Song Ran saw his face clearly, and her tense nerves snapped in an instant. Her hands and feet suddenly became weak, and tears flowed silently. He supported her with one hand, and she tried her best to stand firm.
There were constant gunshots in the alley, following closely.
Li Zan lifted the mask with one hand to cover his face again, and with the other hand he pulled her up and quickly turned into another alley.
The alley is narrow and lined with houses.
Li Zan glanced at the houses while running, and saw that the window of a house was closed. He immediately opened the window and picked up Song Ran and put him up without saying a word.
Song Ran understood and quickly jumped into the house. Li Zan put his hands on the inner layer of the windowsill and jumped into the house without disturbing the dust outside the windowsill.
Song Ran immediately closed the window.
This house is a typical desert dwelling in the East, with small windows, thick walls, and a flat-roofed bunker-like dimness and coolness. The valuable furniture and decorations in the house had long been moved out.
As soon as the two entered the house, they heard footsteps searching for someone outside the window.
Song Ran was scared and wanted to climb the stairs to hide. She took one step and Li Zan pulled her back and pressed her against the wall. He quickly covered her mouth with his big hand and took a step forward to press her against the wall.
The next second, a figure flashed past the window beside the two of them. A dark and narrow shadow slanted into the room and slowly slid within the light and shadow outline drawn by the window edge on the floor.
Li Zan clenched his teeth and unconsciously pressed Song Ran tighter.
Song Ran's heart was pounding like a drum, and she tried her best to hold her breath. At this moment, she was afraid to even hear her own breathing.
Several more figures passed by the window, back and forth.
The group lost their target and gathered near this window, yelling something in the Eastern language. Although I couldn't understand what they were saying, I could tell the rage they were gathering.
Separated by a wall, Song Ran didn't even dare to breathe, and sweat dripped down her body. She raised her eyes to look at Li Zan, he was very close to her, his chin almost touching her forehead.
His temples were tense; above the mask, only his striking eyebrows and eyes were exposed, staring at the window without blinking, his eyes as sharp as an eagle. A rifle was stuck between his right palm and right arm, and veins on the back of his hand were bulging.
After the person outside the window cursed, someone suddenly said something in the direction of the window. A figure approached the window and raised his hand to push it open.
Song Ran stared at Li Zan with wide eyes; but he stared at that hand, and slowly raised his right hand holding the gun; a ruthless aura emanated from his whole body, and a sense of oppression spread from top to bottom.
Just as the man was about to push the window, someone said something. The man touched the dust on the windowsill and replied. Song Ran then remembered that Li Zan had not touched the dust on the windowsill when he entered the room just now.
The person outside judged that there was no one in the house and turned to leave. At this moment, a gunshot suddenly rang out and a figure on the window sill fell to the ground.
The anti-government forces chased after them and fought with the terrorist organization again.
The people outside immediately raised their guns to fight back, and the two sides engaged in a fierce battle, with bullets flying everywhere. Several of them hit the windows, causing the glass to shatter and fly.
Li Zan instantly lowered his head to her shoulder and covered her with his body to block the glass shards flying at her at high speed.
The man's cheek was pressed tightly against her cheek. Through the not-too-thick mask, his rapid and wet breath seeped through the cotton cloth and flowed into her ears from the side of her cheek like wet feathers.
But after just a second, he turned his head to the side. Although he still kept his head down, his eyes were directed out the window, closely watching the movements outside, not daring to relax for even a moment.
Song Ran stared blankly, her heartbeat out of control. She was held tightly in his arms, she could hear his heartbeat and smell the hot sweat under his collar. She shuddered for no reason, not sure if it was because of fear or something else.
And his hand was still covering her mouth, with the smell of male sweat and gun smoke.
Only then did she remember that he was the one who fired the two bullets that came from above.
He saved her again.
They remained pressed tightly against each other, standing in that cool, dark corner for more than ten minutes.
The war outside finally stopped, and both groups seemed to have suffered heavy losses and evacuated separately.
Not until the world was completely quiet, so quiet that no sound could be heard, did Song Ran feel his chest rise and fall clearly and slowly - he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
He slowly raised his head, loosened his hand that was covering her mouth, and took a step or two back to distance himself from her.
Song Ran's face was already blood red. She glanced at him quickly and didn't dare to look at him any further. She turned her eyes away to look at the broken glass on the ground.
Li Zan relaxed his stiff right hand, and seeing that she was just stunned and silent, he asked softly, "Are you scared?"
"Ah?" She raised her head and shook it. "Not bad."
He looked at her for a second or two without saying anything, then tilted his head slightly and took off the mask.
Seeing this, Song Ran also took off his mask.
The light in the room was dim. The two people's eyes were bright. They looked into each other's eyes, staring at each other's faces without any obstruction. It was quiet and silent.
Even he might have realized that there was a hint of subtlety and embarrassment in what had just happened. He looked away, wiped his face with his mask, and whispered, "It's hotter here than in Garo."
"Yes." She fanned her cheeks gently. "I was running all the time and was so nervous that my face is flushed."
He seemed to find her words funny and smiled faintly.
After waiting for about ten minutes, Li Zan walked over and opened the door.
The trails of blood on the stone road were messy and shocking. They were left behind in the recent chaos - both sides dragged away many dead and wounded.
He put on the mask again and looked back at Song Ran Yiyan. She understood what he meant and put it on too. The two of them walked cautiously in the alley.
He is in front and she is behind.
He walked slowly, looking back from time to time, making sure she stayed close behind him.
He looked back more and more often, and she became nervous and whispered, "Don't look back so often, I'm afraid someone will suddenly jump out in front of me."
Li Zan nodded, walked a few steps, and simply stretched the strap of his backpack and handed it to her. She held it tightly, and wrapped it around her wrist twice, tying it behind him like a tail.
At noon under the scorching sun, the ghost town is deserted.
She pulled the rope and followed him slowly and cautiously through the empty alleys, buildings full of bullet holes, and deep and strange doors and windows.
The anti-government forces and terrorist organizations had already withdrawn.
Li Zan went around an alley and pushed out a military motorcycle. Song Ran wanted to ask something, but being in this scary little town, she was still very panicked and inexplicably did not dare to speak, as if she was afraid of alarming something.
The two returned to the street and Song Ran's car was still parked there.
She loosened the straps on her wrists one by one, and before getting on the bus, she looked at Li Zan eagerly: "Can I get in?"
Li Zan checked the inside and outside of the car and made sure everything was ok before letting her get in. He jumped onto the hood and tied the motorcycle to the roof.
They set off again, neither of them spoke a word. After walking a few streets cautiously, Song Ran began to step on the accelerator, speeding up faster and faster, and they sped out of this ghost town at a speed of 150 miles per hour.
After leaving the city, the roads were empty and the world was quiet. The vast wilderness stretched as far as the eye could see. Song Ran relaxed a little and asked Li Zan, "Why are you here?"
Li Zan replied briefly: "Our combat team was sent to Hapo."
…
Li Zan didn't tell her that when they passed through an unknown town, the government soldiers at the checkpoint checked Li Zan's ID, and seeing that he was Chinese, they casually said, "A Chinese female reporter just passed by. I told her that she would be safe if she reached Harpo before dark, but now the war situation has suddenly changed, and the government troops at the next station have temporarily withdrawn reinforcements from the north, causing the anti-government forces and extremist organizations to fight there in advance in order to seize the point. I hope she is lucky and doesn't run into them."
Li Zan asked, "What's the name of that reporter?"
"I usually can't remember Chinese names," the soldier said, "but her last name is weird, it means 'song'. Her first name is even weirder, it means the past tense of 'run'."
song ran
"How far is the next station from here?"
"Thirty-three kilometers."
Li Zan immediately asked the team for a military motorcycle to chase after them, saying that they would gather in Hapo in the evening.
Benjamin smiled and said, "I didn't expect that Chinese people are also very romantic."
…
Li Zan asked, "What about you?"
Song Ran said, "I was sent here temporarily. I went to the base before leaving this morning and asked the guard to tell you."
He smiled faintly and said, "I left the base early in the morning to assemble."
"Why are you going to Hapo all of a sudden?"
"There will be a large wave of attacks tonight, and the government forces are afraid they can't hold on, so they asked us to go over for support. There are only a few small teams. But there will be more troops later..." As he spoke, he suddenly frowned, lowered his head, and touched the back of his neck, and felt out a few pieces of glass.
He casually brushed off the residue on his hands.
Song Ran had sharp eyes and saw a few hints of red, so he slowed down the car and stopped it on the side of the road.
"how?"
"Your neck... seems to have been stabbed by glass."
"I think should not be."
“Yes.”
"… "
The two of them stared at each other.
Song Ran pointed tentatively: "Let me... take a look?"
Li Zan silently turned his head to look out the window, then slightly sideways to look at her.
She knelt on one leg on the driver's seat and stretched her neck: "It's really bleeding."
He sat back down, touched the back of his neck again, and said, "I don't feel anything..."
"Don't touch it with your hands, your hands are dirty." She slapped his hand away.
“…” Li Zan lowered his head and said nothing.
The injury on the back of his neck was not serious, but there were several scratches on the skin and a few small dents caused by glass.
Song Ran thought, if he hadn't blocked it just now, these glass shards would have pierced her face.
"I have erythromycin." Song Ran turned around and reached for the bag on the back seat, and took out a small tube of erythromycin and a small piece of wet wipes from the bag.
Li Zan laughed: "Isn't erythromycin used to treat eyes?"
"You mean erythromycin eye ointment? It's an antibiotic, it kills bacteria." She muttered, gently wiping the back of his neck with a wet wipe. Perhaps because she was afraid of hurting him, she was very gentle.
Li Zan lowered his head and felt her fingers brushing across his neck through a wet towel. It was cool and a little itchy. She wiped it clean and blew it twice unconsciously to make the water dry quickly.
It itched even more. He scratched his knee with his fingers and almost trembled.
She wiped her hands with a tissue, squeezed some erythromycin ointment, and applied it to his wound. Probably for the sake of efficacy, she applied it all around the wound.
Li Zan let her do whatever she wanted.
"Does it hurt?" she asked.
He lowered his head and smiled: "Why would this hurt?"
She thought about it and agreed.
"Okay." She screwed the cap on, sat back in her seat, and said, "Be careful not to let your collar rub the medicine off."
"Yeah." He answered, curling the corner of his lip in an ambiguous way.
"why are you laughing?"
He wiped his face and shook his head: "Nothing."
Song Ran didn't believe it and looked at him suspiciously.
He laughed and said, "You're quite wordy. I didn't realize that before."
"…" She said to herself, "What else can you see?"
"That's right." He smiled slightly and looked at the wasteland outside the window.
Song Ran was about to drive when Li Zan suddenly said, "Song Ran."
This was the first time he called her by her name. She was stunned.
"Um?"
Li Zan looked out the window and said, "Look, what is that?"
Song Ran lowered his head and looked at the window on his side. Outside the window, on the sandy plain, a large and endless olive grove was outlined on the distant horizon.
"That's... not right..." Song Ran was shocked.
Li Zan involuntarily opened the car door and walked out, and Song Ran also got out of the car to look out.
In her past experience, she had never seen such a magnificent and absurd yet unreal scene as this one—
The golden sand stretches endlessly, the azure sky is endless, and on the horizon of this contrasting yellow and blue color, there is a white olive grove floating.
Yes, it's white.
From leaves to branches, everything is pure white;
Like pure snowflakes, or the wings of a dove of peace, but they are truly olive trees, lush and leafy, standing in the open fields.
"This..." Song Ran couldn't believe his eyes, "How could there be a white olive tree?"
Li Zan looked at the horizon, squinting his eyes for a long time, and suddenly said, "It's a mirage."
"Really?" Song Ran couldn't tell. Because the forest and the land were seamlessly connected and not floating in the air. But if it wasn't a mirage, how could he explain the strange sight in front of him
"Do you think it's true?" Li Zan turned to look at her.
"This is exactly the same olive groves I saw along the way, except for the color," said Song Ran.
Li Zan then jumped onto the hood of the car, then walked onto the roof, sat cross-legged, and looked at the sky: "Then let's wait and see."
Song Ran was a little surprised, but she also thought it was a good idea. She also climbed onto the hood of the car, sat down with her legs dangling, and looked out at the horizon.
The afternoon sun was shining brightly and there was not a breath of wind.
The two of them sat in the car, one high and one low, but they felt extremely calm and peaceful inside.
The world was silent and vast. They waited.
After sitting for a while, Song Ran suddenly said, "Thinking about it now, it's really amazing. If it were a few years ago, I would never have imagined that I would be driving on a shabby cement road in a war-torn country. Halfway through my escape, I even stopped the car and sat in it to look at the mirage."
Li Zan hugged one knee and looked down at her: "Didn't you think you would be a reporter at that time?"
"No. I thought I would work at a history museum. But now, I think being a reporter is also good. I can record many things. Maybe one day, I will record history inadvertently."
"I don't think we need to wait for a certain day. Everyone in this world is part of history," Li Zan said. "You, me, and everyone here are part of history. Even if paper or pen can't remember, this land will remember."
Song Ran listened to him and tilted his head to look at him. He was sitting on the high roof of the car, looking at the sky and the earth in the distance. When he said this, he seemed to be longing for something, and there was indescribable tenderness and affection in his eyes.
She suddenly felt it very clearly, a deep love for life, or for all living things.
Her heart suddenly became gentle and silent.
She looked off into the distance again and said, "What about you? Have you wanted to be a soldier since you were a kid?"
"Yeah." He nodded.
"Why?"
“Remember the flood in 1998?”
Song Ran said, "Which kid in our province wouldn't remember? The soldier saved you?"
He smiled and shook his head: "I live in Jiangcheng, it's okay. But I saw a lot."
Song Ran nodded to show that he understood.
"Look!" Li Zan pointed his chin toward the sky and reminded her.
As expected, the large olive grove began to slowly dissipate, like a piece of paper soaked by water droplets, which slowly shrank towards the center after the water evaporated.
The two stopped talking. They were silent and quiet, staring at the white olive grove slowly disappearing on the horizon without blinking, as if they wanted to engrave the scenery and mood of this moment in their hearts.
The forest became smaller and smaller, until gradually, only one olive tree was left, standing alone and stubbornly in the wilderness, like the most silent watch for this land.
Song Ran suddenly asked, "Can you make a wish for a mirage?"
Li Zan chuckled: "This is not a shooting star."
Song Ran: "But I think that everything that nature gives us can be wished for."
After the words fell, the two of them were silent for a moment, and suddenly said in unison:
“Then I hope for world peace.”
"My wish is world peace."
They looked at the horizon, heard each other's voices blending with their own, and couldn't help but smile. They didn't look at each other, but looked at the white olive tree until it melted into the air bit by bit and disappeared without a trace.
Finally, all that was left was the deserted desert and the blue sky without a trace of impurities.
It was as if the magnificent scene he and she had just seen had never existed.
The author has something to say: 1. The author added something to say in the previous chapter, answering some questions the girls had about the previous chapter.
2. A friend told me today that he had been feeling restless recently, but after seeing the olive trees, he felt much calmer.
Hahaha, Olive brand sedatives, one dollar a piece~