Cannon Fodder in an Era Drama — I Survive with Acting-Chapter 155: The Ruse of Self-Injury

Cheng Peng leaned in for a closer look. Something was definitely off.

He frowned, crouched down, and reached out to touch the edge of the fragment.

He felt a jolt of surprise, but still couldn’t figure out what was so strange about it.

"So what does this mean?"

He looked up, his eyes full of confusion.

"It means this wasn’t caused by explosives at all," Song Qingya said as she straightened up, her voice calm and certain. "Someone deliberately faked an explosion scene to cover up their real objective."

She dusted off her hands with a crisp, clean motion and scanned her surroundings.

"And whoever did this knows nothing about explosives. They just haphazardly copied what they thought an explosion should look like. They probably saw explosions on TV and tried to imitate it, but they don’t even understand the most basic principles of physics."

"If I’m not mistaken, there were landmines buried here, but someone dug them up beforehand. They wanted to create the illusion of an ’accidental explosion,’ but they forgot the most basic common sense: a real explosion wouldn’t leave behind such clean metal fragments."

Cheng Peng listened, utterly dumbfounded.

’To think she could deduce so much from such a tiny clue.’

"Sister-in-law, you..." he stammered, his voice trembling slightly. "How do you know all this?"

Song Qingya gave a faint smile, the corners of her mouth turning up slightly, her expression calm.

She answered casually, "What’s so difficult about it? The direction of the blast, the trajectory of the shrapnel, the damage to the ground—it all leaves clues. If you’re willing to look closely, you can piece together what happened."

It all clicked for Cheng Peng.

He slapped his thigh. "So that’s what happened! Sister-in-law, you’re incredible! I’m in awe!"

Song Qingya didn’t say any more. Her tone shifted, and she said softly, "All right, stop standing around. Hurry up and call your men to search the entire area. We might be able to find Ajin."

"Yes, ma’am!"

Cheng Peng snapped back to his senses, his heart jolting as if waking from a trance.

"You lot, split up immediately! Start from the blast zone and radiate outwards. I want every inch of this ground searched! Don’t miss a single clue!"

Several soldiers responded at once, nodding and quickly dispersing.

Song Qingya, however, didn’t wait around. She walked off alone toward a corner.

Over there was a patch of dense undergrowth. The area was secluded and almost no one paid it any mind.

Cheng Peng had just finished deploying his men and was about to report back to Song Qingya when he turned around and found she was no longer where she had been standing.

His heart sank. "Sister-in-law! Why did you run over there? It’s dangerous!"

Song Qingya ignored him, still crouched on the ground, her expression focused.

"Come over here and look." 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

Cheng Peng hurried over, half-crouching, and followed the direction of her finger to look closely.

Sure enough, there was a faint set of footprints on the ground.

"These are..."

He subconsciously looked up at Song Qingya, waiting for her assessment.

"Ajin left them."

Song Qingya finally lifted her head slowly.

"He’s alive! He’s not dead at all! These footprints are fresh—left two to four hours ago at most!"

"Sister-in-law, you should go back first! Let me go after him!"

Cheng Peng’s heart surged with renewed hope.

Unable to hold back any longer, he shot to his feet. "It’s not safe here. You stay put and wait for my news! I’ll follow the footprints!"

Without another word of explanation, he quickly helped Song Qingya to a safe location.

Then, without a moment’s hesitation, he plunged into the undergrowth.

Meanwhile, in an office in Jing City, a fat man was lounging in a large leather chair, one leg crossed over the other, a cigarette dangling from his fingers.

"They’re searching all over the city for Fei Jin right now."

A subordinate walked in, head bowed respectfully. "They’ve sealed off the east and west sides of the city and searched them several times. They haven’t even spared the underground tunnels."

"Let them search. Let them search all they want!"

The fat man grinned.

He slowly blew out a smoke ring, his gaze sinister and smug. "They can turn Jing City upside down, and they still won’t find him!"

"I blew him to smithereens long ago!"

"His body’s already buried in a scrap heap and washed down the river! What they’re looking for is just a show I put on for them!"

He gave a cold laugh and turned to his subordinate. "Go spread the word. This afternoon, we’re taking over Fei Jin’s team! Tell them their village chief is dead. Blown up on the spot, not even a whole corpse was left! From now on, they answer to me! Anyone who doesn’t like it can go keep Fei Jin company!"

The subordinate nodded repeatedly, not daring to say more, and quickly exited.

Elsewhere, Song Chenglu was being watched closely by two young soldiers, unable to move.

She was pacing back and forth anxiously.

"Oh, come on, guys. Can’t you be a little flexible and let me go take a look? Just a peek, I swear. I won’t stay long!"

But the two soldiers acted as if they hadn’t heard her.

Not willing to give up, Song Chenglu put on an eager-to-please smile. "Come on, you two, please! I’m not trying to cause trouble, I’m just really worried about my sister! She’s pregnant! What if something happens to her? That’s two lives we’re talking about, not just one!"

As she spoke, her voice began to tremble and her eyes instantly turned red.

The two young men had never seen a woman put on such a heart-wrenching, tearful display.

For a moment, their hearts softened.

One of them, the slightly younger soldier, unconsciously shifted his body a little.

His voice became hesitant, his tone clearly softening. "Well... don’t cry. It’s not that we won’t let you go, it’s just... we have to follow the rules."

"It’s just what?"

Hearing this, Song Chenglu sensed an opening.

"It’s just that Captain Cheng ordered us to..."

The other soldier had just started to explain, but before he could finish, Song Chenglu cut him off.

"Oh, come on! Why are you guys so rigid?"

She stomped her foot, her face a mask of anxiety. "Captain Cheng is just afraid I’ll get in the way, but I’m not here to cause trouble! I’m here to help my sister! She’s in there all alone, she must be so scared! As her sister, how can I just stand by and do nothing?"

The two soldiers looked at each other, their faces pale and conflicted, clearly at a loss.

One wanted to let her go, but the other was afraid of taking the blame.

"Just think about it," Song Chenglu said, her voice choked with sobs. "My sister must be on the verge of a breakdown right now! Her baby is suffering along with her! What if she gets overwhelmed and does something foolish? If anything happens to her, that’s two lives gone! You both have parents, don’t you? Can you really bear to just watch this happen?"

Her words forced the two soldiers to take half a step back, their hearts pounding with uncertainty.

"But... before they left, they said we had to watch you... that we couldn’t let you get close..."

Song Chenglu bit her lip and continued to plead in a soft voice, "Fellas, you’re reasonable people. Can you really bear to see my sister and her child come to harm? I just want to go in and say a few words to calm her down. I won’t stay long, and I won’t cause any trouble. Please, do me this favor, let me go..."

"You’re both men, and my sister is a pregnant woman. If she really feels unwell, can you even help her up? That wouldn’t be appropriate!"

"I’m her own sister! Would I do anything to harm her?"

She looked up, tears welling in her eyes.