Without a second thought, Lin Xing immediately halted the training and rushed to the communications office.

“This is Lin Xing.”

The moment he picked up the phone, he heard his wife’s voice, broken and sobbing.

“Lin Xing, what should I do? Guoguo is gone, she’s gone…”

Lin Xing’s heart skipped a beat, and he quickly asked, “How could she be gone?”

“Tell me everything in detail.”

Soon, through his wife’s tearful and choked explanation, Lin Xing roughly understood the situation.

The moment he realized what had happened, even a tough man like Lin Xing, who never shed tears on the battlefield, felt his eyes redden.

“Ah Wan, you’ve encountered kidnappers,” Lin Xing said painfully, voicing his analysis.

He knew that his wife had fallen victim to kidnappers disguised as an elderly couple, and Guoguo had most likely been taken by them.

Lin Xing regretted it deeply. Knowing how naive and inexperienced his wife was, how could he have been so careless as to let her travel alone with Guoguo from their hometown to join him at the military base?

Lin Xing was from a rural area, the second child in a family where neither parents nor siblings paid him much attention.

So, he had left that disappointing home early and joined the military.

His wife, Zhang Shuwang, was introduced to him by a neighbor’s grandmother during one of his rare visits home. His parents had wanted him to marry the daughter of a textile factory director in exchange for two job positions for his older brother and younger brother. He had refused, and the neighbor’s grandmother, feeling sorry for him, introduced him to Ah Wan.

Ah Wan was a city girl, the only daughter of her parents, who doted on her.

When it came time for Ah Wan to marry, her parents had only one requirement: that her husband treat her well.

Before Lin Xing was introduced to them, Ah Wan had met several suitors, but none were suitable.

When Lin Xing appeared, Ah Wan’s parents were very pleased with him, and he and Ah Wan also took a liking to each other.

Soon after, they got married.

But just a year into their marriage, Ah Wan’s parents died in an accident at the factory. Ah Wan became the child of martyrs, but she was also left without parents.

At that time, many of Ah Wan’s relatives tried to take advantage of her, and even Lin Xing’s parents and siblings had similar thoughts.

It was Lin Xing who, with firm and decisive action, protected her.

His swift and even ruthless response at that time deterred others from harboring any ulterior motives.

Lin Xing knew that his wife, Ah Wan, was naive, so he had to protect her well.

Now, they had been married for seven years.

But they only had Guoguo, their one daughter, and despite their efforts, they hadn’t been able to have any other children.

Both he and his wife treasured Guoguo like a precious gem.

Previously, Ah Wan and Guoguo had been living with him at the military base.

But a few months ago, he had been transferred to the Northwest Military District. Because he was still settling in, the mother and daughter had stayed behind.

Now that he had established himself there, he felt it was safe for them to join him.

Originally, he had planned to take leave and personally bring Ah Wan and Guoguo from their hometown.

But he couldn’t get the time off, and training was intense.

When Ah Wan said she could take Guoguo on the train by herself, Lin Xing hesitated but eventually agreed.

Now, Lin Xing wanted to slap himself.

Knowing his wife’s nature, how could he have let her travel alone with Guoguo?

It was his fault. He had been too complacent.

On the other end of the phone, after confirming that their daughter Guoguo had been kidnapped, Zhang Shuwang was momentarily stunned, then broke down in tears.

She thought that if Guoguo couldn’t be found, she would join her daughter in death.

At this moment, Lin Xing couldn’t care less about training. He knew how urgent it was to find his daughter. After briefly comforting his wife, he hung up the phone, quickly requested leave from his superiors, and prepared to leave the military base to search for Guoguo.

Just as he was about to drive out of the base, he heard a soldier shouting from behind, “Battalion Commander Lin, Battalion Commander Lin, your daughter has been found!”

Found?!

Lin Xing practically jumped out of the car and grabbed the soldier’s arm, asking for details. Following the soldier’s directions, he rushed back to the communications office and received a call from Sheng Zexi.

Lin Xing knew who Sheng Zexi was—he was a famous elite soldier in the Northwest Military District.

Not long ago, Sheng Zexi had filed a marriage report, and applied for housing. Lin Xing knew this because he had also applied for housing.

Their houses were next to each other, right next door.

On the phone, Sheng Zexi explained that he and his wife had been on a train when his wife noticed something suspicious about an elderly couple. She had smelled drug on a child and suspected they were kidnappers.

In the end, he had worked with the train staff to capture the kidnappers.

And they had rescued the child.

“That little girl, around four years old, named Guoguo—she looks a lot like you. Is she your daughter?”

“Yes, yes, that’s my Guoguo…” Lin Xing was so overwhelmed with emotion that he nearly cried. He then explained how his wife had just called to say their daughter had been kidnapped.

“Guoguo is with me. My wife and I will bring her to the military base. We should arrive tomorrow,” Sheng Zexi said.

“Thank you, Battalion Commander Sheng. Thank you so much, and thank your wife too.” Lin Xing, not one for many words, could only express his gratitude in this simple way.

But he knew that this was a life-saving favor from Battalion Commander Sheng and his wife, and he would definitely repay it in the future.

Relieved that Guoguo had been rescued, Lin Xing immediately called his wife to share the good news.

He told her not to linger there any longer and to come straight to the military base to meet him.

When Zhang Shuwang heard that Guoguo had been rescued, she burst into tears of joy, feeling immense gratitude toward Sheng Zexi and his wife, whom she hadn’t even met yet.

Remembering what her husband had said about their houses being next to each other, Zhang Shuwang thought that not only would she have to properly thank Battalion Commander Sheng and his wife, but she would also make sure to stay close to Sheng Zexi’s wife.

After confirming the details over the phone, Sheng Zexi quickly returned to the train and shared the news with Gu Jianing.

Gu Jianing was surprised to learn that the child they had rescued, Guoguo, was actually their neighbor’s daughter. What a small world.

Soon, the train started moving again.

As it headed further northwest, the temperature dropped rapidly. Sheng Zexi hurriedly helped Gu Jianing put on a thicker coat, worried she might catch a cold.

In the afternoon, Gu Jianing happened to glance up and saw white snowflakes falling outside the window.

“It’s snowing,” Gu Jianing said, looking out at the flurry of snow.

Sheng Zexi sat beside her, also gazing outside.

“Yes, the snow will be even thicker when we reach the military base.”

In a few more weeks, heavy snow would block the mountains, making it nearly impossible for people to move around. Hunting in the mountains would be out of the question, and transporting supplies would be extremely difficult.

During that time, whenever supplies arrived at the military base’s cooperative store, they would be snapped up immediately.

Meat, in particular, would be scarce.

Sheng Zexi was grateful that the Gu family had prepared so many supplies and food for Ningning.

They should have no problem getting through the two months of heavy snow.