“You…!”
Deputy Captain Zhang Li’s eyes turned bloodshot as he suddenly stepped forward, the muzzle of the gun in his hand nearly pressed against Su Man’s face.
“Hand over the antidote! Otherwise, don’t blame us for being ruthless!”
The other soldiers also surrounded them, dark gun barrels pointing at Su Man and the two children from every direction.
With a single command, they would fire without hesitation.
However, faced with such an intimidating display, Su Man did not even raise an eyelid.
She simply focused on Huo Feng, watching his pupils gradually lose focus from lack of oxygen.
Beside her, Huo Xiaoxie gently patted the golden krait coiled around his wrist.
The little snake immediately raised its head and hissed at Zhang Li, assuming an attacking posture.
The little girl on the wild boar’s back was even more fearless. She jumped down from the boar, ran over to the enormous animal, and patted its thick leg.
“Dahua, if they dare hurt Mommy or Big Brother, flatten this whole place!”
“Roar—!”
The giant wild boar called Dahua let out a deep growl, scraping its sturdy hooves against the ground as though it were ready to charge at any moment.
For a moment, the situation was on the verge of exploding.
The entire scene had completely spiraled out of control.
“Everyone… stop!”
At this critical moment, a weak yet authoritative voice rang out.
It was Huo Feng.
Using the last bit of strength in his body, he forced the three words out through clenched teeth.
He grabbed Zhang Li’s trouser leg tightly, preventing him from taking another step forward.
“Everyone… stand down…”
Huo Feng’s consciousness was already hazy, but his instincts as a commander remained.
He knew very well that this woman was absolutely not bluffing.
She had dared to bring her children and a wild beast into a heavily guarded anti-drug unit, which meant she was confident she could leave safely.
Provoking her would only result in his own death coming sooner—and might even drag the entire camp down with him.
Zhang Li hesitated for a moment before gritting his teeth and waving his hand.
“Everyone, fall back! Lower your weapons!”
The soldiers were filled with reluctance, but an order was an order.
They slowly retreated, though they did not completely lower their guns, remaining wary of every move Su Man made.
The circle around them widened, but the tense atmosphere did not ease in the slightest.
Only then did Su Man withdraw her gaze with satisfaction.
She extended one hand and held it out in front of Huo Feng.
“Five years of child support. Two children. Ten thousand a year each. One hundred thousand in total.”
Her voice was not loud, but the amount made everyone present gasp.
One hundred thousand!
In the 1980s, that was an astronomical sum.
An ordinary worker earned only thirty or forty yuan a month.
Someone with ten thousand yuan was called a “ten-thousand-yuan household,” a term synonymous with wealth.
Yet she had demanded one hundred thousand right off the bat!
“How about you just rob us instead!” a young soldier could not help shouting.
Su Man’s indifferent gaze swept over him.
The soldier immediately felt a chill shoot from the soles of his feet to the top of his head, and the rest of his words were forced back down his throat.
“I’m not robbing you.”
Su Man’s tone remained calm and emotionless.
“I’m collecting a debt.”
“He risked his life out there, while I raised two children in the mountains. Don’t you think they’re worth that much?”
“Poisonous insects, wild beasts, miasma, epidemics—which of those comes free?”
“Or do you think your life isn’t worth one hundred thousand?”
Her final question was directed at Huo Feng.
Huo Feng’s breathing had already become extremely faint, and his chest was barely moving.
He knew he did not have much time left.
Using all the strength he had, he nodded.
Only after seeing him nod did the corners of Su Man’s lips curl into an almost imperceptible smile.
She took a small, exquisite silver pouch from her waist and pulled out a black pill. Without hesitation, she pushed it into Huo Feng’s mouth.
The pill dissolved the moment it entered his mouth, transforming into a cool stream that slid down his throat and into his stomach.
Almost instantly, Huo Feng felt the invisible hand gripping his heart loosen.
His obstructed breathing gradually became smooth again.
The bluish-purple discoloration spreading up his arm began fading at a visible rate, and his skin gradually regained its normal color.
In less than a minute, he was already able to brace himself against the ground and sit up on his own.
Aside from some lingering weakness, the deadly snake venom seemed as though it had never existed.
The miraculous scene once again shattered everyone’s understanding of reality.
The way they looked at Su Man had changed from their initial shock to deep apprehension.
This woman was not only ruthless. Her medical skills—or perhaps her knowledge of poisons—had reached an almost supernatural level.
Huo Feng gasped for breath, greedily inhaling the fresh air.
The sensation of surviving a brush with death left him dazed for a moment.
He raised his head and looked at Su Man.
“I’ll give you the money.”
His voice was hoarse but incredibly firm.
“I have fifty thousand in my account. It’s all the savings and compensation money I’ve accumulated over the years.”
“For the remaining fifty thousand, I’ll need time.”
Su Man listened quietly, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
“I can give you my life, but you can’t take the children.”
Huo Feng stared at her and spoke each word slowly.
That was his bottom line.
Hearing this, Su Man let out a soft laugh. The sound was clear and crisp, yet carried a hint of mockery.
“Captain Huo, I think you’ve misunderstood.”
“I didn’t come here today to negotiate with you.”
She stood up, once again assuming that lofty, commanding posture.
“First, I want the money in cash. Right now. I don’t have time to wait for you to slowly gather it.”
“Second, the children are mine. They have nothing to do with you. I came here to tell you to settle the bill, not to have you acknowledge them as your children.”
With that, she no longer looked at Huo Feng. Instead, she turned toward the two children.
“Xiaoxie, Xiaoman, we’ll leave after we get the money.”
“But, Mommy…”
His little sister, Huo Xiaoman, approached and tugged on Su Man’s clothes. In her childish voice, she asked, “Where are we going?”
Su Man stroked her daughter’s head and looked toward the distant county town, a calculation that no one else could understand flickering in her eyes.
“We’re not going back to the mountains.”
“From now on, we’re going to live here.”
Those words made Huo Feng, who had only just managed to catch his breath, feel his heart leap into his throat once again.
What did she mean?
Live here?
As if she had seen straight through his thoughts, Su Man glanced back at him.
“This one hundred thousand only covers their child support until they turn five.”
“After they turn five, they’ll need to go to school and have a better environment. All of that costs money.”
“So, I’ve made my decision.”
Her gaze swept across the entire military camp before finally settling on Huo Feng’s face as she announced her final decision.
“Until you finish paying the child support for the next thirteen years, my children and I will be living here.”
“Captain Huo, I assume you don’t mind?”
Her words exploded in everyone’s minds like a real bomb.
This woman wasn’t just demanding money.
She was demanding a place to stay!
She intended to bring her two dangerous children—and that wild boar capable of smashing through an iron gate—and live permanently inside the heavily guarded anti-drug unit!
Huo Feng stared at this completely unpredictable woman, and for the first time in his life, he experienced what it meant to be utterly helpless.
He knew that from this day forward, his life—and the discipline of this entire camp—would be completely turned upside down.
A new war had only just begun.