Chapter 140: Waiting

Yu Xiangyang left on the night of January 9th. Cheng Jingmo went out every other day at first to look for the marks, but recently he had been going out every day.

Finally, today he saw the familiar mark. It had been twenty-eight days since Yu Xiangyang left.

The fact that Yu Xiangyang took so long to send a signal indicated that it must have been very difficult for him to escape from the enemy camp.

However, Cheng Jingmo was relieved to know that Yu Xiangyang was at least safe.

If something had happened to Yu Xiangyang, Cheng Jingmo would have found it hard to face Yu Jiashun, Zhao Ruozhu, and especially Yu Xiangnian.

Among his three brothers, Yu Xiangnian and Yu Xiangyang were the closest.

More importantly, Yu Xiangyang was his indispensable partner.

Their relationship was complex—mutual admiration mixed with mutual frustration.

From initial rivals to friends to family, they were now partners with whom he could completely trust his back.

Thinking about Yu Xiangyang’s request to destroy the magazine before his departure made Cheng Jingmo unable to help but smile.

Could a single man really look at those things without feeling uncomfortable?!

Cheng Jingmo and the others had reserved some of the food they brought, just in case of another emergency.

Usually, Lou Wujun stayed in the cave to care for Zhu Xiaohu, while Cheng Jingmo and Fan Lei went out to find food and gather information.

Cheng Jingmo, having lived in the mountains since he was young, could find food even in the winter when supplies were scarce.

However, to avoid revealing their location, they couldn’t start a fire and usually searched for tree roots and wild vegetables.

Of course, they also took nuts from squirrel nests and occasionally captured and ate a squirrel or two raw.

During the twenty-eight days of waiting for news from Yu Xiangyang, Cheng Jingmo had already mapped out the surrounding situation.

He inferred that the enemy’s base should be about eight kilometers to the northeast, but he didn’t know the internal structure or personnel of the base.

Based on Yu Xiangyang’s running speed, he estimated that it took about an hour and a half for a round trip message.

Cheng Jingmo also went to the spot where Zhu Xiaohu fell that day, climbed down the cliff, and searched for a day and night. He finally found Zhu Xiaohu’s bag under a large rock.

Unfortunately, the radio inside had been damaged beyond repair—the main board was cracked, and the wires were in tatters, making it completely unusable.

Since discovering the mark left by Yu Xiangyang that day, there had been no further signs of him, as if he had vanished.

Cheng Jingmo went out every night, only to return disappointed.

Having figured out the surrounding situation, Cheng Jingmo spent his days studying the radio at the cave entrance.

Fan Lei and the others were becoming increasingly impatient. “Deputy Cheng, we’ve had no news from Yu Xiangyang for so long. Should we just wait here?”

Cheng Jingmo understood their frustration. Every day here was testing their limits.

Physical hardship was bearable, but the uncertainty of waiting for an indefinite period was the most draining.

Even he couldn’t help but feel some frustration.

Whenever he felt restless, he would think about Yu Xiangyang still being out there and remind himself to stay calm, waiting to leave with Yu Xiangyang.

Then he would think about the two people back home, who were hoping for his safe return!

At the same time, he kept finding things to do to keep his mind busy.

Cheng Jingmo stared at the radio circuits. “There’s no better option right now. We can only wait.”

Indeed, they couldn’t send out any messages.

Even if they knew the general location of the criminal base, without understanding the personnel situation and internal structure, they couldn’t do much against the gang.

Sending someone to deliver the message was risky. Not only could a person struggle to get out of the forest, but even if they did, they would face the network of spies outside.

Yu Xiangyang was still in hiding. If anyone was exposed, it would put Yu Xiangyang in danger.

The four of them, living in the forest, had poor food and sleep, and were visibly thinner, with unkempt beards and haggard faces.

Cheng Jingmo remained calm as he looked at the radio, holding a notebook and pen, trying to draw the circuit diagrams on paper.

He remembered having seen a book once that described radio circuit combinations.

But at the time, he had no basic knowledge of circuits and didn’t understand anything from it.

For over half a month, Cheng Jingmo had been trying to repair the radio every day.

The tangled wires and various-sized crystals made Fan Lei and the others shake their heads.

No one had high hopes that Cheng Jingmo could fix the radio.

On the twenty-seventh day since Yu Xiangyang had left a mark, Cheng Jingmo found another mark, a small piece of paper hidden in the grass.

His heart eased a little.

Yu Xiangyang was not only alive but had also gathered intelligence.

The unfolded paper was about the size of a palm and roughly sketched the layout of the base.

Yu Xiangyang had used their internal markers to indicate the personnel situation.

Cheng Jingmo understood it.

The gang had thirteen middle-aged men, two middle-aged women, and the leader was a man.

The gang had guns and knives and was holding six trafficked women.

The problem was now in Cheng Jingmo’s hands.

Without the repaired radio, how could he send out the message?

Without being able to send the message, they had four people against fifteen of the enemy. How could they win with so few? And how could they ensure the safety of the hostages?

When would Yu Xiangyang come out next? How should he coordinate with Yu Xiangyang?

A pile of questions with no immediate answers.

Cheng Jingmo left a mark for continued hiding and returned to the cave.

Perhaps heaven took pity on them. That night, while Cheng Jingmo was tinkering with the radio, it suddenly emitted a “crackling” sound.

The four of them were so excited they almost cried. If it weren’t for the fear of exposure, they might have jumped up.

But a minute later, their excitement faded.

For some unknown reason, the radio still couldn’t send a message!

Cheng Jingmo didn’t give up and continued to study it, but it only produced the same crackling sound.

The next day, Cheng Jingmo found another mark left by Yu Xiangyang.

He had a bad feeling.

Yu Xiangyang had just come out to send a message yesterday, and now he was taking the risk again. There must be an urgent situation.

He quickly checked the mark, which indicated that the six women would be moved the day after tomorrow.

Cheng Jingmo had no time to wait and made a decisive decision.

He instructed Yu Xiangyang to create a diversion the day after tomorrow morning, while he and Fan Lei and Lou Wujun would arrive at the base at ten o’clock to provide support.

Returning to the cave, he made one last attempt to contact headquarters.

If they couldn’t send a message, the only hope was that headquarters might detect the signal and know they were still alive.

It would take at least three days for headquarters to reach them, and even if they detected the signal, it would be too late for reinforcements to arrive.

They could only rely on themselves!