Dare to shirk responsibility? This adorable little one will tear down your military district!

The gate of the military region in front of her was even more magnificent than Meng Yaya had imagined.

The two cement pillars are as thick as two people can hug, and they are painted with red slogans that are glaringly red in the sunlight.

The two large iron gates were tightly closed, and two sentries with guns stood at the entrance, their backs straight as two javelins, their eyes fixed straight ahead, exuding a chilling aura.

Lin Wanrou subconsciously lifted the basket higher, then bent down to straighten Meng Yaya's clothes, her palms sweating profusely.

"Ya Ya, this...this is where your dad stays."

Lin Wanrou's voice was weak. She had lived in Mengjia Village for a long time, and the highest official she had ever seen was the commune secretary. She had never seen anything like this before. Even if a bird flew by, it would probably be questioned about its gender.

Meng Yaya tilted her head back and squinted as she looked around.

There were hidden sentries at the two o'clock position, and an electric fence on the wall. Although it wasn't electrified, it looked intimidating. In the post-apocalyptic world, this level of defense would only qualify as a basic shelter, but in this era, it was truly an impregnable fortress.

"Mom, go ask her." Meng Yaya tugged at Lin Wanrou's finger.

Lin Wanrou took a deep breath and, as if she were heading to the execution ground, gritted her teeth and moved forward.

Five or six meters from the gate, the young sentry on the left suddenly turned around, slightly lowered the muzzle of his semi-automatic rifle, and shouted sharply, "Halt! What are you doing? This is a military area; unauthorized personnel are not allowed near!"

That shout was so powerful that Lin Wanrou's legs went weak and she almost knelt down.

She quickly pulled out the letter of introduction, handed it over with both hands, and stammered, "Comrade... we're here to find someone. We're family members."

Looking for someone?

The sentry eyed the mother and daughter suspiciously.

The woman was pale and thin, with messy hair, and her cotton-padded jacket was torn (it had been ripped by human traffickers on the train), with cotton lint coming out of the cuffs. The younger one, on the other hand, was fair-skinned, carrying a tattered cloth bag, and her trousers were covered in mud.

These days, there are plenty of people who come to the military district gate every day crying and shouting to find "long-lost relatives," and nine out of ten of them are just there to freeload.

The sentry didn't take the crumpled letter of introduction, but instead asked coldly, "Who are you looking for? Which unit are you from? What's your name?"

"His name is Meng Changhe," Lin Wanrou said urgently. "I'm his wife, and this is his daughter."

"Meng Changhe?"

The sentry frowned; the name was unfamiliar.

But he still dutifully turned and walked into the guard post, picked up the black hand-cranked telephone, and connected to the duty room: "Check if there is an officer or soldier named Meng Changhe... Yes, he said his family is looking for him."

Lin Wanrou stood under the scorching sun, staring intently at the figure in the guard post, her hands nervously twisting together.

Meng Yaya stood to the side, took out a slightly melted piece of milk candy from her pocket, unwrapped it, and put it in her mouth.

The sweetness melted on her tongue, but she still felt uncertain.

Two minutes later, the sentry hung up the phone and came out.

His expression was even colder and harder than before, and his eyes showed more impatience and wariness as he looked at Lin Wanrou.

"I checked, and there's no one named Meng Changhe on the entire military region's roster."

These words were like a bucket of ice water poured over Lin Wanrou's head.

She swayed, her face deathly pale: "No...no? How could there be no? He did come to join the army! He even sends his allowance home!"

"Comrade, is there a mistake? Can you check again?" Lin Wanrou took a step forward, trying to grab the sentry's sleeve.

"Back off!"

The sentry took a step back and warned sternly, "I've checked the duty room twice, there's absolutely no one with that name among the active duty personnel! Either you've got the name wrong, or..."

The sentry paused, a hint of disdain in his eyes. "Either you've been tricked."

"I'm not a liar!" Lin Wanrou's eyes instantly reddened, tears welling up. "I really am looking for the father of my child!"

The sentry waved his hand, as if shooing away a fly, "Get out of here, don't cause trouble. If you don't leave, we'll arrest you as a vagrant and send you back to your hometown!"

"We can't leave!" Lin Wanrou cried out in panic, and knelt down on the concrete floor with a thud.

"Comrade, please, have mercy and help me look for him again! My daughter and I have walked over a thousand miles to get here, and we have no money or food. If we can't find him, we'll starve to death!"

This kneeling caused several passing military trucks to slow down, and the drivers craned their necks to look in their direction.

The sentry was mortified.

Such behavior—throwing a tantrum at the entrance of the military compound—is extremely damaging to the military's image.

"What's wrong with you, woman? Get up!" The sentry stepped forward to pull her away. "This is a place of discipline, not a place for you to cry and make a scene! This person doesn't exist, and that's that. You can kneel here until you die, it won't do any good!"

Seeing her mother kneeling on the ground, begging humbly, Meng Yaya felt a surge of anger well up inside her.

If this were a post-apocalyptic world, anyone who dared to make her mother kneel down would have their kneecaps smashed and pieced back together like building blocks.

Meng Yaya pondered how to knock out this clueless sentry, but reason held her back.

This is the army, not a bandit's den. If you start a fight, you'll lose your case even if you're in the right, and you might even get shot.

We need to provide evidence.

"Mom, don't cry." Meng Yaya walked over and reached out her little hand to pull Lin Wanrou up. "The floor is dirty, get up."

Lin Wanrou cried uncontrollably, refusing to get up: "Ya Ya, what are we going to do if we can't find your father...?"

"If you can't find me, you can't find me. I'll take care of you." Meng Yaya said with a straight face and a crisp voice.

She turned her head, her large, clear eyes staring intently at the sentry, without a trace of the fear of a three-year-old child.

"Uncle, since we can't find the name, could you at least let someone recognize the face?"

The sentry felt a little uneasy under the girl's gaze and instinctively asked, "Recognize faces? How?"

"My mom has photos."

Meng Yaya looked at Lin Wanrou, "Mom, take out that photo. That's our last piece of evidence. Show it to this blind... this uncle."

Lin Wanrou felt like she had grasped at the last straw.

She hastily wiped away her tears and reached her trembling hand into the pocket of her inner garment.

It was a cloth bag wrapped in layers upon layers of cloth.

She carefully unwrapped the cloth bundle, her movements as gentle as if she were holding a priceless treasure.

Finally, a black and white photograph, only two inches in size, was revealed.

The photo is quite old, with yellowed edges, clearly having been handled countless times.

The photo shows a young man in an old-fashioned military uniform. He has sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, and his features are strong. Although he is not smiling, his eyes and brows exude a sense of righteousness.

Lin Wanrou held the photo, her hands trembling uncontrollably, and held it up to the sentry's face.

"Comrade, this is the child's father."

Lin Wanrou's voice was hoarse, with a hint of pleading, "Look, even if no one knows his name, has anyone seen this face before? He... he has a mole on the corner of his eyebrow, he's easy to recognize."

The sentry didn't want to see it.

What can you possibly glean from a tattered photograph brought from the countryside?

But when he saw the desperate look in the woman kneeling on the ground and the stubborn expression on the little girl's face, his heart softened a little.

"Okay, okay, I'll take a look. I'll leave as soon as I'm done."

The sentry leaned over and casually glanced at the photo in Lin Wanrou's hand.

Just one glance.

The sentry's pupils contracted sharply, and he froze on the spot as if struck by lightning.

His initial impatience froze on his face, replaced by a look of utter terror, and even the hand holding the gun strap trembled slightly.

Those eyebrows and eyes...

This outline...

Although the person in the photo looks much younger and doesn't have the same suffocating aura he exudes now, who in this entire military compound doesn't recognize that face? Who would dare not recognize it?

This is not some unknown "Meng Changhe" at all.

This is clearly Gu Changfeng, the youngest commander in the entire military region, who is known as the "Living Yama" on the battlefield!