Su Shuochi, the older brother Su Ermei was worried about, hadn’t been back to Shuanghe Village for several days.

At this moment, he and Han Jingshen were sneaking into a criminal organization’s lair in a remote mountainous area.

It wasn’t bustling like the city. The area was remote and frighteningly quiet.

Yet, the criminals had a telegraph machine in these mountains, allowing them to contact the outside world at any time.

Seeing this, Su Shuochi and his men understood everything. This remote location was the organization’s headquarters.

The operatives in other cities were merely minor leaders; the real kingpin was holed up in these remote mountains.

This was something Han Jingshen and Su Shuochi had not anticipated. Fortunately, Han Jingshen and his men had already secured all of the organization’s strongholds in the nearby towns.

Han Jingshen was the captain of this operation, and Su Shuochi was the deputy captain. They had surrounded the separate compound where the criminals were located.

There were many rooms inside, all tightly shut. Han Jingshen’s men opened the doors to a few of the outer rooms.

However, the rooms were pitch-black and empty. It was impossible to see anything, which spoke to how vigilant the criminals were.

"Captain Han, I think we should open every room first and then arrest everyone inside!"

Han Jingshen nodded. "I was thinking the same thing. They couldn’t have escaped this fast. These outer rooms must have been empty all along."

With that, he prepared to lead his men in to make the arrests, but Su Shuochi suddenly grabbed his arm.

"Captain Han, listen. There’s a dog barking outside the village. We didn’t see anyone or any dogs on our way in."

Han Jingshen froze. He stopped in his tracks and listened intently. Indeed, he could hear the occasional bark coming from the village entrance.

The barking grew closer, making his heart pound. ’There must be people inside, but they aren’t making a single sound.’

Clearly, the enemy had spotted them. And there was another group lying in ambush outside the village—something they hadn’t anticipated.

Han Jingshen frowned. "Deputy Captain Su, maybe they aren’t in the rooms? Did we mishear something?"

Su Shuochi shook his head. "No. There are definitely people in the rooms, and there are men and dogs on patrol outside."

Just then, the dogs barked again.

"WOOF... WOOF WOOF WOOF..."

The color drained from the faces of Han Jingshen’s men. Su Shuochi said urgently, "Captain Han, quick! Tell everyone to fall back!" 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

He had barely finished speaking when a sound erupted from behind. Su Shuochi whipped around to look.

A man dressed in black was charging at him, moving with incredible speed.

But Su Shuochi’s reflexes were even faster. He countered, tackling the man to the ground.

The man tried to struggle, but a pair of hands like iron clamps pinned his shoulders, rendering him immobile.

Su Shuochi pressed his knee into the man’s back and barked, "Don’t move! Stay down!"

Meanwhile, Han Jingshen was nearly overpowered by another assailant. After subduing his opponent, Su Shuochi rushed over to help.

The two of them subdued the man, pinning him firmly to the ground, then moved on to the next. It was clear their assailants were highly trained and possessed immense Combat Power.

It was then that Han Jingshen truly felt the gap in skill between himself and Su Shuochi.

You had to understand, for an ordinary man like Su Shuochi, with no powerful background, to rise from a common soldier to the rank of captain in just a few short years...

...was an achievement he had clawed his way toward, one fight at a time.

He had to risk his life, take on the most difficult missions, and earn the highest commendations just to distinguish himself.

Although he had been paralyzed for three years after an injury, he had since drunk spiritual spring water with Gu Jiaojiao and even cultivated his Inner Strength.

His Combat Power was now several times greater than it had been before. To be fair, Han Jingshen was also considered quite formidable.

After subduing the men outside, they stormed the building, taking down and securing everyone else inside.

When Han Jingshen got a clear look at their leader’s face, he cried out in shock, "Lin Yu? It’s you?"

Su Shuochi had previously suspected that Lin Yu held a significant position within the criminal organization.

But he hadn’t imagined Lin Yu’s rank was this high—he was the second-in-command. ’His grandfather must have passed the position down to him,’ Su Shuochi mused. ’But the top leader’s surname isn’t Lin.’

With the leader and Lin Yu captured, Su Shuochi’s mission was a resounding success. It made all the sleepless days and nights worthwhile.

The first thing Su Shuochi did upon returning to Yunhe County was call his wife.

The phone had barely rung twice before Gu Jiaojiao answered. "Jiaojiao, darling, why are you still awake?"

Gu Jiaojiao froze when she heard Su Shuochi’s voice. They hadn’t spoken in more than ten days. When she remained silent, he anxiously repeated himself.

Hearing his eager voice, mingled with the sound of his heavy breathing, told her just how much he missed her.

"Su Shuochi, congratulations on completing your mission. My husband is amazing."

Hearing his wife’s sweet voice, Su Shuochi could picture her happy expression.

The tension that had gripped him for days finally eased. Only he knew the depth of his joy at that moment.

"Darling, have you been waiting for my call every day?"

’You wish,’ Gu Jiaojiao thought. ’I just happened to be finishing up some medicine pills in the dispensary next to the living room. It’s a total coincidence.’

But she wouldn’t tell him that. Instead, she replied with a giggle, "Of course. I can’t sleep well when you’re not home, so I was just in the living room watching TV."

’There’s no way I’m telling him I’ve been sleeping like a log until morning every day he’s been gone. It’s been so peaceful.’

Hearing this, a sweet smile spread across Su Shuochi’s face. "I haven’t been sleeping well either."

Gu Jiaojiao’s heart ached for him when she heard that. ’I’m so heartless,’ she thought.

"Honey, just wait for me. I’ll be on winter break soon, and I’ll come see you. Oh, by the way, I bought you some clothes and had them sent to the Qingcheng Mansion address..."

"Really? They’ve probably arrived already. I’ll go pick them up tomorrow. If it weren’t so late, I’d go get them right now. Darling, it’s getting late, you should go to bed."

"Heh. Honestly... all right." ’Still such a chatterbox,’ she thought. With that, Gu Jiaojiao cheerfully hung up the phone.

"..."

Su Shuochi clutched the phone, a look of longing on his face. He truly wanted her to get some rest, but he also truly wanted to talk for just a little longer.

Though he hadn’t slept in days, Su Shuochi was now buzzing with energy, wishing he could drive back to Qing City that very night.

But he forced himself to get some sleep first. It wouldn’t be worth it if he got into an accident.

Early the next morning, Su Shuochi called the chief of Shuanghe Village to check on the progress of the land reclamation.

The chief told him the villagers were full of motivation. It was because Su Shuochi was funding the initiative to clear the wasteland during the winter.

Even though it was deep into winter and brutally cold, the high wages Su Shuochi offered kept everyone’s spirits up.

The villagers were especially diligent because any firewood they cut or tree roots they dug up belonged to them, providing an extra source of income.