...
Due to the injuries sustained by the Special Machine Armor Group of the Fourth Military Region, the soldiers currently stationed at Ancient Zhonghao were responsible for the search operation. These young officers, all below the age of 20, were considered the cream of the crop and hailed from the Westwood Military Academy. Despite their young age, they possessed exceptional abilities and outstanding examination results, which granted them the privilege to visit the Eastwood Grand District. At present, they all belonged to elite special forces brigades with sufficient strength to operate in the Fourth Military Region. However, their future was destined to be on the frontline of the ongoing war between the Federal and Empire forces. Their surroundings and personal growth experiences instilled in them a sense of pride. Nevertheless, in recent days, they had been unable to locate the whereabouts of the young lady, which led to immense frustration, dampening their spirits and fueling their impatience.
Among these officers from Westwood Military Academy, Zhou Jin was widely recognized as their leader. He possessed both exceptional personal strength and exemplary leadership skills, including his sole orchestration of the surprise attack life-saving plan at present.
At the age of 20, Zhou Jin was a handsome young man with a distinct military aura reflected in his youthful features. As he looked at the young person before him, his brows slightly furrowed. This individual couldn't be a professional, as it would be impossible for them not to have noticed the sound of their group's attack. Yet, why did this person remain so calm under the threat of so many firearms? Could this young person have kidnapped the young lady and managed to elude capture for so many days? An underlying anxiety welled up within Zhou Jin, but he did not hesitate in his actions. He directly disarmed the young person who held the young lady.
...
A resounding noise reverberated, and Zhou Jin's heart sank. He discovered a sharp pain in his wrist, realizing that his hand was now empty. His brow furrowed again, pondering how this person's capturing technique could be so peculiar that he failed to observe how the young person disarmed him.
Seated on the bedside, Xu Le raised his forearm to block the soldier's extended hand, using his right hand to shield the little girl behind him. He watched the soldier vigilantly and asked, "Who are you?"
Xu Le's composure surprised Zhou Jin. Not anyone could remain so calm in the face of numerous guns aimed at them. This was because the young gentlemen officers of the military academy were unaware that Xu Le had experienced a similar situation a month ago when he had to keep his cool to protect the little girl by his side. With the small watermelon still hidden behind his back, Xu Le clutched a corner of a snow-white towel, ensuring that the towel covered the little girl's head, shielding her from the chilling sight of the gun muzzles.
Xu Le asked his question, but nobody answered. In the eyes of these proud young gentlemen officers from Westwood, this young person was the criminal who had kidnapped the young lady, and they despised him intensely. Who would engage in conversation with a criminal? Especially when the young lady was still in his grasp.
The robust officer lunged forward and delivered a ruthless elbow strike to Xu Le's neck. In such a confined space, they couldn't risk opening fire carelessly, prioritizing the safety of the young lady. It was imperative to subdue the criminal first before separating him from the young lady. Observing the elbow strike land directly on its target, the officers from Westwood Military Academy felt a sense of relief, and even Zhou Jin, who remained vigilant, relaxed slightly. The muzzles of their guns were lowered as they prepared to separate the criminal from the young lady.
In the eyes of these privileged officers from Westwood, anyone hit on the back of the head with an elbow strike would faint immediately. However, to their surprise, Zhou Jin's hand came away empty, and the young criminal didn't fall. Instead, he retreated, still protecting the little girl behind him with the white towel, moving towards the corner of the room near the window.
Zhou Jin's eyes narrowed in response.
Xu Le cautiously lowered the hand that had been protecting his neck and wiped the blood from the corner of his lips. He had reacted instinctively, following the defensive technique he had learned, allowing his palm to quickly enter the opponent's range and cleverly deflecting the force of the elbow strike.
However, the situation in the room hadn't changed. Xu Le, with multiple guns aimed at him, didn't dare to make any sudden moves or attempt to break free. He continued to shield the small watermelon behind him, sensing that something was amiss. Trying to explain himself seemed futile at this moment. If these people were truly the unscrupulous individuals the small watermelon had mentioned, what should he do? It was a matter he needed to consider.
The officers from Westwood Military Academy, consumed by their anger, didn't give Xu Le an opportunity to argue. Without confirming whether he was carrying a weapon, they swiftly descended upon him, delivering numerous blows simultaneously. The intense pain caused Xu Le to curl up, while the little watermelon hidden behind the white towel was snatched away by the military officers, distancing her from Xu Le.
Just then, a cold voice sounded from outside the room, "Hit him again until he's unrecognizable."
The stern-faced captain entered the room, his gaze falling upon the safe and unharmed little girl held by the military officer. He felt a slight sense of relief and hurriedly approached her, making sure she hadn't been injured.
"Stop hitting my big brother!" The small watermelon's voice came out in a shrill cry from under the white towel. Her clear childlike voice was filled with anger. Suddenly, she raised her head, throwing the white towel aside, and glared angrily at the soldiers who were suppressing Xu Le on the floor.
The room fell into a sudden silence as the white fabric fluttered down, revealing the young girl's innocent face with her black, tousled hair.
"Young lady...!" The captain held the little girl, preparing to take her away from this place to protect her from any further trauma. However, to his surprise, once the small watermelon was in his embrace, she immediately began to struggle, shouting at the top of her voice and wildly flailing her hands, like a small, ferocious tiger. In her frenzy, she accidentally scratched the captain's face, drawing a faint trace of blood and causing him to cry out in alarm.
"Let go of my big brother!"
...
...
"Name," the captain demanded.
After hesitating for a moment, Xu Le, who was wiping away the blood from his lip, replied, "Xu Le."
"Place of origin?"
"Occupation?"
"I can't believe it. You're a discharged
soldier," the captain remarked, lifting his wrist as he awaited confirmation of the information. He raised his head and looked at Xu Le with a cold, sinister expression. "According to the regulations of the Federal Outer Space, I have limited law enforcement authority on this spaceship. I am arresting you for the crime of kidnapping a minor."
Kidnapping a minor was a serious offense in the federation, carrying a sentence of no less than seven years in prison, up to the death penalty. Xu Le licked his cracked lip and stared back at the captain, observing the bloodstains on his face. He sneered, "I'd like to see your work identification, and I want to see Zhong Yanhua's parents' authorization. I am a retired soldier with no law enforcement authority, but I have reasons to suspect that you're attempting to kidnap a girl. Unless you kill me, I will report this to the police station after we disembark."
The captain looked at Xu Le as if he were a monster, a look of disbelief on his face. After a long silence, he suddenly chuckled, "Are you joking?"
"I'm not joking. If you have her family's authorization, I have reasons to doubt your intentions," Xu Le said, realizing that his tongue tasted somewhat metallic. He had finally noticed the foul play that had been going on.
"Fine, I can provide those to you. But how do you explain your actions over the past few days? Even if you didn't intend to encounter the young lady, weren't you aware that this matter should be reported to the authorities, rather than hiding her yourself?"
With his fingers intertwined, the captain spoke slowly. He hadn't planned to let Xu Le off the hook so easily due to certain undisclosed reasons. He continued to gaze at the young man coldly, maintaining the pressure on him. However, Xu Le seemed unaffected by the captain's tactics and calmly replied, "The young lady mentioned that there are unscrupulous people in her family who want to take her away, preventing her from seeing her parents again."
Finally, the authorization arrived via fax from Westwood, and the verification process for the chip around Xu Le's neck was completed. The captain handed two documents to Xu Le, tauntingly saying, "You're a fool. How could you believe the words of a girl who's trying to escape from her family and school?!"
Flipping through the pages, Xu Le recognized the inconsistencies with the small watermelon's behavior over the past few days, confirming that the captain's words were not entirely false. The small watermelon's family did want to send her to the Capital Star Circle for school, but perhaps the small watermelon had misunderstood something. Ignoring the captain's mocking words, Xu Le said directly, "Why shouldn't I believe her? I've always trusted people and helped them, even if she's only six years old."
"So, you're a passionate young man," the captain said, slightly taken aback, standing up and mocking him. He looked closely at Xu Le's sincere and honest face, as if trying to determine if such a person truly existed in this world.
After the captain left, the room fell into silence once again. Xu Le, who had been placed under house arrest, stared at the gun pressed against his temple and said to the young soldiers, "Could you lower your weapons? I'm not a criminal, and it's abhorrent to point a gun at my head."
A look of disdain flashed across the officers' faces. They had come here to give him a taste of hardship, but now they heard Xu Le's words and forcefully pressed the icy barrel against his temple. Xu Le winced from the pain and couldn't help but lift his head to meet the soldier's gaze.