Village Doctor's Women-Chapter 120: Cai Kai failed.

This place was quite special; once inside, the mobile signal dropped to a single bar. This meant there was either no signal tower nearby or some other form of interference was at play.

After watching Feng Yan and his team go in, Cai Kai parked the van in an inconspicuous spot in the woods. A vehicle left on the curb would have been a dead giveaway that someone was here.

Cai Kai parked the van and immediately began checking the equipment inside. Using the signal scanner, he located the nearby base stations. After confirming the weak signal was a local problem, he started searching for other sources of interference.

While he hadn’t brought much equipment, it was sufficient for detecting interference. He couldn’t isolate the frequency band, but he did notice some anomalies in the electronic readouts that pointed to something peculiar.

The radio was filled with static, forcing Cai Kai to warn, "Captain, the magnetic field here is strong. Ridiculously strong. Be careful. The signal could cut out at any moment."

"KRSHHH..." A burst of static crackled in his earpiece, followed by Feng Yan’s voice. "Confirmed. I hear it too."

"Alright, I’m boosting the signal," Cai Kai said as he tinkered with the equipment in the van. The loud crackling vanished, but a faint static remained.

"You guys be careful," Cai Kai added. "If the signal cuts out, pull back immediately."

"Got it. If we go dark and you don’t get an update from us within fifteen minutes, you can call for reinforcements."

No one objected. It was standard operating procedure.

However, just as Cai Kai finished speaking, he felt an itch on the back of his neck, as if something was crawling on him. Before he could scratch it, a sharp, stinging pain, like a mosquito bite, shot through the spot.

When he reached up to touch it, he found nothing. Cai Kai didn’t think much of it. It was summer, after all, and mosquitoes were common.

A few minutes later, Cai Kai realized something was wrong. He tried hailing the captain and his team on the radio, but no matter how many times he called, there was no response. His equipment showed no signs of interference, yet he couldn’t reach them. He also tried his cellphone. It had a signal, but his calls to Feng Yan and the others wouldn’t connect.

Although they usually turned off their phones before a mission, they hadn’t this time. The automated "the number you have dialed is not in service" message left Cai Kai stunned.

Something’s wrong!

Though Cai Kai wasn’t from a military background, his experience on several missions had sharpened his instincts.

Frowning, Cai Kai scratched the back of his head, trying to soothe the itching spot on his neck as he reached for the van door.

"These mosquitoes are something else," he muttered. "This is getting maddening."

He finally noticed that the spot where he’d been bitten had swollen into a large, painful welt. It grew itchier and hurt more the more he touched it.

Before he could react, his entire body went limp, and he tumbled out of the van, landing face-first in the dirt.

He had lost all control of his body. Like a stroke victim, he lay with half his face buried in the mud, his eyes wide with terror as he stared in a single direction.

Over there... stood a person.

It’s an ambush.

The thought screamed through Cai Kai’s mind. The person walking toward him was none other than Gao Yang, the man they had been tracking.

Cai Kai’s mind reeled. Why was Gao Yang here? Where were Feng Yan and the others?

Gao Yang’s expression darkened as he looked down at the helpless Cai Kai. He recognized the chubby man—he was the technician who had come to fix his internet a while back.

Now it was obvious this had all been a setup. Otherwise, how could a simple telecom technician happen to follow him to this godforsaken place?

With a dark expression, Gao Yang kicked Cai Kai, venting his frustration and lingering fear.

That was close.

If Mr. Chen hadn’t told him to wait here, they would’ve been caught today. If what they were doing was exposed, no one could protect them. The thought alone was terrifying. They would lose everything, not just their lives. There wouldn’t be a single trace of them left.

Gao Yang peered into Cai Kai’s van and saw it was filled with professional equipment, like something out of a Hollywood spy movie.

He took out a phone and made a call. "Mr. Chen, you were right. Someone was following us. They look like professionals." 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"...Are they from the Cai Family?"

"I don’t know. I’ve never seen him before. But the equipment is extensive. He could be a private investigator hired by the Cai Family." As he spoke, Gao Yang nudged Cai Kai with his foot. He met Cai Kai’s furious glare without a trace of fear.

In Gao Yang’s mind, Cai Kai’s portly, nerdy appearance fit the image of a private investigator perfectly.

The line went silent for a moment, followed by some rustling before a voice asked, "How many are there?"

Gao Yang started. He had only seen the one man. After a quick look around to confirm, he replied, "Just one. A heavyset guy. Doesn’t look like much."

"Alright, bring him here."

After Gao Yang hung up, Mr. Chen was lost in thought.

Although paralyzed, Cai Kai could clearly see everything Gao Yang was doing. When he saw Gao Yang’s phone working perfectly, he realized the truth. This place was bizarre. He hadn’t detected any jamming signals, yet his radio had died. He had blamed the magnetic field, but Gao Yang’s functioning cellphone proved otherwise.

Cai Kai concluded that Feng Yan’s team must have gone to the wrong place. Gao Yang’s group wasn’t in the village; otherwise, his phone wouldn’t work either.

Cai Kai desperately wanted to get this information out, but in his condition, it was impossible. He still didn’t know what kind of bug had bitten him. All he could do was blink, and waves of pain pulsed from the back of his neck. He had a sinking feeling that if this kept up, he was going to die.

While Cai Kai’s mind was racing, Gao Yang began dragging him away. Just as Cai Kai suspected, they weren’t heading toward the village.

Behind the dilapidated village, a cave was hidden deep within the hills.

Inside, old incandescent bulbs cast a dim, yellowish glow, but it was bright enough to make out the surroundings.

The walls were covered in strange, carved symbols and hung with the carcasses of various animals, mostly cattle and sheep.

In the center of the cave stood a stone altar. A person lay atop it, their body covered in bizarre patterns that matched the symbols on the walls.

The man Gao Yang had called Mr. Chen stood beside the stone altar. His full name was Chen Xi, and he was a man in his forties or fifties with a white buzz cut, a square jaw, and an expressionless face. His eyes were cold. After putting his phone away, Chen Xi’s brow furrowed.

Gao Yang was just a street thug with little real-world experience, making him careless. If not for Chen Xi’s foresight—setting up defenses using snakes and insects—Gao Yang would never have intercepted their pursuer.

Chen Xi wasn’t surprised that Gao Yang had caught someone, but he was surprised there was only one. He wasn’t afraid of private investigators; he was afraid of this nation’s guardians.

Damn it. He had told Gao Yang to bring the man back alive, rather than dispose of him immediately, for one reason: to confirm if word of their activities had gotten out.

If it weren’t for the fact that only this location possesses this specific configuration and life-vein, I would never have returned to this godforsaken place.

「...」

Although Feng Yan’s team sent daily updates, Wang Jian remained anxious. He was constantly on edge, worried a virus might suddenly appear out of nowhere. He wasn’t concerned for himself, but he feared for Xu Qian’s safety.

Fortunately, there had been some good news over the last few days. The Gu Poison afflicting the Cai Family’s Cai Xing and Cai Wenji had been completely cleansed. The family had also taken the opportunity to clean house at their company. As a result, Cai Qiong had returned home and hadn’t been around for days, which gave Wang Jian a much-needed break. He and Xu Qian spent their days enjoying their time alone together.

Xu Qian was just as happy, content to lounge around the house with Wang Jian. Their days weren’t just for playing battle royale games at night; in the morning, she would often wake him by climbing right on top of him, eager to enjoy the blissful start to their day.

Their routine was simple: they played until they were tired, slept until they were rested, and made simple meals whenever they felt hungry. With Cai Qiong gone, there was no one to disturb them or cause them worry. The two of them couldn’t have been happier.

News also came from Cai Qiong. Wang Xiang’s condition had improved significantly, his mental state suppressed, but it was all due to medication. The moment he stopped taking his medicine, he would exhibit violent tendencies and experience hallucinations.

Even Cai Qiong was helpless; the treatment would be a long process. Wang Jian was completely out of his depth on the matter and had no solutions to offer.

Wang Jian knew Xu Qian wasn’t interested, so he didn’t mention it. However, there was one piece of news that did capture his attention.

Lying in Wang Jian’s arms, Xu Qian lazily drew circles on his chest with her finger. "Did you know we have guests in the village from the Capital City?" she asked.

"The Capital City?" The name immediately piqued his interest. Then a thought struck him, and he grinned teasingly at her. "Wait a minute. You’ve been with me constantly. How could you know about this when I don’t?"

Xu Qian rolled her eyes playfully. "I was just about to tell you," she chided. "I glanced at my phone. That girl, Ren Yu, sent me a message saying her classmate came to visit."

"So her classmate came to visit. What’s the big deal? Why the long face?"

"Would you let me finish!" Xu Qian lightly slapped his chest. "Why do you always have to interrupt? I was getting to the problem."

Without waiting for his reaction, she continued, "Xiao Yu said her dad is trying to play matchmaker. Apparently, her classmate is a top student from their school and came bearing lots of expensive gifts. It’s annoying her to no end."

"She’s asking if she can come here for a bit to lie low. What do you think? Should we let her?"