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

"We don't have a division commander named 'Lu Zhenhua' here. You've come to the wrong place."

The captain's cold voice, like an invisible hammer, slammed down on Su Nianci's head!

Om-!

Her mind went completely blank for a moment!

What?!

There isn't a single division commander named "Lu Zhenhua"?!

How...how is this possible?!

A chill, even more biting than the sub-zero temperatures of twenty degrees Celsius, instantly shot from the soles of her feet straight to the top of her head! She felt as if the blood in her body had frozen in that instant!

Impossible! Absolutely impossible!

Her father's letter clearly stated that it was Lu Zhenhua, commander of the Independent Air Force Division of the Northern Military Region! Wang Dazhu was also referring to Lu Zhenhua, the "Sword of the Sky"! She had endured countless hardships on her journey from Henan to Harbin, and her only belief and support was this name!

Now, she has finally reached the end, but the end tells her—no such person found?!

"No! Impossible!" Su Nianci screamed uncontrollably, her voice shrill with shock and fear. "You're lying to me! My father wouldn't lie to me! He's right here! Uncle Lu Zhenhua! He's the commander here!"

She didn't want to believe it! She couldn't believe it!

If even this last hope is false, then what did everything she did before, all her persistence and struggle, amount to? A colossal joke?!

"Young man, please calm down." A hint of pity flashed across the captain's face, but his tone remained cold and businesslike. "We can't possibly have the personnel information wrong. Our division commander is definitely not named Lu Zhenhua. You've really got the wrong person."

"Then what's your commander's name?!" Su Nianci pressed on, unwilling to give up.

The captain hesitated for a moment. Normally, the names of high-ranking military leaders shouldn't be revealed to outsiders. But looking at the little girl on the verge of collapse, he made an exception.

"Our division commander's surname is Gao, and his name is Gao Jianjun."

Gao Jianjun...

A completely unfamiliar name.

Su Nianci's heart sank little by little into an abyss.

it is true……

Really... there is no Lu Zhenhua.

A massive, indescribable despair, like a tidal wave, instantly engulfed her! She felt dizzy, her vision blurred, and she swayed, almost unable to stand.

All her plans, all her deductions, all her hopes collapsed at this moment, shattering into dust!

She had calculated everything, anticipating all the possible difficulties and obstacles, but she hadn't foreseen that this most fundamental link was actually wrong!

Father... Dad... Did you... did you write something wrong in the letter, or... or were you also deceived?

"Sister..." Little Stone sensed Su Nianci's despair. He fearfully tugged at her clothes, his little face full of worry.

Her younger brother's voice was like a needle, pulling Su Nianci back from the brink of collapse.

She woke up with a start!

No! We can't fall!

She can't fall here!

What will happen to Little Stone if she falls?!

She bit her lip hard, using the intense pain to force herself to calm down!

Brain! Think! Think now!

Something's definitely not right!

My father was a reconnaissance soldier, meticulous and thoughtful. He couldn't possibly make such a basic mistake as misspelling a name on something so important! Wang Dazhu, as the military region's driver, couldn't possibly get his superior's name wrong either!

So, where exactly does the problem lie?

Gao Jianjun... Lu Zhenhua...

Two completely different names.

Could it be... could it be that the military has changed leadership in the past few years? Has Lu Zhenhua been transferred? Or... promoted?

This possibility is currently the only reasonable explanation!

Yes! That must be it!

Su Nianci grasped at a straw, and she raised her head again. In her bloodshot eyes, a faint flame of hope rekindled!

"Uncle PLA!" Her voice was terribly hoarse. "Then...then, did you used to have a division commander named Lu Zhenhua here? He...was he transferred away?"

The captain looked at her, a complex pity in his eyes. He remained silent for a moment, then finally shook his head slowly.

"Little friend, as far as I know, in our division, from its establishment to the present, there has never been a division commander named 'Lu Zhenhua'."

"And..." He paused, then said something that struck Su Nianci like a thunderbolt once again.

"Our division's designation is the 1st Independent Air Force Division. And in our entire Northern Military Region, there is only one Independent Air Force Division."

"So, if you're really looking for the commander of the 'Independent Air Force Division,' then you... have really come to the wrong person."

These words shattered the last glimmer of hope in Su Nianci's heart.

None of the previous division commanders had this title!

The entire military region has only one independent air force division!

This is equivalent to blocking all the roads!

it's over...

This time, it's really over.

Su Nianci felt all the strength drain from her body. She could no longer hold on, her body went limp, and she collapsed onto the cold, hard snow.

She stared blankly at the tightly closed, imposing iron gate, and at the officer behind it who was shaking his head at her; her mind was a complete blank.

She couldn't figure it out.

Why is that?

Was the father's letter a fake from the very beginning?

Or is there a huge conspiracy hidden behind this that she can't even imagine?

A conspiracy that prevented her from even finding her target!

"Little girl, you should... go home right away." The captain looked at Su Nianci, who had fallen to the ground, and the little stone next to her who was so scared that he was about to cry. He felt a little sorry for her. "It's so cold outside. Don't let him get cold."

After saying that, he turned around and walked into the courtyard without lingering.

The sentries returned to their posts, but their gazes towards them held a hint of pity.

The iron gate remained tightly shut.

The inside and outside of the door seem like two different worlds.

Inside the door lay a hope that seemed impossibly distant.

Outside the door lay her utter despair, with nowhere to escape.

The cold wind howled past, whipping up the snow powder on the ground, which scraped her face like knives.

Su Nianci sat there blankly in the snow, motionless, as if she had turned into an ice sculpture.

What should she do?

Should we go back?

Go back to that small, warm shack and tell Aunt Wang, tell Uncle Zhou, that she failed. She's a complete idiot who even got the name of the person she was looking for wrong...

and then?

Should I continue selling candied hawthorns? Just to eke out a living on that meager income in this cold city?

Do not!

That's not the life Su Nianci wanted!

She wants revenge! She wants to find out the cause of her parents' death! She wants Little Stone to be recognized as a member of the family!

She can't just give up like this!

But... the road is blocked. Where can she go?

"Sister...it's cold..." Little Stone shivered as he leaned against her, sobbing softly.

Her younger brother's voice, like a sharp awl, pierced Su Nianci's numb nerves.

She looked down and saw Little Stone's face, red from the cold, and his eyes filled with dependence and fear.

She suddenly realized that she was not alone.

She also has a younger brother.

She can give up her own hopes, but she cannot give up her brother's future!

A power, whose origin was unknown, suddenly surged up from the depths of her heart!

We can't just let this go!

Absolutely not!

Even without Lu Zhenhua, even if this path is wrong, she will carve out a path for herself and her brother against this cold wall!

Su Nianci's eyes gradually changed from confusion and despair to determination and ruthlessness!

She slowly stood up from the snow.

She patted the snow off herself and then took Little Stone's hand again.

She did something that surprised both sentries in the guard post.

She did not leave.

She didn't cry or make a fuss.

She simply took her younger brother's hand and walked to the roadside directly opposite the military district gate, and then stood there straight!

Like a nail, it was firmly driven into that snowstorm!

You won't let me in?

You don't acknowledge that this person exists?

it is good!

Then I'll stand here!

I'll stand here until you come out and see me!

I will stand here until the real "Lu Zhenhua" appears!