He was taken hostage and placed under house arrest inside the nuclear reactor.

"He was taken hostage and placed under house arrest inside the nuclear reactor."

77.

All the changes happened three days later.

Upon arriving in Country X, Meng Lanjian discovered that the university wouldn't renew visas for students in her major, only allowing them to retain a single-entry visa valid for two years. Leaving Country X before completing her studies might prevent her from obtaining her degree. Just as Lanjian was at her wit's end, she realized she couldn't contact Chongming anymore. Her parents and family had also suddenly blocked her access to their messages. Three days later, Li Ying suddenly flew in from Country C. Li Ying held multiple citizenships, making entry into Country X much easier than for Lanjian, but he brought with him the devastating news that the nuclear research institute had fallen.

"What does 'fall' mean? I don't understand." This was the first time Lan Jian had ever heard this word in real life. Her mind was buzzing, and her neural synapses went on strike for a moment because the surge of stimulation was too intense. She opened her eyes with a hoarse voice.

She heard Li Ying's hoarse voice in her ear, "On September 13th, the Nuclear Research Institute was surrounded by the garrison troops. They used the lives of 127 teachers, students, and staff members from the back mountain as hostages to force all the Southern Army to withdraw from the nuclear reactor. Commander Lu personally negotiated with Zheng Shanshui, the leader of the garrison. Zheng Shanshui's condition for the peace talks was that the nuclear peace treaty would not be renewed with Bei Luan."

"Why would the Zheng family suddenly launch an offensive...? The nuclear peace treaty expires in less than four months, and they..." Lan Jian's already pale face grew even paler as a fleeting thought crossed her mind, "Could it be that they're doing this for..."

"Because they know that the son of the Lu family has married the granddaughter of the old garrison commander. The nuclear reactor was originally heavily guarded. When the nuclear research institute was attacked, your husband was at the center of the reactor. He led half of the troops to rescue it, but the moment he left the reactor, he was surrounded by an entire battalion of elite soldiers sent by the garrison. Commander Lu did not agree to Zheng Shanshui's conditions, and the two sides are deadlocked. The teachers and students of Nanlu University are now gathered outside the nuclear research institute on the back mountain, staging a sit-in protest in front of the armed forces. The old director of the nuclear research institute also negotiated with Zheng Shanshui the day before yesterday, but after the negotiation, no one saw the old director come out again. The old director is probably... doomed."

teacher……

The scenery before Meng Lanjian collapsed with a crash. Amidst the flashing white light and the overwhelming sense of dizziness, she searched for her own voice, "Then, what about Chongming?"

Li Ying helped Meng Lanjian up and carried her to the sofa. He didn't want to say anything more, but Meng Lanjian suddenly woke up from the darkness before her eyes. She mustered all her strength and grabbed Li Ying's sleeve, "Brother Ying, where's Chongming?"

Li Ying and Meng Lanjian had been close since childhood, and he was used to her carefree and innocent nature. Now, her life was taking a dramatic turn for the worse, and everyone who knew the truth wanted to keep it from her and protect her. Only he stood up and resolutely came to tell her the truth. The nuclear research institute in Nanlu had fallen, and Lanjian, as the last student there, could never return. If she did not continue her studies in Country X now, she would not be able to obtain her doctoral degree.

Therefore, Menglanjian cannot return to the southern foothills.

Li Ying ignored the bloody and violent process and sighed softly:

"He was taken hostage and placed under house arrest inside the nuclear reactor."

Lan Jian breathed a sigh of relief; thankfully, he was still alive.

"Lanjian, you need to calm down right now, old director."

"He's the one who signed the nuclear peace treaty; he'd definitely want it to continue. Now I'm asking you, what did your uncle... Yan Jisheng say to you before he died? Only I can help you get the message to Nanlu now."

After a moment of silence, Lan Jian looked at his smart speaker and said, "Bandai Robot No. 1, I am Lan Jian."

The smart speaker emitted a special sound effect, and a few seconds later, a standard AI female voice replaced Xiuyun's aged voice, "Hello, voiceprint recognition has been successful."

"Can you draw?"

Listening to Lan Jian's rambling conversation, Li Ying couldn't help but feel a sense of inexplicable tension.

"Hello, Bandai Robot No. 1 can't draw."

"So, who can draw?"

"Today's auto-start program is Bandai Robot No. 5."

"May I transfer to number five?"

After a series of sound effects, Meng Lanjian successfully identified the voiceprint again and asked the same question. After a brief three-second pause, a male voice suddenly came from the speaker.

"Hello, Lanjian."

"Please print today's manuscript code."

"Okay, printing for you... Printing complete. Do you need any further assistance?"

"No need, please exit Bandai Robot Initialization Mode."

"Okay, you can call me directly using your personal voiceprint next time you need me. I'll log off now."

Even though Meng Lanjian's mother was a bionic robot expert, Li Ying had never seen such a convoluted voiceprint retrieval method before. He couldn't help but ask Lanjian, "Was that voice just now... Yan Jisheng's?"

Lan Jian closed her eyes, tacitly agreeing. Li Ying took the "manuscript code" full of code and asked Lan Jian, "Is there anything you want to say to your husband? If possible, I will help you convey it."

Without the slightest hesitation, Meng Lanjian said firmly, "Then please help me convey his message: war is the cruelest thing in the world."

Li Ying was stunned. Why was this said to the person who was under house arrest because of the war? But he didn't ask any more questions. Time was of the essence, so he found someone to take care of Lan Jian and hurriedly headed to the southern foothills.

Lan Jian lay on the sofa, her eyes still closed, and after a long while she murmured, "Uncle, are you there?"

The unique voiceprint was activated, and the deep, middle-aged male voice sounded again, "Hello, Lanjian."

Can you draw?

"I can draw, and I've taught you to draw."

"Can that painting you saved really stop the war? Is stopping war with war truly the last resort?"

"Sorry, I don't understand what you're saying. Could you repeat it?"

There was no further echo in the empty room.

Li Ying's departure lasted for two years. After leaving Country X, he never contacted Lan Jian again.

Meng Lanjian never received any further news about Chongming.