192: Chapter 192 Shifting Situation: The Last Line of Defense on the Way Home!

Yang Country, High-Level Joint Command.

The operations room was thick with smoke, the atmosphere so oppressive it could be wrung out like water.

The Commander slammed a battle report onto the massive sand table, causing several miniature tanks on the model to wobble and tilt.

"Trash! All of you are trash!"

The Commander's roar made everyone in the command center shrink back.

"Three months into the war, and we've been pushed back sixty kilometers by Dragon Country!"

"The supply lines are harassed every single day, and now even our largest supply depot in the rear has been completely wiped out!"

"The soldiers on the front line can't even get a bowl of hot meat soup. Tell me, how are we supposed to fight this war!"

A staff officer bit the bullet and stepped forward, reporting in a low voice.

"General, according to the latest intelligence, the Dragon Country agent who blew up the supply depot has escaped again. And..."

"And what? Speak!" The Commander's eyes widened like copper bells.

"And... Lieutenant Yaro's status is unknown."

The entire operations room instantly fell into a deathly silence.

Hearing this news, the Commander trembled with rage.

"Drag him out and throw him into solitary confinement!"

"Let him sober up and learn what should and shouldn't be said!"

He had no time to hunt down some elusive Dragon Country agent right now.

The rout at the front line and the avalanche-like collapse of soldier morale were like two massive mountains pressing down on his heart.

If he didn't find a way to stabilize military morale soon, let alone launch a counterattack, the entire border defense line would collapse completely.

"Send a telegram to the country," the Commander sat back in his chair, exhausted, rubbing his temples.

"Have the Cultural Troupe come to the front line immediately. Tour every defense zone!"

"Tell the soldiers that if they beat back the people of Dragon Country, I will personally recommend them for honors!"

...

Meanwhile, at the Dragon Country border, the "Sword" Special Operations Base.

Commander Li Mu was staring at the latest satellite cloud images and intelligence summaries on the screen, his brow furrowed.

"Strange, too strange," he muttered to himself.

On the screen, the red arrows representing the Yang Country army had not only lost their previous arrogance over the past seventy-two hours but had instead pulled back across the entire line, adopting a posture of all-out defense.

The Yang Country border guards, who had been biting at everything like mad dogs just a few days ago, had turned into turtles hiding in their shells overnight.

"Commander, these are photos sent back by 'Nightingale,' who is lurking in the rear of Yang Country."

An intelligence analyst projected several blurry images onto the big screen.

The background of the photos was the ruins of a small town, covered in charred wreckage.

"Yang Country's secret supply depot?" Li Mu recognized the place instantly.

"We planned for a month and couldn't find this secret supply depot, and now it's just gone like that?"

"Yes," the analyst nodded.

"Specific details are unknown; the Yang Country side has blocked all news."

"We only know that the explosion happened very suddenly and was extremely powerful."

"Our people did a preliminary investigation, and there were no signs of large-scale fighting at the scene. It looks more like an internal demolition."

"But... the people of Yang Country blew up their own largest supply depot? That doesn't make sense."

Li Mu fell silent.

Suddenly, a bold yet absurd thought emerged in his mind.

Could it be... that there was one, or a small group of "our own people" that we don't know about, causing such a huge stir inside Yang Country?

He immediately issued an order.

"Order all forward observation posts to monitor twenty-four hours a day, without interruption."

"Any anomaly, even if a bird flies by, I want to know about it!"

"Also, tell 'Nightingale' to spare no cost to find out exactly what happened at that supply depot!"

The Dragon Country border Commander found the situation increasingly interesting.

He really wanted to know who exactly was stirring up trouble behind enemy lines.

...

By the clear river, Qin Feng filled the last canteen, screwed on the cap.

He glanced not far away, where Lanna was carefully helping Yaro treat the scrapes on her arm, which she had gotten when rolling down the hillside earlier.

And Yaro, like a defeated rooster, hung her head, eyes vacant, not knowing what she was thinking.

Qin Feng walked over and threw a pack of compressed biscuits into her lap.

"Eat something, get ready to cross the river."

Yaro didn't move, nor did she speak.

"What? Still thinking about your trash comrades?" Qin Feng's voice had no warmth.

Yaro's body trembled, she looked up sharply, anger reigniting in her eyes.

Qin Feng couldn't be bothered to bicker with her. He tore open a pack of biscuits, took a bite, and said indistinctly:

"Stop thinking about it, it's useless. You are my captive now, recognize your position."

"Are you going to tell me or not!" Yaro finally couldn't take it anymore; she felt like she would be driven crazy if this continued.

"Tell you what?" Qin Feng raised an eyebrow.

"What exactly is the story of 'Seven Captures of Meng Huo,' and what military secrets are recorded in it?" Yaro was very persistent.

She hadn't gotten the answer she wanted the whole way, but... but... she had also been taken advantage of by this bastard Chef.

At first, Lanna didn't really pay attention, but as Yaro asked more, she also became curious about this story.

At this moment, she pricked up her ears, wishing she could press herself against the Chef.

"Sigh, alright, considering you are my private property now and are so eager to learn, I'll reveal a little."

Qin Feng cleared his throat, looking mysterious.

"In my hometown, there was a guy named Meng Huo, who was a top-tier Chef, especially skilled at making a dish called 'Husband and Wife Lung Slices.'"

"There was a diner named Zhuge Liang who loved it, but Meng Huo had a weird temper and wouldn't cook easily."

"So Zhuge Liang came up with a plan. He captured Meng Huo seven times, and every time he didn't kill him, but instead cooked him a Dragon Country dish he had never eaten before."

"The first time was Mapo Tofu, the second time was Twice-Cooked Pork, the third time was Dongpo Pork Knuckle..."

Qin Feng spoke vividly, saliva flying.

Lanna listened with great interest, occasionally asking: "Is this Dongpo Pork Knuckle delicious?"

Only Yaro's expression changed from anticipation, to confusion, to anger, and finally turned leaden.

She finally understood; this man had been playing her for a fool from beginning to end!

What military philosophy; this was clearly just a cookbook!

"You... shameless!" Yaro's chest heaved violently with anger, and she grabbed a stone from the ground, wanting to throw it at him.

"Don't mess around." Qin Feng's face straightened, instantly switching back to serious mode, "Finish eating, get ready to do real work."

He took out his binoculars and began observing the other side of the river.

The river wasn't wide, and the current wasn't fast.

But on the other side of the river was the most important border defense line of Yang Country.

Continuous barbed wire, a sentry every three steps, a post every five steps.

There were countless open bunkers and hidden pillboxes, the searchlight beams cutting through the night like swords.

Trying to cross from here was harder than ascending to heaven.

"This... how do we get across?"

Lanna looked at the strict defenses on the other side, her face turning pale.

Even if the Chef was powerful, he couldn't possibly take both of them and force his way through, right?

Yaro had also calmed down; she knew the terror of this defense line better than Lanna.

This was the "Iron Great Wall" that Yang Country had operated for decades. Let alone a person, even a fly wouldn't be able to fly across without being discovered.

A secret sense of pleasure even rose in her heart; she wanted to see what this Chef looked like when he hit a wall in the face of a true national-level war machine.

Qin Feng didn't answer; he just observed quietly.

Suddenly, his gaze was drawn to a convoy on the Gobi Desert in the distance.