The empty house was quiet and cold.
Song Mingyuan first cleaned himself up. After suffering such a huge humiliation today, he didn’t want to go to the cafeteria and be laughed at again, so he casually boiled some plain noodles to fill his stomach.
Just as he finished the last bite, a young soldier from the communications unit rushed over.
“Deputy Battalion Commander Song, your mother is on the phone. She sounds very anxious.”
Song Mingyuan didn’t even wash the pot and bowl. He locked the door and hurried off to answer the call.
He was also eager to know what had happened at home. He had originally planned to request leave to go to the city post office to call, but his mother had called first.
“Mother…”
The moment Wang Zhaodi heard her son’s voice, she immediately broke into loud sobs.
“Mingyuan! Mother finally reached you! Our family… we can’t survive anymore! Everything at home has been stolen—there’s nothing left but an empty shell!
These past two days we’ve only survived by relying on relatives. We don’t even have a single cent left. Wen—”
“Mother!” Song Mingyuan quickly interrupted her.
“My adopted sister is now at the military base. How could you let a mentally unstable person run around like this?
She came here spouting nonsense, claiming she’s my wife from back home and demanding the army to give her justice. Now even the leaders have a very bad impression of me.
Mother, you and father were kind enough to take her in as a goddaughter, but now she’s become a huge problem. We’ve raised a wolf who bites back.”
He spoke quickly, urgently passing on instructions—military phone lines were monitored, and he feared his mother might say something wrong if she spoke too slowly.
Wang Zhaodi’s crying abruptly stopped as she understood what he meant.
“Mingyuan… Wen Xi went to the army to cause trouble? I should have never been soft-hearted. I should have let her be sent down with her parents.”
“Mingyuan, we need money at home to replace everything that was stolen. Send money quickly. I’m hanging up now!”
She hurriedly ended the call, her heart pounding wildly.
Her worst fear had come true—Wen Xi had gone to the military base, and from the tone of things, an investigation might follow.
If the army discovered what they had done…
She collapsed onto the ground in fear, then scrambled up and ran back home in panic.
The family had to align their story. They also had to find a way to bribe the villagers into cooperating.
They had once controlled Wen Xi easily after her parents were sent down, never expecting her to resist or come to the military base.
With a son who was a deputy battalion commander and a powerful father-in-law in the army, the Song family had become increasingly arrogant in the village.
Now that trouble had come, and they needed the whole village to back them up, Wang Zhaodi felt like the sky had fallen harder than the day their house was emptied.
……
“Commander He, your injury hasn’t healed yet—you can’t go to the camp.”
The guard, Li Weiguo, blocked He Chengxiao’s path.
“The doctor said you must rest in bed.”
He Chengxiao only lifted his eyelids slightly. His voice was calm.
“Who is the commander between us?”
“You are!”
Li Weiguo’s back stiffened as a cold pressure crept up his spine. Even though He Chengxiao wasn’t angry, that indifferent tone was even more intimidating.
He Chengxiao walked past him directly. Li Weiguo had no choice but to follow closely behind, hoping the commander would only stay in the office and not go to the training grounds.
In the office, the first thing He Chengxiao did was call his comrade, Liu Shengli, deputy director of the Yunling County Public Security Bureau.
“Old Liu, it’s me, He Chengxiao.”
On the other end, Liu Shengli’s concerned voice came through.
“Commander He, how is your injury? Are you calling about that female comrade? We still don’t have any updates.”
“My injury is almost healed. There’s no rush on the search. I want you to help me investigate something…”
He then explained that Song Mingyuan was suspected of fraudulent marriage.
After hearing this, Liu Shengli was furious and immediately promised to investigate thoroughly.
After a few more words, they ended the call.
When He Chengxiao looked up, he met Li Weiguo’s curious gaze.
Today, the commander felt completely unfamiliar.
In the past, He Chengxiao had always been cold and distant, especially toward female comrades—keeping at least three meters away.
But today, he had taken the initiative to help a woman—and a suspiciously married, overweight woman at that.
Something was definitely not right.
“Commander, you seem a bit overly… concerned.”
Li Weiguo only dared to think this, not say it aloud.
He Chengxiao’s sharp gaze shot over like a blade.
After a two-second pause, he said coldly:
“I am only upholding justice.”
“Yes, yes!” Li Weiguo nodded rapidly. “Commander, you are righteous and just. I would do the same.”
He silently breathed a sigh of relief. Good thing he didn’t say the wrong thing—otherwise he might be sentenced to a 20-kilometer weighted run.
He decided never to joke about the commander again.
……
Inside her spatial dimension, Wen Xi was busy farming and exercising.
When hungry, she drank water. When still hungry, she picked fruit from the trees.
To lose weight, she forced herself to endure hunger as much as possible—eat less, lose weight faster.
By the time night fell, she stopped and fell into a deep sleep almost immediately.
At dawn, pale light broke through the sky, outlining the military base.
It had been the most peaceful and comfortable sleep Wen Xi had had in three years.
She woke up refreshed, full of energy.
For breakfast, she ate two boiled eggs and an apple from her space.
No milk for now—she would find a cow or goat later to raise inside the space.
After eating, she planned to contact her parents’ former colleagues to investigate her original parents’ situation. Once things here were settled, she intended to visit the place where they had been sent down.
Before transmigrating, she had briefly communicated with the original soul and promised to take care of her parents.
After breakfast, she left the military base and headed toward the city to buy clothes and visit the post office in Bin City.
The bus stop was two miles away. She decided to run there directly, transferring at the machinery factory after eight stops.
It would save money and double as exercise—perfect.
She jogged along the main road, stopping and starting, and after nearly two hours finally reached the area near the machinery factory.
The bus stop was about fifty meters from the factory gate, where a large crowd had gathered…