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

The shopkeeper with the mustache carried a rotten wooden tray filled with piping hot mutton soup, his feet swaying on the greasy mud as he staggered toward the main house in the backyard.

The old man's mind was completely occupied with how to drug everyone in the house; he had completely forgotten about the origins of these soldiers.

Inside the main room, Gu Changfeng had just finished patching the two broken wooden windows shut with old newspapers when he turned around and moved a heavy wooden chair with a missing leg to block the door.

There's no place to reason in this desert market; it's full of ruthless, desperados. Having led troops for so many years, he knows the rules of this lawless place best.

"There's draft coming in from the walls of this house; it must be freezing cold at night." Lin Wanrou took out several military-grade aluminum water bottles from her canvas bag and neatly stacked them on the table.

She glanced at the brand-new cotton bedding on the earthen bed, then turned to look at her daughter's tiny tactical vest, shook her head, and didn't ask any more questions.

Ya Ya had already taken off her shoes and rolled onto the soft new quilt. She crossed her chubby little legs, chewing on a White Rabbit milk candy, munching away happily.

"Mom, don't be afraid. Dad and I will put you between us to sleep tonight, so you won't get cold." Ya Ya said with a grin, waving her little fist.

Niu Dan squatted silently in the corner near the door. He held a rough piece of gravel he had picked up from somewhere and was rubbing it against the blade of his cast iron boning knife. Most of the rust on the knife had been worn away, revealing the cold, hard metal underneath.

The sound of light footsteps on the sand came from outside the door.

Niu Dan stopped what he was doing abruptly, his ears perking up like a wolf cub. He tucked the boning knife back into his waistband, stood up, and took two steps toward the door.

"Chief, are the other chiefs inside?" The shopkeeper's hoarse voice rang out from outside the door. "I've prepared some mutton soup for you to warm you up. The desert is windy and sandy, a sip of hot soup will help you feel refreshed."

Gu Changfeng turned to look at Lin Wanrou, strode to the door, kicked the chair blocking the door, and opened the door a crack.

The owner quickly put on a fawning smile and moved the tray forward. A thick layer of butter floated in the large bowl, sprinkled with dried scallion leaves, and steamed, emitting a strong, pungent aroma.

"Did those soldiers up ahead share the drink too?" Gu Changfeng, who was tall, looked down at the thin old man, his voice neither too loud nor too soft.

"Drink up! There's a big pot over there. Our soldiers have had a long journey, so we can't break our little shop's welcoming traditions." The boss could spout nonsense without batting an eye, but his eyes kept wandering towards Lin Wanrou inside the room.

Gu Changfeng snorted coldly and took the tray from him: "Alright, I didn't tell you not to come knocking on the door."

The door slammed shut with a loud bang as soon as he finished speaking. The wind from the door slapped the shopkeeper in the face, giving him a bit of a rude awakening. But the old man wasn't angry. He stood outside the door, chuckled sinisterly, and then turned and slipped back into the front yard.

Gu Changfeng carried the wooden tray to the table and put down the bowl of mutton soup.

The strong smell of mutton fat filled the small room. Ya Ya sniffed, shuffled off the kang (a heated brick bed) in her slippers, and ran to the table, craning her neck to look into the bowl.

"Dad, this old man doesn't look like a good person, but he's very generous with the meat." Ya Ya pointed at the few pieces of fatty lamb chops with bone marrow in the bowl, her big eyes darting around.

Lin Wanrou rummaged through her bag and pulled out a few clean enamel mugs that she had brought with her: "You three drink first. You've been traveling for a day and a night and you're all hungry. I'll share some with you."

She was about to scoop out the soup with an aluminum spoon.

Niu Dan, who had been silent all along, suddenly rushed over and grabbed Lin Wanrou's wrist.

"Niu Dan, what's wrong?" Lin Wanrou's spoon was suspended in mid-air.

Niu Dan didn't reply. Like a wild beast that had discovered its territory had been invaded, he put his head right up to the edge of the big bowl, his nostrils twitching violently twice.

When he was a wild child in Lijiaba, he could even distinguish which mouthful of foul-smelling swill was edible and which was poisonous in order to compete with wild dogs for food. After arriving at the military region, he was often fed the sweet and refreshing spring water by Ya Ya, and his sense of smell had long since exceeded the limits of ordinary people.

The mutton soup smelled strongly of mutton and was very hot; most people wouldn't notice anything wrong with it. But Niu Dan, amidst the pungent smell of mutton fat, managed to detect a very faint bitter almond flavor mixed with the astringent taste of moldy earth.

This is the smell of sleeping potion that only an old hunter or a blind man who travels the world would understand!

"Snapped!"

Niu Dan pulled out a boning knife with his right hand and slammed the back of the knife hard against the edge of the large bowl, causing it to tilt violently on the table.

Gu Changfeng reacted quickly, stabilizing the bottom of the bowl with his large hand to prevent all the soup from spilling out, but a few drops still splashed onto the wooden table.

"What's wrong with you, kid?" Gu Changfeng lowered his voice, his tone stern.

Niu Dan gripped the knife handle, staring intently at Gu Changfeng, his throat tight: "Dad, you can't touch this soup. It's been spiked with something; it has a bitter taste of Mongolian medicine."

The room fell silent immediately after he said that.

Lin Wanrou's face turned pale. She quickly threw down the spoon in her hand and pulled Ya Ya back two steps. This shady shop owner actually dared to blatantly drug soldiers!

Gu Changfeng's face was very grim. He turned around, pulled out a triangular bayonet from his tactical belt, used the blood-grooved tip to pick up a little soup, and brought it to his nose to smell it carefully.

A few seconds later, he threw the military knife to the ground and sneered.

"They really added some serious stuff." Gu Changfeng pulled out his Type 54 pistol from his waistband, clicked the trigger, and loaded a bullet. "What a bunch of reckless bandits, they've got their eyes on us now. I think those guys in the front yard are all in cahoots."

Gu Changfeng, gun in hand, was about to open the door and deal with the mustachioed boss. In a place like this, there was no room for politeness; simply shooting two to establish authority was the easiest way.

"Dad! Wait a minute!"

Ya Ya grabbed Gu Changfeng's leg and held on tightly with her two little hands.

"Don't stop me, we have to go all out." Gu Changfeng looked down at his daughter, afraid that the weapon in his hand might go off and hurt her, so he quickly pointed the gun downwards.

Ya Ya let go and chuckled. Her chubby little face showed no fear whatsoever, only a mischievous and clever look.

"Dad, it's no fun for you to go shooting with a gun." Ya Ya reached into her tactical vest and pretended to rummage around for a while.

In fact, his thoughts had already sunk into his 200-square-meter personal space.

In the corner of that medicinal field in the space, there was a mutated croton plant that she had planted when she had nothing else to do. This thing grew taller than a tree, and the beans it produced, when soaked in highly concentrated spiritual spring water, had a frighteningly strong medicinal effect; half a bean could make a strong ox suffer from diarrhea until its legs went weak.

Ya Ya tore off an old newspaper, wrapped the crushed mutated croton powder tightly, and pulled it out.

"What's this?" Gu Changfeng asked, looking at the yellowish-brown paper package in his daughter's hand.

"This is a secret weapon my godfather gave me!" Ya Ya shamelessly used Lei Zhentian as a shield, "If the old man dares to drug us and try to do something bad, we'll go and add some 'seasoning' to all their food!"

Ya Ya shoved the paper package into Niu Dan's hand and gave him a wink.

"Niu Dan, you're quick with your knife, come with me to the kitchen. Tonight, we're going to make those wicked bastards rip their guts out!"

Ya Ya turned to Gu Changfeng, "Dad, you stay inside and protect Mom. Once they're all down by tomorrow morning, you can go out and interrogate that old geezer, and ask the guide for the camel. They won't dare refuse!"