Chapter 343: New Discovery

Chapter 343: Chapter 343: New Discovery

He was confessing his feelings in her ear, his low, gentle, magnetic voice plucking at her heartstrings with every word.

Shi Lan was surrounded by several of her Beast Husbands, and her face felt a little hot, but she took their words to heart.

She nodded again. "I understand. I’ll tell you in advance from now on."

Perhaps it was because she had always relied on herself. Even now that she was married with a certificate to prove it, she sometimes couldn’t change those old habits and worried about being a bother to others.

However, He Hanshi and the others were right. If they were the ones to put themselves in danger without discussing it with her first, she would probably be very worried and upset too.

She really should try to think more about them, the ones who had her back.

Things were different now. She had a family that loved her.

What was done was done. Shi Lan was fine now, so it wasn’t good for them to keep harping on the issue. The more important thing was to catch the person responsible.

Yan Huoshui’s expression turned serious. "Lanlan, can you describe the person you saw in more detail?"

Shi Lan recalled, "I only saw his back, but he was clearly wearing a new recruit’s uniform. He was tall, and his hair was short—it should be a buzz cut. I didn’t see much else."

"Oh, right. He seemed very familiar with the military base. I’m wondering if he might be a veteran who previously served in the volunteer army?"

Because a while ago, not long after the new recruits arrived, Shi Lan had felt his gaze on her.

Back then, the new recruits shouldn’t have been able to learn the base’s routes so quickly. Forget them—even Shi Lan, who had arrived half a month earlier than the recruits, only knew a few familiar routes.

That was why her movements around the military base were very predictable, making her an easy target to be watched.

"A buzz cut?"

Yan Huoshui’s mind immediately went to work, retrieving his memories. He said, "There are actually quite a few males in the new recruit camp with buzz cuts. There should be over fifty of them. Even that Wang Ahsan we mentioned last time has a buzz cut."

However, when he observed Wang Ahsan last time, he hadn’t noticed anything suspicious, so he had temporarily ruled him out.

Of course, Yan Huoshui was naturally suspicious. Since Lanlan had noticed the buzz cut, even if Wang Ahsan seemed completely harmless, the man couldn’t be ignored.

"Right, Lanlan, did you get a clear look at the person’s hair color?"

Even though quite a few people had buzz cuts, many males had different hair based on the characteristics of their beast forms, just like how Jiang Xia had long silver hair and he himself had red hair.

Shi Lan hadn’t paid special attention to it at the time, but as she thought back carefully, she had a faint impression. After all, you could only see a few things from a person’s back. "Black."

She said with certainty. Instantly, Yan Huoshui’s pool of suspects shrank by more than a dozen. That meant the person watching Lanlan was among the remaining forty men with buzz cuts.

Just then, He Hanshi spoke up. "If the person has been to the Border Defense Star before, his record will be in the enlistment archives. I’ll go check on it later."

There was no need to trouble Ye Ming with this. As an Admiral, He Hanshi had access to a master roster right here on the military base. He just needed to compare it for repeat names.

"Oh, and Yan Huoshui, send me the name list of those men with buzz cuts later."

Yan Huoshui nodded.

He thought for a moment, then narrowed his eyes, a cold glint flashing within them. "He Hanshi, since you’re the Admiral, why don’t you just find some random excuse and send all these buzz-cut soldiers back?"

He Hanshi frowned slightly. "No. Even as an Admiral, I can’t abuse my power for personal reasons."

He cared deeply about Shi Lan’s safety, but becoming a soldier was the dream of many males in this world. He couldn’t destroy the dreams of dozens of others because of one person.

Shi Lan didn’t really approve of this method either. Besides, as an Admiral, if He Hanshi really sent people away for such a strange, unfounded reason, many would surely be resentful, and it would damage his authority and reputation.

Yan Huoshui grew sullen, his expression darkening. "Fine. So I’m the only bad guy here?"

In his view, it was the fastest and most convenient method.

Shi Lan took his arm helplessly, trying to placate him. "No, no, you’re not bad. I know you’re just worried about me. Your method is actually a good idea, but the reasoning is a bit weak and might cause public outrage. We can think of something else."

Hearing this, Yan Huoshui’s expression softened. It wasn’t that there were no other options; he was just worried something else might happen and wanted to resolve it quickly.

He Hanshi lowered his gaze, his eyes landing on the hand Shi Lan was using to hold Yan Huoshui’s arm. He pressed his lips together lightly. "Sending these men away might solve the problem for now, but the person behind this still wouldn’t be caught. They could still try to harm Lanlan later."

"Keeping him under our noses is actually safer. You guys are all in the new recruit camp, so you can all keep an eye out together. If he slips up, we can catch him right then and there and eliminate the threat for good."

"Later, when the new recruits are sent out for combat, I’ll split the three of you up. I won’t send all three of you out at once. Two will remain at the base on rotation to keep an eye on the remaining recruits. Additionally, I will reorganize the squads for these buzz-cut recruits, trying to concentrate the suspects into a few teams. The next time we deploy, they will be given priority."

Yan Huoshui thought about it carefully and finally agreed with He Hanshi’s method.

As for Shi Lan, she was, as before, not to go anywhere alone again.

This time, no one had any objections.

After lunch that day, Yan Huoshui and He Hanshi got to work. One made a list of the names of those with buzz cuts, while the other was in charge of checking the records.

He Hanshi ultimately found three new recruits with buzz cuts who had a history of service on the Border Defense Star. He had Yan Huoshui and the other two focus their attention on these men, especially a black-haired, buzz-cut recruit named Chen Dahai. As for the other few dozen, they couldn’t be completely ignored either.

After checking the records, He Hanshi reorganized the squad personnel that afternoon.

In the military, soldiers must obey the orders of their superiors unconditionally. No one questioned it. Besides, the new recruits had more or less gotten to know each other during this time, so the reorganization didn’t have a major impact.

To make Chen Dahai stand out more, He Hanshi even made him a squad leader of one of the teams based on his abilities. Chen Dahai’s face turned red with excitement. The last time he was a volunteer soldier, he hadn’t managed to get noticed by the Admiral and had come and gone in a flash. This time, he’d made it! He had actually become a squad leader.

Chen Dahai immediately snapped into an even straighter military posture, standing steadfast and serious at the front of his team, determined to prove himself worthy of the Admiral’s promotion.

He Hanshi’s gaze lingered on him for an extra moment before he nonchalantly looked away.

He had a feeling that this Chen Dahai wasn’t the person stalking Lanlan. But you can know a person’s face without knowing their heart, and it was too early to make a simple judgment.

However, neither he nor Yan Huoshui and the others noticed someone in the crowd discreetly glance at the top of Chen Dahai’s head out of the corner of their eye. The person’s eyes flickered, and they quickly concealed the sinister look within them.