Chapter 143: Believe in a Dream

Yu Xiangnian had a strong intuition that Cheng Jingmo was facing significant difficulties, possibly a life-or-death situation. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have dreamt of him all night, with him busy and silent.

When Yu Xiangnian arrived at the command center, she couldn’t even get past the main gate. Despite identifying herself as the commander’s daughter and stating she had urgent business with him, the guard on duty, who didn’t recognize her, made her wait at the entrance while someone was sent to notify inside.

Eventually, Zhao, Yu Jiashun’s orderly, came out and brought her in.

The first thing Yu Xiangnian asked upon seeing Zhao was, “Any news about Cheng Jingmo?”

Zhao replied, “From what I know, there’s still no news.”

Yu Xiangnian began to jog, “Then quickly take me to my dad.”

Zhao led her inside, “The commander is in a meeting. You’ll have to wait in the reception room.”

“This is urgent. Can you please notify him for me?” Yu Xiangnian asked anxiously.

“That’s not possible. There’s a strict policy—no interruptions for non-critical matters during meetings.”

“My matter is very important. It concerns the safety of Cheng Jingmo and his team.”

After a moment of thought, Zhao still refused, “No.”

He couldn’t believe that Yu Xiangnian had any information about Cheng Jingmo and his team.

As they arrived at the reception room, Yu Xiangnian stood at the doorway, refusing to enter, “Where’s the meeting room? I’ll find it myself!”

“Absolutely no one is allowed in,” Zhao reiterated.

Yu Xiangnian then walked down the corridor, checking room after room for the meeting.

Zhao stepped in front of her to block her, “Comrade Yu, please don’t make things difficult for me!”

“I don’t want to make things difficult for you. I’m just asking you to notify him for me. I really have information about Cheng Jingmo’s team,” Yu Xiangnian pleaded.

Zhao hesitated, unable to decide.

Yu Xiangnian pressed on, “Every minute we delay, they’re in more danger. This concerns their lives. I wouldn’t lie about something like this. I promise I really have information about them. Please, believe me!”

Zhao’s brow furrowed.

Although the commander seemed composed outwardly, Zhao had served him long enough to notice the subtle changes. The commander had been eating less, drinking stronger tea, and had lost a noticeable amount of hair.

He made up his mind, “Wait here. I’ll go report!”

Yu Jiashun was in a meeting with military leaders, discussing how to retrieve the team. They had lost hope that Cheng Jingmo and his men were still alive.

It had been seventy-four days since they left, and fifty-six days since they lost contact. If they were alive, they would have found a way to reach headquarters, but all efforts to contact them had failed.

The likely scenarios were that they had met with an accident, the radio was broken, or they were injured or dead. If they were injured, they couldn’t survive long in such harsh conditions.

Even assuming they were uninjured, the food they brought could only last forty days at most. In the dead of winter, with scarce food, starvation would be inevitable.

Thus, the chance of survival was almost zero. However, even if they were dead, it was crucial to confirm it. Even if they couldn’t bring back their bodies, they needed to retrieve their belongings and letters.

The problem now was that finding them was like searching for a needle in a haystack. The vast forest was unknown territory, and their exact location was unclear.

Some suggested a large-scale search and rescue operation, which would also eliminate the criminal gangs in the border area.

Others opposed, citing the time, effort, and resources required, and the risk of alerting the gangs, allowing them to escape.

As the group was at an impasse, Zhao burst in, his voice loud and clear, “Report! Commander, there’s an urgent matter that requires your attention.”

Everyone looked toward the door, their faces showing irritation and frustration. Even Yu Jiashun, who rarely showed emotion, had a flash of displeasure in his eyes.

“What is it?” Yu Jiashun asked in a deep voice.

“This matter needs to be reported to you alone,” Zhao replied.

Yu Jiashun glanced at the others and said, “Meeting adjourned for ten minutes.”

He got up and walked out of the meeting room. “What is it?” he asked.

Zhao sensed the displeasure in Yu Jiashun’s voice but luckily saw Yu Xiangnian standing at the end of the hallway.

Lowering his voice, Zhao said, “Your daughter is here, saying she has news about Deputy Commander Cheng and his team.”

“Ridiculous!” Yu Jiashun spotted Yu Xiangnian and glared at her angrily, ready to turn back into the meeting room.

Yu Xiangnian quickly ran over and grabbed his arm, “Dad, listen to me first!”

Seeing her anxious and serious expression, Yu Jiashun held back his anger, “Where did you get this information?”

Yu Xiangnian hesitated. This wasn’t an easy question to answer.

“Dad, Cheng Jingmo and his team are still alive!” She avoided the question. “Their radio is broken, and they can’t contact headquarters.”

Yu Jiashun, still patient, asked again, “I asked, where did you get this information?”

Yu Xiangnian hesitated for a moment and weakly said, “Cheng Jingmo came to me in a dream.”

“Nonsense!” Yu Jiashun shook her hand off. “Yu Xiangnian, if you keep being reckless, I’ll have you punished!”

Yu Xiangnian grabbed him again, sincere and urgent, “Dad, believe me! Even though it was a dream, it was real! If I’m lying, you can punish me however you want!”

To make Yu Jiashun believe her, Yu Xiangnian described the details of her dream.

“Cheng Jingmo is in a place that looks like a forest, surrounded by trees. They are staying in a place that looks like a cave. Cheng Jingmo is fixing the radio, and it makes a ‘buzzing’ sound. One of their team members has a leg splinted with branches, likely due to a broken bone.”

Yu Jiashun felt like he was hearing a fairy tale, but he thought there might be some truth in what Yu Xiangnian was saying. After all, Cheng Jingmo’s team was indeed in a forest, and a cave was plausible.

Half-believing, he asked, “Cheng Jingmo came to you in a dream, what did he say?”

“He didn’t say anything, just kept busy fixing the radio.”

Yu Jiashun asked again, “What about Yu Xiangyang?”

Yu Xiangnian honestly replied, “I dreamed last time that Yu Xiangyang was being chased and might have gotten separated.”

Yu Jiashun thought he might be too desperate for their return, making him find some credibility in her words. Dreams? It sounded like nonsense, something not trustworthy.

But Yu Xiangnian insisted, “Dad, trust me! My dream was real! I swear on my life. If I’m lying, you can execute me!”

“I know the location. You arrange a team, and I’ll lead them to find Cheng Jingmo!”

Yu Jiashun lowered his gaze, pondering for a long time.

It was impossible for him to believe in a dream. But he desperately wanted Cheng Jingmo’s team to return safely. Searching the vast forest along the border was like finding a needle in a haystack. It might be better to trust Yu Xiangnian this once and let her point out a specific location.

“You don’t need to go. Point out the specific location on the map,” Yu Jiashun said. “Zhao, prepare the map.”