The little star from the Gobi Desert, handed over to the state, is hailed as a national treasure.

1961 years.

Northwest China, a missile research and testing base.

"Liang, this is the last bit of drinking water for this month. The brigade commander said that the resupply trucks won't be able to deliver it until the 3rd or 4th of next month."

Battalion Commander Liang Zhe stared at the small half-bucket of water remaining on the table, a layer of impurities floating on the murky liquid. This was the base's last remaining amount, every drop precious, and everyone, including himself, had to be extremely careful with their resources.

"What about the food?"

"We have enough cornmeal for three days, and we're out of pickled vegetables. The entire cookhouse is left with just some radish greens. The soldiers can grit their teeth and bear it, but those experts all look sallow. How can their bodies take this?"

Liang Zhe's gaze fell on the blueprints and models on the table, the goal that everyone was striving for: a missile that would change the fate of the Great Xia Dynasty.

In such an extremely harsh environment, these elites of the Great Xia Kingdom are using their wisdom and hard work to fight against Western technological blockade and nuclear monopoly. Their health is more important than anything else.

"If only we could dig a well," sighed Deputy Regiment Commander Song Dazhu, looking at the sand beneath his feet.

In their search for water, the group dug up the surrounding desert, but they couldn't even dig out a small ditch.

"Take my allowance and exchange it for food and water in town," Liang Zhe gritted his teeth. "I can't let the expert's health collapse."

"Commander Liang, you've already covered your allowance with your own money."

Just then, the curtain was lifted, and a young communications soldier rushed in, his eyes wide open. "Liang, Regiment Commander Liang, there's a little kid outside the base."

"Huh?" Song Dazhuang was taken aback and stood up straight.

Li Dazui, the cook who came to report, also looked surprised. "This godforsaken place doesn't even have a rabbit, so where did this baby come from?"

Liang Zhe's heart tightened: "What does it look like? Who brought it?"

"Just, just a little girl, three or four years old..." The communications soldier looked shocked. "No adults around, just her by herself."

Before he finished speaking, Liang Zhe had already strode out.

He received a telegram ten days ago saying that there had been a disaster at home and that his wife, Lin Shufen, was coming to the army to stay with him with their three-year-old daughter, Tiantian. But after waiting for so many days, there was still no news. Liang Zhe couldn't help but feel uneasy.

He was on a classified mission and was not allowed to leave without orders. He didn't want to cause trouble for his superiors because of his personal matters, so he could only wait anxiously.

Hearing that a little baby had arrived, he was able to remain calm at first, but after taking a few steps, he couldn't help but start running.

Before even reaching the base entrance, a small figure could be seen standing in the setting sun, its thin frame contrasting sharply with the endless yellow sand, making it look both small and pitiful.

Liang Zhe ran even faster.

Several soldiers were surrounding the little girl. She looked shorter than a gun barrel. Her face was thin and sallow, her hair was messy, and she was wearing a tattered cotton coat with many holes. Only her eyes were surprisingly bright.

"Little girl, how did you get here?" the young soldier asked curiously. There's only one bus a day every two weeks, and it stops at least five miles away. It's a miracle that this little girl was able to walk all the way here by herself.

Liang Tiantian pursed her lips and didn't say anything.

Since her mother fell asleep, she wandered alone in the desert, hungry and scared, her mind filled with the thought of "finding her father".

Her mother had told her that her father's work was confidential and that she shouldn't tell anyone.

My mother also said that anyone wearing a green military uniform with a five-pointed star on their hat is a good person and you can ask them for food.

She walked for a long time but didn't see a single five-pointed star. Just when she was about to cry in despair, she suddenly realized that she could see through the sand and see a bright line extending underground. Following the line, she stumbled and staggered her way to this place.

Now, she looked up and saw a tall figure running from the camp. He looked anxious and was wearing a green military uniform. Most importantly, his eyes... were the same ones she remembered.

"dad……"

A weak sound came from his chapped lips.

Before Liang Zhe even got close, he recognized her. Although the little girl was dirty, her appearance and eyes were exactly like his own daughter whom he hadn't seen for two years!

"Sweetie! Are you Sweetie?!"

He rushed to the child, scooped the tiny body into his arms, and, overwhelmed with emotion and lingering fear, stammered, "Why are you here? Where's Mommy?"

Smelling the familiar scent emanating from him and feeling the warm, large hand encircling the back of her head, Liang Tiantian whispered again, "Dad... Daddy?"

"Oh!" This timid voice instantly struck Liang Zhe's heart. He couldn't help but hug the child closer, and two streams of tears welled up in his eyes. "It's Daddy! Daddy is late, and you've suffered."

Undeterred, he glanced behind him again, but in the vast Gobi Desert, apart from the howling wind and rolling sand, there was no other figure to be seen.

"Sweetie, isn't Mommy with you?"

"Mommy..." Sweetie tilted her head and said softly, "Mommy's hungry, she's asleep... Let me find Daddy, Daddy has food..."

At this point, the fear and grievances that had been suppressed finally broke through, and Tian Tian burst into tears, hugging her father and sobbing loudly!

"Daddy, Mommy isn't waking up! I want Mommy, I want Mommy!"

Liang Zhe stood there, holding his daughter in a daze. Although he had already guessed the outcome, he still couldn't help but burst into tears.

My wife was diagnosed with a serious illness last year, but she kept it a secret from him for fear of distracting him from his work. It wasn't until this year that she revealed a few words in a telegram. Medical care and medicine are scarce in this Gobi Desert; she's traveling with the child while ill, and I fear...

Thinking of his wife's gentle and beautiful face, and the hardships she had endured raising their child alone all these years, and how he himself had devoted himself to a top-secret national project, not even being able to see her one last time... his heart ached as if it were being torn apart by a knife.

"Shufen, I'm so sorry. I'm useless. I couldn't take good care of you and the baby!"

This tough man, who had crawled out of piles of corpses many times and faced bullets without fear, was now kneeling on the ground, crying uncontrollably like a child.

The soldiers around them who witnessed this scene all had tears in their eyes and silently turned their heads away.

Once the father and daughter had calmed down, Liang Zhe wiped away his tears and hugged Tian Tian even tighter. "Don't be afraid, Tian Tian. Daddy will take you home now."

"Daddy, Sweetie is thirsty."

Sweetie licked her chapped lips, her voice weak.

Liang Zhe paused involuntarily.

He had just given the order that the drinking water supply for the entire base must be prioritized for the experts. But his own young daughter, who had survived countless brushes with death in the desert and finally found him, couldn't even get a clean sip of water?

Liang Zhe felt as if a thousand arrows were piercing his heart.

"Okay, Dad will take you to get some water."

In his tent, there was still half a cup of "water" boiled from tree bark. He could go without food or water, but he couldn't let his daughter suffer with him.

But Tian Tian shook her head and pointed to a spot on the ground, "Daddy, Tian Tian wants to drink the water down there."

"What?"

Liang Zhe was taken aback, thinking he had misheard. There wasn't a single raindrop down there, only sand; where would the water come from?

Oh no, could the child be hallucinating from walking in the desert for too long?

He'd heard from the old folks that people in extreme hunger and despair could develop hysteria. And Tian Tian had traveled so far and endured so much hardship to find him; could she perhaps have…?

Thinking of this, Liang Zhe's heart sank to the bottom.

He is such an incompetent father.

"Sweetie, don't cry. Daddy will take you back to the dorm to get some water."

He planned that after wiping Tian Tian's face, he would take her to the clinic. If they couldn't treat her there, he would send her back to the town or the city. Even if it cost him everything, he would get Tian Tian treated first.

Seeing her father about to leave with her in his arms, Tian Tian anxiously tugged at his sleeve, "Daddy, no!"

"What's wrong?" Liang Zhe was pulled by his daughter and had to stop.

"Here!" Sweetie stubbornly stretched out her little hand, pointing to the spot she had just been standing in.

She had already seen it when she arrived; there was so much water down there. But she was too weak to dig through the sand. She could only see the water and was incredibly thirsty, but she couldn't drink it.

If only her dad could help her.