Cannon Fodder in an Era Drama — I Survive with Acting-Chapter 151: He’s Missing

"I wish I could just drag those bastards hiding in the shadows out into the open and teach them a lesson, show them that some things are simply unforgivable!"

Before long, the men sent to gather information finally returned.

"Reporting, village chief! We’ve confirmed it! Someone is threatening the villagers, going door-to-door and intimidating them. They’re saying if anyone dares to associate with us, they’ll burn down their houses and cut off their supply routes!"

"They’re just trying to force you to submit, to make you join forces with them!"

"They’re operating under the guise of ’cooperation,’ but what they really want is to swallow our group whole, control our resources, and turn us into their puppets!"

Fei Jin shot to his feet.

"Notify everyone. We’re going back into the village. Bring food, medicine, and tents. Tell the villagers: if you’re willing to come with us, we will guarantee your safety and you’ll have more than enough to eat! You won’t miss a single bite!"

"Understood!"

Cheng Peng turned to make the arrangements. He had just taken a step when he paused and glanced back at Fei Jin, his eyes filled with admiration and trust.

The sight of the food swayed the villagers.

Courtyard gates that had been tightly shut opened one by one.

Some supported their elderly mothers, some carried young children on their backs, and some helped their limping husbands as family after family emerged from their homes.

They followed behind Fei Jin, moving toward the safe zone on the other side of the mountain.

The sky gradually darkened.

An indescribable oppressiveness hung over all of Jing City.

"Village chief! Village chief! Something’s happened!"

A soldier burst into the command post.

He braced his hands on the doorframe, his voice trembling. "Deputy Cheng... Deputy Cheng is outside... He’s been beaten!"

"What happened to Cheng Peng?"

Fei Jin shot up from his chair.

His gaze instantly turned to ice, his brows tightly knitted.

"Deputy Cheng is outside... He was beaten! He’s badly injured!"

"He was persuading villagers to come with us when he was ambushed from behind by several masked men. They beat him with clubs, and now... now he’s unconscious!"

"Who did it?"

Fei Jin’s eyes flashed coldly.

"That group is still out there, lurking near the village entrance! They... they’re also demanding to see you!"

The soldier gritted his teeth, his face full of indignation. "I’ll take you there! Right now!"

Without another word, Fei Jin turned and left.

"Village chief... I..." Just as Cheng Peng was being carried back on a makeshift stretcher made from a door panel, he saw Fei Jin’s figure disappearing into the night.

He struggled to sit up, but the slightest movement sent a jolt of intense pain through him, and he broke out in a cold sweat.

Only a moment later, a deafening explosion erupted from the direction Fei Jin had gone.

The atmosphere in the command post was already tense because of Cheng Peng’s injuries.

At the sound of the explosion, everyone’s heart leaped into their throats.

"Oh no! Something’s happened where the village chief went!"

The moment Cheng Peng heard the explosion, his face went deathly pale.

Ignoring the pain, he struggled desperately to get up from the door panel. "Quick... go save him! The village chief is still out there!"

"Deputy Cheng, don’t move! You can’t be moving around right now!"

Several soldiers forcefully held him down.

"You’ve lost too much blood! If you keep moving, it could kill you!"

"No! The village chief... the village chief, he..."

Cheng Peng’s eyes were red with desperation, his voice hoarse from shouting, "Go! Hurry and find the village chief! It’s too dangerous for him to be alone! Go now!"

The explosion had been too sudden, too powerful. It didn’t seem like a simple ambush; it was more like a meticulously planned kill trap.

’The village chief...’

’He must be fine. He has to be fine!’

"A few of you, stay behind and look after Deputy Cheng!"

A normally level-headed soldier suddenly stepped forward. "The rest of you, with me! We’re going to back up the village chief! Now! Every second could be the difference between life and death!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, a group of men rushed out.

Cheng Peng leaned against the wall, cold sweat beading on his forehead.

The search parties straggled back, one after another, all of them filthy and dejected. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

"We can’t find him... We really can’t find the village chief..."

"We’ve searched the entire area, and there’s no sign of the village chief at all..."

Another man wiped his face, his voice choked.

"You don’t think... something happened to the village chief, do you...?"

"Shut up!"

Cheng Peng suddenly roared.

"Nothing happened to the village chief! Everyone, keep searching! I want him found, dead or alive!"

He bit out every word.

He knew he was just putting up a front, using his last ounce of strength to preserve the final shred of dignity for this group.

The news of Fei Jin’s disappearance spread like wildfire.

The group’s morale instantly hit rock bottom.

The civilians who had been reluctant to evacuate in the first place began to have second thoughts.

They gathered in twos and threes, whispering amongst themselves, fear and hesitation written plainly on their faces.

Some even began to quietly pack their meager belongings, stuffing dried rations into cloth bags, preparing to slip away under the cover of darkness.

Gritting his teeth, Cheng Peng dragged his leaden body with great difficulty to the center of the crowd.

He knew that now, he was this group’s only pillar of support.

"Listen to me, all of you!"

His voice was hoarse. "The village chief was just called away on urgent business. He’ll be back shortly! No one is to panic, and no one is to spread rumors!"

The crowd gradually fell silent, and all eyes turned to him in unison.

"Deputy Cheng..." an elderly woman stepped shakily out of the crowd.

"The village chief... is he really going to come back safely?"

"Of course!"

Cheng Peng forced a smile.

"What kind of storms has the village chief not weathered? This little incident is nothing!"

He straightened his back, his voice booming. "Have faith in him, and have faith in me!"

Right now, he had to hold firm.

"Two men!"

He spun around.

"Go back to the industrial zone at once and get a message to his wife! Just say..."

He paused, his Adam’s apple bobbing.

"Just say the village chief is on an urgent mission, and tell her not to worry!"

"And—" he suddenly lowered his voice, "don’t let the village chief’s parents know about this yet, you hear?"

Cheng Peng stood his ground, unmoving, his gaze slowly sweeping over the crowd before him.

’The priorities now are to find the village chief, stabilize morale, and continue the evacuation.’

’These three tasks were intertwined; not one of them could be neglected.’

Meanwhile, Song Qingya had just returned from the hospital, a bag of medicine in her hand, her steps weary.

The moment she stepped through the door, she felt that something was wrong with the atmosphere.

She paused, tilting her head slightly.

There was no sound from the television, no clatter of pots and pans from the kitchen.

She frowned, a strange sense of unease creeping over her.

She walked to Song Chenglu’s door and knocked lightly. "Lu Lu, are you in there?"

There was no response.

She waited a moment and knocked twice more. Still nothing.

No one was in the room.

The curtains were drawn. A bitter smell of burnt herbs hung in the air, along with a faint, almost imperceptible metallic scent.

She held her breath and slowly approached the desk.

On the desk lay several bunches of dried, blackened herbs.

There were also several yellowed sheets of paper, on which strange symbols were drawn in vermilion, like some kind of ancient incantation.

In the very center was a small doll woven from straw.

’What is this?’

Her heart sank. Her fingertips grew cold as she slowly picked up the small doll.

The moment she turned the doll over, her pupils contracted violently.

On the back of the doll, two words were written with perfect clarity: Song Qingya.

Her expression changed in an instant, the color draining from her face.

’She didn’t have to guess. This was undoubtedly Song Chenglu’s doing.’