll distract them."

Before Lin Ze could object, Zhou Dingshan was already out of the car.

Zhou Dingshan pretended to be a drunk, stumbling up to the group of guarding soldiers and starting to cause a drunken scene. After they called their superior over, Zhou Dingshan suddenly lunged at him, instantly putting all the soldiers on high alert.

Meanwhile, Lin Ze quietly got out of the car and made his way to the private yacht they had arranged in advance. As soon as he boarded, the yacht sped off. By then, the soldiers had noticed them and began giving chase in their own boats.

Seeing this, Zhou Dingshan jumped onto a yacht, weaving back and forth to block the soldiers, finally ramming into the one leading the pursuit. Then he found gasoline on the yacht, poured it on the deck, lit it, and quickly jumped into the sea. Not long after, a loud boom echoed as the entire yacht erupted into a massive fireball, taking several others with it. The soldiers on the yachts had no choice but to jump into the sea...

The yacht carrying Lin Ze sped away.

By the next morning, Lin Ze had successfully reached the neighboring country. He then took a flight to Weina. As soon as he stepped out of the airport, he saw several men in plain clothes at the exit who looked very much like soldiers, checking each person one by one.

Lin Ze guessed these were also Liu Cheng's men. Fortunately, there were clothing stores in the airport. Lin Ze changed into local attire, pasted on the large beard common among local men on the lower half of his face, and put on a pair of glasses, managing to slip past them.

Outside the airport, Lin Ze chartered a private plane to head to the forest where the incident had occurred. The plane circled above, and the burned forest looked like an ugly, hideous scar, devoid of any green or signs of life.

Even Lin Ze, who firmly believed Li Xiujin was alive, began to waver upon seeing such a sight. Could Xiu Jin really have escaped from here?

Was he really still alive?

Before overwhelming grief could crush him, Lin Ze bit his own arm, using the pain to curb his wild thoughts. After quickly calming down, he asked the pilot to fly lower and picked up binoculars to survey the entire forest.

The forest was vast; it would take the helicopter another two hours to cover it all. After the observation, an even more devastating conclusion emerged: there was simply no possible escape route within it.

Lin Ze's shoulders trembled slightly. He covered his mouth, yet he remained unwilling to give up, unwilling to accept it, unwilling to believe...

He asked the pilot to fly even lower and picked up the binoculars again. At the very edge of the forest, he spotted something very narrow and crystal-clear, like amber. Lin Ze adjusted the focus and realized it was a flowing river...

Hope instantly surged...

Lin Ze followed the direction of its flow and discovered a large cluster of houses downstream.

Finding a clearing, the plane landed. Lin Ze hired a guide who could translate for him, gathered some medical supplies and compressed food, and disembarked.

Lin Ze and the guide followed the river downstream, knocking on doors at each house they passed. He showed them a photo of Li Xiujin, asking if they had seen this person.

Everyone shook their heads.

After searching like this for a day, Lin Ze's feet were rubbed raw and bleeding. He simply bandaged them and intended to continue, but the guide, seeing he was already exhausted, advised, "You should rest first. Otherwise, you might collapse before you even find the person."

So they went to the nearby market where lodging was available. The guide explained, "This is the most bustling place around. People who grow vegetables or fish bring their goods here to sell. Tomorrow, we can ask around at these market stalls. They travel often and might have seen him."

Lin Ze nodded.

Seeing a mobile phone shop still lit up, the guide said, "Your country's SIM card doesn't get good signal here. Why don't you get a local one? That way, if we get separated, it'll be easier to stay in touch."

Lin Ze agreed. If the guide wasn't around, the phone's translation function could help him communicate with locals.

The guide entered the only mobile phone shop in the market and asked the owner to help get a SIM card.

As the bearded shopkeeper pulled open a drawer, a hand suddenly shot out and grabbed his wrist. Lin Ze stared at the expensive watch on his wrist and asked, his voice trembling, "Where did you get this?"

The guide quickly translated.

"He said a customer traded it for a phone."

Lin Ze released him, his whole body beginning to shake. "Ask him what that person looked like."

"He said the man was very tall, very handsome, not a local, and looked like he was from the same country as you."

Lin Ze's voice began to choke up. "Ask him where that person is now."

"He says he doesn't know. The other person left after getting the phone."

"But he guesses he must be a fisherman because he was wearing clothes only fishermen wear."

A fisherman...

How could he be a fisherman...

Was he rescued by a fisherman...

The guide said, "Tomorrow, the fishermen will come to this market to sell fish. We can ask each one then. We should find the person you're looking for pretty quickly."

They found a small inn to stay in.

Sitting on the bed in the small inn, only after confirming that Li Xiujin was truly alive did Lin Ze's shoulders begin to tremble slightly, and he finally let out suppressed sobs...