Uncle, I Don't Want the Medals Anymore. Give Me Back My Dad!

Yue Xiaofei's furious roar cracked like thunder at the entrance to the military district!

He was on his knees!

But within the security line, he stood as unyielding as a monument!

For a moment, the entire street fell silent.

The hundreds of thugs in the distance stared at that bloodied figure on his knees. Their eyelids twitched, and dread settled over them.

This was bad!

Had they picked a fight with someone they shouldn't have?

The bald man leading them tried to charge forward again, but the instant he lifted his foot—

Click!

A guard racked his rifle!

The dark muzzle pointed straight between the man's eyes!

"This is a restricted military area! Trespassers will be shot on the spot!"

The bald man nearly wet himself and hurriedly backed away.

They might work for the Gao Family and throw their weight around Jiangcheng, but they didn't dare act tough in front of these guards.

"Hey, what happened to you? Come on, get up. Tell us what's going on!"

A guard hurried to Yue Xiaofei's side and reached out to help him.

"I want to see your commanding officer!"

Summoning the last of his strength, Yue Xiaofei pulled a wooden box from inside his clothes and opened it.

Flash!

More than a dozen First-Class Merit Medals gleamed gold in the sunlight!

Each held a history of glory and sacrifice.

"Hiss..."

The guard glanced down. His pupils contracted, and shock drained the color from his face.

He had guarded the military district's gate for ten years and had seen enough medals to fill a drawer.

But this many First-Class Merit Medals at once?

Never!

Not once!

"Watch the gate. I'm going to report this to Division Commander Xiao!"

The guard gave his fellow soldier a hurried instruction, then ran into the military district.

In the military district's division commander's office, Xiao Zhan sat at his desk in a crisp military uniform. He bore the rank of senior colonel on his shoulders, his face stern and his gaze sharp.

As the military district's commanding officer, he was a senior colonel and division commander with several thousand elite troops under his command. He was a powerful figure in Jiangcheng, someone everyone treated with respect.

Knock, knock, knock!

Urgent knocks sounded at the door.

"Come in!"

Xiao Zhan spoke in a deep voice without looking up.

A guard pushed the door open. "Reporting to Division Commander Xiao! There's a young man at the gate carrying a Pillar of the Country plaque. He's on his knees, demanding justice, and he has more than a dozen First-Class Merit Medals! Hundreds of thugs intercepted and beat him. He's badly hurt!"

"What did you say?!"

Xiao Zhan shot to his feet, shock replacing his calm expression. "More than a dozen First-Class Merit Medals? And they beat him?"

"Yes, sir! He's seriously injured and covered in blood!" the guard reported.

"Outrageous!"

Xiao Zhan clenched his fists, fury blazing in his eyes.

In peacetime, anyone who earned even one First-Class Merit Medal was a hero with extraordinary achievements.

Let alone more than a dozen!

If he failed to handle this properly and his comrades in the navy and air force heard about it, he would never be able to show his face again!

"A hero's descendant was attacked right outside my military district?"

"That's a slap in my face! An assault on the military! An attack on the very foundations of this country!"

"Sound the assembly bugle!"

"Three minutes. Assemble the entire division and follow me out!"

"Yes, sir!"

The guard left at once.

Toot, toot, toot—

Before long, an urgent assembly call rang through the military district.

Before everyone's eyes!

Xiao Zhan led a host of fully armed soldiers toward the gate!

Even from a distance, the sight of Yue Xiaofei kneeling there shook them to the core!

He was covered in blood. His clothes had been torn to shreds, and wounds covered his body.

Blood stained the Pillar of the Country plaque red!

Xiao Zhan's eyes turned red too!

In thirty years as a soldier, he had never flinched at mountains of corpses or seas of blood. But now it felt as though someone had lodged a grenade in his chest!

It was about to explode!

To tear him apart!

To drive him to grind those attackers into dust!

"Child! Get up. The ground is cold!"

Xiao Zhan bent down, his voice trembling slightly.

Yue Xiaofei looked up.

Blood blurred his eyes, turning the world red.

But he could make out that military uniform and the rank on the man's shoulders!

"I'm Xiao Zhan, commander of the Jiangcheng military district."

After introducing himself, Xiao Zhan asked, "Don't be afraid, child. Tell me what happened."

Yue Xiaofei knew he had found the right person. He forced himself to stay upright.

"Uncle, my name is Yue Xiaofei!"

"My grandfather is Yue Qinhu, a veteran of the war against the Japanese Invaders. My dad, Yue Changlong, was a soldier too! They left me this plaque and these medals!"

"I scored 735 on the college entrance exam, the highest science score in Jiangbei Province this year!"

"But Gao Zisheng, the school bully, teamed up with Principal Li to steal my score. They accused me of cheating and threatened to tear down my home. They tried to make me kneel and crawl between their legs!"

"When I refused, they called in hundreds of people!"

"They beat me with steel pipes, stomped on me with their leather shoes, and said they'd throw me in the river to feed the fish!"

Hearing his tearful account, Xiao Zhan and every soldier present felt fury swelling in their chests, ready to burst free.

They wanted to rush out and gun down the thugs outside.

But Yue Xiaofei knew this wasn't enough!

His goal wasn't merely to deal with those thugs!

He wanted revenge against Gao Zisheng and the evil forces behind him!

Clatter!

Suddenly, Yue Xiaofei pushed the wooden box toward Xiao Zhan.

But his hands shook, and more than a dozen medals spilled across the ground!

"Uncle!"

"I don't want the medals anymore!"

"I don't want to be the top scorer anymore!"

Yue Xiaofei broke down, crying out with red-rimmed eyes. His voice was full of despair and helplessness.

"You can have all of it!"

"Please..."

"Give me back my dad!"

His choked words echoed across the military district.

He still didn't know why his father had been imprisoned five years ago.

But his father had been a soldier and had left behind so many First-Class Merit Medals. Yue Xiaofei was certain he couldn't be a bad man!

There had to be more to it!

He couldn't investigate it himself. All he could do was hope the military district would step in!

By then, tears glistened in the eyes of many of the soldiers.

Xiao Zhan's fists clenched so hard his knuckles cracked. Fury burned inside him!

This was a hero's descendant!

He should have been protected!

How could they let him bleed and weep?

How could they leave him kneeling on the ground, begging for justice?

"Child, don't worry!"

Xiao Zhan thumped his chest so hard that two buttons popped off!

"I'm here!"

"If the sky falls, I'll hold it up for you!"

"Whoever hurt you will pay a hundredfold!"

"Whoever dishonored a hero will pay a thousandfold!"

"If I can't set this right, I might as well quit as division commander and go home to grow sweet potatoes!"

His promise carried the weight of a mountain.

Behind him, the soldiers could barely hold themselves back. They were waiting for a single order from their commander to charge out and deal with those thugs.

Just then, Yue Xiaofei grabbed Xiao Zhan's arm. Hesitation flickered in his eyes, and he lowered his voice. "Uncle Xiao, could... could I borrow some money from you?"

Xiao Zhan paused, then asked, "How much do you need?"

Yue Xiaofei took a deep breath. As though steeling himself, he answered:

"One million yuan!"

The amount sent a wave of astonishment through the crowd.

No one had expected Yue Xiaofei to ask for so much!

Was he insane?

Or just desperate for money?

At that moment, Lin Xiaolu's live stream erupted!

[See? I told you he was acting. Now he's shown his true colors! He's using a hero's name to scam people!]

[One million! That's a lifetime's earnings for an ordinary person! What a greedy little bastard!]

[He probably stole that plaque too. Don't let him fool you!]

[Disgusting! He's tarnishing a hero's honor!]

A flood of vicious comments swallowed the screen!

Lin Xiaolu's hands trembled.

She had a strong feeling that Yue Xiaofei wasn't a fraud, but she couldn't find her voice.

"Xiaofei, what do you need that much money for?"

Xiao Zhan frowned and stared into his eyes.

There was no greed in them!

Only defiance!

Only fierce resolve!

Thud!

Yue Xiaofei suddenly dropped to his knees. His voice shook with tears, as though the injustice he had suffered was too much to bear.

"Uncle Xiao, Gao Zisheng came to my house with his men. He had a forged IOU and insisted my dad had borrowed one million yuan from him!"

"He said that if I didn't pay, he'd flatten our house and throw my grandfather onto the street for the dogs!"

"My grandfather fought the Japanese Invaders. He's a hero, but he has dementia now, and he's home alone!"

"I'm not borrowing this million for myself..."

"I need it to keep my grandfather alive!!!"