Chapter 56: First Signs Emerge

Chapter Fifty-Six: First Signs

Yu Hongxiu’s little mouth was cupped in Chen Cao’s palms, and she called out indistinctly, “Mmm... Brother Chen!”

“Shh, keep your voice down!” Chen Cao pressed her lips shut, then turned to the door and deliberately shouted, “What a beauty, what a voice—ha! Let me, the son of the Sun God, conquer you and grant you strength!”

With that, Chen Cao burst into a loud laugh, breathing heavily. Yet his eyes flashed viciously at the bewildered Yu Hongxiu, and from between clenched teeth he spat, “Scream!”

“Scream what?” Yu Hongxiu thought for an instant, her cheeks flushing, then played along and cried out, “No... ah!”

Watching this little beauty, unseen for days, giving her all in performance, Chen Cao’s heart gave an involuntary tremor. “Damn, good enough is good enough—does she have to be this professional? Our school really does have its share of oddballs.”

Following Yu Hongxiu’s cries, Chen Cao walked to the iron door and heard faint rustling outside, along with the occasional sound of someone swallowing. He quietly returned to Yu Hongxiu’s side and took her hand, quickly tracing words in her palm with his finger.

“How did you get here? What’s the situation?”

Yu Hongxiu’s big eyes rolled; she kept up her soft moaning act while writing rapidly in Chen Cao’s palm.

“It’s not good. Instructor Huang and Zhou Hongye were captured with me—I don’t know which room they’re in. They each have a signal transmitter, but there’s been no contact for a long time. I was brought here with them but locked up in the women’s cell!”

Chen Cao’s brows furrowed as he wrote,

“You all have advanced signal transmitters—why can’t you contact headquarters?”

Yu Hongxiu frowned, thought for a moment, and wrote,

“We walked into a trap.”

“What!” Chen Cao traced her slender fingers across his hand, looking at her in confusion.

Yu Hongxiu’s large eyes sparkled with a slight smile as she continued,

“Our mission this time was to search for the Crimson Iron Army.”

“The Crimson Iron Army!”

Chen Cao realized something was amiss. The Crimson Iron Army was a terrorist group active on the Dachen border, often launching attacks and vowing to restore the newly liberated region of New Ili, which Dachen had freed fifty years ago, and to resurrect the old Ili state. Government forces had tried many times to crush them but failed. The army was shrouded in mystery, often hiding in snowy mountains and fighting guerrilla wars against the military. Over the years, many soldiers had been lost, but the masterminds remained a mystery—no living prisoners had ever been taken.

He wrote,

“The Crimson Iron Army! Do you suspect they’re involved in this war?”

Yu Hongxiu replied, “Initially, we got intel that they would send a force to join this conflict. So Zhou Hongye, Instructor Huang, and I came to Audelu to collect information. It was a routine task. We never saw Crimson Iron Army fighters on the battlefield, and the Justice Alliance Army kept winning, gradually taking control of most of Audelu. We realized if we kept investigating, we’d be exposed, so we prepared to withdraw. But then we noticed a mysterious group of black-cloaked warriors on the battlefield, swiftly seizing the initiative in the guerrilla campaign. Instructor Huang decided to pursue them, and that’s how we ended up here!”

“Black-cloaked warriors again—could they be a new force raised by the Crimson Iron Army?” Chen Cao rapidly recalled all information on that terrorist group.

Yu Hongxiu continued, “We shouldn’t talk much now—finding Instructor Huang and the others is the priority. At first, we were still in contact, but when we entered here, our signals were suddenly jammed. We couldn’t send out intel, and I’ve been locked up here for over a month. Today is the first time I’ve seen you.”

After writing this, Yu Hongxiu’s eyes dimmed and glistened with tears.

Chen Cao patted her shoulder gently in comfort, feeling a subtle sense of relief. First, Huang Tianyu and Zhou Hongye were here, so their whereabouts were now accounted for. Second, given Zhou Hongye’s military training, survival was not impossible, and as for elite intelligence officer Huang Tianyu, there was even less to worry about. Third, now that their targets were found, the question was how to locate them—a solvable problem.

Of course, the contingency plan assigned by Duan Tianya—to bring back their bodies or see them alive—was a last resort.

Chen Cao exhaled slowly and wrote in her palm, “Don’t worry, Hongxiu. I was ordered by the school committee to support you all. Chen Diwen and the others are outside waiting. Rest assured, we’ll find Huang Tianyu and Zhou Hongye.”

Yu Hongxiu nodded seriously.

Chen Cao stood up and surveyed the room. Finding neither surveillance cameras nor recording devices, he whispered in Mandarin, “Now, it’s time to act.”

Sitting on the bed hugging her knees, Yu Hongxiu’s cheeks blushed, but she moved with remarkable speed, quickly stripping off her outer and inner garments and her pants—then dived under the covers with a swish.

Meanwhile, Chen Cao bit his finger, letting a few drops of blood stain the sheet, and smiled, “That looks more convincing.”

Yu Hongxiu peeked out from under the blanket, only half her face showing, clearly embarrassed.

Chen Cao went to the door, signaled “OK” to Yu Hongxiu, then suddenly flung the door wide open. The guard eavesdropping outside tumbled in, his face covered in a thick beard, his robe voluminous. But his cheeks were flushed, and a damp patch had spread across his robe.

Chen Cao helped him up with a smile, noticing the guard’s eyes were locked on the white bedding covering Yu Hongxiu, and the bloodstains on the bed seemed to cast a spell.

He raised his hands to the east, gazed into the faint light, and cried out in Gabonese, “Thanks be to the True God for granting me strength and making me a great warrior!” Then, regardless whether the guard understood him or not, he patted the guard’s shoulders, muttered a stream of gibberish, glanced at the bed, and walked out.

Indeed, there is a kind of communication that knows no language barrier—the most primal instinct. The big-bearded guard swallowed hard, his eyes glowing green. Without closing the door, he put his AK against the wall, then leaped toward the bed.

He clearly understood Chen Cao’s meaning.

Chen Cao pulled the door nearly shut and ran into two patrolling guards. Seeing Chen Cao emerge, they looked surprised and gripped their weapons. But Chen Cao just smiled, stepped aside to show the gap in the door, and let them glance in. They caught a glimpse of the rustling blanket on the bed and the discarded robe on the floor, grinned lasciviously, gave Chen Cao a thumbs-up, laughed, and walked away without looking back.

Watching them go, Chen Cao breathed a quiet sigh of relief. He felt a faint pulsing on his back—this wasn’t the first time. What was on his back? He reached around and slapped it—the pulsing stopped. The moment he let go, it started again, this time in a distinct rhythm.

Of course—Morse code! Could it be that when Mosika tended his gunshot wound, she attached a transmitter to his back? Was he not searching for her objective, but serving as a living beacon?

At this thought, Chen Cao’s expression darkened. For this Kolkrat special forces woman, his peer, he resolved: Mosika must not be allowed to live.

With a creak, the door opened gently. The “guard” in the loose robe emerged, face covered, and nodded at Chen Cao.

“It seems, little Hongxiu, you’ve grown up quite a bit in these two years—and improved fast!” Chen Cao said in Mandarin, smiling.

The “guard” pinched his arm hard with delicate fingers, hefted her weapon, and said nothing. But Chen Cao understood—it was a signal to begin.

He tapped on her arm in the basic school code, “Do you know the way around here?”

Yu Hongxiu shook her head.

Chen Cao thought for a second, then grinned slyly, “Are you afraid of bugs or little animals?”

Yu Hongxiu stared at him, puzzled.

With a chuckle, Chen Cao pulled a furry, gray creature from his pocket. “This can lead you out of here. Once you’re above, someone will meet you. Just keep this transmitter with you—I’ll find Instructor Huang and Zhou Hongye, and we’ll regroup with you. With your disguise skills and training, you’ll be fine, right?”

He placed the mouse and the button-sized transmitter in her hand.

Yu Hongxiu stared at the furry thing, shivering with goosebumps. A mouse—could it really lead her to the exit?

But seeing Chen Cao’s confidence, she said nothing, only whispered, “Brother Chen, be careful!”

“Go on, then. Otherwise, we’ll be discovered soon—time is short!” Chen Cao smiled, his fingers already tapping out signals to Mosika. He estimated she and her team were near the base by now.

Flame King 56: End of Chapter Fifty-Six—First Signs

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