"Smells so good!" Ye Tian looked at the table filled with dishes, almost drooling.
"Ye Tian, look at you, you don't look as impressive as when you were fighting. My parents are good cooks, but I'm even better, you're missing out." Lin Chumo said, seeing Ye Tian's reaction.
"No worries, I'll come over often for free meals, and you'll cook for me then!" Ye Tian smiled nonchalantly at Lin Chumo.
"Dream on. If you want me to cook for you, it depends on your performance." Lin Chumo poked Ye Tian's head with a chopstick, seeing his thick-skinned attitude.
Mr. and Mrs. Lin were delighted to see the young couple bantering so affectionately.
"Alright, alright, Chumo, Ye, let's eat." Mrs. Lin timely eased the awkward atmosphere.
Upon Mrs. Lin's command, Ye Tian, who was already starving, quickly started moving his chopsticks.
.....
"Ugh, I'm so full! Mr. and Mrs. Lin, your cooking is amazing. It's been a long time since I've had such delicious food. Truly nostalgic!"
Ye Tian touched his full belly and laughed.
Lin Chumo ate quietly, just like her personality. She didn't eat much, probably trying to maintain her figure, as many girls do.
So Ye Tian ended up eating most of it.
"Uncle Lin, sorry for the trouble, I should be heading back now, no need to see me off."
As Ye Tian prepared to leave with his backpack.
"Ye, wait a moment." Mrs. Lin said, and then she went to take out the 100,000 yuan Tang Jie had given them earlier.
"Ye, I'm not comfortable keeping this money. They might come back to cause trouble. Could you help me donate it to the Sunshine Orphanage?"
"No need, this is rightfully yours, Uncle Lin. Keep it. If they come back to cause trouble, tell Chumo to find me." Ye Tian hastily put the money back into Mr. Lin's hand.
Mrs. Lin, seeing Mr. Lin's stubbornness, became quite frustrated.
"Lin, just take it. We've been harassed every day for the past few days and haven't made much money. Soon we have to send money to your war buddies, where will you find the money?"
Mrs. Lin said helplessly.
"Uncle Lin, I've heard you're a soldier. Don't retired soldiers get government subsidies? Why do you have to send money to your buddies?"
"Sigh, on the battlefield, we fought against enemies to secure a peaceful society. But after retirement, we're oppressed by petty people, unable to lift our heads!"
Mr. Lin clenched his fist tightly as he spoke, a deep scar visible on the back of his hand. This was the honor and pride of a soldier.
Hearing this, a mysterious look flashed in Ye Tian's deep eyes. "Uncle Lin, what's going on? Tell me, maybe I can help solve it."
"Sigh, it's a long story. Let's go to the study."
In the study.
The room was simple yet filled with neatly arranged military medals, several photos with comrades, and some military books.
Mr. Lin picked up a cigarette, lit it, took a deep puff, then extinguished it and threw it into the trash can.
Mr. Lin's weathered face held many stories.
"Ye, this matter started from one mission."
"My name is Lin Xinghua. I was a member of the Special Warfare Unit in the Northwest Combat Zone. Suddenly, we received an urgent mission: to rescue a woman in Daxinganling.
"You wouldn't believe it. There were 35 of us, all elite special soldiers, for this mission. It was unprecedented.
"Generally, fewer people are better in such missions to avoid being an easy target. We had never sent more than six people before. So deploying so many meant the mission was extremely challenging. We prepared thoroughly.
"When we entered Daxinganling, you know how vast that place is. We followed the map given by our superiors and walked for who knows how long until we reached the destination.
"That place was creepy. Imagine, crows in such a cold place like Daxinganling. Unbelievable, right? The surrounding trees had black leaves, and their branches intertwined, making them look like tree people in the dark.
"Each of us was armed with top-notch weapons. We moved forward cautiously. Our mission was to rescue a woman, but the dense, wild terrain and abundant wildlife made it a dangerous place where many could perish easily.
"How could a weak woman get in there? After about ten minutes of walking, we finally saw a woman, strikingly beautiful, even more than Chumo.
"She was tied to a pole with something like an altar in front. We hurried to untie her and bring her down.
Who knew she wasn't happy to see us but was terrified instead, saying, 'Leave quickly. You'll all die. Hurry and go.'
She was pushing us away while trying to walk.
We ignored her. My comrades carried her, preparing to retreat.
We were exuberant at completing the mission when suddenly a strong wind blew, and several people in black hoods appeared before us.
I saw their hands were just bones, their eyes red, and black aura enveloping their bodies.
We, soldiers, feared nothing. We opened fire simultaneously, but the bullets didn't affect them. They blocked them with their bodies. We thought it was an illusion and started attacking even more fiercely.
After one round of fire, those figures moved. They flew over, grabbed my comrades' necks, and bit down. In no time, my comrades turned into dried corpses.
We panicked, but our duty as soldiers is to obey orders. I and two other comrades dragged the woman southward to escape, while others ran in other directions.
But these black-clad figures weren't fools. They had intelligence. Three of them chased us, while only one pursued the others.
We ran desperately, using over a dozen grenades for even a slim chance to escape. Today's grenades are very powerful, but they only managed to blow off their hands.
We ran with all our might. I got a deep scratch on my hand from one of their nails. My comrades suffered a broken leg and a severe head injury.
But to fulfill our mission, we endured the pain and kept running endlessly.
Eventually, we were completely exhausted and collapsed.
We lay on the ground, holding our guns, ready to sacrifice ourselves. We didn't want to be drained to death. Even if we couldn't die on the battlefield, we wanted our bodies to be preserved, to merge with our land, defending this heaven and earth.
Just then, we saw a person in fancy clothes walk over, wielding a sword and fighting with the three black-clad figures.
The figures couldn't win and retreated.
He helped the woman up, "Wan'er, are you okay? We must leave quickly, or more corpse people will come."
We were about to thank him, but then he looked at us disdainfully, "How could the Military Department send people like you? What a bunch of useless fools."
We swallowed our thanks and glared at him angrily.
"What, not satisfied? Considering Wan'er, I'll spare your lives. Here's a map. Whether you can get out depends on yourselves."
He tossed a map at my face and left with the woman called Wan'er. By then, we were wounded or dead. We dragged ourselves for who knows how long until we reached the entrance of Daxinganling, then we fainted.
Fortunately, the nearby villagers saved us, but my comrades' injuries were beyond healing.
As Uncle Lin spoke, he started tearing up. A story that could make even an iron-willed soldier cry must be incredibly painful.
If that man had taken us out, my comrades wouldn't be confined to wheelchairs now...
When we got back, our superiors said the mission was classified, strictly confidential. They gave us some compensation and set us free.
As far as we know, besides the three of us, everyone else died.
The compensation was spent quickly in the hospital. After that, I made a living running a small stall, supporting my family and occasionally helping my comrades.
I thought the retirement subsidy would barely keep us going, but who knew, because Chumo is pretty, Boss Long comes to collect protection money every day. I'm seriously injured and can't hold up against him.
"Ye, don't tell anyone. Others wouldn't believe it anyway. Who'd believe people invulnerable to bullets?"
"Uncle Lin, I will help you. I know some doctors. I'll call one to help your comrades in a few days. I'll get going now, see you."
Ye Tian left the study, said goodbye to Lin Chumo and Mrs. Lin, and returned to his apartment.
Not long after, Ye Tian took out his phone and dialed a number. Strangely, it wasn't a regular number, but a series of odd digits.
"Hello......"