“I should be heading back now.”
Holidays always passed quickly. After experiencing what it was like to sell greenhouse vegetables in the winter, Song Jing had to leave.
“Half a month has already gone by.”
Song Jing had left enough time to catch the train back.
Song Wei still felt reluctant to part.
“Next year, if I get another holiday, I’ll ask for leave and we’ll go visit Uncle together.”
“Sounds good.”
Just like last time, Lin Zhen and Song Wei went together to see him off at the train station.
Though reluctant, people grew up, and reunions became fewer while partings grew more frequent.
Now that Song Wei had her new home and had settled down in the Ping’an Brigade, chances to meet in the future would likely be even rarer.
After sending her off, Lin Zhen took her to a state-owned restaurant for a nice meal.
All of a sudden, Song Wei nudged Lin Zhen with her elbow, her movement slight but her chin lifted in a subtle signal.
The two of them already had a tacit understanding. Lin Zhen immediately followed her gaze discreetly.
With just that one glance, his sharp observation picked up the problem.
At the table in front of them sat an honest-looking couple.
Nothing unusual about that—except they were holding a child.
The child’s clothes were old and ill-fitting.
More importantly, the exposed skin of the child was very tender, and the child was unconscious.
Lin Zhen had already formed a suspicion.
The two of them continued eating as though nothing was wrong. When the couple finished their meal and left with the child, they quietly followed.
The couple walked briskly, glancing left and right with seemingly little movement of their heads, but their sharp eyes kept sweeping their surroundings.
Finally, they arrived at an old courtyard and knocked on the door with a certain rhythm.
That was clearly a signal.
The door opened and a man poked his head out.
After letting the pair in with the child, he stepped back out to scan the surroundings before shutting the door.
Song Wei and Lin Zhen were hidden in a nearby alley.
Once the man closed the door, convinced nothing was amiss, they whispered.
“What do we do?”
To think they had run into traffickers again.
Last time, the traffickers had been tormented miserably by the old ladies of the brigade.
But such vile people—human traffickers—had never been absent throughout history.
“We don’t yet know how many there are. I’ll head to the Public Security Bureau.”
Song Wei nodded. “Go ahead. I’ll keep watch here.”
Lin Zhen left, while Song Wei didn’t want to just wait idly.
Approaching the courtyard, she found a spot to listen by the wall. After confirming no one was around, she climbed over in one swift move.
Her actions were clean and efficient.
But she hadn’t expected that this group of traffickers kept a guard dog.
Dogs were far more alert than people. Just as Song Wei crept near their gathering place, the dog suddenly stood up.
“What’s wrong, Bawang?”
The traffickers immediately grew wary at the dog’s reaction.
“Go look around. We can’t afford any mistakes in this line of work.”
They took the dog and began searching the area.
Song Wei stayed calm. Like a spider, she leapt lightly onto a roof beam and hung there.
When the dog was about to get close, she flicked a small stone.
“Awoo, awoo, awoo…”
The dog yelped and collapsed on the ground, twitching.
“Bawang! Bawang, what’s wrong with you!”
No one noticed Song Wei’s move.
As for the stone she had thrown—there were plenty of stones lying around. The one she used rolled into the grass and drew no attention.
“Fifth Master, we don’t know what happened. Bawang suddenly turned out like this.”
The one called Fifth Master narrowed his eyes.
“Search the surroundings carefully. Leave no corner unchecked.
And notify the others—we’re moving the goods to a new location.”
Song Wei thought: This one is certainly more cautious than the traffickers we encountered last time.
Some men began searching around, while the others busied themselves with moving their “goods.”
But as soon as the door opened, they saw a group of public security officers rushing toward them.
“Shit! The cops are here, run!”
“Head for the back door, hurry!”
“I told you, my eyelid’s been twitching all day. We’ve got the kids—if it comes to it, we’ll use them as hostages!”
Bang! Bang!
The officers caught up quickly, and a firefight broke out with the traffickers covering the rear.
Song Wei shot forward like a gust of wind, chasing down the fleeing traffickers.
The stones in her hand worked just like bullets.
They struck directly at the wrists of those holding guns.
“Don’t come any closer! Stay back, all of you!”
Seeing the situation turn against him, Fifth Master pressed the gun barrel against the child in his arms, his expression twisted with ferocity.
“Anyone dares to come closer, I’ll kill him!”
Whoosh…
A faint sound split the air. The next second, the hand holding Fifth Master’s gun was pierced clean through.
“Ahhh!!!”
The instant he let go, Lin Zhen lunged like a tiger and subdued him.
“Captain, there are more firearms here.”
An unexpected find—the traffickers weren’t only selling children, they were also smuggling weapons.
“Cuff them all!”
Song Wei emerged from her hiding spot.
Lin Zhen called out, “Don’t shoot, she’s one of us.”
Meanwhile, one officer picked up a bloodstained stone and exclaimed in awe,
“Incredible! She actually shattered his wrist bones with just a stone!”
The public security captain looked over at Lin Zhen and Song Wei.
“So it was this comrade who did it, right?”
Though it sounded unbelievable, it was most likely Song Wei.
He knew—after all, comrades who had once been sent to shadow spies had returned saying Song Wei’s skills were no weaker than Lin Zhen’s.
And Lin Zhen—who was he?
The soldier king of the border troops, champion for several years running!
“Comrade Lin Zhen, have you ever thought about joining the Public Security Bureau?”
Right, Lin Zhen could still choose his line of work.
But Lin Zhen shook his head.
“No, I want a different kind of life now.”
The captain sighed with regret. “What a pity. And this comrade here—she’s your wife, isn’t she?”
Lin Zhen’s lips curved upward as he nodded. “We just got married not long ago.”
“Well then, congratulations! With skills like hers, would your wife be interested in joining the Public Security Bureau?”
It was a golden opportunity—a guaranteed lifelong post in a national institution.
But Song Wei regretfully declined.
She preferred roaming the mountains. Whether as a soldier or an officer, she’d have to obey orders.
Coming from the apocalypse, Song Wei admitted to herself she didn’t have that kind of obedience. Better not to stir up trouble.
The captain never expected that, in one day, two people would turn down jobs that others would fight tooth and nail to get.
Still, he wasn’t upset. To reach his current rank, he had to have broad shoulders.
“You two really are a perfect match, hahahaha…”
Song Wei and Lin Zhen went to the bureau to give their statements, then rode their bicycles home.
On the way, Lin Zhen asked,
“I don’t have a job right now. Doesn’t that bother you?”
Most women would be furious if a man passed up a stable, ironclad job.
But Song Wei wrapped her arms around his waist, leaning lazily against his back.
“What’s there to worry about? Did the grain at home run out?”
Lin Zhen couldn’t help but laugh.
His wife really was pure and adorable—her heart and eyes were filled with nothing but food. As long as there was something to eat, all was well.
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