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

"A spy? Don't put it so harshly." Shen Ruowen gently patted the unconscious Tian Tian in her arms, her tone cold and sarcastic. "I am also a Great Xia citizen, but my goals are different from yours."

"Bah! You dare call yourself a citizen of Great Xia!" Li Guihua stepped forward, the gun barrel fixed on her, her eyes blazing with fury. "How old is Tian Tian? How could you lay a hand on her? Are you even human?! What did you use to bewitch her? If you had any conscience at all, you would have done it right now!"

"It's just a little ether, don't worry, it won't hurt your precious babies."

"Ether?" A cold light flashed in Li Guihua's mind. When Jiang Guoqiang was rescued, the guards who were watching him were knocked out by ether. At that time, they searched Wan Hongxin for a long time but could not find any trace of ether.

Is it...

Were Shen Ruowen and Wan Hongxin in cahoots from the beginning? Was her ankle injury a ruse from the start?

Thinking of this, Li Guihua felt a chill run down her spine; she seemed to have stumbled upon a very dangerous truth. But she couldn't think any further at this moment; Tiantian was in the other party's hands, and the child's safety was the most important thing.

She gritted her teeth and commanded sharply, "Put the child down, step back, and raise your hands!"

"Sister Li, I advise you to put down the gun." Shen Ruowen gently shook Tiantian in her arms, her tone threatening, "Don't accidentally hurt the child."

"As you can see, I'm sincere towards Tian Tian. As long as you cooperate, I won't make things difficult for you."

Cold sweat beaded on Li Guihua's forehead, and her palms became damp. She knew, of course, that the other party would use Tiantian as leverage, but she was also gambling that the other party wouldn't dare to really hurt Tiantian.

"I bet you won't dare hurt her, otherwise, you won't be leaving the base alive today!"

"I just want Tian Tian to do me a small favor, Sister Li, why are you pointing a gun at me?" Shen Ruowen smiled and offered her terms, "How about this, you put down your gun and escort Tian Tian and me out of the base. Once we're outside, I'll immediately hand the child over to you, how about that?"

"Dream on!" Li Guihua flicked the safety pin with her thumb, making a soft click. "I'll count to three, put the child down immediately! Otherwise, don't blame me for being ruthless!"

Shen Ruohua did not react.

Li Guihua shouted sternly, "One!"

Just as the two were at an impasse, a startled cry suddenly came from outside the door: "What are you doing?!"

A figure rushed into the door; it was Wu Hao, the orderly who had escorted Wan Hongxin and other experts to the base.

Upon seeing the scene inside, his expression instantly changed: "Comrade Li! Reporter Shen! What... what happened?"

"Wu Hao! You've come at the right time!" Li Guihua cried out urgently, as if seeing reinforcements. "Shen Ruowen is an enemy agent! Quickly, snatch the child from us!"

"What?!" Wu Hao exclaimed in surprise, immediately turning to Shen Ruowen, "Reporter Shen, you..."

"Stop talking nonsense! Saving lives is the priority!" Li Guihua urged, her finger tightly gripping the trigger, not daring to relax for a moment.

"Yes!" Wu Hao responded, then walked towards Shen Ruowen. "Reporter Shen, put the child down!"

He spoke as he took a step forward, seemingly about to seize her. However, just as he was about to reach Li Guihua, another unexpected event occurred!

Wu Hao turned around abruptly, his movements as fast as a cheetah. His right hand gripped Li Guihua's wrist, which was holding the gun, like an iron clamp, and twisted it in the opposite direction!

"Ah!" A sharp pain struck, catching Li Guihua off guard, and the pistol slipped from her hand and fell to the ground.

Wu Hao caught the gun with his left hand, pointing it directly at Li Guihua. Just as he was about to pull the trigger, Shen Ruowen hurriedly stopped him: "Don't shoot! Don't alert anyone else!"

Wu Hao reacted with lightning speed, flipping his wrist to a palm strike that landed heavily on Li Guihua's neck. Li Guihua groaned, her vision went black, and she collapsed to the ground.

A cold, murderous glint flashed in Wu Hao's eyes. He bent down and grabbed Li Guihua by the neck, ready to kill her. Shen Ruowen quickly pulled him back: "Don't waste time! The backup is almost here. We have to leave immediately, don't cause any more trouble!"

Wu Hao glared at Li Guihua on the ground and sneered, "She got off easy!"

Shen Ruowen tossed aside her crutches, picked up Tian Tian's little body, and stepped out of the barracks—her ankle had long since recovered, and she showed no signs of injury. Her slow, deliberate gait with crutches over the past few days was nothing more than an act.

Wu Hao followed behind, gripping his gun and cautiously surveying his surroundings.

The camp was deserted; everyone who could walk had gone to the pond for flood relief, and there wasn't even a single soldier on patrol. The two avoided the main gate, carrying the child and walking quickly with their heads down. In a corner of the base's wall, they had secretly broken a large hole, which they usually carefully concealed with a waterproof tarpaulin, making it virtually undetectable unless one looked closely. This was their planned escape route.

Just a hundred paces from the large hole in the courtyard wall, a familiar voice suddenly came from the side, tinged with a hint of confusion: "Reporter Shen? What are you doing here?"

Shen Ruowen's brows furrowed sharply, and she cursed her bad luck inwardly. She stopped in her tracks, turned around, and a perfectly timed smile appeared on her face: "Aunt Xing, what are you doing here?"

The person who came was Xing Yuxiu, wearing the blue apron of the cookhouse. She had just finished relieving herself and was about to go back to the cookhouse to help when she saw two figures sneaking towards the backyard wall. She didn't pay much attention at first, but the graceful figure looked familiar. Upon closer inspection, she realized it was reporter Shen, who had been recuperating from her injuries these past few days, and she couldn't help but ask her what was going on.

Xing Yuxiu's gaze swept over Shen Ruowen's shoulder, and seeing Tian Tian leaning against her shoulder with her eyes closed, she asked with a puzzled look, "Is Tian Tian asleep? Why aren't you taking her back to the barracks? Why are you going to the backyard?"

"What a coincidence, sister-in-law." Shen Ruowen smiled naturally without changing her expression. "Tian Tian and I were playing around here just now, and I accidentally lost my handkerchief. She kept me occupied and I didn't have time to look for it. She just fell asleep, so I thought I'd come and check on her. If I find it, I'll carry her back to the barracks."

As she spoke, she pointed to the ground beside her feet: "Look, isn't the handkerchief right there?"

Xing Yuxiu looked in the direction she pointed and saw a piece of floral handkerchief lying not far from her feet. But for some reason, she felt something was off, an indescribable unease, as if a thorn was sticking out at her, making her feel uncomfortable all over.

"Sister-in-law, you've come at the right time." Shen Ruowen noticed her wariness and quickly said with a smile, "I'm holding the baby and it's inconvenient for me to bend down, could you help me pick it up?"

Normally, Xing Yuxiu would have been very helpful, but today she was wary and didn't move. She looked at Shen Ruowen and said, "Sister, let me hold the child. It's inconvenient for me to bend over. You can pick it up."

"Is it inconvenient to bend over?" Shen Ruowen's gaze swept subtly over her abdomen, then she suddenly smiled and said, "Sister-in-law, are you... pregnant?"

Xing Yuxiu was taken aback. She was not very pregnant and her pregnancy was not yet showing, so she did not make a big fuss about it. Mainly, she did not want to be treated specially and wanted to continue to do more work.

Not many people in the base knew the truth. Unexpectedly, Shen Ruowen guessed it.

"Yes, just over three months."

"You'll have to take care of yourself then." Shen Ruowen's smile grew even gentler as she spoke, moving closer. "Sister-in-law, are you having bad morning sickness? Do you crave sour or spicy food?"

As the distance closed, the taut string in Xing Yuxiu's mind suddenly snapped, and she finally belatedly sensed the danger!

She abruptly took a step back and shouted sharply, "Stop!"

She finally realized what was wrong!

"Where's your cane? Wasn't your leg injured?!"

This morning when I was washing up, Shen Ruowen was still using a cane and I was taking care of her both inside and outside the house. How come she's all better now?

"You...you're a spy!" Xing Yuxiu screamed in terror, her face deathly pale. "Help! Someone's here—!"

Before the word "wu" could even be uttered, Wu Hao pounced on her like a tiger! His left hand covered Xing Yuxiu's mouth tightly, while his right hand flashed with cold light, and without warning, a dagger plunged into her chest!

"Ugh—!" Xing Yuxiu's eyes widened suddenly. The excruciating pain and suffocation caused her body to spasm. She looked at Wu Hao, who had revealed his ferocious nature, in disbelief.

Wu Hao's eyes were cold. With a twist of his wrist, the dagger was drawn. Blood instantly soaked through Xing Yuxiu's clothes. He released his grip, and Xing Yuxiu's body swayed, then, like a wooden stake that had lost its support, she fell backward to the ground.