Li Zan and Song Ran continued on their journey.
The road conditions on the latter part of the journey were extremely bad. Many sections of the road were damaged in the war, and the speed of advancement also dropped rapidly.
Under high temperatures, the bumpy ride, scorching heat and fatigue tested people's endurance.
After walking for several hours, we gradually saw scattered buildings in the wasteland in the distance. They were all sand-yellow bunker houses, with broken exterior walls and some with their roofs blown off. We continued driving forward and the outline of a big city appeared on the horizon, accompanied by the faint sound of artillery fire.
The two looked at each other and realized that the city of Hapo was ahead.
Li Zan picked up the helmet and put it on Song Ran's head. He subconsciously clenched his gun and said, "Go south."
"Um."
There was fighting going on in the north and east of the city, the sound of artillery could be heard from afar, and every once in a while you could see the smoke rising from explosions on the horizon.
Song Ran did not dare to relax and drove carefully around the south of the city. Along the way, large areas of newly dug graves gradually appeared, and some of the dead did not even have a burial place, and were exposed to the sun on the roadside.
As they headed south, the sound of gunfire faded away, but Song Ran couldn't relax.
There were no living people on the road, but when the car drove into a street in the southern suburbs, a figure appeared.
Song Ran felt something was wrong, but his hand involuntarily opened the camera and placed it under the windshield.
The scavengers were dressed in rags and had dishevelled hair, wandering the streets like ghosts. The elderly, men, women, and children were all dirty and downtrodden, wandering aimlessly or huddled in corners.
As the car passed by, the eyes of these people moved slowly, but without any brilliance.
A sad and creepy atmosphere permeated the street deeply.
Song Ran was in agony, he gripped the steering wheel tightly and drove forward slowly.
A woman holding a child appeared on the roadside ahead. Her hands were as thin as bamboo poles due to long-term hunger. The child in her arms was more than three years old, his eyes bulged out from hunger, and he was breathing hard in his mother's arms.
Song Ran suddenly stepped on the brakes and without saying a word, picked up a backpack from the back seat.
Li Zan immediately stopped her: "Wait a minute!" But before he could stop her, she had already opened the door and rushed out of the car with her bag.
Song Ran took out a bag of bread and milk from his bag and handed it to the woman.
The woman hugged her child tightly, her eyes full of vigilance.
Song Ran tried hard to force a smile, opened the plastic bag, put a straw in the milk, and handed it to her again.
The woman took it hesitantly and gave the milk to the child in her arms. The child scooped it up and started to drink. The woman tore half of the bread for the child and gobbled it up herself.
Song Ran couldn't bear it, so he took out another bag of bread from his backpack.
"Reporter Song!" Li Zan got out of the car and shouted at her.
Song Ran turned around and saw that the scavengers had gathered around him. Men, women, old and young, all looked haggard. Their naturally deep eye sockets became even more sunken due to hunger. They stared at the food in Song Ran's hand, stretched out their bony hands, and slowly approached. They were like zombies walking in Hollywood blockbusters.
Song Ran felt a chill in his heart. He stood there, not daring to move, and called out softly, "Officer Li..."
Li Zan quickly ran to her side in two or three steps, held her wrist tightly and pulled her behind him, then turned to face the people who were slowly approaching.
But people were coming from all directions, and no side was safe. Li Zan was afraid of causing chaos, so he didn't bring his rifle with him. He only had a pistol on his waist. He carefully pressed the butt of the gun with his hand, ready at any time.
Song Ran also turned his back to Li Zan and looked warily at the crowd that was slowly surrounding them.
The first person to approach was a middle-aged man, almost as old as Song Ran's father. He pointed at the backpack in Song Ran's hand, a pleading expression on his old face, and begged her with his hands clasped together.
Song Ran looked at Li Zan timidly, asking for his consent. Li Zan pursed his lips and nodded. Song Ran gave him a bag of bread. The man held the bread, bowed deeply, and walked away slowly.
The crowd that gathered around him lined up behind him.
Li Zan released Song Ran's wrist. She immediately zipped up her backpack to the maximum, took out all the bread inside and handed it to them one by one. The people who received the bread bowed deeply, and an ignorant child was also pressed down by her mother.
Song Ran couldn't bear their humble gratitude and didn't dare to look them in the eye.
There wasn't much in her bag, only about seven or eight bags, and it was empty in an instant.
Li Zan said, "I still have some compressed biscuits."
He walked quickly to the car. There were guns and ammunition in the car. He had locked the car just in case. He unlocked it and searched in his backpack.
Song Ran also opened the trunk and took out a bag of bulk snacks he brought from the base.
However, it is only a drop in the bucket.
When Song Ran was distributing biscuits and other snacks to everyone, her heart felt cold. She didn't dare to face the group of people queuing behind her.
"Wait a moment." She ran to the back seat and found a few pieces of melted chocolate, a bag of peanuts, a bag of candy and plums, and gave them all away.
Some people took the food and left. The remaining hungry people still held on to hope, standing there, looking at them quietly, with a desolate look in their eyes.
Li Zan spoke in a low voice, barely able to raise his head, and said, "I'm sorry, there's no more."
"I'd better look for it again." Song Ran ran to the car again, found the backpack in the trunk from the luggage bag in the back seat, and turned all the bags upside down.
"No more. I'm sorry." She suddenly choked up, and tears came out as soon as she opened her mouth. Big tears fell down. She lowered her head and shook her head. "I'm sorry, it's really gone. I'm sorry."
God knows how much she wished that all the clothes in her bag turned into bread. But there was none, and even the compartments of her bag were turned over. Even if she was given another bag of potato chips, that would be fine.
"I'm sorry, there's really nothing left." She didn't dare look at them. She just lowered her head and stubbornly rummaged through her bag, tears streaming down her face.
The scavengers knew there was no hope, and they slowly walked away in silence, dragging their weak legs.
Song Ran didn't look at them. He was still rummaging in his bag, as if he couldn't stop.
"Don't look for her anymore." Li Zan walked over and pulled her away from the trunk. She lowered her head and said nothing. He pulled her to the front of the car and stuffed her into the passenger seat.
Li Zan returned to the trunk, his eyes were red too. He lowered his head and wiped his nose vigorously, put away the bag inside, closed the lid, and walked to the driver's seat.
He sat for half a minute and turned his head to look; Song Ran was no longer crying, but was looking out the window with a blank expression.
Li Zan started the car in silence.
After driving a few blocks, Song Ran suddenly asked, "Do you remember the day when Jialuo City exploded?"
Li Zan said, “I remember.”
"When I was in the hospital, you asked me why I was crying," Song Ran said, "Because I felt so much pain."
Li Zan was very quiet, waiting for her to speak.
"I saw a girl's hand broken, with the bones exposed. I felt like my hand was broken in the same place, and the bones were cold. I saw a person with a hole in his chest, and I felt my chest was also twisting and leaking air. Do you understand that feeling?"
"I understand." Li Zan said, "What I don't understand is... why some people don't feel pain."
…
The city of Hapo is well planned, with wide and flat streets and magnificent buildings, but sometimes buildings are damaged and waste materials such as cement and sand are scattered all over the sidewalks.
Roads were blocked everywhere, and Li Zan took a detour through the streets, and it took him a long time to reach his destination.
Song Ran's office and residence are in a hotel in the center of Hapo. It was originally a four-star hotel owned by an international chain. After the war broke out, the hotel was sold to locals at a low price. The owner closed the business, the employees left, and all valuables including carpets were sold. The rooms were rented to foreign journalists and various organizations without borders.
Li Zan parked his car in the parking lot inside the hotel and unloaded the motorcycle from the roof.
Song Ran took out large and small bags of luggage from the trunk. She didn't have much stuff, but she had a lot of equipment and instruments.
Li Zan suddenly remembered something and asked, "You just gave away all the food, what are you going to eat?"
Song Ran said, "There are people in charge of food and drink here."
"That's good."
Li Zan helped Song Ran carry his things upstairs. When he entered the lobby to register, he looked around and saw several armed militiamen patrolling on the first floor, which made him feel a little relieved.
Walking into the stairwell, Song Ran, who had been listless all the way, brightened his eyes a little: "Is this the elevator?"
The hotel has only one old-fashioned elevator on the top five floors, which should be a product of the last century - there is a horizontally retractable iron gate on the outside and a pink and yellow wooden box elevator car inside.
Song Ran curiously stretched her neck to look inside, and saw through the gate that there were several thick cables hanging up and down outside the box. She said, "This is the first time I've seen this kind of elevator."
"This guy is probably older than both of us combined." Li Zan said as he pushed the iron fence outside horizontally. Halfway through, he remembered something and looked back at her: "Do you want to take a picture?"
Song Ran hesitated for a moment: "... Let's just forget it."
Li Zan smiled lightly: "I'm not in a hurry."
"Then I'll take a picture." Song Ran smiled shyly and took out the camera from her bag.
"Oh no, I forgot to take a picture of the olive tree," she said frustratedly.
Li Zan said: "It's okay, just remember it in your mind. You don't have to look at the photos often, but you can recall the memories at any time."
Song Ran was comforted instantly, and said, "But it's really magical. The mirage should show the original color of the scenery. Is there really a white olive grove somewhere?"
"Maybe there really is, who knows?" Li Zan dragged the boxes of different sizes and stepped aside to make way for her.
When she finished taking photos, he pushed the door open and opened the inner wooden door. The space inside was small, and a few suitcases took up most of the space. He closed the iron gate and the wooden door, then pressed the button: "Which floor?"
"Fourth floor."
He turned his head to look at her: "When you take the elevator, remember that the iron gate outside must be closed, otherwise the elevator will not move."
"Yeah." She nodded, and after a while, she whispered, "How come you know everything?"
Li Zan was stunned and a little embarrassed. He smiled and said, "I have seen this kind of elevator before."
"Eh? Where is it?"
"One year I went to Volgograd for training and lived in a building built during World War II." The space in the elevator was narrow, and the two of them stood together. He lowered his head to look at her, "That building had this kind of old elevator."
"Oh." She felt that they were standing too close to each other. She felt uneasy. She looked around and said, "This elevator is so pitiful. An old grandfather is carrying two of us young people on his back."
Li Zan listened and curled the corners of his lips.
The elevator slowly moved upwards. There were windows on the half-hollow side walls, through which one could see the elevator pipes of the ancient building and the cables moving up and down.
Suddenly, the whole elevator shook. Song Ran was terrified and grabbed Li Zan.
But the next second, the elevator went up steadily again.
Song Ran's face turned red with embarrassment, and she immediately let go of his arm. With nowhere to retreat, she could only stand in front of him at a close distance, letting her cheeks slowly turn red and heat up.
She lowered her head and stroked her hair, her eyes darting around, and she tried to smooth things over with a smile: "I thought there was a bomb."
Li Zan's eyes slowly shifted away, and he explained, "This kind of elevator is like this. Every time it reaches a floor, it will jump."
"Oh." She nodded and looked down at his combat boots. The elevator jolted again. This time she grasped the wooden wall with her palms and stood firm, not rushing towards him.
After a few seconds of silence, Song Ran changed the subject: "Volgograd is the Stalingrad in history, right?"
"Yes. It was the worst battle during World War II. The entire city was destroyed."
"I was fascinated by the history of World War II when I was in school," Song Ran said. "Is that city doing well now?"
"It's a very quiet city, with a very blue sky, straight and wide streets, and monuments and cemeteries everywhere. But there are a lot of small flying insects. My comrades said it's because there were too many corpses and too many deaths in the past. But I think it may just be because the city was built on the Volga River and the trees are too lush."
"Oh." She listened to his description, imagined what the city looked like, and nodded.
As he was speaking, the elevator jumped again and reached the fourth floor.
When the elevator came to a complete stop, Li Zan opened the wooden door of the box, then the iron gate outside, and looked back at her: "You go out first."
Song Ran lowered his head and passed by him.
He moved the suitcases out one by one, closed the inner door, and pulled the gate shut, saying, "If you don't have much stuff with you, try to use the stairs."
"Okay. I know." Song Ran understood what he meant.
In a war zone, not to mention power outages, accidents can happen at any time.
Song Ran's room was at the end of the corridor. The interior was simply furnished with a single bed, and the other single bed was replaced with a table and chairs. The TV on the wall was removed, and the air conditioner was also removed and replaced with a fan.
Li Zan pushed her things into the house, laid out the boxes side by side, and put her backpack on the table.
Song Ran asked: "Do you want to wash your face?"
Li Zan shook his head and said with a smile, "I'm leaving."
Song Ran's heart skipped a beat. She knew that he would not stay long, but at this moment she felt a little reluctant and even a little sad.
In such a strange city, she was alone again.
She looked at him;
He also looked at her, his eyes quiet and gentle.
She was afraid of losing her composure, so she quickly looked away and hurriedly found a bottle of water for him: "Then you take the water."
Li Zan said no: "Drink it yourself."
"You hold it!" She was a little anxious, and with a slightly shrill voice, she stuffed the water into his hand.
He held the water, not letting go this time, and smiled at her.
The two looked at each other in silence. After that, they parted ways and went about their respective tasks. They didn't know when they would meet again.
Song Ran followed him to the door and insisted, "I'll take you to the stairs."
"Um."
The carpet in the hotel corridor was removed, and his military boots made clear footsteps on the ground.
At this moment, both of them were silent and walked towards the stairs in silence.
Only a few steps away, Song Ran finally asked in a low voice: "Where do you live?"
"Military camp."
"Where?"
Li Zan smiled but didn't answer.
Song Ran knew it was a secret.
He stopped at the stairs and said, "Don't go down."
"Yeah." She nodded. She wanted to tell him to be safe, but she didn't say it. She just smiled and waved at him: "Goodbye."
"Goodbye." Li Zan looked at her for a second and quickly went down the stairs. When he reached the corner, he looked up and saw that she was still standing there. He called out, "Reporter Song."
"Um?"
"Take care of yourself," he said. "Don't die."