Special forces soldier demobilization: Starting from the county government compound, a meteoric rise

The day before leaving Qingyun County for the capital.

Liu Ming declined all social engagements and drove alone to the Revolutionary Martyrs Cemetery on the outskirts of Ningzhou, without having anyone accompany him.

It's very quiet here, with only the rustling of the wind through the pines and cypresses, like the whispers of countless heroic spirits.

Liu Ming followed the stone path to a row of newly erected white marble tombstones halfway up the mountain. He stopped at the middle tombstone, which was inscribed with "Tomb of Liu Jianguo".

Instead of wearing a suit, he changed into the faded old military shirt he wore when he left the special forces.

He squatted down and took out a bottle of special-supply Moutai that had been stored away for some years. He had "borrowed" it from Old Master Lin, and it was a treasure that the old man had kept for fifty years.

"Pop".

As soon as the bottle cap was opened, a rich aroma of wine instantly filled the air.

Liu Ming took three small porcelain cups, lined them up, and steadily filled them.

"dad."

Liu Ming looked at the black and white photo on the tombstone, her voice hoarse and her eyes slightly sore. Her father in the photo still looked like the gentle yet stubborn scholar he had always been.

He picked up the first glass of wine and slowly poured it onto the bluestone slab in front of the tombstone.

"The first toast is to you."

"Those demons and monsters who harmed you—Luo Binwang, Zhao Ruilong, and those parasites who sucked the blood of the common people—none of them escaped. They've all come down here to apologize to you."

"The path you couldn't take back then, I've made it open for you."

He picked up his second glass of wine and poured it down again.

"The second toast is to this land."

"Those old heavy industrial factories that you once longed for are now alive. Our Dragon Country has produced its own semiconductors, national treasures, and we no longer have to depend on foreigners."

"The sky in Jiangnan Province is even brighter than when you were here."

Liu Ming picked up his third glass of wine. This time, he didn't spill it. Instead, he tilted his head back and drank the spicy liquor in one gulp!

The alcohol rushed down his throat like a fiery dragon into his stomach, burning his eyes until they welled up with tears.

"The third cup."

He looked at his father in the photo, a proud and wild smile playing on his lips.

"Respectfully dedicated to your son."

"I didn't disgrace you. Not only did I not disgrace you, I also stood tall and proud as the backbone of our Dragon Kingdom!"

A gust of wind blows, swirling up a few fallen leaves, as if the people in the photograph are smiling in response.

Liu Ming sat quietly for a while, placed the wine bottle in front of the tombstone, then stood up and patted the dust off her trousers.

"I'm off, Dad. I've got another job in the capital. I'll come see you again when I have time."

……

It was already evening when we returned to the old house in the old town.

This house is the only inheritance left by her parents. Although it is old, Liu Ming has kept it and regularly hires people to clean it.

Xi Wanqing and Nangong Yao knew he was going back to the city, and they were helping him pack his things in the outer room.

Liu Ming walked into the inner room, which was her mother's former bedroom. The room was furnished as it had been more than ten years ago, and there was an old mahogany jewelry box on the dressing table, which was her mother's most cherished possession.

Liu Ming opened the jewelry box, which contained only a few pieces of cheap silver jewelry and a stack of yellowed old photos.

He picked up the photos and flipped through them one by one. There were photos of his family of three, and photos of his parents when they were young.

When he turned to the last page, his fingers suddenly stopped.

The back of that photo seems to be thicker than the others.

Liu Ming frowned, and with the keen senses of a special forces soldier, he immediately noticed something was wrong.

He carefully and gently tore the photo apart along the seam at the edge.

Inside, there was an extremely hidden... compartment.

A thin, neatly folded piece of oil paper fell out from the interlayer.

Liu Ming held her breath and slowly unfolded the oiled paper.

The handwriting above was delicate yet somewhat messy, clearly written in a state of extreme haste or fear; it was his mother's handwriting.

【Ming'er.】

If you are reading this letter, it means that both your father and I are no longer here.

There are some things I wanted to keep from you forever, but since you've found out, it must be fate.

[In the case your father investigated back then involving the sale of state-owned mineral resources, Luo Binwang was merely a figurehead executor.]

The real mastermind is not in Jiangnan Province at all.

[The person who issued the kill order, driving our family to the brink of destruction.]

In the capital, at the top.

There was no name at the end of the letter.

There was only one, a shocking symbol drawn in blood.

—The outline of a human face without facial features.

Beside it, two words were written in extremely fine strokes.

【shadow.】

……

Liu Ming stared intently at those two words.

All the sounds around seemed to disappear in that instant.

He felt as if his heart was being squeezed tightly by an invisible giant hand! An unprecedented, bone-chilling cold shot from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head!

Luo Binwang was just a lackey?

The ultimate mole who secretly manipulated everything and caused his family's ruin was actually... hiding at the highest level of power in the Dragon Kingdom.

A shadow. What a shadow.

Liu Ming slowly put away the oiled paper and placed it close to her body.

The killing intent that had been gradually subsiding in his deep eyes due to the avenging of his great enemy suddenly exploded at this moment!

Moreover, it was more intense and more terrifying than ever before!

"Bang!" He slammed his fist on the dressing table, making the mirror vibrate.

"Liu Ming? What's wrong?" Hearing the commotion, Xi Wanqing and Nangong Yao hurriedly pushed the door open and came in. When they saw Liu Ming's appearance, which looked like a god of death descending to earth, the two women were startled.

"fine."

Liu Ming turned around, her face now calm, but that calmness was like a supervolcano about to erupt.

"Are you all packed?" he asked.

"Everything is packed, we can leave anytime."

Nangong Yao looked at him with concern, "Has something serious happened in the capital? Why is the leader so eager to summon you back?"

"Something terrible has happened."

Liu Ming walked to the window and looked at the darkening horizon to the north.

His voice was soft, yet it carried a resolute air that seemed to want to tear the sky apart.

"It seems the world will have to turn upside down again."

"Walk."

"Let's go kill 'Shadow'."

"shadow".

On the private jet back to the capital, Liu Ming kept pondering those two words in her mind.

Outside the porthole was a towering 30,000 feet in the sky.