Song Ran held the camera and walked towards the pile of sandbags in the center of the street. There was a car parked next to the barrier, and the child's safety seat was removed from the car.
As she got closer, she saw clearly that it was Li Zan.
He was wearing thick protective clothing, which must have been for some time, and his forehead and face were covered with sweat.
Perhaps in order not to put pressure on the child, he pulled off his mask and hung it on his chin.
At this moment, he was squatting on the ground, dismantling the safety seat and bomb tied to the child. His expression looked very calm and casual. When he cut a thread, he clicked his tongue and smiled and blinked at the child.
The child was pouting with tears on his face a second ago, but he immediately burst into laughter because of his laughter.
Song Ran did not disturb him. When he saw his shadow approaching the sandbag, he quickly moved away.
Although she was an outsider, she could see that the situation was actually very tricky.
The back of the child's seat was full of bombs, and the front of him was covered with dense, colorful rubber threads, tangled with the seat straps and safety buckles, like a tangled mess.
Li Zan has already sorted out and cut off part of this mess.
Behind the seats, a red countdown showed the time they had left: ten minutes.
Li Zan knew the situation was critical, and he didn't even have time to check the time. He asked the couple, "How long will it take?"
"Nine minutes and thirty seconds, sir," said the husband.
Li Zan pursed his lips slightly and said nothing. His expression did not reveal any emotion. Seeing that the child was staring at him without blinking, he smiled gently at the child and said, "It's ok."
After he finished speaking, he looked at the wires in his hand, his eyes solemn, and he made a careful assessment. There was not enough time, and it was impossible to stop the bomb from exploding. The wires he cut were all concentrated on the left half of the child's body. As long as there was enough space, he could pull the child out. Gradually, the wires left on the child's left leg and waist became less and less, indicating that the risk factor was getting higher and higher.
He confirmed it over and over again for a long time before he took action.
His gradually slowing movements made the child's parents, who were lying outside the sandbag wall, more and more nervous, and they both held their breath.
At this time, Li Zan suddenly said to the couple: "Please leave."
The child's mother immediately choked up: "Is it serious, sir?"
Li Zan did not answer, but only said: "Don't worry, I won't abandon him. Please leave."
The young wife was about to say something, but her husband held her back and shook his head, indicating that he should not disturb her and waste her time.
The woman wiped her tears and begged, "Sir, my child, please save him."
Li Zan sorted out the wires without looking up and said, "Madam, as long as I am alive, he is alive."
The couple retreated to the outer circle, comforting the child as they stepped back, asking him to be strong.
When the child saw this, he realized that the situation was dangerous. His mouth drooped, tears rolled down his big eyes, and he started to cry again.
Tears dripped onto the seat belt. Li Zan looked up at him and smiled: "Little guy, help me, okay?"
The child was curious, stopped crying, and asked softly, "What can I do for you, sir?"
"Believe me," Li Zan said, "Can you do it?"
"Yes, sir. I believe you." The child stopped crying, wiped his tears with his hands, and muttered, "I can do it."
Li Zan lowered his head and continued to analyze the wires in his hand.
He was extremely focused from beginning to end and did not see or realize that Song Ran was right next to him. She and he were only separated by an explosion-proof wall made of sandbags.
The time on the timer passed by minute by minute, and Li Zan finally rescued the child's left leg and waist, leaving only the chest.
He shook the disconnected wire at the child, who immediately grinned.
Suddenly, there was a "pop" sound. A bullet pierced through a sandbag on the top layer of the fortress, and yellow sand flew everywhere.
Li Zan instantly hugged the child, moved him horizontally towards the direction where the bullet came from, and hid him in the blind spot of the sandbag wall.
Song Ran also crawled on the ground for a moment, hid behind the barrier, and raised the camera.
The mother of the child on the roadside burst into tears and was dragged by a soldier and stuffed into a house on the roadside.
All the peacekeepers on the street immediately found the nearest shelter to hide, and fired several shots in the direction from which the bullet came; on the tall buildings, snipers urgently searched for the point where the bullet had just been fired.
After a few shots, there was silence.
Song Ran slowly leaned his head out and looked around. At the end of the straight street was a T-shaped intersection. Facing the intersection was a six-story building with windows all over it. He didn't know which window the bullet came from.
The streets were deathly silent as everyone waited for the next shot to expose their positions.
Suddenly, Benjamin shouted to the front: "Get out of the car!"
The next second, a bullet hit a car that had a bomb installed but had not yet been defused. The car exploded instantly, the burning body of the car jumped up half a meter high, and then fell to the ground with a bang.
The British peacekeepers hiding behind the car reacted in time. At the moment of the explosion, they jumped several meters away, rolled across the street and hid next to Song Ran.
Song Ran buried her head and hugged it, as metal scraps and dust fell onto her helmet like rain.
The enemy's bullets continued to fire, and another car loaded with explosives was detonated, with a deafening sound. The combat team did not show any weakness, and the heavy machine gunners bombarded the building fiercely, shattering all the glass windows on the building and splashing gravel on the wall. The soldiers quickly began to counterattack and provide cover, moving forward step by step to approach the building.
Song Ran's face was covered with dust. He squinted his eyes to protect the machine. He looked at his watch again and saw that there were only three minutes left.
At this moment, through the wall made of sandbags, she suddenly heard Li Zan say something to the child. A few seconds later, the child sang softly, a folk song from the East. Song Ran had heard many children sing it before. The fresh tune was a little sad.
The sounds of bullets and explosions were deafening all around, but the children's singing was clean and melodious.
As the clock ticked, Li Zan called out in English: "Is anyone there? Please help me check the time!"
Song Ran lay on the ground, holding his helmet, looking at his watch, and shouted back in Chinese: "Two minutes and eight seconds!"
There was no response from inside.
Only the tender singing voices of children were heard softly amid the flying gunfire.
Song Ran lay on the ground, trying to crawl out, filming the battle, and looking at his watch.
She was already sweating all over, and she shouted again: "One minute and three seconds!"
Still no response.
Song Ran was a little scared, she stared at the camera screen to distract herself, but suddenly there was a force behind her, the British peacekeepers who had just rolled over lifted her up and protected her as she ran to the side of the road.
Song Ran turned around hastily and saw Li Zan lowering his head inside the barrier, his eyes extremely focused, racing against time to untie the circuit on the child's chest. His profile was unusually calm and quiet, with only the beads of sweat on his nose and upper lip revealing his nervousness and anxiety.
Song Ran's eyes moistened, and she opened her mouth, wanting to shout "A Zan", but she didn't. Li Zan's profile disappeared in an instant. She was dragged to the side of the road by the soldier and hid behind a car that had been defused.
The soldier also realized the crisis and stared at his watch, wanting to shout but not daring to. Seeing that there were only a dozen seconds left, he finally yelled, "Lee!"
Still no response.
“give up! it's ok! it's not your fault!”
Song Ran looked at his watch: 13, 12, 11, 10…
"9 seconds!" she shouted!
Li Zan had not come out yet, but the child had already finished singing the song.
It was quiet inside the fortress, but outside there was a hail of bullets.
Song Ran's heart felt like it was being held tightly by a hand, and she could hardly breathe. She bit her fingers unconsciously, watching the second hand tick by, 5,
4.
3…
She is going crazy.
2,
1-
"A-Zan!"
Before the shouting was over, Li Zan, holding the child in one hand and supporting the sandbag wall with the other, leaped up horizontally, rolled out of the barrier, and landed under the outer wall. In that split second, with a "boom", the bomb exploded, and the sandbag walls surrounding it all exploded, and the yellow sand raised waves that fluttered into the sky, like a torpedo falling into the water.
Song Ran covered her ears tightly, pursed her lips and closed her eyes, her facial features wrinkled into a ball. She brushed away the yellow sand on her face and looked carefully—the sandbag wall had exploded, and Li Zan was buried under the yellow sand, motionless. He remained curled up, protecting the child in his arms.
"Officer Li!" Song Ran rushed over and quickly brushed away the sand and dirt on his head.
He slowly recovered, supported himself with one hand and sat up, holding the child with the other hand, protecting the back of the child's head. The little boy held Li Zan's neck tightly with both hands, and was unharmed.
"Are you okay?" Song Ran hurriedly used his sleeve to wipe the yellow sand from his eyebrows, eyes, mouth and nose. He frowned and turned his head away, and wiped it himself before reluctantly opening his eyes.
"Take him back." Li Zan said.
Song Ran went to pick him up, but the little boy held Li Zan's neck tightly and refused to let go, not allowing others to hold him.
Song Ran then asked: "Can you stand up?"
He held his breath and nodded, but his expression was a little painful.
The British soldier helped him up, and Song Ran followed, holding the little boy's buttocks and walking to the side of the road.
Only when the child's parents came over did the child let go of Li Zan and threw himself into his mother's arms. The parents hugged the child, kissed him and cried, and kept thanking Li Zan. He just waved his hands and smiled.
After they left, Li Zan sat on the porch of a house to rest. When Song Ran crawled over, he saw that he looked exhausted, leaning against the wall with his head raised and his eyes closed.
Hearing her movement, he opened his eyes and asked, "Is it stopped?"
Song Ran poked his head out and glanced into the distance: "Not yet. But it should be soon. Snipers just destroyed three strongholds."
He curled his lips lightly and closed his eyes again. He was really tired. There was still some yellow sand on his face and hair, not to mention on his neck and clothes.
Song Ran was a little worried: "Are you injured?"
"No." Li Zan tried hard to open his eyes, lowered his head and rubbed his eyes, smiling, "I haven't slept since yesterday, I'm a little tired."
Song Ran was silent.
It's not just about not getting enough sleep, but also about continuous high-intensity work that consumes energy and physical strength under high temperatures.
She took out a bottle of water from her bag and gave it to him: "Here."
"Thank you." He took it, unscrewed it, tilted his head back and gulped a few times, finishing the bottle of water.
"You're so busy that you don't have time to drink water or eat?"
He smiled to show his agreement, his lips were dry and slightly pale.
The gunfire gradually died down at the end of the road, which meant the situation was probably under control.
In the middle of the street, burlap bags of sandbags were still burning everywhere after the explosion.
Song Ran looked at the flames jumping on the street and suddenly said, "I thought you were going to die."
"Yeah?"
"Yes." Song Ran said, "Then my camera witnessed the birth of a martyr."
Li Zan chuckled, revealing his neat white teeth: "I'm sorry. I made you lose a great opportunity."
Song Ran really wanted to glare at him, but held back.
She picked at the camera strap and asked, "You rescued him at the last second. But if you couldn't save him at the last second, would you give up on him?"
"I don't know." Li Zan leaned his head against the wall, unscrewing and then screwing the cap of the mineral water bottle in his hand. "Until that moment comes, no one knows. Maybe he'll give up. I've done the best I can."
"But I think that even if you give up in the end, it's already remarkable. Just like last time in Garo City, you jumped on the car with the bomb. I felt at that time..." She pinched her fingers lightly, raised her eyes and looked into his eyes, and said, "It's rare to see such a selfless person."
Li Zanyuan listened quietly. When he heard the last sentence, he smiled awkwardly and said, "No, it's my duty. Besides, even if it's not a mission, we are just ordinary people, and we are all the same."
Song Ran thought he was being modest, but he continued, "I think people are inherently kind. When faced with a crisis, there are always people who show this kindness. You are a reporter for the social channel, and you must have seen a lot of such things in life."
Song Ran thought for a moment and said, "Yes, there are many. When working in journalism, I often see ordinary people become heroes, but there are also many malicious moments."
"Maybe it's just like what some people say, good and evil are conserved in this world." He leaned against the wall, his voice hoarse due to fatigue, but his expression was peaceful and serene, "But it's still good, at least there is good; there's still half."
Song Ran looked at him, and for a moment she seemed to see his heart through his bright eyes, very clear. She was hit by some warm and beautiful power without any preparation.
At that moment, she was sure that she heard a voice in her heart: A-Zan, you...
But she didn't say that voice out loud, as if she was hiding a secret.
Just like the scene at this moment will be a secret that belongs only to him and her—there is war in the streets, and he and she are sitting on the porch of someone else's house, covered in dust, chatting.
He closed his eyes for a while, then suddenly asked, "Is the area where you live safe?"
"safe."
"There is a curfew starting today, don't go out at night."
"Yeah." She nodded.
"But..." He thought for a moment and said, "If you want to understand the living conditions of young people in this city, you can go to a bar called Dreaming."
Song Ran was surprised: "Is the bar still open now?"
"Yes." Li Zan glanced at Sasin who was not far away and said, "Find a local reporter to go with you, don't go alone. Be careful."
"knew."
The gunfire at the end of the road had stopped for a long time. Li Zan stuck his head out of the porch and took a look. The small gunfight was over. Benjamin and his men had killed more than a dozen terrorists and were counting the number of people. His movement pulled his sleeves.
Song Ran stared at his cuffs and pointed: "...your rope."
Li Zan looked down and found that the red rope on his wrist was broken and was stuck in his sleeve and would not fall off.
"It's broken." He pulled the rope off and said.
Song Ran thought for a moment and asked, "Have you worn it for a long time?"
"Two years."
That means it was given by relatives and friends. Song Ran did not ask about its origin, but just said: "I think, maybe it really protected you from disaster."
Li Zan thought about it and said, "It's possible."
Song Ran said: "So you should get a new safety rope and wear it."
Li Zan twirled the rope and said, "I really don't know where this kind of rope came from."
Song Ran said casually: "I know. I'll buy one for you when the time comes."
Li Zan looked at her.
She also looked at him, her expression calm, her heart pounding.
A second later, he said, "Okay."
She pursed her lips: "What size do you wear? How thick is your wrist?"
Li Zan rolled up his sleeves, took off his combat gloves and showed them to her.
Song Ran stared at his wrist and carefully observed it for a few seconds, but found no solution.
Li Zan was amused and asked, "Do you want to measure it?"
Song Ran's heart warmed up, and he didn't know what he was thinking, but he bravely reached out and circled his wrist with his thumb and index finger.
Li Zan said nothing as she gently circled his wrist.
Song Ran only then saw from the corner of her eye that he was holding the red string in his right hand. His original intention was to let her measure with the string. Her face was flushed, but she could only bite the bullet and pretend she didn't know.
She took her hand back and awkwardly used her right thumb and index finger to hold the length of 1.5 knuckles of her left index finger, drew the stroke for him, and said, "Look, it's this thick."
Li Zan looked at his own hands, then at hers, and said, "I see your hands are quite thin, I think one hand can circle them and there will be some left."
Song Ran pulled up his sleeves and looked: "How is it possible..."
Li Zan circled her wrist with two fingers and put his thumb on the second joint of his index finger.
Song Ran felt a "wuu ...
He had already let go of her hand and circled it with two fingers to show her: "Look, it's this small." After saying that, he took a look himself and still didn't quite believe it: "It's so thin?"
"Maybe your fingers are longer." Song Ran blushed and said calmly. But his heart was about to jump out of his throat, and he was having a hard time holding it in.
At this time, Benjamin and the others came back from the other end, as if they were about to gather together.
Song Ran saw it and asked, "Are you leaving?"
"Yeah." Li Zan stood up, brushed off the yellow sand on his hair and body, turned his head to look at her, and reminded her: "Be careful."
Song Ran nodded: "You too."
Li Zan walked down the steps to join his teammates.
Benjamin and his group of people stood slouched not far away, with guns on their backs, winking and grinning at Li Zan.
Sasin was also calling Song Ran, and she packed up her things and prepared to leave.
Li Zan walked down the road and picked up the military bag he had left on the side of the road. Suddenly he remembered something and turned around to call out, "Reporter Song!"
"Eh?" Song Ran stopped and looked back at him.
He bent over and took something out of his trouser pocket, trotting towards her. He took out a round ball wrapped in a napkin and handed it to her, smiling a little shyly, and whispered, "For you."
When he said this, his eyes lit up like stars.
Song Ran took it and said, "Oh."
He smiled, turned around and ran down the stairs.
Benjamin and the others whistled coquettishly in the distance.
Song Ran didn't understand what was going on. He pushed aside the napkin and saw a fresh red apple, which seemed to be an American Delicious apple. There was a small part of the apple that was softened by the impact. He didn't know how long it had been in his pocket.
She was stunned and looked up - the street was wide and the sky was blue; after the bomb disposal, people gradually came and went on the street, but Li Zan and Benjamin had already gone far away.
"Rich Chinese." Sahin looked at the red apple and sighed.