An 80s female translator was spoiled rotten by a rough and jealous man.

Chapter 296 Search and Rescue
Frontline command post in Area A.

After Huo Qingshan led his team back to their post, he went alone under the cover of night to report on the completion of the mission at the forward command post.

A mountainside completely covered in dense vines. Pushing aside the camouflage, a heavy reinforced concrete door encased in sheet metal came into view. After verifying their identities, the guards pushed open a side door that could only accommodate one person at a time.

Huo Qingshan walked into the tunnel, his clothes soaked with sweat. As his boots pounded against the door of the command room, he instantly sensed the tense atmosphere inside, with people from all sides arguing fiercely.

"...We have repeatedly confirmed with the A-sector high ground observation post that the codebook is definitely not on the translator."

"Even if the notebook isn't on her person, she has been in contact with our department's cipher system for the past half month. It's impossible that there are no traces in her mind. If it falls into enemy hands, the price will be unbearable."

"What's even more troublesome is that the translator just successfully cracked the enemy's dynamic key algorithm for part of their system a few days ago. If it really is the worst-case scenario, it means that from now on, any enemy intelligence we decipher will also lose its practical reference value."

At the front of the conference table, a man who had been frowning suddenly spoke, his voice not loud, but instantly drowning out all the noise: "Two hours."

The room fell silent instantly, and everyone turned to look at the source of the sound. The commander surveyed the room and made the final decision: "Wait two more hours. If we haven't found the person by then, or if there's no further concrete information, immediately suspend the current codebook and activate the backup code system."

Huo Qingshan only heard the latter half, but he still immediately grasped the critical crisis that was currently raging in the command center. A translator, who was involved in core secrets and whose personal value was extremely high, was out of contact, making him a living intelligence vulnerability that urgently needed to be plugged.

Just then, the regimental commander's gaze swept to the doorway, his eyes flickered slightly, and he called out, "Platoon Leader Huo is back."

The figure at the doorway suddenly straightened up, heels together, raised his hand in salute, and shouted in a loud voice: "Reporting to the commander, Huo Qingshan has completed his mission and is reporting for duty!"

...

Huo Qingshan's gaze lingered on the name section of the form he held in his hand, the edges of the paper already warped. The surrounding cacophony of voices was all distorted into distorted sound waves, hissing and crackling, yet not a single word made sense in his ears.

So, she's already back?

And when he received a message about her again after more than a month, it was in such a scene.

Until the commander's deep voice rang out from the crowd and pointed precisely to his name: "Huo Qingshan, you have been to the C war zone several times and are quite familiar with the terrain. What are your thoughts on the latest search and rescue plan?"

The person next to him nudged the man's arm, and Huo Qingshan suddenly came to his senses. When he looked up, the bewilderment in his eyes had completely disappeared, leaving only a blank clarity.

The man's gaze swept quickly across the sand table in front of him, on which the route set by the 'Awakening of Insects Team' for this mission was marked in a winding pattern. After pausing for a few seconds, he turned his attention to the upright board on the other side, where dense coordinates and characters filled the entire blackboard. These were the coordinates of enemy ambush points and patrol patterns that the previous search and rescue team had collected on-site and transmitted back.

The man pondered for a moment, then said in a solemn voice, "Readjust the main search area." His voice was rough and hoarse from wear and tear, but it did not diminish his decisive and ruthless nature.

"Since the original route and surrounding areas have already been searched once and no obvious signs of fighting, forced hiding, or casualties have been found, a second search is necessary to prevent any omissions, but it is not very meaningful."

At this point, someone understood his meaning and immediately raised a question: "We had considered the possibility that they might change their original route for some reason. But even assuming they really did change their route midway, where should we start?"

The straight-line distance between the A-area observation post and the C-area No. 1 outpost is nearly twenty kilometers. The possible routes between the two locations are conservatively estimated to number in the hundreds or even thousands. The area is too vast; a blind search would be like looking for a needle in a haystack—it's simply not feasible.

Huo Qingshan's gaze returned to the information on the display board. Leopard was his top scout, and he knew 'him' well enough.

Huo Qingshan quickly rehearsed in his mind: From the departure time, if the group proceeded according to the original plan, what was the probability of encountering enemy patrols or pre-set ambush points on different sections of the route? Given Leopard's thinking and on-the-spot decision-making ability, under what circumstances and pressure would he choose to risk deviating from the original route? As for the choice of a new route, how would 'he' consider it?

During this time, the man's fingertips would occasionally trace and wander on the sand table, as if touching the veins of the mountains and forests.

After a suffocating silence lasting seven or eight minutes, he spoke in a deep voice, reporting three coordinates, and then gave his conclusion: "Focus on investigating these areas."

At this point, someone will naturally ask, "What's the reason?"

"This is the most likely solution based on comprehensive analysis," the man replied succinctly.

He didn't explicitly say what kind of probability he meant by this so-called "probability," but everyone present knew perfectly well.

On the battlefield where enemy and friendly forces clash, danger lurks at every turn, ready to erupt at any moment. What does it mean when a team goes missing and loses contact for over six hours?
—A survival rate infinitesimally close to zero. At this point, hope was practically nonexistent. Bringing them back safely was the most idealistic expectation imaginable, a miracle beyond reach. Past bloody examples had shattered any remaining shred of hope; the cold, hard truth was that most of the time, what awaited them wasn't a miracle, but cruel, devastating news.

Finally, the commander, pressing his hand against the edge of the sand table, approved Huo Qingshan's suggestion and issued the order: "We must see him alive or dead!"

As the resounding words fell, the group leader slammed his knuckles down hard on the table. The photo of the short-haired girl smiling at the camera on the table was obscured by the shadow of his palm.

It's unclear which word struck a nerve, but Huo Qingshan's right hand, hanging by his side, convulsed violently for a moment.

...

It's still raining.

The first sensation to return was touch. A vague, dull pain, like a pounding sound coming through a thick layer of water, muffledly embedded near my temples.

Immediately following was a feeling of being bound—something was wrapping around her head in circles, the movements swift yet gentle.

Meng Youyou tried to move, but found her body as heavy as if it were encased in a pile of rocks. Her consciousness, like a wisp of smoke, struggled to rise in the dark abyss.

"Hiss..." A very soft gasp escaped from her dry throat.

The movement of her hands wrapping around her head stopped immediately. A cool hand touched her forehead, slender and soft, yet surprisingly steady.

"Don't move," a voice said to her, its tone low and its words clear.

That voice... sounds familiar? A crack appeared in his chaotic consciousness as the familiar female voice pierced through his mind.

More sensations followed like a tidal wave: the stench of blood and mud mixed together, half from the nasal cavity and half from the tongue; the hysterical drumming of the rain; the pain of the pebbles beneath him; and...

She finally struggled to open her heavy eyelids. Her vision was blurry at first, then the rain immediately blinded her. She blinked, trying to focus.

The sky was a gloomy, deathly gray, and the rain fell like waves.

Next, what came into view was a face painted with thick green greasepaint. However, the greasepaint had long since been smudged by water, a bald patch appeared on the cheekbone, revealing the pale skin underneath, and the chin was covered with freshly applied mud, making it look extremely disheveled.

Only those eyes, bright and alert, were looking directly at her; they belonged to Chu Yao.

Memories flashed back in an instant, as if struck by lightning—the same night, the same rain.

The group moved silently along the slippery cliffside path, with a ravine to the left and a precipice to the right.

Suddenly, a sharp, bright red light unexpectedly appeared in the direction of the vanguard team! It was blinding.

However, almost at the same instant the traffic light turned on, a deep, rumbling sound from the depths of the earth followed and crushed over us.

Meng Youyou stared wide-eyed in horror. She witnessed the entire mountain in front of her seem to come alive, transforming into a massive, all-consuming wave of mud and rocks that instantly swallowed the two figures in front of her.

The world instantly lost its color, and everything was roaring, including Meng Youyou's eardrums.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a leopard rushing towards them, seemingly shouting something. In an instant, Meng Youyou keenly realized something! She turned her head and looked up, and saw a huge rock directly above her loosening and rolling down in the rain.

Without time to think, she used all her strength to push backward, and Chu Yao seemed to let out a terrified scream.

The next second, an even heavier force pounced from the side, with a death-defying power, pulling her tightly into a strong embrace.

Immediately, the sky collapsed, the earth shook, and the mountains trembled, plunging the world into complete darkness.

After that, everything fell into silence.