Solana was safe.

  Battalion Commander Barda had been taken away by the military. No one was randomly arresting people here anymore.

  Moreover, after Arthur arrived last night, he hid his small car under a pile of straw. He let Elena take the camera and materials home, while he slept inside the air-raid shelter.

  The person on duty at the shelter last night happened to be Tomas. Arthur trusted Elena, so naturally, he trusted Elena’s friend.

  He had a good night's sleep in the shelter.

  As soon as they got up in the morning, the female soldiers were gossiping. Elena actually knows how to drive a tractor and a sedan?

  Heavens! Many people were seeing a car for the first time.

  “We must ask Elena how she learned to drive.”

  “Didn’t she just sign up for her driver’s license? How does she already know how to drive?”

  “I want to learn from her.”

  Sienna had heard people gossiping all night, and having to hear it again today made her head feel like it was exploding.

  She thought about how her biological parents actually sent Elena to learn driving. Weren't they raising her like a son?

  Then what was she?

  A little rabbit born randomly that could be given away to anyone?

  In contrast, she had lived with an unbearable foster mother for over ten years. Her life was practically ruined.

  Sienna really wanted to ask her biological parents now: if they couldn't afford her, why did they have to give birth to her.

  With a face turned grim, Sienna ducked into the air-raid shelter to cry secretly. She accidentally stepped on a man.

  “Ouch!”

  Arthur pulled back his stepped-on finger, shaking it desperately. It hurt like death.

  Sienna didn’t even look at what the man looked like. She turned her face away and continued to wipe her tears.

  Arthur had also heard that most of the support troops wanted to return to the city. Those who couldn't either cried or tried to hang themselves.

  He was very afraid this girl would do something impulsive, so he quickly comforted her.

  “Little sister, what’s there to be so upset about? In a few years, maybe you can go home whenever you want. Maybe in the future, if people want to come play in the countryside, they’ll even have to spend money.”

  Unexpectedly, Sienna gave him a fierce glare and cursed: “Look in the mirror at your own face. I see you even have white hair. You're at least forty. How do you have the nerve to call a teenager like me ‘little sister’?”

  After cursing, Sienna walked away angrily.

  Arthur couldn't figure it out. Why was he the one getting cursed at after being stepped on? It was just a title, was it worth it?

  Just as he was about to chase her out to see what was going on, that "little sister" ran back again. She dove into the haystack where Arthur had slept last night and grabbed Arthur's pant leg, saying:

  “Hey, if someone looks for me, say you didn't see me.”

  As soon as she finished speaking, a man’s weak voice immediately rang out from outside the cave: “Sienna, where are you? Do you still want me to help you shovel cow dung? You have to give me money. It's been two days and you haven't given me a cent.”

  A debt collector?

  Then why was the debtor crying?

  Arthur didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He walked out to see the shouting man, only to see that this person was just like his voice—not manly at all. The guy's skin was fair and tender, and even his standing posture was limp.

  Compared to Roan’s heroic and upright stature, it was truly one in the sky and one on the ground. The gap was too large.

  No wonder the debtor wants to hide from you.

  At this time, several more people arrived at the air-raid shelter one after another. Some were picking up farm tools, some were sweeping, and some were organizing grain and old guns. No one cared about Arthur's presence.

  Arthur figured it out. He had heard that the personnel turnover in the support units was quite high. He hadn't washed his face this morning, and his body was covered in dust and straw. He must have been mistaken for a newcomer.

  Now he wasn't afraid anymore. He walked out of the camp grandly, and no one cared who he was at all.

  There was a phone in the military camp office. No one had come to work yet, so Arthur picked it up and dialed directly.

  “County Magistrate? It's Arthur.”

  The County Magistrate on the other end was almost crying with anxiety: “Arthur? Is it really Comrade Arthur? You're still alive? That's great.”

  “What do you mean I'm still alive?” Arthur laughed out of anger. The County Magistrate was truly getting old and muddled.

  “Do you know? I didn't sleep all night. The Brigade Commander from Beldora wanted to arrest you last night, saying you violated the military zone ban. I don't know how it happened, but it seems they were smoking and caused a huge fire at the hospital. The matter was exposed just like that. I thought you were dead.”

  “...” Arthur was speechless. He only then realized that Elena’s decisiveness last night had saved his life.

  “Hey, Arthur, are you listening? Hey...”

  “I'm listening, County Magistrate.”

  “Then I’ll continue. There is a change in the military region now. The higher-ups suspect that the border military region is collaborating with the enemy. You must rush back immediately, the faster the better. Do not stay at the border. Take advantage of the chaos brought by the hospital fire and come back quickly. Even an hour's delay could lead to changes.”

  “...”

  This serious!

  Arthur left the camp office and couldn't find anyone, so he went back to the air-raid shelter to find Sienna. “Little sister, do you know where Elena lives?”

  Sienna was furious.

  “Are you finished? I told you not to call me little sister, and you insist on it. Am I your sister? Am I that old?”

  Being scolded again just for this sentence, Arthur was completely speechless.

  “I'll be kind and tell you anyway.” Sienna’s expression suddenly turned good again. She pointed at the camp and said: “Over there, Elena lives in the female soldiers' barracks.”

  The female soldiers' barracks was definitely wrong. Yesterday Arthur clearly heard Elena tell Daniel that she was Roan’s neighbor.

  Arthur usually had a very good temper, but now he was so angry he gave Sienna a glare.

  Walking outside the barracks, Arthur had good luck; he met Tomas.

  Soon, Arthur was taken by Tomas to Elena’s small house. He saw both Elena and Roan.

  After Arthur hurriedly explained the situation, Elena didn't care about skipping work and decided to send Arthur back to the county seat immediately.

  Roan was originally reluctant to go to the county seat again because he wanted to make jam. But thinking that he couldn't do anything without Elena, and worrying about Elena’s safety on the road, he simply decided to accompany Elena one more time.

  When the three passed by Beldora, they saw that the hospital had indeed been destroyed by the fire. The wooden house had turned into a pile of ashes, which was shocking to see.

  Elena lamented:

  “I really didn't expect that the Brigade Commander of Beldora could do such a despicable thing just to destroy evidence.”

  The three successfully returned to the county seat.

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  In order for Elena and Roan to be able to find him in the future, Arthur insisted on taking the two to sit in his second-floor office.

  Just as they arrived at the office door, the nearly 60-year-old County Magistrate came to meet them.

  The old magistrate noticed the gauze wrapped around Roan’s head: “What happened to this young brother? Is he injured?”

  Roan just gave a bitter smile.

  Entering the office, Arthur was about to explain Roan’s wound, but the magistrate spoke up first.

  “An urgent document arrived. Not just urgent, it’s top priority. The provincial government faxed it over at 6 o'clock. Take a look.”

  Arthur took the document, looked for his glasses, and read it word by word, which made the magistrate annoyed.

  “Forget it, forget it, don’t read it. I’ll tell you.”

  “Then they...” Arthur nodded toward Roan and Elena.

  “It’s fine to listen together!” The magistrate found a comfortable spot, sat down, and then talked about the document:

  “The provincial government urgently requested that we must find a child named Ronan as soon as possible. They are three siblings living in Solana...”

  Roan hearing this, his eyes widened. He looked at Elena and made a posture ready to flee.

  Elena gave him a puzzled look back.

  “What?” The magistrate noticed the strange looks between the three.

  Arthur thought for a moment: “Continue. Is it a good thing or a bad thing?”

  “What bad thing could there be!” The magistrate muttered: “The province wants us to hurry and finish the ID cards for these three children during the chaos of the fire. It's best to finish it within three days.”

  “ID cards?” Arthur was stunned. “Shouldn't this kind of thing be handled by the police station?”

  “Oh, listen to me. The director of the Governor's office told me verbally that this child's father is now a Division Commander over there. I heard he is highly valued. The higher-ups will soon announce peace negotiations between the two sides. This matter is a gesture of goodwill to the other side, a meeting gift.”

  “...”

  All three were dumbfounded.

  “Oh, can you do it or not? Our grand county government has fewer than ten people. Those on business trips are away, those in the countryside are away. If you don't do it, I'll have to go find those three children personally.”

  “Puff!” Arthur started laughing. “Isn't the child behind you the one? He even had a conflict with thugs last night to save me, which is how he got injured. He's a hero. I don't understand why you wouldn't issue an ID card to someone just because his father is on the other side.”

  This time it was the old magistrate’s turn to widen his eyes. He stood up and held Roan’s hand tightly.

  When the old magistrate heard Arthur finish the whole story, he was full of praise for Elena and Roan.

  “Good, good, good. The county government will soon expand its staff. You are both young talents; you will be useful people then.”

  Arthur didn't personally take Roan to the police station. He made a call to the police station to give them a heads-up.

  Accompanied by Elena, Roan quickly got his ID card at the police station.

  But just then, something unusual happened on the street. Regiments of soldiers were running everywhere carrying guns. Military vehicles and tanks also came out. It felt like a major war was about to break out.

  “Is there going to be another war?” Elena muttered. She remembered that in her past life, these things didn't happen at all.

  Roan pulled Elena and started running directly. “It's not a war. Someone in the military supports smuggling, and they're going to fight internally. Come with me!”

  Elena believed Roan; Roan had been on the battlefield.

  The two crossed streets where the army seemed endless and dove headlong into the mental hospital.

  "Leo, something big happened!" Ronan shouted as he ran.

  At this time, Leo was sitting in a wheelchair, being fed spoonful by spoonful by a nurse. He looked exactly like a patient with no ability to care for himself.

  But when he saw Roan, he suddenly stood up.

  Elena thought to herself secretly: so he really is a mental patient, clearly fine but insisting on sitting in a wheelchair.

  Today, Leo’s expression was very serious. He turned back and scolded the nurse fiercely: “At a time of chaos, if you want to save your life, you must pretend not to see anything. Do you understand?”

  The little nurse was about twenty-one or twenty-two years old. She nodded very sensibly.

  Just when Elena thought Leo was playing house, Leo pulled the two of them into his small room with great force.

  This man’s strength was too great. Elena’s arm felt like it was clamped by a large iron plier; the pain went straight to her marrow.

  But because she saw that Roan didn't resist, she didn't resist either.

  Leo quickly lifted his bedboard, moved a pile of books and sundries, as well as several heavy ceramic jars under the bed, and then moved a wooden board laid flat on the ground. Below the wooden board, a dark air-raid shelter appeared.

  He pointed at the shelter and ordered the two:

  “If you don’t want to die, get in there quickly.”

  “Go!” Roan acted first. He dove into the air-raid shelter dug diagonally from the ground, and Elena quickly followed.

  “Wait!” Roan climbed out again before Leo could cover the entrance. He whispered urgently: “My brother and sister. I have to call my brother and sister...”

  “Wait, I’ll do it.” Elena believed she could handle this better. If Roan didn't know how to guard against Sienna, something would easily go wrong.

  Led by Leo, Elena went to the office to make a call. Thank God, the one who picked up was Lucy, who was making calls everywhere looking for Elena.

  “Roan and I are very safe. You cannot tell anyone about this. Take Marco and Sofia into the mountains to hide immediately. Remember to bring aluminum pots and food. Something big will definitely happen in these three days. Remember, don't let them return to the village until things settle down.”

  Lucy hesitated for half a second: “Mom, I got it. Don't keep calling me; calling costs money, you know...”

  Elena understood the silent message and hung up the phone.

  The air-raid shelter was soon covered again by Leo, and the bedboard was put back. It became pitch black inside, bottomless.

  Elena could only feel the cold air coming from the depths of the tunnel and hear Roan’s uneven breathing.

  In less than half an hour, the vibration of dense footsteps passed through the ground into the cave.

  “At least thirty people.”

  Roan said in a tiny voice like a mosquito.

  Immediately after, someone kicked open Leo’s room and shouted: “Leo, where is Roan? Didn't he just escape here?”

  The word "escape" made it immediately clear to Elena that someone in the military wanted to capture Roan. According to the old magistrate’s words, giving Roan an ID card was a gesture of goodwill to the other side. Then, capturing Roan was obviously an attempt to use family ties to blackmail the other side. This was equivalent to actively sabotaging the conditions for peace negotiations.

  Despicable!

  Sure enough, being "experts at internal strife"—this was what this country was best at.