Chapter 51: Chastising Xia Zhen

“Because I don’t think my love is more important than the countless lives destroyed by drugs—don’t they have their own love? Don’t they have their own families and kinship?”

Nie Huaishang loudly questioned Ma Shichang, then shifted his tone:

“Moreover, I don’t believe you truly love your daughter—if you truly loved her, you never should have chosen this path, leading her to suffer the pain of losing her father at such a young age.”

“And all the money you’ve made from drug trafficking these years? Not a single cent will ever touch her future.”

These words struck Ma Shichang like a sledgehammer to the heart; his face turned ashen—he knew Nie Huaishang was right.

His daughter would be under strict police surveillance for the rest of her life; after decades of backbreaking labor and constant fear, what had he gained?

If he hadn’t chosen the drug trade back then, with his own abilities and talents, where couldn’t he have carved out a life for himself?

True, he wouldn’t have made as much as with drugs, but at least it would’ve been safe and stable—wouldn’t it be better to earn money you could spend without guilt?

But now it was too late to regret—he’d been tempted by money and thrills in his youth and taken this path; now one mistake had led to another, endlessly.

But Nie Huaishang had no patience for Ma Shichang’s emotions—he waved to Li Erniu and Wang Yanbing, signaling them to take Ma Shichang away immediately.

This wasn’t the time or place for sentimental talk—if he truly wanted to reminisce with Ma Shichang, the army’s interrogation rooms had plenty of time.

The drug lord Ma Shichang had been successfully captured by their special forces; the remaining majority of his underlings had been cleared by the follow-up reinforcements.

In short, this operation to eradicate the drug plague along the southwestern border had been a resounding success.

The several special forces units returned to near-universal acclaim from the entire military district—they were heroes, after all.

Of course, not everyone welcomed them—such as Xia Zhen.

When she went to interrogate Ma Yunfei, hoping to extract more information, she was told Ma Yunfei was being rushed for emergency treatment.

After learning the reason—that Zhang Xiaofan had crippled Ma Yunfei’s limbs—she flew into a rage and stormed off to confront Zhang Xiaofan.

“Zhang Xiaofan, you’d already rendered him combat-ineffective—why did you keep shooting? How am I supposed to interrogate him now?”

Xia Zhen loudly questioned Zhang Xiaofan, who was in the middle of a simulation exercise.

Hearing Xia Zhen’s accusation, Zhang Xiaofan looked up at the woman and sneered:

“He raised his gun at my comrade—do you mean I wasn’t allowed to return fire? If we hadn’t brought him in, how would you interrogate him? What gives you the right to question me?”

Zhang Xiaofan found this woman unbearable—after all, in the original plot, Xiao Ying died and Xiao Zhuang quit the military, and this woman bore primary responsibility.

He believed she didn’t belong in the military or police force—too many officers and soldiers would die because of her misplaced mercy and stupidity.

After being snapped at by Zhang Xiaofan, Xia Zhen flushed with anger: “I’m asking why you kept shooting after he was already incapacitated—this is interfering with our follow-up operations, do you understand?”

Zhang Xiaofan laughed at the woman’s stupidity—your operations? Let Ma Yunfei take hostages and then give him a chance to escape?

Seeing Zhang Xiaofan’s mocking grin, Xia Zhen flew into a fury:

“Zhang Xiaofan, I’m asking you a question—show me some respect, do you understand?”

Zhang Xiaofan, thoroughly fed up with her nonsense, snapped:

“Fine, you want an explanation? Okay—do you know how cunning Ma Yunfei is? Back then, because his hand was injured and he wasn’t cuffed, he nearly killed my comrade.”

“If we hadn’t crippled his limbs, what if someone else dies because of him? Then you’ll just put on a show of crying for the dead and move on, right?”

“He’s already been arrested—how could he possibly hurt anyone now?”

Xia Zhen stubbornly insisted.

Zhang Xiaofan asked her: “Alright, then tell me—when Ma Yunfei tries to harm himself during interrogation, will you treat him?”

“Yes.”

Xia Zhen answered without hesitation.

“Will you assign special forces to monitor him the entire time he’s being treated?”

Zhang Xiaofan pressed on.

“No.”

Xia Zhen continued.

“What if Ma Yunfei suddenly seizes the nurse? How could a nurse possibly fight him?”

Zhang Xiaofan challenged her.

Xia Zhen was momentarily speechless, but Zhang Xiaofan didn’t relent:

“A woman like you, who only cares about your own glory and ignores your comrades’ lives—how can you possibly be fit to be a soldier?”

“Why should others pay for your stupidity with their lives? Why don’t you just die?”

As Zhang Xiaofan berated her, Xia Zhen wanted to retort—but found no argument.

“Now please leave the Red Blood Team’s training ground. We don’t welcome people like you—who are merciful to enemies but cruel to comrades.”

Zhang Xiaofan pointed to the door. Xia Zhen stormed out, muttering as she went:

“Fine, I’m leaving—like I wanted to be here in this dump anyway.”

Watching Xia Zhen leave, Zhang Xiaofan sat back comfortably in his chair—her departure made the air feel noticeably cleaner.

Not long after, he and Nie Huaishang received notice: the military district would be honoring them, especially Nie Huaishang.

The operation’s overwhelming success was largely due to Nie Huaishang’s contributions.

Yet throughout the entire award ceremony, Nie Huaishang forced a smile—he was clearly preoccupied.

Commander Hezhi Army clearly noticed, and after the ceremony, he approached Nie Huaishang to speak.

“Ever since the mission ended, you’ve been down. What’s wrong? Have you fallen for Ma Qitong?”

Hezhi Army cut straight to the point.

“Yes. A girl who looks at you with nothing but affection—how many men could resist? Especially someone like me, who’s never been liked by a girl since childhood.”

Here, Nie Huaishang gave a bitter laugh.

Hearing this, Hezhi Army nodded firmly: “True. But once you chose to go undercover, you had to end things with her. You must look forward.”

“Besides, a talented young man like you will have plenty of girls chasing you later—want me to introduce a few?”

“Commander, stop teasing me.”

Nie Huaishang replied helplessly—he never expected the stern, serious Hezhi Army to turn matchmaker, especially for him.

“By the way, how’s Ma Qitong doing?”

Nie Huaishang asked Hezhi Army.

“Since that day, she’s been crying nonstop. But since she’s completely innocent, she’ll be released soon. Still, after being freed, a girl used to luxury won’t find life easy.”

Since that day’s operation, she had spent every day weeping, but since she was innocent, she would be released soon—though after her release, her life as a once-privileged young lady accustomed to luxury would surely be far from pleasant.

Hezhi Army told the truth.