The young man nicknamed Bull Shark smirked and said nonchalantly, "Hey, future Manager Zhou, what's the rush? The island troops are cracking down hard lately, we need some time."

Zhou Qiang said with dissatisfaction, "We had an agreement beforehand that this would be the last time, so you had better hurry up. Wu Huaiqing is investigating me recently, so don't give yourself away."

The longer this matter drags on, the worse it will be for him.

He's rich and powerful now, and he doesn't want to deal with these outlaws.

Bull Shark gave a perfunctory reply, "Just take care of the people in the next day or two."

"You'd better be careful, or you'll drag me down with you." With that, Zhou Qiang hurriedly left.

Bull Shark looked at him and sneered.

Once you're on our ship, you don't get to decide when to disembark.

As for Wu Huaiqing, his involvement with the island troops is a bit tricky, but it's not a big deal.

...

After returning home, Yu Yao performed routine maintenance on her bicycle, cleaning it thoroughly, and then planned to go to the cafeteria for lunch.

Lu Ze is away on a mission today and isn't home. She's also a bit tired and doesn't want to cook dinner.

When I got to the cafeteria, I saw on the blackboard that they were serving seafood platters today.

It's noticeable that the patrol boats have been going out to sea more frequently these days, and the canteen has been serving fresh seafood every day lately.

"Commander Lu's wife, we have a seafood platter today, spicy crab, and shrimp in gravy. What would you like?" The auntie serving food in the canteen was from the old family compound and had seen Yu Yao before. She asked her with a spoon in hand.

Yu Yao handed over the aluminum lunchbox containing the food, saying, "I'd like a seafood dumpling platter, a serving of shrimp in broth, a vegetable dish, and a bowl of rice. Thank you, comrade!"

The dumplings served in the canteen were priced according to the soldiers' appetites; each serving contained fifteen dumplings, and they were quite large.

We can take the leftover food to the factory for lunch tomorrow, since we're not worried about it spoiling in this weather.

"Seafood dumplings are 50 cents, shrimp are 30 cents, vegetables are 5 cents, rice noodles are 10 cents, plus two ounces of grain coupons, the total is... the total is..."

The cafeteria lady scooped her food in no time, but the problem arose when it came to calculating the bill.

Yu Yao said, "It's 95 cents plus two ounces of grain coupons in total."

"That's 95 cents in total. Workers are different; they can calculate faster than us!" The canteen lady returned the aluminum lunchbox to her and praised her.

Yu Yao counted the money and tickets, handed them over, closed the three-layer aluminum lunchbox, put it in a net bag, and carried it away.

After leaving the cafeteria, Yu Yao hurried home.

Halfway there, I saw a group of military wives rushing hurriedly towards the military hospital.

Sister-in-law Yu Feng was among them, her face filled with anxiety.

She was in such a hurry that she tripped and almost fell.

Fortunately, Yu Yao reacted quickly and helped her in time. "Sister-in-law Yu Feng, what's wrong? What happened?"

Song Yufeng's eyes were filled with tears; seeing Yu Yao was like seeing a family member.

"Yu Yao, the patrol boat we were on today encountered a group of vicious pirates. My husband, Lao Wu, was seriously injured and is still unconscious in the military hospital. Do you think he might... might he..."

Song Yufeng choked up at this point, her breathing became rapid, and she couldn't utter the last words no matter what she said.

Seeing that her expression was off, Yu Yao quickly comforted her, "Sister-in-law Yu Feng, take a deep breath, take a deep breath. Battalion Commander Wu will be alright. He hasn't even seen the baby born yet, he'll be fine. You have to be strong! Come on, take a deep breath with me, inhale—exhale—"

With her reassurance, Song Yufeng's breathing finally calmed down.

Remembering that Lu Ze had said he would be on patrol that day when he left this morning, Yu Yao felt a pang of anxiety.

"Sister-in-law Yufeng, I'll go with you to the military hospital."

The two arrived at the military hospital together, and before they even got there, they heard deafening cries coming from inside.

According to Sister-in-law Yu Feng, this group of pirates is different from the pirates of the past.

They not only possessed advanced weaponry, but were also exceptionally cunning. This time, they disguised themselves as stranded fishermen and, without a word, indiscriminately opened fire when the soldiers boarded the boat to rescue them.

The soldiers on the patrol boat suffered heavy casualties.

Upon arriving at the hospital, Yu Yao first took Song Yufeng to Battalion Commander Wu's ward, and then went to find a nurse to inquire about the list of casualties.

"What's your man's name? What's his job title?" the nurse asked.

"Lu Ze, he is the commander of the Third Regiment."

Upon hearing Lu Ze's name, the nurse closed the file and said, "Commander Lu is in room 405 on the fourth floor."

Upon hearing his name, Yu Yao's breath caught in her throat, and she quickly asked, "Is my man seriously injured?"

"I'm sorry, other colleagues are in charge of the specifics, I'm not aware of them."

Yu Yao thanked the nurse and found the fourth floor according to the floor signs.

She had just reached the fourth-floor stairwell when she saw someone coming out of the ward. Upon seeing her, the person turned around and left as if they had seen a ghost.

Upon recognizing Song Yiming, Yu Yao called out, "Company Commander Song?"

Upon hearing the sound, Song Yiming not only didn't stop, but walked even faster.

Yu Yao jogged over and stopped him, "Company Commander Song, why are you running?"

Song Yiming scratched the back of his head. "Oh, it's your sister-in-law. I didn't hear you earlier."

Yu Yao didn't call him out on it, but asked directly, "Where's your team leader?"

"Our commander hasn't returned yet. This mission is quite long, probably about another week." In a week, the commander's injuries shouldn't be visible when he's dressed.

Yu Yao looked at him, a half-smile on her face: "Not back yet?"

Song Yiming nodded earnestly, "Yes, he hasn't come back."

He's lying to her. As for why Song Yiming would do this, do you even need to think about it?

Someone must have made special arrangements, and the purpose is easy to guess: they wanted to hide the fact that he was injured so she wouldn't worry.

"Wasn't it supposed to be just an island patrol? They usually come back the same day, why is it taking so long this time?"

"Sister-in-law, you don't know, the area to be patrolled this time is large, and the troops are not manpower enough, so the regimental commander's tasks are naturally heavier. It's normal for it to take more time."

As soon as Song Yiming finished speaking, two nurses walked over from the stairwell.

The older nurse said to the younger nurse, "Commander Lu in bed 4053 needs his dressing changed. Go and change it for him in a bit."

"Commander Lu?" the young nurse asked excitedly. "Sister, is the Commander Lu you're talking about the one who won the title of 'King of Soldiers' three times in a row?"

"Yes, that's him. Here's his medication. Please change it for him in a bit, as I need to go to other wards."

Song Yiming: "..."

After the two nurses had walked away, Yu Yao looked at the silent Song Yiming and asked, "Company Commander Song, didn't your regimental commander not come back? Is this person in the ward his clone?"

Song Yiming chuckled twice and betrayed Lu Ze without thinking, "Sister-in-law, I didn't want to lie to you. The regimental commander said he was afraid you would worry, so he told me not to tell you. I was just following orders from my superiors."

Commander, I'm sorry.

"It's better to die than to die, my friend. Your sister-in-law can't do anything to you, so please bear with her."

"Alright, I know it's not your fault. Which ward is 405? Take me there."

When Song Yiming heard that Yu Yao even knew about room 405, he knew that she had come prepared, so he obediently led her to the door of room 405.

"Sister-in-law has arrived, the regimental commander is inside."