Chapter Two: A Bad Man, a Lunchbox, Tongzi Won’t Take Advantage of You

It took Bai Chu quite a while to come back to her senses. "You mean, this is a bad person, and you're using him to trade for food?"

5188 nodded. Remembering how Wang Lianjun had addressed her just now, she called out in a childish voice, "Regimental!"

She hesitated for a moment before uttering another word: "Trade!"

Only then did Bai Chu realize that the little girl before her didn't seem to speak very fluently.

"So you're saying this is a bad person?" Bai Chu said, and Wang Lianjun moved as if to drag the man up.

But 5188 warily took a step back, even giving the man on the ground a small kick to push him behind her. "Trade!"

Wang Lianjun was taken aback, but Bai Chu understood her meaning. "Go, get a meal for the little girl!"

"Yes!"

Wang Lianjun immediately went to the hospital cafeteria to fetch some food.

The aroma from the metal lunchbox made 5188 unconsciously lick her lips.

This was her first meal since becoming human, no longer a system. Back in the apocalypse, both Grandma and Grandpa would drink nutrient solution and tell her how delicious real food was.

Now, could she finally taste it herself?

Carefully, 5188 took the lunchbox from Wang Tiejun's hands, paying no mind to how the two men would handle the bad guy, and devoted herself wholly to eating.

Her body, almost on its own, picked up the chopsticks and brought a piece of meat to her mouth. The moment she tasted it, her eyes lit up. At last, she understood what Grandma meant by "rich but not greasy."

Bai Chu and Wang Lianjun watched the little girl happily squinting as she ate, her legs swinging as she sat on the bench. Both couldn't help but smile at the sight.

Yet when their gaze shifted to the hospital room, the smiles faded into gravity.

"First, take this man to the nurse's station and have a doctor look at him!"

Remembering how the little girl had confidently declared the man a bad person, Bai Chu's voice paused before he continued, "Assign someone to keep watch! If it turns out we've wronged him, we'll pay his medical expenses and go apologize."

Wang Lianjun agreed, hesitated a moment, then asked, "Should we tell Madam Jiang about Jiang Jing? Earlier, when we suppressed Jiang Jing's discharge report and had him sent home to recover, we already notified Madam Jiang to pick him up. She's still waiting in the military district."

Bai Chu couldn't help scratching his hair, cursing under his breath in frustration. "What a mess this is!"

The best recruit under his command had, because of a mission, two pieces of shrapnel—one lodged in his knee, the other near his heart. No matter the circumstances, he was no longer fit to remain in the army.

Upon learning his condition, Jiang Jing had immediately requested to retire from service.

But Bai Chu couldn't bear to let him go. He'd suppressed the application, sent Jiang Jing home to recover, and intended to find a way to transfer him to logistics. Who could have foreseen yet another incident like this?

"Notify her," he said at last, after a long silence. "We can't keep this hidden."

Night fell.

An elderly figure, her steps unsteady, hurried through the entrance of the hospital.

Jiang Hua, in the wake of overwhelming grief, felt only a strange calm.

Since her eldest daughter-in-law's disappearance, the Jiang family's days had been bleak. Even though her husband was the village head, troubles came one after another. She'd gone from heartbreak to numbness.

Sometimes, she even wondered if her daughter-in-law's mother believed she had failed to keep her promise—had failed to protect her daughter—and now retribution had come to her family.

Back then, the Bai family had saved both her and her husband. Madam Bai had even given her life for their eldest son, yet the Jiang family hadn't managed to protect the Bai family's only descendant.

Lost in thought, Jiang Hua didn't notice the look of shock on her son's commander when he saw her.

"Commander Bai, how is my Xiaojing? Is he... is he able to be moved home yet?"

At the very least, let the child return to his roots.

Bai Chu hesitated as he looked at the elderly woman, her hair white on one side. Before he could find the words, a clear, joyful voice rang out beside them.

"Grandma!"