Qianyuan: My crew comes from the world of anime.

Upon arriving at Rose's house, he easily opened the door using the key given to him by the lieutenant general. He then walked to the bedroom door, knocked, and said:

"I'm only giving you thirty minutes. Pack your things and come with me immediately. It's not safe here."

"...!"

He stood outside the door and heard the gasps from inside. Then the bedroom door opened, and Rose, who looked different than usual, appeared through the crack.

She wasn't wearing makeup, and her complexion looked rather unpleasant... like someone who hadn't slept well for a week, with bloodshot eyes.

Even her clothes were plush pajamas that didn't suit her taste.

Luo Tianming tried to make his voice sound gentle: "Hurry up and pack your things. I'll take you to a safe place where you won't have to worry about the gunfire."

"..."

Rose looked at him with some suspicion, and then—click—she not only closed the door, but also locked it from the inside.

This made the veins on Luo Tianming's forehead bulge. Why did she have to let him down at such a crucial moment? That brat!

He continued knocking on the door, saying, "It was your father, Lieutenant General Lycam, who commissioned me. If you don't believe me, would you like to contact him now?"

From inside the door came Rose's weak but stubborn voice:

"No... I'm not going anywhere!"

Luo Tianming: "Aren't you afraid of the sound of gunfire outside? In that case, I'll take you to a safe place, have a good meal, and then get some sleep."

"No! No—!" The voice inside grew increasingly hysterical, as if Rose was afraid of something.

"Could you please leave?!"

"Don't worry about me, I'm safe here... As long as I don't leave this room, Dad will be safe too...!"

By this time, Luo Tianming was getting impatient. He stopped knocking and his tone became threatening: "I am here on the orders of a lieutenant general. If you don't come out yourself, I will force you out and take you away."

"Are you going to come out on your own, or are you planning to let me drag you away like this?"

"..."

"Please...please..."

The sounds from inside the door gradually faded, and the hysterical voice trembled slightly.

Luo Tianming sensed something was wrong, and then—bang!

He leaped forward and kicked with all his might, shattering the bedroom door into pieces.

However, when he entered the house, the scene inside shocked him:

The bedroom was almost unrecognizable as the pink-clad little girl it once was; the walls were covered with photos, all of which were of Luo Tianming himself.

Some were clipped from newspapers, some were taken secretly, and most of the photos were group photos of him and other soldiers... and then those people were carefully 'cropped' out.

Most importantly, there were several computer-generated photos on the table, in which his skin was replaced with a shiny bronze color and his hair was changed to a very cheap golden yellow.

However, this was enough to show the shadow of another person in him.

He looked at Rose, who was huddled inside the blanket. The girl didn't dare to meet his gaze; the wariness and caution in her eyes came from Luo Tianming.

Now he finally understood why the girl refused to leave.

These photos revealed that his past disguise was quite simple: he simply took advantage of others' unfamiliarity with him, putting on makeup to deceive people.

This kind of scam usually can't be used a second time, and people who have been fooled before can easily recognize it.

Then, at the officers' club, under the influence of the anesthetic, Rose vaguely regarded Luo Tianming as the person from the past. During their official 'second' meeting, she immediately saw through Luo Tianming's deception. Although the lieutenant colonel was right in front of her, she still planted a seed of suspicion in her heart.

Their subsequent interactions solidified 90% of her thoughts. When she was with Luo Tianming, she never considered searching for Robert's true identity. Why was that?

The most important suspicion comes from the Painted Skin Cult: they do not deny that there is a person named "Robert Schumann" in the cult, and their own person is also named Robert... The last time a large-scale disturbance occurred in the capital, it was officially defined as a terrorist attack carried out by the Painted Skin Cult in order to rescue Archbishop Yakov.

By piecing together these pieces of information, Rose arrived at a fact that was close to the truth, yet even more terrifying.

She huddled under the covers, her fear directed at Luo Tianming.

Because she felt she had discovered his biggest 'secret'...

"I...I won't report you to anyone, and I won't try to threaten you with these things. You can take everything in this house with you!"

To protect herself, Rose chose to pretend she couldn't see by covering her eyes.

"I will absolutely not tell anyone, so... please, please let me go... please let my father go!!"

Luo Tianming: "..."

He didn't know how to comfort the girl, so he could only say stiffly, "I really only came here to take you to a safe place. If you don't believe me, you can go see Lieutenant General Lycam first."

Unexpectedly, Rose became even more distraught after he said that.

She came to Luo Tianming's side, gently hugged him, clutching her only favorite doll in her hand, and said in a tearful voice:

"You still won't admit it?"

"The chaos in the capital last time was caused by your arrival here. Although I don't know what you used me to do that time, one thing is certain: many people died."

"This war in the capital now is also something you brought about... You don't need to explain."

Luo Tianming couldn't really deny her words; both times the capital suffered disasters, it really was related to him.

Rose still rested her face on Luo Tianming's shoulder and said:

“I know you’re planning to take me away, but it’s not for my sake at all.”

“You want my father to die without any doubt… He’s capable of anything for me. I’m so scared… that’s why I’m refusing to come out of my room.”

“Now that you can take me away by force, it means my father has agreed to your plan and is willing to die for his daughter… This is too cruel.”

At this point, she broke down in tears: "Please, please, don't let him die, okay?"

"..."

Luo Tianming's shoulders were dampened by a light but untimely rain.

Chapter 394 Counterattack

Despite people's lamentations, curses, and hatred, time continues its relentless march forward.

At 3 p.m., the field-grade officers who were on leave received the combat information through their personal radio channels, and their expressions were solemn.

At 6 p.m., the junior officers were gathered together under the pretext of 'drinking' and taken to a room that could only be entered but not left... Inside were their military staff who had been waiting for them, and a detailed explanation of the battle plan for the next forty minutes.

Anyone who heard such a reckless battle plan would inevitably be filled with a solemn and tragic expression:

This is because it completely contradicts what they learned in military school. The army requires them not to take risks, not to leave the war zone without authorization, and not to directly attack the enemy's base under uncertain circumstances.

However, the operational objectives assigned from above could only be described as 'savage'; they foresaw that this would be an extremely brutal battle, one that would essentially involve advancing over human corpses.

"..."

An hour before the battle began... the whistle for emergency assembly sounded in the camp, and all the soldiers immediately ran for their lives. This signal was very unusual.

It forcibly activates all wireless devices within the area, and the assembly command is at the highest level. If any registered personnel fail to assemble within 5 minutes, they will be immediately executed.

"...!"

After hearing the emotionless electronic female voice, the soldiers looked at each other in bewilderment, then ran out like madmen.

"Damn it, if this is supposed to be a 'drill,' I'll fire a bullet at the officer before he surrenders his weapons tonight!"

"Stop talking nonsense... Be careful, the commander might use the 'Eleven-Shot Killing Order' later!"

"..."

Five minutes later, the soldiers stood in the camp, fully dressed. Whether they liked it or not, time had become the harshest deadline.

The moment the sergeant in the center of the square pressed the stopwatch on his wrist, everyone felt as if they had heard a heavy hammer fall into their hearts.

Squads of military police moved through the camp and quickly rounded up the soldiers who had not arrived by the assembly time, as well as the absentees counted by the squad leaders.

Those who infiltrated thought they could get away with it, but the veteran soldiers knew they were doomed the moment they saw the silenced pistols on the military police.

Before a major battle, finding traitors and slacking soldiers is the best way to make an example of them.

A low gunshot rang out, and the soldiers who had just been begging for mercy instantly fell to the ground, unable to get up.

The soldiers at the front even had blood splattered on their faces, but without the squad leader's order, no one dared to raise their hands to wipe it off.

The sergeant nodded with satisfaction at the scene before him.

“Very good. So far, I have only seen forty-one cowards among you. I originally expected to execute more than double that number!”

"I'm sure everyone is curious about why you've been summoned... This is not a drill, I repeat, this is really not a drill!! War has begun!"

"..."

The soldiers dared not utter a sound.

Those deserters who had infiltrated but had not yet been arrested were now trembling with fear and trying to escape.

Sergeant Major: "Operational Mission - Phase One - The vanguard, consisting of the 1st Battalion of the Mechanized Combined Arms Brigade, will concentrate the remaining infantry fighting vehicles and tanks to rush into the northern B6 area!"

"At the same time, the naval and army special forces formed an auxiliary force to carry out long-range superior firepower strikes on the latter half of the B6 area to eliminate all enemies in the war zone."

"..."

This basically meant that the soldiers had to advance under friendly fire, and the B6 area was located in the enemy's main base.

The sergeant continued to assign combat tasks:

"The second and third battalions and the reinforced artillery company are responsible for staying behind in area B7 to block the enemy from behind, and after laying anti-personnel mines, they will wait to withdraw."

"The second phase—after capturing Area B6, indiscriminate bombing will be carried out inside to ensure the absolute security of the war zone. Then, the Second Battalion will take over, and the Third Battalion will form a joint operations center with the Army and Navy special forces to launch a direct attack on the enemy's main camp from Area C, forming a pincer movement with the First Battalion!"

"Our goal is to wipe out the cultists and capture Yakov alive!!"

As soon as the sergeant finished his speech, the soldiers immediately went into combat readiness.

Inside the command tent, Luo Tianming and Lieutenant General Laikam were smoking.

He exhaled a large puff of smoke and asked, "That girl Rose... did she cause you any trouble?"

Luo Tianming's fingers trembled slightly as he held the cigarette, and he shook off the last bit of ash before saying, "She's safe now... in my submarine, which is probably the safest place in the world."

"Phew...that puts my mind at ease~"

Lieutenant General Laycam stubbed out his cigarette on the table, looking relieved.

Luo Tianming then added reluctantly, "Well, she said she's been missing her dad lately... and wants to go to the restaurant we used to go to for the 'Happy Paradise Set Meal'."

"..."

Lieutenant General Lycam was stunned for a moment, staring at Luo Tianming in disbelief.

"Wait, is 'Dad' talking about me?"

"..."

Given Rose's past poor performance, his first thought was to doubt himself.

This made Luo Tianming nod in agreement.

"Oh, so they really were talking about me."

Lieutenant General Lycam reminisced about the past: "She was so small back then, and in the blink of an eye she became an adult... and then we became increasingly inseparable. I thought that the only thing I, as her father, could do was the last thing."

Luo Tianming encouraged him, saying, "Then try to survive. When it's all over, maybe there will be a 'Happy Paradise Package' at the shelter."

The bald man chuckled self-deprecatingly, then stood up, straightened his military uniform, and said in a low voice:

"Major Luo, you'll ride in the BTR-90 in the back later. The commander can't ride in the same car as his adjutant, just in case..."

"..."

Luo Tianming knew that this was special treatment for him.

The BTR is faster and less likely to become the enemy's primary target for anti-vehicle operations, so he only needs to command from the rear in the upcoming battle.

He didn't explicitly refuse, and after they finished their cigarettes, they each got into their respective vehicles.

An hour later, all they left the Painted Skin Cult with was a brightly lit, empty camp.

"..."

Since the order to assemble came from the camp, the members of the Painted Skin Cult, who were facing off on the other side of the central capital, were in a state of complete confusion.

In the past, they have also encountered several emergency assembly incidents.

But the orders were leaked long beforehand, perhaps from a drunken lieutenant colonel or a bribed captain, so the soldiers received notice of the exercise two or three hours in advance.