A young boy from the 1970s, separated from his family, fled famine and led his younger brother into

"Who?!"

Just as the rustling footsteps drew closer to within three meters of them, Wang Dazhu, who had been sitting as still as a bell, suddenly roared!

The dark figure trembled at the shout, and the thing in its hand fell to the ground with a clatter, making a crisp metallic sound.

By the faint moonlight filtering through the distant window, Su Nianci could see clearly that it was a gleaming razor blade!

He's a thief! He's trying to steal from travelers' pockets in the middle of the night!

"Damn it! What bad luck!" the dark figure cursed under his breath, picked up the razor blade from the ground, and disappeared in a flash without even turning his head.

"Pah! You spineless thing!"

"Uncle Wang, are you alright?" Su Nianci was also "just in time" awakened, rubbing her eyes as she sat up and asked with concern.

When Wang Dazhu saw her, the fierce look on his face instantly vanished. He waved his hand and said in a low voice, "It's nothing, just a petty thief. I scared him away. Nianciwa, I woke you up. Go back to sleep. With your uncle here, no one will dare to come near."

Su Nianci didn't lie down. She looked at the moon, which was already starting to set in the west, and said to Wang Dazhu, "Uncle Wang, you've been keeping watch for almost three hours. It's my turn now. You should get some sleep; the night is still long."

Looking at Su Nianci's eyes, which shone remarkably bright in the darkness, Wang Dazhu was both amused and exasperated: "You? What are you doing keeping watch, you little girl? Go to sleep! I can go three days and three nights without sleep on the battlefield! This little thing is nothing!"

Uncle Wang, Su Nianci, was unusually insistent. "My father said that on the battlefield, teamwork is more important than individual heroism. We agreed to take turns keeping watch, so we must follow the rules. You are our leader, so you should set an example and conserve your energy."

These words stunned Wang Dazhu.

Follow the rules... conserve your energy...

These words, spoken by a five-year-old girl, were incredibly impactful! He felt as if he were seeing not a child, but a young comrade-in-arms in a small military uniform, seriously discussing tactical regulations with him.

"Good! Good lad... oh no, good kid! You've got guts! Well... then I'll take a nap. Wake me up immediately if anything happens! Don't be reckless!"

After saying that, he leaned back on the bench and closed his eyes.

Su Nianci took over the "important task" of keeping watch. Instead of sitting, she stood up and slowly patrolled their small "camp".

Her steps were light, like a cat on the night. Her gaze calmly swept over every sleeping or dozing figure around her, silently memorizing their posture, the frequency of their breathing, and the position of their luggage.

About an hour later, Wang Dazhu opened his eyes. He found that Su Nianci hadn't fallen asleep after a while, as he had expected. She was still energetic, maintaining a steady pace as she patrolled around them.

Moreover, her patrol routes were very deliberate, always ensuring that everyone in their small team, as well as the most likely directions of danger, were within her field of vision.

This...this is not something a child could do! This is a battlefield alert instinct that can only be developed through rigorous training!

A storm raged in Wang Dazhu's heart!

Who exactly is this little girl? She says her "father" is Su Weiguo, but is he really the Su Weiguo she knows?

More than an hour later, a faint light began to appear on the horizon. The long night was finally coming to an end.

Su Nianci breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that it was dawn. She woke up Li Daquan and had him take over the last shift, then she returned to her seat.

As soon as she sat down, Wang Dazhu leaned over and said, "Kid, tell me the truth, did your father really teach you all this?"

Su Nianci's heart skipped a beat, and she nodded: "Yes. My father said that girls should be more careful when they are out in the world. He said that observing an enemy is like a doctor examining a patient. You should first look at his complexion, then listen to his breathing, and finally judge what he wants to do."

"A doctor seeing a patient..." Wang Dazhu murmured, repeating the phrase over and over, his eyes filled with shock and reminiscence. "Wei Guo... that's what he told us on the battlefield! He said that fighting a war can't rely on brute force alone; you have to use your brain, just like a doctor performing surgery—you have to find the vital point and kill with one stroke!"

He actually believed it! And he even connected it to his own father!

Su Nianci was both shocked and relieved. She hadn't expected that her casual reason would unexpectedly coincide with her father's style of doing things back then!

"Uncle, do you...do you really know my father?" Su Nianci seized the opportunity to ask.

Wang Dazhu's eyes instantly reddened. He nodded heavily: "I know him! More than just know him! Wei Guo is my savior! He's my squad leader! Back in the Korean War, if he hadn't carried me out of a pile of corpses, I, Wang Dazhu, would have lost my life long ago!"

As he spoke, he rolled up his trouser leg. His calf was covered with a crisscrossing network of ugly scars, resembling centipedes.

"These are all from back then. Medical conditions were poor, and my leg almost became useless. It was Weiguo who saved my leg using traditional methods!"

Su Nianci's heart was clenched tightly.

"And then? And then my dad..."

Wang Dazhu's face showed pain and self-reproach. He shook his head: "Later, because of my serious injuries, I was discharged from the army early and returned to civilian life. Then... I heard the news of Weiguo's sacrifice... I... I'm so sorry for him! I didn't even get to see him one last time! I didn't know you two siblings had suffered so much..."

His voice choked as he spoke, and his tiger-like eyes filled with tears.

Su Nianci's heart was also heavy. She comforted him, "Uncle Wang, it's not your fault. My father is a hero, he won't blame you."

The two remained silent for a long time.

The sky was already bright. People in the waiting room gradually woke up and began to make noise.

Wang Dazhu seemed to have emerged from his grief. He looked at Su Nianci with an expression of deep affection and unwavering determination.

"Nianci, my dear child, your uncle has nothing to repay your father with. Since your journey to the north is long, I'll teach you some real skills to make a living!"

As he spoke, he pulled Su Nianci along to the entrance of the waiting room.

The morning sun had just risen, casting a soft glow on the eastern horizon.

Wang Dazhu pointed to the sun and said in a deep voice, "Remember this! As long as there's sun, you won't starve or get lost! In the morning, the sun is in the east, so your shadow will be in the west. At noon, the sun is overhead, and your shadow is shortest, pointing north. In the evening, the sun is in the west, so your shadow will be in the east. This is called the 'instant shadow' method, the simplest way to determine direction!"

He pointed to the sky and continued, "At night, if there's no moon, look for the stars! The seven brightest stars in the sky, when connected, look like a dipper; that's called the Big Dipper! Find it, and extend the line five times the distance from the two stars at the rim of the dipper. The brightest star you see is Polaris! Once you find Polaris, you've found true north! Got it?"

Although Su Nianci knew these common sense things in her previous life, she had never been taught them to her in such a simple yet solemn way as she was today.

She knew that what the veteran taught her was not just the skill of finding her way, but also the hope of surviving in this strange world.

She nodded emphatically, engraving every word in her heart: "Uncle Wang, I'll remember!"

Looking at her quick wit and ability to understand things instantly and remember them perfectly, Wang Dazhu was filled with admiration.

"Good! Good boy! You're a natural-born soldier!" he said with a pleased smile. "Come on, let your uncle get you some hot water, have a drink to warm yourself up!"

Just as the two were about to turn around to get some hot water, a commotion and a woman's piercing cries suddenly came from the crowd not far away!

"Oh my god! Bao'er! Bao'er, what's wrong?! Don't scare Mommy!"

"Help! My child is dying!"

Su Nianci and Wang Dazhu's expressions changed, and they immediately looked in the direction of the sound!

At the other end of the waiting room, a young woman wearing a polyester shirt, who looked to be from a well-off family, was sitting on the ground, holding a three- or four-year-old boy, and crying loudly.

The little boy's eyes were tightly closed, his lips were purple, his face was flushed red, his limbs were convulsing uncontrollably, and he was foaming at the mouth!

Febrile seizures! And extremely severe tonic-clonic seizures!

Su Nianci's pupils suddenly contracted!

As a top-notch surgeon, she immediately recognized that the child's condition was extremely critical! Without immediate emergency treatment, the brain could suffer irreversible damage due to prolonged oxygen deprivation, or even... die from suffocation!