It had been a decade since they had last seen their boss in camouflage military attire, going out onto a battlefield on his own. His gaze remained sharp, but one could see the scars of time in the wrinkles on the sides of his eyes. It was a sight that evoked a bittersweet emotion in his men.

Xiao Jinglin passed the bracelet in his hands to Xiaoer, who had been attending to him by his side, and the man looked up in surprise at the item that had been handed to him.

“This…isn’t this the Xiao family heirloom that you have been looking for? Does this mean Miss Yun is…”

Xiaosi and Xiaoliu looked up immediately as soon as they heard the phrase Xiao family heirloom. All those who had worked closely with Xiao Jinglin had an idea of what the item was and what its owner represented.

If Miss Yun was the daughter of Xiao Jinglin, she would become the new heir to the head of the Xiao family and the one responsible for the future of the family.

They had grown up by their boss’s side, and they had accompanied him on his journeys across the world to look for Madame Rong. However, all the years had been for nothing as Madame Rong was nowhere to be found. But if they were able to find the eldest daughter, it would have been a sense of closure for the boss.

“That’s why I need to bring her back no matter what. It doesn’t matter if she is not my child, as long as she had this bracelet, we can use this as a point to continue our investigation.”

The hopes they had held for so long had begun to falter after the years of trials and tribulations. This bracelet that was in Xiaoer’s hands was the last stand for them.

Xiao Jinglin had sworn to never have any regrets. Even if Yun Xi was not his child, he couldn’t leave the question unanswered.

…

The town of Casa was in an area that lay between the edge of a valley and the sea, and its ideal geographical position for land and sea trade had made Casa a resource-rich town popular with the people.

Running through Casa was a broad river that connected to the sea. For anyone to reach the harbor, they had to go through Casa town directly as there were no alternative roads that went around it. The river divided Casa in half, one side had the valley and the other the river. Its unique placement had made it a prime location as a crucial military base.

Yun Xi’s group had emerged from the war zone in the middle of the night, and they were tense as they drove by the containment areas that contained the infected population. Her phone rang as they circled out of the containment areas. It was a call from Xiao Jinglin.

This sudden call from Xiao Jinglin had caught her off guard, but there had been little she could say before a bomb had interrupted the conversation by landing on the troop’s vehicle in front of her.

The vehicle behind them had pulled to an emergency stop, and, as Yun Xi braced for the brake, she hastily hung up the call.

Mu Feichi steadied himself and carried the injured bodies out of the vehicle as he issued his orders to his men, “Cheng and Lie Huo, abandon the vehicle and look for a good vantage point. We will cover Unit One by diverting the enemy’s attention. Unit Two be on standby, and Unit Three continue with the map.”

The containment area was in one of the slum settlements of Country F, and the population there lived tightly packed into the space with one another. The houses leaned against one another, and the alleys crossed over and joined with others, making the settlement like a labyrinth. The settlement was a good place to escape from their pursuers.

However, they had many men with them, and this had made them an easy target. If they had encountered large units of soldiers who were trained in urban warfare, they wouldn’t have been able to stand up against them.

Sitting in the car, Yun Xi felt her hands go numb as a series of explosions could be heard outside.

In between the explosions, she picked up on Fenghuang Cheng’s voice over the intercom, “Move out with Unit Two, Niao!”

Fenghuang Niao had been reluctant to be shifted to Unit Two with Yun Xi. Units One and Two had been risking their lives to ensure that the civilians protected by Unit Two had been able to escape safely from the conflict.

However, her duty as a soldier came first, and there was no room for discussion, so she followed her instructions and departed with Unit Two.

The night was slowly drawing to an end, and the light rain that had accompanied them throughout the night finally came to a stop. Yet the change in weather only led to freezing temperatures.

The independent army of rebels had been the ones behind the attack, and it was fortunate that they did not have the advantage of numbers. After the attack on the military vehicle, the five other vehicles had been directed away by Unit One. Once Fenghuang Cheng had ensured that the vehicles had exited safely, he directed Unit Two to move out.

All three units were in position, and all that awaited them was the second round of attack from the independent army.