Chapter 128: The Arrest of Jin Yaowen

"Grab him!"

Wang Bowen shouted, and a group of men rushed forward, tackling Jin Yaowen to the ground.

Wang Bowen then ran over. "Mingyang, are you alright?"

Zhang Mingyang looked at Jin Yaowen, who was being handcuffed, and shook his head. "I'm fine, Grandpa Wang."

Zhang Mingyang didn't understand why Jin Yaowen had walked right into a trap.

"Where are your grandparents?"

"Oh no!"

Zhang Mingyang had almost forgotten. He rushed toward their house, pushed open the gate, and entered the courtyard.

"Grandpa? Grandma?"

He shouted into the yard.

"Mingyang?"

Grandma walked out of the house and looked at him in surprise. "How did you get back? Why didn't you let me know you were coming?"

"Grandson!"

Grandpa emerged from the house as well. He laughed and said, "Your grandma just lost another round of cards to me."

"What is going on here?"

Zhang Mingyang was bewildered. Looking at the two of them, they didn't seem like people who had been kidnapped. "Grandpa, Grandma, when did you return to our hometown? Why didn't you answer any of my calls?"

"Huh?"

Grandpa took out his phone and checked it. "Oh dear! Why is there no signal?"

Grandma also checked her phone and found no signal either. "Mingyang, why is there no mobile signal in our village?"

Zhang Mingyang realized it must have been Jin Yaowen who jammed the signal in the village.

"Never mind that. How long have you two been back at the hometown?"

Grandpa thought for a moment and replied, "It's been about five days, I think?"

"Why did you suddenly decide to come back here?"

Grandma pointed toward the house of their neighbor, Liu Mingqian, behind them. "Your Uncle Liu said he was moving away in a few days, and since we've been old neighbors for so long, we came back to see him off."

Hearing this, Zhang Mingyang understood: Jin Yaowen had tricked them into coming here.

"Grandson, your hand...?"

Grandpa suddenly noticed that Zhang Mingyang's right arm had become a mechanical limb. Hearing this, Grandma grabbed his right arm and felt it, asking in shock, "Mingyang, what happened to your arm?"

Zhang Mingyang didn't know how to answer that.

"It's all my fault!"

Wang Bowen walked in at that moment. "It’s all my fault. I didn't take good care of Mingyang, and he lost an arm."

"Oh!"

Grandma grabbed the mechanical hand and began to cry. "Mingyang, how could you turn out like this? Does it hurt?"

Listening to his grandmother's sobbing, Zhang Mingyang almost broke down himself, but to keep them from learning the truth about Jin Yaowen, he held back. "It's alright, Grandma. I'm almost fully healed. This mechanical arm was a gift from a friend. See? It works just as well as the original one."

He demonstrated by moving the mechanical arm through various motions.

"Mingyang, if I had known, I never would have let you go."

Grandma cried even harder. Zhang Mingyang quickly tried to comfort her with a smile. "It's really fine, Grandma. Research is like that; accidents happen. I'm lucky I only lost an arm. It's no big deal."

"No big deal! How are you going to get a wife looking like this?"

At the mention of this, Zhang Mingyang thought of Bai Muqing. He quickly replied, "Someone is with me. Don't worry, I found a girlfriend at work, and she doesn't mind at all."

Hearing that he had a girlfriend, Grandma wiped away her tears and looked at him. "You couldn't even find one back in school, and now you find one at work? Don't try to lie to your grandmother."

"I'm not lying. If you don't believe me, I'll have her come to visit you in a few days."

"Really?"

Oh no. Zhang Mingyang felt he had walked right into a trap, but to stop his grandmother from crying, he had to agree. "Really. I'll have her come see you in a few days."

While Zhang Mingyang was talking to his grandmother, Grandpa pulled Wang Bowen out of the yard. He asked, "Professor Wang, how exactly did my grandson's arm end up like this?"

Wang Bowen replied, "It's all my fault. A laboratory machine malfunctioned and exploded, causing Mingyang to lose his arm."

Hearing this, Grandpa nodded. "I understand. So, my grandson lost his arm for his country. He’s a good man! He hasn't brought any shame to the Zhang family!"

Hearing Grandpa's words, Wang Bowen replied, "Old brother, I plan to let Mingyang stay home and rest for a while."

Grandpa nodded. "That's fine. He's been away from home for several months, and his grandmother misses him every day. Let him stay here for a few more days. But if the country needs him again, he can go back at any time."

"Understood, old brother. Rest assured, the country will certainly need him."

At that moment, Zhang Mingyang and his grandmother walked out.

"Old man, hurry and pack our bags; we're going home." The two returned inside to start packing.

Seeing them go in, Wang Bowen gestured for Zhang Mingyang to come over. "Mingyang, I've already talked to your grandfather. You should rest at home for now. You can return to the base once your injuries have healed."

"But...!"

Wang Bowen held up a hand to stop him. "It's not up for discussion. After what happened, you need to go home and spend time with your grandparents. The base will handle the situation with Jin Yaowen."

With that, he walked into the alley and left.

Seeing Wang Bowen leave, Zhang Mingyang had no choice but to follow orders and stay behind.

"Beep-beep!"

His communicator rang; it was Peng Dongli.

"Hello? Brother Peng, where are you guys now?"

Peng Dongli replied, "Junior brother, Old Tian and I are on our way back to the base. We've heard about the Jin Yaowen situation. You just stay home and get some good rest. We'll see you at the base when you've recovered. Oh, and by the way, I've already had someone clean up your house, so you can move in tonight."

Hearing that Peng Dongli was heading back to the base, he quickly asked, "Brother, are you not coming here anymore?"

"We aren't coming for now."

Tian Wenyuan grabbed the phone and answered, "Junior brother, get some rest. Now that Jin Yaowen has been caught, we need to get back to the base immediately. There’s a mountain of work waiting for us!"

"Alright, stay safe on your way back."

"Will do."

Seeing that they had already left Jiyang, Zhang Mingyang could only wait until he returned to the base to see them again.

After hanging up, his grandparents walked out carrying their suitcases. "Let's go, Mingyang. It's time to head home."

Grandpa locked the door, and the three of them left.

As they walked out of the alley onto the main road of the village, Zhang Mingyang noticed there wasn't a soul in sight. It seemed Wang Bowen had already cleared the area.

Before leaving, Zhang Mingyang turned back to glance at Uncle Liu's house, still thinking about what had happened.

"Oh!"

Grandpa turned back to look at Liu Mingqian's house. "I almost forgot to tell Old Liu that we were leaving."

He started to head back to find him.

"No need, Grandpa."

Zhang Mingyang stopped him. "Uncle Liu has already left."

"Huh? Old Liu left? Why didn't he say anything before he went?"

Zhang Mingyang nodded and lied, "Just as I got back to the village, I saw Uncle Liu getting into a car to leave. He told me to tell you he was heading off. He said that after being neighbors for so many years, he didn't want to see you one last time and end up feeling too sad to leave, so he decided to just go."

"Oh! That Old Liu. No matter how hard it is to say goodbye, we still should have seen him one last time."

With a shake of his head, Grandpa continued toward the entrance of the village.

Grandma walked slowly behind, supporting Zhang Mingyang.

"Grandma, my legs are fine, why are you holding onto me?"