Chapter 2

The intruder seemed unable to believe she actually had fighting skills. Clutching his throat, he tried to say something, but she didn’t give him the chance.

She kicked him hard in the stomach. Only when she saw him completely lose consciousness did she stagger out the door and scream, “Help!”

“Is anyone there? Please help me! Somebody help me…”

“Someone is trying to kill me—help!”

The young girl’s voice pierced the night—frightened, helpless, and lost in this unfamiliar place.

Just as she suspected, this was indeed a military family compound. No matter the era, attempting to harm a military dependent was no trivial matter.

In most cases, it involved espionage.

Soon, lights turned on in the surrounding homes, and neighbors began hurrying over.

The first to arrive was the family of Commissar Qiu from next door. He charged in, weapon in hand, only to see the pale-faced girl on the second floor, her clothes slowly soaking in blood.

“Mo Yan, what happened to you?”

She didn’t know how to respond and could only remain silent, trembling with fear as she pointed to the room. “Someone tried to kill me… he wanted to kill me…”

Then she fainted.

It was no wonder. She had just regained consciousness, her body weak, and after the shock she had just suffered, anyone would’ve collapsed.

Commissar Qiu hurriedly caught her in his arms and shouted at the nearby guard, “Why are you standing there? Go in and find out what’s going on!”

“This is the military compound—Mo Yan is a martyr’s daughter! Her parents were just buried, and now someone dares to target her? Are they trying to rebel?!”

Zheng Aihua knew her husband had been close to Feng Qian, practically his right-hand man ever since they joined the army. Feng Qian’s sudden death had already left her shaken.

Now Mo Yan had nearly been killed—who could stand it?

“Old Qiu, I’ll take Mo Yan to the hospital right away. You take care of things here. Aunt Lian can come with me.”

Aunt Lian, wife of General Qian Aiguo, was someone everyone in the compound respected. She was known for being decisive and forceful.

Seeing the girl in such a state, even her expression turned grim.

“Old Qian, how could your people let this happen? This is too heartbreaking. Mo Yan’s just a kid—how could anyone drive her to the brink like this?”

Qian Aiguo knew his wife had always treated the girl like her own. But times were harsh. The bodies of her parents still hadn’t been found—no one knew where they were.

“Take Mo Yan to the hospital now. With me here, no one will dare cause trouble.”

He exchanged a glance with Commissar Qiu, then walked into the house. The place was a mess. Even the bathroom had a hole dug into it—it was clear they’d been targeted.

“Old Qiu, this is serious.”

Qiu Lianhai looked at the man still barely breathing on the ground and narrowed his eyes. “No matter who he is, he must be dealt with.”

“Otherwise, it’s a disgrace to Feng Qian and his wife’s sacrifice. They only had one daughter. What, are we going to let them wipe her out too?”

Everyone knew Feng Qian was extremely capable. His wife was also the heir of an ancient medical tradition. Both were top talents in the military, even known to high-ranking leaders.

They had saved countless soldiers on the battlefield. But this last mission had drawn unwanted attention.

No one knew what they had taken or discovered. Not even the top brass. All they were told was to make sure Mo Yan was properly protected.

Qian Aiguo waved his hand. “Take him to the detention room. Keep him alive—but start the interrogation immediately.”

He had been holding back his anger for days. He had painstakingly trained a special forces team, only to see it completely wiped out. It was an unprecedented blow in military history.

Feng Qian had never failed a mission, and now he and his wife were dead. Qian Aiguo couldn’t believe there wasn’t some deeper plot involved.

Tears filled Zheng Aihua’s eyes as she spoke with a heavy nasal tone. “Aunt Lian, why did this have to happen to Mo Yan? She’s just a child—how is she supposed to go on?”

Wang Lian’s heart ached for the sweet, well-behaved girl. Since hearing the news, Mo Yan hadn’t cried or made a fuss, as if it hadn’t happened at all.

But Wang Lian understood—Mo Yan had been scared stiff. That’s why she had run a high fever for days.

“If she hadn’t insisted I go home and rest yesterday, if I’d stayed, this wouldn’t have happened…”

Zheng Aihua and Wang Lian had been taking turns watching over her since the incident, afraid something might happen. She had seemed to improve over the last few days—who would’ve thought this would happen?

“It’s that damned bastard. Once we find out who it is, we’ll cut him down.”

Wang Lian looked at the girl on the hospital bed, her breathing faint and labored. Her heart ached too much to keep looking and she turned away.

Inside, Feng Mo Yan felt like she was being tormented—first burned, then frozen, over and over again, like being roasted alive.

In her memory, she was indeed Feng Mo Yan—the only heir of the Feng and Mo families. Half a month ago, her parents, Feng Qian and Mo Yao, along with twenty elite soldiers, were killed in action, leaving behind only sparse clues.

The military investigated for a long time but found nothing. It was as if someone had deliberately covered up the truth, something Qian Aiguo and Qiu Lianhai found hard to accept.

They had sacrificed their lives for the country, yet not even the cause of death could be determined.

She remembered her maternal grandfather when she was a child. He had taught her countless skills and brought in new teachers each year.

She was bright—whatever she was taught, she mastered by the next day. She was the apple of his eye.

But when she was ten, he passed away suddenly, and afterward, she moved into the military compound with her parents.

Because of frequent missions, little Mo Yan had learned to be self-reliant early. She was much more mature than other girls her age.

But she was also quiet and kept her distance from others in the compound, only familiar with a few neighbors.

Aunt Aihua and Aunt Lian often invited her to meals, and the three boys in their families treated her well. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have grown up so healthy.

But tonight’s ambush made her realize—this country she lived in wasn’t safe.

Or more accurately, her identity wasn’t safe.

From memory, she gathered that it was now 1973—a turbulent period in the country’s history. Life was hard, and even basic necessities required ration coupons—local coupons and national ones. Local coupons had expiration dates and had to be used quickly.

Once her mind had fully absorbed this body’s memories, the burning sensation vanished. It was as if she had truly fused with it—no resistance at all.

Could it be… this is her now?

Another version of herself?

Feng Mo Yan didn’t dwell on it. If the base had been blown up and she had ended up here, then she would live well.

But she was determined to find out which demon or monster had been targeting her parents—and drag them out to be dealt with.

Even though murder wasn’t tolerated in this era, making someone disappear without a trace was entirely possible. There were no surveillance cameras, and investigative procedures were rudimentary.

More importantly, she remembered—her father’s real name wasn’t even Feng. Her parents were anything but ordinary.

So how could they have just… died?

The mystery only deepened.