A bout of illness affected both the child and the adults. Qi Xiaoqi’s originally chubby, fair cheeks had slimmed down, but he was only a three-month-old baby who couldn’t eat much, causing the adults great distress.

Cheng Su herself was worried, and she often woke up at night to check on the baby for signs of fever, losing sleep and weight in the process—so much so that she didn’t need to bother with dieting.

Fortunately, Qi Xiaoqi recovered gradually on his own, finally allowing Cheng Su and the others to breathe a sigh of relief.

Qi Taiguo was also anxious, having slept poorly for several days and nights, which left him irritable and affected the training of the soldiers under him.

October weather was gradually cooling, but on the military district’s training grounds, the young soldiers were still running with weight while shirtless.

"Report." The communications soldier came, saluted Qi Taiguo, and said, "Deputy Battalion Commander Qi, the regimental commander has an order, assemble in Meeting Room 1."

Qi Taiguo nodded, handed the registration book in his hand to the company commander below, and headed to the meeting room himself. What could be the matter?

In the meeting room, a few people were already seated waiting. Qi Taiguo took a seat and asked Gao Linbing beside him, "What’s the situation?"

"Not sure yet!" Gao Linbing glanced at him, shrugged, and gave a faint smile.

The regimental commander was no longer Regimental Commander Mai, who had been promoted to commissar. The new arrival was Regimental Commander Shen, dressed in a well-fitting uniform, carrying a file under his arm, who walked in.

Qi Taiguo and the others stood up.

"Sit." He gestured for them to sit down, opened the folder, and said, "I’ve called everyone together because we have a mission from above that requires action."

Qi Taiguo sat up slightly. What mission could be so important, with only deputy battalion commanders and company commanders present?

"One of our intelligence officers obtained crucial intelligence in Japan and holds a list of spies hidden within our country. They are now entering through East Province from Country H, and our military needs to send someone to receive them. This is an official document." Regimental Commander Shen passed the folder down.

Qi Taiguo took it first, scanning through it quickly, including the photo of the intelligence officer, then passed it to Gao Linbing beside him.

Gao Linbing looked at the person in the photo, pursed his lips slightly, then passed it to the next person.

"This intelligence officer is extremely important to our military because he holds the list of Japanese spies hidden within our country, so it’s crucial to ensure his safe return." Regimental Commander Shen continued, "Due to its importance, the enemy country is also tracking this intelligence officer and has dispatched mercenaries to hunt him down, so there is a possibility of him disguising himself upon entry, and there is also the possibility of mercenaries tracking his entry..."

Mercenaries, willing to serve for money regardless of who it is, seem to indicate that the intelligence officer truly holds the list. Otherwise, the other party wouldn’t be so tense.

Indeed, if this list were seized by our military, the enemy spies lurking domestically wouldn’t escape being purged! 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

Regimental Commander Shen spoke about the difficulties of this mission, as the opposing side had deployed mercenaries, so the team sent to receive him needed to be carefully selected as well.

"Deputy Battalion Commander Qi, you and Deputy Battalion Commander Gao are responsible for selecting the personnel for this mission. Ensure they are elite soldiers, and deploy by morning." Regimental Commander Shen instructed Qi Taiguo.

"Yes!"

"Meeting adjourned!" Regimental Commander Shen stood up and left.

Everyone who attended the meeting also left, but Gao Linbing still sat motionless. Qi Taiguo nudged him, "What are you daydreaming about? Go and select the personnel!"

Gao Linbing sighed, resignedly stood up, and said, "Born to toil."

Qi Taiguo chuckled in resignation, putting an arm around his shoulder as they walked out.