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

"Contact the capital immediately!"

hesitate?

Yes, he was hesitating.

As a veteran who had spent half his life navigating the political and military circles, he knew better than anyone how complex and deep this matter was.

This is no longer a simple family reunion.

This is a life-or-death political struggle!

Once he takes that step, there will be no turning back.

He and his entire family will be tied to Gu Jia's war machine, heading towards an unknown future filled with bloodshed and turmoil.

However, looking into his daughter's clear yet determined eyes, and at the innocent child not far away who knew nothing about his origins, he knew he had no other choice.

He is a soldier.

A soldier's duty is to obey and to protect.

Now, the orphan of a hero, the future pillar of a nation, stands before him in great danger.

How could he stand idly by?!

"good!"

After a long silence, Lu Zhenguo squeezed out this weighty word through gritted teeth.

A resolute, indomitable spirit, unique to soldiers, appeared on his usually composed face!

"Old He, you go back to the military region immediately and use all your connections to keep a close eye on everyone in the compound who has been behaving strangely lately!"

"Especially those who have access to classified documents and have overseas connections!"

"That venomous snake is likely lurking right among us! We must find it before it makes a move!"

Lu Zhenguo instantly switched into wartime commander mode!

His brain was working at lightning speed, and commands came out of his mouth clearly and decisively.

"Yes, sir!" General He stood up abruptly and gave Lu Zhenguo a perfect military salute!

A fierce fighting spirit ignited in his eyes!

"Zhenguo, don't worry! As long as I, Lao He, have a breath left, I will never let those petty scoundrels run rampant on our territory!"

After saying that, he turned and strode away.

Only Lu Zhenguo's family remained in the living room.

The atmosphere remained heavy.

"Ya Yun," Lu Zhenguo turned to look at his worried wife, his voice softening, "starting today, the security at home will be upgraded."

"Tell Xiao Li (the security guard) that no outsider is allowed to set foot in our house without my permission!"

"Nianci and Xiaoshi must be picked up and dropped off at school by Xiao Li personally!"

"Furthermore, all kitchen supplies must come from the military region's special supply channels; nothing from outside is allowed!"

Lu Zhenguo arranged everything meticulously.

He knew very well that once the other party sensed the danger, they might resort to any means necessary.

Poisoning, kidnapping... these are nothing in the eyes of those ruthless enemies.

"I...I understand." Zhou Yayun nodded heavily, tears welling up in her eyes.

She knew that from this moment on, their home was no longer safe.

After arranging everything, Lu Zhenguo walked into his study, which had a sign that read "Military restricted area, no unauthorized personnel allowed."

Lu Nianci followed her inside.

Lu Zhenguo then took out a black hand-cranked telegraph machine from a heavy safe that was locked with three locks.

It was an old-fashioned military radio that had made great contributions during the war years, and it was also his only channel for high-level secret communication with the capital.

He plugged the radio into the power source.

Then, he took out a codebook from the drawer, its cover worn so badly that the writing was illegible.

His expression became extremely solemn.

He put on his headphones and began rapidly tapping on the keypad.

"Beep...beep beep...beep beep beep..."

A series of crisp, rapid, and mysterious Morse code sounds rang out in the quiet study.

Lu Nianci couldn't understand those codes.

But she could sense the immense energy contained in each "tick".

She knew that once this telegram was sent, it would cause a huge uproar in the capital, thousands of miles away!

After a long while, Lu Zhenguo finally put down his headphones.

He took off his headphones, his forehead already covered in fine beads of sweat.

He looked at Lu Nianci, his bloodshot eyes filled with exhaustion and a tension of awaiting judgment.

"It's already been sent out."

His voice was a little hoarse.

"Now, all we can do is wait."

and so on.

A word that is both the simplest and the most agonizing.

For the next few days, the entire Lu family was shrouded in a tense atmosphere, as if a storm was brewing.

Lu Zhenguo became even more taciturn, locking himself in his study every day, smoking one cigarette after another.

Zhou Yayun, on the other hand, was like a frightened bird, keeping a close watch on her two children every day, afraid that something might happen to them.

Lu Nianci, on the other hand, behaved as usual.

She still goes to and from school on time every day.

I still go to the library's storage room every afternoon to learn those difficult and obscure knowledge from Teacher Chen Mo.

It was as if everything in the outside world had nothing to do with her.

But only she knew how nervous she was.

She was already on edge.

She had even prepared for the worst.

If anything unexpected happens in the capital, or if those enemies come knocking first, she will not hesitate to flee again with her younger brother.

She had already planned more than a dozen different escape routes in her mind.

However, there has been no response from the capital.

That telegram, which disappeared without a trace, weighed heavily on everyone's hearts like a boulder.

One day, two days, three days...

A week has passed.

Just as Lu Zhenguo was about to lose patience and prepare to send another telegram to inquire, an urgent top-secret telegram from the capital finally arrived in his hands that morning.

Lu Zhenguo opened the thin telegram with trembling hands.

When he deciphered the contents of the telegram using his codebook, he was completely stunned.

There were no lengthy instructions, nor any words of concern, only two simple words—

"wait for me."

The signature was a name that was both unfamiliar and familiar to Lu Zhenguo, a code name that only existed in the highest-level top-secret files of the military—

"iceberg".