I put you in charge of those rebellious female soldiers, how come they all became top special forces

Ah Kun, watching from the side, felt a jolt in his eyelids and quickly covered his mouth, afraid that he would burst out laughing.

Chen Zheng rummaged through the medicine box and pulled out iodine and gauze, his words still not very pleasant.

"Are you made of iron, or do you think inflammation increases your fighting power?"

"I don't."

There is no best.

He handled it very lightly.

When the old gauze was peeled off, Chen Zheng first held the edges and gently moistened the areas that were stuck together to prevent the skin from being pulled off.

As the iodine was applied, An Ran's fingers twitched slightly, but she didn't utter a sound.

Ah Kun glanced at her twice and silently pushed the half-eaten biscuit on the table toward her.

"Miss Lin, please have a bite or two. If you keep eating like this, and you happen to collapse here, I'll be in trouble when I go back to China..."

An Ran ignored it.

Chen Zheng said without looking up, "Eat."

She pursed her lips.

"I have no appetite."

"Then force it on."

After saying this, Chen Zheng tied a knot in the gauze, reached out and stuffed the dry biscuit into her hand, and then pushed the water cup over to her.

An Ran held the dry biscuit in her hand, and her eyes inexplicably welled up with tears.

What she fears most now is not pain or fatigue.

If you relax, the clues will slip away again.

That string was stretched taut all the way, from the identification buckle to the blood paper, to the mother's old files, and then to Baiwenpo.

She felt like she was walking on a very thin steel wire; if she stopped for even a second, all sorts of random thoughts would flood her mind, causing her to overthink.

Therefore, she must keep moving forward.

But Chen Zheng refused to give in.

An Ran lowered her head and took a bite of the dry biscuit.

Seeing this, Ah Kun suddenly stopped joking.

He leaned against the door, staring at the picture on the table, and after a long while, he spoke in a low voice.

"Baiwenpo is a really eerie place."

"In Jinsha Town, Jinya Village and Wuwei are fighting like two mad dogs, stealing goods, people, and roads—they'll steal anything."

"But in Baiwenpo, people from both sides rarely go there."

"Everyone knows that place exists, but no one seems to see it."

An Ran raised her head upon hearing this.

Why?

Ah Kun shook his head.

"I don't know. I really don't know. I've asked before."

"Some people say that place is unlucky, some say there are stories there, and some say that touching that place is like stirring up a hornet's nest."

"Anyway, in all the years I've been around here, this is the first time I've seen a territory where neither Golden Tooth Village nor Black Viper have made a move."

"It's as if it's not anyone's territory, and as if everyone tacitly agrees that it can't be touched."

As soon as he said that, Chen Zheng's expression turned serious.

Many of my previous judgments were just inferences, but at this moment, Ah Kun's casual remark confirmed them.

A territory that doesn't belong to any party and is tacitly agreed to be untouchable by everyone.

That means there must be an external force here that is more powerful than anyone else.

"That's right."

Ah Kun was taken aback.

"About what?"

"If Baiwenpo truly doesn't belong to any one party, it means its owner is more powerful. Jinya Village and Wuwei don't dare to touch it, not because they're cowardly, but because they know that doing so would bring trouble they shouldn't."

Ah Kun felt a chill run down his spine.

"What do these people do? They live like rats underground, you dig one layer and there's another."

Chen Zheng said calmly, "Rats don't follow the rules. If they can turn their territory into a forbidden zone, there must be someone maintaining it long-term."

Anran stood quietly to the side, swallowing the last bite of the dry biscuit and then gulping down two mouthfuls of water.

Chen Zheng began the final tidying up.

He carefully placed the coordinates and the cloth bag separately, put the White Pagoda transfer slip and the bottom warehouse location map in a stack, and put the identification buckle back into a small bag separately.

Ah Kun watched for a while, then couldn't help but speak again.

"Boss Chen, you're not really planning to go straight to Baiwenpo, are you?"

"Otherwise what?"

"That place..." Ah Kun said with a bitter face, "I recognized it just now, but I didn't volunteer to go and die."

"Could we find somewhere to rest for a couple of days, at least let me recover half of my face?"

Chen Zheng glanced at him.

"Don't worry, I'll sell you out if anything happens."

"See, you have a really hurtful way of saying things."

Although Ah Kun was joking and scolding, his expression remained serious.

The name Baiwenpo clearly implies deeper trouble.

Just as An Ran was about to suggest the next step, the old-fashioned shortwave radio in the room suddenly vibrated.

At the same time, a notification sound also rang from the programming terminal on Chen Zheng's body.

……

Rewind to a short time ago, in the Southwest Military Region, under the deep of night.

An Jianjun stood by the office window, his face grim as he put down the phone.

Two documents were spread out on the table: one was a previously compiled border intelligence report, and the other was a newly compiled urgent summary.

Yang Guohua sat opposite, a half-smoked cigarette between his fingers, and glanced at An Jianjun.

"Sit down first."

An Jianjun did not move.

"I can't sit still."

"You have to sit down, whether you like it or not." Yang Guohua said, putting the cigarette directly on the table. "You just finished talking to An Ran, and you're not in a good mood. The thing I'm most afraid of right now is you making decisions based on your emotions."

An Jianjun suddenly turned around.

"How am I supposed to stay calm?!"

"She's already stepped in! Not just testing the waters from the outside, she's stepped right into the same line her mother crossed back then!"

"The White Pagoda, the snow line, the lady—once these things are connected, we can both guess where she'll go next."

Yang Guohua didn't rush to answer.

He knew his old partner's temperament well.

"That's why we can't make any rash moves." He sighed and said slowly, "The procedures must be followed, the reports must be submitted, and the permissions must be increased, but everything must be done according to the rules."

"If you slam your fist on the table and rush in now, people's first reaction won't be to offer support, but to ask why you're in such a hurry."

An Jianjun slammed his fist on the table: "Because she's my daughter!"

"I know!"

"You don't know!" An Jianjun almost roared. "You only know she's my daughter, but you don't know who she looks like."

"Once she's made up her mind, not even ten oxen could pull her back!"

Yang Guohua remained silent for two seconds.

"I know something's wrong."

"Something's not right?" An Jianjun sneered. "This isn't just not right, it's about to explode."

He walked back to the table, picked up the materials, and flipped through them page by page.

"Don't you know what lies below the White Pagoda?"

Yang Guohua sighed again and looked up at him.

"I know what's going on, that's why I'm advising you."

"You're advising me to wait?"

"I advise you not to speak rashly at this time." Yang Guohua's voice also turned serious. "Jianjun, once this matter is exposed, it won't just be a simple case of the White Tower or the CIA!"

"Those old people, old files, old channels from twenty years ago—who was involved, who signed off on them, who made the final decision to shut them down? Can you honestly say that no one in the military region had any connections?"

The office fell silent instantly.

An Jianjun's hand, gripping the document, showed prominent veins on the back.

Of course he knew.

It is precisely because I know this that I am even more restless.