The reservoir still had to build proper office buildings and the power station, so the area was still full of construction sites.

If they walked further up the hill, they would reach the cave dwellings carved out on the mountainside.

All the engineering troops were living there.

From a distance, the hillside was filled with cave dwellings.

It was hard to imagine that the construction soldiers of the Republic were living in such harsh conditions.

At this moment, a team of soldiers marched past, walking in perfect step.

Upon seeing the commander, they saluted and continued marching.

Song Qingshan returned the salute and watched them pass.

“So, where is your nuclear industry section?” Su Xiangwan asked.

Song Qingshan pointed to the top of the Xiling Mountain in the distance. “Over there, but that area is off-limits for visits.”

Discipline in Song Qingshan’s unit was as strict as a locked iron gate, and no leniency was allowed.

“Didn’t you say there was a transferred police officer, the previous owner of the mountain, also here? Where is he?” Su Xiangwan asked.

Just as Song Qingshan was about to explain, Commissar Chen Aidang arrived.

“That Li Hongjun, his mind is getting worse,” Chen Aidang said, jogging over. “Song Tuan, should we send him to a mental hospital?”

Seeing that Su Xiangwan was listening, Song Qingshan explained, “Li Chengze’s distant uncle, the previous owner of the mountain, had his brain damaged during his time in the provincial military region. He’s been acting a bit crazy.”

“Didn’t we tell you to keep an eye on him? At least tie him up?” Song Qingshan asked.

This was the current policy situation.

Li Chengze’s fifth uncle, Li Hongjun, had joined the army when liberating the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

After being discharged, he worked at the Provincial Public Security Bureau.

He was particularly skilled at training military dogs and had even been in the news for meeting the Prime Minister with his dog.

But now, after his brain was damaged, he had become mentally unstable.

Chen Aidang’s engineering troops had taken in a large number of such people.

Of course, they were willing to take them in because of their comradeship, but raising a bunch of mentally disturbed people wasn’t an easy task.

Song Qingshan had also been thinking that if it didn’t work out, they might have to send Li Hongjun to a mental hospital.

“Sister-in-law, have you ever had a whole roasted fat cow?” Chen Aidang interjected, trying to impress Su Xiangwan.

Su Xiangwan replied, “No.”

In her past life, she had eaten roasted lamb, but those were small lambs. To roast an entire cow would require a large space, and she didn’t believe anyone could roast a whole cow.

“Tonight, don’t leave. I’ll show you the kind of whole roasted cow that only our Republic’s soldiers can roast,” Chen Aidang boasted.

However, Su Xiangwan asked, “What exactly did Li Hongjun say that made you think he’s crazy?”

Chen Aidang explained, “He kept saying that there were bombs being planted on the dam, urging us to hurry up and check for bombs. For a whole week, we’ve been searching for bombs everywhere but found nothing. Obviously, his mind is not clear anymore, and he’s making everyone anxious.”

He changed the subject, “Song Tuan, you and Sister-in-law take a walk while I go prepare the cow.”

Su Xiangwan watched as Chen Aidang walked away, then said, “Song Qingshan, the bomb threat might actually be real. It’s not just Li Hongjun rambling.”

You see, Li Hongjun had been saying for at least a week that there were timed bombs, like a child shouting about a wolf coming, but no one believed him.

However, Song Qingshan immediately believed his wife’s words: “Did you read about it in the book?”

“The book only mentioned that something bad happened at your reservoir, and there had been warnings about it for a long time. But because the person was crazy, no one took it seriously. In the end, the disaster almost led to you, the Commissar, and the Deputy Commissar being reprimanded and even facing military law,” Su Xiangwan explained briefly.

The wind was strong on the dam, and with the heat, Song Qingshan wasn’t wearing his uniform, just a white shirt.

The sun shone on his buzz cut, making it look bright and blinding.

Then, Su Xiangwan waited for Song Qingshan to shout the line that male leads always shout in these kinds of situations in TV dramas: “How could you be so foolish, why didn’t you say it earlier?” or “You’re just talking nonsense. Nothing like that would happen.”

But Song Qingshan was Song Qingshan.

He stared at Su Xiangwan for a moment, then suddenly grabbed her and kissed her hard. “As expected from a soldier’s wife, you’re sharp and not muddled. Wait here, I’m going to handle the mines.”

He started running and shouted, “All soldiers, stand by! There’s an urgent task that needs to be executed immediately.”

The engineering troops, still working on the dam, had probably never seen the usually stern and serious commander suddenly kiss his wife.

A few of them whispered, “The commander really knows how to make a scene.”

It must be said, this person’s optimism, not doubting, not questioning, and facing difficulties without complaining, is truly admirable.

He always meets challenges head-on.

Li Hongjun, the madman, had been shouting for an entire week about there being landmines in the reservoir.

Everyone had searched through and through.

Today, on the weekend, everyone had relaxed a little, but now all their nerves were back on edge.

A loud assembly call rang out.

From the cave dwellings on the mountainside, the soldiers of the Liberation Army, in perfect order, quickly emerged.

Today was the weekend, and there were about 3,000 people in the unit; the rest were either on leave or out on missions.

But in just five minutes, these 3,000 people, either working or resting, were already assembled on the platform of the dam.

Looking out, the formation was so neat and orderly that it could cure even the worst cases of obsessive-compulsive disorder in the world.

Boys seem to have an incredible obsession with fishing, and the fish in the reservoir would rush to the surface the moment they saw food.

The three kids caught a fish and wanted to catch more.

There was a small tin bucket by the shore, and Gou Dan brought it over to use for storing the fish.

When they’d caught enough, they counted seven fish, each about a foot long.

“Brother, you’re really amazing,” Gou Dan said.

Li Chengze replied, “Then you two carry the bucket.”

“Of course, we won’t let you do all the work,” Lu Dan quickly said.

Lu Dan and Gou Dan had forgotten how they had initially rejected Li Chengze when he first arrived at Xiao Song Village.

Now, they were carrying the bucket, walking ahead.

At that moment, a boat docked at the shore, and a person from the boat asked, “Kids, whose children are you?”

Gou Dan pointed at himself and said, “I’m Song Xiling, and my dad is Song Qingshan.”

“Xiling, is it the Xiling over there?” The man, who was unloading things from his fishing boat, asked. “The mountain across from us is called Xiling.”

Gou Dan looked back and saw the towering mountain covered in lush greenery. The little guy puffed up his chest in pride, his pants almost falling off. “That’s right! My dad gave me that name.”

In fact, the reservoir was semi-open to the public.

Nearby villagers could come to the reservoir for fishing or simple boating activities, but only the dam area was still under strict surveillance.

Villagers from nearby towns, like those from Zhoujia Village, had a closer relationship with the military and often delivered vegetables and helped with work. They were quite familiar with the internal affairs of the military base.

The man who spoke was from Zhoujia Village.

The villagers there, just like in the earlier days at Xiaoqian Village, were often helping out the soldiers stationed at the reservoir.

They shared a strong bond with the military.

This man was named Zhou Duoduo, a fisherman who had been granted permission to fish legally at the reservoir.

Looking at the three kids, it was obvious who they were.

Lu Dan had strong brows, a sharp nose, and a resolute look—he looked just like Song Qingshan, the commander of the 307th Regiment.

“Song Xiling, right? Listen, you kids should leave here and get as far away from the hydroelectric station as possible, okay?” Zhou Duoduo said, sounding quite patient.

Lu Dan said, “My dad is at the reservoir today. We can’t go too far.”

“Well, the dam is windy, so don’t go there tonight, okay?” Zhou Duoduo advised again.

Lu Dan and Gou Dan both nodded obediently. “Okay!”

They were both cute and naive.

Zhou Duoduo smiled, waved, and was about to step onto the boat when suddenly, he staggered and collapsed onto his own boat.

In Li Chengze’s hand were two iron rods, clearly electrified.

He had used them to knock Zhou Duoduo unconscious.

“Brother, why are you attacking a good person?” Gou Dan asked.

Li Chengze quickly lifted the thin Gou Dan and started running, pulling Lu Dan along. “This person’s boat is full of bombs. Do you know what bombs are? I used the electric rods he uses to catch fish, and I knocked him out.”

Gou Dan wanted to look back. “At least let me take a look! I want to see the bombs.”

Lu Dan said, “You fool, bombs can blow people into the sky.”

Dragging and pulling, Li Chengze led his two brothers away at full speed.

Meanwhile, Su Xiangwan was anxiously looking for the kids.

As soon as they had arrived, the children had disappeared, and now, with Song Qingshan busy handling the bomb situation, she couldn’t even think about finding them.

She was searching everywhere when, from afar, she saw Li Chengze carrying Gou Dan, with Lu Dan leading the way.

The three kids were running toward her.

She was a little angry with Li Chengze for causing trouble, but it was the first time she had spanked him.

She grabbed him and smacked his bottom a few times. “Even if you’re not my son, you’re still a big brother. How can you run around with your little brothers like this?”

“Mom, don’t be angry! We went fishing for you,” Lu Dan quickly said.

Gou Dan was put down and added, “We caught seven fish!”

Another two slaps. “And you took my son to the water’s edge! Do you know how deep the reservoir is? If he fell in, both of you would drown!”

Li Chengze’s face turned pale, and he stood there for a moment, gritting his teeth, before saying, “A fisherman, driving a boat, had bombs on it?”

Su Xiangwan paused for a moment. “Where?”

“At the dock,” Li Chengze replied.

Su Xiangwan, being a sensible person, quickly reached out and patted his bottom. “You recognize bombs?”

“When my dad was alive, he worked in border security. I’ve seen all kinds of bombs. Today, I saw a timed bomb,” Li Chengze said.

Su Xiangwan gently rubbed his bottom again and said, “Good job, little one! Quickly, go tell your uncle!”

Song Qingshan and his team were currently inspecting bombs on the dam, but the area hadn’t expanded to the dock yet.

As soon as they heard about the bomb being at the dock, they immediately sent Liu Xiangdang from the artillery regiment to investigate.

Just as Song Qingshan breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that the bomb risk had been eliminated, a soldier came to report, saying that at the main floodgate of the dam, inside a valve hole, there was a timed bomb hanging.

Earlier, a soldier, not knowing how to handle it, had touched the button and accidentally started the countdown.

Now the bomb was already ticking.

“How many minutes left on the timer?” Song Qingshan asked.

The soldier replied, “5… 5 minutes.”

“Should we evacuate now?” Liu Xiangdang asked.

Song Qingshan responded, “Five minutes is not enough time to evacuate anyone. Start the emergency plan immediately to prevent a potential dam breach.”

At this point, they still didn’t know how powerful the bomb was, but a single bomb likely wouldn’t have too much of an impact on the entire dam.

However, they had to prepare for the worst and take preventive measures.

If the dam were to collapse, the entire Qingshui County would be destroyed.

Song Qingshan quickly removed his military uniform and turned to leave.

Though Su Xiangwan wasn’t knowledgeable about military matters, she had watched enough movies.

“Timed bomb? You’re the one who has to defuse it?” she asked.